Picking up scraps – Blackburn and Everton Thoughts
After my rant earlier about missing the game yesterday and having not reported on the trip to Blackburn, I thought that I’d better give some time over to reflecting on where the last two games leave us. Which roughly translates as “I can be bothered to write up two match reports, but here is a few paragraphs of drivel where I attempt to make us all feel a little bit better”.
They’ve featured three teams who had terrible starts to the season, two defeats and one big old moan from the bar room Capellos of the land of pies. Of course we should be beating Blackburn at their place and even more should be absolutely battering Everton at the fortress DW, but let’s just imagine that, ooh, I don’t know, let’s say that Everton are a team still rolling in Europe and that, mmm, let’s think, Blackburn have got quite a good team, even though they’ve had a bit of turmoil in recent times.
Let’s face it, Latics’ record against these two sides is hardly anything to write home about (bring back Newcastle, I say) so I’m not quite sure why we’d think it would suddenly get better just because it would make us all feel that much more comfortable with the whole season. Everton really are a side that bottom half team aspire to be like and Blackburn, well they’re managed by Sam Allardyce so you know what you’re getting.
What you’ll get from both these sides is a battle, there’s no way you’re spending time on a pitch with either of them and walking away… (hobbling maybe?) without the odd bruise to remind you. Now I reckon that you, like me, were a bit worried on Tuesday how the current Latics side might cope with that, it’s not like they’ve always been that robust at times this year, is it?
Let’s get the good news out of the way first. a) they deserved something out of both of them, it would be a bit harsh to that Latics should have definitely be six points better off, but neither should they still be hovering just two points over the relegation places. Even better is b) Latics stood up to both Everton and Blackburn. Gave as good as they got? Maybe not, but it’s a start that they didn’t roll over like little puppies. If you look around the team you'll see that there are a few quietly tough nuts.
I give you Thomas, Diame, Caldwell and Melchiot as evidence I’d even go as far as throwing a Bramble in for good measure. The trick now has to be to convince them that they’re battlers and that they’ve got to drive our season on from here.
The bad news is the simple fact that Latics couldn’t see either of these games out to their deserved outcome. In different ways they dominated good parts of both and yet they pocketed barely a goal bonus between them, let alone any points. It’s obvious that there’s plenty to do with Latics that needs more than cosmetic surgery and I reckon that you saw one of the big problems in difference between these two games.
Against Rovers, Latics stuttered their way through the first half without any real control and then stumbled through the second without creating any real chances. Against Everton, Latics competed and created throughout. It’s hard to do this with out naming names, so I won’t be shy, the key difference that was James McCarthy played behind the striker today whereas Paul Scharner did it on Wednesday.
For all his ‘attributes’, Scharner isn’t the creative player that a team needs playing the way we do, you need a man in the middle who is capable of bringing in the other three attackers Scharner is good at running and jumping and sliding, but intelligent distribution and clever through balls just aint his bag, the young lad is just better at it.
But he’s a young lad and (stuck record time) he’s not the only one suffering from inexperience, these two games have highlighted that. It’s fine if you’ve got the energy and strength to go toe to toe with another team, it’s great if you can create some chances whilst you’re at it, it’s completely another thing for you to have the nouse to close a game out when the lungs get puffy and the legs get shaky.
It’s shocking to think it at this stage of the season, but you have to question the fitness of a team that struggles to both close games out and to come on strong after conceding late on. I’ve made comments before about the reasons our pre-season was so thin, could it still be having an effect now? Is it possible to catch up on that front? If we can would it give us more freshness in the run in?
Any way, back to the games and you have to think that feeling so down about defeats to Blackburn away and Everton anywhere is a positive sign. In previous seasons we wouldn’t have expected too much from these games and what’s changed? You may be worried about our league position, but a game in hand and games against Stoke and Bolton (at home) to come could put a completely different perspective on it.
I’m not taking any “ah, but”s over that, yes those two games are drastically different prospects than perhaps we’d rather be facing at this stage of the season, but at the same time we’ve just shown that we can scrap it out with two of the masters of the trade. Hopefully this will be the chance for the extra class that every one reckons we’ve got to shine through.
(go on - the cat made you smile at least a little bit, didn't it? You can admit it, no one is watching)
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20 Wigan fouls. 10 Everton. I think you're confusing who tried to make who do the hobbling.
Oh and the Wigan pitch as usual is a disgrace. Much like Hull's. A mess.
Everton would have played more on the deck if the pitch were any good. But with a pitch like yours you must be joking.
Oh and as for Paul Farrington's report on : Calling Everton \dull\ amongst other things plus this little beauty (Everton brought 1/3 of the attendence):
\Opposition fans: A good following from Everton. The unemployed football fans seem to have been the least affected in the recession hence the large away following. They were noticably quiet though until going in front.\\
What a complete embarrassment. >5000 Evertonians make the journey and he makes the tired unoriginal comment about unemployment in Liverpool (lower than many parts of the country).
Him calling Everton dull and making Wigan sound like an exciting team is like me saying Osama Bin Laden's not a terrorist. Jesus Christ. Absolutely battering Everton??? Lets get things straight. Only a poor pitch stops Everton at your place. That and Wigan's kicking our players all the way through the game and disallowing a perfectly good goal (you can't be offside from a ball passed backwards). No luck about it. Despite what any deluded Wigan fan may tell you.
Sort your pitch out.
Whatever, Wigan did not score and got exactly what they deserved from the game, nothing! It's exactly what I said to Everton fans no so long ago, if you can't score it's your own fault not the opposition. At least be honest because obviously the manager can't going by his after match comments. You would think from his comments regarding the first half that Everton were not a threat, which is ridiculous to say the least.
Saha had a definite shout for a penalty turned down, a shout which was far more clear than any Wigan shout. As for that goal that was somehow mysteriously denied, well that has to go down as one of the worst decisions this season. I like Wigan but to say that they completely dominated yesterday is bordering on delusional to say the very least. Good luck for the rest of the season and move up the table!
Eh? Where did I write that Latics dominated? I thought I'd said that we deserved something from the two games. Strangely though most Evertonians seem to be closer to my view than yours. Latics had just as strong a penalty shout turned down, Cahill was offside before he even crossed the ball and you shouldn't have even got the corner that lead to your goal.
Just about honours even, but I agree (and did in the article) that it's our own fault that we didn't close the game down to a draw and even more so for not taking our first half chances.
Cahill couldn't have been offside as the flag stayed down when he made the run, and only the keeper (is that what he is?) touched the ball between his first touch and his second (the backwards pass to Fellaini). Heitinga's intervention was outside the box as 'Match Of The Day' proved conclusively, though your lad did well with a pike, swallow and tuck to end up three feet insidethe box when Heitinga's force should have pushed him away. Again like all the other Wigan reports you fail to mention Saha hitting the post, and your account of Caldwell's triple foul on Saha is comical. But at least your account of the match has some attempt at balance, not like that other twit Paul Farrington. And yes, I'd agree Everton didn't have it all their own way, and the young boy McCarthy looked an excellent prospect. But to say you deserved any more than what you got is to disregard the blunt facts: in terms of end product, only the officials kept you in it.
Being a woolyback I'm easily confused, but I don't mention either penalty incident in the article, I don't mention Saha hitting the post, nor do I mention Latics having 3 one-on-ones with Howard, N'Zogbia rattling the crossbar as it's not really a match report and more an assessment of Latics' performnce over the two games.
I can see where I used 'dominate' now but that wasn't to say we were on top throughout, you'd have to be completely blinkered to not admit that Latics had periods were they looked the better side. I think even Moyles has said as much.
As for the offside, Cahill was just (inches is all but the linesman's view would have made it look worse as the Latics player was the other side)off when the ball was played through. If Cahill hadn't made the cross then there would be no need for the liner to raise his flag so he's waited.
That's apparently what they've been told to do, it's moaned about on tele every day of the week, so it doesn't make it right, but it's there and we have to get used to it.
If Cahill was offside when he made the run then the linesman would have flagged the moment he first touched the ball, that is, BEFORE it hit the keeper, because he would have been offside at the moment he touched it. But he didn't. Because he wasn't.
You didn't mention YOUR penalty claim in the article but you did in your reply: ('Latics had just as strong a penalty shout turned down, Cahill was offside before he even crossed the ball and you shouldn’t have even got the corner that lead to your goal.'), so yes, you are quite easily confused but on the plus side, though I've never seen you play I bet you're twice the finisher that Jason Scotland is.
Bye now. Bloggs. Oh, and I promise I won't mention our striker being taken out in mid-air (probably the worst foul of the game) when Cahill scores. Because Cahill did what no one in the Wigan side did, despite 3 one-on-ones, your nailed on penalty, a testimonial from Albert Camus, a Nietszche moustache, and flowers and choccies for your mum: he SCORED!