Here we go again. We couldn't possibly have followed up last weeks victory over Sunderland with a result against Birmingham could we ? The shining light that surrounded Martinez when he joined in the summer has certainly dulled. Hopefully the man can start to sort this out.
I think in a lot of ways, Saturdays loss to Birmingham actually hurt more then the 9-1 defeat by Spurs. We were up against a team that, yes, were in a good spot of form, but a team nonetheless we should have been expected to beat. Especially having gone 1-0 up. Having had so many chances in the first half, defeat is especially hard to take.
Some fans may point at our defence and say that's where the problem is. I'm not inclined to agree with that though. In the past 12 months we've sold Palacios and Cattermole, two of the best ball winning midfielders in the league and that’s where the problem lies. Who have we replaced these guys with ? I think the short answer is ....we haven’t. Just look at the difference Palacios has made to Spurs since he joined them - they were shipping goals all over the place this time last year. Someone like Palacios takes the heat off the defence and that is exactly what we need.
People often forget that although we have sold quite a few players, we have made virtually no changes to the defence which almost got us into Europe last season. So in my eyes we need a tough tackling midfielder, preferably with a bit of experience to help our defence out. I think our fans mentioned the need for a defensively minded player at the start of the season but maybe some of our better results so far has made us sweep these thoughts under the carpet to some extent but now this needs to be addressed.
We definitely need some steel added to our team and the sooner the better. I hope Martinez recognises this fact - this looks like the first sticky spell of his management career and we are going to see what the man is made of in the next month or two. What do you all think ? ...Who would you like to see added during the January window ?...and is Martinez going downhill in your estimations ?
Until next time, thanks for reading.
Comments
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Posted by Joe on 12/08/2009
Given time to adjust to the Premier League I think Diame is going to be just as good as Palacios and Cattermole. Against Tottenham it was very apparent the problem was in Edman's lack of pace and recent playing time and I wonder if Figueroa was rushed back a little too soon because of that showing. I really think the problem that needs to be addressed first is the lack of depth up front after King's departure- with Scotland still goalless for the season that means Hugo's goals have been the only ones scored by a Wigan striker.
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Posted by Gaz on 12/08/2009
We need some changes but I think that with the exception of up front the only changes we need are for cover. The real changes need to come behind the scenes, a defensively minded coach would be a good investment because none of the coaches we have are that defensive.
A striker must remain the priority because Scotland is not pulling his weight. A striker who can chip in with 10 goals would be priceless, as would one who can set up a few.
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Posted by Tom Sheppey on 12/08/2009
Enjoy reading your columns. Always insightful. I'm starting to believe though that Martinez isnt the man to take us forward. We could do with a experienced older coach in the Harry Redknapp mould. Will be interesting to see how Martinez handles the games coming thick and fast over the holiday period. We should at least give him a chance until then.
Posted by Francisco Joseph on 12/22/2009
Scotland should be scoring more goals but he also needs more support from the mid-field and his parthner up front.
He is the type of player that likes to play more flowing football.
What we need to do is to get a holding midfield player and a midfielder to creat and push the ball for the fwd.
Posted by vigrx on 12/26/2009
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Ned Brown: is one of the writers behind the Wigan Athletic blog 
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