At the time of writing Wigan Athletic are placed 18th
in the Barclays Premier League table, relegated after amassing just 35 points
in 37 games. Roberto Martinez’s side have one last league fixture before
bringing the curtain down on a season they won't forget for a while.
They face Aston Villa at home, a game that had been billed as a relegation
decider mere weeks before it became apparent that neither side would have their
fate decided by the outcome. After spending much of the season hovering around
the drop zone, Villa find themselves safe with 40 points. Wigan will be playing
Championship football next season, and while an FA Cup win and the subsequent
place in the Europa League will put more than a gloss on a campaign which ended
in bitter disappointment, the fans can be forgiven for pondering how, with
the highly regarded Martinez at the helm, their side were unable to stay up.
Wigan have in recent years been known to start the season
slow before ending on fire, helping them retain their Premier League status. There
was evidence this would be the case once again as the side began to make a
charge for safety in March; notching up wins against Newcastle and
Norwich in the league, as well as thumping Everton 0-3 at Goodison Park.
Despite their newfound impetus, April didn't go as swimmingly; the Latics only
managing one win in five, with that coming in the FA Cup semi-final against
Millwall. Martinez and his side went into May knowing that a similar showing wouldn't guarantee their safety. More of the same ensued and after one win in
three league games, their eight-year stint at the top level was brought to an
end.
It could have been so very different. Wigan led a Champions
League-chasing Tottenham 2-1 at home before conceding in the final minute. They
went ahead twice in a ‘must win’ game against Swansea – a side with nothing to
aim for after lifting the League Cup and earning enough points for a mid-table
finish – only to come away with nothing
after more suspect defending. A win against Tottenham would have put them on 37
points, two behind Sunderland in 17th but still with something to
play for going into the final game, while just one from the match against
Swansea would have piled more pressure on the Black Cats. The North East side
would have faced Tottenham at White Hart Lane, the hosts still chasing fourth
and needing a win, while Wigan surely would have fancied their chances of a victory
against Villa, a team with nothing to play for. Again, it could have been so
very different.
So as Wigan fans start to discuss a fixture list resembling
something across the lines of Doncaster on Saturday and Inter Milan on Tuesday,
t
he post-mortem can begin.
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| Ramis - Absent from January |
In Martinez’s defence, towards the end of the season he
wasn’t far off not having one altogether. After starting centre-back Ivan Ramis
was ruled out of the season at the turn of the year, injuries to fellow
defenders Maynor Figueroa, Jean Beausejour and Ronnie Stam left Martinez having
to select midfielders Roger Espinoza and James McArthur as his wing-backs for
the final games. Now, although Martinez has stressed the impact that injuries
have had on his side’s performances, this point only applies to the closing
stages of the season. Figueroa was stretchered off in the game against Tottenham
in late April, Beausejour’s season ended in the win against West Brom in early
May, with Stam suffering a suspected broken leg just days later. It’s worth
mentioning that Ivan Ramis succumbed to his knee injury in January, while his
partner at centre-back in Antolin Alcaraz has dipped in and out of the side with
various problems. However, taking into account the dates of the incidents, it
seems the only thing injuries did prevent Wigan from doing was making their end
of season surge. For at least three-quarters of the season, they were free to
battle out goalless draws with their starting defence intact. So the point
Martinez makes about injuries is for the most part invalid.
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| Kone - A shining light |
If there’s one thing Wigan’s relegation couldn't be put down
to it’s a lack of attacking prowess. Arouna Kone slotted in 11 goals during his
first season in the Premier League, but that was still only enough to earn him
third place in the team’s Player of the Year award. First and second were taken
up by his suppliers in Shaun Maloney and Callum McManaman respectively, who
played either side of the Ivorian as the season drew to a close. Wigan scored
45 goals this season - more than Sunderland, West Ham and Stoke - even managing two
goals in their crucial games against Tottenham and Swansea.
At the other end,
Wigan slipped up far too many times to save themselves. Defensive errors marred
their progress right until the end, as Arsenal waltzed into their opposing
penalty area to put four past keeper Joel Robles in the game that
effectively demoted the Latics to the second tier. While it would be harsh to put the blame
solely on Martinez, it is his responsibility to organise the defence pre-match.
This issue had dogged his side from the start of the 2012/13 campaign right up
to the end – the goals against total standing at 71 after the Arsenal game, the
highest in the league. Perhaps he could have tried playing someone other than
Jordi Gomez – an attacking midfielder by trade – in front of the defence to
provide extra cover. Towering centre-back Emerson Boyce played almost the
entire season at right wing-back despite offering little in the way of pace,
while winger Beausejour was forced into playing on the other side of defence.
Trying the pair in their natural positions might have been a start. It’s all
ifs, buts and maybes, but these points are more than worth pondering.
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| FA Cup - Against all odds? |
Motivation was less of a problem for Martinez. Wigan retained
their focus and fight in an FA Cup campaign
that eventually lasted seven games
(including one replay), culminating in a 1-0 win against Manchester City at
Wembley to give the club their first major trophy. Sure, the side could only
beat what was in front of them, but while their famous FA Cup win will be the
talk of this rugby town for years, only twice did they play teams above them in
the league. A fantastic win for the club, but a true underdog story for the
wider world of football it was not.
In the league they squandered countless chances
to see out games and earn themselves a vital three points. Despite their lowly
position throughout the season, stats show the Latics would have finished 16th
had they held onto their points from half time in matches, and would have
managed 14th when playing away. It’s not Champions League form, but
nor is it the workings of a team dropping out of the division.
One thing that Martinez cannot be criticised for is his
activity in the transfer market. Kone, Maloney, McManaman and James McCarthy
are all expected to command fees much higher than the amounts that brought them
to the DW stadium thanks to their performances in the season just past.
Martinez doesn't get them all right – Mauro Boselli (£6.5 million), Albert Crusat
(£2 million) and Stam (£2 million) have been notable flops – but the man they
call Bobby has earnt chairman Dave Whelan a fair bit of money over the years. Wigan meanwhile had one of the lowest wage budgets in the Premier League, so
there’s little problem there. There is however one part where Martinez becomes
unstuck. Wigan’s attacking front three has reportedly attracted much interest
from other Premier League clubs, while McCarthy, McArthur, Figueroa are also
expected to stay in the league. So if these players really are as good as other
managers believe they are, how did they end up taking Wigan down? It’s
Martinez’s responsibility to ensure that each part of his side works together
in order to get results. So with all the Premier League talent on their side,
how did the Latics only manage a paltry nine wins this season?
Whatever happens to the Wigan squad of this year, it’s
likely that Martinez will be the biggest departure of them all. The Spaniard is
currently the bookies’ favourite to take over from David Moyes at Everton,
handing him the chance to manage a top level side with much more financial
power, support and ambition than his beloved Latics. Whelan is adamant that he’ll make
the step up, but Blues’ chairman Bill Kenwright should be careful before trusting
a man who sold his way in and out of the grocery business. Much like he would
for a toiletry on his old Blackburn market stall, there’s a sense that Whelan
will get his man a good owner. Still, Roberto’s new employer might have to wait
for a while until they really know what they've got for their money.
