Wigan Athletic (A)

[superjohnmcginlay]

tickets have arrived 
 

 

[embankment]

5 hours ago, Lostock Whites said:

Even though we are joint 2nd, it feels that virtually everyone expects and wants us to lose tomorrow. It's almost as if we are underdogs, especially after Saturdays horror show.

Wigan fans, Derby fans, Pompey fans, Barnsley fans. Referees have also been sending us off left right and centre, not giving us any penalties and giving the opposition plenty in the past few weeks. 

It's very much us against the world at the moment and if that doesn't motivate the players, nothing will.

In both of the batterings from this lot and even Blackpool on Saturday, none of those games were we outplayed or dominated, despite the scorelines.

It's simply because the opposition have wanted it more, been clinical where we have been wasteful and also they've had some rub of the green.

Despite everything and all the negativity, Im genuinely confident that we will get the 3 points. It's all a mentality issue and surely now the players have been drilled in by themselves and Evatt of how to approach this game and what it means.

And the intensity and desire we need to show cannot just be for Wigan away, we have to do it in each of our last 13 games.

That means desire to defend, win first balls, 2nd, 3rd, desire to score, make runs, put a challenge in, stand on the ball when the opposition looks to take a quick free kick(Blackpool's 1st goal). Be intense and switched on from the 1st minute.

We make that shift in our mentality as well as play the football we are capable of, promotion is ours.

But we will see tomorrow if the players have really learnt or not 

That's bloody good , Ian should put you infront of the players at 5pm tomorrow 

[MickyD]

2 hours ago, Whitesince63 said:

I think we’re over exaggerating Saturdays result. Had we put away even one of those gilt edged chances it would have changed the game. Instead we switched off and paid the price. The ref was poor but no worse than many others we’ve had and you can’t really blame him for any of the goals, we just didn’t do our jobs. New game, different day tomorrow and a perfect opportunity for the players to get back out there and make up for Saturday. If they can’t or don’t do that then something seriously has to change to make sure it does.

I reckon blaming the ref for giving a free kick for a fuck-all tackle which led to Blackpool’s first goal might be one. 

[tomski]

1 minute ago, MickyD said:

I reckon blaming the ref for giving a free kick for a fuck-all tackle which led to Blackpool’s first goal might be one. 

It’s a bit tiresome bemoaning the officials. 

[MickyD]

Just now, tomski said:

It’s a bit tiresome bemoaning the officials. 

I’m not blaming him for all four goals I’m pointing out that perhaps WS63’s statement that he wasn’t to blame for any of the goals we conceded was, in my opinion, incorrect. 

[CSW]

I see last train at 23:15 is a fcking bus replacement tomorrow.
GMP will probably make sure we can’t get the 22:07 as well. 

[Steejay]

Yeah, the ref was really fucking shite, but he wasn’t the reason why we lost.

[tomski]

Just now, MickyD said:

I’m not blaming him for all four goals I’m pointing out that perhaps WS63’s statement that he wasn’t to blame for any of the goals we conceded was, in my opinion, incorrect. 

Fair enough.

I am gonna say I think you are incorrect on that statement unless there  is a rule that says fall asleep or down tools if a borderline free kick goes against you.

[Johnnyrotten]

2 hours ago, Whitesince63 said:

I think we’re over exaggerating Saturdays result. Had we put away even one of those gilt edged chances it would have changed the game. Instead we switched off and paid the price. The ref was poor but no worse than many others we’ve had and you can’t really blame him for any of the goals, we just didn’t do our jobs. New game, different day tomorrow and a perfect opportunity for the players to get back out there and make up for Saturday. If they can’t or don’t do that then something seriously has to change to make sure it does.

I agree Saturday's result has been over egged - if that had been at Peterboro yes there would have been an inquest but because all us fans have built up these 2 local derbies virtually since the turn of the year, its been taken out of proportion to the extent that the players hunger etc has been questioned.  We played well in the 1st half, even with our poor defending for their 2 well taken goals a draw at H-T wouldn't have flattered us one bit, no Bolton fan could seriously question that?  Sloppy 3rd goal down to (mainly) Coleman - that's 3 times in 2 games at Blackpool he's charged out of his area unnecessarily and nearly conceded all 3, its very poor by him (added to the needless pen v Wycombe that could have been a red). 

You can add Santos if you like but harsh to me as he was just trying to right a wrong - but that goal hardly reflects on any other players, who have all been tarred with the same "bottling it" brush despite some good individual performances in the 1st hour.  After that, thanks to yet another incorrect ref decision, its 10 v 11, game over.  We conceded one goal with a man down for half an hour - hardly crime of the century.  And did I mention every decision went their way, all the little free kicks, all our momentum halted by soft fouls given against us.  If that happens again at Wigan, of course we'll lose, we aren't good enough to win tough away games so easily that we can just ride out a biased refereeing performance.

[Lt. Aldo Raine]

10 minutes ago, tomski said:

Fair enough.

I am gonna say I think you are incorrect on that statement unless there  is a rule that says fall asleep or down tools if a borderline free kick goes against you.

Exactly

We put a man right in front of the ball like most teams do and it can't happen

[Casino]

11 minutes ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

Exactly

We put a man right in front of the ball like most teams do and it can't happen

I agree, but i think itd be a booking

 

[ZiggyStardust]

15 minutes ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

Exactly

We put a man right in front of the ball like most teams do and it can't happen

 

3 minutes ago, Casino said:

I agree, but i think itd be a booking

 

Red card, 18 game ban, with that clown on Saturday in charge.

[Tonge moor green jacket]

That's pure sloppiness isn't it. Bad preparation or whatever.

So there is improvement to be made.

At the same time, we know that some set pieces are scored, and not all are prevented, irrespective of preparation. 

Therefore, the more incorrect decisions of that nature that are given against you, the greater chance of conceding. 

I would say in a slight contradiction though, that as a team, we are perhaps not the best at tackling. Maybe this is in part derived from the way in which they are coached- close down quickly and force passing errors and fouls, rather than flying into tackles directly. Which is arguably now being adopted by our opponents.

Some may press higher, others allowing us some possession to enable space behind, but both with the concept of getting at us on "transition".

Ive also been reading about Darwinism, and related stuff tonight: its clearly influenced my thinking! 😁

[Casino]

3 minutes ago, ZiggyStardust said:

 

Red card, 18 game ban, with that clown on Saturday in charge.

Im guessing sheehan who didnt foul him, was nearest

One card from a ban

Meltdown if he did

[DirtySanchez]

6 minutes ago, Casino said:

I agree, but i think itd be a booking

 

Isn't that more to do with if you deliberately block the taking of the free kick?

Wasn't there a wolves player who got a second yellow for it? 

[Traf]

Ogbeta in for Ashworth tomorrow
Same midfield as Saturday
Victor to partner CMG up front.

Apparently.

[tomski]

5 minutes ago, Casino said:

Im guessing sheehan who didnt foul him, was nearest

One card from a ban

Meltdown if he did

🙈

[Casino]

I dunno

Just think if he stands over it, they kick it against him and hes banned

Ive just about got over the red card, its not that it wasnt a foul, no way i could tell, but overall emotion of the day was frustration

On one look, CMG is fouled, penalty, 2 0 and imo game over

Add in the 2 point blank efforts, we shouldve been out of sight, balls all to do with bottle, just not good enough and a bit of bad luck

Second half, never felt we were getting anything

 

[Leyther_Matt]

I thought Sheehan was near enough that he’d able to plead ignorance. Even if he stands on it but then starts to walk backwards very slowly he’d have got away without a booking based on the evidence of the last god knows how many years. 

[ianofcleveleys]

1 hour ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

That's pure sloppiness isn't it. Bad preparation or whatever.

So there is improvement to be made.

At the same time, we know that some set pieces are scored, and not all are prevented, irrespective of preparation. 

Therefore, the more incorrect decisions of that nature that are given against you, the greater chance of conceding. 

I would say in a slight contradiction though, that as a team, we are perhaps not the best at tackling. Maybe this is in part derived from the way in which they are coached- close down quickly and force passing errors and fouls, rather than flying into tackles directly. Which is arguably now being adopted by our opponents.

Some may press higher, others allowing us some possession to enable space behind, but both with the concept of getting at us on "transition".

Ive also been reading about Darwinism, and related stuff tonight: its clearly influenced my thinking! 😁

We certainly aren't the best, collectively, at tackling. Some of our efforts at clearing situations up in our box are airy fairy at best, the Northampton goal a case in point. It's not in their DNA though, they prefer (and are coached no doubt) to intercept, nick the ball to start a transition. That's all very well in some areas of the pitch but too many times around our own box we see people dabbing their foot in or shitting out of tackles altogether. One of the Wycombe players ran through four such wafty efforts the other Tuesday. 

[Ani]

The idea the ref was not a factor on Saturday is bollocks.

Their first goal CMG is challenged and it is 'more' of a foul than the free kick that is given. Of course we need to defend better but throughout the game every 50/50 was given their way and it stopped any momentum we were building.

How Dembele was not booked and 2 minutes later GJ got booked was a joke. Once booked a player has to be more cautious so it affects the rest of the game. 
 

We lost because we went to sleep a couple of times and Blackpool played on our weakness in transition but the ref made their job so much easier. 

[Stig]

1 minute ago, Ani said:

The idea the ref was not a factor on Saturday is bollocks.

Their first goal CMG is challenged and it is 'more' of a foul than the free kick that is given. Of course we need to defend better but throughout the game every 50/50 was given their way and it stopped any momentum we were building.

How Dembele was not booked and 2 minutes later GJ got booked was a joke. Once booked a player has to be more cautious so it affects the rest of the game. 
 

We lost because we went to sleep a couple of times and Blackpool played on our weakness in transition but the ref made their job so much easier. 

That first goal can't be on the ref, it's practically on the half way line. I'm not saying he made the right decision but there's a load of these kind of nothing free kicks in the middle of the park throughout every game the refs get wrong, some in our favour, some against.

More worrying is how we switch off completely and a simple pass from that free kick results in then having a player charging towards our box unchallenged.

I think I've just got fed up of blaming the ref tbh. We just need to toughen up.

[JimmyRiddle]

3 minutes ago, Stig said:

That first goal can't be on the ref, it's practically on the half way line. I'm not saying he made the right decision but there's a load of these kind of nothing free kicks in the middle of the park throughout every game the refs get wrong, some in our favour, some against.

And let's be honest, if we'd been in that position and got a luck FK we wouldn't have got it to the edge of the opposition box in 2 passes!! We'd have gone backwards, played it across the back and let them all tuck in and get their shape back.

 

[Dr Faustus]

10 minutes ago, Stig said:

That first goal can't be on the ref, it's practically on the half way line. I'm not saying he made the right decision but there's a load of these kind of nothing free kicks in the middle of the park throughout every game the refs get wrong, some in our favour, some against.

More worrying is how we switch off completely and a simple pass from that free kick results in then having a player charging towards our box unchallenged.

I think I've just got fed up of blaming the ref tbh. We just need to toughen up.

[Rizlar]

Sick of hearing the word transition the new buzz word.