A Jordi Gomez sending off quickly followed by Steven Fletcher’s strike edged a relatively close contest in Sunderland’s favour. The Spaniard’s 48th minute red card ultimately cost Wigan a real chance of victory, but resolute defending from the home side ensured the ten men of Wigan went away from the Stadium of Light empty handed….
I keep mentioning it, but last season’s September-November ‘blip’ was such a prominent event you can’t help but constantly reference it. Heaven knows the media love to, though common consensus is that such talk is all about winning popularity contests and/by selling chip paper. Which reminds me, I must remember to try out Sharpy’s before…
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…
Wigan Athletic, “relegation candidates” once more. Sigh. Just for once I would love to take my seat in the East Stand, fizzy beverage in hand, and enjoy a month of Latics matches without the lingering thought that a loss could send us spiralling towards a WWF-esque relegation fistfight. Just for once I would like to…
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……
After years and years of being the underdog in cup competitions, I still find it hard to adjust to the tag of ‘giant’. Mostly because it’s one of those media terms used, often erroneously, to glorify the Midweek Floodlit Trophy. In reality, Latics are as much giants as Nottingham Forest are ‘minnows’: in fact one…
Certain sections of the mainstream media seem to be under the impression that football is all about superstars. Sure, it might be watching Cantonas and Zolas that gets you into the game in the first instance, but the longer you watch, the more you realise it’s about much more than that. In the past month,…
The football season is back, and I don’t know what to think. On the one hand it is one of the few things that give my sorry life meaning, while on the other it is the source of much frustration and tension, not to mention the primary reason for my receding hairline. I will, however,…
With the eyes of the whole world on the city of London last night, it’s no surprise that broadcasters chose not to screen Wigan Athletic’s clash with Spanish ‘giants’ Celta Vigo at the Balaidos Stadium. I should think that’s the only reason, however, and that such a high profile friendly would normally have ESPN scrambling…
Latics edged out Blackburn to seal their survival with a game to spare thanks to a powerful 87th minute Antolin Alcaraz header. Though the visitors dominated the first half, they could not make any of their excellent chances count against an insipid Rovers. The hosts, requiring a win to remain in the hunt for a…
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…