In today's pre-season press conference Joe McHale has revealed he targets a minimum of 45 points to secure Premier League survival, and hopes for a top-12 finish within the league. When asked by Dave Kozlak of The Sun; "What are your aspirations for your Wigan side, and can we see any improvements from the last 2 seasons by beating the struggle and retaining survival comfortably?"
McHale replied "Myself, The boys and the Chairman all had a meeting earlier this week, we spoke for over an hour on how we intended to implement our philosophy of football into the Premier League, The chairman and I have issued a warning to all players that they are playing for their place in the club, and any under-performers over the season we will look to move on, Myself and the Lads have targeted a 12th or above position in the league by the end of the season and hope to build on that in seasons to come. Dave Whelan has talked of hopes of a possible cup win with both him and coaching staff alike agreeing we can be in with a shout in the Capital One Cup. I myself wish to achieve a minimum of 45 points in the league by the end of the season and firmly agree with removing the deadwood next season" McHale finished his statement with a message to his squad "You are all under evaluation, Wigan Athletic will accept no less the 100% commitment!".
In other news;
- O'Neill Sacked at Sunderland, Martinez favoured to take the helm, Brian McDermott & Gerard Houllier also on stand by.
- Fergie expects 4-way title chase between Man Utd, Man City, and the two North-London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham, He feels Chelsea will be in a season of transition and will not be able to mount a serious title challenge.
- Benitez angered by 'interim' tag and warns pundits, and fellow managers, "I will prove you all wrong!"
Not the best start to the season 2 games into the Premier League and 2 losses, however Man Utd & Liverpool are very tough opposition and a 1-0 loss to either of them isnt to bad of a result. On the upside a capital one cup victory means my team are sailing through to the 3rd Rnd. This is a competition I intend to put my all in to as I see it as a winnable competition, Sheffield United were a tricky side to beat however Henriquez came up with the goods and put the Sheffield Utd defence to the sword.
September Update:
[/spoiler]
Blackpool, A team who I expect to record an easy win against, Arouna Kone is currently injured and i'm looking for Henriquez to show his potential abilty sooner rather than later, If I am to have any hope of winning this match I shall need performances most notably from him, Ekdal and Mccarthy.
Fixture Results:
Aside from the Southampton result, A pleasing month, the players are beginning to show signs of improvement, passing the ball around well and putting tough challenges in when needed, Norwich & Fulham are both stubborn opposition but the boys played well and outclassed them in all areas, West Ham took the lead early on in the game from a soft penalty decision in the 6th minute and we never really recovered, it must have been our 2nd chance of the game at 87 minutes when Ekdal screamed home the equaliser. Once more in the Capital Cup we were victorious and played well, I was left astonished by the teams profligacy infront of goal and wondered how we were not 4-0 up at half time, despite the lack of goals the team played well and thoroughly deserved the result.
October Update:
[spoiler=Capital One Cup 4th Round Draw:]
I had a feeling from the beginning of the draw my team were on a collision course with Alan Pardew's under performing Tyneside club, A very tough challenge presented to us, the toughest of the cup so far. However I am confident if the team plays well and barring any fresh injuries, a fully fit squad should be able to overcome the plucky Newcastle side.
Fixture Results:
Sheer dominance, That is the only way to describe the game against Sunderland with my team having 21 shots on goal with 14 on target, Mignolet had an absolute stormer despite allowing 2 goals in, Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the month, A somewhat fortuitous draw against Aston Villa, left my side lacking confidence coming up and during the master class we were given by Arsenal.
[/spoiler]
Positives once more in the Capital One Cup with 2-1 Extra Time victory over Newcastle, Ramis bossed the defence and left the Newcastle opposition with only long range opportunities throughout, A quick counter attack from a corner, left us flat footed and 2 against 3 for Cisse's 21 yard strike. James McCarthy rocketed home the equaliser from 30 yards with a beauty, which set the game up for a nervy and dramatic conclusion, just 8 minutes into extra time, a beautifully crafted pass from James McCarthur left Arouna Kone with a simple slot in, to put us into the lead. Newcastle came back strong for the last 5 minutes but it was not to be and hope was eventually lost when in the 119th minutes, Haris Vukic hit the post, which rebounded out leaving him with an open net, only to miss the target and shoot wide.
November Update:
Fixture Results:
Only action from within the Premier League this month, Losses against Manchester City & Chelsea were expected, However the team fought well against both sides and managed to reduce the deficit to 1-goal in both games, A shock result against Everton in which the team battled extremely well and simply out classed and passed the Merseyside club, Ekdal scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 71st minutes with a lovely flighted free-kick which beat Tim Howard at his far post, the team were unfortunate against Stoke and lost to 2 penalty decisions, This is no excuse however from the sloppy defending throughout the game from both centre backs Scharner & Ramis. Results also went well against Reading and We were fortunate in the Swansea game to be 2-1 up after 60 minutes. With Vorm being sent off and Swansea already using 3 subs, Michu provided nothing for them in goal and the 2 million pound bargain man, isn't capable of everything and leaked in 2 weak efforts from long range.
December Update:
[spoiler=Capital One Cup Quarter Final Draw:]
(SORRY FOR SENSOR HAHA) Tottenham!, this is the ultimate challenge to question the credentials of my cup campaign this season, I am not sure if we will be able to struggle through the next round but the team will need to stay strong and not back down if we are to succeed.
Fixture Results:
Not much to say for this month, as you can see it was a very tough month, with the only real chance of point gaining coming against West Brom & QPR, was hoping we could possibly scrape a result against Newcastle however, the team made dismal attempts to pass the ball around and could not retain possession long enough to make use of it.
[spoiler=Capital One Cup Overview][/spoiler]
As you can see, We barely even scraped through and were So very lucky to have crawled through, Tottenham passed us off the park, However we fought well and came out on top, even be it on penalties. We got even more luck over penalties having missed 2 of our own penalties for Tottenham to miss 3. Not much really to say but delighted with the outcome and excited for the Semi-Final, Silverware in the first season?, Wembley here we come?, Or is it to soon to dare, or even dream?!
BREAKING NEWS:
Wigan's magnificent Capital One Cup run continues after a penalties decider, in their Quarter Final clash with Tottenham. Arouna Kone took the lead with a deftly executed finish from 17-yards only for Sandro to respond just 3 minutes later with a stunner from 35 yards, Sandro's strike riled past 2 wigan defenders and Ali-Habsi's glove was not enough to stop the sheer power of the strike, Wigan were somewhat fortuitous over penalties,with misses from Vertonghen, Naughton and Bale on the Spurs side, and misses from Boyce and McCarthy on their own. Neither team had a great day up-front and both will be wondering how they were not able to put the game to bed sooner.
January Transfer Talk:
Wigan have completed the signing of South African Goal Keeper Itumeleng Khune, Khune had previously agreed the 775k switch in late october and has expressed his delight at finally being able to join up with his new club, The new arrival has sparked transfer talk with current Wigan shot stopper Ali Al-Habsi, with Wigan rumoured to be accepting offers of 2m for their man.
Itumeleng Khune: CA: PA:
Wages: 15k P/W Fee: £775k
Wigan have also struck a deal to sign OGC Nice keeper David Ospina in the summer, the Colombian international is out of contract in the summer and Wigan have took advantage of that, by offering him a contract to join the club in july.
(Next July) David Ospina CA: PA:
Wages 22k P/W Fee: £0.
That is currently all from Sky Sports stay tuned for the New Years fixture list.
Sitting 12th in the league, 4 points from 13th, 1 point from 11th and just 3 points from 10th, Overall I am achieving the target set by myself to finish comfortably away from the relegation battle, I am now beginning to see a top 10 finish as a realistic and achievable possibility. However, as slight decline in form and that could change, one or two players may be needed in january to bulk the team up and push for that 10th spot.
Transfer Rumours:
Wigan are apparently lining up a deal for out of favour full back, Danny Simpson from Newcastle. Simpson is apparently dissapointed with the lack of first team opportunities available this season since the arrival of French international Mathieu Debuchy, Wigan are willing to bid anything up to 2m for the Englishman who is doing all he can to push a move through away from Tyneside.
Chelsea have offered Wigan a sum of 1.4m for Oman shot stopper Ali Al-Habsi. Al-Habsi was told by Wigan chief Joe McHale that he was now considered surplus to requirements with the arrival of a new goalkeeper.
Robert Snodgrass has released a 'Come and get me' plea to Manager Joe McHale, McHale has been an admirer for Snodgrass since arriving at Wigan in august, He's failed attempts to sign him have been reignited with the Norwich man becoming increasingly unhappy with Norwich chiefs denying him an improved contract.
Craig Dawson has exited West Brom in a deal considered to be worth 4.5m to relegation battlers Reading, Reading who are in 15th position 1 point ahead of 16th placed QPR who have a game in hand.
Finally, Shaun Maloney has left Wigan to join Championship side Bolton in a deal worth 2.5m, This transfer is rumoured to be a deal which will allow Wigan the funds to bring in Robert Snodgrass.
January Update:
Capital One Cup Draw
[/spoiler]
Manchester United!, could the draws this year have been any tougher?, Now this is surely my teams breaking point. My team have shown already they have the ability to beat top sides by claiming the scalps of Newcastle & Tottenham, But I am very unsure as to whether we will make it to the final.
[spoiler=Capital One Cup 1st Leg]
[spoiler=Capital One Cup 2nd Leg][/spoiler]
Giant Killers, Outstanding performances in the 1st game and I decided to go Rigid and Counter for my formation in both games and it worked a treat, Bring on the Final, Who Will I Face?, We are the mighty Latics and We're going to Wembley!.
Fixture Results
All in all, a decent month, despite the 5-1 loss vs Manchester United, We progressed by beating them to the Final of the Capital One Cup. Unfortunate to draw against both West Ham & Norwich, took the lead against Norwich to have it snatched away in the 76th minute, and were cruising 2-0 up over West Ham, but the defense couldnt hold firm, and the absence of Khune to the African Cup of Nations shown as Mike Pollitt leaked in 2 goals. FA Cup win over Wycombe in the 3rd Round and Swindon in the 4th Round allowed us into the 5th Round, I am not expecting the same success within this cup as I have had in the Capital One, but another Cup run would be sensational.
January Transfer Talk:
Itumeleng Khune: CA:
PA:
keep it up!
PA: 
Out: