Whenever I Think I Know What I am Doing...

...I look back at my preseason predictions.  Just a few gems;

On Wigan, currently bottom of the table, I wrote;


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. 


On Wolves, currently 19th;

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.

Ali Al-Habsi

Wigan and Bolton play each other this week, and Wigan will not be allowed to use their on-loan goalkeeper.  This is a big blow for them.  Al-Habsi nearly single-handedly beat Tottenham at White Hart Lane earlier this season, and his insertion into the starting XI really kicked off a surge in form for the Latics.

Will the Real Wigan Athletic Please Stand Up?

Many people had Wigan dead and buried after they opened the season with a 4-0 loss to Blackpool and a 6-0 shellacking by Chelsea, but I was confident in my preseason prediction that they would finish somewhere between 13th and 16th, as long as they kept their best players and dropped goalkeeper Chris Kirkland for on loan Bolton stopper Ali Al-Habsi (pictured, right).

Well, they kept their best players, Al-Habsi came in against Tottenham, where he played an absolute blinder and led them to an epic 1-0 victory, and today the Latics played a huge match at home against fellow lower table club Wolves.  It is too early in the season to panic, but it is this sort of match, at home against a relegation struggler, that teams look back on and regret not getting three points from in May.

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.

Don't be fooled...

At about this time last year Burnley beat Manchester United. I am just saying, I am sure the Blackpool supporters had a wonderful day out on Saturday, but don't be expecting any miracles.

As for Wigan, expect to see Ali Al-Habsi, an Omani goalkeeper on loan from Bolton, starting in goal sometime very soon. Either way they are going to struggle.

Wolves beat Stoke City by playing a good first half and getting a little luck. It was actually a pretty even match. Given that, I still expect Stoke to finish several spots ahead of Wolves.

West Brom are not going to get beat 6-0 every time out, but I predicted they would go down, and I have seen nothing to make me even reconsider that prediction.

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.

Bolton Wanderers 4 Wigan Athletic 0

Brilliant result for the Wanderers! And the play was outstanding as well. Wigan had a few bright moments, Hugo Rodellega was a constant threat, but overall Bolton really dominated the match. And the onslaught of goals can only help the player's confidence, especially considering who scored them.

Johann Elmander scored the first. I don't know that any player has ever needed a goal more than he did. Hopefully he will build on this moving forward. In fact, I predict he will do so emphatically. My bold proclamation is that he will score 5 goals in the next 8 matches, and finish with 10 in all competitions for the season.

Fabrice Muamba has been a rock defensively for most of the season. He defended well under gary Megson, but offered nothing going forward in Megson's ultra-conservative system. Even when he has gotten forward more under Coyle fans behind the goal have been well advised to wear helmets. But recently his composure on the ball has improved, and his supreme athleticism and pace allows him to get into excellent positions. If he starts offering something going forward, the 21-year-old immediately becomes one of the top holding midfielders in the Premier League.

But the immediate news for the Wanderers and their supporters is that the club has put some considerable distance between itself and the relegation zone. And, given results elsewhere, Bolton can start to look at catching clubs above them, rather than nervously glancing back at the clubs behind them.

Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic

It's another relegation 6 pointer for Bolton as they host a Wigan side who are loaded with confidence after defeating Liverpool on Monday. Bolton have had to make some changes as Sam Ricketts is suspended.

Andy O'Brien (a disaster waiting to happen) comes into central defense, which does not bode well for the Wanderers.

Tamir Cohen returns from suspension and steps right into central midfield. Cohen has been solid, if unspectacular, this season. A large part of the support has not taken to him, but Bolton's best performances this season have come with him on the pitch.

Johann Elmander has been playing quite well, but still has struggled to find the back of the net, his fine strike for Sweden notwithstanding, and if he misses another tap-in this week the predictable groans and Ivan Klasnic chants from the moodier amongst the supporters will only serve to sap his confidence even further.

Speaking of moody, winger Vladimir Weiss is one again starting from the bench, which the 20-year-old will be unhappy about. I would like to see both he and Mustapha Riga get a solid chance to show what they can do, but injuries and red cards the past few weeks have prevented it.

As for relegation, Burnley and Wolves also face each other today, and they will be even more desperate than Wigan and Bolton for 3 points. We could see both these matches drawn, which is fairly common for these high pressure encounters, but if Wigan or Bolton manage to take all 3 points they will go a long way towards securing top flight football for next season. For me, the traditional 40 point threshold will put a club 13th or 14th in the table at the end of this season. A win for Bolton would give them 32 points, and while they should't pack up their boots and go on holiday if that happens, 32 points may keep you up this season.