Gary Caldwell wants his boys to continue

Posted on December 5, 2015

Gary Caldwell wants his boys to continue on the winning ways when they travel to Valley Parade in a couple of days’ time.

If Wigan manages to secure another win there, it would be their third on the trot in a space of one week.

Speaking to the press earlier in the afternoon, Caldwell said, “When you are on a bit of a roll, it’s important you keep the momentum going. We have not lost a game home or away of late and now, it’s a challenge for us to try and stretch this run as long as we possibly can. So, the Bradford game is absolutely vital in that regard. We would be looking to finish the week on a high.”

“The last game proved to be a little closer than we would have liked it to be. We were well and truly ahead and then, we allowed them to come back. After that sort of start, we should have won more comfortably. However, at the end of the day, it’s the outcome and the points which hold the importance and we had another three points there.”

“Being as consistent as we have been especially in our away games recently, it’s a great sign for the side moving forward. Consistency is the key as I have been saying all along.”

Seven wins and six draws in the sixteen games that they have played in League One so far have earned the Latics a total of 27 points and they are trailed by 5 points to Walsall which is leading the points table.

It’s actually the below average start which is responsible for Wigan still not being in the top 4 in the table. But, they are catching up fast and nobody can count them out as far as the promotion is concerned.

Huth Linked to Wigan

Posted on October 22, 2015

Leicester City have continued where they left off in the league last season, as a 3-2 victory over Birmingham City meant that the team enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season, which they then took into their league form.

Much has been made about their new strength in depth, with new signings slotting seamlessly into place, heightening the chance of players such as Centre-Back Robert Huth moving on, with Wigan one of the favourites to land him.

Leaister had the best possible preparation for the new season, and carried their form into the new season, even though they were one of the top bets on the StanJames betting website to be fighting against relegation come the end of the season. Ranieri’s only aim this season is to avoid relegation to the Championship.

A lot has happened in the last few months. Nigel Pearson has departed to make way for Claudio Ranieri, while important players from last season like Esteban Cambiasso have chosen not to stay with the club.

As a result, the starting line-up for the opening game against Sunderland could be vastly different from the team that finished last season. Manager Claudio Ranieri has his own ideas about running the club.

Defender Robert Huth, though, is unlikely to remain a central figure in the defence, even though his experience could be the key to avoid dropping points against the teams around them. Huth is hoping to start the new season in the positive fashion by playing in their first home game, but it’s increasingly unlikely he’ll play.

“Some players will have played themselves into the team, some may have put doubts in the manager’s mind. I thought we played well for pretty much all the game. They scored two good goals but, after that, we responded pretty well, especially in the second half, and I think we fully deserved the win.”

“It’s slightly different, he likes to set up a little more defensively or maybe look for a clean sheet more than previously. The way we finished last season was tremendous. We are trying to keep it tight at the back and score a few more goals up front,” said Huth.

Joey Barton deal falls through but Hernandez is still a possibility

Posted on October 2, 2015

For the past few weeks, Joey Barton was believed to be making his way of joining West Ham United but despite all of the rumors and speculations involving the veteran midfielder, the player himself confirmed that a deal has not been completed and will not occur.

Joey Barton uploaded a video where he confirmed that the deal was called as the 32 year old player said: “For this moment in time, it’s just not meant to be. I really felt I could have offered something to West Ham and you’re building a good squad there.”

After being released by Queens Park Rangers, Joey Barton is now a free agent and West Ham United attempted to sign the experienced midfielder without having to spend money in signing him but it won’t happen.

Slaven Bilic wanted to have a few more options in the midfield department of West Ham United and Joey Barton was at the top of his list but he will have to look elsewhere but there still is a player who is on the radar of the Croatian manager and this player is Javier Hernandez of Manchester United.

West Ham United is willing and prepared to spend upwards to €12 million as the Premier League club attempts to sign Javier Hernandez and lure him away from Old Trafford.
The Mexican forward of Manchester United has always struggled trying to snatch a main starting role in Old Trafford and it’s unlikely that it will change in this new season as Hernandez was spotted in the sidelines for the entire opening match of the season when Manchester United defeated Tottenham Hotspur.

Memphis Depay, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Ashley Young were the main attacking figures of Manchester United when they played against Tottenham Hotspur as Hernandez looked away from the bench. The Mexican player is eager on snatching a consistent spot in a team and his best chances for this to happen is by moving away from Old Trafford and joining another club.

David Perkins has become one of the first signings for Wigan Athletic

Posted on June 16, 2015

David Perkins has become one of the first signings for Wigan Athletic as they begin their life in the League One for next season.

The midfielder was released by Blackpool after the end of a disappointing Championship season. He was amongst the 17 professionals released by the Seasiders, as they finished bottom of the table. However, Wigan manager Gary Caldwell believes that the experience of the pro will have a huge role to play as the club try to get back into the Championship. The club has completed a full circle after their relegation to League One.

Wigan were at this stage when Dave Whelan first took over back in 1995. They have since gone to the Premier League and been a top division club for several years before relegation. After recently being crowned with the FA Cup, Wigan have steadily been slipping down the table. Their campaign in League One will be extremely difficult due to significant budget cuts. Hence, managerCaldwell has to focus on prudent signings and most of them has to be on a free transfer. Perkins has agreed a one-year contract with the club and will be hoping to impressCaldwell during this period. Signing the 32-year-old was a no-brainer according to the Wigan manager.

“It’s a no brainer for me. I’ve always been impressed with his energy and willingness to give 100 per cent, and we feel he can contribute greatly this season.He is a very combative player, always willing to work hard and I’m delighted to add him to the squad. We’ve been looking at him for a while, I’m sure he can do a good job for us,” said the Wigan manager. The club has already begun pruning for next season and they have already released five professionals from last season.

Wigan Athletic parted company with manager Malky Mackay

Posted on April 18, 2015

Wigan Athletic parted company with manager Malky Mackay after less than a year in charge, as even the arrival of the former Cardiff City manager failed to improve the club’s fortunes.

They have resorted to appointing their former club captain Gary Caldwell as the new manager. This is the first managerial job for the 32-year-old who had to retire from football owing to persistent injury problems. He is extremely popular with the Wigan supporters for having represented the club during their glory days in the Premier League. Those glory days seem long away from coming to the DW stadium once again, as the club are close to being relegated to the League One.

Failure to win the last four matches has seen Wigan get further adrift of safety with only three matches left in the season. They have to make up a seven-point deficit in these matches. The goal difference is the only positive aspect for Wigan. Caldwell certainly faces a mountain to climb in order to keep the club in the division. However, he is confident of doing so in the last few matches. Wigan will be coming up against the likes of Wolves and Brentford. These are teams that have something to play for in the campaign and this could in turn help Wigan.

“Having played here in the great survivals of the Premier League era I believe that nothing’s impossible.There were times when we were down and out. I think of the run we went on when we beat Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal – they are things that at the time seemed like miracles. It can happen and we still believe it can,” said new manager Caldwell. “We speak a lot but he’s over in Barbados. He didn’t know what I was doing on Monday night I spoke to him after and he’s 100 per cent behind me and Gary,” said new chief executive David Sharpe about sacking Mackay.

Wigan Athletic made HIstory

Posted on February 25, 2015

On May 11 of 2013, Wigan Athletic made history as they overcame Manchester City in the finals of the FA Cup with a solo goal from Ben Watson nailing the triumph for Wigan. It was a historic match and moment for Wigan Athletic as they claimed their first major trophy in the history of the club which over 80 years long.

It seems like that moment was the peak of Wigan Athletic as everything has started to crumble into pieces from there on out.

From the squad that managed to lift the FA Cup back in 2013, none of them are playing with Wigan Athletic as they have been offloaded and now the current squad is not able to replicate to what the predecessors accomplished only a few years ago.

Ben Watson was the man who scored the only goal of the entire match during the finals between Wigan Athletic and Manchester City and he was later sold to Watford. Adam Forshaw was sold to Middlesbrough for a fee of €3 million.

Shaun Maloney made a move to Chicago and the list goes on…
The squad is different and the manager as well is not the same as the figures which made history for Wigan Athletic not too long ago.

Malky Mackay is the current coach of the team but things have not been going smooth for him as the manager has only been able to secure 1 victory in 11 matches.

From defeating Manchester City in the finals of the FA Cup to dropping into the bottom relegation zone of the English Championship League, this is a huge change that Wigan has been experiencing in recent times.

It remains unsure as to what exactly is going on with Wigan Athletic at this point as there are theory’s being spread around claiming that Dave Whelan is preparing the club for a new ownership while others state that this is simply a rebuilding strategy and it might be what needs to be done in order for them to regain their spot in the Premier League which lasted 8 years before eventually suffering the relegation destiny.

Malky Mackay start as Manager not good with Wigan

Posted on January 14, 2015

After being appointed as the manager of Wigan under controversial circumstances, Malky Mackay has not enjoyed a great start to life at the DW stadium.

Wigan have had only one win in the last five Championship matches. As a result, they sit 23rd in the table with the threat of relegation still increasing with every week. The Championship campaign takes a break for this weekend as FA Cup resumes in the third round with Wigan taking on Bolton away from home.

Mackay will be coming up against Bolton boss Neil Lennon who has been able to enjoy some decent results of late.

Bolton have suffered only one defeat in the last five and it appears as if the appointment of the former Celtic boss will be enough to get to the club out of relegation trouble for the campaign. Lennon is aware of the quality that Mackay possesses as a manager and he is confident that Wigan will be out of relegation trouble in the coming weeks. In this situation, Wigan would rather look at an exit from the FA Cup rather than allowing this competition to provide a distraction from the job at hand – avoiding relegation. Bolton are 15th in the table and are looking set to finish without much ambitions.

“It has been a difficult start for Malky.In the background there is the controversy.I know Malky well and the type of person that he is.I am very pleased to see him back in the game.Once all the furore dies down I think people will realise he is a pretty good manager and proven at this level. So long as it is not tomorrow I wish him all the best because he is a good guy really. Hopefully he can put that behind him and move forward,” said Lennon.

Wigan Athletic single win in last 3 months

Posted on December 13, 2014

During the months of September, October and November, Wigan Athletic managed to win 1 league match. All of the other results besides that victory were either defeats or draws and this abysmal start of the season led to the head coach UweRosler getting sacked.

UweRosler was removed from his managerial position at Wigan Athletic after 12 months of having been appointed. The decision to replace Rosler with someone else arrived only 2 days after the chairman of the club Dave Welan publicly announced his support towards the German coach but his support did not last long after Wigan Athletic continued losing matches in the English Championship and falling into the relegation zone.

“There is nothing wrong with the manager. A good manager doesn’t become a bad manager overnight, and UweRösler is a good manager. There is no question over his ability. He’s solid. He’s just not getting enough from the players at the moment.

“I spoke with Uwe on Friday and I told him I was 100 per cent behind him. He needs support from everyone, and he will get it’’ Those were the words of the chairman of Wigan Athletic, Dave Whelan as he expressed his support to Rosler, Whelan released this statement around 1 week ago but a few days later Rosler was sacked.

It has been confirmed by Wigan Athletic that the assistant manager Graham Barrow will be taking charge of the squad until a new coach is appointed. Barrow is going to be assisted by the first team coach Erick Black.

Dave Whelan continued on saying that he believes this is the correct decision which will benefit the club but he is not happy when seeing the standings of the English Championship League and witnessing how his club Wigan Athletic has dropped into the relegation zone.

Wigan manages to pull back from defeats

Posted on October 29, 2014

Wigan Athletic finally managed to end the run of matches without a victory after a hard fought 2-1 win over Derby County during the weekend. The win pleased manager Uwe Rosler, who has been finding it difficult to live up to the expectations after an impressive season last time around. Apart from coming close to the FA Cup finals, Wigan also reached the latter stages of the play-offs. They also performed exceptionally well in the Europa league campaign, but they seem to be paying the price for this marathon campaign this time around. Wigan have been disappointing in the league so far.
They managed just two Premier League victories up until the Derby match. However, they were crucially undefeated in the last four matches leading up to this trip to Pride Park. It looked like another disappointment was on the cards for the away team after Eustace gave Derby the lead in the first half. James McClean, though, provided a different script to the story after scoring a brace in the second half. This finally brought an end to the winless run that had stretcher to 8 matches. The win also lifts Wigan slightly above the relegation zone, although they enjoy only a couple of points as a buffer.
“Before the game, nobody gave us a chance but this was the best away performance since I have been at the club. We had complete dedication to the game plan, demonstrating that we are not a group of individuals but that we are starting to come together and be a team. I am so proud as to how they reacted as a group and I think the players have answered the questions in a very impressive way,” said the German, who is positioned at the club has been questioned in the last few weeks due to poor results.