Wigan team/match thread

[Mister Chops 7]

Credit to Wigan, their midfield looks twice as good as ours.  Good job their strikers are sh*te.

[Gingerpele 0]

Problem would could have now, is that Lambert hasn''t had to deal with more than two loses in a row before, this is going to be 3 loses and a draw, with three poor performances, today was the day to improve things. Away to Newcastle next could easily be another loss, ok we beat them easily last time (taking full advantage of a weak defence), still not going to think about relegation, no way, but before Man.U, even before Stoke, top half finish seemed very likely, now it looks like its going to be pretty tough to achieve that, unless Lambert does pick the players up and we pick up form.

[NWC 245]

We played well for 10 mins in the first half, and 5 mins in the second half.15 minutes of good play is not enough to win football matches in the premier league, no matter who you play against.But it is a point nearer survival, but we should have been hoping for all 3.

[Herman 9,835]

This forum''s going to be a barrel of laughs tonight!

[Thingamajig 0]

On the plus side we''ve gained a point when we''ve played well for around 10 minutes of a game. Really surprised how slow Lambert was to react to what clearly wasn''t working.We were a lot more competitive when we changed shape. Lethargic performance all round.

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

Thank funk we have the number of points that we do.

 

I can''t help but feel that the sooner we reach that 40 point mark, which seems to be a heavy weight hanging round our necks, the better.  Then maybe we can play some more relaxed football as we did earlier in the season.

[E.L.F. 0]

Agreed, top half finish looks very unlikely.  Dreadful football.

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

.....Just to add, not that I think we will need 40 points to stay up, but that it almost seems like some kind of pyschological / mental barrier and the closer we have got to it the more we have stuttered and stalled.

[Ozbarclay 0]

Not too worried about the 40.... more worried about dropping places... hopefully this is our poor patch because if we played like this  all season we''d be in trouble

[Gingerpele 0]

Why 40 points? Seriously, 40 points is not needed, QPR are going to gain 15 more points than us? As well as Blackburn 11, and Bolton 14?

But, lots of people said the lack of clean sheets didn''t matter, I think if we had conceded less, without even changing results, just look at games like Bolton away, did they deserve a goal? Sunderland home, Swansea home, Newcastle home, QPR home and away. Did we need to concede in all those games? And the fact we concede so often means when were not playing as well, like today, Everton away, but get a 1-0 lead, were not going to win because were not good enough to score the 2nd, and are destined to concede, the Chelsea and Bolton home games seem like major flukes to be honest...

[priceyrice 123]

Not a great game, came back into it at the end, but little too late. Have to say Morro did well when he came on, put himself around well, worked hard and almost capped it with a goal- i''m happy for the guy. For me the key to our loss was the formation, was extremely obvious Wigan were going to take advantage of the flanks, subs needed to be made 10 mins earlier at least.At least we gained a point though from a relegation threatened team, we are still doing great this season, no need to worry, we are safe!!

[ron obvious 1,514]

Got away with that one. Very lucky not to lose.

To survive in this league we have to be at the top of our game, week in, week out. I fear there is a tiny bit of complacency setting in. Could be a bumpy ride from here on in.

[VegasCanary 0]

Don''t think we really deserved more than a point today, the formation evidently wasn''t working that well. Morison''s performance should hopefully silence the doubters, putting in a very good shift. I was fully expecting a tough game today, and Wigan made it one. Not too disheartened though, we still look a lot stronger than the relegation candidates.

[Gingerpele 0]

Ahh ok, you posted that after I started to reply norfolkbroadslim, still applies to anyone who thinks we need 40 points.

But I don''t think it is a barrier of any kind, the players know just as much as anyone else that the bottom teams aren''t, baring some kind of miracle amount that many more points that us, if anything they''ve just given up because they think its job done, because all they''ve had banged into their heads (At least publicly) is ''stay up''. We were 8th, at one point 3 or 4 points off the bottom half of the table I think, but still, avoiding relegation was the aim, not keep ourselves in a higher position...

[ROBFLECK 132]

[quote user="norfolkbroadslim"]

Thank funk we have the number of points that we do.

 

I can''t help but feel that the sooner we reach that 40 point mark, which seems to be a heavy weight hanging round our necks, the better.  Then maybe we can play some more relaxed football as we did earlier in the season.

[/quote]completely agree Nfs but I just can''t see us getting anything at Newcastle or even a win against Wolves if we play like this. It seems like there''s been some added pressure. The run of results, the 40 point 5h1t,... don''t know.but now Lambert has to show his class

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]Why 40 points? Seriously, 40 points is not needed, QPR are going to gain 15 more points than us? As well as Blackburn 11, and Bolton 14? But, lots of people said the lack of clean sheets didn''t matter, I think if we had conceded less, without even changing results, just look at games like Bolton away, did they deserve a goal? Sunderland home, Swansea home, Newcastle home, QPR home and away. Did we need to concede in all those games? And the fact we concede so often means when were not playing as well, like today, Everton away, but get a 1-0 lead, were not going to win because were not good enough to score the 2nd, and are destined to concede, the Chelsea and Bolton home games seem like major flukes to be honest...[/quote]

 

Have you read my second post. 

 

40 points because thats what the communications from the club keep saying.  

 

Any talk of relegation is nonesense.  We are now 14 points above the drop zone with only 10 games remaining.

[Gingerpele 0]

Yes I have, and you''ve now done the same thing that I did and replied to the first post, before seeing the second post :P

[Ozbarclay 0]

Wes man of the match...hmmm.... some good things but lost it to often to be mom. Thought Ruddy did pretty well...and ...erm well maybe that''s why Wes got itPleased to see Morison closer to his capability though

[Herman 9,835]

[quote user="Ozbarclay"]Wes man of the match...hmmm.... some good things but lost it to often to be mom. Thought Ruddy did pretty well...and ...erm well maybe that''s why Wes got it

Pleased to see Morison closer to his capability though[Y]
[/quote]

Agree with that.Probably the only plus point from the game.

[kick it off 1,956]

Pretty dreadful today, better teams would have beaten us comfortably.

We were Barcelona for the first 15 minutes and Norwich United for the rest of the game. Just never got going again. Wigan really aren''t very good and we let them dominate the game, I''m really not very impressed to say the least.

That was a serious opportunity for 3 points and we let ourselves down.

I''m really not a Morison lover but credit where it is due, he was probably our best player when he came on - he actually looked bothered. Wes faded badly in the second half after a great display in the first.

Im not one of these who expects us to win every game, but we nade a very poor wigan side look decent today.

Very disappointing.

[ZLF 275]

Ruddy good but not get my motm as he fumbled a couple of shots; but he was good again. whitbread solid, naughton good, wes prob motm, Fox ok but had no out ball from holt today who was far too static

morison and pilkington really caught the eye when they came on.

[shefcanary 2,466]

Sorry guys but here goes, I''m going to sound like a broken record.  

 

I''m still putting this run of poor form down to the defeat at home to Leicester.  If we were still in the cup the players would be competing for more this season than just appearance bonuses and a couple of more points.  Jesus, if that performance doesn''t convince you that winning is a habit that needs to be pursued at all times then I give up on you.

[PurpleCanary 5,585]

[quote user="shefcanary"]

Sorry guys but here goes, I''m going to sound like a broken record.  

 

I''m still putting this run of poor form down to the defeat at home to Leicester.  If we were still in the cup the players would be competing for more this season than just appearance bonuses and a couple of more points.  Jesus, if that performance doesn''t convince you that winning is a habit that needs to be pursued at all times then I give up on you.

[/quote]

 

If it''s a broken record you''re not the only one playing it. I think our approach to that game was wrong-headed, and is more likely to be a factor than any supposed nervousness about reaching the 40-point mark. That said I think there is also a simple explanation for today, and that is that Lambert picked the wrong formation. Football is football, not basketball. Possession is paramount. You have and the other side doesn''t.

[7rew 0]

"Football is football, not basketball. Possession is paramount. You have and the other side doesn''t."

The second part of that statement is equally true in Basketball.

[Buncey 1]

Possession is as important, if not more important, in basketball as it is in football.That said we have got to give ourselves a break and keep the ball. Our players were exhausted come the end of the match.

[PurpleCanary 5,585]

[quote user="Fellas"]Possession is as important, if not more important, in basketball as it is in football.

That said we have got to give ourselves a break and keep the ball. Our players were exhausted come the end of the match.
[/quote]

 

My point, perhaps not well-made, was it was like watching a basketball match, going from end to end. As you say, we needed to hold on to the ball, and tire them out. And the formation was all wrong for that.

[Indy_Bones 441]

The formation was wrong IMHO, and I genuinely think it''s a very limited tactic at this level.The diamond worked great in League 1, was good in the Championship, but can''t cut it against well disciplined teams at this level.I also think there was a lack of effort in parts from the lads, especially in comparison to their performance levels against Man Utd.That should have been 3 points today, but we were lucky to walk away with 1...

[Buncey 1]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]

[quote user="Fellas"]Possession is as important, if not more important, in basketball as it is in football.That said we have got to give ourselves a break and keep the ball. Our players were exhausted come the end of the match.[/quote]

 

My point, perhaps not well-made, was it was like watching a basketball match, going from end to end. As you say, we needed to hold on to the ball, and tire them out. And the formation was all wrong for that.

[/quote]I apologise for being a bit of an ar.se to you there Purple. I completely agree, what''s more, our defence is not very good at dealing with player who run at us. I still have nightmares of Nugent, Sinclair and Borini.

[YellowBlood 0]

Sadly I thought we were dire, we were outplayed by the bottom team in the league today and barely deserved a draw. Looked tired and lethargic up until the last 10 minutes when all of a sudden we started to play. Sadly I can see us sliding down the table with the fixtures we have in the run in and with performances like the ones lately we won''t be picking up many points, today was the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways against a side who will be relegated yet the players didn''t want it enough IMO. Very annoyed.

[Legend Iwan 30]

 [quote user="Gingerpele"]We were better than Wigan that day, drew because of a 50/50 penalty decision, after a silly mistake from De Laet. It was most of the players, and the managers first premiership game. Anyway, the formation barley matters, we still operate in a similar fashion. When we play with two wingers, they don''t spend the whole game pushing past the full backs and whipping in crosses do they?[/quote]

GP, what you reckon now? Do you at least understand why I was apprehensive towards playing the diamond?