Marmite Man Gomez strikes again: that's four in five now for the Spaniard

The Latics produced another late strike to rescue a deserved point against third-placed Chelsea. With but minutes remaining, Jordi Gomez was on hand to slot away Petr Cech’s fumble and cancel out Daniel Sturridge’s 59th minute sidefoot past Ali Al Habsi. In what was initially a turgid meeting, neither side really hit their straps but the second half was a much sprightlier affair which produced two goals and a modicum of excitement.

An unchanged Wigan were quicker out of the blocks, finding themselves with some possession in the first five minutes to settle their nerves. Chelsea countered with their own spell of dominance, but, like their hosts, could not muster any shots on target. Sturridge threatened, but saw two of his crosses headed away by Gary Caldwell in the space of a minute. Former Barca defensive midfielder Oriel Romeu forced Al Habsi into the only save of the first half, while Didier Drogba went closest for the Pensioners with a header just past the post on 38 minutes.

Wigan’s only shot in the first stanza came from Mo Diame, whose strike caught the wrong side of his boot and sliced wide of Cech’s left upright. Victor Moses was arguably closer to opening the scoring for the home side with what would have been the last kick of the half. David Jones flashed a decent ball across the face of goal and the Anglo-Nigerian was just inches from poking it into the net and sending his team into the break 1-0 to the good.

A relatively even first half –at least in terms of chances– made way for a similarly equal second stanza. Though Chelsea finished the game with marginally more possession (47%-53%), their inability to create the chances was reminiscent of Wigan just one month ago. Fortunes are beginning to change at the DW however, and one should write them off at one’s own peril.

Returning Rodallega: Hugo had a hand in the Latics comeback

The major difference between the halves was those shots on target, of which both sides enjoyed a fair number; in fact, 18th placed Wigan edged this particular battle 7-5. It was Chelsea, however, that took the lead –almost out of nowhere– 14 minutes into the half through the on-form Daniel Sturridge. The England hopeful latched onto a fantastic ball from Ashley Cole, cut through Figueroa and Jones as if they weren’t there and produced a top-drawer finish from a relatively acute angle. Al Habsi can be branded slightly guilty of letting the ball slip just past his right hand, but one should take nothing away from the finish, which would probably have beaten a number of international goalkeepers. Even more remarkable was the fact Chelsea were down to ten men at the time – Frank Lampard had just jogged off to receive treatment for his bleeding mouth.

Cue the Wigan fightback, which gradually gathered momentum from that 58th minute goal to Martin Atkinson’s final whistle. Chelsea almost immediately withdrew their second attacker to bolster defences and eventually resolved to sit deep, letting Wigan come at them. This was the home side’s opportunity to grab a point, maybe even three, from this contest. Gifted a good spell of possession, Latics set about running at the opposition backline to try and further trouble the as-yet unbreached solid blue brick wall.

Juan Mata’s 66th minute departure signalled a Wigan charge with shots from James McCarthy and the recently introduced Franco Di Santo raining in on the Chelsea goal. Also drafted into the fray was the lesser-spotted Rodders, who helped set up the aforementioned Di Santo opportunity, which was deflected wide of Cech’s goalmouth by Branislav Ivanovic.

The visitors, who had dominated possession for large parts of the game, now found themselves in a huge fight to defend their lead. Realising this, the home faithful began to outsing Chelsea’s travelling support once more and became more vociferous as the potential for an equaliser increased. Though time was ebbing away, you felt this game was far from over – even with less than five minutes of normal time to play.

Petr Cech's mistake handed Wigan the opportunity to equalise

In another foray into the opposition penalty area, Hugo Rodallega knocked the ball in the general direction of Petr Cech, who couldn’t quite hold onto it. Victor Moses, who was in the vicinity, may have sown a seed of doubt in the Czech’s mind simply by being in his eyeline. Whatever the case, the ball bobbled across the six-yard box, just begging to be placed into that open goal. Jordi Gomez duly obliged, snaffling his fourth in five games and restoring the balance with a simple finish.

With four minutes of stoppage time yet to play, the game was still there for the pinching, and Wigan could have done it. Franco Di Santo had a late, late headed chance but could only steer the ball about twelve feet wide of the South Stand goal. Though Chelsea poured forward one more time, they could not gather enough energy to retaliate and the game came to an end with 1-1 a fair reflection of 94+ minutes of play at the DW Stadium.

In a further example of karma rebalancing, Latics could so easily have lost the game had Chelsea been more their usual selves in creating chances. On the other hand, Wigan were enterprising, never gave up and spotted their opportunity to equalise. It could have been even better, but let’s not be too greedy – I, and many thousands of Wigan fans, will certainly have accepted a point before kickoff this afternoon, and it’s a great result on a day when teams around us failed to make headway. I didn’t ever think we’d be pulling away from Bolton and Blackburn this afternoon, so chalk this one up as another successful weekend.

The worm is beginning to turn, so here’s hoping it’ll be pointing firmly in the other direction when Wigan beat Liverpool 2-1 on Wednesday evening. Now that‘ll be a Chrimbo pressie and a half.

Ancelotti: Still in the race, just about

The Champions League. Often touted as ‘bigger than the World Cup‘, it’s a tournament in which every footballer this side of the Atlantic aspires to compete. But it don’t half clog up your fixture list, does it? One only has to ask Chelsea, fighting hard to stay in the title race –a losing battle of late– whilst simultaneously having to find resources to mount a serious European challenge.

The Blues face three games in eight days, today’s match sandwiched between two midweek Champions League  encounters with Man United. A tough ask for the best of teams, but Carlo Ancelotti has a star-studded squad at his disposal, affording him the luxury of being able to drop world beater Fernando Torres and still have the likes of Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba to fill the gap for this afternoon. Oh, and you can throw Yossi Benayoun into the mix as well. With no injury worries, fielding a more than competitive team was far from a problem for the Italian.

Latics couldn’t exactly match the Blues in terms of international stars (though the recent international week saw eleven players depart to represent their country), but a recent run of good form provided hope that their team would finally ‘click’ some two years into the reign of Messrs. Martinez and Jones. Things haven’t been too far off the mark in the last eight games, with only the inability to place the ball in the net hampering Wigan. The main problem facing Bobby’s men is that if things don’t fall into place within the next few games it’s back the Championship, if not the drawing board.

Their most immediate challenge, however, came today with a trip to London and a doubtless daunting day out at the Bridge. Minds were cast back to the same fixture almost precisely three years ago when Emile Heskey put a huge dent in Chelsea’s 2007-08 title challenge as the Pensioners failed to put away their chances, due in part to an on-song Chris Kirkland. Latics fans would be hoping for a repeat, hopefully better as they struggle against the drop.

Bob’s men could conceivably have had a point this afternoon but will have to settle for just a 1-0 loss which, if results go our way, is not too bad a result. A mixture of good defending, fortune and Ali Al Habsi ensured their defence remained unbreached save for a rather scrappy goal on 67 minutes, and, whilst the visitors didn’t have much in the way of attacking play, more than held their own against the title challengers.

Latics initially set out to control the ball in midfield as per usual, with five men in the middle of the park and Charles N’Zogbia providing sole striker Rodallega with support. Hugo did a very good job winning free kicks –mainly from Luiz– and generally putting himself about in the opposition half. Also as per usual, it didn’t create too much in the way of shots on target – none, in fact. The emphasis here was more on controlling the ball, however, so the standard 4-5-1 was a more than justifiable setup away to a top-of-the-table team and just so happened to be the one Roberto plumped for.

That was, until the 63rd minute when, in a bold yet somehow predictable move, Rodallega and N’Zogbia were once again removed from play to be replaced by Di Santo and Sammon. Now, I would never be against Conor making an appearance, but something’s afoot when Di Santo is being drafted in with the best part of half an hour to play. As it happened, he experienced mixed fortunes but struggled to make very many passes and suffered from a heavy touch or two, but held up play quite well on more than one occasion. I’d still play McManaman instead, however.

Al Habsi was largely dependable

Unfortunately, it was shortly after the double substitution that Wigan conceded. It was somewhat disappointing to see the ball bundled in at the back post through a sea of men from Florent Malouda after all the good defensive work done by the back line. Actually, you do have to factor in some poor Chelsea finishing, which wasn’t as good as we’ve seen on previous occasions this season – not least at the DW back in August. That said, the hosts could literally have had eight with the chances they created, and large credit must go to Al Habsi who proved Latics’ saviour on two separate occasions, once at 0-0 and once in the dying stages at 1-0 Chelsea.

Wigan’s best chance came via Franco Di Santo with less than five minutes to play, but the Argentine’s header didn’t cause Petr Cech too much trouble. It was more a flick towards the back post than anything, but represented the best the visitors could offer throughout the afternoon. That came during a period when Wigan began to show a bit more of what they can do, attacking-wise, especially when Victor Moses was relieved of his bench warming duties (Diame, 85 minutes). It wasn’t to be enough, however, even though the visitors experienced a lot more possession as they pushed for a late equaliser.

On the plus side, to borrow a phrase used precisely 34,097,222 times since the dawn of man (or at least the Football League), the only way is up now, surely? At the very least, we have moved closer to West Ham and Wolves (albeit on goal difference) for the second week in a row. Wins, however, are a must from hereon in otherwise you can kiss goodbye to top flight football in Wigan for at least another year.

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 –the latter of whom 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 bang out of form and struggling to communicate with the guys in front of him, 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, which isn’t really anything new to Latics fans, 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.

Victor Moses would provide Wigan's best attempt of the game on 86 minutes

Well, what do you say after an afternoon like that? As little as possible, hopefully, which is why I’ll keep this assessment of the encounter at Stamford Bridge relatively brief.

After all, there isn’t really that much to talk about in the way of Wigan positives: this was, to all intents and purposes, Chelsea’s day. I think we’ll leave it at that.

And so it transpired that a season of dizzy heights and demoralising lows (wait, haven’t I used that phrase, like, ten times in the last week?) would run true to form and conclude with one of the latter, another crushing defeat to add to the spankings at White Hart Lane, Fratton Park, Old Trafford and Bloomfield Road. Yep, a real afternoon to completely wipe from your memory with one of those flashy light things out of Men In Black.

In truth, nobody really expected a result in the favour of Wigan. Many in the North West hoped things might go their way, but in the land of Realism you could count those anticipating a draw or Wigan win on one hand. Even though it turned out to be yet another horrible, horrible hammering you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy (well, maybe Preston), there is significantly less shame (though blame might well be a different matter) to be attributed in this particular case. After all, these were the Premier League champions we came up against.

There was some pre-match hope, swiflty extinguished by the impartial Sky Sports pundits. Quick to state the obvious and stamp the mockers on Latics from the off, the ever-alert Glenn Hoddle so kindly reminded us all — as if we needed to be — of WhiteHartLaneGate. Cheers, Glenn. You don’t need to be a faith healer to count up to ten.

But this was a completely different team to the one that turned up on that faithful evening, in many ways a weaker one, but we shall skate over that point. Unfortunately, the result was much the same, and had a tearful (of pain rather than joy, might I add) Didier Drogba not taken so long to find his shooting boots this could have been even worse an afternoon.

Drogba needed not fret, for the waterworks sparked by a small tiff over who should take a penalty were soon wiped away: he went on to score three. Or was it four? My word, it’s too depressing to recount.

The game was effectively killed as a contest the moment that second goal — a Frank Lampard spot-kick — hit the net. A clumsy challenge by Gary Caldwell led to a slightly harsh red card, but then I suppose by the letter of the law he had to be dismissed for his pull back on Lampard. Frustrating, for up to that point Wigan had competed well and actually dominated possession, which looked quite promising for a close contest. With Manchester United on top in their clash with Stoke, you could have forgiven Chelsea for becoming a bit nervous.

No shots on target would come in the first half, however, and Petr Cech might as well have been sunning himself in Dave Whelan’s Barbadian villa (hmm, there’s a collusion-based conspiracy theory if ever I heard one) as he only had to pick up the ball once, maybe twice; Wigan struggled to make any sort of impact in the final third. Chelsea had done their homework and learned that Latics have had trouble breaking down a defence with more than two people in it. Hmm.

Things would unbelievably get much worse in the second half, so if you plan to watch Match of the Day, I suggest you switch it off after about ten minutes. Actually, for the sake of your sanity, I recommend you not tune in at all and go and have a soothing bath instead. The stress isn’t worth reliving.

Anyway, you could predict the outcome of the match as early as the moment Caldwell tugged on Lampard’s shirt – past experience has told us that after conceding a second goal it really is over as a contest, especially, in this case, with a man short. It would have been a tough ask even with eleven men apiece, but against a team like Chelsea and with almost nothing but a place in the starting lineup for the forthcoming pre-season tour at stake, it was a task far, far beyond this transitional Wigan team.

No matter, however. When we look back on this season, we shall only remember the good times: the mind is a wonderful filter like that. Yes, we’ve been unfeasibly bad far too often, almost Sunday League-esque at times, but at least we’re staying up. That’s a lot more than can be said for Burnley, Hull or Portsmouth.

Not-so-quietly confident: Carlo Ancelotti

Once again, it has come down to this. Just like in 2008, Little Wigan find themselves with an opportunity to have a big say in where the title goes on the final day of the season, embarking upon a 200-odd mile trip to London in a bid to usurp Chelsea’s dominant position at the head of the table.

This time, however, things are going to be far more difficult, because of injuries to important players but also, perhaps most tellingly, because Chelsea are such a formidable force when in full flow – just ask Stoke City. Not that Manchester United of a few years ago weren’t, even if they left it later than they would have liked to clinch the Premier League at the then-JJB Stadium.

As we have seen, though, no side is completely infallible. It may seem Chelsea have nine and a half fingers on the fabled trophy — which isn’t quite as historically significant as the FA Cup, but a recognisable item in the world of football nevertheless — but you need only cast your mind back to September 2009 for an example of a major upset in this contest. By which I mean tiny Wigan beating gigantic Chelsea.

Sure, that particular David vs. Goliath showdown was at the JJB and not a hostile Stamford Bridge as it will be tomorrow. And there was no title at stake. And you could say Latics had the rub of the green that day, which certainly helped our cause. All of which points to a more comfortable day for Chelsea as they cruise to 2010 Premier League victory.

Not necessarily. Even though Wigan will most likely be fielding a weakened side (out of necessity rather than choice, mind) you never really do know in this variously magnificent and flawed sport we call football (or vutbal, if you’re Carlo Ancelotti). Few would have predicted Wigan wins over Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea, especially with such an inexperienced manager and the club in transition, yet all four would become reality before the season was out. There is some hope for Manchester United fans.

However, from a personal viewpoint, I really cannot see anything other than a Chelsea win tomorrow afternoon. I mean, I’m always hopeful Latics can grab something – and a point away from home would be a wonderful result for an understrength side off the back of a lukewarm draw with relegated Hull City – but unlike with Liverpool and Arsenal earlier in the campaign, there isn’t the impetus that fighting relegation gives a side.

Not over yet: Martinez will go for it

That said, of all the accusations you could throw the way of Roberto Martinez, one thing you can’t call him is defensive. Yes, he has had his moments of negativity on the pitch, but on the whole he has looked to remain attacking; it’s just the current playing staff, bless them, have been largely incapable of pulling off his ambitious tactics week after week, Arsenal ‘The Invincibles’ style.

Again, not that there’s anything wrong with ambition or even many of the players’ efforts, and those that haven’t been up to scratch have been, or are in the process of being, shipped out.

Manchester United fans need not lose all hope just yet. If Vladimir Stojkovic can somehow find the performance of his life, then the remaining Latics non-crocks will all be aware they are in the shop window like never before. And if you can’t get yourself geed up for that you might as well go and play for Hindley Town or something.

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Now, where's me ink gone?

I’ll come clean: I wrote the following passage at around 1PM in anticipation of another Latics defeat. I wanted to try and get this post out of the way as soon as possible, as I predicted I would be too depressed to write it at 6PM. How wrong was I, eh?

Dear bloke on the radio (your name escapes me, please forgive me),

I write in reply to your opinion that ‘Wigan will go down this season’. Whilst there is a very good chance we shall be fighting in the lower half of the league – in fact I’d say it’s a certainty – we at the club are wholly and entirely behind our manager and understand that it will be more beneficial for us in the long term if we could, under Roberto Martinez, develop a style of play that will be more effective against the best the Premier League has to offer.

It is painfully evident that right now we do not have the resources to achieve said results, hence our recent drubbings at the hands of Manchester United and Arsenal. Given time and patience, however, I am hopeful Roberto can turn Wigan from also-rans to European competitors at the very least.

I’ll admit we aren’t likely to trouble said top six this year, however. Our season resumes against Hull next week, and a win from that game would put us on twelve points. Bearing in mind we have played three of the big four, Everton and Aston Villa in our first seven games of the season, I’d say this would be something of an expected outcome for a club in our position.

I accept that your opinion is a valid one, especially on account of recent results. But please bear in mind that there are a couple of teams still riding their luck in mid-table that will be in the mix for relegation come May. There are more than thirty rounds of matches to come yet, so things are far from resolved.

Yours,
Person who, on the whole, does not represent the majority of Wigan Athletic fans. Maybe.

I think the above ‘letter’ accurately sums up my thoughts at this moment in time. As for the match today, well, who saw that one coming? 3-1 Latics was 17/2 before the game — at least according to the Daily Mail (spits) — and I’m sure a Titus Bramble first goal longer odds than that at around 25/1.

Latics looked a completely different team from the one battered by Arsenal, as in the first half they dominated in terms of chances and shots on target. ‘There’s only one’ Titus Bramble managed to stick one in from a set piece on 16 minutes following a decent spell of possession for Wigan. It could have been more, had Petr Cech not made a top-notch block on an Emmerson Boyce shot, and Paul Scharner been slightly more composed in front of goal.

From hero to villain: Petr Cech

Cech turned from hero to villain five minutes into the second half. After Didier Drogba somehow managed to knee one past Chris Kirkland and into the bottom of the net, the game changing moment came on 51 minutes. Rodallega found himself through on goal once again, but had his boot clipped by the Chelsea keeper, who was unfortunately the last defender and saw red. After a protracted period of appealing and complaining, Hugo smashed the resulting penalty past sub keeper Hilario and Wigan were on their way.

But it was not all plain sailing from thereon in – Chelsea kept pushing forward, but were left open at the back on numerous occasions. The nail in the coffin came two minutes into stoppage time, as Paul Scharner managed to poach one at the back post from a Figueroa cross. By this time, Chelsea were actually down to nine men as Ashley Cole was stretchered off and Ancelotti had no substitutes remaining.

Then it was party time at the DW, an atmosphere not reached at the ground since its renaming. Yes, we may have had a sliver or two of luck, but as those Match of the Day types always say, you have to capitalise on it. Speaking of which, second on Match of the Day, anyone?

• Official Latics site match review