Wigan – They came and had a go – fair play to them. They did not sit back and had lots of chances – not loads of clear ones but lots of corners, headed efforts and should have scored more. We never really got a total grip of them despite our finishing and scoring goals at a really good time. At the back they could not cope with Sharp’s movement on the big moments and I felt they looked slow – the two lads Dunkley and Burn – Sharp caused them both big problems. In midfield they did have a fair bit of the ball and had a lot of free kicks/chances to maybe do more with it but Henderson made 3 or 4 good saves – ones you would expect though. They were always right in the game but the 2nd goal kind of killed them after they got back into it. After we got 3 and 4; they looked a bit bewildered but got back into it and could have got another and made it a nervy finish.
They have a few players out and not helped two more went off with muscle injuries. The lad Powell is a good player (worth a look at for the 10 role in January or would he cost too much?). James is a decent player but had a mixed day today. Not sure Roberts has the pace/stamina for this level but maybe only got a start due to other injuries. Morsy is a busy midfielder who gets his foot in but not sure Burn who is a Brighton player (back on loan) is better than anything we have. If he is worth 4 million than Jack and Bash are both worth double that and maybe shows Egan was not that expensive.
They had 3 players that many seemed to want us to sign, Byrne, Morsy and Burn who had contrasting games.
I like Paul Cook - done a great job wherever he has been and speaks really honestly all the time. Gave us credit pre and post game. They have struggled away from home but with the approach they have will be comfortable in mid table or just below for me. They have some decent players and will always have a go as they showed today.
Opponent man of the match – Powell showed some lovely touches and got on the ball into little areas. He was the main man who they looked to get on the ball. Windass was a bit in and out and not sure they had a direct striker until Garner came on with Vaughan on the bench and Grigg out.
Weak link – Either of the two centre backs. Dunkley scored a sloppy own goal but his partner had a poor game. Burn who is a Brighton player (back on loan) is better than anything we have. If he is worth 4 million than Jack and Bash are both worth double that and maybe shows Egan was not that expensive. He is painfully slow and gets turned easily.
Henderson 8/10 – Thought after his error in the week, he got back to his standards. Made a few athletic push aways from free kicks – the second one was really good from the effort from James as he had to get across and up. The first was more routine. His handling was excellent from a number of headed efforts and took the sting out of things by going to ground at the end! Looked a really good keeper. You saw the difference between him and the lad at the other end who did not make direct mistakes but did not have same commanding presence and he was a big lad too.
Freeman 6.5/10 – Not his best today for me and first half other than the quick throw for the goal which was clever, thought he was a bit slow to react at times and made some mistakes both defensively and with the ball. Got better second half and put in one great cross for Clarke but was slow to react on the goal as the ball came across. Like the rest of the team not the standards he has been.
Stevens 7/10 – Inverse of Freeman. Thought he played well first half and got forward and made some good runs and was neat and tidy but second half gave his man way too much room although to be fair they did have two on one at times. He did assist in the build up to our fourth and showed some great energy to get up and down today.
Stearman 6.5/10 – Steady game but I will say his main role as the central defender is to clear and head and sweep up. He did this at times but I thought he did not win enough headers for me. They had several headed attempts on goal when the centre backs did not get their first and with better finishing could have scored a few from such efforts. Has to be a bit stronger in those key situations and the sort of situations where we conceded soft goals last year. On the goal he let the ball bounce and Windass turned and face him up.
O’Connell 7/10 – Some good stuff and some poor stuff but felt he came onto the ball well. Showed some lovely pieces of control to take the ball out of the sky and keep possession but then gave it away with an error which they profited from. Second half he was slow on the second goal as he only had one man to mark I felt when it came across. He had the great headed effort that hit the bar – bullet header which was unlucky.
Basham 7.5/10 – Another solid performance. He has a few dodgy moments but his energy and commitment was superb again. He kept going up and down the pitch and was all action again at both ends. His final product sometimes seems him panic but he assisted in the first goal of course with a good run and cross into an area. Ball came over his head on the first one and maybe should have been a bit more switched on.
Fleck 6.5/10 – Another quiet-ish game. Not been quite at his best recent weeks again and today that continued. He was involved in some decent bits but not enough of an influence and his passing was up and down when he had it. His role today was muddled with McGoldrick in there and had to sit back and play deeper I suppose with McGoldrick not being a natural midfielder.
Norwood 7.5/10 – Not sure he has the same control and influence he has in other games. We never really controlled midfield all game. He played a few delightful balls in and amongst this though accounting for his mark. He played the free kick in for the second and took a few other clever ones. He then hit a super ball for Clarke and another good one for Stevens. So, for someone who did not see as much of the ball as normal or maybe use it as much still was involved in 3 goals!
McGoldrick 7/10 – Glad he was given a go in this role. It worked to some degree as he got in little pockets and played some nice passes and showed his clever footballing brain. He is a lovely player to watch and makes time when everyone seems to be panicking around him (for us and the opponent). Should have done better with a good chance before half time. At times he did not track back as much as he maybe needed to in that role and maybe that is why they had a fair bit of the ball in this area for an away side (well used to the domination we normally enjoy in this area). Came off at the end when we needed to just get a bit more of the ball.
Sharp 9/10 – 3 chances. 3 goals. All clinically taken. None were easy chances but made them look easy. Poachers efforts all of them. Outside of this his work ethic was excellent and he never stopped and I felt even outside the goals he played well with hold up play, runs into the channels and good link play with others. People keep writing him off but he keeps answering.
Clarke 7/10 – Worked hard again. Maybe not as much impact as the week but he did cover a lot of ground and I felt gave the defenders a tough game. He won a few headers and flicks and had a decent effort saved and the set-up Sharp with a superb ball. He seems to be more with it in terms of work ethic. Hopefully the goals will start coming if he continues this application but has been better in the games this week.
Subs –
Coutts – Got just under half an hour (2 minutes away from a mark qualification in more less than precise system). He did ok and kept it nice and simple. He needs more time and I see him being used in this role for a good 6 or 7 games before he would be considered for a start as still not quite up to the pace of things. What he can do is keep the ball and he showed that in spells.
Washington – Came on and again not sure he touched it. Ran around a lot and chased defenders down in the short time he was on.
Wilder 7.5/10 – Today we won and went top of the league. Gambled with the McGoldrick positional pick but he did ok in this role. Today we were not at our best but got the win and after two good performances where we only got a point; it was important just to get the win really. Also, his subs worked a bit better – albeit the Washington one was late but Coutts gave us a bit more control for a period.
Referee – Tony Harrington. Thought he was the type of referee you do not want to see. Did not let things low, over complicated a relatively easy game to ref and gave some soft free kicks. He seemed to be constantly blowing his whistle. An away-er too which is off when we won 4-2. He seemed to give them a lot of free kicks and not many for us. I felt many of the 50-50’s went to them and he also was quite fussy. He kept stopping the game to talk to people. The Basham booking was fine but not sure many others were bookings and quite soft. He seemed to want to be the star of the show. Really poor. Got booed off and that said it all that fans noticed him when we won and had gone top.
Fans/Crowd – 24,429. Wigan only brought maybe 700-800 and one of poorest away followings. They were quiet too but so were the home fans save for a few spells of the new Wilder ‘Rotterdam – Beautiful South’ chant. The noise went up when we scored the goals but we need to ramp it up a bit I feel to give the team a bit more of a lift. Should be no such issue at the next home game. Looking forward to a sold out away end at Forest – I am there so expecting a match report either late Saturday or early Sunday depending on the result and how much ale I consume!