For Nick 'It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves' - William Shakespeare The Opposition: To say Wigan have had a bad season is an understatement. Despite the parachute payments and a squad that on paper looked extremely competitive troubles on and off the pitch have undermined any return to the Premier League. The more likely possibility is that after climbing from the bottom in 1995 aided by local millionaire Dave Whelan they will return once more to the lower depths. In the wake of the departure of Roberto Martinez Whelan recruited what at the time seemed one of the most promising managers in the country Uwe Rosler. With the backbone of Martinez's team the Latics almost returned to the top flight at the first time of asking and managed a return to the scene of their greatest triumph (courtesy of now Golden Boy Ben Watson). Perhaps it was disillusion, second season syndrome or the feeling among some players that they needed to move on that resulted in the terrible start to the season that saw Rosler removed in mid November. Certainly there was a flow of promising loanees that never fully nailed their colours to the mast and forwards that were never replaced such as Kone, Maynard and di Santo. Two men in trouble: This indeed has been a real problem for Wigan this season and current incumbent, former Hornet player and manager Malky Mackay. He has made many changes partly to remove those players that must have felt their futures were elsewhere although at the expense of severely weakening what was once a most impressive midfield. These names include Shaun Maloney, James McArthur and Callum McManaman. But perhaps the most telling factor must have been the controversies surrounding the now former chairman and rather disappointingly Malky himself and his alleged racist and homophobic texts made at Cardiff. These are still being investigated by the FA with no firm findings to be made until at the seasons end. No matter what anyone says these sort of issues will affect a dressing room as they have always done. Generally successful clubs have positive, stable leadership in the boardroom something which Dave Sharpe will be trying to instil as Whelan's replacement. As for Malky recent form indicates that he is turning the ship around but nonetheless at too late a stage to prevent relegation. He has chopped and changed considerably from game to game in personnel and formation but is starting to model the side in his fashion. Recent acquisitions like Harry Maguire, Bo-Kyung and Pennant have impressed in recent matches. Wigan with their win over Rotherham although still showing defensive frailties out wide and Malky will still think they have a reasonable chance of escaping the drop. Therefore we can expect another tough scrap where despite the terrible home record Wigan have our players must fight hard for the three points. Wigan Athletic line up against Rotherham United: Form & Statistical Comparison: (Courtesy of Opta) Watford Wigan Athletic Form Table: The Hornets: Some eight hundred and fifty minutes seperates us from the riches of the Premier League. Granted being part of the Sky circus is not all wine and roses but it would certainly lift the club into financial security, a prestige to attract more players and repay the faith, investment of our benefactors the Pozzo family.And it would seem we are timing it right. The scoresheet on Saturday would make most welcome reading as the stalwarts of the last promotion push are bang in form. Despite the absence of Ighalo and Abdi their 'replacements' have made the most of their chance answering their critics in the most impressive manner. It all highlights the benefit of the squad we have at our disposal. And credit must be given to Slavisa for the way he has united the side, gotten the best out of his players and made changes where necessary in shoring up the flanks with the recruitment of Marco Motta and the return of Adiene Guedioura alongside unsung hero Ben Watson. He has wisely rested players here and there for a few minutes which should pay dividends in the long run and keeping Anya and Paredes on a leash will surely only spur those players to also take their chance when it presents itself. Indeed after every defeat the team has suffered it has responded in fine fashion and certainly in this run the two defeats against Norwich and Bournemouth can be attributed more to terrible officiating than anything else. I am sure Slavisa has told the players to win every header, every tackle, to pass with accuracy and to work their socks off and that they need to do so right until the whistle blows on what has been another exciting season with four managers and a potential record goal tally. Slavisa's current record is the best of any post-war manager we have had including Bill McGarry and God himself. Given the way they have come back from deficits and carried their effort to the last seconds as against Leeds, Bolton and Brentford I am sure they have an excellent chance of making it this time to the delight of all Horns around the world and one in particular with whom all of our thoughts are. Opposition fan forums: http://www.wigan.vitalfootball.co.uk/forum/forums/forum-view.asp?fid=5 http://thisnorthernsoul.co.uk/forum/index.php Our record against the Latics: http://www.11v11.com/teams/watford/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Wigan Athletic
Wigan haven't won at home since August! It'll be tough but we really should be winning and winning comfortably on Tuesday night.
Yep and I will take that! The pitch is awful there at the moment due to the Rugby so it will not be a game for the purists, we will need the battling players like Watson (who will hopefully want to impress) and Guedioura to impose midfield.
Looking at their team I don't see why they're so low bar the obvious quality striker issue. Will be tight I reckon. Didn't even notice how bad Ipswich's form is, if we win this and beat Ipswich then we'd put ourselves in a fantastic position.
This is what concerns me. Wigan have only won 2 home games all season, but they've been in good form recently winning 3 of their last 4 games, including a fantastic win at Norwich. We are a sucker for this type of side. Earlier in the season Birmingham had not won a home match since 1927 but managed to beat us. Cardiff had not won an away game all season, but managed to beat us. People think that this may be an easy game, but I personally think it's one of our hardest remaining fixtures. Wigan were down and out a month ago, but now they have a sniff of survival. Mackay has created momentum. They shouldn't really be where they are, but they now have a cause and that's a powerful motive. We will have to be at our very best to win this one.
I agree with you hornetboy1 but take solace from Slav who seems to have us 'focused on the now' as Billy Jean King would have it! Nervous Tuesday ahead however!
I think the important factor is how well we play. We are capable of beating any team in this division if we play well, and losing to any if we play badly. It is up to us.
Think its gonna be tight, reckon we will win by one and dont think its going to be a big scoreline, hopefully the 1881 can rally the troops to victory
We shouldn't have to be at our very best. They've been awful at home and despite a couple of good wins recently - relying on clinging on for dear life for long spells - they're still a bang average side. This isn't the time to get worried about sides in the relegation zone. If we're serious about promotion we need to assert ourselves, be the better team and hope we get what we deserve.
Pennant scored from two excellent free kicks yesterday, fooling the keeper with a very short run up on both occasions ... I hope Gomes has taken note of this.
We will win this. Our form and record against teams in the bottom half is fantastic - best in the league in fact. We have enough quality. Wigan will need to score the first goal to cause us problems. Interesting to see what the first XI will be, and more so, what the formation would be. Wouldn't be surprised if we went back to 3-5-2 if Guedioura is not fit to start, which would be unlucky for Forestieri.
I admire some people's optimism but I'm still nervous like quite a few people. As matimbers said, their pitch has been chewed up by the rugby players, so we won't be playing our usual fluid, free-flowing football. Add to that the fact that they've won 3 out of their last 4 including a win at Norwich and it doesn't look too nice. This is a game where we need to be strong and steely- basically we're playing Blackburn again.
Agreed. We can't start with 4-3-1-2 if Abdi and Ighalo aren't fit to at least make the bench, either.
Firstly to say thank you Smudger for an excellent preview. Really enjoyed seeing the 'form table'. We're actually top of that over the last 5 games. Wigan's away record over the last few matches has been astonishing, and indeed they gave us a tough match at the Vic. Strange how they're so terrible at home. Like others here, I'm always nervous of losing streaks in our opponents, as you know sooner or later the law of averages suggests a change in their fortunes! There's also the ex manager syndrome here. But let's be honest. We're the most in form side in the division. There should really be no excuses for not winning on Tuesday, and winning well. Everybody's busy looking at run ins and working out who at the top has the easiest and hardest ones, but my view is simple...when you're in form and playing well, any run of forthcoming fixtures should look a bit easier. Anyway, a banana skin on Tuesday wouldn't be fatal should it happen, as long as we bounce back with points against Ipswich (out of form), Derby (out of form) and Boro (not so strong on the road). One, or both, of Bournemouth and Boro will drop points on Saturday as they meet. 3-1 Watford and top of the table by the weekend.
Wigan's good form has all come away from home, we are rightly big favourites. Would go: Gomes Motta Angella Cathcart Anya Tozser Watson Guedioura Forestieri Deeney Vydra Subs: Bond, Ekstrand, Hoban, Paredes, Munari, Layun, Ighalo
Does anyone know if pay on the day is available? As for the game, I'm not nervous, we don't need to be at our best, we will win easily by virtue of being a lot better than they are.
FIFA Predicts... Wigan Athletic 1 - 1 Watford 14' - Vydra - Half volley on the turn into the bottom left corner of the goal 47' - Ojo - Header from a cross Watford substitutions: 57' - Watson off/Munari on 83' - Vydra off/Ighalo on Man of the match: Sheyi Ojo Odds: 1-1 @11/2 --------------------------------- P38 W24 D8 L6 Pts80 GD24 We would be 1st in the table Top scorers: Deeney (11) Vydra (8) Ighalo (7) Most assists: Abdi (7) Tozser (6) Ighalo (5)
I'd be happy with any result as long as their joke of a pitch doesn't wipe out half our squad. Seriously, there ought to be a minimum standard that needs to be reached, otherwise the game is played at a neutral venue.
Is it really that bad? Blackpool and Wednesday have worse, plus the rugby league season has only just started, also rugby league is less harsh on the state of a pitch than rugby union.
Yes, it's poor. The link is where Wigan's own fans are discussing the state of the pitch and the quotes below in bold are from Leeds' fans experiences a couple of weeks ago. http://thisnorthernsoul.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/our-pitch.86478/ Pitch, as expected, was awful and ruined any chance of a decent 'football' match. Awful pitch, Awful game This is a picture taken earlier in the season - it's deteriorated considerably since then.
