Drugs, England Squads, Olympics and Money-making
By: Shaun |
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Right ladies and gentlemen, i hear Adrian Mutu has to pay Chelsea millions of pounds because he was under the influence of drugs whilst he was at the club. This made me laugh. If he was on drugs then what the hell was Roman on when he chose to sack Jose’.
News in Wigan is slow this week i’m afraid but Heskey has managed to grab a place in the England squad due to Ashton picking up an injury during the defeat of Wigan on Saturday. I wish him luck but i feel he only may work up front with someone like Owen. Owen is on his traditional Summer injury break however, but someone speedy like Theo Walcott could do well when paired with Emile. If Heskey wins the headers and flicks some in the direction of Theo, then we could have a partnership to take everyone by surprise.
Now, i’ve heard suggestions about whether or not Great Britain should have an Olympic Football Team in 2012. The Olympics could cost around 12 Billion pounds. Yeah, thats right 12 Billion. Now, i would have thought that this money could have been spent better. We could write ‘FUCK OFF GERMANY’ onto the moon for that amount of money or we could have fed millions of starving people in the world.
Now, after the 39th game fiasco last season was shot to pieces, plans have emerged recently of mini 4 team new-year tournaments that take place in different parts of the globe. Now, i know that the Offside is read by many people around the world but would any Americans go and watch Wigan v Stoke in a rather pointless money-making exersise?
Category: Team News
I’ve got more points on my driving lisense
By: Shaun | 1 Comment
Soo, another opening day defeat, this time to the ’staamm of Cockneyland. The game finished 2-1 to the Happy Hammers but it showed that Wigan won’t lie down to any team. Dean Ashton had a decent first ten minutes; firstly turning Paul Scharner and slamming the ball into the net. Good goal. Minutes later it was 2 and it was only until the second half that Wigan really got into their stride. Zaki pounced 2 minutes after the break but should have buried about 5 more goals. The hardest chance of his actually led to a goal, believe it or not.
Since West Ham have an injury list the size of Ronaldo’s ego it was a bit disappointing to come away with no points. When i got to West Ham i thought i was somehow in Beijing, what with all the people walking round in tracksuits. It was like an olympic village!
Anyhow, it was Zaki’s first goal of many for the club and i found it ironic that he comes from a country where they used to rap important kings/people up in bandages when they died. In the West Ham treatment room its similar- except no one is dead.
Category: Team NewsThe Real Titus Bramble
By: Shaun | 5 Comments
He is the laughing stock of the league. He makes mistakes which usually lead to goals. He has lapses of concentration from time to time and he is called all sorts of abusive names. Step forward, Titus Bramble.
When he signed for Newcastle for £5 million in 2002, many thought he was a bright, upcoming future England international. After a torrid time in the North-East, in 2007 he was bought for nothing by Wigan. At that time, many Wigan fans were confused. “Why do we need this moron when we are trying to fix a leaky defence which nearly cost us our premierleague status the season before?”
Those fans who doubted the move were left eating humble pie after Brambles first few performances in the Wigan shirt. He marshalled the defence superbly during early wins over Sunderland and Middlesbrough and the draw with Fulham. Even when things got a bit tough during a barren spell when manager Chris Hutchings was fired, Bramble was one of the players of the season so far.
When Hutchings was removed, Steve Bruce took over and his first match was at home to Manchester City. The game kicked off and then this happened…
Category: Team NewsPremier League PREDICTIONS
By: Shaun | 19 Comments
Right, i just thought a nice pre-season prediction was in order as we creep closer and closer to the big kick off on the 16th. A lot of people are saying that the league will be split into many smaller leagues such as the ‘big four’, UEFA Cup challengers, Mid table loungers and relegation fodder. You can make your own mind up about who goes where but heres my view on the matter.
20th Hull. They can’t be as bad as Derby but surely its a no-hoper.
19th West Brom. Why let Kevin Phillips leave? A proven, abliet old, goalscorer who knew how to score at the highest level. He’ll be back soon enough with Birmingham.
18th Blackburn. This is what happens when you leave a child in charge of adults.
17th Stoke. I think they will survive. Why try to unlock defences with intricate, tidy passes when you can blast through with the old big ‘oof.
16th West Ham. Nothing in their team to suggest improvement.
15th Bolton. Solid, strong and survival.
14th Fulham. With the squeaky-voiced, tongue-sticker-outer, part-time diver Andy Johnson on board they should be safe.
13th Everton. This is a club who have hardly got any players. I went along to their pre-season game against PSV yesterday and there where fans in the stand shouting “we’re skint and we know we are!” during the game. I liked the way that when police tried to calm the fans down, they were subjected to chants of “shit job no mates!”
12th Sunderland. With the Irish nutter in charge, the players will be too scared to play badly. Otherwise they become the victim of knee ligament ripping tackles in training by Mr Keane himself.
11th Newcastle. Owen will score a few, get injured, come back 10 games later and will remain the teams’ top scorer.
10th Middlesbrough. Alves will score, Boro will roar.
9th Portsmouth. UEFA Cup will leave the league campaign on the back-burner.
8th Manchester City. Likewise.
7th Wigan. The team is capable of this, thanks to the addition of brilliance like Amir Zaki. He will set the league alight, mark my words.
6th Aston Villa. Barry wants to go, Boumas crippled already, Young will shine and Villa will fly in all competitions.
5th Arsenal. Young kids will never win anything. How many times has that been said before….
4th Tottenham. Why not? The signings have been made, the manager looks decent and the experience is there amongst the team.
3rd Manchester United. An off season perhaps? Ronaldos been persuaded to stay but surely he can’t have another majestic season. Fergie will walk at the end.
2nd Chelsea. Big Phil should punch Fat Frank and teach the greedy bastard a lesson. Ballack will shine.
1st Liverpool. Torres and Keane will go together like Lampard and all you can eat buffets. Backed up by Gerrard, Kuyt and Voronin- who will have a much better season- i’m tipping them for champions.
Your opinions on the above are valued.
Category: Team NewsMatch-debating everywhere
By: Shaun | 1 Comment
Right now its about just over a week until the new Premier league season starts, so thats about a just over a week of sanity left then. You see, on the 16th August the Sky Sports bandwagon will roll back onto our screens with phrases such as “its back bigger and better than ever before” and “all the football you’ll ever need.”
Now, i appreciate that many of you are from America and might not receive Sky but for many subscribers in Britain and around the world we have to put up with Richard Keys smug face every weekend. And the smugness of the presenters isn’t the main problem. One word springs to mind when Sky go on about the league. HYPE. Yep, every so often there is a weekend when the ‘big four’ play each other. Strange how the fixture computer produces this scenario every season. Oh, no wait, thats the work of Sky. Usually, these so called ‘big four’ meetings prove to be dour stalemates but yet they are treated like royalty by Sky.
It is common knowledge that the big television corporations that own the rights to the league have immense control over the clubs. The clubs may be happy with the millions they earn off the t.v rights but some fans aren’t. How must some Manchester United fans feel when they’ve spent hundreds of their hard-earned cash on a season ticket to find out that Sky are going to show 11 of their home league games on the box? A subscription to Sky or a season ticket? Thats the decision facing many.
Being a supporter of Wigan (who are hardly ever on t.v) it is not as bad. You’re hardly likely to see Wigan v Hull on Sky because Sky think it will be boring and won’t attract the millions of fat bastard subscribers who sit on their arses watching the football, which a game like Manchester United v Hull would.
So, i could argue that the low attendences of some football clubs is due to the monopoly that companies like Sky and Setanta have on the league. The Championship, Leagues 1 and 2 are largely ignored while the likes of Andy Gray, Richard Keys and co drool over Ronaldo’s new boots. There is also never a bad game on Sky. Even if Bolton v Sunderland was completly woeful, the boys will sit in the studio and try to brainwash us into thinking it was a thriller. Listen Sky, i’m not stupid and neither are the many football fans who tune into your coverage. I don’t want to know what Sir Alex Fergeson does when his team scores. What a waste of electricity that is, by the way- a single camera pointed at the manager so we can see the way in which he jumps from his chair, runs down some steps and chews his gum while clapping his hands. Facinating, i’m sure you’ll agree and no doubt in the studio, Sky will analyse the way his jaw moves up and down as he chews.
Many fans subscribe to football so they can watch more of the game they love. They don’t need to be told what shape the ball is or who Martin Tyler showered with last night. They want quality football and insightful opinions from pundits who can actually speak properly and know what they are talking about.
So, Sky and the other T.V companies, give us a season of coverage to remember. For the right reasons…
Category: Team NewsChrist, get me some pills!
By: Shaun | 3 Comments
I’m going to stick my neck out here. Wigan are going to get into the European places in the coming season. Yes people, come May 2009 the final league table will show ‘little’ Wigan in the euro slots.
Last season after Steve Bruce (he of the big fat head, as rival fans like to say) took over, Wigan finished 9th in the form table. No relegation battle there hey?
Key signings have been made to improve the depth and quality of the squad during the summer. Zaki the Egyptian has been brought in to see if he can cut it in the Premier league. Arguably, he should since he is one of the most prolific strikers in international football. Hopefully Heskey will have a clean bill of health for more than 60 minutes a match this season and better performances are expected from Marlon King and Henri Camara if the Latics are to break into Europe.
Some people may argue that there are better teams out there but i disagree. Everton need Carol Vorderman to make up the numbers as they’ve signed no one, Aston Villa will be more burnt out than a car Joey Barton’s stolen thanks to their european adventure and if i went on a killing spree outside a police station then i would expect my barristor to put up a better defence than Tottenham.
So there we have it, Wigan for Europe!
(warning, hallucinogenic drugs should not be taken before the writing of blogs)
Category: Team NewsDa da da da daaaa, i ain’t lovin’ it
By: Shaun | 2 Comments
So, i’m contemplating assaulting one of my work collegues because we had a disagreement and earlier on i stabbed my burning cigarette into a friends eye because i felt like it. I feel like me and some friends need to dish out some knuckles on a member of the public as well as they stand outside a McDonalds restaurant. I can do this safe in the knowledge that my employer isn’t going to sack me even though i may get sent to prison for a bit. Afterwards the FArce may throw some charges at me but they will be so weak i probably won’t even acknowledge them. I’ll still pocket my £60,000 every week whether i’m in a cell or not.
So, i’m contemplating assaulting one of my work collegues because we had a disagreement (he wouldn’t lend me a pen) and earlier on i stabbed a burning cigarette into a friends eye because i felt like it. I feel like me and some friends need to dish out some knuckles on a member of the public as well as they stand outside a McDonalds restaurant. I can do this safe in the knowledge that my employer will sack me and i will go to prison for a long time. The law will come down hard on me and my life will be ruined because i won’t be able to find any work or make any money.
One of those was the life of Joey Barton, the other was you or me. Any joker who thinks that footballers are treated like slaves needs to get tucked back in that mental asylum. Oh, and if a slave did what Joey Barton has done then i think he/she would have been shot by their owner.
Hint hint, Mr Keegan.
Category: Team NewsGoing…going…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
By: Shaun | 3 Comments
Wigan v Fulham. If ever there was a fixture to put you into a deep sleep then this is it. I asked a friend before what he thought the score would be for this match but he told me the game would probably be abandoned after the players fell asleep on the pitch. Other people agreed with me that a predictable 0-0 would be the likely outcome.
The Wigan board seem to have realised that this game could be, lets say, a bit boring and have announced that children can get in for a quid if they live in some local schools. So if you do turn up on saturday, expect to see more kiddies than usual. Will they manage to stay awake? Possibly not but a game like Wigan v Fulham is hardly going to persuade them to come back to watch another game is it?
Team news now. Wigan have Kevin Kilbane suspended. He will probably be in the stands with a hot chocolate and a pillow watching the, er, entertainment.
As for Fulham, well who cares?
My prediction: drink plenty of caffeine before the game- its gonna be a long one.
Category: Team NewsWhy Heskey deserves his England call up
By: Shaun | 1 Comment
Before you lose interest in this blog by thinking I’m a biased Wiganer who (of course) would think that Heskey deserves his call up, please bear with me. Over the past season and a bit I have watched Emile at the JJB stadium. In nearly all the games he has played in he has made a big impact. Some of the games he has been ‘invisible’ and had not had as much influence as the fans would have liked but most of he time that was due to Wigan having a team that played as strangers together and after a few passes turned to alehouse football- the big ‘hoof’ up the field to the striker.
However, this season it has been different. Chris Hutchings has brought a new style of football to the club and the ball seems to be staying on the ground a lot more. Ball-into-feet seems to suit Heskey better. The work-rate is first class though. If his team mates can find him, Heskey can be influential. However, work rate is not the only attribute that makes a good striker.
“We all think Emile could be greedier around the box,” says Hutchings. “But he will often see a team-mate in a better position and instinctively try to find him. We’d like him to score more goals but it should not be overlooked how much he creates for us at Wigan. He takes so much pressure off the other strikers, he never hides and he always takes responsibility. He sets a precedent with his unselfishness. He had a great understanding with Michael Owen at Liverpool and I’m sure that can work again for England.”
Category: Team NewsA loss which feels like a win
By: Shaun | Add Comments
I suppose i could be negative about the result: A late goal sinks disappointing Wigan.
No.
It is true that conceding a 87th minute goal from Mikey Owen is upsetting (especially as its the second late goal we have conceded in the last week) and it is true that Wigan never created an awful lot in front of the Newcastle goal. However, being negative gets you nowhere in life and the same applies to football.
So, lets look at the positives. Marcus Bent got a good chunk of time under his belt as a Wigan player. I think that this loan signing could prove to be very useful for Wigan this season. However, if he doesn’t perform we haven’t got the burden of being stuck with a player, who to be honest, never really set the world alight at Charlton.
England’s ‘potential savior’ Heskey had a good game. He won plenty of headers but could have done with someone running onto them. Owen perhaps…
There have been plenty of signings this season but its nice to see that the team has a resilience and fighting spirit- something that was lacking at times last season. No points, but a winning team spirit.
It’s early days but i have the feeling this could be a decent season for Wigan. Hopefully come May, some of those so-called pundits will be proved wrong with their ‘Wigan certain for the drop’ predictions.
Those negative, negative ‘pundits’…
Category: Team News
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