Having lost against Aston Villa, I would have thought a win in this game was pretty important considering the state of the table. Recognising this fact, Martinez ditched the old 4-5-1 in favour of more attacking formations he’s been experimenting with of late, Franco Di Santo retaining his central striker position with Rodallega and N’Zogbia…
With the Premier League (quite obviously) a massive priority, Latics made eight changes to the starting lineup for this ‘big’ local derby (as the Wigan Evening Post termed it), and they don’t come much bigger than Bolton. Well, maybe Preston. Or any of the Manchester Clubs. In terms of match practice, anyway, today’s game was…
So there we were, one whole month later than originally planned, on a Tuesday evening at the DW. One thing remained the same, however – this was a significant game in Latics’ season. Villa, now with a £24m(?!) Darren Bent on board, found themselves mixing it with us at the foot of the table, but…
Considering some of the cracking football played by our hosts of late, it won’t come as a surprise that I was expecting a major damage limitation exercise this afternoon, a prediction that would (inevitably?) prove a reality. In the first half, a relatively out-of-form Latics really struggled against the quality of Fabregas, van Persie et…
It may have been a draw, but it certainly wasn’t a bore. Much like last season’s equivalent clash, neither team could claim to be at their best, but this bottom-of-the-table clash produced a relatively open game, at least in the second half. Though tentative early on, things began to pick up around 20 minutes in…
In a season such as this, managers are caught between two rather large, and in some cases expensive, stools when it comes to the FA Cup. It’s the oft-touted story; to use the competition as an opportunity for fringe team players to gain much needed match practice in preparation for challenges to come, or treat…
Oh man, I really feared the worst with this one. After our most dismal performance of the season against Newcastle, the smart money once again seemed to be on Wigan for the drop as Big Bob’s side lingered in nineteenth place looking a bit toothless up front. With certain members of the squad looking a…
In his time as England manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson often spoke of how players such as Wayne Rooney and David Beckham, whilst not constituting a team by themselves, could visibly lift the whole squad with a performance or single moment of brilliance which boosts confidence tenfold. Latics, so often touted a confidence team, clearly missed such…
Before yesterday evening, Latics’ record stood at nineteen points from eighteen games. I’d speculate that given the strength of the lower half of the league, a point a game wouldn’t be enough to see us through to 2011–12, but a little bit more than that may well be. A similar run of results in the…
It’s all change at the foot of the table thanks to a highly important afternoon of fixtures in the Premier League. Earlier today, West Ham chalked up an away win at Fulham, a feat which Wigan Athletic (thankfully) managed to emulate in their 3pm kickoff at Molineux to haul themselves out of the relegation zone….
If ever the word ‘splurge’ could be applied to a football match, then the first half of this particular Premier League encounter was certainly that. Though four goals were scored, only one of them was a ‘proper’ strike; the other three came via deflections, and some fortuitous ones at that. As is usual at the…
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…