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Keep us up Franco
Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez during the Barclays Premier League match at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton
FRANCO di Santo is capable of shooting Wigan Athletic to safety, according to Roberto Martinez.
The Argentine striker has taken time to find his feet since arriving from Chelsea in the summer of 2010. But his superb line-leading display in the 2-1 win at Bolton was proof of his undoubted ability.
And the Wigan boss says the sky’s the limit if Di Santo lives up to his potential – even as far as international honours alongside Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero.
“We all know the potential Franco has as a player, but he has only shown flashes of the real quality I know he possesses,” Martinez told the Evening Post.
“He’s still a young man, but he’s clearly ready to take on more responsibility.
“Probably the biggest challenge for Franco is to show that kind of performance on a regular basis in the Premier League.
“If he can do that, his football – and that of the team – will go on to a different level. He will develop into some player.
“And I’m not just talking about club level. I’m talking about the international level. And that’s a fantastic target to have.”
Latics could certainly do with Di Santo ending the season with a bang, having mustered a league-low 23 goals from their 25 games.
Martinez, though, insists they’ve turned a corner in recent weeks.
“We haven’t been able to score enough goals this season – that’s been our problem,” he added.
“However, I do feel now that we have started to create a lot more chances.
“We’re creating numerous chances per game, and we’re now at least in a position where you can see the goals are coming.
“Look at some of the games before Christmas – for example against Fulham when we were the best team by a mile yet lost 2-0.
“Now we have turned the corner, I feel we are getting more and more bodies forward, and I feel it’s just a matter of time before we get the rewards we deserve.”
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Weather for Wigan
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 12 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
mona
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 10:44 AMThe more headlines that the club create about players, the greater chance they have to sell them. The chance to sell Rodallega has gone so they look at the next one. I don't think the question of where we are in the league. what the fans think or picking a team to win ever enters their heads.
thepieshavegone
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 05:48 PMHere we are debating RM's comments. Let's see what happens at the weekend and for the next few games. I am fed up of his PR antics. Read into it what you will? As I stated before - "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" The players should be raring to go. Sammon has had a taste of scoring.What are we waiting for. GET IN THERE AND GET THE BALL IN THE NET!
WAFC1
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 03:09 PMTizwaz25, Martinez doesn't say anything about Di Santo 'shooting Latics to safety', he merely states the player needs to perform consistently at the level he showed against QPR, Bolton and so on, the rest is journalistic license. I would have thought after guiding us to safety the past two seasons those who are anti-Martinez and write off our chances so frequently would at least keep their powder dry and see how the season pans out, we may indeed go down but so far the only ones with a 100% failure rate are those who've written us off each of the past seven seasons.
InvisibleMale
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 01:02 PMLOL...i was having a bad day till i saw this....Franco Di Crapo is gonna keep us up... Best joke Of The Year...Thanks for the giggle....2 things wrong with this statement..1- he cant score goals and 2- keep us up...i love the latics but come on... we have very little to no chance of staying up...and thats being optimistic...i can understand the style of football bobby wants to play but he has to relise that we dont have the players who can play that style of football... thanks for the giggle..it was just what i needed..
thorpyness
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 09:15 AMIt didn't paragraph...so first 3 sentences.
thorpyness
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 09:12 AMIt's all spin. Not one bit of it is backed up by facts. He is definitely having a laugh. How can anybody say Franco is good enough to play in this league. Roberto has delivered in keeping us up twice, he is positioned to deliver again. He's doing things right. He's dead right in praising his players. The opening paragraph is directed at the clowns that have been critical for over 2 years while we keep on doing our job and keep on maintaining top flight status on the smallest fanbase and smallest budget. If you've been wrong for 2 years and counting, then it's time to look at yourself.
Tizwaz25
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 09:01 AMNo, WAFC, it's you that can't understand....look at the first line of the article above..."capable of shooting Wigan Athletic to safety..." Di Santo has cored 6 goals in 91 games. What sort of shooting ability is that ?? No, we don't know the "potential Franco has as a player" because we never see any PROOF of it. We are the lowest scorers in all 4 divisions. That's some proof of his scoring ability, and "potential" to creat chances for other players. I think WAFC must be Bulls**t Bob's PR man, because the difference between reality and spin seems lost. As for Boselli....well !!.....but we're not playing in Argentina, or Barcelona. This is the English Premier League, where Bulls**t Bob is incapable of understanding the tactical demands required to be successful. But the PR sounds really good !!
WAFC1
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 08:12 PMI'm convinced each time Martinez opens his mouth some people don't listen to what he says, they're only interested in attempting to make him look foolish. Martinez says nothing about Di Santo being a world-beater, he says if he can perform consistently in the Prem he could be called up to anational squad, Boselli has actually played for Argentina recently, while Heskey racked up many caps for based on his hold-up play alone.
BrazilianTic
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 08:04 PMI wonder if he actually reads or listens to what he says, It wasnt long ago he was saying hugo was gonna keep us up when the transfer window shut. Di santo cant score, he gets into some good postions but he shoots like he has two hoofs instead of feet. What is he smoking comparing him with MESSI, i wouldnt compare him with some of the men at the soccerdome. There was a reason why he didnt make the Chelsea team bobby, now i wonder what it could be????????
thepieshavegone
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 05:59 PMPR man Bob. Get little spin man. He should be a DJ. SPIN, SPIN, SPIN! Tiwaz25 is right. Too much sun. Roll on Saturday and let's see the proof of the pudding!
Tizwaz25
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 04:33 PMBulls**t Bob, you're having a laugh !! Di Santo has made 91 appearances in this country and scored 6 goals in 4 years. How's he suddenly going to become a world-beater and compared alongside Messi and Aguero, and score all the goals needed to keep us up?? I think Bob's reality meter is gone haywire with the sun in Oman. When is this joker going to get into the real world, and talk about things the team can achieve, and about getting the ball forward quicker, and pressurising opposition defences at a much higher tempo of play, and playing the game in the last third. That's what is needed, and soon !!!
Bongsmon
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 11:45 AMWith red hot gags like that, Bobby should be on stage. This one's gonna keep me chuckling till the end of the season!!!
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