"Get lost you lot! I'm supposed to be on holiday!"

Such has been the recent fervent media activity over Roberto Martinez’s future, you’d be forgiven for thinking Wigan’s last competitive game was far longer than two weeks ago. Yeah, we’ve had lengthier mid-season international breaks, but it already feels as though we’ve been in the post-season wind-down (pfft, yeah right) phase forever.

To satiate your requirement for Latics stuff (for a few minutes at least), feel free to take a moment out of your busy Twitter-browsing schedule (of the #wafc tag, of course) and re-live that final day of the season. It might not have been as important as in recent years, but it was just as great to be a part of.

As usual, the best of this bad bunch will (eventually) be uploaded to the Illarterate Flickr account in high quality. Also as usual, they’re released under Creative Commons so you can use them on your Facebook page/website/school newspaper/whatever – provided I get some credit, of course.

Three goals and three straight wins to cap a superb end to the season

And so it came to pass that on Sunday, 13 May 2012, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers would do battle on the green (well alright, slightly brown) pastures of the DW. But it wasn’t quite the crucial relegation contest many predicted and perhaps expected, what with the fate of both sides already decided. What happened there, eh? It wasn’t supposed to be like this – Latics always take it right down to the wire, pulling out their greatest battling performances on the final day to seal survival in the most exciting manner possible. It actually made a pleasant change, because it’s about time we had the opportunity to sit back and enjoy some football without the spectre of relegation hanging over us.

Yesterday, to put it simply, was a great big excuse for a party. A near-full house for Wigan’s 1500th league game, the grand unveiling of next season’s kit, the 2pm crush outside the newly-opened Sharpy’s Restaurant, the traditional end-of-season lap of honour… we haven’t seen this much activity in Wigan since they opened that Ann Summers store on Crompton Street.

Then there was the small matter of a football match. Latics have truly been in the form of their Premier League lives, blistering their way to the top of the form league with an incredible six wins in eight games. Though Wolves’ record in the equivalent eight matches is less impressive, it must be said that it takes some quality to score four goals at the Liberty Stadium and keep a clean sheet against Everton, even with nothing of real meaning left to play for. Everton will of course contest this statement with inter-city bragging rights at stake, but the point stands – that’s two decent draws for Wolves. A pity then, that they have been sure of their own relegation for some weeks now.

Wigan made one change from the lineup that won 1-0 at Blackburn on Monday night, with Adrian Lopez replacing goalscorer Antolin Alcaraz in the centre of defence. The reason for the Paraguayan’s absence is as-yet unexplained, but after such an important goal, I’d say he deserved a day off to kick back and watch his team-mates complete a third straight victory.

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Hugo Rodallega can't score for toffee right now.

We’re rapidly approaching a point where JWAW weekly match reports will be totally redundant. In fact, I had half a mind to copy-paste last week’s comments into this post and save the pain of recounting yet another frustrating afternoon for Wigan Athletic. Having analysed (read: watched in fear) the Sky Sports coverage, there’s nothing new to report, so forgive me if I end up repeating myself more than once during the course of this post.

To sum things up, Latics’ failings at the back combined with a lack of potency up front were once again a cocktail for catastrophe resulting in the squandering of another chance to repair some damage lost. Some might already even term this irreparable; positive outlook or not, the horrible truth is that week by week, things are becoming increasingly dire. Although there is still plenty of time turn things round, and goodness knows how many lost causes have been rescued from similar situations, that is looking a distant pipe dream at the moment with some serious problems all over the pitch.

Where to start? Well, up front would be as good a position as any. Latics created chances in a quite even first half, but simply could not take them. Hugo Rodallega is particularly guilty of missing two fantastic opportunities, the latter of which must have been easier to score. As if to rub things in, Wolves went up the other end and scored within seconds of this chance, which brings us to the second point. Even if Latics had converted their opportunities, it probably would not have been enough to win the contest due to some familiar defensive disasters.

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These previews are starting to follow an all too familiar formula of late: Latics need points to try and snap out of an extended losing run before the season escalates into a full-on disaster before we even hit December. Continuing in the positive vein I’ve resolved to take (mostly in the interests of preventing the onset of hair loss), such trivialities shall be skirted over in favour of a more forward-thinking attitude. On that note, let’s take a quick look at how Latics might lineup come 1.30pm on Sunday.

Wolves v Wigan Latics possible lineup

Given the absence of Gary Caldwell, one would suggest the exact formation of Wigan’s back four is subject to much speculation. However, I would be inclined to have Boyce ‘do a job’ in the centre of defence, which would not necessarily be all that problematic for the sometime centre back. There are alternatives, of course – Maynor Figueroa, who has occupied such a role for a couple of games this campaign, could also be switched to the centre. I wouldn’t favour this, however, as I’d rather have him (or perhaps Van Aanholt) at left wing back. Ben Watson may be forced to play a slightly more defensive role to cover any holes left by a more unfamiliar backline.

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