Peter Crouch looked slightly off-colour, and was replaced by Pavlyuchenko at half time

Just when we really needed it, how’s about that for a Latics ‘dream week’? I don’t recall back-to-back wins under Martinez since the last time Halley’s Comet was visible from Earth to the naked eye.

Actually, it was January, but it seems like far, far longer – after all, we’ve conceded a whole raft of goals and more than a modicum of frustration since.

By contrast, it seems like only yesterday that Latics were taking an absolute spanking at the hands of today’s opponents.

You’ve got the mainstream media to thank for that, because if it were up to me I’d have subjected anyone who ever even so much as mentioned WhiteHartLaneGate to the pleasure of having a large horse leave a nice pressie on their front lawn. I’m not talking about an XBOX with FIFA 10 here, and you know it (though certain PES fans may strongly disagree).

Oh how the boot was on the other foot this afternoon. Tottenham showed none of the attacking threat of that fateful evening in November, the likes of Lennon and Defoe a mere shadow of their former selves. Add to the mix an on-song goalkeeper full of confidence off the back of a clean sheet in a three-nil victory on Tuesday (and yet to concede a competitive goal this season), some resolute Latics defence and you have one large upset with which the press can have a field day. At least until Man United pasted West Ham later in the afternoon.

Ali Al-Habsi was certainly the stand out performer of the afternoon, pulling off a number of highly important saves to keep Latics’ clean sheet intact for the duration of the game. It was somewhat lucky considering Younes Kaboul”s wonderful 86th minute opportunity, perhaps the only occasion when the Omani looked more than a little suspect as he rushed off his line.

Younes Kaboul missed a glorious chance to salvage a draw

Thankfully, his header sailed past the post and Latics fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. This chance would have put Spurs back on level terms after Rodallega’s 79th minute cross-keeper strike. Carlo Cudicini got a big hand to the ball but could not prevent it from crossing the line for Wigan’s first goal of the 2010 campaign.

Hugo’s chance was the third of three magnificent opportunities for the Latics, all of which came within sixty seconds of each other in a spell of football from out of nowhere. First, Alcaraz somehow managed to balloon the ball over the bar from all of four yards when it looked certain he would score.

Undeterred, Wigan came again, with Jordi Gomez volleying Rodders’ cross a foot over the crossbar. The third time worked a charm, though, and the increasingly vociferous Latics fans had even more to shout about as Little Wigan pinched the lead.

On your marks: Ronnie Stam played a key role on the left

Previous to this trio of chances, Latics threatened to threaten but could not muster any others of note apart from Steve Gohouri’s strike that rattled the crossbar within the first twenty minutes.

Half time came and went without Tottenham breaking the deadlock, Roman Pavlyuchenko failing even to make as much impact as his predecessor, one Peter Crouch, who was withdrawn at half time. Jermain Defoe showed moments of promise, drawing a couple of saves from the Latics keeper, but was largely subdued by the likes of Gohouri and Boyce.

Wigan came more and more into it as time passed, and though their strike was somewhat unpredicted, they deserved their lead and eventual win. By the 80th minute, Spurs had become visibly deflated. They got a second wind with a few minutes left on the clock but did not make their chance, the aforementioned Kaboul header, count for anything more than ‘what could have been’.

Are things starting to work for Martinez?

From then onwards, Latics predictably played the time-wasting game, winning a series of corners and throw ins to frustrate the hosts and waste valuable minutes, ultimately seeing out the final stages without too much alarm.

And that was that, really. Latics performed a smash-and-grab to get their Premier League season off the mark and pull themselves out of the relegation zone. I know we’re only three games in, but my goodness was this an important victory, not only for Latics but Martinez also. I believe Whelan has every faith in his man, but do the fans? After today, maybe some of the more aggressive anti-Roberto clan will be silenced, or at least subdued for a short while.

Victor Moses troubled the scorers with an 86th minute strike

Well, would you believe it? Latics’ first match in a new, non-orange away kit has led to our first competitive away win under Martinez whilst wearing anything other than blue and white. There can only be one explanation, and that’s the old ‘Tangerine Dream’, henceforth termed the Oranjeboom Nightmare, was jinxed. A rotten satsuma, if you will.

Yep, it can’t be that League One Hartlepool United just couldn’t live up to the ‘quality’ of a so-called Premier League team because Wigan couldn’t even score against, let alone beat, Blackpool. A quick glance at last night’s other results show that our conquerors of two weeks ago actually lost to MK Dons. I guess this logic places the Seasiders in League One and Latics in the Conference or something, and I wonder where the ‘orange kit’ theory comes into that?

Thank goodness football has little to do with logic, otherwise we’d have people like Paul Merson moonlighting as pundits. Oh, wait… Well, I suppose that’s one reason to be pleased Sky Sports News has disappeared from free-to-air television.

Now, dare I say it? Has Martinez’ side finally ‘clicked’? There’s no doubt last night’s victory is a nice little confidence booster, but I think it’s impossible to tell. Latics were never in total control until quite late in the game, despite the one goal lead they held for 70-odd minutes, and that’s partially down to the old cup tie mentality of ‘we don’t wanna lose against a team two divisions below us’. I think it was Graham Lovett on WISH FM that first pointed that out, actually.

But, as old Merse (Marse?) would be quick to reiterate, a win is a win and a 3-0 victory looks dead good on paper. Actually no, he’d probably say a 7-0 Latics win would look bad just because it’s Little Wigan, and they’re a disgrace because they’ve conceded ten goals in two games.

Of course, all eyes were on this fixture and how we would react after another series of hammerings, and I have to say it’s nice to be in the limelight again. I figure we might as well enjoy it while it lasts, for we can’t be spoiled with the luxury of top-flight football forever. Bureaucratic legislation and increasing commercialisation may be our biggest enemies in that respect.

Whilst I can’t say I’m at all confident about this Latics side, or in fact any given line-up from the past sixteen months or so (and you’d probably have to be Roberto Martinez for that to be the case), at least things are starting to look a bit brighter. Not a lot, but you have to start somewhere, and at least we didn’t lose like last in the corresponding fixture last year.

Jordi Gomez: All credit to the lad, he scored the best goal of the night

A negative point must be the fact Jordi Gomez scored. The quality of his strike makes things worse, as it only strengthens his case for a place in the Latics starting line-up on Saturday, and I’m not sure that would be step in the right direction. Literally, since it seems all Jordi has done of late it pass backwards to the defence.

What was nice to see yesterday, however, was Hugo and Mauro enjoying a bit of interplay afforded by Bob’s two-striker formation, at least for periods. I’m convinced that this would be the better option against the vast majority of Premier League opposition because, whilst Rodders does a decent job on the left wing, at times he is wasted out there. It seems he’s lost that finishing touch he had in his first ten games at the club, more likely than ever to balloon one ten yards over the crossbar given half the opportunity.

With all the uncertainty over Charles N’Zogbia flying around pre-transfer window closure, the two South Americans could be the key to Latics’ survival in this league. Unless they’re played in positions condicive to goalscoring, Wigan will forever be just a passing outfit, and sometimes not even that.

What of Wigan’s other vice, their defensive line? Well, from the sounds of things Al Habsi had a half decent game, no doubt putting himself in the frame for Tottenham on Saturday. Can’t say much about the central partnership of Boyce and new(ish) boy Steven Caldwell as all I have to go on are the odd comments of ‘that was a decent tackle’ and ‘nice clearance’ from a Latics-biased commentary team. Let’s just say they kept a clean sheet, the first defence to achieve one this campaign.

Tougher tests are to come, no doubt, starting this weekend with a trip to White Hart Lane, our first since, well, you know. I’d rather not think about it, and instead return to watching Accrington vs Newcastle rather than Spurs’ European Cup tie on ITV. Before you accuse me of wussing out of researching forthcoming opponents, I will simply state that the Carling Cup game’s a more competitive contest, at least at the moment.

And if anyone else says ‘Accrington Stann-lee’ in a Liverpudlian accent one more time I shall knee them in the nads.

John Terry had a much easier time at the DW this year

And so it came to pass that the multi-millionaires walked all over the Premier League wannabes once again.

Some may argue the sheer weight of such a scoreline was somewhat unjustified considering Latics’ first half performance, and I would tend to agree with them, but then I am a Wigan supporter. As such, I have been subjected to torture much worse than this in the past twelve months to the extent I’ve become numb to it all.

On the positive side, for thirty minutes Latics actually competed and, were it not for a lack of creativity and cutting edge in the final third, could have emerged with at least a goal or two for their troubles.

It wouldn’t have been enough, though, because it seemed the Champions could walk all over Little Wigan any time they wanted. Had this Chelsea side hit their straps earlier in the piece, things can be much worse. I reckon we ought to be grateful for that, because we were ultimately up against a far better team that’s been moulded over the course of many years of careful planning and flamboyant investment.

The likes of Malouda, Anelka and Drogba (who somehow managed not to get on the scoresheet) were a class apart, recovering from a slowish start (by their standards, anyway) to lay the smackdown on our sorry bee-hinds. Yossi Benayoun capped it all with a late finish to continue the ‘always scores against Wigan’ theme we’ve already got going on this campaign.

So we were out of our league yesterday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t deserve our place in the Premier League (no matter how many ‘pundits’ brand us a disgrace). Sure, it’s looking like another season of terrible batterings and one of the worst goal differences in the league. The simple fact of the matter is that a seventeenth place finish will keep Wigan in the Prem for another year, and that’s the way it’s been for as long as I can remember.

It’s just a question of whether Martinez can get things together in time to save himself from a fan-led revolt and ultimately kick start the operation some sixteen months into his reign. From a personal perspective, the best way to do this would be to adapt your strategy according to the opposition, being entirely flexible to match situations and, most of all, sticking the ball in the net.

At the moment, I can’t see us doing any of that. We’ve got a goalkeeper struggling to communicate with the guys in front of him (not to mention his form), a backline that at times looks like it’s playing musical statues and a centre forward who can do nothing but head the ball straight at the goalkeeper.

As Roberto would be quick to point out, though, there were one or two positives that should be taken from the encounter. At the very least it was a marked improvement over the Blackpool game, and though we capitulated rather horribly after the second goal went in (nothing new), there are at least some signs certain players want to actually do something to earn their (likely extortionate) wages.

Most of all, I would ask Martinez to loosen up and try a few things out. Don’t be afraid to get the long throws in the box for the likes of Alcaraz and Diame to cause problems. Ruffle a few feathers with the odd bit of physical play. Get it up to the front men every once in a while. That’s how you prosper as a small club in the Premier League – just look at Stoke, Birmingham and even Wigan Athletic of a few years ago. Maybe Roberto has this up his sleeve as an absolute last resort, but I haven’t seen much of it so far.

Wonder how long it’ll be before things click into place? If they don’t within couple of months, I fear the burden of pressure would be too much for Bob or his eventual successor, should it come to that. Whelan may not have an itchy trigger finger just yet, but I hope for all our sakes things start to click very soon otherwise, come Christmas, we may find ourselves in one whole heap o’ trouble.

Next for Roberto’s men is Hartlepool on Tuesday night. Don’t be surprised if we see a whole load of first-teamers get a full 90 minutes because it looks like they need it. With a bit of luck and adequate preparation, it might just be the kick up the backside that propels us to greater things, starting with a draw against Tottenham next weekend. Come on!

Carlo Ancelotti: not exactly quaking in his boots

Take one team that’s struggling to find their feet after a demoralising defeat at the hands of a newly-promoted side (who many are tipping to finish rock bottom of the league, no less) and pit them against the champions on the crest of a wave following a six-goal tonking of West Brom.

You would think that’s a recipe for disaster, especially considering the supposed backroom problems simmering at the DW Stadium, and sure enough, everyone’s predicting an absolute hammering for poor old Roberto.

I would say, however, that it’s a bit too dangerous to make such predictions at this stage, no matter how nailed-on they may seem. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully expecting an absolutely rotten afternoon, one of those one-sided encounters that sickens you to the pit of your stomach. But while there’s life, there’s always hope, and by golly that really does seem to be all we have to cling to at the moment.

It may seem the side we are set to field this evening is far worse than the guys that managed to pull one out of the bag in the corresponding fixture last season, and that’s most likely a justified assumption. We can, however, console ourselves in the fact that, after last week, it can only get better… can’t it?

Well, I’d hope Chris Kirkland has exorcised those early-season jitters (no Marlon Harewood to contend with this afternoon, heheh) and Boselli’s got past those first game nerves. A hat-trick against Chelsea could be the making of Mauro and, with a bit of luck, Wigan’s season. Forgive me for living in Dreamland, but there’s always the hope our whole side will lift their game against higher quality opposition.

Chris Kirkland: Bit of a pants game against Blackpool

Once again you can rightly accuse me of clutching at straws, but you have to think of the positives, as the alternative isn’t worth considering. After all, we’re most likely to be subject to that sort of torture as it becomes a reality later today.

In a more realistic world, a good turnout would suffice. With a tough batch of fixtures to come, there’s the possibility things aren’t likely to pick up until October. A series of steadily improving performances, while not exactly picking up so many points, will stand us in good stead for the games we’re more likely to win.

And hey, if we treat these games as possible point-gaining opportunities rather than training exercises, who knows what might happen? Rodallega playing centre forward alongside Boselli, perhaps? Well, now I’m just being silly.

Don't look back: A hole too large for Martinez to fill?

You may well say I am not qualified to comment on yesterday’s game considering I wasn’t there and didn’t even watch it on telly or listen to it on WISH.

And you’d be right, especially since I have yet to watch any highlights or take in any post-match reaction save for Martinez’ brief comments for Ceefax. To tell you the truth, I’m dreading doing so, and will wait a few days for my disappointment to wane (if it ever will) before bringing myself to watch any sort of match action.

Still, in the interests of playing devil’s advocate, let’s go ahead and offer some sort of critique based simply on the scoreline.

Well, I tend to think a 4-0 loss would say it all, really. Kind of glad I wasn’t able to see the game to save myself from yet more embarrassment along the lines of last season’s defeats at the hands of Notts County, West Ham, Wolves and Portsmouth.

You can’t help but analyse yesterday in the light of results from the preceding season. The ‘long term plan’ Martinez and Whelan have set out sees the two campaigns merge into one, big ordeal (and yes I will call it that) whereby the club takes numerous blows to the solar plexus in the hope it gets in one or two telling blows of its own. The main problem lies in the fact our opponents need to be absolute pants for that to even threaten to happen.

If, in the long term, such tactics save the club from total extinction and keep us afloat for a few more years, then fine. After all, you never know the extent of what’s going on behind the scenes, and as a mere supporter, you don’t necessarily expect to be made privy to the inner workings of your football club.

As a follower, the only thing I can comment on is what I can see, and by goodness it doesn’t look good. We knew we were in for a much tougher season this time round, and to all intents and purposes we were rather lucky there were so many poor teams in the league last campaign. 2010 will be much different, and must be the year for Bob’s bunch to come of age or suffer the consequences.

What's going on inside that business brain of his?

Progress? I see little, really. In all fairness, it’s been consistently average to poor over the course of Roberto’s reign, highlighted by the fact we were even worse yesterday than last year’s defeat to the Seasiders in the Carling Cup. Granted, nobody at the club really cares about that competition (not least Roberto) because the Premier League is where the real profits are at.

From what I’ve heard, though, it seems that this Latics side can only play one type of football, a weak, powder puff, one-tactic side that has no real depth, guts or desire. I don’t know how much of these comments are close to reality, but on the basis of last season, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were true. Aside from the win over Arsenal, which was the odd flash in the pan you experience as bottom-of-the-league-dwellers, 2009/10 finished rather disappointingly to say the least.

Something isn’t quite right, obviously. Is it the management setup? The players? The fact Little Wigan have far outstayed their welcome amongst the elite that is the Premier League? If you were to ask me, I’d say it’s a bit of each.

But all is not yet lost. There is still plenty of time to turn things round, and I have no doubt the talent is there to keep us up, just about. It’s just a question of deploying it in such a fashion to actually grind out the results, because, as I’ve said on numerous occasions, it isn’t the performances that will see us through to a seventh season in the Prem, but the points. Sadly, there are certain individuals in the DW’s corridors of power that only care about the former. Makes you wonder how much longer they have at the club.

Past Forward Issue 55, 'Football Fever' special

Issue 55 of Wigan Heritage Services’ own in-house publication, Past Forward, features a selection of Latics programmes from yesteryear on its front cover.

Sadly, however, it doesn’t really live up to the promise of Wigan Athletic related content, with just a single two-page story on Golborne’s own World Cup winner Roger Hunt. And, the last time I checked, I don’t think he ever played for Wigan.

The whole thing is made much worse by the fact that, for a so called ‘Football Fever’ special, there’s equal (if not more) coverage of rugby league, with a story on the Northern Union’s first tour Down Under.

Nevertheless, that story is relegated to the later pages, and what football stuff is there is at least engaging. The front cover is highly attractive, and the Hunt story informative – I had no idea one of the heroes of ’66 was born so close to home.

A pity, though, that there are no articles on the history of Wigan Borough or even Springfield Park. Maybe I should have cobbled something together myself, and that’s a consideration for the next issue, due out in December. I could do with a few more badges for the ‘As Seen In’ section in the right hand column there.

All this isn’t to belittle the quality of Past Forward in general. It’s quite well designed, even though I much prefer some of the previous incarnations in terms of content. The £1 price tag is justified in my opinion, but I suppose it depends on how much you’re into your local history.

A shout out must also go to Wigan Heritage Services’ Assistants, who helped with editing content but remain uncredited. In fact, from what I can see, there is no real ‘meet the team’ section as there used to be once upon a time.

Past Forward Issue 55, as well as a whole bunch of back issues, is available from the Museum of Wigan Life (formerly known as the History Shop) now, and your local library from later this week. That’s providing you live in the Wigan Borough, of course. Tell them Dan from Jesus Was a Wiganer sent you to claim your free dodgy look!

Speaking of freebies, you can also get 10% off at the MoWL shop (pictured behind the reception, above) with the free coupon on page 18, so get down there and claim your Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls today! Actually not today, because it closed at 5PM. And not tomorrow, because it isn’t open on Wednesdays. But pop in on Thursday morning and quote JWAW for, erm, nothing much. They might give you a free paperclip or something.

Latics’ new club shop, imaginatively titled the Latics Club Shop, was unofficially up and running this morning. Stocking such merchandise as Wigan Athletic branded golf tees, babies’ bibs and cuddly teddy bears, it’s already looking a bit more promising than last year’s Latics WN1 trial run.

This time round, there were no photographers or guest appearances (at least not when I was there, about 10ish), rather a selection of half price Latics merchandise so we could all be ripped off by 50 rather than 100 percent. The glitz and glamour will be present on Tuesday afternoon as a selection of the Wigan squad and backroom staff officially launch the new Wigan Athletic home kit for the 2010 season.

And it’s certainly an improvement on the previous incarnation, with a much brighter atmosphere and better ‘shop’ feel. The one next to Ryman’s felt as though it was run by Arkwright from Open All Hours or something, a dark (and slightly smelly) cave in the deepest depths of the Galleries.

Latics’ marketing gurus seem to have learned from the WN1 experiment, and there’s no doubt the more spacious location across from BB’s Cafe is a lot more welcoming and professional.

As for the volume of stock, there’s just about the same as there used to be, but it’s all laid out in a more pleasing and accessible fashion. No comfy sofas though, sadly.

That didn’t stop the punters piling in, though. Things looked quite busy while I was there, so maybe the stock clearout gimmick was somewhat successful – there were three assistants on the counter so I’m guessing the big cheeses expected a hectic opening day.

Speaking of big cheeses, guess whose book was displayed rather prominently by the checkouts? That’s right, the Mighty Gorgonzola himself, Dave Whelan. He was nowhere to be seen, though. Think he might be on holiday in Barbados or something.

Jason Koumas: On his way

Also seemingly on his way out is Jason Koumas, who shall spend the forthcoming season on loan to Cardiff City, where I am sure he shall do extremely well. He seems to thrive in the Championship environment, but struggles for consistency at the higher levels these days.

At an initial price tag of £5.2 million, I would say Jase also failed to live up to expectations in the long term. He did score one more than Kapo, though, and will be remembered for his goal against Aston Villa in the first game of last season. At least his time at the club wasn’t a complete failure, more of a disappointment.

In (hopefully) more enterprising news, the new Wigan Athletic store — really a branch of DW will be open for business tomorrow afternoon Sports — with a ‘stock clearout‘ taking place. The official opening will be on Tuesday afternoon, so there’s no chance of a last minute cancellation due to a 9-1 hammering this time. At least, with the greatest of respect, I don’t expect Dundee to ‘do a Tottenham’ on Sunday afternoon.

Bob and co. will be in the Galleries at 2PM to launch Latics’ new home strip, but I still dunno where our away kit is hidden. Maybe the sheer negativity over last season’s ‘tangerine dream‘ has put the marketing department off to the extent we shall take to the pitch against Tottenham on the 28th in skins. Man, I know the government cuts are taking their toll on the country, but I never thought it’d get that bad. Before long, we may all need to donate our old replica away strips to stop our lads contracting pneumonia or something.

Martinez: Back in the public eye

Charles N’Zogbia, who certain members of the JWAW team seem to think is on his way to Birmingham (not myself though), has been called up to the French squad for their clash with Norway in midweek. We all know, however, that this is because all Les Bleus’ ‘best’ players have thrown their toys out of the pram, opening the door for Charlie and a bunch of other relative unknowns to sneak in almost unnoticed. Enjoy it while it lasts, people, for it’s only a matter of time before an even bigger drama queen reinstates the old guard in spectacular fashion.