Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'The Believe Bus is heading in the right direction!'

Matt Auffrey:

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. That cliche certainly rang true after Tuesday evening’s match against Burton. A disjointed and underwhelming performance ironically produced a superb result.

Smack dab in the middle of it all was a misfired shot and a series of ricochets off players from both teams that sent the ball into the back of the Burton net. When the dust settled, Paul Mullin was somehow credited with a goal. It didn’t have to make sense - it just had to count.

The visitors would miss numerous clear-cut chances to equalise later in the match. Some of those chances forced Sam Tickle into making big saves. Other chances just missed the target by a matter of inches.

What’s most important is that the visitors were not clinical enough to secure a breakthrough. The full-time whistle confirmed a crucial three-point return for the hosts.

Barely two months ago, our fanbase would’ve been elated to see the lads in the form they’re in now. Over a three week period from late September to mid October, we were dominated at Bolton, lost decisively at home to Cardiff, suffered two more home losses to Wycombe in the league and the EFL Cup, and also lost at home to the Wolves Under-21s in the Vertu Trophy. Our only non-losing result during that stretch was a 1-1 draw at Plymouth.

We are now unbeaten over our last eight matches across all competitions, and have taken 12 points from our last six league matches - which, by most accounts, represents automatic promotion form.

Our positive run of results comes at a critical time as a win over Barrow in the FA Cup this weekend could lead to a significant cash return over the coming months.

With the January transfer window fast approaching, some extra spending power could ultimately be the difference between competing within the top half of the league and lingering in the lower mid-table places for the rest of this season.

However, before our attention turns to January and all else, our number one priority should be winning at the Brick on Saturday. The return of Scott Smith, just six months removed from departing his boyhood club, will be a major topic of conversation in the lead-up to the match. I hope the Academy graduate receives a warm reception from the home crowd should he take the pitch, which seems quite likely given the fact that he scored his first goal for Barrow last weekend.

His new squad enters the second round FA Cup tie in 18th position in League Two, having gone winless over their past five league matches. They have averaged exactly one goal per game through 18 league matches and their top goal scorer is a fullback with three goals.

On paper, they appear to be a team that we should hardly fear. Yet, we are not too far removed from our first round FA Cup match against sixth-tier opposition to remember that all bets are off when it comes to this competition. A lackadaisical effort will be punished, so it’s important that we enter the match with the right ambition while also maintaining an underdog mindset.

If we go ahead in the first half as we did against Burton on Tuesday and Hemel Hempstead over a month ago, our intention needs to be set on scoring the next goal rather than sitting back and preserving a one-goal lead.

We may not be entering the match on the back of a confidence-inspiring, commanding performance, but our comprehensive efforts over the past month-and-a-half should put us in the right headspace to perform at a winning level. Let’s stay behind the lads and keep the spirits high on Saturday. The Believe Bus is heading in the right direction!

Martin Lally:

I wanted to start penning this week’s episode of the Wigan Athletic rollercoaster ride with my thoughts pre-Stevenage.

My day began on a slightly bumpy hop back to Wigan from the beautiful island of Guernsey, where work had taken me away from the People’s Republic this last week. But the euphoria of AFC Wimbledon away had remained fresh in all of our minds.

Having listened to some of the opinions this week, I’m definitely back on the Believe Bus and I’m ready to press on. And a fresh wave of optimism drove me into this three-game-week adventure at the Brick.

It’s crazy to think that, this time last week, the potential of a loss in the capital had us looking terrifyingly over the shoulder. Whereas this week, in the space of just seven days, there is a possibility we could be top 10, and hoping for a cash boost in round three of the FA Cup if all goes to plan and we get a big team draw!

There is never a ride so easy, though, at this club. Team selection was the big talking point...what would Ryan Lowe do with the in-form Harrison Bettoni? Nothing less than a hat-trick is good enough, I hear...really? Are we that deluded? Do we really want to put that much pressure on our talented youngsters?

In the end, Lowe went with tried and tested, and at 5pm Saturday I was satisfied with the 0-0 against Stevenage. You can see why they have picked up points with a solid set-up, but I was surprised at how good we matched them up. Arguably Fraser Murray’s effort was the best of the lot, and it could have snatched all three points.

On to Tuesday then, and the team selection of three strikers was intriguing. But also I felt we would - and subsequently did - miss Callum Wright.

I enjoy writing these 12th Man pieces, and I’m generally positive, but on Tuesday night I was annoyed! Why is it that we always seem to play to the standard of the opposition presented in front us? Because that’s what happened.

In truth, we were poor. There were some good performances, but there was no euphoria leaving that stadium after being dominated by Burton Albion for 60 minutes of that game and scraping three points.

No-one will remember it, apart from it's three more points on the board, and we have entered the top half of the table, admittedly being one game ahead of most.

Lowe actively encouraging the West Stand is all well and good but, for a long time in that second period, we were watching through hands over faces at the expectation of conceding...I did stay to clap you off, though!

Onwards to Saturday, FA Cup magic is back, and I sincerely hope Scott Smith gets the appreciation he deserves upon his return to the Brick.

He was sat behind me on Tuesday night...scout or superfan? Up the Tics!

George Arkwright:

Last week I spoke about a bit of the magic of November’s international break rubbing off on the Latics and, for a moment there, it looked like I was right.

Two goals of supreme quality from an 18-year-old on his debut, and suddenly the world’s looking far more rose-tinted than usual. However, that pinkish hue seems to have been short-lived.

Don’t get me wrong, four points from two games is by no means a paltry return. But I felt as though there was potentially more to give from us after such a stellar performance at Wimbledon.

Stevenage are admittedly top of the league, so there is an element of ‘you get what you’re given’ from a game like that, and I’m sure if you’d asked many before 3pm on Saturday they would’ve been happy with a point.

However, yet again, our lack of quality in front of goal really was our downfall. We seemed like the more competent team, getting into good positions and having the lion's share of any quality that the game had to offer, and yet we just could not find the back of the net.

Ryan Lowe seemed to echo this, stating that while he thought we probably should’ve won, we didn’t take our chances, and they are sitting pretty among the best in the division, so we cant be too disheartened.

Conversely, Tuesday night rolls around, and you’d look at a game against turbulent Burton Albion as the perfect opportunity to get our engines firing - and, dare I say, produce a spot in the starting XI for a certain clinical 18-year-old.

Now, I see the potential in what Lowe was thinking - changing the formation to fit all three of our relatively out-of-form strikers could have seen a nice return against a team that seem to have been a little leaky of late.

But unfortunately, as mentioned, our strikers are all out of form. As in, they don’t take their chances. Yes, we won 1-0, but it was hardly a spectacular effort - needing a ricochet off of a Burton defender for the only goal, which Paul Mullin seemed determined to clear off of the line.

Personally, I would’ve liked to have seen an exact replica of the team played at Wimbledon, with the addition of Harrison Bettoni running past Christian Saydee onto balls that he has evidenced he can finish with aplomb.

Unfortunately, what followed was a bit of damp squib. We had the goal, we didn’t produce much more of note, and that ‘international break’ spark seems to have ebbed to embers at this point.

Our substitutes were a little late on in the game to make a proper impact, and I think the formation we played, with the seemingly legless Mullin alongside the misfiring marksman that is Dara Costelloe, in front of Saydee instead of running in behind him, did not do us many favours.

A notable absence from our post-match discussions, Lowe had seemed animated on the bench up until the final whistle, although let’s not look too deeply into that one, as apparently a nasty bug is going around camp, and he might’ve been caught a touch short.

Instead we heard from the elder statesman, Graham Barrow, who echoed much of the same that I would’ve expected from Lowe, albeit with an interesting nod to recruitment...adding we are in need of ‘a few quality players’, and calling out the criticism directed at the team, claiming we’re ‘building from the beginning’, much like the early years under Dave Whelan.

While I can agree with that in a sense, we are a far more established team than we were 30 years previously, and we may not have the comparative budget that we did back then. But I think it’s important to question when that excuse stops holding gravity.

Yes, we were on our knees for a while, and it was dreadful. But now we’re not, we’re stable, we’ve found our feet, and maybe it’s slightly premature...but frankly I want to see more.

Barrow’s words, to me, say exactly what we’re all thinking - we’re resolute defensively and we seem to be creating chances for the most part, but our strike force is woefully lacking in confidence, and we need to replace at least one of them with someone who can pick up a few goals, a few wins, and a few places in the table.

It’s quite insane to me that, at this point, having barely made it out of a walking pace in most matches, we’re within touching distance of the play-offs and, dare I say, automatic promotion.

The addition of a striker would be gladly received, and would probably put those lofty aspirations in a more realistic sphere. But these sorts of players obviously come with a price-tag and thus, we would probably need Mr Danson to put his hand in his pocket and put something nice under the tree for us coming into the New Year.

Sean Livesey:

Four points from a tricky looking week, rising to the top half of the table, three points from a play-off place. It should be all smiles at the Brick, but that only tells half the tale.

Latics laboured to a point against a Stevenage side who seemed happy enough to return to Hertfordshire with a point as soon as the whistle blew for kick-off. As with many games this season (and, for balance, last season) Latics didn't score when on top.

But a point against a side at the top of the table, regardless of where they finish the season, can be considered a decent one.

So on to Burton, a match brought forward by a week due to their involvement in the FA Cup being on TV next Monday. Maybe a number of Wiganers didn't get the message it had been brought forward a week.

Perhaps that's why according to stat man Paul Rowley it was our lowest home league crowd (apart from COVID) since 2004. Over two decades ago.

Of course, Burton is never going to be a huge sell. But in a season where crowds generally seem down, this one stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb.

The truth is Sky's broadcasting of every match has killed midweek crowds. If you're a big city club in the Championship, you can absorb that. But for a club like us, where getting anyone through the door takes a monumental effort, it's going to have a drastic effect.

Now also consider the fact that things on the pitch haven't been sparkling over recent years, and we shouldn't really be surprised but it will be a concern for the club.

Mike Danson will cover our bills for now, but there has to come a time where we start to generate our own income. It can't always be beholden on some rich bloke to bail us out. We - more than any other club - should know that by now.

Back to those less than sparkling on the pitch matters...well, Tuesday was a win. But to say Latics laboured to the three points would be an understatement.

Ryan Lowe's side started well and, with the manager springing a surprise by starting all three strikers, it seemed we were going for it.

Latics got ahead - some may say fortunately on the stroke of half-time, with a goal credited to Paul Mullin, but really an own goal from the Burton defender - and that was as good as it got in an attacking sense.

Again, we were indebted to Sam Tickle - as well as the woodwork, and some woeful Burton finishing - to ensure we took all three points.

Like Hemel Hempstead, on another day it could have been an away win, but you'll take that at the moment...and somehow we find ourselves looking up towards the play-offs!

No Lowe in the post-match press conference...probably hoarse after his interaction with the 'Statler and Waldorf' Stand in injury-time.

But Graham Barrow pointed to the start of a project and urged people to stick with the plan. Which is fine. But if we sacked one manager for a lack of excitement, it's difficult to then ask for the same sort of patience that wasn't shown previously.

Nonetheless let's look at the positives, as there are plenty. Top half heading into Christmas, we're a couple of quality additions away from a play-off push, and if we get it right on Saturday then we could be in the hat for the third round come Monday.

We'd have all taken that back in August I'm sure. We'll just ignore the bits in between...