Weekly De-Brief: A serious conversation needs to be had now...
Wigan Athletic have suffered a fifth defeat in our opening six games in all competitions. Are there any positives to be taking, or is our situation really that bad?
Less than a month has passed since football returned for a new season, and it has certainly been far from an enjoyable 26 days in the life of a Wigan Athletic supporter.
The weekend before last, Crawley Town visited the Brick Community Stadium and were sent home with a 1-0 loss. Did we play well? Not particularly, but we got the job done. That win put an end to our three-game losing streak and provided some optimism for the coming games. However, that optimism was short-lived…
In this weekly de-brief, I will look back over our loss against Birmingham City and an incredibly disappointing performance in the EFL Trophy against Morecambe FC.
Let’s try to make some sense of what happened, and dive into a conversation that surely has to be had now 👇🏼
Part One: Late Heartbreak
Part Two: EFL Trophy Disappointment
Part Three: The Weekly De-Brief
Part Four: Academy and Women’s Round-Up
Part Five: Our Next Week
Late Heartbreak 😩
A trip to St. Andrews Stadium to play against Birmingham City is something that no team in League One will be looking forward to this season. The Blues have invested a significant amount of money in their squad for this season, and the difference in squad value between their team and ours is staggering.
Prior to our game, Birmingham had won 2 and drawn 1, with Alfie May topping the goalscoring charts with three in three. They were always going to be hard to contain, and it would have taken an almighty team effort for Latics to travel back north with anything to show from this game.
Shaun Maloney opted for an unchanged starting XI from our win against Crawley Town to try and keep that momentum going.
👕 Starting XI: Sam Tickle, James Carragher, Jason Kerr ©️, Will Aimson, Luke Chambers, Baba Adeeko, Matt Smith, Dion Rankine, Thelo Aasgaard, Silko Thomas, Joe Hugill
🔄 Subs: Andy Lonergan, Toby Sibbick, Steven Sessegnon, Jensen Weir, Scott Smith, Callum McManaman, Dale Taylor
After a decent start to the game from Latics, who were playing the ball around well inside the Blues half, it was the hosts who opened the scoring in the 18th minute. 7 touches are all it took to play the ball on the ground from their goalkeeper straight through our team for Alfie May to finish off. Poor.
In the build-up to their goal, Latics were set in an almost 4-1-4-1 formation, with Baba Adeeko at LAM alongside Thelo Aasgaard. This left Matt Smith all on his own in the midfield up against Willum Willumson and Luke Harris. I am no coach, but even I know that is not going to end well.
When Willumson turned, he had so much space to run into, and could easily send the ball through the Latics defence to set May free on goal. Jason Kerr and Will Aimson tried and failed an offside trap, but then didn’t help themselves by stopping and calling for the offside. Play to the whistle, lads! 🙄
Despite being a goal down against one of the league’s powerhouses, I did feel that Latics played some good football at times and didn’t look bad at all moving forward. We had a few chances to level the game, especially with Aasgaard’s header at the far post, but it’s becoming clearer that our presence in the final third is not challenging defences well enough.
That said, our equaliser was the result of good build-up play and trying our luck. Jensen Weir found Dion Rankine on the right, and his burst of pace down the wing - along with Weir continuing his run forward - dragged the Blues defence out of position. This opened up the space for the ball to be played back inside and eventually fed centrally to an unmarked Matt Smith who had time to pick out the assist.
As you can see in the right image, when Smith receives the ball from Sessegnon, he has three viable options to pass to. Thomas on the left - which would have been risky for an interception, Weir on the right - which would have played it to his weaker left foot, or Aasgaard more centrally who can attempt a long-range effort. Smith went for the latter, and Aasgaard’s shot from range bundled in through the goalkeepers’ legs. Sometimes, you need an element of luck and we got that ⚽️
After the equaliser, Birmingham certainly stepped their pressure up a couple of notches for the final twenty minutes. Latics dropped to 10 players after Sessegnon couldn’t be replaced after his injury due to all of our substitutions being made by the 70th minute, which meant we had to defend for our lives.
A 91st-minute cross into the box eventually fell to Scott Wright, whose strike fired into the back of the net and caused a late heartbreak at the death. Football can be a cruel game sometimes.
Putting the fact we lost to one side, I was happy with periods of the game where we played some decent football. With the situation our squad is in right now, we aren’t going to be able to play incredibly attractive football, but we played smart and worked the ball around well high up the field. Our goal didn’t come as a shock, and given the opposition, that’s a big compliment for how we applied ourselves in this game.
Onto the next one…
EFL Trophy Disappointment 🏆
With six players away on international duty, Jensen Weir being cup-tied, and Steven Sessegnon being injured, Shaun Maloney had to make a vast amount of changes to our first starting lineup of the new Bristol Street Motors Trophy campaign.
👕 Starting XI: Tom Watson, James Carragher, Toby Sibbick, Will Aimson, Harry McHugh, Kai Payne, Matt Smith, Scott Smith, Callum McManaman, Silko Thomas, Josh Stones
🔄 Subs: Andy Lonergan, Jason Kerr, Jack Reilly, Dion Rankine, Chris Sze, Maleace Asamoah, Joe Hugill
I was happy with the way we started the game. We tried to play the ball through the middle, we found it difficult, but we quickly identified that focusing the build-up down the right was giving us the best chance of getting in behind. However, we did not capitalise on that as well as we should have.
Below are two screenshots of a big chance in the 8th minute that we had to go one goal up. McManaman received a ball over the top from Aimson (which was brilliant, by the way), worked it around Adam Lewis without much fuss, and then had a clear route to run the ball into the box.
Throughout his entire run, I - along with every Latics fan, I presume - was begging for McManaman to take a shot on goal. Let’s not kid ourselves, we were trying a beat a goalkeeper who is playing for a side bottom of League Two, not Manuel Neuer, so our chances of being able to drill a ball past him from this position were high.
However, McManaman slowed his run down and invited four Morecambe defenders to recover before laying it off to Carragher to take a shot. Realistically, the only place Carra could have buried the ball was into the far side, but his attempt was blocked. McManaman should have tried the shot, and we would have been presented with a very different game. That was a signal of things to come.
Four minutes later, Kai Payne’s failed backheel to Matt Smith on the edge of the Morecambe box allowed their number 8, Macadam, to lead a counterattack. He fed it wide to Tollitt who was able to enter our box relatively unphased as McHugh stepped off him and allowed the winger to take three or four touches to set himself.
I may be critiquing this too harshly, but to me, Scott Smith (#21) is in no man’s land, and Payne’s (#27) positioning is all wrong. Payne should be tighter to Macadam (#8) and in front of him to prevent the eventual goalscorer from getting a strike-off. If we really want to become a competitive side, these are the basics that we simply have to improve on.
Unfortunately, I could go on and on providing examples of poor positioning, lack of awareness, and failures at the basics, but that would end up as a full 90-minute debrief.
When we came back out after the break, I felt we had a short spell of looking the better side again. This chance that I have highlighted below is an example of how our lack of awareness hurt us in front of the goal. For context, Sibbick had just sent a searching ball over the top for Scott Smith - who should have fallen to the floor of the penalty area with the tugging on his shirt - before he turned and pulled it back for McHugh on the edge of the area.
Instead of looking up and seeing how much space Sze had to work with if a well-weighted ball was played into the marked space, he decided to take a wild effort on goal when a defender right in front of him was blocking half of it. Again, there are many examples of this, but none of the decisions we made in front of the goal were beneficial to our chances of scoring in open play.
Our penalty win in the 62nd minute did come from some strong link-up play in the middle of the park dictated by Chris Sze, I will give them that. Eventually, James Carragher received the ball on the right to play a 1-2 with Scott Smith inside the area, which lured the Morecambe defender to leave a leg out when Carra received it back. The ref didn't need any convincing.
It was good to see Joe Hugill get off the mark for the season, but with the number of chances he had to get a shot off, he should have been in contention for the match ball, not just a name on the losing side of the scoresheet. However, that may be a conversation for another day.
One minute after equalising, the Latics were 2-1 down. 9 touches are all it took from kickoff, with 4 of those coming from Morecambe players - the kickoff, the lump forward, the touch to set the strike from Angol, and the finish. I don’t even have any words for this. It was so poor.
Morecambe do deserve credit for their win, which has ended their five-game losing streak and got them on the scoresheet for the first time this season. They set up well, knew how to frustrate us, and Derek Adams’ substitutes all did their jobs well. I hope their ownership struggles find a solution soon and they can kick on from this.
For Latics, a serious conversation needs to be had after this game.
The Weekly De-Brief 🤔
Coming into this new week, I knew the game against Birmingham would have required something special for us to walk away with something, but I felt confident in our ability to kick off our EFL Trophy campaign with a win.
The two losses now mean that Latics have lost five of our opening six games this season, and our goals have come from two penalties and a goalkeeper mistake. With this, I feel it is clear as day that the way Shaun Maloney is trying to make us play is not working.
I think I can see what we are trying to do, but I feel the patterns of play this requires are far too intricate for our squad of players to pull off well - especially when our midfielders and forwards are as static as they have been. Opponents can just sit back, watch us overplay the ball, and clear up the danger without much stress.
Every time we lose the ball, we can be played through far too easily and our opponents love the space they have to move the ball through. We will not win many games if we continue to play like this.
I am still “Shaun Maloney in”, and I do feel confident that he can get it right, but he needs to make sure we are working on changes to our gameplan and the players who will feature. The international break has come at a good time to make the necessary changes, but it’s a shame we have so many players away for these critical training sessions.
That said, it is a good time for the fringe players who are serious about wanting to make a positive impact to step up and prove why they should be involved.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are. You have got to turn up. Old, young, anything - no excuses. None left. We cannot keep getting beat.”
Callum McManaman post Morecambe FC defeat.
The Academy and Women’s Round-Up 🔵
Wigan Athletic Under 18s took a trip down to Essex to face a Colchester United side who had won just one of their opening three league fixtures. They were off the back of a 2-0 U18 PDL Cup victory though, and Latics would have to be at their best to make it three wins from our opening four league games.
👕 Starting XI: Jake Spaven, Alex Hughes, Mason Goulding, Sam Bolland, James Knott ©️, Charley McKee, Christy Edwards, John-Paul Cavanagh, Cole Simms, Reece Greenhalgh, Harrison Bettoni
🔄 Subs: Rohan Taylor, Zac Edwards, Lucas Hagan, Liam Flight, Oscar Harris
Cole Simms’ first-half strike put Latics one goal up at the break. That is the forward’s seventh of the season. In the second half, Harrison Bettoni, Reece Greenhalgh, and Oscar Harris also pitched in with goals, meaning that Colchester United’s strike was nothing but a consolation.
Latics 4-1 victory followed up their 4-0 victory over Watford last time out, and places us third in the table after four games. This looks to be an exciting group of under-18s!
⚽️ Goals: Simms, Bettoni, Greenhalgh, Harris
Wigan Athletic Under 21s hosted Brentford on Tuesday afternoon, with the visitors recovering from their opening day 6-0 loss at Sheffield United with a 1-0 victory over Coventry City last time out.
👕 Starting XI: Triliast (GK), Llyton Chapman, Trialist, Sam Bolland, James Knott, Trialist, Christy Edwards, Reece Greenhalgh, Oscar Harris, Tom Costello ©️, Leo Graham
🔄 Subs: Matty Corran, Alex Hughes, Mason Goulding, Charley McKee, Harrison Bettoni
Nine of the players involved for our U21s here were involved in the 4-1 U18’s victory against Colchester United. Jack Reilly was missing due to being involved with our first team.
Brentford took the lead in the 41st minute, putting them a goal up at the break. Shortly after the hour mark, Harrison Bettoni replaced Christy Edwards, followed by Charley McKee and Alex Hughes replacing Oscar Harris and Llyton Chapman ten minutes later.
With five minutes to go, one of our trialists levelled the game after cutting into his right foot and firing into the corner of the goal.
The draw gives Latics our first point of the U21s season and keeps us ahead of Crewe Alexandra who sit bottom without a point and a-10 goal difference.
⚽️ Goals: Trialist (85’)
Wigan Athletic Women embarked on their first-ever season, with a double game week against Haslingden Ladies and Euxton Girls.
In the build-up to their first game against Haslingden Ladies, Latics announced two new signings on the morning of the game; Lousia Black (Midfield) and Ellie Cleary (Forward).
👕 Starting XI: Amelia Knowles (GK), Sara Merican, Libby McCoy, Abbie Moore ©️, Holly Scott, Grace Carr, Niniola Dada, Molly Hassall, Laura Heslip, Ella Schickhoff, Issy Worswick
🔄 Subs: Faye Moseley, Louisa Black, Tegen Baker, Avagrace Hodson, Ellie Cleary
Thirty minutes into their Women’s team debut, Ellie Cleary had come off the bench are fired Latics ahead. This goal put Latics a goal ahead at the break.
Shortly after the half, Cleary added a second after Grace Carr’s cross picked her out at the back post. The rain had started to come down, but the Latics continued to battle throughout the game and marked their first-ever game as a 2-0 victory! Grace Carr was awarded the Player of the Match award 🏆
⚽️ Goals: Cleary (32’, 49’)
On Tuesday, Latics Women took on Euxton Girls, with three changes made to the starting XI as Ellie Cleary, Louisa Black, and Avagrace Hodson came in for Sara Merican, Niniola Dada, and Ella Schickhoff.
👕 Starting XI: Amelia Knowles (GK), Isobel Worswick, Abbie Moore ©️, Libby McCoy, Holly Scott, Louisa Black, Molly Hassall, Grace Carr, Laura Heslip, Avagrace Hodson, Ellie Cleary
🔄 Subs: Faye Moseley, Sara Merican, Niniola Dada, Tegan Baker, Ella Schickhoff
Six minutes into the game, Hodson opened the scoring with a header that met Worswick’s long-range free kick from our own half. Euxton levelled the game in the 18th minute, which kept the game at 1-1 until the half.
A battling second half saw Latics having to defend well, and Ella Schickhoff had to come off with a knee injury. Latics kept going and in the 85th minute, the hero of the opening game, Ellie Cleary, struck the ball brilliantly to win the game - her third goal in two games!
⚽️ Goals: Hodson (6’), Cleary (85’)
The Next Week 🗓️
Saturday 7th September | Wigan Athletic U18s vs Bournemouth U18s | U18 Professional Development League
Sunday 8th September | Wigan Athletic Women vs Blackburn Eagles | Lancashire Women's County League (Tier 7)
Monday 9th September| Watford U21s vs Wigan Athletic U21s | U21 Professional Development League
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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