Hughes on the point at Wigan

Mark Hughes probably echoing a lot of views around today:

"We're a bit frustrated, I felt we were quite comfortable in the first half and then switched off at a hopeful long ball that got punted upfield.

The sending-off stopped us in our tracks, we had to regroup and make sure that we were going to take something out of the game. I thought we showed some great qualities, we really did not want to get beaten today and we displayed a good mentality. That has come to the fore time and time again this season."

Wigan player ratings

Given - Could have done better with the goal but redeemed himself with a fantastic block late on. 6.5

Zabaleta - First yellow was soft but the type of rash challenge we have seen before from him earned him red. 5.5

Bridge - Solid enough but perhaps hadn't fully recovered from the midweek injury. 6

Richards - Back in the middle and although lost out in the build up to the goal was solid enough. Will be back in at right-back next week. 6.5

Lescott - I though his best game for us yesterday. Took on more responsibility with Toure's absence and was a presence both in defence and going forward. 7.5

Wright-Phillips - The 4-4-2 suits him better and he showed good flashes yesterday. Still under pressure though. 6.5

Barry - I thought he was again superb. So much of his work goes largely unnoticed but his presence continues to be a key for us. Tired late on. 7.5

de Jong - Another strong, gritty performance doing the dirty work. Has to be careful with one or two of his challenges though. 7

Petrov - Another start, another goal. Hughes praised his effort and he is doing all he can to warrant a starting spot. 7.5

Adebayor - Worked hard again and got into good positions. Sacrificed following the sending off of Zabaleta. 7

Tevez - An excellent performance, full of energy and effort - particularly when we down to ten men. Looks to be one of the first names down on the team sheet. 7.5

Subs:

Kompany - First appearance of the season and looked composed in the centre of defence. 6.5

Ireland - A fleeting appearance and didn't get much opportunity to make an impact. 6

Santa Cruz - No time for an impact. n/a

Wigan review

Given the circumstances leading upto the game (preperations hampered through injury and an international break) and then during the ninety minutes itself (going a goal down on the stroke of half-time and then playing the final half an hour with ten men) a point can be seen as a very good return.

It is, I suppose, a measure of the current sides mentality that we came away with a point rather than empty handed, and also a sign of the ambition and expectation there is that there is also a sense of frustration to not come away with all three-points.

Having gone behind on the stroke of half-time to a goal I thought contained four mistakes on our part - losing out on the initial header, Richards beaten to the ball, Given not dealing with the shot effectively enough and finally, being second to the follow up - we got back into the game at exactly the right time with a neat finish from Petrov that Wigan will feel they should have done better to clear.

The second half was an entertaining one to watch and had plenty of tension following Zabaleta's sending off, which despite the soft first yellow card was inevitable after the rash challenge he has a habit of committing. It would have been interesting to see if we indeed would have gone on to win the game with a full compliment of players.

This is not to say it was a backs to the wall job as whilst we looked resolute in defence, we had possession and carved out opportunities but were unable to get that one quality chance which could have taken the points.

I was impressed with Wigan though I have to say. Whilst defensively they can be exposed they have plenty of spark and pace going forward. It will be no surprise to see them knock of one or two of the more fancied sides throughout the season, although a lack of a goalscorer will limit their ambition.

Hughes again opted for a 4-4-2 line-up, leaving Ireland on the bench and I'd argue allows Wright-Phillips's more opportunity. Whilst we look a more compact and tight side my preference is for a 4-3-3 which affords more flexibility and attacking threat. I can see why Hughes prefers to start away from home with the more defensive set-up (with the option of switching if the game demands) but that is twice in succession we have gone behind on our travels. Perhaps a little less caution would have yielded a greater return than the two points we have managed.

Wigan matchday thread

Comment away people...

Injury woes

It's a good job the club revamped the medical facilities last season as the treatment room is a crowded place currently:

"We have a couple of doubts. Kolo has not trained since Villa due to the bang on the heel he received there, and Craig Bellamy has a little bit of stiffness in his groin. He did not finish training on Thursday and will not train today.

"We're hopeful on Zabaleta but there is not a guarantee that he will be fit and well. Nigel de Jong is a little bit sore, and Martin Petrov also won't train today because of a sore knee."

Sunday's trip to Wigan has the banana-skin written all over it. Going up against a side we have been woeful against since they came into the Premier League, struggling with injuries and coming off international week.

That said, there is a reason Hughes added so much depth to the squad, and if we are to have any ambition this season it is games like this season where you need to come away with the points.

A big test awaits.

Manchester City 1 Wigan 0

[mcfc.co.uk report, telegraph report, MEN report, observer report]

“We had to try and focus on the game which was difficult because of the interest that has surrounded events earlier in the week, I thought we really stuck to our test. We showed great qualities for the circumstances we find ourselves in.”

>>Mark Hughes.

Some thoughts:

Not much praise for our victory yesterday, but a battling 1-0 victory has been a rarity in recent times for us, given our wins this season have all been by comfortable margins.

It was an important three points for us, and whilst the media continue to peddle talk of relegation, we are now only six points off Wigan in seventh place and start the 2009 campaign in good heart.

Once again. Hughes sprung a surprise with his line-up, moving Micah Richards to right back, Pablo Zabaleta into midfield and Nedum Onouha at centre half. On current form, Richards is a better option at right back than centre half, and it is clear that Onouha is more comfortable in the middle. A tricky decision for Hughes in who to leave out of that trio was rendered irrelevant in the short term given Richard Dunne's red card.

He now has the unwanted title of the most red carderd player in Premier League history and of course faces a three game suspension, effectively up to the end of the transfer window. If certain players are brought into the club over the next couple of weeks, could Dunne remain on the sidelines?

Good to see Vladimir Weiss on the bench yesterday. From the limited action I have seen him in, he looks a real talent and proof that Hughes is willing to continue to give opportunities.

Newcastle and Stoke up next to round out the month (with no game next Saturday of course). Six points are really there for the taking given the current form of both those sides. Coupled with some new faces it could be a good month indeed.

Manchester City v Wigan open thread

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Manchester City v Wigan preview

[MEN preview, Setanta preview]

Back to reality for the time being as we return to on field action after a week off due to the Portsmouth postponement last weekend.

Looking back, it probably came at a good time for us as although Stephen Ireland will miss the Wigan game, the extra week has allowed Robinho to return to fitness (and possibly Shaun Wright-Phillips) and afforded the squad time to rest after a busy Christmas period of fixtures - a mini winter break if you will.

Wigan in contrast, have played twice this week already and saw their win streak ended at United on Wednesday night but have been impressive of late after a sticky start and they now sit in 7th place in the table, nine points ahead of us. I have been impressed with the job Steve Bruce has done at Wigan and he has assembled a decent looking squad with plenty of talent, although Wilson Palacios may be at Tottenham by the time we kick off.

It is difficult to predict exactly how the events of this week will translate on to the pitch, but if there is a 'feelgood' factor in the crowd this will likely reduce the possibility of any tension if we don't get off to a fast start.

Midfield will be the key area for the game and Wigan look lively and combative in this area so (given the injuries) I imagine Hughes may opt for both Kompany and Gelson to try and match Wigan's workrate and try ensure we dictate the pace of the game.

The worlds eyes will of course be focused upon us this weekend, and whilst I doubt one result would have any bearing on Kaka's final decision an emphatic win would at least generate some positive headlines and create some momentum heading into what is still an important month for us.

Game notes:

• Wigan have picked up more points (17), gained more victories (five) and scored more goals (13) against us than against any other club in the Premier League.
• We have not managed to score one home Premier League goal against Wigan in any of the three previous attempts.
• Winless in 10 Premier League games against fellow North-West clubs, losing seven of them; only picked up three points from such games since beating Manchester United 1-2 at Old Trafford on 10 February 2008.
• We have scored only two goals in the last five North-West league derbies at the City of Manchester Stadium; those from an odd goal in five loss to Liverpool.

Wigan 2 City 1

One of the areas which we fell down on (particularly over the second half) last season was going to places where we went to what was classed 'on paper' as a lesser side, and came away with either a draw or defeat.

Despite a change in management since then, on the basis of yesterday (plus the Carling Cup defeat) we appear no nearer to solving this problem.

Although possessing a pacy and fluid looking attacking line-up, it was Wigan who outperformed us in the respect with Palacios and Valenica providing energetic support to the excellent front pairing of Heskey, and particularly Zaki, who gave Dunne and Richards a particularly unpleasant afternoon.

It is our defence that is causing concern for me, as although we have notched clean sheets, we do have a propensity to leak goals and the solid axis of Richards and Dunne is struggling to get back to the levels seen this time last year whilst Garrido continues to struggle. A plus point at the back was Zabaleta though, proving why Hughes rated him so highly and was prepared to let Corluka go.

Once we went 2-1 down, we struggled to really impose ourselves on the game, with key players being drawn out of position and unable to find the right ball when it mattered, against a side that were impressive, although it has to be said benefited from the best of the refereeing decisions.

Theatrcial fall aside, I am inclined to agree with Jack in believing it probably was a penalty - with the almost comical leap probably detracting from serious debate about the merits of the award, but if there is enough doubt present when forced to make a decision, the referee should not have made that decision.

It perhaps was a test yesterday, as looking at the results from the weekend, the likes of West Ham, Liverpool and Chelsea all had tricky looking fixtures, but came away with three points - something we are not doing at the moment and a worry further down the season - especially when we are coming off the back of midweek games.

Something for Mark Hughes to definitely ponder as we really start to get into the season now.

Reports

Wigan overcame Manchester City in a pulsating game at the JJB Stadium which saw yet another controversial penalty. >>bbc sport.

The winners were bound to be a cosmopolitan group of capable footballers, no matter which team had the better of it. There should no longer be much surprise that it is Wigan who take the points in a game of this sort. >>guardian.co.uk.

Overwhelming winners against Portsmouth a week ago and brought back to earth by Brighton in the Carling Cup, City were reminded that any side with top-four ambitions need to take on opponents as physical as Wigan and not come away empty-handed. >>independent.co.uk

At times here, Robinho resembled a little boy who had strayed into an international track and field meet. Whenever the lithe Brazilian tried to join in the races, he was almost run over by athletic Hondurans, Ecuadorians, Egyptians and Englishmen in blue and white stripes. Robinho did not need to be told he was playing Wigan Athletic. >>telegraph.co.uk

guardian minute by minute report

Wigan open thread

An open thread for anyone who wants to comment about today's game at Wigan.

Wigan prediction

A tricky fixture awaits in store as we look to bounce back from the midweek Carling Cup exit, as we make the short journey to the JJB Stadium and attempt to secure our first Premier League victory over Wigan.

We are, in fact, their most favoured Premier League opponent, having won more times, gained more points and scored more goals against us than any other opponent since the arrival in the top flight.

It certainly won’t be an easy fixture, despite our recent goal fest in the league, as Wigan under Steve Bruce have performed well and he has assembled a useful side with the summer additions brought into the club.

The much-maligned Emile Heskey has played well of late, whilst the Egyptian, Zaki, has impressed in his brief time at the club, whilst Wilson Palacios is a strong presence from midfield.
Although, they have only one win under their belt, they have played well so far, and have been tight in defence, whilst they put 5 goals past Hull on their recent travels.

Expect the players rested in midweek to come back into the side, but one decision Mark Hughes may face is whether to stick with the fit-again Michael Johnson – if so, likely at the expense of Elano.

There have been times where a point would have been a good return from this fixture, but with raised expectations, three points should be what we are looking for, and I expect us to achieve that with a 2-1 win.

City 0 Wigan 0

A game that was ultimately as dull and miserable as the weather turned out to be, and it is safe to concede now that in the wake of another win for Everton yesterday that the fourth position is now out of reach, and given our recent form and results (six at home without a win), the odds are that we will end the season out of the UEFA positions.

It is no secret that we are struggling in particular against sides who don't allow us space (as Sven has conceded in the wake of the Wigan game) and are content to sit back and challenge us to beat them. The disappointing thing is we don't appear capable of it and we are clearly lacking creativity, evident in the fact that the goals are drying up.

It is also the first real time that Sven has been called into question by both the media and the fans (with some particularly doom and gloom views out there), and - much like his time in charge of England, if things are not going well his substitutions are becoming predictable and not altering our tactical approach.

There was a stat over at mcfcstats, which shows we are unbeaten in 15 games this season when we open the scoring, and whilst this resulted in our points haul and winning streak at the start of the season, perhaps now that sides have become 'wise' to us, is it time for Sven to adopt a more adventurous approach?

A difficulty of switching to a 4-4-2 (the likely formation), is what to do with Elano, as the experiment of playing him on the right (at the Everton away fixture) was anything but a success. Added to this is the form of Elano himself, who has not reached the impressive heights of the early season for some time - despite Sven continually claiming he is ready to return to top form and whilst Sven's loyalty is well know, this is no time to be nice and if we are going to operate with a 4-4-2 (and Caceido is knocking on the door for a start) are we best placed to go without Elano as I believe Michael Johnson would be a better bet to partner Hamman or Gelson as part of a midfield two.

With ten games left in the season, we are in danger of having the season peter out into an 8th or 9th placed finish someway off the top six - although in fairness, there are two points worth mentioning here. Firstly, is that expectations at the start of the season were of a top ten finish, so it is conceivable that we have overachieved for the most part and secondly, and this a point that has not been brought up too often, the UEFA positions will almost certainly be attained with a record number of points, and if we do miss out on qualification, our points haul will possibly have secured qualification in virtually all previous seasons.

The season of course is far from over, and with ten games remaining there are thirty points of course to play for, but our last ten fixtures have yielded just eleven points (W2 D5 L3). A positive of this is we are avoiding defeat, but the likes of Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Blackburn are putting wins together so it can only be for so long that we keep looking to the next games as the one to turn things around.

Reports:

The Telgraph
The Independent
The Times
The Guardian
Football.co.uk
MEN
Daily Mail

Wigan prediction

A little adrift of the battle for fourth spot following our defeat at home to Everton last Monday, we really need to get back on track later today at home to Wigan.

We've not had the most impressive of records against Wigan since they gained promotion to the Premier League and this looks a tricky game on paper to me.

We haven't been on top form of late, with Elano particularly not looking 100%, but with Petrov serving the first of a three game ban, as Sven says, it is vital Elano discovers the sensational early season form which catapulted us to the top four.

In addition to Petrov's suspension, Micah Richards will be absent from the centre of defence which will allow Corluka to return from the starting line-up. Michael Johnson is gaining fitness following his long lay off and if he is fit enough to start it will be a definite boost in the midfield where the creativity has not quite been there of late.

Despite Sven waxing lyrical about the development of Felipe Caceido, I expect Sven to retain and start with the 4-5-1 line-up with Nery Castillo a probable like for like replacement for Petrov.

Wigan are likely to be at full strength, and are coming off the back of a victory over Derby - but have failed to win twice in a row this season and we have only suffered back to back defeats once during this campaign.

It is a game which we have every right to be wary of given our record against Wigan (and our own recent stuttering form), but results in particular last weekend have really sharpened the focus in terms of recapturing our form to gear up for a run at European qualification, and I'll take us to come away with a 2-0 victory.

Wigan 1 City 1

A good point from a tricky fixture or a cause for concern that another away trip yielded less than a full return?

The media have focused mainly on the latter in the aftermath of Saturday's point at the JJB, but I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Saturday's game was always likely to be a difficult one, given the circumstances of facing a side who were playing their first game under a new manager - and on a ground where we have far from covered ourselves in glory previously.

Still, having been gifted (and it was a wonderful Bramble-esque gift) an opener before too many would have even taken their seats it must rank as disappointing to not take all three points against a side who had lost their previous eight games in the league.

Our away form (or points return) is an obvious concern though as since the opening day victory at West Ham we have of course failed to win and a quick glance at the top half of the Premier League shows that we have the worst return in terms of points of any of the sides.

If you are being kind though, you could probably credit us for a degree of resilience for taking a point given it was a performance that wasn't considered one of our best this season. The Radio Manchester commentary highlighted the lack of structure and shape to the side on Saturday - areas that have been notably impressive this season. It was also evident that one or two key players - particularly in the absence of Elano, did not fill the void left by his injury.

Whilst I would hand a great amount of credit this season to Sven, the Bianchi sideshow is beginning to grate and perplex virtually every follower of City. If he is indeed struggling to settle, or cope with the Premier League then surely the softly, softly approach (as he has been fond of with Stephen Ireland - with good results) would be a far better one than ostracising him completely and persisting with the duo of Mpenza and Samaras. Added to this - and as good as his potential may be, it was also puzzling to see Kelvin Etuhu introduced ahead of him as well.

One thing did hit home this weekend and was just how consistent we are going to need to be to even achieve UEFA Cup qualification this season. The weekends results saw us slip out of the top four and the levels of consistency shown by the 'big four' are I think beyond us this season. Not only that but I believe our own improvements upon last season have been replicated elsewhere and it is a far tougher and more competitive league in general this season - as evidenced by a comparison at the stage last season.

Currently we sit in fifth position, and a look below us reveals that for our very impressive start (30 points from 15 games) the likes of Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Blackburn and Everton are not too far behind and means we are going to be in a huge fight even for a top six position.

The next five games between now and the end of the year are Tottenham, Bolton, Aston Villa, Blackburn and Liverpool are far from easy - and perhaps Sven's reticence to commit to end of season prediction until then is perhaps a clever one.

Reports:

Everybody felt sorry for Titus Bramble, culprit and victim as City were handed the quickest Premiership goal of the season in 28 seconds. - Telegraph.

The last time Steve Bruce was at Wigan Athletic he lasted only 55 days, and yesterday another quick exit must have had its attractions. - Independent.

Gary Megson went back to basics in an attempt to move Bolton Wanderers away from the bottom of the table and Steve Bruce, it seems, is prepared to do the same at Wigan Athletic, even if it is not to everyone’s liking. - Times.

Having conceded a goal before their new manager had even had the chance to settle down in his new surroundings - and then seen their captain sent off at the end - you might think Wigan would simply be relieved to have finally ended a sequence of eight consecutive defeats. - Observer.

Wigan preview

For me, this one has banana skin written all over it.

As much as anything, our away form has been far from hot so far this season (although we have had some difficult trips), but we go into tomorrow's game without the talisman Elano, and coming up against a side who are playing under a new manager for the first time - and not to mention at a ground where we have hardly covered ourselves in glory.

It will be a big test without Elano. Clearly, he has added something special to the team this year and has been flying once he fully settled into the side and pace of the Premiership. There are a couple of options available to Sven, but hopefully he will opt for Stephen Ireland (who he has been praising all week) in the 'hole' with Giovanni coming in on the right.

Last years visit to the JJB was probably our most inept performance of the season, and at the time really cranked up the pressure on Stuart Pearce - arguably something which he never got rid of all season.

Times change though and Sven will undoubtedly have the side well prepared and drilled for this game, although it may be a little difficult to be fully ready for this game bearing in mind it is their first game under the stewardship of Steve Bruce so scouting missions may be slightly skewed.

A win will of course put us second (albeit it perhaps for 48 hours), and keep up the pressure on the sides below us (both those from the 'big four' and teams like Villa, Portsmouth and Blackburn). A win is perhaps something I don't feel we will quite achieve.

For me, a 1-1 draw would represent a good return from tomorrow.

City And Two Jobs Pearce On The Brink

City -0 Wigan - 1 (Folan 18)

The storm clouds gather over Eastlands after city's 4th straight premier league defeat, brought about by Caleb Folans (another player we supposedly looked at) header in the 18th minute which in truth could have been Wigans third as city left their legs (and minds) in Dubai with an opening 20-30 minutes that brought two words to mind .... Frank Clark...
The man charged with motivating our players of course is the man who replaced Clark at Forest, Our very own England patriot Mr kick every ball Stuart ' psycho' Pearce.


To todays game first , as already stated Wigan could quite easily have been 2 or 3 up by the time Folan took advantage of Nicky Weavers hesitation to loop in an unchallenged header after 18 mins of wigan of domination. You can blame the players for not tracking Folan after the initial header looped up in the box but Weavers one step forward one step back indecisiveness was the killer had he come he would have got a block , had he stayed would have been a routine catch on the line.

To lay the blame for the defeat at Weavers door would be harsh as nobody except Michael Ball emerged with any credit. Stuart Pearce described it in his post match interview as been bullied, I call it a complete unwilling less to compete aligned with the fact that players seemed to be totally clueless as to what formation , who was picking up who and what the game plan was. Either that or they are playing to get Pearce sacked.

You could point to the fact that after the opening half hour we gave it a good go, but in truth we created nothing , despite Filan dropping everything that came his way in the first half. Which pretty much sums up the whole season , OK at the back but if we concede first we are F****d.

Heard a few Pearce out chants after the game outside the glass frontage on the Colin Bell Stand, I would make him stay until the end of the season, he got us into this mess there is no way he is slinking of to the U21's without another major black mark on his managerial record. We should however be looking to replace him in the summer whatever happens, quite simply the guy has been measured and come up short.

The relegation battle starts here.

Wigan Preview

Sat 3rd March - 3pm - Eastlands

Just a point separates 15th placed City and 17th Placed Wigan as we head into what has surprisingly not been dubbed a six pointer. A win for City would all but ease the relegation spectre lurking in the background, while a win for Wigan would put a 3 game cushion between themselves and Charlton.

Of course Wigans fall from grace has hardly been there own fault as whining scouse Paul Jewell has stated every week its the refs , a conspiracy to get them relegated or more likely the alignment of reality with Uranus. A win against Newcastle last week had Jewell state with probably no understanding of the word irony that 'he didn't want to talk about referees' , given he spent the last 2 months doing nothing but some might say about fucking time. While Stuart Pearce has his critics in the club for not saying anything about referees I would much prefer he said nothing than make a complete fool out of himself like Jewell has done.

Onto todays game , Wigan have Fitz Hall missing through suspension (not his fault though, Paul Jewell) probably more of a blow for Wigan is Henri Camara is missing after aggravating his previous injury in training this week. City have long term injuries Sinclair , Onohua and Vassell missing. New signing Emile Mpenza is in the squad but not expected to figure.

Prediction :

1-1 - neither side hauling themselves clear.

Wardle on the Wigan performance

Chairman John Wardle has spoken out following the Wigan defeat on Saturday, labelling the display 'embarrassing'.

Wardle talked of the 'net £8.5 million' spent on transfers and that they would 'support the manager' in the January transfer window - although without any serious investment to the club any resource available will surely be limited to the bargain basement.

In addition, Wardle also issued a rallying call to fans by saying “Our supporters have always been tremendously loyal and I thank them for that. We must now all pull together and get behind the team in the coming weeks and months.”

It is rare for Wardle to actually publicly comment on matters, and it does strike as more of an attempt to re-assure fans that the board are working towards putting things right.

One thing Wardle didn't touch on was Stuart Pearce - giving neither a vote of confidence or laying out what was expected of him for this season. Personally, I think this was probably a deliberate ploy from Wardle to not add any fuel on the speculation which has again surrounded Pearce following Saturday's heavy defeat.

It wouldn't have helped Pearce whatever Wardle would have commented on as the press would have picked every comment to pieces in an attempt to generate a story.

For all the furore which was raised, and there were a lot of genuine questions raised about Pearce - namely his tactics and motivation abilities, I don't think the board at this stage are seriously considering making a managerial change - for above all alse there aren't any serious 'available' candidates out there (that we know of) who could come in and make a difference.

Wigan 4 City 0

Well, what can you say about that?

Both a result and performance which is making a serious bid as the latest candidate to be filed under several 'Worst ever' categories.

Looking at some of the press headlines this morning, they tell their own story:

'Pearce feels the strain as shambolic City implode'

'Pearce faces fight to avoid sack'

'City players meet with chorus of disapproval after pummeling'

'Revitalised Wigan gorge on City's marshmallow defending'

'Camara clicks for Wigan but poor City are losing the plot'

As a contest it was all but dead and buried after just three minutes with Richard Dunne being culpable for both goals. The first, with Dunne placing a poor pass straight into the path of Boyce who took advantage of poor positioning down the left from ourselves to cross for Heskey to apply what was in truth an excellent finish.

Before the expletives had begun to die down it was 2-0 when from a free-kick Richard Dunne perfectly glanced a header into the bottom corner straight past the on-rushing Weaver.

As a first-half performance it was one of the most inept I have seen in terms, with only a poorly directed header from an unmarked Corradi to speak of in terms of chances.

The second-half at least had a bright spell where we actually appeared to compete and arguably should have had a penalty for handball, and Vassell should have scored when nicely played through by the debutant Johnson.

But it was all to be too shortlived as Wigan added a third, again helped by some generous defending as Richards allowed his man to beat him but Stephen Jordan inexplicably failed to clear the ball, allowing Camara to nip in ahead of him to score. The fourth was not long in coming as poor anticipation again from the defence and the midfield allowing runners unchallenged saw Valencia to smash home and round off a miserable afternoon.

The chants of 'You're not fit to wear the shirt' rang out at the end, but is it solely the fault of the players?

There was a lack of application, movement, leadership, concentration and belief, with even the basics seemingly being beyond the players out there. There was also half a team missing - with several youngsters thrown into the side which seemed to disrupt the defence in particularly, but the side looked they had no direction from the management team.

The 4-5-1 formation clearly didn't work and the players didn't look comfortable with it. Samaras is not a left-sided midfielder and Wigan enjoyed plenty of success down the right, whilst Sinclair was ineffective without the support of Micah Richards behind him. The three central midfielders looked to be playing too close to one another for me which left Corradi increasingly isolated, and Barton should have been playing in a more attacking role.

The substitutions were also puzzling for me and whilst Pearce had to throw extra forwards on there didn't seem to be any defined structure to the formation with players appearing to be out of position and plenty of space for Wigan to exploit.

It is particularly frustrating as this was the first of a run of five games which on paper were 'winnable', and coming off the back of a thre game unbeaten run gave some hope for a bid to climb the table.

However, any 'progress' made over the past three games was well and truly blown away and the questions over Pearce's future at the club are once again being raised.

Wigan preview

Where and when:
Saturday 21st October, JJB Stadium

Current form:
Since the Chesterfield cup exit we have gone three games unbeaten (although two of those have been draws), yet we are still to win away from home this season and have the joint worst defensive away record.
Wigan meanwhile have struggled in their second season in the top flight and hover slightly above the relegation zone, and have only scored more than one goal once this season. Also of concern for Wigan is the fact that they have 'lost' eight points from winning positions this season.

Team news:
Wigan are likely to be unchanged for the lunchtime encounter, and most of their big guns are available. For City, Vassell and Beasley are not quite fit enough to return, whist Sun Jihai has had an injury setback. Nicky Weaver is hoping to be fit to return in goal, but otherwise Joe Hart will fill in again.

Keys to the game:
Usually I would say 'don't go behind' but it appears Wigan are prone to throwing good positions away this season. Seriously though, although the Everton result was impressive our away form remains poor and our goals against record is in stark contrast to our home one. Last season we shipped four at the JJB and we can ill afford a repeat.
It seems at the moment so much is reliant on the performance of Joey Barton. The attack is not blessed with pace or creativity so Barton's foray forward are crucial. Hopefully, Hatem Trabelsi will provide an option out wide - although he comes up agains the impressive Leighton Baines.

Why City will win:
Wigan could be set for a struggle this season after their impressive debut last term and have struggled for goals and points as their many new faces are taking time to settle in. Confidence is on the up in the camp and it could be the day to build on our home record and end our away woes.

Why City will lose:
Because away from home we are woeful, leaking far too many goals which doesn't give you much hope on your travels. Wigan are also looking to end a poor run of form and no team is usually as accomodating as ourselves. Add to this the fact Wigan did the double over us last season and we may struggle to get anything from this fixture.

Prediction:
Wigan 1 City 2