PART TWO: Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'We are beginning to forget how much that word means'

Mick Aspinall:

I remember an old quote from Kenny Dalglish which went something along the lines of 'the league table on the final day doesn’t lie, the best team over the season will be at the top'. It was one of those quotes which I initially thought, “Yeah, you’re not wrong there”, but realised it was a kind of statement of obvious certainty.

Of course the best team over the full season will be on top. I mean, you couldn’t have the champions finishing fifth could you? Unless you’re watching rugby league obviously. A verbal equivalent of a mathematical equation, in that there’s only one correct answer.

Now I used to quite like maths as a youngster - one who didn’t really like anything else at school unless there was a ball involved - as the answers were either right or wrong! No interpretation required like some other subjects, just simple right or wrong, yes or no, good or bad, etc etc.

Well I’m no Nostradamus, but I think our final league placing will definitely reflect exactly our season, judged on performances so far. Distinctly average and massively underwhelming. I try not to be too critical in times of struggle, as there’s often multiple factors involved, as we have seen in recent years at the club. But this season's performances continue to dismay and baffle in equal measures.

I’m certainly not one to start shouting that a manager should be sacked, unless it’s blatantly obvious they should be sacked (Kolo Toure, Warren Joyce were two of those). And I’m not saying Ryan Lowe should go just yet. However, something has to change, and change fairly quickly.

As for all the attempts at positivity, pointing out we're only a handful of points off the play-offs, we’re equally as close to the relegation zone, and play a style of football more akin to being down there too.

I made the journey over for the Barrow cup tie, and managed to watch the Blackpool game on TV, and what strikes me is that we have no thrust or drive when moving the ball up the field. Whether it’s from the backline or moving through midfield, there seems to be no urgency, no energy to play at a higher tempo or take a risk.

Against Barrow, we passed the ball back and forth across the back, and then into midfield and back again, while Barrow set back and let us in the first half. Yet all we had to show was one goal from a set-piece. Then Barrow must’ve had the same team talk many of our opponents have had when playing us - 'just get at 'em and put 'em under a bit of pressure, they’re not that great' - and so they did.

Blackpool came and, to be fair, didn’t look like a great team...perhaps one we could take three points from. However, yet again, we have no drive in the middle of the park, no urgency to get the ball forward...something, if I’m not mistaken, Lowe said was essential to do when he first took the reins.

Even in those first few games, playing with a squad he hadn’t chosen or had a say in, you saw the way he wanted to play. So why have we reverted back to playing at pedestrian pace, and why do we look reluctant to take a chance on a quick break, long ball to a winger/wide player.

Against Barrow, I counted half a dozen times where the left or right sided player in the back three, or a midfielder playing out of defence, had the ball, and the wing back on the opposite flank was wide open. But not once did that ball ever get played. I don’t mean a stray or blocked pass, I mean the ball never even left the boot of the player in possession. Instead it was passed short, or sideways.

Now I have criticised those on social media who appear to have won every major honour on FIFA, or whatever it’s now called. And for full transparency, I’ve never played the game or any other similar type of 'computer game' (I’m a child of the 80’s). But this seems to be so blatantly obvious that even I am seeing it, and I'm starting to feel my thoughts are more closely aligned to the aforementioned 'experts'.

The second Blackpool goal showed exactly what moving the ball quickly up the field, and going at your opponents with pace can result in. It won’t happen with every attack, but I think it was Gandhi who once said 'You have to be in it to win it', (yes, I may have misremembered that)…

The other issue being widely pointed out, and something I’ve only really started to see in the last few weeks, is that the manager seems to be giving the same post-match interview after every game. Phrases to the effect of 'We know we have to be better', and 'We know we can be better' seem to be doing the rounds, and that to me is concerning.

In recent times, we’ve seen managers up and down the leagues, who stick rigidly to one style of play, get relegated, sacked, or both. And Lowe doesn’t look like he’s gonna spring a 4-3-3 on us any time soon.

After the Blackpool game, and as we lurch towards January, he spoke about the need to strengthen, and highlighted the need for a goalscorer. Now I think January can be a pivotal month, and two or three specific signings can propel a team up the league. We’ve done it a couple of times ourselves and, if memory serves me right, Paul Cook was a past master at this.

But remember, this manager signed three strikers in the summer! Now this is where I go back to my very basic high school maths - or math for our North American friends - we acquired three strikers in the summer, three goalscorers. Maybe, just maybe, Christian Saydee, plus Dara Costelloe, plus the wages of Paul Mullin, equals one Dale Taylor!

Stay classy, Tics, and hopefully we see positive changes in January...and let’s see what that league table tells us in May.

Billy Haggerty:

The 12 Days of Ticmas!

On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love (Latics) gave to me...the usual 1-0 win.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...two strikers a striking.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...three defenders a defending.

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...four midfielders a going forward.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...five golden subs.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...six new signings

On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...seven valuable points.

On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...eight pints a milking (if you get served at the Brick!)

On the 9th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...a more hopeful nine points

On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...10 Tics a leaping (if we score a goal!)

On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...11 players STILL on the pitch.

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...12 drummers drumming and a bloody good Christmas to you all!

The least said about our result against a very poor Blackpool (and the soon to be new England coach Ian Evatt). Hopefully a decent festive fixture period where we can pick up some much-needed points, form and goals.

John Walker:

The silence from the owners is unbelievable. No communication from the top. No wonder fans are voting with their feet.

I'm a first-time contributor here, so here goes. Been a Latics fan for well over 60 years, but the way the club is being run at the moment reminds me of the times under Bill Kenyon. Not a person who is clearly one of the richest men in the country.

All I can see is an owner that just wants us to tick over either in League One or League Two. Any talk of the Championship is a million miles away under this ownership. It would be nice if the owner talked in front of the fans. And told us the real reason he bought Wigan Athletic. At least we would know.

We've had good and bad owners in my time watching this club. Most - even without money - had ambitions...Mr Horrocks, Ken Cowap, Dave Whelan.

Mr Danson has zero football ambitions - and that’s obvious. Merry Christmas.

Frank Bullitt:

Danson, get a grip and back Lowey in January and give the bloke the ammo to make a serious play-off assault. Back him or sack him then find someone better.

Tony Moon:

There was a young manager called Ryan; Who when things went t*ts up did some cryin’; Though it was really quite lame; He would regularly blame; All his players...saying that they weren’t tryin’.

Then that tetchy young manager called Lowe; Left himself with just no place to go; Cos the players giving nought; Were the ones that he bought; So why should he get this window?

So let’s hope that this cocky young scouse; Can improve things so us fans don’t grouse; Cos his slagging off fans; Is the worst of all plans; And the best way to be kicked out o' th' 'ouse.

George Arkwright:

Straight down the tunnel. I think that typifies everything I find so profoundly intolerable about Ryan Lowe. No applauding the fans, no consolation of the players, not even indignation at the justifiable criticism being lobbied at him from the seats around me...not five yards from the dug-out. Just a man with an incredibly easily-bruised ego, and no regard for the club or the players that he claims to represent, retreating with his tail between his legs.

This followed a game in which Lowe proved on a number of occasions why he is unfit to take our team forward. It is a well-trodden path at this point, but there were a number of instances which exemplified to me his lack of character, his ego, his negative mentality, and his lack of cohesion with both his team and the club as a whole.

We started well. For the first 15-20 minutes, we looked the better of the two teams - albeit without the quality that would see us over the line. We looked relatively formationally sound, and Will Aimson put the ball over their bar from two yards before Raphael Borges Rodrigues got himself into good positions, but failed to eke out an opportunity to take the lead.

All was seemingly going to plan - in many games this season, we have spent the first 45 minutes looking dangerous though slightly impotent, only to fade away through the first 30 minutes of the second half, before finishing with a flurry.

I was going into the second half feeling vaguely optimistic, but this was unfortunately misplaced. Having spent a large part of the season not scoring, our two beleaguered strikers lumbered back onto the pitch for another 45 minutes of ponderous inefficiency.

A lot of our forward line looked lost - bereft of ideas and creativity, languid and tired, and very low on confidence. Fraser Murray and Christian Saydee especially looked a shadow of the players they were at the beginning of our season. And here lies the first example of Lowe’s mismanagement.

All season, Lowe has been dodging the criticisms levied against him during his pre and post-match interviews. Every week he seems to find a way of saying we lack quality in our squad, and we need a higher calibre of players. It is never his fault. The way he sets up his teams and asks them to play should work, after all, he is the one that has engineered the game plan. It is simply because the players are not performing as required and expected. This lack of confidence in his team seemingly plays into his tactical choices - not relying on creativity and attacking nuance more than pragmatic, defensive football even against lowly opposition such as Barrow and Hemel Hempstead.

This is a problem both about his character and our functionality as a team. I personally believe managers should be there to take the criticism - protect their playing staff and instill a winning mentality. Belief: a word that rings true to our supporters for many reasons. For Lowe to spend his time essentially throwing his team under the bus undermines their confidence, and proves to me the man values his own ego and sanctity over that of his squad and, by association, the club.

It is also the practical question of his players' confidence. If your manager is continually, publicly slandering your entire team and lamenting a lack of quality, and then sets up a team which is by definition non-combative for the most part, how are you meant to play to your highest capacity? By damning them, he is effectively creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of low-quality, flat, football.

By the 65th minute, we were 2-0 down. Lowe's choice to play a back three had backfired and, while he was considering his substitutions on the hour, Blackpool scored two identical goals. The players' heads dropped, and you could see that what little confidence they had, they were losing, and fast.

Most managers would take that time to gee their team up, spark a revival, or at the very least stand in the technical area and show support and leadership. Not Lowe. At 1-0 he slouched back into his chair like a scolded child, pulled his snood up over his face, and simply sat glaring at the pitch. No leadership, no support, just petulance.

Glenn Whelan for the umpteenth time this season took over the role of managing the team, and began to direct from the touchline in a quite baffling manner, with players looking to the bench for instructions on even the basics - throw-ins, marking on corners, and the like.

Shouts of ‘GET THE BALL, JENSEN’ echoed from the bench at times. Even at League One level, the players should not have to be receiving that directive. This micromanagement seems to say the players are poorly drilled and don’t actually understand these glowing tactics that Lowe insists he is imparting with aplomb.

When Fraser Murray is redirected four times during one corner kick, you have to question what it is that they’re doing on the training pitch. All of this works to further undermine the confidence of a squad already in their seemingly lowest ebb.

Then came the substitutions. At 60 minutes, we were not left with much time to make a difference in a game that was quickly slipping out from underneath us, and Lowe thought it prudent to make five substitutes in the space of around 10 minutes.

These subs effectively killed the game as, even with the 65th-minute addition of Paul Mullin and Harrison Bettoni - who are arguably the more prolific of our four fit strikers - Lowe also succeeded in gutting our midfield on 75 minutes, bringing on Tyrese Francois, Callum McManaman and Luke Robinson for Callum Wright, Matt Smith and Jensen Weir.

Our players suddenly looked very lost, and any semblance of a formation seemed to disappear. It was at this point that Lowe emerged from his cocoon of shame, proceeding to gesticulate wildly on the sidelines, and occasionally put his head in his hands over another spurned opportunity.

I'll admit, I began to send some choice words in his direction...namely ‘What's the plan here, Ryan’ and ‘Do your job!’ Both of which, I'm sure, he didn't want to hear, but I felt relatively reasonable in asking. I wasn't the only one either; as the West Stand was filled with murmurs of unrest, which exploded into fully vented frustration with the removal of our two best players (Wright and Smith).

My comments were met with a shrug of the shoulders, a dismissive flick of the hand, and a comment that can’t be printed in a family newspaper. Not particularly managerial of him. Regardless of what is shouted from the stands, there are very few acceptable reasons for a manager to turn on his fans. For him to respond and argue with the fanbase over anger at substitutions and dissolution at his tactics, I fear, speaks to a man with an incredibly fragile ego.

His simmering resentment, his lack of confidence in his team, his frustration, and his general demeanour was palpable throughout the stadium, and he could not leave fast enough on the final whistle - a quick hug with the Blackpool manager who I shall not name, and he disappeared down the tunnel, no double to offer another glowing review of his playing staff.

I mentioned it earlier, but I think belief comes into this quite dramatically. Since Dave Whelan took over the club in 1995, through to our greatest day at the FA Cup final, and over the last five years where we have somehow survived two consecutive administrations, there has been one word that has echoed and sounded all through Wigan...'Believe'.

We have always been 'Little Wigan', and that belief has pulled us up by our bootstraps to the loftiest heights, on the basis that if you just believe you can achieve anything. It speaks of a positive mindset, unity, passion, and intensity. It has carried us to the good times and through the bad. To me, it has incredible power.

The man who asked us to 'Believe' - Roberto Martinez - was in attendance on Saturday, and I think, unfortunately, we are beginning to forget how much that word means.

I have been struggling to synthesise exactly what it is that feels like it’s missing with Lowe, and I think Saturday finally provided me some clarity. There was no positive mindset, no unity, no passion, and no intensity. In short, we aren’t believing any more. I’m not sure Ryan Lowe believes in his players, more than himself, and I’m almost certain the fans no longer believe in Ryan Lowe.