In the midst of yet another tense Premier League season, one is grateful of an intermission. No matter what the result, today’s FA Cup third round tie would provide a welcome diversion from the money-grabbing and badge-kissing of said league, at least for this observer. Yep, Latics could have been hammered 5-0 and I wouldn’t…
Injury and suspension-hit Latics mustered an admirable display to rescue a point against an all-star Queen’s Park Rangers side, largely thanks to James McCarthy’s outstanding brace either side of half time. Statistics might suggest poor finishing on behalf of the Wigan strikers, but in reality a series of good saves from Rob Green were all…
Poor Jordi Gomez. Never before has a Wigan Athletic player been so devastating in a half of football and received such negative attention. Relatively few have achieved the oh-so-rare feat that is a Latics hat-trick, but that is besides the point – can Mr Gomez do anything right? In the eyes of many, the answer…
Ambling towards the DW Stadium this afternoon, there was a noticeable buzz that gradually increased in intensity the closer I got to those prominent white arches on the Wigan skyline. And no, I’m not dreaming of Wembley again, but you can’t deny there’s a certain similarity to the design of most modern football grounds –…
I didn’t want to mention the Notts County game for fear of tempting fate, but I guess now it’s all over I can reference said tie as much as I like. I won’t, though, because I will only end up repeating myself. You know those days where nothing goes right? Where every shot goes inches…
Following last week’s somewhat disappointing Swansea game, I commented that Wigan’s performances this season have either been outstandingly clinical or atrociously inadequate. Another defeat had pushed the Latics bandwagon just that bit closer to edge of a steep, craggy cliff that, should said vehicle topple off, would undoubtedly take until February or March for any…
It’s somewhat surprising to me that historically, Fulham at home hasn’t been a fruitful fixture for the mighty (though sometimes scrawny) Wigan Athletic. You see, usually we bear a grudge against teams we just haven’t been able to beat – Manchester United (of course), West Ham, Preston and so on. Ah, a statistical goldmine, that…
I like to try and get to the odd Latics reserve– oh sorry, U21– game when I can. Not entirely sure if the new ‘U21’ tag is any more attractive than ‘reserves’, but it is fair to say the vast majority of the side I saw today looked under the age of 21. Like the…
It happens just prior to the closure of every transfer window: supposedly highbrow, intellectual publications transform into glorified versions of those 99p gossip magazines that usually end up covering the windows of abandoned houses. Renowned commentators become facsimiles of Jeremy Kyle; spendthrift clubs become bigger impulse buyers than a shopaholic on payday; online blogs become……
And so it came to pass that on Sunday, 13 May 2012, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers would do battle on the green (well alright, slightly brown) pastures of the DW. But it wasn’t quite the crucial relegation contest many predicted and perhaps expected, what with the fate of both sides already decided. What happened…
Latics conjured up a magical 45 minutes of attacking football, most probably their greatest under Roberto Martinez, to completely pummel fourth-placed Newcastle into submission by half time. Victor Moses first headed home Emmerson Boyce’s deep cross on 12 minutes before doubling his tally less than 120 seconds later. Shaun Maloney expertly finished off another superb…
Another fine Latics performance yielded a second straight victory to kept them well in the race for survival. Their last win at home came way back in August, some seven months ago, but recent improved performances seemed to suggest this ‘record’ would not last much longer. Stoke City were the unfortunate victims this afternoon, taking…