Wigan away......

Any students / U18s get yourself along - it's free! ( fair play Wigan ) - You know what, I actually think for ONE game a season we'd be well off doing that for all age categories to get fans along and see what they make of it. Make it clear we're doing that to appease season tickets first ( they need to come down ) but for one game as a loss leader ( we'll lose ticket ££££ but sell beer / food / merchandise etc ) I think it's worth doing - if you attract even 5% to come back time and time again it's a massive £££ spinner long-term. Just my thoughts....

I think it's safe to say Wigan + Reading really is our final opportunity to pull ourselves back into the mix - if we could get 6/6 that'd be 8/12 and all of a sudden.............. much better and possible ( providing Reading + Rotherham draw that fixture / lose the other )

Sadly, we've lost our last 8 on the road, our last away point coming in Lambert's first game at Reading.

I think Big Al sumarised Stoke very well - likely to let in a silly goal, and can we score 2?

Wigan from memory are very decent at home, but appalling away.

I fancy us to perhaps stop the loss sequence, however a win? Not sure.

1-1 from me.

 

What I really want from this match is to see the line up progress. Keep the components that are working and tweak the ones that aren't.

Namely:

Keep the midfield diamond. Keep 9 of the personnel. Make two changes. I don't mind if you drop Knudsen or Kenlock but if Chambers is still not fit get Nsiala in at the back. Drop Quaner please - he works hard but doesn't have goals in him - and let's see any of Harrison, Jackson or Edwards in there. I would probably favour Edwards.

If Rotherham or Reading pick up points Wigan could yet prove to be the team we need to catch, so this is a six pointer. We are not relegated if we lose this one but to have any realistic prospect of making up all those points we really need a win to take into the Reading match.

Those lack of goals and defensive mistakes will hurt us I think, but I'm not going to encourage misfortune on us so I'm backing us 1-0.

 

I'm going to be positive and say we're building up to scoring two goals and winning at last.
2-1!!!

 

The diamond is an interesting formation - leaves your full backs very exposed vs a good side or potentially can- however if you boss that CM then of course it's advantage you playing the diamond. Very hit and miss though, depends on the opponents - to be honest not really a fan of it, HOWEVER, right now with our personnel we're quite well stacked at CM / and perhaps it's the best system we can use - especially given Judge likes playing AMC off the striker.

Agree with you Hampy regarding Quaner - not that I've seen a lot of him, not sure he's the man for me. I think Keane as the #9 from what I saw v Norwich is a good hold up player - really pleased he scored v Stoke. Lets hope he can build on it! Not too much though, or he'll go elsewhere for next season!

Agree, I'd perhaps like to see someone else given a go alongside Keane - not Edwards though, not a striker. I don't think that would work at all - and unfortunately with such a system, Edwards may find it very difficult to get minutes.

Shame Sears is out - perhaps he and Keane could have formed a semi decent partnership. Given that he is, Harrison would perhaps be the man for me - mind you, is that a little similar to Keane, two strong hold up lads? Guess he has a little bit of pace. Perhaps this system could bring out more in Jackson - who clearly cannot lead the line alone - however Keane would do a lot of that for him and perhaps his pace could be used from Keane/ Judge/ Bishop. Think he's very raw and needs a lot of work still.

Also agree with perhaps 2 changes, lets keep it consistent. I'd personally like Knudsen back at LB - I do not rate Kenlock whatsoever and have to say I wouldn't be too upset to see him leave in the summer. Not strong enough in my view.

 

Get to see the diamond formation in action away from home. I just hope we keep the midfield how it is, it's our strongest area and we don't need to accommodate Skuse, not when we're actually creating chances and getting forwards. Our away form being how it is, I think confident predictions of a win are a little fanciful. I can see us losing this game but then beating Reading. Both games are absolutely crucial if we are to continue our unlikely journey to survival. Two wins out of two are unfortunately the bare minimum. Four points from six, with the draw being against Reading, will not be good enough.

2-1 loss.

 

Although the games don't fall in this order, four points and a win against Bolton could see us close the gap to within 5 points with ten other games and 30 more points to play for. If we get those four points and we have an okay March where the gap doesn't widen or closes a bit and then beat Bolton I'd say we're still in with a shout going into the last six matches.

Having said that we are already needing snookers - other results - to go our way. Our chances of survival, unless we go on a crazy winning streak, depend on no more than two of those other five teams picking up results themselves.

 

Would imagine that QPR upwards are safe and the mark we would need to hit is probably going to be around 40- 42 points.

 

It's weird seeing you slightly optimistic about our chances, Hampy. Whatever happened to the Hampy that loathed Lambert and gave up on the season?

 

Simply the form of the other sides. We are getting nowhere near the 50 point mark but three other sides have been unusually and equally tragic since Lambert joined.

 

Wigan v us is actually a big game for Wigan also. They are only somehow given how pony the bottom 4 have been themselves just 5 points off the drop, albeit with better goal difference and a game in hand.

I think a win for them would - providing results go their way, would really boost their survival chances - it's a bit of a shame they aren't further clear and in no danger. QPR look a good team to play right now, gone from top 10 to 18th, absolutely flown down the table.

I think Wigan + Millwall will accumulate enough points, but a loss for Wigan to us would really set alarm bells ringing in Lancashire.

 

Reading play Rotherham on the weekend at home, both on 29 points - hopefully another draw.

 

Looking at team shape, Wigan certainly play with wide lads. Last time v Stoke they had Jacobs + Pilkington as the two, so assuming we stick with our diamond ( we surely will ) it'll be very interesting to see who comes out on top. They have Callum McManaman there also.

Certainly somewhat blunt at the top end though, with Will Grigg ( probably League 1 suits more ) moving on to Sunderland.

Doesn't really look a thriller, however potentially significant for both teams.

 

Josh Windass is their leading goalscorer with 5 goals (who we very nearly signed in the summer) followed by Joe Garner and his 4 goals (obviously a player we sold in the summer)

I'd expect Garner to pop up with a goal against us, just because.. why not?

I think it'll be another 1-1 draw following a similar pattern of the last couple, sloppy mistake in the first half and somehow force a goal in the second half as they get a little nervy.

A weeks rest should mean we have a pretty healthy squad after last weeks 3 matches in 6 days.. I'd expect Skuse & Chambers to be reinstated as it's an away fixture and Lambert will probably want their experience, but that would mean shuffling Pennington, Knudsen or Kenlock out of the back 4... So Kenlock then.

 

I hope we don't put Chambers and Skuse back in the side, just because it's an away fixture and presume their experience will benefit us. They've been out of form all season, our form in the last couple of games has coincided with their exclusion, and we've won one away game all season, with Chambers and Skuse starting a majority of those matches. It may sound brutal, but I don't believe they should be accommodated at this moment in time. Keep them on the bench and reward the players for going two games unbeaten.

This Wigan team isn't anything special and we need players in our team that can create and make things happen. Who would you remove from that diamond midfield to accommodate Skuse? I think Chalobah, Bishop, Downes / Nolan, and Judge have all earned their space in the side. And they function well together.

Chambers in defence is a different question, as Knudsen's mistake on the weekend and Kenlock's fairly ordinary form has shown we need an experienced central defender in there. I'd accommodate Collins, if he's fit, because he is a player who has impressed in a Town shirt and undoubtedly brings vocal on-pitch leadership and good defending skills to the team. Chambers, as respected as he is behind the scenes and somebody we definitely need around the club next season, does not bring vocal leadership on the pitch and has been out of form this season.

 

Absolute disgrace that we let such a prolific.. oh.. wait.

 

To have scored that many goals he must be staying on his feet much more than when he played for us!

 

He bagged 10 for us in an injury disrupted season, so whilst he wasn't pretty but was quite effective.. Certainly the sort of horrible bastard we haven't had for a while.

 

Agreed, Garner is exactly the type of striker you'd want in your arsenal of attackers at this level - a nasty streetwise little wind up merchant bullying players and putting a good few goals in the net.

 

Isn’t this the old crappy way of playing and treading water in the Champ that we are trying to leave behind?

 

I don't think it's got anything to do with playing crap / treading water in relation to Garner - you need a player with a bit of edge. He bought many a free kick for us by being street wise, not naive etc.

There's many a player at all kinds of level you could probably name - Drogba would be one. Right little nasty player, led the line, bullied players - christ there will be all sorts of examples at the top of the game, all the way down. to the conference and lower.

I think you need in a batch of 4 strikers at this level one like this. Alan Lee was a pain going back further, someone with a bit of edge.

Kuqi maybe somewhat different with verbals etc but a battering ram in a class side of 04/05.

Just my thoughts anyway.