Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'The Believe Bus has collected a bit of dust as it sits dormant'

Matt Auffrey:

It has been no secret that we have found the past two months to be incredibly challenging. We have won two of our past 11 matches across all competitions. Our fanbase should be well aware of how hard we had to battle to secure victories against Port Vale and Hemel Hempstead. Our results tell the story of a side that is stuck in a rut.

However, we’ve also witnessed our share of positive spells on the pitch - particularly since the start of October. Our away performances at Plymouth, Mansfield, and Exeter were all worthy of earning three points. Yet, we were neither clinical enough nor fortunate enough to be on the right side of the referee’s whistle to win.

Our next test will be no easier, as we are not only tasked with winning away from home for the first time this season, but also, winning in the capital - a place where we have a well-known history of underperforming. We will be facing a Wimbledon side that is knocking on the door of the top-six and will be eager to continue their upward ascent having achieved promotion to this division via the play-offs last spring.

Their manager, Johnnie Jackson, is three-and-a-half years into his role with the club, and has a proven track record of ‘doing more with less’. Recent reports show the Wombles currently have the division’s second-lowest playing budget and had a bottom-half budget in League Two last season. Latics could learn a lot from their next opponent’s recent success.

Many factors point towards another disappointing result in London on Saturday, but the other side of the coin shows a reason for optimism. Prior to a 2-1 victory over Bromley in the Vertu Trophy last week, Wimbledon had lost three consecutive matches. They were dominated at Peterborough in a 5-0 loss two weekends ago after losing 1-0 to Burton and 2-0 to fifth tier Gateshead in the FA Cup at home.

We’ve seen how common it is for newly-promoted sides to get off to a fast start in League One only to come back down to earth after a few months. Doncaster were second in the league table when they visited the Brick in mid-September. They have since gone winless over their last nine league matches. We could be catching Wimbledon in the early stages of a rough patch of form.

To our benefit, we should hopefully see Dara Costelloe make his first league appearance in a month after completing his red-card suspension, along with Baba Adeeko and Tyrese Francois, who both have recovered from injuries that have kept them out for even longer spells. They will all add depth to a group that will take any boost it can get as they try to find a winning formula by any means necessary.

With that being said, I am confident this is the match where we break the duck. Perhaps I’m banking on the law of averages to finally play in our favour after months of bad fortune have hampered our results. Or maybe I genuinely believe that our first real rest period of the campaign will work some type of magic on our squad.

If you feel optimistic like me, then I encourage you to trust your gut - whether you’re traveling to south west London this weekend or will be tuning into the match from afar. Two-thirds of the season remains, and that leaves a lot of opportunity for a big change in form. The ‘Believe Bus’ has collected a bit of dust as it sits dormant, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work when we need it. Bring on Saturday!

Martin Lally:

A week is a long time in football...especially when it’s international week! Although the club have been providing daily news bytes to the People's Republic of Wigan, there has been little mention of the playing squad. The mind wanders to what has this period looked like? Intensity and building the squad towards AFC Wimbledon, or have the management team seen this as an opportunity to rest/recover?

Either way, we return to action against a team that has had a terrific start despite not being fancied in the slightest in July. We also find ourselves fast approaching the opening of the merry-go-round madness that is the January transfer window. The departure, on loan, of some of the younger prospects this last week would suggest Ryan Lowe has determined they need required minutes. But it could also be perceived as an opportunity to bring in a couple of fresh faces...so here are my predictions:

Goalkeeping: It’s clear we are covered in this area. Sam Tickle has cover and the mediocrity of the season to date is protecting him a little from the big fishes dipping into the smaller pools. If Sam was to get injured (god forbid!) we do have cover, so I wouldn’t expect any movement here, especially after sending Tom Watson out on loan for some minutes.

Defence: It’s definitely been a tougher year than last, but the return of James Carragher is still fresh and it looks like he will be first choice with Jason Kerr and Morgan Fox in the three, and Will Aimson providing a solid fourth option. The first possible recruitment needs to be looked at is some support at wing-back. Despite the excellent performances of Fraser Murray and Joseph Hungbo, Lowe does seem to feel the need to rotate the tactical plan or drop them from time to time. In a system like we play, the full-backs need that dynamism and energy to meet his game-plan so I suspect he will look in this area.

Midfield: We seem to have a plethora of players in this area, but the truth is since the injury to Ryan Trevitt he can’t seem to find the perfect combination. Matt Smith is excelling again, but his disciplinary record is either reckless or unlucky depending on which way you look at it. Jensen Weir seems to have one great game and one game under-performing, while Callum Wright is progressing better than most of the pack. With other injuries and it seeming to be a little early for the Rolls Royce that Tobias Brennan looks like, and this could be the area that we strengthen again as we await the return of Trevitt.

Forwards: For me, this is the priority. Christian Saydee is outstanding and he's number one on the sheet along with the spine of Tickle, Kerr and Smith. Successful teams in the past have had a solid spine that picks itself week in week out, but we are still missing that support to Saydee. My son berates me at my lack of love for Maleace Asamoah Jnr but, despite flashes of what he can be in recent weeks, I still think he is too raw! Paul Mullin is excellent, but I just wish we had him five years ago, as he totally fits our mould and gives 100 per cent every single time he pulls on the jersey. Dara Costello is an enigma. Everything about his game fits perfectly to what we require, but he just can’t seem to get on that run of goal returns. Perhaps he will come good, but I suspect he will join the conveyor belt of Latics strikers that will move on and eventually come back to haunt us in some way. I do hope it turns around for him. Whatever happens we look forward to a busy month of fixtures up and down the country, my away attendance has been poor this year, but is looking more healthy as we approach the festive period. Up 'Ryan Lowe’s Blue and White Army'!

Sean Livesey:

Back to it then! We’ve not been affected as much this season as in previous seasons, but the EFL really needs to get a grip of international breaks for clubs in League One and Two. And the amount of lost revenue to clubs missing out on Saturday fixtures through no fault of their own.

We only had half of the league in action last weekend, with the other half forced to sit it out and re-arrange their matches for a midweek in the depths of winter, resulting in supporters having to take time off work to attend, kids missing out due to school, and clubs missing out on extra revenue through lower attendances.

The international breaks shouldn’t be scheduled by League One, in the same way that the Championship isn’t in line with the Premier League. Then clubs like Reading and their supporters don’t have to change their plans at the drop of a hat.

Anyway, it was nice to have a weekend where Wigan Athletic didn’t ruin it – so it’s off to South London this weekend for one of the more hotly anticipated away games this season. The last time we played at Plough Lane, it was a very different side from what we are now. Early pace setters in League One with a strike force consisting of Callum Lang, Charlie Wyke and Will Keane. Now, arguably Wimbledon are the favourites and we’re on the edge of the relegation zone. Quite the turnaround, from August let alone from 2021.

Latics are undefeated in five games now (if we count the LDV/Auto Windscreen/Papa Johns/thingymijig that saw us finish bottom of our group and were unceremoniously knocked out). Unfortunately, four of those five matches were draws, with the battling victory over Port Vale the only win we’ve had in the league since early September.

Clearly there’s a lot of work to do for Ryan Lowe’s side, a first win on the road this weekend would go a long way to settling some of the nerves.