Wigan Athletic - 12th Man - 3/05/12

This weeks 12th man page in the Wigan Evening Post features two contributions from Vital Latics:

Classy Latics Simply Superb

Does it get any better than that?

The performance of the Latics against Newcastle on Saturday was quite simply breathtaking, I have been watching for over 40 years and I have never witnessed a better display of football than what I saw at the weekend.

We were outstanding all over the pitch, against a quality side that was on top of their form coming into the game, that's what really makes the result and performance so outrageously good, the first half saw the Latics simply blow Newcastle away, four scintillating goals of the highest quality, fluid football played with pace and incisive passing cut the Magpies to pieces.

The second half, though we didn't add to our goal tally, was just as impressive, Newcastle pushed forward to try and get something from the game, we simply took the ball off them, kept possession and totally killed any momentum that they were threatening to generate.

Shaun Maloney was absolutely superb, the little man oozed class, he was calm on the ball, made himself available every time we were in possession and in the games dying moments his ticky-tacky football with Jordi Gomez was a joy to behold.

The level and intensity that we have played at over the past few weeks has been unbelievable, since the draw at home to West Brom the Latics have slipped into top gear, an odd result here and there would have given some optimism but our form against the country's top sides has left me quite delirious about the future, not only do I believe that we will secure an eighth consecutive campaign in the top flight, but I predict that we will go on to have a glorious season next time out. The team has balance, flair, buzz, grit, pace but most of all its got belief, that belief in each other, the system, the manager and the club is what has made the difference and given all Latics fans a team that they can be truly proud of, a team that's got the football world talking, our team, our Latics.

I feel so proud

Barry Worthington


A Jolly Day Out!

Wasn't Saturday a jolly day out? Walking to the game, I entered into the usual discussions about what we expected from the game, best/worse case scenarios etc. On Saturday we simply remembered that for all the good performances we've had recently, there were a couple of games where we ran out of steam. That and of course our still precarious position. We concluded that given Newcastle`s form, a draw or a tight game either way was a reasonable outcome. The best case scenarios involved us winning and then focussed on our rivals losing. We didn't get anywhere close to even wishing for what actually happened. As Roberto is fond of saying, these are the days that should be treasured. Treasure it I will. We might have endured rather than enjoyed some home games this season, but the football we played on Saturday more than made up for sitting through about half a dozen poor games to be there watching that one. The form team of the division, sent absolutely packing with 4 first half goals. Great team performance with everybody contributing, some scintillating football in places.

Something else that made me very happy was the fact that we played to our largest crowd of the season, and we played brilliant football. Given it was the two game deal that pulled people in and that we can probably expect a good crowd again for the next home game. The people of Wigan will be treated to either another great escape or a celebratory party depending on this weekends results. We are building our support base along with the great performances and results.

A few weeks ago we will have plotted our survival bid, earmarking points here, here and there. It's almost complete a week early, and assuming things go well in the next fortnight, when we look back on the season, it will have been a good one. In the words of the great philosopher John 'Hannibal' Smith…I love it when a plan comes together.

Paul Thorp


















Latics and Proud



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