Ipswich Town v Wigan Athletic 
Saturday 31st January 2015 – 15:00
Portman Road
Opening Thought – Jamma
The last seven days or so have provided us with a stark reminder – as if it were needed – of the notoriously competitive nature of the Championship. Town travelled down to the South coast this time last week to face a Brighton side that has been struggling against the tide at the wrong end of the division for the majority of the season. It was clear from the air of caution coming from management and supporters alike that this would be no walk in the park, though, with the Seagulls having regained some of their swagger under Chris Hughton and picked up some creditable results. But I’m not sure anyone – least of all Albion’s fans – was expecting the opposition to turn in such an assured performance. It is often said, only half tongue-in-cheek, that Town are unluckier than most when coming up against clubs that are enjoying a renaissance for one reason or another. Whether this be down to a managerial change or a sudden unexpected upturn in form, Ipswich Town invariably seems to be the next name on the fixture list! And so it proved to be last Wednesday, with our opponents looking more like the team that has become used to challenging towards the top of the Championship in recent seasons. At least we would appear to have benefited from the ensuing 10-day break, while Brighton were busy trying to emulate their Football League counterparts in upsetting Premier League opposition. The fact that they were pushing for an equaliser in the dying stages against the Gunners gives some perspective to this setback in the Blues’ promotion bid.
Of more immediate concern is the potential damage that has been done in the league standings during our time away. With Middlesbrough and a Darren Bent-inspired Derby leapfrogging us, and Brentord and Watford both making up ground with important wins, the famous ‘concertina effect’ is well in evidence again. The good news is that Bournemouth are still just a point away, but 3 points are now all that separate the top 5 clubs, who boast very similar goal differences. If we are to be in the mix come our potentially season-defining run of fixtures in March, 6 points would appear to be a must from our next two fixtures, against 23rd and 21st placed Wigan and Rotherham respectively. This will be no easy task, as demonstrated most recently by Watford, who themselves almost came unstuck at home to rock-bottom Blackpool before scoring seven on Saturday. I just get the impression that the wake-up call from Brighton could turn out to have a positive impact on our season. The 3-2 defeat will have served as a timely warning of the threats lurking around every corner in the Championship. The next test comes in the shape of the Latics, who, used to a dogfight from their time in the top tier, are more than capable of causing us further problems. This would certainly be a good time to improve our less-than-impressive record against Wigan…!
The Opposition – Wigan Athletic
Founded in 1932, the club is the most recently formed club in the division.
They have played at the DW Stadium since 1999, sharing the stadium with rugby league club Wigan Warriors. They previously played at Springfield Park for 67 years.
Wigan Athletic played in the lower Leagues until 2nd June 1978, when they were finally elected to the Football League after 34 attempts and near misses over the preceding 46 years, including one controversial but headline-making application in 1972 to join the Scottish League Second Division.
They gained their first Football League promotion under the management of former Liverpool player Larry Lloyd in 1981–82, when a points tally of 91 saw them join the former Division Three for the first time, beginning a 10-year spell in English football's third tier, until they were relegated for the first time in the club's League history in 1992–93.
Wigan struggled in the fourth tier of English Football, finishing well down the table, and average attendances fell to 1,845 by 1995.
Local entrepreneur Dave Whelan acquired the club in 1995, providing funds to move into the JJB Stadium, now named the DW Stadium in his honour.
Through Whelan's business connections in Spain, he attracted three Spaniards to the club – Roberto Martínez, Isidro Diaz, and Jesús Seba – who became known as 'The Three Amigos'.
Whelan appointed John Deehan as manager during the 1995–96 season. Deehan took the Latics within two points of a play-off place in his first season; and the following year Wigan Athletic became Division Three champions.
In the summer of 2001, highly regarded young manager Paul Jewell took over as manager. His first season in charge saw mixed results, but Jewell's second season in charge was far more successful. Wigan Athletic went on a run to the quarter finals of the League Cup, and won the Division Two championship, securing promotion to the second tier of the English Football League for the first time in their history.
After losing their first ever game in Division One, Wigan Athletic confounded expectations to go unbeaten for the next 17 games and finish seventh in Division One.
The following season, in their last home fixture, the Latics won promotion to the top division of English football for the first time in their 73-year history by finishing second in the League.
The club's first ever Premier League season (2005-06) saw a 10th place finish, which remains the club's highest ever league placing.
Over the next four seasons, Wigan struggled for Premier survival, with a number of managers taking the helm over this period.
Wigan appointed Roberto Martínez, then manager of Swansea City, as manager prior to the 2009–10 Premier League season.
At the beginning of the 2010–11 season, Wigan fell to the bottom of the league by the end of February. However, despite remaining in the bottom three for the majority of the season, Wigan managed to retain their Premier League status on the last day of the season.
In the 2012-13 season, Wigan reached the FA Cup Final for the first time in their history and went on to beat Manchester City 1–0, with a goal in injury time, earning a place in the following season’s Europa League. Unfortunately for Wigan, this season also ended their eight-year spell in the Premier League and they became the first team to be relegated and win the FA Cup in the same season.
On 14 June 2013, Dave Whelan revealed that a deal had been agreed with Owen Coyle to become the new manager of Wigan Athletic, replacing outgoing manager Roberto Martínez, who left for Everton. Coyle left the club by mutual agreement on 2 December 2013, having won seven games out of twenty-three. Uwe Rosler replaced him on 7 December.
On 9 March 2014, Wigan beat Manchester City in the 6th Round of the FA Cup to reach the semi-final at Wembley for the second successive year, where they played Arsenal, and lost on penalties after normal time and extra time resulted in a 1–1 draw. After finishing 5th in the Championship, Wigan lost their Championship play-off semi-final to Queens Park Rangers.
On 13 November 2014, Uwe Rösler was sacked as manager and was replaced by Malky Mackay on 19 November 2014.
One To Watch – Adam Forshaw
From the outside looking in, one of the reasons behind Wigan’s troubles this season would appear to be their inconsistency in team selection. When former Premier League regulars such as Ali Al Habsi, Emmerson Boyce and Marc-Antoine Fortune have been sitting on the bench in recent games, it may hint at the quality of the Latics’ squad but also suggests that they have struggled to find their best team.
Another player who has had to bide his time for his chance has been summer signing Adam Forshaw. The creative midfielder was a key member of the Brentford squad that won promotion from League 1 last time out. As a virtual ever-present, he scored 8 goals and was involved in numerous others to be voted the Divisional Player of the Year as well as featuring in the League 1 Team of the Year. Forshaw had initially come through the ranks at Everton, and showed his potential by making his debut as an 18-year-old in a Europa League tie against BATE Borisov. He went on to make his first Premier League appearance against Wolves in 2011 but, finding his First Team opportunities limited by the personnel in front of him, joined the Bees on loan in February 2012. He soon made the move permanent and has quickly become one of the hottest properties outside the Premier League. His progress has stalled slightly at the DW Stadium, with just 17 appearances and a solitary league goal to his name in 2014/15. Having joined from a team on an upward trajectory, Wigan fans will be hoping the exciting playmaker can turn his skills towards preserving the club’s Championship status.
The Gaffer – Malky Mackay
Born in Scotland, Mackay began his career coming through the youth ranks of Queen's Park, before joining Celtic in the summer of 1993. He made 46 appearances in 5 years with the Glasgow club, and in September 1998 moved to England, joining Norwich City for a fee of £350,000 after a one-game loan spell.
In the 2003–04 season, his sixth at Norwich, the club was promoted to the Premier League after winning the then Division One, however he was released by Norwich at the end of the season. He was named in the Football League First Division Team of the Year in the 2003–04 in which they got promoted.
During his sixth and final season at Norwich, at the age of 32, Mackay became the oldest man to make his debut for Scotland in 37 years. In total, Mackay won five caps for Scotland.
Mackay was signed for West Ham United by manager Alan Pardew, for £300,000, on 10 September 2004. He played 18 league games for the Hammers, although none after March, as West Ham reached the play-offs, beating Preston North End in the final to reach the Premier League. Mackay was released before playing a top flight game.
Mackay was picked up on a free transfer by Aidy Boothroyd as part of his rebuilding of Watford and soon become one of the key figures in Boothroyd's side. At the end of the 2005–06 season Mackay achieved the feat of being promoted to the Premier League for the third successive season.
Although he was not a first-team regular, Mackay made 14 Premier League appearances in 2006–07. In January 2007, Mackay took his first step into coaching by being promoted to first team coach.
He took over as caretaker manager at Watford on 4 November 2008 following the departure of Aidy Boothroyd, but his spell in charge lasted just 5 games after former Chelsea reserve coach Brendan Rodgers was appointed on a long term basis.
After Brendan Rodgers resigned in June 2009, Mackay took over as the manager of Watford. 2009–10 was a difficult season where their Championship status was under threat for a long time, but by the end of April survival had been achieved, ending the season 14th place in the league.
Mackay signed a three-year contract as Cardiff City manager on 17 June 2011, with Watford receiving an undisclosed fee in compensation. The side were undefeated in September, resulting in Mackay being nominated for the September Championship Manager of the Month in his first month managing the Welsh club. Another unbeaten month for Cardiff resulted in Mackay winning the award in November. He guided Cardiff to their first ever League Cup final, and the week before the League Cup final, Mackay signed a three-and-half-year contract extension, tying him to the club until June 2016. Mackay's side were beaten by Liverpool in the Wembley final, losing 3–2 on penalties, with a 2–2 scoreline after extra time. Cardiff's season ended where it began, as they were beaten by West Ham United in the promotion playoffs.
Following the success of his first season in Wales, Mackay oversaw Cardiff's strongest ever home start to a league season, as they won each of their first ten fixtures at Cardiff City Stadium. Mackay went on to lead Cardiff to promotion to the Premier League, and was voted the League Managers Association (LMA) Championship Manager of the Year on 21 May 2013.
During the 2013–14 season, Mackay came under criticism from club owner Vincent Tan concerning his signings, transfer budgets, results and style of play. In December 2013, Tan told Mackay to resign from the club or be sacked, leading to critical media comment not only of the decision but of Tan's tactics, After a 3–0 home defeat to Southampton, Mackay was sacked by Cardiff on 27 December 2013 after a meeting with the club's directors.
Mackay was expected to become manager of Premier League club Crystal Palace in August 2014, but dropped out of contention after Cardiff City sent a dossier to the Football Association alleging misconduct by Mackay. It subsequently emerged that some of the allegations related to text messages considered to be of a racist, sexist and homophobic nature. Cardiff questioned the fees paid to agents and lawyers relating to transfer deals made while Mackay and Moody worked for the club. A source of tension between the two clubs was the alleged leaking in April 2014 of a Cardiff starting lineup to Crystal Palace. Via a statement published by the LMA, Mackay apologised for writing two messages that he admitted were disrespectful of other cultures, but denied stating anything of a homophobic or sexist nature. The LMA itself apologised for characterising the messages as "friendly banter" in the statement.
Mackay was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic on 19 November 2014, after the Championship side had sacked Uwe Rösler. The appointment was criticised by the Kick It Out campaign, who said that the club had disregarded the ongoing FA investigation into text messages sent by Mackay. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan said that the club had inserted a clause in its contract with Mackay stating that they could terminate the contract if he is found guilty by the FA. A shirt sponsor of the club, Premier Range, withdrew their backing after Mackay was appointed.
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Trev's Trivia
Players to play for both teams
Nathan Ellington ITFC 2011-2013 Wigan 2002-2005
Titus Bramble ITFC 1998-2002 Wigan 2007-2010
Ryan Tunnicliffe ITFC 2013 2014 loan Wigan 2014 loan
Stat Time
Head to Head
Ipswich Wins.....................3.....30.00%
Wigan Wins.......................6.....60.00%
Draws..............................1......10.00%
Ipswich Goals...................13.....1.30 Ave Per Game
Wigan Goals....................18.....1.80 Ave per Game
Head to Head at Ipswich
Ipswich Wins......................2......40.00%
Wigan Wins.......................3.....60.00%
Draws..............................0.......00.00%
Ipswich Goals....................9....1.80 Ave Per Game
Wigan Goals.....................11....2.20 Ave Per Game
Marko's Caption Contest
Another great week, although I have no clue who that guy is. Is he famous or just some random dude playing with his crotch area?
Herforder caption was excellent and 4 points.
"......, 99, and change hands!"
Herforder 4
Barmy 3
Ashford 2
TABLE
1. Herforder ......... 27
2. Quasar ............ 25
3. Frosty ............. 24
4 Blueblood.......... 23
5. James ........ 21
5. Derick ........ 21
6. The Don ........ 19
6. Bluemike ......... 19
7. Barmy Billy....... 13
8. Supershred....... 9
9. Ashfordblue ..... 7
10. Jamma .......... 6
10. Floors ......... 6
11. Andy M .... 5
12. Number9 .. 4
12. Charnwood 4
12. Mr Punch .. 4
13. Morph ....... 3
14. Nicscreamer 2
14. ITNO1 ....... 2
14. Hallamblue 2
14. LnP ........... 2
Have a go at this cracker, extra points for being so rude, a mod will ban you.
The Predicted Teams
Ipswich Town
Sears to start ahead of Hunt?
33 Bialkowski
04 Chambers
05 Smith
06 Berra
03 Mings
08 Skuse
12 S Hunt
18 Tabb
17 Bru
20 Sears
09 Murphy
Wigan Athletic
Assume McManaman will go to WBA so maybe they will start their new loan signing Herd from Villa
01 Carson
24 Perch
25 Barnett
27 Ridgewell
03 Taylor
07 McCann
36 Kvist
14 Huws
00 Herd
33 Waghorn
11 McClean
Match Referee - Charles Breakspear
Final Thought - Frosty
Ok, so I’m over the fact that Brighton kicked sand in our face, we are still only 1 point off top unlike the Seagulls who will be using the remainder of this season building for next season.
The Top Eight in the Championship are only separated by 8 points now, the Top Four by merely one point. The Budgies in 8th place on the table have now opened up a 5 point gap on 9th placed Sheffield Wednesday.
Speaking of the teams around us, what an interesting line up this week. Bournemouth host Watford which should be a cracker, Brentford receive a visit from Middlesbrough, Derby go to a foreign land when they face Cardiff away, and finally, we have the pick of the draw as Wigan make the 240 mile trek to visit us at Fortress PR.
As James made the point above, wins against Wigan and Rotherham are a bit of a must if we want to stay at the pointy end of the table. If one looks at Wigans recent record there isn't a lot of bright spots, last time out they hosted Hudders at home and lost it 1-0, a draw against Blackburn prior to that, a 3-1 spanking from Birmingham and a 1-0 nil loss to Bolton round out their last 4 fixtures.
If you want an idea how the enemy camp is feeling this week, check out the following links to a Wigan Football forum:-
http://www.wigan.vitalfootball.co.uk/fo ... 18&start=1
http://www.wigan.vitalfootball.co.uk/fo ... 9&posts=13
(I actually wondered whether a few people on here contribute to their forum)
For those of you going to the game on Saturday, have a fantastic afternoon and remember if the Football Gods are in our favour, you could be walking out of PR at the top of the League.
IPSWICH TOWN 3 WIGAN ATHLETIC 1
I've noticed that practically every time you try a score prediction, it either reads a Town loss I'm afraid, or a Town win I hope, so how about being more positive 
and say deffo Town win here, or Town will lose this one???