Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - ‘Is it the tactics, the system, the players, the manager, the fans, or expectations…?’

Caddy from the 5:

'The captain has put the seat belt sign on, so could you all return to your seats as we're experiencing some turbulence...' All isn't well aboard flight 2013 to the Championship as the Tics fanbase are already at each other's throats on Captain Maloney's trip. We really are the best club at arguing with each other and flying of the handle at the mere sniff of a downturn in fortune, from the pally back slaps at Derby and Bolton a few weeks ago to straighteners being offered after defeats to Pompey and Burton. WHAT A CLUB! Never change, Tics. Frustrations are high because, as I see it, we came out the blocks flying. Going from 'staying in this division is imperative' to '100 points before Christmas' and back to 'relegated with this mon' all within eight or so weeks has frazzled supporters' brains. Where we really are is probably right down the middle. There's no way this team is getting relegated, while pushing for promotion may be a bridge too far. We still have the happy clappers saying 'at least we have a club', who are happy to let anything slide. On the opposite end of the scale, fans want us strolling into the Championship with this team. Meanwhile, others just want a drinkable pint at half-time...ahem, Strongbow please... We are a decent side, there's no doubt about it. Derby, Bolton, Carlisle and even the Pompey performance will show that. But the results aren't happening, and our high standards aren't being met on the pitch for whatever reason, is it the tactics, the system, the players, the manager, the fans, or expectations? Probably all the lot mixed up to be honest. But as football fans we want everything NOW, and when we don't get it, all hell breaks loose. There's no such thing as a patient football fan and there never will be. I'm not singling players out here, but there's a few that do need a rest, dropping, or an arm round them. We all know which ones I'm on about and, more importantly, so should Shaun because, let's face it, everything falls on his shoulders as the manager. All the off-field garbage from last season - that he dealt with magnificently - has gone, it's purely football now, and this is his team - albeit still with one arm tied behind his back with the transfer embargo still over us - and he has to get it right. We'll see in January if and what Mr Danson makes available to strengthen us but, make no mistake, we didn't become rubbish overnight and, saying it again, we ARE a good side. We just need to get back to basics and find that hunger we had at the beginning of the season and turn it into points. In true Latics tradition, the fanbase is split and a minority want Shaun out already. Not for me, Clive, he's still got plenty in the tank as far as I'm concerned. But he does need to find that spark again, be a bit more ruthless with team selection, and I'm positive we'll be absolutely fine. A long trip to somewhere called Stevenage awaits this weekend, and even Bolton beat them so an away win is a foregone conclusion! I jape, of course, but let's all keep the faith, and hopefully a smooth landing to wherever our destination is this season will happen. Right, I'm off seeing the stewardess for some overpriced miniature Strongbow cans. Enjoy the game, lads and girls.

Paul Middleton:

It’s easy to look at the league table and see us struggling to get away from the relegation places, but that’s not really the full story. Without the points deduction, we’d be two points off mid-table. And I know we can’t count the 'ifs', but I still believe we have plenty to be well clear of relegation come the final totting up. But still, let’s all call for Maloney’s head on social media though, eh? I get fed up with saying the same things, especially over the last three years, or so. Three months ago, people were beside themselves and constantly saying how grateful we should be to have a club. Now, some of those same people are calling for the manager to be sacked, demanding to know why we’re not already promoted. And I know this is how we are as a fanbase, but it’s very tiresome when it’s the same people saying the same nonsense year after year. The last couple of games, we’ve shown much more adventure going forwards but, admittedly, with the same defensive frailties we’ve had all year. We need to remember this team is a work in progress. It’s been put together for the best part of absolutely nothing, so why don’t we try giving them a chance? It’ll be next summer before we can actually spend money on signings. So the fact we’re still in contention at all, in any way, is remarkable in itself. Let’s all calm down and see where we are in January.

Matt Auffrey:

The glimmer from our bright start to the season has all but completely disappeared. Having lost three on the bounce, and five of our last six matches, there is obviously much more going wrong on the pitch than going right at this moment in time. The frustration our fanbase felt after our lop-sided defeat at Bristol Rovers has only amplified following back-to-back 2-1 defeats to Portsmouth and Burton. There was a general expectation we’d take some lumps this season - particularly during the first half of the campaign. Our first six fixtures of the season looked brutal on paper. Yet, after a remarkable showing from our opening four matches, the narrative about this squad’s potential changed dramatically. Four of our next six matches would be affected considerably by a mixture of questionable red card and penalty decisions not going our way. The two exceptions would be our 2-1 victory over Cambridge at the DW and our 4-1 ‘no-show’ defeat in Bristol. If just half of those decisions had gone in our favour over that stretch of matches, I am confident we’d at least be out of the relegation places right now (compared to where we currently sit in 23rd position). Are we playing remotely ‘good’ football at the moment? I’d safely say we aren’t. Is the gaffer at fault for our poor string of results? Yes - to a degree. Are we an awful team that is destined for relegation? Absolutely not. Fine margins have dictated the majority of our outcomes through our first 10 matches. It just so happens we have fallen on the wrong side of a thin line more often than not through the first two months of the season. If we make incremental improvements in key areas of the pitch, our performances and results will certainly change for the better with time. Factoring in better fortune with match officials will only aid in our future turnaround efforts as well. As for our next match, we have an opportunity to continue our unbeaten run against the newly-promoted teams from League Two as we travel to Stevenage this weekend. After a very bright start to the season (where they took 13 points from their first 18 points available), they have since just earned five points over their last five matches. However, given our poor form at the moment, they represent another tough opponent - no matter which division they played in last season, or how they’ve played over the past few weeks. We have to be better off the ball, more clinical in the final third, and maintain a higher level of intensity for the duration of 90 minutes. The carousel within our starting XI hasn’t helped us over our last six matches either. While there will inevitably need to be some degree of rotation over the course of a season, with 50-plus matches across all competitions, a core group should take up more places than not across most league matches. There should be little doubt the quality already exists in the squad to form this group and ride them to a successful season. It’s on the gaffer to put this group on the pitch much sooner than later and utilise their individual strengths to extract the best performances from them. The season has not even reached the one-quarter mark yet. The sky is far from falling. Going into the next international break off the back of a win - yet alone an away win against a team currently in the top six - would allow for a huge confidence boost and morale boost. The lads still need the fans fully behind them. Let’s take one big step in the right direction this Saturday.

Alan Rogers:

Even the most positive of us will agree it’s not been a great week. I suppose it depends a lot on your outlook in life on how you react to Saturday’s result. If you are a “'glass half full' kind of person then you will accept that Portsmouth haven’t lost for 21 games and that we played a large portion of the game with only 10 men. If you are a 'glass half empty' person...well, you are probably screaming that the wheels have come off the 'Believe' bus. I like to think I try to keep things in perspective, so I’m confident if we had kept 11 players on the pitch, we would have secured at least a draw. And we were privileged to see us score what is probably the team goal of the season so far...direct from the goalkeeper, all the way through the team, and into the opponents' net. Moving on to Tuesday night and, with several changes to the team, people were once again uneasy. And the fears turned out to be realised. Latics started well, but we simply can’t seem to get the ball into the net at the moment, and the longer the game went on, the stronger and more confident Burton became. Sadly, the main talking point from both games - once again - was the referee. Actually, it turned out referees in general were the topic of the weekend. I personally felt Charlie Wyke should only have had a yellow card on Saturday, but the referee didn’t agree, and it wasn’t the only contentious decision he made during the day. I read afterwards he has been in charge of Portsmouth seven times in recent seasons, of which they’ve won six and the other was a draw…

Anyway, I’ve been banging on for a few weeks now about referees in general, boring really, they’re an easy target who generally can’t answer back. But I really believe there is a serious problem at the moment with the officials. This is nothing new, in fact it’s been developing for a while, but it’s coming to a head at the moment. The problem starts at grassroots level. Referees at junior and amateur level are leaving in their droves - they’ve had enough of being threatened and have complained about the lack of respect and lack of protection. Amateur level referees were always the life-blood of the senior level, the cream of the crop usually rising to the next level and so on and so forth. Unfortunately the competition for places isn’t as fierce these days, so some of the referees who normally would remain at a lower level are being moved upwards to plug gaps. How do I know this? I worked for many years with a Football League referee who shared many stories with us, and is very angry at the way things are going. But taking a step back for a minute, it’s often been said there are two jobs that we find hard to understand why anyone wants to do: One is a football referee, and the other is a politician. Let’s face it, most people really dislike both sets of people and the money (allegedly) isn’t great. Well, it isn’t great unless you are a politician at the highest level, and then there are several other ways to earn a crust! Anyway, I digress, and given the scenario I have mentioned, it seems we have a breed of EFL and Premier League officials who appear to have been cloned. They seem to be trained to be thick skinned and supremely arrogant, and they all even look the same! Impeccable, trendy haircuts and tight-fitting kits that show off the hours spent in the gym. They even have some kind of 'death stare'!

Stephen Humphreys muttered something to the fourth official as he was subbed off on Saturday, and the official glared at him furiously for a good few minutes. And then there’s the other side of the coin, certain players and managers don’t get the haughty treatment, they get to share jokes and call the ref by his first name! Now I’m not saying the officials are all against Wigan, as there have been some equally baffling decisions for both sides in recent weeks. What I am saying is the officials - in general - are simply not up to the job. The handball decision leading to the penalty on Tuesday night for example. The incident happened, and play continued for several seconds. The assistant didn’t flag and then, as the ball began to move upfield, the ref blew his whistle. I’m all for not making rash decisions, but was the referee waiting for divine intervention? It was either handball or it wasn’t! I’m not going to go all old school and say refs were better in the past, because they weren’t. But with all the advantages in new technology and better communications etc, they should be so much better today. I think Jurgen Klopp would probably agree with that…

My final word on the subject is still sort of official-related. I’ve seen quite a few messages on social media over the last few days complaining about Shaun Maloney. Some people seem to think he doesn’t complain about refereeing decisions enough, also there were several comments about his press conference after Tuesday’s game. I’ve mentioned before that we sit fairly close to the dug-outs and at times this can be quite distracting. But at other times we notice things that perhaps other people miss. I can definitely confirm Shaun is very passionate during the game in regard to officials and decisions they have made. He makes his points quite forcibly during games to the fourth official, assistant referee and even the referee, and at times he even gets involved in 'discussions' with the opposing bench. However, by the time it comes to talk about the game after the match, he seems to have taken a deep breath and taken a professional approach. There’s no point in slagging the officials after the match, as you can’t change decisions or results, Shaun would just get hit with a hefty fine. And the same thing applies to his comments about players. At times this season, Shaun has been quite scathing in some of his comments, particularly after the Bristol Rovers game. However, on Tuesday night, some were outraged he didn’t seem particularly hard on the team. In my humble opinion, it’s called man management. Sometimes you need to be nasty, other times you need to be conciliatory. But at all times you need to be sensible. At the beginning of the season, the majority of fans were more than pleased Shaun was our manager. An equally large majority agreed this season would be one of consolidation, that there would be hopefully good weeks, but inevitably bad weeks. And then in true Latics fashion, as soon as things start to go wrong, all that seems to go out of the window. I agree at the moment it simply isn’t good enough. But take a look at the bigger picture. I’m not going to list all the mitigating factors, new team, limited funds, refereeing decisions etc, because some people have already made up their minds. But to the sensible majority, it’s not easy at the moment, but take a deep breath and keep the faith!

George Weah's Cousin:

Think people are overestimating where our squad is at currently. It's a good squad and it should be comfortably mid-table by the end of the season, but it's so unbalanced. Lots of good centre halves and some good attacking players, but the midfield is very average, Matt Smith aside. I wish Shaun Maloney would pick a back four, or five, and stick to it, same with the front three or four. But the midfield is a massive issue. Only Cheltenham have conceded more shots per game, and teams walk through that midfield, because defensively it's non-existent. It's not a top-six midfield. Then you factor in that we rank 20th for shots taken. I'm no stats nerd, but if you don't create enough and you're easy to play against, you lose games. It's absolutely the manager's job to sort that out, but it might take more than 10 games. Why panic? There's always a debate over what the younger lot want, what the older lot want, and there's fair points on both sides. You should be able to question performances/individuals, but it was always going to be an up and down season. There's a long-term plan that goes beyond September.

Yon Mon:

Maloney Ball = five at back with no threat going forward. Leak goals and get beat, or try hanging on to a 1-0 lead and still get beat. He needs to pick a better formation and get us attacking teams again and winning matches.

Tony Moon:

We’d a great start to the season, resulting in some folk getting a little giddy and dreaming of automatic promotion. A couple of wheels have since come off, and now some (the same?) folk are slagging off all (well, the majority of) the players, and shouting for a new manager, cos this one’s clueless! Never a dull day being a Tics fan. Not much more to be said really.

Sean Livesey:

‘He’s lost the dressing room and the supporters'...'it’s time to go’...'get rid'...'it’s not working’... Really? Is this how we’re going to do this? Has the town of Wigan had a collective case of amnesia? Was the opening month of the season so good that it blinded us to the very real issues the club is STILL experiencing? Last season Wigan Athletic, or rather Phoenix 21, failed to pay the salaries of both players and staff on time on five occasions. This led to a three-point deduction that effectively relegated us, followed by a further eight-point penalty that is now seriously hampering this season. Shaun Maloney was appointed in the midst of this, and picked up a squad demoralised following the sacking of Leam Richardson and the disastrous spell of Kolo Toure...and very nearly kept us up. Maloney, as with Richardson before him, acted quite literally as CEO, DOF, manager and gatekeeper before Mike Danson came along to save us. The start to the season seems to have blinded many to what happened last season, and we’ve returned to that favourite Wigan pastime of slagging off the manager. Dave Whelan was a legend for this club, and the ride he took us on should never be forgotten. But the short termism that was a mark of Whelan’s tenure has infected this club ever since, and that stretches to the terraces and keyboards too. A man who has completely rebuilt the squad, reinvigorated the club, and ushered in a new structure - where we have a proper director of football and are starting to look to the long term for the first time in a generation - is not going to be sacked on *checks notes* October 3. That’s not to dismiss the very real problems we have at the moment, which Maloney needs to find a way through, and quickly. But he isn’t going anywhere, and neither should he be. Find me another manager willing to put up with the mess he did last season, who would then be willing to work with a salary cap of less than half what it was last time we were in League One. Not to mention a reduction of over £15 MILLION from last season’s ridiculous figures. We as supporters have spoken big during both disastrous spells of financial insolvency about just having a club to support. I remember the palatable relief when we re-entered the DW against Rotherham back in 2021, let alone this summer, when we were once again saved again. There simply has to be a focus on the bigger picture now. Thanks to the ridiculous financial decisions of the last regime, we are paying not one ex-manager (and presumably his backroom staff) but two. Why the hell would the club rip up well made (LONG TERM) plans because we’ve hit a rocky patch? A rocky patch Maloney himself spent all season warning about.

Listen, we are a good side, we have exciting young players, and I have every confidence they will succeed in this season’s aim of staying up. But our blistering start has changed expectations for some. Many drunk on League One success think we should be top of the league again. Well that isn’t going to happen. We made up the minus eight in four matches, and have struggled badly since then. But a lot of these players have played less than 10 senior games before becoming automatic starters for us. It is going to take time for them to get up to speed. We need to stay up this season, and that is clearly the aim of the management team. Put all thoughts you had about promotion out of sight, as it isn’t even a worthy discussion. Portsmouth (who, incidentally, we were unlucky to lose to) have been together as a side for the best part of three seasons now. Our squad of Academy graduates, free transfers and loan signings are obviously not going to be up to that level yet. That doesn’t mean we won’t be, but currently we’re not. The last thing this young side needs in a run like this is to be dug out. They need sticking with. Portsmouth was utterly frustrating, as defensive lapses saw them go ahead, but the referee made so many poor decisions that cost us. Not to mention the clear handball at the end of the game, which would have seen us get a well-earned point. If we had taken our early chances at Burton through Magennis and McManaman, we would have won comfortably. But we didn’t, and a mistake and another iffy penalty later saw us lose a game we never looked in danger of doing. When your luck is out, it’s definitely out. One has to hope Lady Luck starts staring down on us on Saturday, as we’re desperate for a win. Don’t lose faith, things will improve, and I’m confident we’ll stay up this season. Whether that’s enough for some of our fans, I’m not too sure.