Wigan Athletic may sign Man Utd player Will Keane

Posted on November 25, 2013

Owen Coyle, the manager of Wigan Athletic has stated that his team has agreed a contract ‘in-principle’ to sign a striker. It is believed that they would get Will Keane of Manchester United on loan. Even though the Wigan manager did not specifically name Will Keane, yet it is believed by most people that it is the twenty year old forward who is on his way to Wigan.

Wigan Athletic manager Owen Coyle has a stunning record of looking after young talents by taking them on loan from other teams and serving them develop with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Jack Wilshere and Nick Powell, who has all flourished under this Scot manager.

With Wigan Athletic currently is in tenth spot and has scored just seventeen goals from fourteen games till now. Regular strikers Marc-Antoine Fortune and Grant Holt are presently out with injury. And the Latics manager is really desperate to sign a brand new forward very soon.

Owen Coyle stated that he might sign a youngster who is also exciting, but he was very careful not to reveal his name in case the contract falls through.

According to reports, the Owen Coyle said to a leading newspaper that everything is agreed in principle, verbally, but till the deal is signed, he is reluctant to re veal any name. He added that he is always reluctant till everything is concluded to commit he but they were very close to getting that done, but he is very hopeful for that.

WIGAN LOSE TO CITY

Posted on September 30, 2013

Wigan were recently defeated 5-0 by Manchester city in the third round of the League cup. This was a rematch of the FA cup final of last season in which the Championship club managed a stunning upset over the former Premier league champions.

However, there was no upset this time around as city comfortably cruised to a victory. The win was in no doubt throughout the encounter because city were better than Wigan in every aspect. They will now play in the fourth round of the competition looking to go all the way.

After the match, manager Owen Coyle said that he was not disappointed with the effort put into his players, but the fact that they conceded five goals. He said that playing against city was always going to be difficult because they are one of the elite clubs in the world. Despite fielding a reserve team on the night, Manuel Pellegrini had talent worth more than £ 200 million on the pitch, while the club also brought in the likes of Yaya Touré in the second half. Coyle said that this could have easily added another £ 100 million to the value of the team.

Hence, he was not surprised by the defeat, but by the number of goals conceded.

“We worked ever so hard, playing against one of the elite clubs of world football, let alone English football. They made 10 changes and their team was probably worth about £200million. There is no getting away from it, we knew it was a tough ask. As if their starting line up wasn’t enough, I think the three subs they brought on probably added another £100million to the tally, but I am disappointed to lose by any margin of goals,” said Coyle.
Wigan have made an average start to the campaign winning three out of the seven matches so far.

COYLE JOINS

Posted on July 29, 2013

Wigan Athletic recently appointed former Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle as a replacement for Roberto Martinez, who departed for Everton a few weeks ago. Immediately after taking over, Coyle has been looking to bring his own players into the club.

He has now revealed that he may sign as much as three strikers before the end of the transfer window. Wigan recently lost the services of Ivory Coast international Kone to former manager Roberto Martinez. Coyle will be looking to replace him with another striker, while also strengthening the team that has lost Franco di Santo.

A less significant departure from Wigan has been Mauro Boselli. The South American has been a massive disappointment for the club and he has already departed the DW stadium. Even though defence was one of the main reasons for the relegation from the Premier league last season, Coyle has said that the team will suffer from the lack of goals if they did not bring in three strikers between now and the end of the transfer window. The Scot has also said that he is extremely aware of the situation facing Wigan, as he attempts to bring the club back into the Premier league.

Wigan have a great financial situation due to the prudent spending adopted by owner Dave Whelan over the years.
“It’s fair to say we are looking for a minimum of two, possibly three, strikers, and we’re working desperately hard to make that happen. Arouna has done well for this club, but at this moment in time we need players who want to be here and want to take Wigan Athletic back into the Premier League. That gives us the chance at this early stage of the summer to adjust our thinking and bring in the necessary quality to the forward line,” said Coyle.

MARTINEZ UNSURE

Posted on May 28, 2013

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, who has enjoyed a turbulent season with Wigan this season, has said that he will review his position at the club in the next few weeks. Martinez managed to help Wigan to win their first ever FA Cup title. However, he also was responsible for relegating Wigan to the Championship only a couple of days later.

The relegation has brought an end to the eight-year stay in the Premier league for Wigan. Even though Martinez said that he is confident that the club does not have a dark future, it is thought that he is considering offers from other clubs including Everton.

After losing manager David Moyes to Manchester United, it is understood that Everton have made Martinez as the number one priority. The Spaniard came close to leaving Wigan on a few occasions especially in the summer. He held talks with the likes of Liverpool and Aston Villa before deciding to stay with Wigan. Now, it remains to be seen if he will be interested in managing a club in the Championship. The 39-year-old has also been linked with a return to Spain with Spanish club Malaga, who have just lost their manager Manuel Pellegrini.

Martinez has revealed that he will hold talks with Dave Whelan over the next few days.

“I had a meeting with Roberto at noon today. It was very constructive and Roberto is a very honest person to talk to. He is so disappointed at getting relegated, as I am, that I don’t think he has come round yet to the idea that we have just got to gear up, accept it – that’s football – and get back as soon as possible, that’s next season. It does take some swallowing when you get relegated, I fully understand that,” said Whelan.

Increasing success of sports betting

Posted on March 27, 2013

There is no question that sports betting has, along with playing at online casino sites, become the most popular form of gambling in the modern era. Of course sports fans have always enjoyed putting a bet on with a bookmaker, but the ease and convenience with which it is possible to do this nowadays has made it more widespread than ever.

Although people bet on all sports, there can be little disputing that football is the one that most people wager on – especially English Premier League football.

Indeed the fact that the Premier League enjoys such a high profile is a pretty major contributory factor to the rising success of sports betting, because so many people all over the world watch the matches and bet on the outcomes with sports betting sites.

The Premier League offers people a huge variety of betting markets, including gambling on the winners of individual matches and future bets on the winners, European qualifiers and relegation candidates, and a sure sign of the impact it has had on the sports betting sector is the fact that online casino sites are now producing casino games aimed at football fans.

One of the many examples of this is the slot game Soccer Safari, which was originally produced to coincide with the last World Cup, but has since gone on to become a favourite casino game for football fans. Developed by microgaming and available to play at online slots, it is a five reel, thirty pay line video slot, which offers some of the best graphics around to depict animals like lions, warthogs and cheetahs, rampaging around a jungle stadium in their own World Cup.

There is a nod to Premiership fans in the curious resemblance that the elephant with the commentator’s mic bears to Gary Lineker, while the great bonus game where you have to score goals from dead ball situations will appeal to fans of any football league. It is the standard of the gaming, coupled with the $8000 maximum cash jackpot available, that have made Soccer Safari such a popular game.

WIGAN ON RIGHT PATH

Posted on February 22, 2013

Wigan athletic have managed to escape the drop quite remarkably over the last couple of seasons. They have managed to do the same under the manager Roberto Martinez in the last few seasons. They are once again in relegation trouble this time around as well.

They are the 18th position after having played 25 matches in the Premier league. There are only 13 games remaining in the season, and Martinez has said that the players should be utilising the experience that they have gathered in the previous relegation struggles to achieve safety this season.

Even though Wigan have not managed to win a single match in the last five, they have at least taken three points from these matches. It has enabled them to remain in touching distance to safety. The club are just two points behind the 17th placed Reading. The team has had just two victories in the last few months of Premier league football, but they have been in a worse position over the last few years. This gives confidence to the manager Martinez, who has said that he does not see the reason why his players cannot escape the drop this time around as well. This is the eighth consecutive season in the Premier league for Wigan.

“We have to use our experience of previous seasons. We still have got many points to achieve. Paul Scharner was very impressive and he brought real intensity to our defending. He will be important to us between now and the end of the season. It’s another point gained. It was vital. We’ve played Southampton twice and got four points and that is a very good return,” said the Wigan manager. The next few weeks will be extremely tough for the team because they will be facing the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool.

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

Posted on January 16, 2013

Wigan will be taking on Manchester United with a single attitude in mind, which will push them towards victory according to the Latics manager Roberto Martinez. Wigan achieved the famous 1-0 win over Manchester United last season. However, they will be facing a different United this time around because they are flying high in the table.

They already have a seven-point advantage over the second placed Manchester city, while the superior form of Robin van Persie makes them clear favourites to take all three points. Wigan come into the match with a desperate need of three points despite the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa last weekend.

The win over Aston Villa will certainly give the team a lot of confidence because this was the first victory he had achieved since the 3-2 win over Reading more than a month ago. This victory has also helped them closer the gap on teams present above the relegation zone. United and Wigan athletic have met each other on 16 occasions in the last few seasons. The 1-0 win achieved last season was a first victory that the club managed over United, which was a momentous occasion. Martinez has said that he does not see the reason why they cannot repeat the result this time around as well.

“United is one of the hardest games that you’re going to have in this league. They’ve set the pace in this year’s competition, they’ve got seven points difference already to the champions, which is an incredible start. In the same way, we are in such a situation where we need points that we can’t afford to look at who we’re playing against. We’re playing at home and we need to make sure we take advantage of that,” said Martinez, whose team have 18 points from the 20 matches played so far.

TEAM PAID HIGH PRICE

Posted on December 20, 2012

The Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez has said that his team paid a big prize for not taking the chances when it came in the match against Manchester City in the midweek. Wigan slumped to a 2-0 victory against the Premier league champions, but they could have easily got the victory themselves had they been more clinical in front of goal.

Even the opposition manager Roberto Mancini agreed that his team was extremely lucky to not only come away with three points, but with a clean sheet. The number of missed chances for Wigan in this match has infuriated the manager Roberto Martinez.

He has claimed that Wigan are in a position where they have to take their chances even just one comes along their way in order to be successful. Manchester City managed to win the match following the goals from James Milner and Mario Balotelli. Wigan were coming into the match on the back of two wins in the last four matches. Still, it was not enough for them to go clear of the relegation zone. The 2-0 defeat against City leaves them just two points above the relegation zone. Martinez has said that Wigan were easily the better team in the match for 60 min.

“From our point of view, I think we edged the game for 60 minutes. We were so good off the ball, and defensively I thought the partnerships were very strong. We frustrated Manchester City and kept them to just one shot on target in the first half. We are disappointed because on the ball we couldn’t be our normal selves,” said the Wigan manager after the match. The club will be having difficult matches against the likes of Everton and Arsenal in the next five matches. They will face Newcastle, who are also struggling, this weekend.

MARTINEZ HAPPY WITH START

Posted on November 15, 2012

The Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez has said that he is extremely happy with the positive start made by the club in the recent matches. Wigan recently had made a great start against Everton.

Even though they could not hold on to the advantage in the match, the Spaniard was delighted with the progress made by the team over the years. Wigan traditionally struggle to get results early in the campaign, but fight back to save themselves in the latter stages of the season. Martinez has already stated that he does not want such an end to the season this time around.

Even though Wigan have got only one win this season, the manager has said that he is pleased with the start made by the club to the new season. Roberto Martinez almost left the club in the summer for Liverpool, but decided to extend his spell at the DW Stadium. Wigan have so far played 7 matches in the Premier League and have already got 5 points ,which is much better than what they managed last season. Everton scored a penalty in the closing minutes of the match against Wigan to secure a point and to deny Roberto Martinez his second win of the season.

“I think we have started really well and we have been able to carry on the momentum from last season. The first international break distracted us a little bit – we have had a couple of performances that have been at a good level without reaching the outstanding level we need in this division. Our performance against Everton was at a very good level for the majority of the game. The amount of chances we created against a good Everton side shows you how good we were,” said the Spaniard after the match against Everton during the weekend.

MOSES HEADS TO CHELSEA

Posted on October 15, 2012

Chelsea have finally agreed a £ 9 million fee with the Premier league club Wigan for the sale of Victor Moses. The 21-year-old the Nigeria international has been one of the promising players in the Premier league for the last six months.

Chelsea have been looking to revamp their squad in a major way after a number of the main players have passed their best. The club has spent almost £ 70 million in this transfer window bringing in six attacking players. The Nigeria international Victor Moses looks set to be the next major arrival at Stamford bridge after the club agreed a £ 9 million fee with the Latics.

Chelsea and Wigan have been constantly in negotiations over the last couple of weeks over the sale of striker. Chelsea made an initial bid of £ 3.5 million, which was immediately rejected by Wigan. Wigan were initially demanding £ 12 million for the player, but they recently dropped their valuation to £ 9 million. However, Chelsea were reluctant to increase the bid and had two more bids of £ 4 million and £ 5 million rejected as soon as they submitted. With only a few days of the transfer window remaining, the club has moved in to secure the player by agreeing a £ 9 million fee according to the official site of Wigan.

“The club can confirm that after four unsuccessful bids from Chelsea for Victor Moses, a fifth bid has finally met the valuation and terms set by Wigan Athletic and been accepted. The player has been given permission to speak with Chelsea,” said a statement on the official website. The 21-year-old will now be discussing personal terms with the European champions. He will become the seventh attacking player to arrive at the club in the summer.