Last nights game

[guzss]

I went to the game, sat on the half way line so good perspective of both halves.

It was a pretty poor game, only the last 15 minutes brought any real ambition from either side. We were very poor in the first half, no one in midfield could get on the ball with first touch appalling and nothing happened down right side with Powell struggling in that wide right role. Defensively we struggled with their pace, especially the blonde centre forward with Crainey having a 45 mins he will want to forget. Only boozy joe showed anything like, good strength and work rate. Espinoza and Watson were shadows of their form on Saturday, so frustrating.
Second half started similar, then they had a patch when there was only one winner. The introduction of McLean and MacArthur made a difference though, especially McLean who I'm not a big fan of. He played wide right and did give us more balance. It could have gone either way in the last 10 minutes, perhaps we shaded that period.

A point from a distinctly

[WhoRYa]

A level of inconsistency is hardly surprising given how much the starting XI is changing from game to game
Crainey not played for Yonks, Fortune not started the last 2 games, Powell never played wide right before, Espinoza shifted into the middle having not started a league game for a while.
I've never been a fan of this squad rotation lark.
Pick your best XI & play them in every game - if a player gets fatigued, picks up a knock then rest em ratherthan trying to pre-empt that.
Someone posted a link on the CL showing how many games the Leicester players have played this season & for all the talk of how many games Latics have played most of them have had more game time than Latics players.
All this faffing about with the starting line up to me just leads to the sort of inconsistencies that we're seeing from game to game

[guzss]

A level of inconsistency is hardly surprising given how much the starting XI is changing from game to game
Crainey not played for Yonks, Fortune not started the last 2 games, Powell never played wide right before, Espinoza shifted into the middle having not started a league game for a while.
I've never been a fan of this squad rotation lark.
Pick your best XI & play them in every game - if a player gets fatigued, picks up a knock then rest em ratherthan trying to pre-empt that.
Someone posted a link on the CL showing how many games the Leicester players have played this season & for all the talk of how many games Latics have played most of them have had more game time than Latics players.
All this faffing about with the starting line up to me just leads to the sort of inconsistencies that we're seeing from game to game

Mixed bag last night of consistency and inconsistency re selection. Espinoza and Watson both started on Saturday so

[WhoRYa]

The thing is if you are trying to get the players used to playing their 3rd style of play in the last 12 months they are going to need time to gel.
The best pplace for them to gel is out on the pitch & build partnerships so they instinctively know where a player will be running when they get the ball.
Now I thought beausejour & McClean worked well together down the left as a partnership & then 3 days later, one doesn't start & the other is pushed into a different position & neither are going to know instinctively what the other one is going to do coz they haven't played down that side together regularly.
It was the same with the Doncaster game, a decent head of steam had been built up & then just as Fortune is looking half-decent he replaces him with a guy who hasn't started a game in yonks & his team mates don't know how he plays & Browning is lobbed in too. The result a disjointed performance.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but like I said before pick the best starting XI available to you

[Les_bradds_lad]

Crappy highlights from last neet :blue: - view external link (http://the72.co.uk/2014/01/29/middlesbrough-0-0-wigan-athletic/)

[Les_bradds_lad]

Roger Espinoza gives his post-match thoughts on a hard earned point at the Riverside.

Wea€™ve got to keep fighting like this, wea€™re still close to the play offs and I think wea€™re going to make it."
Roger Espinoza

Speaking after Wigan Athletica€™s 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium last night, Roger Espinoza said Latics knew they faced a tough test before arriving and were certainly met by a tough opponents.

The Honduras international said:

a€œIt was a tough game and we found ourselves having to fight for the ball a lot.

a€œThere were a lot of 50-50 balls and neither team seemed to be able to gain full control of the game.

a€œIt wasna€™t an easy place to go and we were up against a strong team who really battled for the ball.

a€œWe did well towards the end of the game, but wea€™re frustrated that we didna€™t do enough to win.a€�

Despite declaring himself frustrated, Espinoza said a point at the Riverside Stadium on a windy Tuesday night in January could pro