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| (Courtesy of Chris_Skoyles - Flickr) |
Since
the last time I did a “Team Focus” (Aston Villa on November 20th)
Wigan have replaced Villa as the team in 18th position and are
looking considerably less safe than they were. In that period of four games the
only win they have managed was against fellow strugglers Reading which, while a
valuable win, was followed by defeats against Man City and Newcastle and a draw
against QPR. These results are perhaps not that surprising, certainly not the defeat
against title-challengers Man City, the home draw against QPR came after going
1-0 up, which will be slightly disappointing, but The R’s are unbeaten under
Harry Redknapp so perhaps not too disgraceful. The 3-0 defeat against Newcastle
will have come as a bit of a surprise, especially it’s resounding nature, as it
is the only win The Magpies have recorded since October and they have lost all
other 5 games in a 6 game run. I’m going to have a look at Wigan and see if
they will once again avoid relegation or if this is the year they finally
succumb to the drop.
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| Roberto Martinez - Experienced Survivor (Courtesy of illarterate - Flickr) |
The Manager
Roberto
Martinez is, along with Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce, one of the managers
best equipped to deal with a struggling team and try and propel them into thus
far unseen heights. He has survived the drop in the last three successive
seasons with Wigan, most notably in 2011 when they beat Stoke away (no mean
feat) on the last day of the season to stay up.
Will
he be the next to be sacked?
Probably not. Dave Whelan has long been faithful to Roberto Martinez, even
after the summer, when it seemed that Martinez sought a move away from the
club, Whelan maintained that he would never sack the manager that has kept them
in the Premier League for three seasons now. This resolve is surely being
tested now, in an age where so many managerial sackings are rewarded by good
runs. Martinez will be encouraged by the fortunes of Nigel Adkins at
Southampton, who was being touted as the next manager to be sacked but has been
able to steer his team out of trouble (for now). This manager loyalty from Dave
Whelan is reflected in the bookies’ odds for Martinez to be then next manager
to be sacked; he is 14th on the list on oddschecker.com.
Does
he deserve to be sacked?
He hasn’t had an easy run of late and his service over the last 3 years shows
that, even his team are in trouble, he has the nous and the grit to pull his
team out of the bottom three just in time for the end of the season. His run
isn’t going to get any easier though; Wigan’s fixtures between now and New
Years Day include Everton, Arsenal and Manchester United, so Martinez will be
looking to Villa away on the 29th and this weekend’s game away
against Norwich to pick up some much needed points if he wants to see his team
out of the drop zone in the new year.
The Squad
Key
Players: Emmerson Boyce has played a key
role in Wigan’s season so far. He has always been in and around the first team
at Wigan but this season has started all 16 of Wigan’s league games. At 33 he
has succumbed to the trappings of old age, namely losing some pace (although he
was never Usain Bolt), but with this maturity has come the ability to organise
the defence well in those games that captain Gary Caldwell missed and even when
Caldwell has been present. He is a defender very much in the mould of Sol
Campbell, willing to throw himself into any situation, and Wigan will need him
to keep up his good performances to work with Gary Caldwell to keep the Latics
afloat.
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| Ali Al Habsi - Key Keeper (Courtesy of illarterate) |
The
other ever-present in Martinez’s side so far this season has been James McCarthy. The Scot has been
performing so well this season that Roberto Martinez admitted only two days ago
that he was worried that McCarthy has become a transfer target for teams higher
up in the league. As well as providing 2 goals and an assist from his midfield
position McCarthy has been pulling the strings and is also quite handy when
called upon to go back and defend. As a key all round midfielder Latics’ fans
will be hoping that McCarthy first of all stays at Wigan in January and then
maintains his good form all the way through the season.
Ali Al Habsi has long been a very underrated keeper in
the Premier League. Slightly eccentric, as all good keepers are, he is not
immune from the occasional mistake such as dropping the ball into his own net
against reading last month, fortunately he was let off the hook by a Jordi
Gomez hat trick. After that game Martinez was 100% supportive and said “"I
wouldn't take any other keeper to replace Ali, that's how much we rate him... he's
a keeper who can compete to win a title or Champions League." I completely
agree, if Wigan stay up this season it will be in no small part to Al Habsi.
Players
who need to do better: The
club’s top scorer this season is Arouna
Koné with a total of 4, not exactly world beating stuff. He hasn’t scored
in the last month, which has seen him start all 5 of Wigan’s games in that
period. What’s more the Ivorian will be off the African Cup of Nations in early
2013 and could be missing for several weeks given that the Ivory Coast are
quite an impressive force. Koné had a good season for Levante last season in La
Liga contributing 15 league goals in 34 games. Wigan fans will be hoping that
he can replicate the form that led to this impressive total.
In
much the same vein as Koné,
Franco Di Santo has not been
performing up to scratch this season. The Argentinian has appeared in all but
one of Wigan’s games so far this season yet has only managed to find the net 3
times. He will need to play doubly well when Koné heads to the African Cup of
Nations early next year.
Verdict:
As
much as they look like they are going to struggle again this season I am loathe
to predict relegation for the Latics this season. Martinez has a wealth of
experience at keeping Wigan in the Premier League and appears to have the Midas
touch. He faces just as tough a job as any this year though, with a squad
lacking any real creative quality and, unless Koné or Di Santo step up to the
plate, a 20-goal-a-season striker. I may end up making a fool of myself but I’m
going to give Wigan the nod to stay up thanks to their experience of doing it
over and over again and their resilience. It’s going to be a long struggle
though. 15th
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