Ex-Eagle Ben Watson helped inject some confidence, but it was too late

It’s somewhat surprising that, in the long and illustrious history of the English Football League, Wigan have only crossed paths with Crystal Palace twice previously. Maybe it’s our ex-Palace contingent of Ben Watson, Emmerson Boyce and Victor Moses that makes it seem as though we’ve had more dealings with the Eagles, at least on the pitch, than we actually have. If one were being tongue-in-cheek, one might even say Latics are something of a Palace B-team, and that Dougie Freedman’s men would complete a comprehensive victory over a subservient visiting Wigan side.

It is true that Roberto Martinez has a mixed record against non-Premier League opposition, with some memorable wins and equally miserable losses –most notably that desolate 2-0 defeat to Notts County at the DW– thrown into the mix for good measure. On the whole, however, he’s been relatively successful, even with reserves and bench-warmers handed an opportunity wherever possible. Win or lose, the argument for fringe-teamers being given a run-out is compelling – after all, you can’t afford to field a weakened squad in any Premier League game these days, in more ways than one. Make too many changes and you risk the wrath of the Football Association, and unless you’re Alex Ferguson, a hefty fine to go with it.

Roberto promised his usual changes, and certainly delivered on this front, with seven alterations from the side that started against Manchester City at the weekend. Patrick van Aanholt, David Jones and Shaun Maloney were handed their debuts, while Albert Crusat made his first start for Latics. Conor Sammon and Hendry Thomas were drafted into the midfield and attack respectively, with McManaman and Dicko taking their place on the bench.

Captain for the day Maynor Figueroa was switched to a more central position while van Aanholt occupied the left wing. None of the aforementioned ex-Eagles retained their place in the Latics starting line up, with Boyce out injured and Moses and Watson jostling for position on the subs bench.

Latics, sporting a new all-white away strip, made a swift start with David Jones getting a strike away as early as the third minute. Palace were quick to counter, however, a set-piece initiated by Darren Ambrose resulting in a save by Ali Al-Habsi just a couple of minutes later. No team could say they really commanded the early stages, and Wigan were eager to bide their time and retain possession while still settling in.

Maynor Figueroa did his best in the absence of Gary Caldwell, but toiled in the centre of defence

Latics won themselves a free kick in dangerous territory on 20 minutes, but once again Jones just couldn’t find the target. Conor Sammon earned the visitors a corner shortly after, but the attack broke down and resulted in an almost immediate chance for the Eagles. From Dean Moxey’s assist, Glen Murray slammed a shot against the bar from all of 12 yards, leaving Al Habsi helpless in the Latics goal. The home side were on the scoresheet shortly after, Darren Ambrose netting for Palace on 24 minutes. Things would get even worse for Latics as, just half a dozen minutes later, the defence collapsed to allow Jonathan Williams to double his side’s lead.

With Crystal Palace now well and truly dominating things, Wigan were looking rather toothless up front and really up against it. Unable to get the ball forward, they could only pass the ball among themselves to the delight of the home side. Paddy McCarthy so very nearly made it three just a couple of minutes from half time, but Ali Al Habsi made the vital save. Glenn Murray hit the post shortly after, and a third for Palace certainly would not have flattered them – Latics were now playing like a Sunday league side with half a mind on their post-match pint. Well, it wasn’t quite that bad, but it certainly was a dismal display.

Roberto Martinez was faced with the unenviable task of having to somehow galvanise his ailing squad for another difficult half of football. No subs were made at the break, but things would have to change if Latics had aspirations of making it past the 2nd Round of the 2011 Carling Cup.

The visiting side emerged with a slightly more attacking mentality, but were still just as frustrating in the final third. Palace didn’t really need to change anything, and continued to simply sit back and wait for Wigan’s attacks to break down before counter-attacking with renewed gusto. It was up to Latics to make the play, but they continued to labour while the hosts controlled things comfortably.

Though Albert Crusat briefly threatened the Palace defence and managed to win a corner, Wigan continued to look as though they were still in pre-season. Their slow, deliberate build-up play kept the tempo right down and the odd silly mistake meant almost every move was breaking down before it even reached the Latics forward men. Though they tried to push forward, even switching to the long ball for a period, it was all a bit pants to put it bluntly.

Finally, Martinez recognised something had to be done. Albert Crusat and Hendry Thomas made way for Ben Watson and Callum McManaman with 25 minutes to play. It almost worked immediately, Wigan coming closer than they had ever done previously. This new, forward-thinking strategy instigated by the subs resulted in a shot clipping the outside of the post from James McCarthy – much more promising stuff.

Nouha Dicko was given a go late on

Though things were improving, it still wasn’t enough and time was starting to ebb away. Latics got their first shot on target in the 77th minute from long range and a couple more followed, but one got the impression it was too late. Van Aanholt crashed a shot against the crossbar to offer some faint hope of a possible comeback, and Nouha Dicko –the third Latics debutant of the night– was drafted into the fray to try and inject some pace out wide. With only five minutes to play, the game was realistically lost, however.

Ben Watson grabbed a consolation for the visitors with a thunderbolt from long range two minutes into injury time, but it was just that. The 2-1 final scoreline reflected Palace’s dominance of the game, which Wigan only really arrived at with less than half an hour to play. The home side’s gameplan proved far more effective than Latics’ slow-paced passing game, which failed to work through lack of forward-thinking play. Things improved markedly late on, but with Palace settled on their lead, it was all too late.

One must consider whether the result was secondary to gaining experience for fringe-team players, but it always hurts to lose, especially when you’ve given such a poor account of yourselves. Still, Saturday is another day, and with the first choice XI reinstated things could be an awful lot more positive.

The League Trophy adorned with Latics ribbons. Well, not really. (Credit: Angelo Romano)

Tomorrow afternoon, Latics will find out who they shall face in the Carling Cup Third Round, should they manage to beat Crystal Palace on 13 September. But who gives a monkey’s? Certainly not QPR’s Neil Warnock, who this week rubbished the English League Cup after his side were sent crashing out of the competition by League One side Rochdale.

I can fully understand why Warnock would make such comments. The pivotal Bradley Orr, who limped off with a groin injury on the half hour mark, will certainly not play against us this weekend, and may be out for a while longer. Latics faced a (quite) similar situation last year, when a Carling Cup match saw Victor Moses sustain a 38th minute injury from which he never fully recovered until the latter stages of the season. Admittedly, that was in the Quarter Final, and Wigan were actually in with a half decent shout of winning the thing outright if they had won the tie, but it’s a similar principle. The Premier League’s the thing, and for those battling to stay in it, it is easy to assume the view that everything else is an unwanted distraction.

Of course, there are plenty out there that treat the Carling Cup with a modicum of respect. Rochdale, for one, will be pretty pleased at this moment in time, as will Brighton, MK Dons, Shrewsbury Town and Aldershot, who all felled giants to reach the Third Round. Roberto Martinez is another fan, no doubt grateful of the chance to blood some bench-warmers and fringe team players. Of course, he wasn’t afforded that chance this week, and Latics’ wider squad will be all the worse for it.

But then, I suppose many Premier League bosses are secretly pleased to be dumped out of the Carling Cup. Those at the very top have Champions League ties to consider, and fixture congestion can be a real problem – just ask Alex Ferguson. Even the mid-table sides have bigger fish to fry –Stoke and Fulham are currently embroiled in arduous Europa Cup campaigns–, and can view the League Cup as a mere midweek kickabout in comparison.

Latics' own Sir Robert Charlton made an appearance at the UEFA Champions League Draw Super Spesh (Credit: ThisNorthernSoul)

Let’s face it, something must be done. The Carling is nowhere near as illustrious as the FA Cup, and is often viewed as its poor, impoverished cousin. Compare it, if you will, to Europe’s premier football competition, the UEFA Champions League. For reasons unbeknownst to even myself, I sat through the torture of the First Round draw on Sky Sports News yesterday afternoon. It was an incredibly dull occasion full of unnecessary pomp and circumstance that lasted more than half an hour, but people seemed to care about it.

They actually bothered to construct a studio, hire two fancy presenters and even buy little screw-open footballs for the bits of paper with the team names on them. A load of old codswallop, maybe, but the presentation actually attracted a cornucopia of legends past and present, the likes of Lionel Messi, Bobby Charlton and Lother Matthaus donning their best suits for a pleasant evening out. Well, I suppose those guys were invited, but you got the impression some (granted, rather mad) people would actually want to sit and watch this.

I didn’t see the Carling Cup Second Round draw, but unless they hired some dancing girls and incorporated the National Lottery draw, I doubt it would have been much of a spectacle. Again, I wouldn’t care either way, and you might say it’s unfair to compare the English League Cup and the UEFA Champions League, but it’s a contrast worth making. I think Neil Warnock would at least give the Carling a second thought if Simon Cowell were running the thing. Actually, I’d probably give up on football altogether if that were to happen, so we should probably be grateful for what we have – an underdog-biased, typically English exercise in understatement. Who cares about the Carling Cup? Well, I do. Kind of.

Victor Moses: Out of luck

Ever wondered exactly why the Carling Cup exists? Neither have I, really, but it’s interesting to learn England’s League Cup was created as a midweek competition for teams with floodlit grounds. It may seem a gimmicky premise, but these days there’s a Europa League spot up for grabs so you can’t really label it a Mickey Mouse Cup, as it was known for so many years.

A quick look at Latics’ previous games in this competition revealed a distinct pattern: three home games against teams in lower leagues, three wins. Only the Hartlepool tie could be termed comfortable, however, so luck of the draw was certainly on our side. This changed in a moment when we got Arsenal in the Quarters, but hey, at least we were pretty much guaranteed to be put out by a Premier League team now, sparing us the shame of a giant killing. If such a thing could ever exist in the Carling, for which only the top four divisions are eligible.

So how would Martinez treat this trip to London? With an important Premier League game against Stoke imminent, would he succumb to temptation and rest his star men, or play his full strength team and give it a right good go? Past experience would have suggested the former, and I wasn’t at all surprised Bob decided on exactly that. A loss on Saturday, as I alluded to the other day, would stick us right in the swamp again.

Antolin Alcaraz, returning from a one-game ban, was paired with Steve Caldwell at the back, whilst Watson, McArthur and Thomas were all handed starts. Mauro Boselli, who scored in his last Carling Cup outing against Swansea, was preferred to Franco Di Santo up front, which would seem to suggest the Ten Million Dollar Man is below his fellow countryman in the pecking order, at least for the moment. Victor Moses was also given a chance after a long string of substitute appearances, and not before time I’d say. Al Habsi, Gohouri, Figueroa and Stam completed a vastly rejigged Latics line-up.

Arsenal would have the game’s first opportunity just one minute into the first half through Nicklas Bendtner, who came close with a header just past Al Habsi’s right hand post.

A lively-looking Victor Moses created Latics’ first chance on 8 minutes, and promised to cause Arsenal a few problems around their own penalty area. This was almost immediately followed, however, by a spell of Arsenal pressure with play camped in the Wigan half, the home side winning a series of free kicks in advanced positions and starting to get some shots in on Al Habsi’s goal.

This pressure came to a head on 27 minutes when Carlos Vela, free of the Latics defence, found himself one on one with the opposition keeper. He would only succeed in putting the ball wide, though, and Arsenal’s frustration continued.

Antolin Alcaraz inadvertently gave the Gunners a 42nd minute lead

Wigan’s attack were similarly irritated, unable to make any inroads. They weren’t helped by an injury to Victor Moses, who seemed to fall over his own feet and fall on his arm, ending his evening out at the Emirates after 38 minutes. Gordon Bennett.

Arsenal had the ball in Latics’ net –via Antolin Alcaraz– on 42 minutes as Wigan’s fortunes took another turn for the worse. The visitors came close to striking back within a minute or two as Mauro Boselli almost forced the ball over Szczesny’s goal line, but no such luck would be forthcoming.

At half time, 1–0 Arsenal was a fair reflection of the action so far with the Gunners certainly having the better of things, and as more news of Moses’ injury began to filter through, it was all becoming as grim as the London weather. Hopefully it’s not as bad as it seems and Victor’s back sooner rather than later, because he deserves at the very least a Premier League start. After all, Gary Caldwell might be back for this weekend’s clash with the Potters, and they initially thought he’d be out for months.

The next twenty minutes went perfectly for Arsenal. They didn’t manage to score, but never looked like conceding and always threatened. In fact, it wasn’t long before they did double their lead through Bendtner. As is usual in this situation, you felt the game was all but over and it wouldn’t be long before the inevitable Latics collapse, a lingering threat that’s become all too prevalent in recent years.

Although Wigan tried to come back at their hosts, very little would prove the slightest bit effective. The perfect opportunity, then, to give a reserve player or two a run-out in the first team. Indeed, Callum McManaman would replace Ronnie Stam on 79, and in his brief foray into top-level football actually made some impression – or at least as much as many of his fellow Laticsmen.

The last ten minutes became a training ground-style exercise in damage limitation in more ways than one, with the weather becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. A night to forget for sure, but I’m certain we will and very quickly too. Yeah, it’s usually the case with the Carling Cup – unless you actually go on to win the thing outright, in which case there’s a slight chance you might remember something from the campaign.

All in all, it has been a jolly cup run spoiled by the eventual need to compete with the big boys. Boo! We knew it would come at some point, but boo nevertheless! It would have been nice to make some more progress, but we all know the league is what we should be focusing on this season; winning the Carling doesn’t earn you a place in Prem for 2011. Besides, if we keep losing players to injuries at this rate we may well be forced to forfeit our 3rd Round FA Cup tie at the beginning of January.

• BBC Match report

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.

The night also saw a steady return to action for club captain Gary Caldwell. He did make an appearance for Scotland a few weeks ago, but according to Roberto, he ‘wasn’t ready for club action’ at that point. Whether you agree with that statement or not, the fact remains this was his first club start since the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. It feels that long, anyway.

What of Jordi Gomez, the man who scored 14 times in 44 appearances for City? He got a good rollicking too, every time he got the ball. Yep, and not just from the away stand, too. Those bloomin’ eejits, the ones who call for Martinez to remove his fellow countryman from the field of play every time he so much as hesitates or threatens to pass the ball backwards, were out in force as usual to continue their personal vendetta against the man.

Of course, Gomez isn’t exactly Fernando Torres, but you can’t deny he’s improved considerably in the first part of the season, to the point my eternal annoyance with him is neutralising. In fact, he did alright last night, and has put in some good performances when it’s mattered this campaign. So shut yer trap and moan about Alcaraz falling over or something, at least it’d be slightly more amusing.

The East Stand fills up prior to kick off

Once again, though, Mo Diame was the stand out man, especially in the first half. Victor Moses deserves equal credit for his efforts, so I’m awarding joint JWAW Man of the Match chequebook and pens to each. Or at least I would if I had such things, and that’s assuming they’d accept presents from a random bloke on the street.

We’re 600 words into this article I and still haven’t mentioned Mauro Boselli, which is somewhat strange considering he grabbed his first competitive goal for the club on 51 minutes. What a pleasant goal it was too, Ben Watson (at least I think it was him, still haven’t seen highlights so forgive me if I’m wrong) playing the ball nicely to Mauro’s feet for him to slot it past the giant Congolese international Yves Ma-Kalambay, sending the north corner of the East Stand mad.

The truth of the matter is that the Ten Million Dollar Man didn’t quite live up to his name in the first half, and continued to do so up until his strike. Only then did his confidence seem to increase, and he started to string a few nice passes together where before he would simply lose the ball and end up fouling one or more of the opposition. Will he carry this through to his league appearances? We can only hope.

N’Zogbia and Di Santo made brief appearances towards the back end of the second half and helped Latics through a tense period which saw the visitors come back strongly but ultimately with little success. Their best chance of the game came some 70-odd minutes earlier as, following a wonderful piercing through ball, they found themselves outnumbering Al-Habsi in the Wigan penalty area. However, Craig Beattie somehow managed to wander offside and blow a wonderful opportunity to seize the initiative for Swansea early on.

BBC Sport describes Latics’ victory as ‘comfortable’, but I question whether the reporter even saw the same game, because no Wigan victory could ever be described as such. I was even hesitant to use the word in the aftermath of our 2-0 victory over Wolves a couple of weeks back, because I don’t think we’ve had a comfortable win since… ever. Besides, it’s not as if Swansea didn’t put up a great fight, and were it not for Beattie’s slight miscalculation, circumstances could have been quite different. Again, it doesn’t bear thinking about, but even though Wigan just about deserved their win, 1-0 would probably have been a more accurate reflection of the game as a whole.

Oh, and the Guardian need to hire a more original writer. I’ll leave you with that piece of muppetry for the time being with the promise of more spleen-venting this time on Saturday or whenever I get the chance to sit and project my thoughts to hypertext.

Jordi Gomez: A flash of inspiration brought Latics back into things

In many ways, this was not your typical Lancastrian Carling Cup derby. For one thing, Latics’ style of play is anything but Northern.

In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find an Englishman amongst their starting line-up from last night’s tie with close rivals Preston North End. With Chris Kirkland currently out of favour and Victor Moses sat firmly on the bench, Ben Watson was the only Wigan man born of this country to grace the pitch at kick off last night. And he’s a Southerner.

There was, however, the unmistakable whiff of cup tie floating around the Dee Dubya on this relatively humid September evening. Though the Lilywhites brought a decent amount of troops south of the Greater Manchester border, the total attendance literally reeked of a Wednesday night non-Premier League game. Perhaps the utter dejection of last season’s defeat at the hands of League Two Notts County is still fresh in many Latics fans’ minds. Still, for ten quid, you’d think it may just be worth a punt.

Doubtless some present in the East and West stands would have had second thoughts about their attendance when Keith ‘Don’t Call Me Dick’ Treacy put the visitors ahead with a pleasant free-kick on 23 minutes. There was no repeat of the ticket ripping and replica shirt throwing exploits of this time last season, at least not yet, but many (including myself) feared the worst.

As the minutes ticked by without a Latics shot on target, this agitation grew, gradually turning to resignation as the 87th minute arrived. Well, it wouldn’t have been a surprise had Latics crashed out last night, even if the starting lineup was fairly close to full-strength. It would have been some consolation that, with the above average number of big name clubs crashing out at the second hurdle, Latics’ result would surely have been buried under column inches dedicated to Northampton’s victory over Liverpool.

Before last night’s tie, Roberto Martinez was as short as 5/4 to be the next Prem manager signing on at Brocol House, odds that may well have been shortening even further as the game moved into the final three minutes.

Granted, Wigan actually started to come into their own late on, and there was no doubting who had the most of the possession and play in the second half. This was somewhat unsurprising,  as the good old fashioned mentality of going one-nil up away from home and defending like mad still lives on even in deepest, darkest Lancashire. (Not to belittle it as a strategy, of course.)

It was a tactic that so very nearly worked a treat for Darren Ferguson’s men, as is so often the case with this current Wigan crop. North End could, and maybe should, have been 2-0 to the good, with Paul Couts (the very same man who had earlier hit Al-Habsi’s post) very unfortunate not to see his shot come off the underside of the crossbar and into the South Stand goal. A let off for the Latics, no doubt, and perhaps a catalyst for what was to come.

With defeat looming, inspiration came from an unlikely source. Jordi Gomez, the man everyone loves to absolutely hate (if not despise), slotted a left footed screamer past Andrew Lonergan to put Wigan back on level terms. Maybe he isn’t as bad as we all think, at least not against Championship opposition.

This signalled a comeback that, whilst not exactly on a par with Lazarus, was nonetheless good to see. Mostly, though, we were all left asking why on Earth we were unable to produce anything like it in the preceding 87 (177 if you include the Man City match) minutes.

From a Preston corner, Charles N’Zogbia found himself free in the opposition half, and with two Latics attackers to one defender, North End were always struggling to get back from an all-or-nothing foray into the Wigan half. James McCarthy played an unselfish one-two to the Frenchman, who duly placed the ball into the Preston net to kill off the visitors’ challenge. It was valiant, certainly, and one that could so easily have earned them an away win against Premier League opposition.

What was looking like a dire and demoralising loss for the vast majority of the evening somehow transformed in the space of about seven minutes by a combination of luck, a bit of skill, and (once things were level) Preston’s desire to win the tie in 90 minutes. Or 95 minutes, whatever.

On the whole, a good win in the sense that I don’t think you could ever term a win ‘bad’. It was heartening to see a win at the DW for the first time in a good few months, even if we’re not quite ‘there’ yet. The result was a positive one, and I think we should leave it at that. After all, Martinez is crafting a side that’s built around confidence, so we ought to keep that high wherever we can.

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 horribly like 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 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.

Ishmel Demontagnac grabbed the first for Blackpool (Photo: David Penniall)

This was supposed to be the game Wigan found its feet again, but transpired to be another night to forget as Blackpool ran riot at Bloomfield Road.

Changes were expected, and Martinez certainly went to town in that respect, retaining just two of the players that started the Manchester United game. But Blackpool were not short of changes themselves, with Ian Holloway making seven changes to the team that drew with Watford on Saturday.

A matter of who would hit the ground running, then, and it was the Tangerines who managed to take the cake. Their three big attacking moves in the first half yielded an impressive three goals, whilst Latics’ own three chances only drew saves from an on-song Matthew Gilks.

When Gary Taylor-Fletcher snaffled a fourth for Blackpool with just over twenty minutes remaining, a clearly rattled Wigan side seemingly failed to even care–if the commentary of Graham Lovett is anything to go by–and the match was in danger of becoming another complete rout.

Changes were required, if only to salvage a slither of pride from a dismal evening. Hugo Rodallega, who Martinez had planned on resting for the whole of the match, looked promising in his brief substitute appearance, but ultimately didn’t have enough time to impose himself in what was essentially a lost cause. New boy Anotnio Amaya grabbed a late consolation with the final touch of the game, but it was too little, too late.

A rusty performance by a largely untested second string side, no doubt, but another rung on the ladder towards blooding a Premiership squad. Pity it resulted in such a hefty defeat. Still, I’m sure Bobby will have learnt a lot about his side – it’s just a matter of patience and rebuilding from the first level upwards, hopefully starting with a positive bounce-back performance against Everton this weekend.

• BBC Match report
• Latics official website report

Image licensed under Creative Commons by David Penniall at Wikipedia. Cheers man.

Mike Pollitt: A good chance of starting?

I think it would be best to write off Saturday as a bad day at the office and concentrate on the immediate future. After all, you don’t get relegated based on one result… at least hopefully not.

A bit of a diversion first, though, as next on the radar are Championship climbers and local rivals Blackpool in the city of the Golden Mile for our Carling Cup 2nd round tie. It’ll be a chance to give the impressive Mohamad Diame and his midfield compatriot Hendry Thomas some more much needed experience, even if it isn’t at Premiership level. It’s also an opportunity to try out some new things – since it’s unlikely that we’ll keep the same XI from Saturday, why not do a bit of fiddling a la the pre-season friendlies?

Well, perhaps not as much as in those matches, but we would do well to try and find a more stable back four. Bramble and Scharner put in much improved individual performances attacking-wise, but were left somewhat flagging by Rooney and Company (as opposed to Kompany). Now, what’s up with Emmerson Boyce? Is he still injured (unlikely since we’ve seen him warming up numerous times), or does Bobby prefer defenders with more attacking intent?

Whatever, let’s hope things are a bit more settled, because there’s another potentially tough game around the corner in the shape of Everton. But let’s concentrate on the task in hand–namely beating Blackpool–for now. Expect some of the guys on the fringe of the first team to make appearances and be fighting hard to make it into the team for Sunday. Apologies for being vague at this stage, but who knows what the backroom boys will come up with for Wednesday?

More importantly, it’ll be a case of getting our midfield and attackers to gel a bit more – maybe the biggest problem thus far. You see, this passing game that Martinez has us playing has a side effect: conceding many goals. The way I see it, it’s just a case of scoring one more than the opposition to get the three points.

Or, in tonight’s case, to advance to the next round.