Not at the races: Ronnie Stam, just like his side, struggled off the mark

In the interests of keeping you awake long enough to even make it as far as the second paragraph, I’m going to start off by ‘doing a Bob’ and attempting to stick to the positives that came out of today’s game.

Nnnngh… well, I think that would actually be nigh on impossible, because this really was a totally forgettable game from Wigan’s point of view. In fact, many of those that made the arduous trip to London would struggle to remember if there even was a Latics match this afternoon, we were so ineffective. I suppose things have picked up a bit from our drubbing at the hands of Portsmouth this time last year, and on the whole I’d say we’re performing a bit better than we were at that point, but it isn’t much consolation.

Maybe the midweek cup tie against Swansea took its toll on Latics’ squad, whereas Fulham had a nice week of rest and relaxation, but that doesn’t account for our non-appearance at Craven Cottage. Yes, there was the odd sniff of an opportunity, but the long-distance shooting we favoured in the first 45 minutes was never really going to challenge Mark Schwarzer.

If Wigan struggled in the first half, they simply weren’t even present for the second. I suppose the majority of our troubles stemmed from lack of possession, which limited the potency of our attackers and put Alcaraz and Caldwell under too much pressure. In this sense, Fulham must be credited for their tight, man-to-man football (doing their homework well, then) which Wigan never adapted to at any stage, really. Roberto actually made a change or two to try and combat this, but it wasn’t much use when the midfield couldn’t string more than a couple of passes together, relegating Rodallega to a mere spectator in the second stanza.

Read the rest of this entry »

The away support made a good impression

A disappointed, but not disheartened Swansea City made the journey back across the border last night having been dumped out of the cup by none other than the King of Traitors himself, one Roberto ‘Iscariot’ Martinez.

Now, as an outsider, I can’t claim to know the circumstances in which Bob departed 18 months ago, but one thing’s for sure: you must be joking if you think they’ve forgotten about it in certain quarters of Glamorgan. When the Swans drew Wigan away in the Fourth Round of the Carling, there was always going to be a big following from South Wales, if only just to give their ex-boss a right earful.

And that’s precisely what Martinez received. Not that he even so much as flinched at the barrage of abuse flying his way for the duration of the match (well, most of it anyway). Instead, he concentrated on maintaining his stony face and variety of gesticulations which no doubt make sense to some people. At least, the Wigan players understood to an extent because they seemed to reap some reward. Or perhaps not, and Antolin Alcaraz and Mo Diame decided to make up their own strategies off the hoof?

I doubt it though, because even though the Latics management team made copious amounts of changes for this midweek cup tie, they set out to stick loosely to the 4-5-1 that could so easily have beaten Bolton at the weekend. Some might even venture so far as to say it worked, but for the odd hiccup, which is perhaps to be expected from a back four that haven’t played together competitively for a while. It isn’t as if Latics’ defence is the strongest in the Prem at the best of times anyway, but I think we shall move swiftly on from that point.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hugo snaffled one, though could so easily have had two

Bob’s battlers weathered an early storm to grab a point against local rivals Bolton, though it could well have been more had things transpired slightly different.

The Trotters had the better of the early stages, putting Latics under plenty of pressure in their own third and making the home side’s defence look decidedly dodgy. Thankfully, Alcaraz et al managed to survive a couple of shaky spells to repel pretty much all attacks, to the extent Bolton didn’t manage a shot on target in the whole first half.

Wigan, by contrast, had their fair share of attempts, at least one of which made Jussi Jääskeläinen scramble just a bit. N’Zogbia put the ball just wide of his right hand post before Hugo Rodallega got in a shot from distance, though on this occasion the Finn managed to control the ball away from any advancing Latics frontmen.

Things were soured somewhat by the loss of James McCarthy, stretchered off midway through the half with ankle ligament damage. His replacement, Mo Diame, would ironically inject some urgency into the centre of Wigan’s midfield, and help to turn things around just when the home side were really under the cosh thanks to some good man-to-man marking by Bolton.

Nil-nil at half time was a fair reflection of a half in which both sides looked a tad sloppy and struggled to challenge the opposition goalkeeper.

The second stanza was an altogether different story, with the game sparking to life on 59 minutes as Rodallega slotted the ball past the Bolton keeper for his third of the season. There was a hint of offside about the build-up — and by that I mean Hugo was certainly offside — but nobody in the South, East or West Stands was complaining. It was around this time that Charles N’Zogbia found that extra something to take his game to a higher level, the likes of which we haven’t seen since… well, last week.

Read the rest of this entry »

Return of the Zog: Charles bagged two on his return to SJP

Latics’ victory over Wolves earlier this month was a fantastic mood-lifter, especially as we’ve been able to dwell on it for a whole two weeks. The latest international break was a great opportunity to digest the opening months of the league season, taking in the lows of August and relative highs of September along with all the usual conjecture and politics that generally surrounds any club at the highest level of English football.

Had we lost out to Wanderers at the beginning of October, the whole atmosphere behind the scenes would have been quite different. As it happened, we were left reminiscing upon an okay start to 2010-11, as save from a couple of poor performances at the very beginning of proceedings we could so easily have been sitting pretty in the top half of the Premier League table. Just about. Whilst Latics aren’t exactly riding the crest of a wave at this time, we can safely claim things are looking a bit rosier than they were just six weeks ago.

There was no time for quiet reflection today, however, with Martinez and co. facing a trip across the Pennines to the hostile St James’ Park, a difficult place to visit at the best of times. The Toon Army reserved a special ironic cheer for Charles Insomnia nee N’Zogbia, whose off-the-field antics haven’t really endeared him to very many in recent times.

How appropriate, then, that Tyne and Wear’s very own fallen son should head past Tim Krul on 22 minutes for his first league goal of the season. Another chorus of boos met the official announcement of his putting the visitors ahead, but things were eerily quiet for some time after.

Read the rest of this entry »