For longer than I can remember, Wigan Athletic have had a special relationship with Man City that even George Bush and Tony Blair might recognise as a ‘friendship’. You see, it may be slightly off the radar to newer Latics fans (such as I, in fact), but the Blues have always been there to lend a hand where it’s been needed.

The first competitive game between Man City and a Wigan side was in 1898, when newly-formed Wigan County — the earliest attempt at establishing a football club in the town — unluckily lost 1-0 in an FA Cup Round One match.

As far as Wigan Athletic goes, the on-again, off-again relationship between the two towns can be traced back as far as 1966 when City visited Wigan for the grand opening of newly-installed floodlights at Springfield Park. After a close-fought FA Cup tie at Maine Road in 1971, the Latics would face their Manchester neighbours once more during the Seventies: an illustrious friendly at Springfield Park just one year before Wigan’s inception to the Football League. The rest, as they say, is history, and Manchester City played a big part in making it so.

It wasn’t until the late Nineties that Wigan-City contests became something of a semi-regular occurrence. Perhaps the most memorable of these was a Division 2 playoff match – the final ever game to be played at Springfield Park, which ended in a creditable 1-1 draw. Though Wigan would ultimately lose out in the two-legged tie, they would gain a modicum of revenge by beating City 1-0 in a 2002 Worthington Cup match thanks to a 35th minute Neil Roberts volley.

And that pretty much brings us up-to-date in the potted history of notable Latics-City contests. Monday night’s game sees perhaps the strongest Man City side of recent times take on a club in transition as the Roberto Martinez-led Latics pass and bumble their way to (hopefully) Premier League safety. City’s own Roberto M is looking to push for a Champions League place in what looks to be a competitive end-of-season run-in.

Right, that’s the (shamelessly biased) Wigan perspective. What we need at this point is an expert. Not just an expert, but a Manchester City expert; a lifelong supporter and professional Man United hater. Well, his blog’s URL states that Man U ruined him, so he must be. Paul Doleman of Bert Trautmann’s Neck has very kindly agreed to be interviewed on topics including Monday’s match, his side’s prospects for the season and a few other things too.

JWAW: How long have you been supporting Man City, and what are your favourite/abiding memories of your time as a fan?

Paul: My Mum and Dad signed me up for City Junior Blues before I was born, so there’s never been a time I can remember not supporting City. I was born in Longsight and most kids in our street were City fans.

My first City Game was in the 60s and away (sort of), just down the road at Edgeley Park, where City played Stockport County and I could barely see over the concrete wall at the edge of the pitch. My Mum lifted me up and a nice copper gave me a wink and turned a blind eye to me dangling my legs over the top of it.

I remember Jonny Price, a County winger, dramatically rolling around as I think Tommy Booth put in a crunching tackle. Hearing thousands of travelling City fans singing throughout the game and seeing players like Franny Lee, Colin Bell and Mike Sumberbee up close was pure magic and I spent the next weeks nagging my mum for a Franny Lee poster and to go to Maine Road.

That Christmas the poster was up in my bedroom and I saw City play Everton at Maine Road. My cousin tried to persuade me to support a certain red team, tempting me with a George Best card, but I forcefully declined and so the roller coaster started – it’s definitely on the up now.

So many memories, highs and lows in supporting City, the 76 League Cup final and Dennis Tueart’s overhead goal, Dickov and the emotion of our play off and promotion from League 1, Bananamania, a new manager every week at times and always living in the shadows of illustrious neighbours.

Would you say you’re satisfied with the team’s performance this season, and do you remain optimistic about grabbing that Champions League spot?

Very happy, can’t believe things are happening so quickly, a squad of stars, good cup runs and a realistic chance of the Champions League, which I honestly think, given our run in we’ll clinch, but won’t be upset if we don’t. I’m not one of the foamers who call for the manager’s head when things get tough.

"Why'd you sack me, boss? I was doing a brilliant job..."

Hughes or Mancini?

I’m just behind whoever is in charge. I felt Hughes should have been given more time and now hope that we stick with a manager for 3 seasons with the full support of the owners. Mancini is a proven winner and has what it takes to build a real solid team – I want him to have a longer shot than Hughes, but with so much money behind the club I fear he might be another Avram Grant if we don’t get 4th spot.

What made you take up blogging about City? Were you influenced by fanzines/fan sites/forums/whatever to set up your own site?

I always used to read Chips n Gravy and King of the Kippax outside Maine Road so those had some influence, but I guess we’re all referees, we’re all managers and everyone one of us has kicked a ball. Football is a game of passion and opinion and I thought I’d share them on the blog rather than forums.

Are you confident of a win against Wigan? Who do you see as the key men for Monday’s clash?

Reasonably confident as we have only lost once at Eastlands in 12 months, but unfortunately that was a few days ago to Everton so perhaps confidence has been knocked.

Experience tells me that with City anything can happen and Wigan are well organized and play football. We should have enough with Tevez, Bellamy, Johnson and Barry and we really have to win it to continue a serious quest for 4th – so maybe that desire will be enough.

Wayne Rooney: key man

Couple of wild cards… Any thoughts on this summer’s World Cup, and are you in favour of the introduction of goal line technology?

It so easy to criticize the man in the middle, I know I was screaming at Peter Walton on Wednesday night, it really is a thankless task, but standards don’t seem to be getting any better, so if a piece of technology helps a few critical goal mouth decisions then I’m for it.

For the World Cup, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Rooney stays fit, if he does then we should reach the quarter finals or beyond. I’d love to see Adam Johnson get a late call up and I guess his record means Crouch should be in there.

Guess we’ll lose on penalties somewhere, but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

Thanks for the invite and all the best to the Latics for the rest of the season.

Cheers, Paul. Good luck for Monday, but not too much.

• Check out ‘Interview with a Latic‘ at Bert Trautmann’s Neck for a more detailed Wigan perspective on Monday’s match, fish and chips and much more
• Image of Francis Lee courtesy The Daily Mail.

If you cast your mind back to November, you may remember a very special match preview for what proved to be a highly notable game in this season’s Premier League. Those who haven’t completely blanked the weekend from their minds (and I’m very sorry for once again evoking repressed memories here) will remember that Dan Fitch of tottenhamblog.com very kindly provided his thoughts in the build up to our previous encounter with Spurs.

Well, the JWAW readership enjoyed that feature so much they asked, nay, demanded Dan return to comment on the rematch at the Dee Dubya. Actually, it was Mr. Fitch himself who posited the idea of a similar interview for this weekend’s encounter – the vast majority of Wigan fans have spent the last three months pretending Tottenham don’t exist, and who could blame them?

Nevertheless, I think we’ve sufficiently recovered from the events of that fateful afternoon at least to the extent we can forgive and forget, chalk it up as a freak result and apply any other coping mechanism your psychiatrist could care to mention.

I think we’re gonna have to sooner or later, as there’s no escaping the fact a team that put nine past our defensive line in their last encounter with us is visiting the borough this Sunday afternoon. And we’re going to have to play them again.

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JWAW: Dan Fitch, editor of tottenhamblog.com, the last time I spoke to you was before what has since been termed ‘the incident which must never be mentioned again under penalty of stoning’. However, much as it pains me, I think we’d better address the issue of that game sooner rather than later because I feel it’s looming over us like a four match ban for punching someone when the ref isn’t looking.

Dan: Yes, we somehow beat you 9-1, which I can only apologise for. As you will have noticed from our recent results, it was completely out of character for us.

I’ve still no idea how it happened really, as at half time I was thinking that 2-0 would be a good result. It was just one of those days when every shot seemed to go in.

I think that you were a victim of playing far too openly against us. Teams like Wolves and Hull have got results at White Hart Lane, by merit of just putting everyone behind the ball, whilst Wigan tried to play football. It’s to your credit, but I imagine is reasonably annoying from your perspective.

Do you think a win of such magnitude filled Spurs with a renewed/continued flair and self-assurance, or did it have the inverse effect and create a sense of overconfidence that ultimately led to one or two disappointing performances?

It certainly didn’t seem to help us, as afterwards we went on a four game run without a win, culminating in a home defeat to Wolves.

This side, like many Spurs teams before it, doesn’t have much bottle and the weight of expectation after such a big win, may have counted against us.

To what extent has the loss of Aaron Lennon dented your charge for the top four? Would you say you’ve struggled to fill the void created by his absence?

We’ve really missed Lennon. First we tried to play Modric and Kranjcar on the flanks, but were far too narrow. Then Bentley came in and whilst he’s played well, we still really miss the pace of Lennon and (a couple of years ago I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever say this) his crossing ability.

They say that there’s an outside chance that he might return against you. If he does play, at least you can rest safe in the knowledge that Erik Edman is now safely away from your left back spot.

What about other injuries? How are you coping with the loss of Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King’s recurring knee problems?

Woodgate being out hasn’t been that much of an issue, as Dawson has really stepped up this season and made one of the centre back roles his own. King is more problematic, because he can’t play more than once a week. This has meant that whenever Ledley’s fit, Bassong has dropped to the bench.

Bassong has looked solid this season and sometimes he hasn’t deserved to be dropped. It can’t do much for his confidence or our hopes of building stability within the back four.

If it was any other player with these injury problems, then I’d say that they should just be the understudy to our regular central defensive partnership. With King though it’s different, as he’s the best Tottenham defender that I’ve ever seen and yes, I am including Judas in that.

It’s looking like a real scrap for that final Champions League berth, especially with Manchester City struggling to take advantage of their games in hand. Is your initial prediction of 6th still likely, or do you think you’re still in with a good chance of grabbing a European place?

I think 6th, or even 7th seems most likely. Everyone is still dropping points, but I just can’t see us being consistent enough to capitalise upon it. Perhaps when Lennon’s fit…

Even if we finish 7th though I’d still expect that to be good enough for a Europa League spot. Villa play United in the Carling Cup and though a lot of big teams have gone out of the FA Cup, I still wouldn’t be surprised if the finalists came from within the top seven.

It seems Harry’s laid out his stall to take the FA Cup seriously, unlike certain other Premier League managers and supporters this season. In your opinion, which should hold a higher priority for Spurs at this stage, the cup or the league?

It’s actually quite ridiculous that everyone is so fixated on finishing in such an arbitrary position as 4th. We finished 3rd in 1990, but back in those days it was no reason to crack out the bunting.

Winning the FA Cup again would mean more to me and perhaps the general public would be supportive of us getting to Wembley again, now that Chas and Dave have split up.

Having said that, 4th place is sadly more important these days because it would allow us to recruit better players and make larger steps forward. There should be no priorities though. We have a big enough squad to compete on both fronts.

I’ve heard one or two rumbles that fans are not so happy with Big Harry at the moment. If you did finish just outside the European spots/failed to win the FA Cup, would you still be happy with the progress you’ve made this season, or do you think you would subscribe to the ‘Redknapp Out’ brigade?

A lot of Tottenham fans aren’t happy unless there’s a revolution every couple of years and there’s a new messiah to look towards.

I have issues with a lot of Harry’s decisions, but despite his faults, you can’t really claim that he’s doing a bad job with any validity. We’re now in February and within a couple of points of a Champions League spot. If we were offered that at the start of the season, everyone would have taken it.

Who would we get to replace him anyway? Unless you can bring in a Mourinho or a Hiddink, then we’re better off just building some much needed stability at the club.

Latics have had three penalties this season, scoring one and missing two. This has cost us two points in the long run, points that would have been very welcome in the almost inevitable relegation battle to come. I see most of Spurs’ missed pens have come in the cup this season, so at least they haven’t been too costly in terms of your overall league position. However, is this inability to score from 12 yards a worry as you look to mount a serious challenge in the league run-in?

Yes, because it has wider ramifications. Defoe and Huddlestone have recently missed penalties for us. These players have had good seasons and have both represented England, so it’s not technique that is an issue here, but a lack of bottle.

When the going gets tough, Spurs collapse. That’s why I can’t see us making the Champions League, because even if we hang on within touching distance, eventually there will be a crunch match and we won’t be mentally tough enough.

What are your hopes for this weekend’s game? Are you confident of bouncing back from a couple of less than convincing performances or do you fear the worst?

Yes, I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if you reaped some revenge. Forget 9-1, I’d be doing handstands if we edged it 1-0. I can see it being another draw.

Any players we need to keep an eye on this Sunday?

Our only attack minded player who is really playing well at the moment is Gareth Bale. I’m so pleased for him, because he’s clearly always been a talented player, but he’s had his doubters at Spurs.

He’s now proving those doubters wrong and was brilliant last week against Bolton. I hope your right winger is good at tracking back.

Good luck this weekend, because on the evidence of the pitch at the DW on Wednesday, you’ll certainly need it.

Yes, I’d heard about the pitch. Long balls up to Peter Crouch it is then.

Thank you very much once again for taking the time to be interviewed, Dan!

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Keep an eye on Dan’s blog for a reciprocal interview addressing, amongst other things, Roberto Martinez’s Premier League debut season, the signing of Victor Moses and of course ‘that game’. He carries out similar interviews for each of Spurs’ games, so his site is certainly worth a look, even if you aren’t a Tottenham fan.

• For the Latics perspective on this weekend’s game, see JWAW’s match preview at tottenhamblog.com (coming soon)

A match preview with a difference this weekend. Instead of the one-sided nonsense you usually find here of a Friday, I think it’s about time we took a fresh perspective on the weekend in prospect, don’t you?

Ahead of the Tottenham-Wigan clash at White Hart Lane, JWAW caught up with seasoned Spurs fan Dan Fitch for his thoughts on pies, Harry and of course Sunday’s match. It just so happens that Dan also has a weblog at TottenhamBlog.com, which is really rather good – better, in fact, than the typical small-time ‘pinch news from other sources’ you might be familiar with (especially if you read JWAW).

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JWAW: Dan Fitch, Tottenham season ticket holder and editor of tottenhamblog.com, pleased to meet your acquaintance. Or, at least, converse over the interwebs.

If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been a Tottenham supporter and where do you think the current Spurs squad ranks among the best (or maybe even worst) you’ve seen?

Dan: I first started taking a real interest in Spurs in the 1986/87 season. David Pleat had taken charge and introduced a then revolutionary 4-5-1 formation, which saw Hoddle, Waddle and Ardiles pulling the strings in midfield and Clive Allen scoring a record 49 goals in all competitions.

That side came third in Division 1, got to the semi-final of the League Cup and lost in the final of the FA Cup. Looking back, we probably haven’t had as good a side since, though this current vintage come close.

Though we’ve had some star performers through the years like Gazza and David Ginola, they’ve always shared a field with some weak players.

Our first choice eleven at the moment (which we haven’t actually managed to field yet) are pretty solid throughout. It’s probably as good as side as we’ve had for 20+ years, with the possible exception of the team that finished fifth in the infamous ‘lasagnegate’ season, which featured Carrick in midfield.

It’s been a busy summer at Tottenham with lots of comings and goings, perhaps most notably the departure of Darren Bent and the return of Peter Crouch to White Hart Lane. How much, would you say, has this activity impacted on your season?

I knew Bent would do well at Sunderland and he went straight into my fantasy football team. He’ll always score goals, but he just didn’t fit in with the way we played.

Crouch has been quite good, but has not had that much football, due to us rotating him with Defoe and Keane. The problem when he plays is that the team starts hitting unnecessary long balls to him. This happens for England also and it’s not really Crouch’s fault, as he’s perfectly capable of controlling the ball on the ground.

Our best signing of the summer was Sebastien Bassong from Newcastle. I questioned whether it was wise to sign someone for a lot of money from a team that had just got relegated, but he’s been very valuable this season, due to the constant injuries to our other central defenders.

I think he’s had something like five different partners so far and yet he’s still managed to be remarkably consistent. Of course, he could only play for Spurs for so long without getting injured and he’s out for Sunday.

What are your thoughts on Spurs’ start to the season?

I’m pretty satisfied. The consecutive defeats to Stoke and Arsenal were a blow, but we’d been lucky to win a few other games, so it seemed like karma.

We’ve really missed Modric since he’s been injured. He makes us tick and the sooner he is back in action, the more confident I’ll be regarding our ambitions.

You currently lie fourth in the table. Are you hopeful or expectant of finishing 2009/10 in a Champions League spot?

At the start of the season I predicted we’d finish sixth and I think that this is still likely. We’ve got a really good team when they’re all fit, but in certain positions we have very little strength in depth.

I’m sure we’ll be looking to spend again in January to boost our chances, but then so will Manchester City and if Liverpool have Gerrard and Torres back, it will be tough for us.

Harry’s been a bit of a revelation since he took over, hasn’t he? Still, I suppose after Juande Ramos’s start to last season things could only have got better. Are you pleased to have a man as experienced and respected as Redknapp at the helm?

What I was most pleased about was that we got rid of the Director of Football position and allowed the manager to pick the players he wanted to sign. That setup had really held us back for a number of years.

When we scrapped this system, we couldn’t have done better than to bring in Harry, who knows the Premier League inside out. It just goes to show that when British managers are given a chance at clubs where they will have a chance to spend money, they can be successful.

Martin O’Neill has also proved this at Villa and dare I say it, Steve Bruce looks like he’ll be a success at Sunderland.

I almost hesitate to bring this up because it’s almost old hat now, but wherever Harry goes he is dogged by allegations of past corruption and dodgy dealings. Do you think this controversy is the only thing stopping him from becoming England manager?

There did seem to be a real campaign building just before Capello’s appointment, to give the job to Redknapp. His Portsmouth team of the time were flying high and I think he might have been given it.

Then the police came sniffing around him and after that the FA were never going to appoint him, given the potential for controversy. They’d been down that road with Venables.

I’ve been hearing good things about Wilson Palacios since he moved from Wigan. Has he been the signing you expected, or do you think he isn’t quite up to the task?

He’s the player we’ve needed for years. We’ve always been a bit weak in midfield, without anyone who could really get stuck in, so Palacios has been a revelation. He’s big and strong, tackles hard and can play a bit as well.

His form has been patchy of late, but I’d put that down to having to fly back and forth from Honduras when on international duty. I’m not sure that we’ve found his perfect partner in midfield yet. It sounds like we’re going after the Brazilian Sandro, who might allow Palacios to play as more of a box-to-box midfielder.

It’s the big issue in football this week: Thierry Henry’s Hand of Frog. Do you think video technology should be brought into football in some manner, or are you of the opinion that it would remove an element of excitement and unpredictability from the game?

I’m in favour of using video technology. These days it would only take a split second for someone to view a replay, so it wouldn’t hold the game up.

I guess it would detract from the grand drama of the sport, but it’s sickening when your side is punished because of a mistake by a referee and nowadays it’s unnecessary.

Who are, in your opinion, Tottenham’s men to watch for this weekend’s big match at White Hart Lane?

It will be interesting to see how Robbie Keane reacts to the events of midweek. He’s looked a bit subdued and off the pace since returning from Liverpool and this should either fire him up or depress him further.

Other than him, I’d say that Palacios will want to play well and Gomes has been in brilliant form in goal.

Finally, what is the price of a pie at White Hart Lane and have you ever ended up throwing one at any of the players?

I’m not sure of the price of a pie at White Hart Lane. I’ve had one before of course, but I’m more partial to one of those new-fangled ‘hotdogs’ these days. You’ll be in London though, so I wouldn’t expect to see much change from £4.

Despite the cost of said pie, there are several players that I would have liked to have thrown one at over the years. However, my seat is at the back of the Park Lane stand, so I’d struggle to be accurate from that distance.

If I had to pick a player who I would have liked to hit square in the face with some steak and kidney, then it would be Didier Zokora. He cost loads of money, but couldn’t pass, tackle or score. I hated him.

Dan Fitch, thank you very much and best of luck with your season – as long as you don’t beat us this weekend

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Remember to give Dan’s blog a look, even if you’re a Latics fan. He does these kinds of interviews before each match to get the view from the opposite stand, and this weekend JWAW will be offering its thoughts at Tottenham Blog.

• For a view from a Latics perspective, see JWAW’s big match preview at Tottenham Blog.

Image of White Hart Lane is by Dudesleeper.