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Wanderers Ways. Neil Thompson 1961-2021

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The Wigan Comparison

After seeing Wigans highlights on MOTD tonight, it got me thinking about how ourselves and Wigan have faired since we both had disasterous starts to the 2007/2008 season after both starting the compaign with inexperienced managers who were promoted from within.

 

By mid October 2007 Lee had gone and Megson had come in with Bolton only clocking up 5 points prior to Megsons appointment, by mid November 2007 Hutchings was sacked by Wigan and Steve Bruce was brought in with Wigan amassing 8 points at that point.

 

Comparing the Bolton and Wigan squads which Megson and Bruce inherited I would say the Bolton squad was by far the stronger on paper, both sides stayed up, so kudos for both Megson and Bruce in that feat.

 

So my point is why do we keep being told that we should be lucky to even be in the Premiership as we are a small club and that because of our lack of resources, we have to revert to play a certain style, where as Wigan whos net spend between Bruces appointment and the end of last season was virtually the same as ours during that period of time (Appx. ?8m) are able to compete by playing a more expressive type of football which has resulted in them finishing the last 2 seasons above us in the table.

 

As a fan are my expectations too high, just for wanting to finish above a local rival with identical resources at their disposal?

 

I'll admit I am not a Megson fan, but as long as he is our manager I will back him because he is our manager even though the faith is completely blind, what i am fed up of is being more or less told to know our place as a small unfashionable northern club and just accept that is what we are.

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After seeing Wigans highlights on MOTD tonight, it got me thinking about how ourselves and Wigan have faired since we both had disasterous starts to the 2007/2008 season after both starting the compaign with inexperienced managers who were promoted from within.

 

By mid October 2007 Lee had gone and Megson had come in with Bolton only clocking up 5 points prior to Megsons appointment, by mid November 2007 Hutchings was sacked by Wigan and Steve Bruce was brought in with Wigan amassing 8 points at that point.

 

Comparing the Bolton and Wigan squads which Megson and Bruce inherited I would say the Bolton squad was by far the stronger on paper, both sides stayed up, so kudos for both Megson and Bruce in that feat.

 

So my point is why do we keep being told that we should be lucky to even be in the Premiership as we are a small club and that because of our lack of resources, we have to revert to play a certain style, where as Wigan whos net spend between Bruces appointment and the end of last season was virtually the same as ours during that period of time (Appx. ?8m) are able to compete by playing a more expressive type of football which has resulted in them finishing the last 2 seasons above us in the table.

 

As a fan are my expectations too high, just for wanting to finish above a local rival with identical resources at their disposal?

 

I'll admit I am not a Megson fan, but as long as he is our manager I will back him because he is our manager even though the faith is completely blind, what i am fed up of is being more or less told to know our place as a small unfashionable northern club and just accept that is what we are.

 

 

You sure we had the better squad?

 

The facts are that in the first 15 months Megson was there 28 players left of which only 3 players remain at Premiership clubs - Anelka, Faye and Diouf!

 

http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~1662288,00.html

 

In the same time Wigan have sold - Heskey ?3.5 million, Wilson Palacios ?12 million, Antonio Valencia ?16 million and Lee Cattermole ?6 million

 

In just four players they had ?37.5 million pounds of talent - we sold Anelka and Nolan for less than ?20 million and got less than ?10 million for the other 26 players!

 

You still convinced we had a better squad?

You sure we had the better squad?

 

The facts are that in the first 15 months Megson was there 28 players left of which only 3 players remain at Premiership clubs - Anelka, Faye and Diouf!

 

http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~1662288,00.html

 

In the same time Wigan have sold - Heskey ?3.5 million, Wilson Palacios ?12 million, Antonio Valencia ?16 million and Lee Cattermole ?6 million

 

In just four players they had ?37.5 million pounds of talent - we sold Anelka and Nolan for less than ?20 million and got less than ?10 million for the other 26 players!

 

You still convinced we had a better squad?

With you on this one Sluffy Megson Bruce comparisons no brainer,one is an astute manager with tactical nous,the other is ginger,nuff said

You sure we had the better squad?

 

The facts are that in the first 15 months Megson was there 28 players left of which only 3 players remain at Premiership clubs - Anelka, Faye and Diouf!

 

http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~1662288,00.html

 

In the same time Wigan have sold - Heskey ?3.5 million, Wilson Palacios ?12 million, Antonio Valencia ?16 million and Lee Cattermole ?6 million

 

In just four players they had ?37.5 million pounds of talent - we sold Anelka and Nolan for less than ?20 million and got less than ?10 million for the other 26 players!

 

You still convinced we had a better squad?

 

i think bruce signed palacios and cattermole for wigan?

  • Author

Kirkland

Melchiot

Olembe

Bramble

Scharner

Brown

Landzaat

Valencia

Kilbane

Koumas

Bent

Heskey

Pollitt

Boyce

Hagen

Hall

Skoko

Cotterill

Sibierski

King

Granqvist

Aghahowa

Folan

 

Jaaskelainen

Hunt

Samuel

O.Brien.A

Meite

McCann

Nolan

Guthrie

Davies

Diouf

Anelka

Al-Habsi

Sinclair

Gardner

Michalik

Cid

Campo

Alonso

Speed

Stelios

Braaten

Helguson

Fojut

J.O'Brien

Andranik

Wilhelmsson

Vaz Te

 

Well those two are the squads which were inherited and there are only 13 players from each squad who are currently playing in the Prem and yes i'd have still said we had the stronger squad.

 

Looking back I was more than disapointed with the appointment of Megson at the time and I used to watch his WBA side, so I knew exactly what we were in for then and I haven't been proven wrong in terms of expectations, although I thought Megson was brought in to do a fire fighting job at the time to stabalise and just aim to keep us up which would give us time to pinpoint what manager we wanted for the long term to take us further. It looks like Megson is in for the long haul though.

You sure we had the better squad?

 

The facts are that in the first 15 months Megson was there 28 players left of which only 3 players remain at Premiership clubs - Anelka, Faye and Diouf!

 

http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~1662288,00.html

 

In the same time Wigan have sold - Heskey ?3.5 million, Wilson Palacios ?12 million, Antonio Valencia ?16 million and Lee Cattermole ?6 million

 

In just four players they had ?37.5 million pounds of talent - we sold Anelka and Nolan for less than ?20 million and got less than ?10 million for the other 26 players!

 

You still convinced we had a better squad?

 

Lee Cattermole signed for Wigan in July 2008

 

Bruce was manager of the Wigan side that lost 4-1 at Bolton in December 2007.

 

So obviously you cannot use Cattermole as an example of why in your opinion Wigan had a stronger squad than Bolton at the time Megson/Bruce took over.

 

And why only choose 4 players from Wigan (one of which was actually a Middlesbrough player) and 2 players from Bolton.That is not the squads.That is just cherry picking to suit your own flawed argument.

You sure we had the better squad?

 

The facts are that in the first 15 months Megson was there 28 players left of which only 3 players remain at Premiership clubs - Anelka, Faye and Diouf!

 

http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~1662288,00.html

 

In the same time Wigan have sold - Heskey ?3.5 million, Wilson Palacios ?12 million, Antonio Valencia ?16 million and Lee Cattermole ?6 million

 

In just four players they had ?37.5 million pounds of talent - we sold Anelka and Nolan for less than ?20 million and got less than ?10 million for the other 26 players!

 

You still convinced we had a better squad?

Pedantic I know but Andranik is at Flum.

Pedantic I know but Andranik is at Flum.

and Wilson Palacios wasn't in the squad that Bruce inherited at Wigan.

 

Bruce signed Palacios from Birmingham in the January transfer window.

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