'Oogo received warm applause from all sides of the ground

It’s somewhat surprising to me that historically, Fulham at home hasn’t been a fruitful fixture for the mighty (though sometimes scrawny) Wigan Athletic. You see, usually we bear a grudge against teams we just haven’t been able to beat – Manchester United (of course), West Ham, Preston and so on. Ah, a statistical goldmine, that PWU Podcast.

Fulham is a different situation altogether. One senses a more jovial atmosphere between the clubs, with friendly banter free of pointless ‘big club’ or ‘we’ve got more superstars’ arguments that last until early Sunday morning. Of course there is the history – just think back to 1996-1997 when Latics edged out the Cottagers to claim the Division Three title on goal difference. Plenty of cause for rivalry there, you might think, but nope.

Today’s opponents have undoubtedly had their revenge since then, winning the past eleven league fixtures against Wigan before today’s showdown. These humblings somehow slip under the radar when that ‘difficult teams to beat’ question is raised in your pub quiz. Funny thing is, it’s generally a close contest but the visitors always seem to come out on top, through skill, luck or divine intervention. Sadly, this particular meeting between the two followed much the same script.

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Jonesy looks to be staying

Following reports that Graeme Jones has turned down the Swansea job, it looks as though Wigan will survive through to the start of the European Championships with their management team intact. That such high-profile clubs are even interested is somewhat surprising, especially given the club’s situation not six months ago – the dramatic upturn in fortunes since then has certainly left an impression on many high-profile observers.

Yet for all the attention surrounding Latics’ own Catalonian chief, naturally exacerbated by the media’s insatiable appetite for a dramatic story, one always felt it likely he would remain right here at the Dee Dubya. Though I have no doubt Liverpool’s interest was real, our Bob was always going to be further down the (seemingly inexhaustive) list of candidates, if not only due to his relative inexperience and average results record. Of course, that didn’t stop The Reds appointing Brendan Rodgers, but a good debut season in the Premier League can do wonders for your managerial career – just ask Paul Lambert.

Dave Whelan - chief media orchestrator?

Truth be told, a good portion of the reactionary nonsense in the press has been carefully and methodically stoked by Uncle Dave. Well, did you expect anything else? We’re all aware of his shrewd business sense, and he wasn’t about to miss out on an opportunity to further promote his brand. I’ll admit it hasn’t done much good for our stress levels, but I believe Wigan Athletic has actually emerged the other side a stronger commodity for it. A month’s free publicity, and we haven’t kicked a ball in anger for weeks? Yes please.

Most importantly, it’s all been wrapped up in a matter of weeks rather than months. One senses Mr Whelan has one eye on a scouting trip to Poland and the Ukraine, which might not be as glamorous as Miami or Barbados, but this is football, serious business. Bobby, bored of the Soccerdome, wants a £1.5million indoor training pitch. A lot of stuff needs to be ironed out before we take to the pitch in August, and the squad is in need of bolstering for another tough Premier League campaign.

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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.

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Rodders was on target twice to deny The Clarets

A question of ethics for you all now. You’re in position to slot the ball into the back of the net, but the opposing goalkeeper is lying injured on the ground. Is it morally right or just plain stupid to kick the ball out of play for the goalie to have treatment, when you have a clear and certain opportunity to easily roll the ball over the goal line? Faced with that situation this afternoon, I’m sure Hugo Rodallega would have been berated by the powers that be at Wigan Athletic had he done the former.

After all, this is the very top flight of English football. Chivalrous moments such as the scenario described can and do happen in Sunday league matches, but are few and far between in the dog-eat-dog, big money world of the Premier League. It’s just outright bad luck that Burnley found their own keeper, Brian ‘The Beast’ Jensen, in said unfortunate situation at approximately 3:11PM today, doubly so as he’d already made two cracking saves up until this point.

Yes, Rodders had to put it away, no question.

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