Wigan Athletic vs Newcastle United match banter!

Posted on April 28th, 2012 | 97 Comments |

Wigan Athletic v Newcastle United.
Wigan: Tricky customers at their place.
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to our regular “match banter” feature for this afternoon’s game against Wigan Athletic at the glorious D.W. Stadium.

Although Wigan are still just above the relegation places, they have proved to be tricky customers in recent times, chalking up victories against Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool in recent games. So despite our recent great run, we might still have a real game on our hands at a place which, until our last game there (a 0-1 victory), had been a bit of a bogey stadium for us.

For all the in depth stuff in the run up to the game, you can check out our usual match preview for the game, with all the team news, previous stats, what the managers have been saying etc. We shall also be posting match highlights, a full match report as well as video link for the whole game when it becomes available. Finally, I will also be posting the full teamsheets for the game when they become available.

Howay the Lads!

Team sheets

Wigan Athletic (4-3-3): Ali Al Habsi (G) Emmerson Boyce, Antolin Alcaraz, Gary Caldwell (C), Maynor Figueroa, James McCarthy, Shaun Maloney, James McArthur, Jean Beausejour, Franco Di Santo, Victor Moses

Subs: Mike Pollitt (G), Mohamed Diame, Albert Crusat, David Jones, Jordi Gomez, Conor Sammon, Hugo Rodallega.

Newcastle United (4-2-3-1): Tim Krul (G), Danny Simpson, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini (C), Davide Santon, Cheick Tiote, Jonas Gutierrez, Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse.

Subs: Rob Elliot (G), James Perch, Shane Ferguson, Ryan Taylor, Dan Gosling, Leon Best, Shola Ameobi.

NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1095 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

97 Responses

  6. Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McArthur, McCarthy, Beausejour, Maloney, Di Santo, Moses. Subs: Pollitt, Crusat, Gomez, Sammon, Jones, Rodallega, Diame.

  10. Thanks Worky, I’ll check out the links. HWTL! (I don’t like to be a mean bugger but I can’t say I’m too disappointed Big Sam will have to slog it out in the Championship play-offs, where I will be rooting for Chrissie Hughton to bring his second team straight back up!)

  11. maze202 says:
    April 28, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    “You’re missing Demba Ba from our line up.”

    Not any more Maze, thanks for pointing it out.

    Paul, aye, 2-0 to Birmingham against Reading earlier.

  33. I don’t think width is a problem. We’re effective in the middle of the park and have gotten to the edge of their area a few times. We’re giving the ball away too much.

    Also, even in some good performances lately we’ve taken 15 minutes or so to get into a game. We’ve been punished for it this time.

  36. That’s the game right there.

    Now I fear we’ll land with a proper thud given our run in.

  38. Not seen Newcastle play this bad all season, shocking no control anywhere. Someone needs to get a grip and quick or this could get out of hand.

  40. Phisix says:
    April 28, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    “Now its game over”

    My 3-3 prediction isn’t quite out the window yet, Phisix. Remember Arsenal!

  41. Wigan are the same side that’s been relegation candidates for seasons on end. But they’ve always had some talent. They’re playing very well right now, they’re on good form.

    We look tired and jaded.

  44. workyticket says:
    April 28, 2012 at 3:39 pm
    Phisix says:
    April 28, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    “Now its game over”

    My 3-3 prediction isn’t quite out the window yet, Phisix. Remember Arsenal!

    Yeah agreed. My Chelsea supporter mate is taking the piss and I said about the Arsenal game to them ;)

  49. I almost don’t want to watch the 2nd half. Which Newcastle players would get into the Wigan team? ;) Haha nah.

  52. I’m going for over confidence and us changing formation and winning 5-4. We have nothing to lose anyway.

  53. What changes can allow us to recover from this? Struggling to think of any. Benny off for Shola and more long balls? Perch in? :S

  54. Maybe fill the midfield and forward places and just go all out? Although they would probably counter us to 10-0.

  55. Perhaps we needed a reality check.

    This is like the Spurs and Fulham games where everything the other team does comes off. I have no idea why that happens to us, but that’s why we can never get too confident.

    Back to Pardwho rather than Pardiola????

  57. Our goal difference is already bad so at least that isn’t a factor – he said, grasping at straws for something positive to say.

  58. Yeah GS. I thought the same. Doesn’t matter how many they score. It affects us the same as a 1-0 would. Except for a morale deboost.

  60. GS says:
    April 28, 2012 at 4:00 pm

    “This is like the Spurs and Fulham games where everything the other team does comes off.”

    But everything has been coming off for us in the last few games, GS. It happens to other teams too though.

  63. Perhaps Ashley should have gone a little higher than £1.5 million for Victor Moses after all? He was cheap at £2.5 million for Wigan.

  64. REALITY CHECK !
    This game is over, we are being embarrassed by a side that is better coached and who’s tactical game is superior.
    With no answer (plan B)from us.
    Our defense is being opened like a can of beans, with Wigan passing the ball around like Barca, short passing , long passing, using the width of the field.
    Appears we have difficulty against well coached sides and Wigan are nothing if not well coached.
    Our attempts to break down the Wigan defense are goimg nowhere, so we resort to hoofing it upfield and hoping for the best, aaaaaagggghhhhh !

  65. Well we’ve certainly had enough chances to score 3 or 4 this half. Whatever was said has worked. It really must have been nerves or other issues because the system is the same.

  71. WHAAAAAT !
    Were four goals down and we take HBA off and replace him with Raylor, are you serious ?
    If this is the kind of move we are to expect from our genius manager, god help us.
    Any chance we can trade managers with Wigan, cause it should be obvious to all, “who” knows what he’s doing.

  72. Maze 202
    It should be obvious to even the most optimistic fan, we are being hammered, if that makes me a pessamist so be it.

  76. Chuck first half yes we we’re hammered. 2nd Half i’d say we’ve edged it, certainly with chances created. They’ve looked in control though which is easy when your 4-0 up.

  80. I remember when we beat them 1-0 at our place with Cabaye scoring a cracker. I thought ‘they’re a good team and will probably finish mid table’.

  81. As I was saying top 6 and Europe is a great finish to the season. Every time we have had a bad result we have bounced back, so look out Chelsea, City and Everton!

  83. Well, suppose the best we can take from the game is the fact a young side that plays an attractive game of football, probably got three points to-wards survival in the PL.
    Where they obviously belong.
    And credit to Wigans owner who had the courage to back his manager through it all, finally being rewarded by wins over ourselves, Arsenal, Man. U. and L’Pool.
    It takes time for sides to learn certain systems, looks like Wigan have got it down pat.

  85. champions lge dont make me laugh you will get beat in your last 3 games pardew is an arrogant bluff merchant…this is as good as it gets europa thursday nights is your limit and relegation again in the next couple of years

  86. It happens. We alway knew that Wigan are capable of playing good football. They have nothing to lose and played as if their lives depended on it. Happens every season with teams at the bottom. And when it comes off for them any team needs to beware – ask Man U, Arsenal and others. Everything they tried finished in the back of the net in the first half. Defence splitting passes always managed to just evade interception while our passing was always cut off. They did manage to win every 50/50 ball which indicated a difference in attitude between the teams and which I’m sure Pardew will not be so happy about .

    I sense the pessimists sharpening their pencils but lets give a lot of credit to Wigan who probably haven’t played as well as that all season. As I said at the beginning – it happens, so lets take it on the chin and get behind our team in the final three tough fixtures. We weren’t as good as some would suggest a week ago and we definitely aren’t as bad as the critics (both on these blogs and no doubt in the media this weekend) would make out after this game.

  87. Well as long as we made it to the poor mans european competition, probably last there longer than in the Champions league.
    Hey it’s a start.
    But as long as this geezer is managing, there will be no silverware arriving anytime soon.
    You can bring in all the players we need, but without the right man managing, it’l be a waste of money.
    Hey if to-days game has’nt convinced you, you are not willing to face reality.
    Especially the brilliant substituting of HBA with Raylor,
    four goals down and you substitute one of our only hopes of scoring, with a defensive player, go figure ?

  88. chuck says:
    April 28, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    “But as long as this geezer is managing, there will be no silverware arriving anytime soon.”

    On a more optimistic note, Alex McLeish did win the League Cup with Birmingham City though, Chuck. We also hammered league leaders, Manchester United, 3-0 too, just as Wigan hammered us today.

    “It’s a fanny old game” as Jimmy Greaves is fond of saying.

  89. @chuck – the game was well lost by the time he brought off HBA, last thing we want is to get our better players injured

    who do you think is going to come to toon to manage us – pards has done a decent job, we’re still 4th (at least until tomorrow ) – reckon we can beat chelsea on Weds and we’ll be in with a shout of CL until at least the city game

    Europa is still a good achievement for a club in their 2nd season in PL

  90. 4411 says:
    April 28, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    “@chuck – the game was well lost by the time he brought off HBA”

    Aye, it was, more or less, 4411.

  91. Getting sick and tired of reading negative comments about Pardew on all these blogs I feel I have to say something. we won 6 straight games before today and kept 5 clean sheets. Tht is a fantastic achievement in what has been an amazing season from us. Every team slips up and yes the first half was atrocious but we were much better in the second half and could have scored 3. The players were over confident and subsequently played worse for it. This wasn’t the gaffer’s fault. It’s down to the players. Surely we can be afforded a poor performance after the way we’ve played recently? Keep the faith. Pardew is the one that has made Ben Arfa look like Lionel messi. Before he found a way to encorporate the lad he was looking like a lazy, delusional, selfish player. Pardew set a fire in him an found a way to get the best out of him. Dont write him off after one loss and bad performance. If you’re going to be that negative go and support our pathetic inbred neighbours.

  92. Hughtonisageordie, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. As for Ben Arfa, I watched him before he came to Newcastle, and he was a brilliant, if moody and somewhat erratic player long before he came to Newcastle. He is merely playing in the same position he played at Marseilles now, except on the right instead of the left, all after Pardew declared that he wasn’t a winger.

    The really good idea came from Hughton in the game when he had his leg broken, ie playing him on the right hand side instead of the left one as he did in France. Though still a left footer, this opens up the pitch for him alot and can make him even more devastating.

  93. Worky I agree it may have not necessarily been pards that found the best position to play bennie however he definitely has had a big part in instilling the team spirit and work ethic in him and making him accountable for his defensive duties too. I’m pretty sure pards mainly works with the defence in training an carver works with the attacking side so I wasn’t trying to say pards was a genius in moulding ben Arfa. Off on a tangent anyway really as my point was that the gaffer deserves less negativity from the pessimists on here.

  94. Hughtonisageordie, Aye, as I wrote, the truth is somewhere in the middle. One thing about Benny is that he’s 25, which is a very important part in a man’s psychological development. This is when they many of them really start to grow up, listen to advice, become less hot headed etc, and especially so when you go through things like he has since he came to Newcastle. He did say at one stage that they may have had to cut his leg off if things had gone another way, which wouldn’t have helped his football career a great deal.

  96. I am not a big Pardew fan but I must concede from where we were a few years ago to where we are now it is a remarkable transformation and Pardew can learn. As we we blame him for bad results it is only fair we credit him when he has done well and while we lost the battle we are doing reasonably well in the war. Ahead of Liverpool, chelsea and spurs challenging Arsenal since when has fourth place been been a failure?

    We must keep our expectations in check! You will only set yourself up for disappointment

  97. Michael12 says:
    April 28, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    “You will only set yourself up for disappointment”

    That’s what being a Newcastle United fan is all about though, Michael12. I’ve known that since I was a bairn in 1974!