The Club:
Wigan really need to break out of their mould of being Premier League strugglers. They have a very good manager at the held, a good talent developing system at the club, but they just need to pack their side with a few more stars in order to start pressing forward. Wigan could easily have been a mid table team last term if they had had the ability to close out games and not keep getting sucked into draws. There is a feeling that there is more to come from Wigan, but they are treading a thin line if they don’t invest in players. They are one a handful of Premier League this season which could really go either way. There is definite potential there at Wigan, but if it does not get fulfilled quickly, if the players can’t deliver what the manager wants, then something may have to give. Wigan Premier League betting has a large focus on them being relegated. Do they have more to offer from their ranks?
Players/Manager:
One of the strengths and assets that Wigan Athletic have is in their manager Roberto Martinez. There may be many a Latics fan who will disagree with this, but the Spaniard is a tactically smart man, and likes to get his team playing attractive football. The board seem to have a lot of faith in him, and that continuity should pay off in the end. Because of Wigan’s good ethics in developing players, it means that they are good targets for other clubs to come in and raid, and they have lost players during the summer. The on loan Tom Cleverley has made his way back to parent club Manchester United, and Wigan also sold Charles N’Zogbia off to Aston Villa. Hugo Rodellega is also heavily involved in the transfer rumour mill, as he wants against from the club to pursue bigger dreams of success. Wigan may also lose James McCarthy as well, as he attracted a lot of attention for his great work in the middle of the park. It seems as if this summer that it will be more about who Wigan can hold on to, rather than who they will be bringing in to make their side better. Martinez insists that he is pretty happy with the level of depth in his squad, but that can’t really be the case. He needs some good transfers coming in, if he is going to more than flirt with relegation again this season. They have secured the services of Ali Al Habsi, a keeper from Bolton, to a long term contract. He is the bright spark at the back for Wigan, whose defence does need a bit of fortifying. They also need to find some firepower up front as well. Not quite sure where it is all going to come from at the moment, so Martinez really may have to dig deep into his ranks. Still, the Wigan style won’t change, and it will be a matter of whether they can find a way to push forward or not.
Last Season:
It was a season of survival for Wigan Athletic last year, and they will want better this season. They were ok going forward and ok at the back, but they just couldn’t turn drawn games into wins. That was pretty much the only thing which let them down, as they played good football and made their opposition really have to work for points against them. There is always room for improvement of course, and that will only come with money.
2011/12 Wigan Athletic Premier League Betting Projection:
Well, for all of their faults in not being able to put games to bed, Wigan actually played some decent football last year. It may have been their own downfall, but they weren’t afraid to be expansive and try and play the right way under boss Roberto Martinez. Wigan were arguably the most accomplished footballing side of the teams who went down to the relegation wire last season. They pulled out the stops at the end of the season, going on a four match unbeaten run and winning their last two. It was perhaps their penchant for drawing matches which ultimately helped them out in the end, and in their fifteen drawn Premier League matches last season, it indicates that there is not too much wrong with the club. Yes, they do annually struggle against relegation, but they make life difficult for opposing teams, and you feel that they are not too far away from getting over that threshold of being a team which should be hovering around mid table. They are not quite the sum of all their parts yet, and that is the problem. There is nothing wrong with their approach to the game, it has just been a lack of quality in the personnel at the end of the day which has done Wigan Athletic in. Is there going to be a big change, a big swing away from those same symptoms this year? Unfortunately it may not be, not unless some serious cash is injected into filling out the squad with a few quality players. It is not going to take much, but Wigan could easily propel themselves forward. If they don’t invest then they will probably struggle. Relegation is likely to be a closely ran thing again this season, and Wigan need a strong, confident start to avoid getting sucked in all too easily again. They need to have more confidence in their own ability all season. Their first three games sees them face each of the newly promoted teams, so a huge chance to get off to a great start.
Finishing Position Wigan Athletic: Threat of Relegation
Premier League Relegation Odds:
2/1 at 888Sport
First Three Fixtures
August 13th: Wigan v Norwich
August 20th: Swansea v Wigan
August 27th: Wigan v QPR
BACK TO 2011/12 PREMIER LEAGUE BETTING GUIDE
