Wigan Athletic v Bolton Wanderers

The two Lancashire clubs split the points at the DW Stadium.  If only they were so gregarious with the meat pies and sausage rolls...

This was probably a fair result.  Wigan's goal was offside, but they did have a few other opportunities.  Bolton on the other hand barely sent in any shots, when you would think the instruction going out on to the pitch would have been to shoot early and often, from all distances and angles, to test the shaky and dropped in August goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.  I would say he played a good game, but he didn't, he just wasn't tested at all.

Wigan Athletic

Roberto Martinez's boys were hammered again yesterday, and it is only the fact that other clubs have also been hammered so far that is keeping many from banking on relegation for Wigan.

The score-lines have been ugly, but I still think this club will have a decent chance to stay up IF they hold on to all of their players, not to mention change the goalkeeper. Charles N'Zogbia wants away, and he may be their best attacking player. Fullback Maynor Figueroa as well as forward Hugo Rodellega have also been mentioned as possible departures. That is probably Wigan's three best players. A club of this size and scope cannot afford to lose their three best players ten days before the transfer window closes. Chairman Dave Whelan (who named the stadium after himself) has never sold players for purely financial reasons, especially this late in the window, and I just can't see him starting now.

The second issue Wigan have is that they are shipping goals at a shocking rate. It is hard to blame one player when it is this bad, but goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has been dire thus far this season. Truth be told, he has never been more than an adequate keeper. The fact that he made some appearances in goal for England says more about the sorry state of that countries goalkeepers (Joe Hart excluded) than about his own abilities.

The strangest part of the saga in goal is that Wigan have a very good keeper on the bench in Ali Al-Habsi, who has shown when playing for Oman as well as in limited appearances for Bolton that he is a very reliable figure to have in the net. I thought he might be in the starting XI this week, but there is no way he is still on the bench next week.

Established in the Top Flight (Wigan Athletic)

Let me just say right from the start that I like to see Wigan do well. In fact, as a Bolton supporter, I like to see most smaller clubs from the northwest do well. Perhaps it is because I didn't grow up there, but I don't feel the animosity toward local rivals that some do.

That said, Roberto Martinez is a decent manager. I don't think he is going to lead Wigan to a top ten finish, how Paul Jewell did that once upon a time is still a mystery, but but I expect him to keep them up without too much trouble.

Wigan may still lose some players before August 31, but they seem to have put together a brilliant scouting network in South America, and seem to restock with a few gems every year or two. In the last few summers they have sold Wilson Palacios and Antonio Valencia, but Maynor Figueroa and Hugo Rodallega have stepped in without missing a beat. The latest candidate for this is defender Antolin Alcaraz, who was outstanding for Paraguay in the World Cup.

A couple injuries and some bad breaks could pull the Latics down into the relegation battle, but more likely they will have one or two good runs of form that will be just enough to safely ensconce them in the 13-16 range of the table.