Wigan Athletic vs Mansfield Town | League One Preview
Wigan Athletic are back on nights as we host Mansfield Town under the lights of the Brick Community Stadium on Tuesday.
Part One | An overview of our opponents. 🔎
Part Two | “Who to Watch” players. 👓
Part Three | What can we expect from this game? 🏟️
After a disappointing return from the international break with a 2-0 loss away at Cambridge United on Saturday, Wigan Athletic have the chance to bounce back on Tuesday night with a game against Mansfield Town under the lights of the Brick Community Stadium.
Nigel Clough has said that his side are ‘living more than a dream’ following their impressive start to life back in League One, while Shaun Maloney said he was left ‘unbelievably angry’ following the Latics most recent performance.
The two sides have not met since the 2002/03 season when the Latics completed the double over the Stags. Wigan won the Second Division with 100 points that season, while Mansfield were relegated to the Third Division. However, both clubs find themselves in very different circumstances this time around.
Let’s see what we can expect from Tuesday’s game 👇
Mansfield Town
A dozen miles north of Nottingham, the lively market and former coal mining town of Mansfield has a football club that is on the rise, with the son of one of the greatest managers of all time, Nigel Clough, making his own mark on the game.
Mansfield Town were founded in 1897, under the name Mansfield Wesleyans due to forming from the local Wesleyan church, and began their journey in the local district amateur league in 1902. Four years later, they shortened their name to Mansfield Wesley after the church cut ties with them due to no longer being an amateur club, and they entered into the Notts & District league. In 1910, the club dropped ‘Wesley’ and became known as Mansfield Town, and entered into the Central Alliance League for the 1911/12 season.
World War I halted football just four years into their new journey but when The Stags* returned to Central Alliance action for the 19/20 season, they finished top of the table with 41 points from 30 games.
*Mansfield Town were nicknamed the Stags in the 1920s due to the area becoming known for the small deer that would roam in the nearby Sherwood Forest 🦌
The Stags played one more season in the Central Alliance League, finishing 5th despite picking up one more point than their title-winning season, before enrolling into the Midlands League from 21/22. It took just three seasons for Mansfield to win the title, and they defended their crown the following season to secure their first-ever back-to-back title wins. They almost secured a triple title win, but a runners-up medal would have to do in the 25/26 season before the club left the league and entered into the Midlands Combination division.
Mansfield came second in the Midlands Combination League in 26/27, before reentering the Midlands League after one season and winning the title for a third time in 28/29. Two tenth-place finishes then followed before Mansfield Town were eventually elected into the Football League to compete in the Third Division South in 1931 🤝
The Stags switched between the South and North divisions before World War II, eventually settling in the Third Division North from 47/48 onwards. Their best finish within the sixteen years at this level was second place in 50/51, and when the Football League abolished the regional divisions to become the Third and Fourth Division, Mansfield were entered into the higher league in 1958.
Two poor seasons followed, and Mansfield were relegated for the first time in their history to drop down into the Fourth Division. Three seasons later, The Stags regained their status in the Third Division after finishing above Gillingham on goal difference to claim the final promotion place.
Mansfield almost won promotion into the Second Division in 64/65, but this time were on the receiving end of finishing outside the promotion places on goal difference after tying on points with Bristol City, who went up with Carlisle United.
After eleven turbulent seasons, which included a relegation in 71/72 and a Fourth Division title-winning campaign in 74/75, Mansfield finally reached the Second Division after winning the league in 76/77 🏆
Unfortunately, their stay in the Second Division would only last one season, and they began a freefall back into the Fourth Division over the next two seasons. Six campaigns later, they rejoined the Third Division after a third-place finish secured promotion.
Mansfield fell into the fourth tier at the start of the 90s, and despite instant promotion back up, they were relegated again a season later to spend nine more seasons in the bottom tier of the Football League. A third-place finish in 01/02 gave the town optimism, but another instant relegation followed. The Stags almost bounced back up in 03/04 after securing a place in the Play-Offs, but after beating Northampton Town on penalties in the Semi-Final, they lost to Huddersfield Town on penalties in the Final 💔
Four seasons later, Mansfield finished 23rd in the newly named League Two and fell into the Conference League to end their 77-year stay in the Football League. A controversial Rotherham United goal in the final game of the season confirmed the Stags’ relegation, with their owner, Keith Haslam, being attacked by fans in the boardroom after the game.
Haslam sold the club, not including the ground, following the attack, much to the delight of the Stags supporters. Their former owner had made financial decisions that were not in the best interest of the club, to put it lightly, with the Chad newspaper stating “If his time at Stags were submitted to a TV company for a drama, it would probably be deemed too far-fetched and unbelievable.” - I feel like the same could be said for a couple of Latics recent ownership regimes 😵💫
The Stags would have to endure five seasons in the Conference League, before winning the title in the 2012/13 season with 95 points from 46 games, earning promotion with Play-Off winners, Newport County.
After picking up an 11th-place finish in their first season back in the Football League, Mansfield came too close for comfort to another relegation with a 21st-place finish in 14/15. Over the next four seasons, the Stags bettered their points tally each time to secure a League Two Play-Off spot in the 18/19 season. However, a loss to Newport County in the Semi-Finals ended their progress and a season later they reset to 21st.
Nigel Clough was appointed as Manager in November 2020, and began leading the Stags back up the table. After a 16th-place finish in their first full season together, Clough achieved a 7th-place finish a season later to enter the Play Offs. Mansfield beat Northampton Town 3-1 in the Semi-Finals, but lost 3-0 to Port Vale in the Final.
Mansfield bounced back well from their disappointment, and following an 8th-place finish, they climbed to third to achieve automatic promotion along with Stockport County and Wrexham.
To prepare the squad for this season, Clough bid farewell to; Callum Johnson (RB to Bradford City), John-Joe O’Toole (CB to AFC Wimbledon), Ollie Clarke (CM to Swindon Town), Anthony Hartigan (CM to Barnet), Davis Keillor-Dunn (FWD to Barnsley), and Will Swan (FWD to Crawley Town) 👋
Seven players were added to their squad, with Clough welcoming; Deji Oshilaja (CB from Burton Albion), Frazer Blake-Tracy (CB from Swindon Town), Keanu Baccus (MID from St Mirren), Ben Quinn (FWD from Celtic), Ben Waine (FWD from Plymouth Argyle), Lee Gregory (FWD from Sheffield Wednesday), and Will Evans (FWD from Newport County) - the latter being their only signing with a transfer fee ✍
So far this season, Mansfield have won six and drawn two of their ten games, placing them fourth with 20 points. They have scored seventeen, conceded twelve, and kept three clean sheets.
Away from home, Mansfield have won three of their four games, losing the other, and have kept two of their three clean sheets.
Mansfield Town Last 5 League One Results
Mansfield Town 2 - 1 Shrewsbury Town
⚽ Goals: L. Gregory (Pen. 49’), A. Lewis (86’)
Northampton Town 0 - 2 Mansfield Town
⚽ Goals: W. Evans (47’), A. Lewis (89’)
Crawley Town 0 - 2 Mansfield Town
⚽ Goals: L. Gregory (12’), B. Waine (90+2’)
Mansfield Town 2 - 0 Blackpool
⚽ Goals: W. Evans (8’, 39’)
Mansfield Town 0 - 1 Stevenage
Clough has created an impressive team with strong work rate, and these are the three players who have stood out most to me so far 👇
Lee Gregory (#19, Forward, Age: 36, joined on May 15th 2024 from Sheffield Wednesday)
After joining Mansfield Town in September 2009 and featuring just twice in the Conference League, Lee Gregory has gone on to have an impressive career in the EFL amassing over 350 appearances across the Championship and League One.
The forward contributed to 104 goals in 238 games for Millwall, and 41 in 101 games for Sheffield Wednesday most recently. When Mansfield Town added Gregory to their squad, this sent a strong message to the league that the Stags are here to have a successful season.
The 36-year-old has started in all nine of his appearances so far, hit the target with 11 of his 17 shots, and scored six goals. Gregory sits joint-top of the League One goalscoring charts and if Latics allow him time and space on the ball he can hurt us from any area around the box.
Will Evans (#42, Forward, Age: 27, joined on August 4th 2024 from Newport County)
Over the summer transfer window, Will Evans’ signature was one that many EFL teams were hoping to get. The 27-year-old Welshman scored 21 goals and provided 3 assists in 46 League Two games last season, in a Newport County side that finished 18th. Of their 62 goals, Evans was directly involved in 39% of them.
Evans has started in nine of his ten appearances, hitting the target nine times from his eighteen shots, and scored four goals. His last two goals came in the 2-0 victory over Blackpool, with Stephen McLaughlin assisting both.
Deji Oshilaja (#23, Centre Back, Age: 31, joined on June 17th 2024 from Burton Albion)
At Burton Albion last season, Deji Oshilaja was mostly utilised in the centre of midfield in his 43 appearances. Nigel Clough has had different plans for the Englishman and has been deploying him at centre back so far this season.
Oshilaja has welcomed the new role, stating on his arrival to the club “The manager has a clear plan for me in terms of what he wants me to bring to the team, so that is exciting. The way people speak about him, I feel that is someone I want to play for.”
So far this season, Oshilaja has played every minute and is only one of two players to do so along with goalkeeper, Christy Pym. He has had the most touches of any Stag (711), won 22 of his 35 ground duels, won 33 of his 48 aerial duels, and has made the most clearances of any of their defenders (42). The centre back also has one goal to his name, which was a poachers’ finish in the six-yard box in the 4-1 loss to Lincoln City at the end of August.
If Wigan are to get a good result against Mansfield on Tuesday night, we will have to be performing back at our best both defensively and in attacking phases.
Clough has seen his side concede just four goals in the last seven games, where they have scored eleven in the same run. Seven of their goals conceded came in two games, with a 3-3 draw against Burton and that 4-1 loss at Lincoln, but that was back in mid-August and Mansfield have been much better in all areas since then.
The one slight positive that I could craft from our loss against Cambridge United is how uncharacteristic that defensive performance was. We seldom see Will Aimson and Jason Kerr make the sort of unforced mistakes that they did, and if our backline can get back to the form they were in prior to the international break this could give us a good platform to build on in this game.
Shaun Maloney has confirmed that Jensen Weir is a doubt for this game due to an ankle injury that forced him off in the early stages of our encounter with Cambridge United. Adding to the injury list are Jonny Smith, Callum McManaman, and Luke Chambers, but Maloney has confirmed that Baba Adeeko is likely to be involved.
The gaffer will also serve a touchline ban for picking up another yellow card in the Cambridge game.
For most of this season, our attacking line has not been effective and I feel something has to change. Our wingers play very wide, and this can isolate Thelo Aasgaard and Dale Taylor in the middle of the field, so I would like to see Maloney try a different attacking setup.
A setup that I would like to see is a 4-2-2-2 formation, with Matt Smith and Baba Adeeko the more defensive duo, Thelo Aasgaard and Michael Olakigbe the more attacking duo that operate within the lines of the penalty area, and Josh Stones and Dale Taylor as the forward duo. If either Aasgaard or Olakigbe needs to drift out to the wing, then this formation allows them to, but I feel they will be much more effective working narrower to create a better link-up with the players around them.
Obviously, I am not the manager and Maloney will have his own ideas, but persisting with the same setup that isn’t working is going to lead to more of the same results. As it stands, Latics are 23rd in the ‘Shots on Target’ table. That stat speaks volumes to what we are seeing, and something has to change.
👕 Starting XI Prediction: Tickle, Ramsay, Kerr, Aimson, Carragher, Adeeko, M Smith, Olakigbe, Aasgaard, Stones, Taylor
⚽ Score Prediction: Wigan Athletic 2 - 1 Mansfield Town
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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