Gotta Love The Tree-Crowns
Official Name: Wigan Athletic Football Club
Nickname: The Latics
Home Colors: Blue and white
Trophy Case: Since Wigan have only been in the Football League since 1978, there hasn’t been all that much time to win trophies. The best it’s been for the Latics are the champion’s trophies for the Third Division (now League Two) in 1997 and the Second Division (now League One) in 2003. Along with thos, they have the 1985 Freight Rover Trophy, 1999 AutoWindscreens Shield (both trophies are the Football League Trophy).
2009-10 League Finish: 16th in the EPL
2009-10 Average Home Attendance: 18,006 (lowest of 17 surviving EPL clubs)
2009-10 Cup Finish: It wasn’t a good year for Wigan in the cup competitions. They lost 4-1 to Blackpool in the Second Round of the League Cup, and the Latics were bounced out from the FA Cup in a fourth-round replay with Notts County. Yes, Notts County. Sven, etc.
History:
I had to do some actual research on Wigan. As a Manchester United supporter, I’ve just always thought of the Latics as the wussy neighbors of the Red Devils. In fact, the history of the club is quite interesting. Wigan was created in 1932 and moved its way through the non-league conferences for more than 45 years before being elected to the Football League in 1978—on the club’s 35th attempt to earn League status! Things were so disheartening for Wigan that in 1972 they even tried to get into the Second Division of the Scottish League.
Team Legends:
The words” Wigan Athletic” and “Legend” don’t really go together, but the best-known players in the club’s history are Geoff Davies (who also played in the old NASL), Graeme Jones, and The Three Amigos (Roberto Martinez, Isidro Diaz, and Jesus Seba), who were the first Spanish players to appear in the FA Cup in 1995.
No, I'm not the guy from The Bachelorette.
Gaffer:
Martinez came to Wigan last season after having some success at Swansea. While the team struggled in his first season at the helm, if he manages this season as well as he performed for ESPN at the World Cup, things could look up for the Latics in the future.
Transfers In:
Antolin Alcaraz, central defender, free from Club Brugge
Ronnie Stam, defender, undisclosed from FC Twente
Mauro Boselli, striker, undisclosed from Estudiantes
Ali Al-Habsi, loan from Bolton Wanderers
Transfers Out:
Tomasz Cywka, free to Derby County
Titus Bramble, undisclosed to Sunderland
Tomasz Kupisz, free to Jagiellonia Bialystok
Antonio Amaya, loan to Rayo Vallecano
Cho Won-Hee, loan to Suwon Bluewings
Rachid Bouaouzan, released
Paul Scharner, released
Richard Kingson, released (yes, the Ghana goalkeeper in the World Cup)
Key Players:
Antolin Alcaraz. One of the biggest problems with Wigan last season was inconsistency at the back. When the team was good, they got results like a 3-1 victory over Chelsea; when they were bad, they lost 9-1 to Spurs. Martinez beamed as the Paraguayan did well in the World Cup. He could bring a real backbone to the Latics.
Hugo Rodallega. The Colombian opened his English career with a great goal vs. Aston Villa in a 2-0 opening victory, but he also disappeared during some games. He ended with 10 goals, and he will need to take the next step for Wigan to move up in the standings, pairing with Boselli up front.
Rising Stars:
James McCarthy. Signed by Wigan at just 18 years old from Hamilton Academical, McCarthy has the kind of creativity that fits Martinez’s preferred flowing style of football. He can play on the wing in a 4-4-2, or he can move in behind the strikers in a 4-3-2-1 or 4-5-1. It will be interesting to see if he continues to improve.
Who Names A Stadium After Themselves?
Stadium:
The DW Stadium. They share the ground with rugby side Wigan Warriors and regularly has among the worst pitches in the league.
Drama:
There has been remarkably little drama at Wigan except for some questions about the team’s signings. With the English “Homegrown” rule set to come into effect, Wigan have signed three foreign players. Yawn.
Tactics!:
Martinez used last season to begin to move Wigan from Steve Bruce’s direct 4-4-2 style to a more fluid style that worked in either a 4-3-2-1 or a 4-5-1, with the occasional 4-4-2. Martinez preaches the Spanish style of play, with short, crisp passing through the middle and skillful movement forward. He has tried to bring in players to fit the style, and there is every reason to believe that Year Two will be better than Year One was.
Question Marks:
The question in Wigan is whether the players have the skill necessary to execute Martinez’s gameplan. Also, can the inconsistent back line be shored up with Alcaraz in there?
Important Fixtures:
Tottenham Hotspur v. Wigan, Saturday, Aug. 28. It’s the scene of the 9-1 debacle. Can Wigan show that this season will not have the same disappointments?
Prediction:
I am a huge Martinez fan. I was a fan last season as he tried to evolve his team into a real football side instead of a pub team. I think with another year under his belt, Wigan can compete for the top half of the table. I predict they finish 9th-12th.
The Latics? More like the Lactics, amirite?
/no you’re not right
Clearly, the loss of Titus Bramble will kill this team before the season’s even begun. Also, losing Paul Scharner is an issue as he was a dynamo last season. Still, Martinez has brought in some strong replacements.
Don’t think they’ll finish 9th-12th though…
I didn’t realize it wasn’t the JJB anymore.
We’ve seen what happens when managers with bottom-half squads try quick, sharp, technical footie, a la West Brom in 08-09. It’ll be interesting to see how the state of the field impacts Martinez’s vision.
Poor Ghana keeper. I thought he did quite well in sa. I hope someone gives him playing time
I like Martinez, but I hope Wigan get the drop this year. Terrible stadium, terrible support.
@Ryan: I disagree with the idea of wanting a team to go down due to their support. Caveat: disagreement does not extend to Newcastle.
It’s nothing against the supporters Wigan does have, I just think it might be more fun to have someone like Forest or heck even Derby up in Premiership, who would probably fill their stadium better and create better atmosphere.
@Ryan: I would love the City Ground to get back to the Prem. Having Molineux as a venue last season was cool, too. For me, there are certain teams that belong in the Prem due to their tradition of support and history on the pitch: Derby, Forest, and Leeds are all in that category.
I like Wigan fans. Mainly because the only Wigan fan I have ever heard speak said, in response to ribbing by a supporter of one of the then big four clubs, that they [Wigan] were here [in the Premiership] for a good time, not for a long time. Carpe diem, etc., etc.
On the other hand, I do support the idea of hoping for a team to drop because of its fans. Namely, Arsenal.
@Anonsters
Spurs are s**t.
@JT
And Liverpool finished 7th.
@Anonsters
New year, blank slate. This stuff is cyclical.
@Pupsters, JT: MON is building a team for the future.
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/robotvoice
@JT: Keep telling yourself that.
@Anonsters
I will. The EPL table will tell us that soon enough too. You’re just as delusional as I am; you think LFC is permanently f**ked, while I think that they’ll right things reasonably quickly. Somewhere in the middle, I guess?
Watched that Rodallega strike @ the beginning of last season and thought Wigan might have come around; then, Hugo seemed to disappear for most of the season. If Martinez (whom I like as a manager/commentator) is successful, he’s got to have Rodallega on form. At the very least, to make Wigan matches interesting to watch.
This from a Wigan supporter:
The loss of Bramble, Scharner and Melchiot is only going to hurt in their years of experience. On the pitch, they were the worst of our lot in the drubbings by Spurs, Chelsea and ManYoo last season. Scharner, in particular, was awful. He insisted on playing in midfield but clearly didn’t have the skill to be effective with Martinez’ passing style.
Mauro Boselli was probably the best natural goalscorer still to be playing in South America before we signed him, and he’s been scoring for fun in pre-season. When Estudiantes of Argentina won the Libertadores Cup (Champs League equivalent) everyone gave Veron the credit, but Boselli was the real revelation in that tournament, winning the golden boot.
At the back, Alcaraz looks quality, and Ronnie Stam is a faster, better fullback than Melchiot at his old age. Super Mario was great for us, but was far too slow last season.
It will take some time for the new players to gel, but we have the skill in midfield now (Diame, McCarthy in particular will probably be at top six clubs within 3 years) to execute this system now, and very exciting attacking players (Rodallega, Boselli, N’Zogbia and Moses).
The question mark is the defense. But Caldwell and Alcaraz should be a great partnership when the former is back from injury. And Figueroa is quality if we can hold on to him, at left back.
One last note about the support. In a town of 80,000 people, and average of 18,000 is hardly bad, particularly when you consider the team has only been in the football league about 30 years. Our season ticket prices are the cheapest in the Premiership and 6th cheapest in the football league. Give us 5 more years, and that 25,000 stadium will be sold out, and growing fast. Much of Wigan grew up without a professional team to support, so they went with Man United, City, Liverpool. Now they have one, and one playing attractive football!
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