Wigan Ratings

[metalgear]

i was very disappointed at this performance and thought it was a very poor game overall.

i don't buy the "relegation team fighting spirit" argument - they are there because of it! We should have been in better control throughout the match, snuffing out their forays down the wings and their crosses. this was the game we should have stayed tight and compact instead of being open, and it was a very unfamiliar setup that left the players wondering what each one would do.

compare to our CL frenemies:

wigan 0 - 1 arsenal
wigan 0 - 2 chelsea
wigan 0 - 4 victims
wigan 2 - 2 everton

OK Everton drew there too, but they scored compared to our gifted goals . In the end i think AVB has to take the rap for this, trying out too many changes for our own good.

Lloris 6 - couldn't stop the goals, too porous a defence
Walker 7- our best player in terms of effort and drive, he really wanted to push the team forward and covered the most ground
Dawson 6 - did the best he could but wasn't much help in front of him
Vertonghen 5 - at fault for the goal not strong enough
Naughton 4 - worst player on the pitch today, lots of nothing passes and has a knack of putting the receiving players in trouble with his pass. responsible for their goal and looked the weak link throughout
Parker 6 - workhorse and did his part to protect thudd...but should have had more focus in defence before and especially after dembele went off
Dembele 6 - good possession and helped out in defence a lot. played out the shield for playmaker role perfectly, Thudd amongst all, missed him the most once he went off.
Huddlestone 7 - good performance for 60 minutes but faded badly. Should have scored with that audacious free kick.
Bale 6 - no extra marks for the goal this time, should have been smarter in off the ball movement to drag players out of position.
Dempsey 6 -another solid hardworking performance and getting into good positions
Defoe 5 - if his only strength was getting the shot off quickly, didn't see it today.

Holtby 6 - lots of energy but by the time he got on with a fading thudd we looked a mess in the midfield with no structure no gameplan
Ekotto 6 - like walker, looking for the win, unlike naughton didn't get owned
Lennon 5 - not ready methinks.

AVB 5 - Too smart for his own good this time. Too many changes that didn't take off. No Plan B. no-one could anticipate dembele's injury, but why change the Man C gameplan wholesale when a few tweaks would do? Being too porous in the midfield gave Wigan exactly what they wanted - speed and pace and freedom to attack.

 

[zin]

Any more?

 

[ArcspacE]

You can copy mine from TFC

 

[NWND]

i was very disappointed at this performance and thought it was a very poor game overall.

i don't buy the "relegation team fighting spirit" argument - they are there because of it! We should have been in better control throughout the match, snuffing out their forays down the wings and their crosses. this was the game we should have stayed tight and compact instead of being open, and it was a very unfamiliar setup that left the players wondering what each one would do.

compare to our CL frenemies:

wigan 0 - 1 arsenal
wigan 0 - 2 chelsea
wigan 0 - 4 victims
wigan 2 - 2 everton

OK Everton drew there too, but they scored compared to our gifted goals . In the end i think AVB has to take the rap for this, trying out too many changes for our own good.

Lloris 6 - couldn't stop the goals, too porous a defence
Walker 7- our best player in terms of effort and drive, he really wanted to push the team forward and covered the most ground
Dawson 6 - did the best he could but wasn't much help in front of him
Vertonghen 5 - at fault for the goal not strong enough
Naughton 4 - worst player on the pitch today, lots of nothing passes and has a knack of putting the receiving players in trouble with his pass. responsible for their goal and looked the weak link throughout
Parker 6 - workhorse and did his part to protect thudd...but should have had more focus in defence before and especially after dembele went off
Dembele 6 - good possession and helped out in defence a lot. played out the shield for playmaker role perfectly, Thudd amongst all, missed him the most once he went off.
Huddlestone 7 - good performance for 60 minutes but faded badly. Should have scored with that audacious free kick.
Bale 6 - no extra marks for the goal this time, should have been smarter in off the ball movement to drag players out of position.
Dempsey 6 -another solid hardworking performance and getting into good positions
Defoe 5 - if his only strength was getting the shot off quickly, didn't see it today.

Holtby 6 - lots of energy but by the time he got on with a fading thudd we looked a mess in the midfield with no structure no gameplan
Ekotto 6 - like walker, looking for the win, unlike naughton didn't get owned
Lennon 5 - not ready methinks.

AVB 5 - Too smart for his own good this time. Too many changes that didn't take off. No Plan B. no-one could anticipate dembele's injury, but why change the Man C gameplan wholesale when a few tweaks would do? Being too porous in the midfield gave Wigan exactly what they wanted - speed and pace and freedom to attack.

Too many changes for his own good? Unbelievable. He started with the same team that looked effin invincible in the last 20 mins v Emirates Marketing Project when the usual team had looked aboslutely pants for most of that game. Yeah it didn't work out from the start v Wigan, but plenty of people thought the sensible thing was to give the formation and people like Thudd the chance to start v Wigan. If he doesn't do this then he'd get a load of flak as well.

It didn't work out but it looked like the sensible thing to do without hindsight, which of course is a wonderful thing!

 

[tynesidespur]

Too many changes for his own good? Unbelievable. He started with the same team that looked effin invincible in the last 20 mins v Emirates Marketing Project when the usual team had looked aboslutely pants for most of that game. Yeah it didn't work out from the start v Wigan, but plenty of people thought the sensible thing was to give the formation and people like Thudd the chance to start v Wigan. If he doesn't do this then he'd get a load of flak as well.

It didn't work out but it looked like the sensible thing to do without hindsight, which of course is a wonderful thing!

Yes but why does he persist with Naughton? Its a waste of a sub when he finally realises after 60 mins that Naughton is contributing sweet FA and it might be an idea to put on a left footed left back to give balance. It defies belief, it really does.

 

[NWND]

Yes but why does he persist with Naughton? Its a waste of a sub when he finally realises after 60 mins that Naughton is contributing sweet FA and it might be an idea to put on a left footed left back to give balance. It defies belief, it really does.

It defies belief given the grief BAE has got on here this season?

Most of the posts i've seen have been saying Naughton should come in for Walker or BAE (delete as appropriate) because while he doesn't offer as much going forward, he is far more solid and less error prone.

So to say it defies belief that Naughton gets picked ahead of BAE in itself defies belief when most people on here want BAE dropped after every game he plays.

AVB (and other managers) can't win sometimes.

The reality is that we have a very out of form left back and a left back that is right-footed and probably not good enough to start week-in-week out for a top 4 team. Hence why we appear to be looking at left-backs for the summer.

In the meantime AVB has to work with what he has, and it may be he feels Naughton's less talented but more solid displays are what is required for certain fixtures, rather than Benny's great passing/crossing but positionally out of space and red-card-waiting-to-happen challenges... just maybe?

 

[metalgear]

starting with the same team that did well in the last 20 mins of the Emirates Marketing Project game is a totally different game plan.

 

[tynesidespur]

It defies belief given the grief BAE has got on here this season?

Most of the posts i've seen have been saying Naughton should come in for Walker or BAE (delete as appropriate) because while he doesn't offer as much going forward, he is far more solid and less error prone.

So to say it defies belief that Naughton gets picked ahead of BAE in itself defies belief when most people on here want BAE dropped after every game he plays.

AVB (and other managers) can't win sometimes.

The reality is that we have a very out of form left back and a left back that is right-footed and probably not good enough to start week-in-week out for a top 4 team. Hence why we appear to be looking at left-backs for the summer.

In the meantime AVB has to work with what he has, and it may be he feels Naughton's less talented but more solid displays are what is required for certain fixtures, rather than Benny's great passing/crossing but positionally out of space and red-card-waiting-to-happen challenges... just maybe?

That logic would work if he picked Naughton for the big games but the must-win top-4 home games we had recently (Emirates Marketing Project and NLD) he picked BAE because he's the best we have at left back. How can BAE build up any rhythm if he plays 30 mins here and there and then suddenly starts? He's the best we have and he should be playing ahead of Naughton. Naughton should only be used in case of injuries. Really surprised at this blindspot.
BAE has not been at last year's level and by all means look to upgrade in the summer but I've been at several matches including Saturday where he's started Naughton and realised after an hour that he's offering nothing down the left and he has to bring BAE on. Waste of a sub and a waste of an hour.