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Definitely should have been a penalty, I said so to the people sat next to me on Saturday, you only need to be touching the line for it to be a penalty, and it doesn’t really matter were the ball is on the field. I guess the keeper must have thought the final whistle had already gone??? …as he looks like he’s smiling.
I think words were exchanged and Rotherham may have done us a favour…..I won’t comment further ha ha. He’s definitely smiling that keeper…[/quote]
Just before that, as the keep had collected a ball, Powell had grabbed him by the shoulders – probably in jest, but the keeper didn’t look happy with it.So basically he engineered his own free kick.
The keeper was just doing pretty much what Powell had done to him, but unfortunately for the keeper the fourth official saw it.
The highlight for me is my eldest son actually requesting to come to games instead of me dragging him along as I have had to do in the past.
Saying hello to Jeff Wright in the concourse. To the JCLs and those not old enough to remember. He was one of the most stylish players ever to play for Latics. Also probably the best passer of a football I can remember. Would be criticised these days for passing forward and sometimes passing long balls out wide or into the box. Class act and class lad.
Jeff used to get loads of stick from fans for being shit,he was the Gomez of the 1970s team.
He presented out player of the year trophies at St Judes Youth.[/quote]
Sorry, only just spotted this.I’ve said pretty much the same thing. (apart from the St Judes bit)
Saying hello to Jeff Wright in the concourse. To the JCLs and those not old enough to remember. He was one of the most stylish players ever to play for Latics. Also probably the best passer of a football I can remember. Would be criticised these days for passing forward and sometimes passing long balls out wide or into the box. Class act and class lad.The Jordi Gomez of his day. Got abused by some of our supporters for being a show pony and having no bottle.
Somethings never change eh?!
I have heard a strong word that Ian Lennigan is in advanced talks with our Dave to buy BOTH The DW Stadium and control of Wigan Athletic. Is it true!? has anyone else heard anything?1. He’s not allowed to. He’s Chairman of the Football League
2. He doesn’t have that much money
3. He looks like Colonel BlimpYeah, but who appointed those managers?Whelans time is done. By installing David Sharpe, it allowed him, selfishly, to keep a foot in the door, so to speak. Rather than selling us and cutting all ties.
Make no mistake, the selling of Yanic will have been engineered. It was made out like he had slapped a transfer request in. Maybe he did. But there was more to it than that. Once the club learned of interest in him, and the money being talked, they decided to take the coin.
A great decision, financially. 7 million was literally a steal, for a player worth no more than 3. (In my opinion)
A bad decision, football wise. As we lost our main attacking threat.Dave, who do you realistically see Whelan selling to?
And what appeal does Wigan Athletic have to any potential non-Wiganer buyers?
Whelan has said in the past he’d be willing to sell, but only to someone who he sees fit to sell to. ie. the last thing he or his family want is another Portsmouth situation where a string of chancers come forward and eventually leave the club in the mire.
So in lieu of a buyer, he’s put his grandson in charge as there’s nobody else in the family that either mentally capable or interested in taking it on.
Considering the millions he’s invested into the club and the loans he’s written off, it’s hardly selfish that he wants to keep an interest in it.
The puppet has admitted dropping Gilks was nowt to do with him.
PUPPET OUT
Apparenty, he dropped Gilks because it would have been Gilks’ 10th game and we’d have had to pay Rangers a fee for him.
But aside from that, you still reckon Sharpe is picking the team?[/quote]
What do you mean ‘aside from that’?
Barrow didn’t drop Gilks,he was told he couldnt play him,hence he wasn’t allowed to select the team he wanted too.
Its not that difficult is it?
Hence,puppet.[/quote]
‘Sorry Graham, you can’t play Gilks because it will cost the club money’ is your definition of Sharpe picking the team is it?Never happens at any club that, does it?
The puppet has admitted dropping Gilks was nowt to do with him.PUPPET OUT
Apparenty, he dropped Gilks because it would have been Gilks’ 10th game and we’d have had to pay Rangers a fee for him.
But aside from that, you still reckon Sharpe is picking the team?
Yes yes but Barrow is not picking the team is he?If Sharon or more likely Whelan says so and so plays then they play….as in the Stoke goalie against Rotherham.
Barrow is a puppet who if he had a scrap of dignity would have walked as soon as them two started picking the team.
We are a disgrace,embarrassment and shambles from top to bottom.
U
BARROW OUT.You don’t actually believe that do you?
Please tell me this is a wind up.
Dave, my lad (10) doesn’t give a toss how big the stadium is.
He gets a coke and burger with his mate and chat whatever kids that age chat.
He jumps up when we have a shot, and shakes he head when we concede a goal.
He was thoroughly pissed off when we got battered at Old Trafford.
But it’s always his decision to come to games.
30 years ago – when you were a similar age to him, would you have been considering throwing your season ticket because we weren’t competing too well in England 2nd top league?
‘I walked after they took lead, because I lost it and had an explosion of language which two old coots sat behind me didn’t like.
I’m sorry, but I’ve had enough. Not just the crap on the pitch, but the whole match going experience. There’s no atmosphere, and we have some right boring gimps who sit there, quietly mumbling and grumbling about our failings. And if it’s not that, it’s the gobby get who thinks he’s a comedian sat behind us. Likes being heard, and tries to laugh and joke about how crap we are. He can’t be a proper supporter, not acting how he does, the attention seeking nob’Dave can you not see the complete contradiction in this? You lose it and shout your mouth off – defend yourself, but have a go at those who are quiet, then at those that aren’t?
Dave, I think it’s the ‘I’m not going again’ comment that George finds most irritating. Yes you might have been a Latics fan since the 80s, but ever since I’ve known you via forums etc, it seems we’ve had at least one ‘I’m not going again’ threat per season!
Yes it’s been crap this season. Nobody disputes that. I’ve also paid for my eldest lad and his mate to come to at least half a dozen home games this season and three away games and today is the first time they’ve seen us score!
They were buzzing. But they’ve also enjoyed being there for every game we’ve drawn or lost.
And that’s the point. Remember when you used to love going to games,and it was a bit shit when we lost, but you still wouldn’t have missed it for the world?
Well that’s what I see with my lad. I sit with my mates. He sits a few rows away with his. He reacts like I used to when I was his age and he’ll be hooked too – if he isn’t already.
I still enjoy meeting for a pre match pint, walking to the ground, and half time pint and dissection of the game. If you’ve forgotten all of that – that’s when it becomes too serious, and then the result of the match grows out of all proportion.
Try and think back to when it used to be fun; that’s my advice.
I agree it does have to be the right manager this time or we will stagnate and become another Port Vale, Oldham etc. (But you know what? If that happens, so be it. I’ll still turn up every week)
But I’m not sure about there being a need for a manager with no club connections.
Jewell, Martinez and Caldwell have all been ex-players and have either got us promoted’ kept us up, or have won something.
As for the managers not bringing their own back room staff, it’s a fallacy. Of recent managers:
Jewell brought Chris Huchings with him
Bruce brought Eric Black
Martinez brought in Graeme Jones, Dennis Lawrence, Graham Barrow and others
Coyle brought in Sandy Stewart and Phil Hughes
Rosler brought in Chris Haslam, but Mark Warburton turned down the move as he wanted the Brentford manager’s job
Mackay brought in nobody because nobody wanted to be associated with him and his pending FA charge!
Caldwell didn’t have anyone to bring in
Warren Joyce brought in Andy Welsh and Mick RathboneBacking up what Tyldesley has said. I also can’t understand the stick Jonathan Jackson is getting. At the end of the day, JJ is a Latics fan so he has the best interests of the club at heart.
But he’s also an accountant, and I’d much rather there be an accountant in charge of the finances than someone who’s happy to throw good money after bad.
And it’s all well and good people saying we need to speculate to accumulate (or other well-worn clichés like that), but this is real life. If you gamble and it doesn’t work, you’re in the mire and you won’t get out of it again for a long time – if ever.
There’s no doubt that this has been one of the most depressing seasons in living memory, but can we put our fingers on what exactly went wrong? Below, I’ve listed my thoughts, but please chip in with your own in the hope that someone at the club might read and learn from some of this.
1) Caldwell’s clearout. He should never have let Pearce go, or send Morsy and Colclough out on loan. The team that won the league last year should have been given a chance in the Championship.
2) Going the whole season without a recognised right back. That’s apart from Luke Burke, of course, who impressed over three games or so, then was allowed to go out on loan.
3) Signing so many midfielders. How could the team possibly incorporate Nick Powell, Jordi Gomez, Michael Jacobs, Yanic Wildschutt and Alex Gilbey, or David Perkins, Shaun McDonald and Max Power? The squad was so imbalanced that just about all those players ended up filling in at right back.
4) Certain players not turning up. Alex Bogdan goes without saying, but Power, Grigg and Jacobs were all disappointing.
5) Did we panic and sack Caldwell too early?
6) Hiring Warren Joyce. I think we can all agree this was a mistake. Whatever reputation he had as a coach was undermined by some of the most boring football Wiganers have ever seen. To his credit, though, we did start defending better and he brought Morsy out from the cold.
7) Lack of professionalism.,We’re run by a 20-something chippy manager (or are we?), and Jonathan Jackson has been invisible all season. No manager since Martinez has been allowed to bring in their own backroom staff. Instead, we rely on a network of old boys who, this season, seemed to come and go intermittently (Pollitt, Cribley, Jackson, Atherton, Doolan, Barrow). It’s great to see them back st the club but are they the best people for the job? Joyce’s comments about fitness levels or the number of unexplained long-term injuries recently (Reece James, Donervon Daniels) would suggest not,
8) Getting rid of the local lads. Chow, Flores, Jennings and Burke may not have been worldbeaters but, in this situation, they may just have tried a little harder for their local team. Furthermore, we might have given them time rather than getting on their backs; local players are good for morale and no seen as mercenaries like Tinnicliffe and Hanson.
9) Too many loan signings, some of whom (Marcus Browne) were moaning as soon as they got here and half of whom were injured anyway.
10) Selling Wildschutt. The price may have been right but he was the only player who provided any surprise bits of magic all season.
So, which is the most important? Or can you add your own thoughts as to where it all went wrong?
The ones that I’d disagree with Martin are points 1, 5, 7, 8 & 10
1 – personally I never rated Pearce. he was part of the team that took Latics down from the championship last time & for me got exposed regularly at League 1 level (only the players who got the chances more often than not couldn’t take advantage of those errors). Colclough didn’t impress me at Lge 1 level either & I thought was a poor signing & he wasn’t even a regular at MK Dons this season. I don’t think a couple of moderately impressive brief cameos since his return are evidence enough to say it was a mistake to leave him out for so long. Morsy is a strange one. Again didn’t impress me in Lge1 but he himself felt he was being played out of position & it led to a fall out with Caldwell. That said he impressed when Joyce put him further forward but is looking poor again now that he’s been dropped further back & withdrawal at half time on Saturday, coupled with Barrow’s comments about him not being a box to box player plus his absence last night would indicate to me that he may have had another falling out with the management.
I don’t think the clearout itself was the problem coz I don’t think last season’s squad was good enough by & large to compete – you kind of hint at it in point 4 when you say that Power, Grigg & Jacobs were all disappointing. For me that’s coz they aren’t good enough for this level & they were some of the most promising players last season5 – Caldwell made alot of mistakes from the close season onwards. Whether it was his assumption that Grigg would find goals as easy to come by this season as last or his decision to try to go back to a back 3 that hadn’t worked at the start of the previous season either. There were many more too. His recruitment was also poor, but for me a massive failing was his inability to see where things were going wrong & change it during a game. In the previous season early doors he recognised where he’d gone wrong with initial formations & players in games & was quick to change it with 1st half substitutions, revamping formations at half time & more often than not it worked – this season he just seemed incapable of identifying what was going wrong & putting it right. The warning signs were there during a dire pre-season
7 – I don’t get where the criticism of Jonathan Jackson is coming from. He’s the number cruncher & Latics are doign well to keep things on an even keel financially. From the people that have been to these meetings with the top dogs at the club, Jackson has had no input into choosing managers, firing them, deciding on coaching staff or player recruitment beyond what we can & can’t afford. Sharpe I don’t know – he talks the talk & ultimately he’s only chosen the manager & not the players or the tactics
8 – the local lads you name aren’t good enough with the possible exception of Burke who did seem to have something about him. I’d try hard if I pulled on a Latics shirt but I’d still be garbage
10 – With Wildschutt in the team Latics were still struggling. he just offered the odd bit of spark here & there but it wouldn’t have made that much difference. He wanted to go & the money was offered to our manager for new recruits & brought in Bogle who looked like he had somet about him till he was plonked up front on his todd with no support & dragged down with the rest of the garbage
For me the main reasons are poor recruitment (either in quality or the style of player) from the end of last season, a manager who seemed to throw aware all the lessons he’d learned in the previous season, an appalling managerial appointment in Joyce & further poor recruitment in January[/quote]
Agree 100% with this Tyldesley
