VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – WIGAN ATHLETIC vs BIRMINGHAM CITY

I don’t tend to go to matches in the more northern parts of the Empire because besides the obvious distances involved from where I live on the Surrey Hampshire border, there is the extra time expended with travelling up and back. However, last week I had suggested that we all travel to this one given the importance of the game. Will had not been very keen and declined the opportunity to travel to the beautiful town of Wigan 😛 and although Chris had expressed an interest he said that unfortunately had to work at the pub and therefore couldn’t go. It was on that basis that I had decided to stream the game over the computer. In midweek, Chris called and said that his daughter Emma had a birthday on Saturday and as either he or Gayle would have to look after little Jack for her, Gayle had suggested that Chris may as well take him to the football and baby sit him there; result! So it was at the last minute that Chris got hold of some tickets for him, me and little Jack and I arranged to meet them at the pub at about 11 o’clock. Unfortunately, things did not get off to a good start as because of roadworks on the A404 there was a diversion through the centre of Maidenhead which lost three quarters of an hour on the deal.

Nevertheless, despite my late arrival, we were still in plenty of time to proceed northwards on the M6. We chose the toll road to avoid further traffic complications only to run into further difficulties the moment we had to revert to the normal bit. When we got to Wigan itself, like most journeys to football, it is always the last couple of miles that seem to take the longest time. I spotted a suitable parking space in a side road and we walked the last three quarters of a mile or so to the ground. We got in with barely five minutes to go before kick-off and so we were deprived of a much-needed pie and a pint.

Blues got off to a dream start with barely six minutes on the clock; a partially cleared corner saw the ball fall to Martin Jiranek’s whose flick-on found Ridgewell in space although he and two colleagues appeared to be in offside positions on the edge of the Wigan penalty area but with no flag raised he reacted quickest to shoot past Ali Al Habsi. It was just after this that the first of three significant turning points in this game occurred. The first was the sight of Martin Jiranek pulling up lame again and his contribution to the goal was to be his last significant involvement as he was replaced by Curtis Davies because of injury. I groaned inwardly at this development and my fears were well founded as events unfolded. However, Davies’ first touch almost created a second goal when he headed Sebastian Larsson’s corner back across the six-yard area where Cameron Jerome’s shot on the turn was well blocked by Al Habsi. Blues were all over Wigan at this stage and in complete control of the game it was therefore time to shoot ourselves in the foot! Apart from Cleverley’s early shot the hosts had not threatened but out of the blue the on-loan Manchester United midfielder equalised in the 25th minute. Chris made the observation that we were beginning to allow the Wigan midfield plenty of touches on the ball and therefore confidence. Whilst it was true they were playing primarily across the pitch and in front of us with no penetration it was inevitable that sooner or later they will try and get the ball forward.

The second major turning point occurred when an excellent through ball by Ben Watson inside left-back Ridgewell picked out the over-lapping right-back Emmerson Boyce. Jean Beausejour despite tracking Boyce failed to prevent the cross and Foster could only push the ball into the path of Cleverley who gratefully accepted the gift inside the six-yard box. It is highly questionable whether Foster should be getting involved in the first place but Curtis Davies was the wrong side of Cleverley but had he been where he should have been, Foster would in all probability have played the ball against him instead. It was a simply awful piece of collective defending by Blues who up to that point had been the better side. Despite the fact that we had gifted a lifeline to the hosts who continued to look shaky, we failed to take advantage of good opportunities when they arose. Figueroa gave the ball away to Jordon Mutch who fed Beausejour but the midfielder’s 25-yard shot was well off target. Late in the half Charles N’Zogbia deflected over Boyce’s cross from close range while Larsson was extremely unlucky to hit the crossbar with a free-kick.

The game opened up after the break, with Craig Gardner breaking clear of the defence but shooting straight at Al Habsi. At the other end N’Zogbia’s trickery allowed him to find space in the area but Cleverley swung wildly at his cut-back and Foster saved well as Figueroa blasted the loose ball at him from eight yards. Wigan made a double attacking change by sending on Hugo Rodallega and Conor Sammon for Franco Di Santo and Victor Moses. Birmingham did likewise as, having replaced the ineffective Jean Beausejour with David Bentley, they sent on Obafemi Martins for Mutch as Alex McLeish also went in search of victory. The respective changes appeared to do a lot more for Wigan than for Blues. Wigan were now winning absolutely everything in midfield. Blues, as they have so often done in the past, proceeded to make life as difficult as they could for themselves whilst creating very little worthwhile in return. Sammon’s flicked header from Cleverley’s cross was claimed comfortably by Foster before Antolin Alcaraz and Davies were both booked as tackling became more desperate. Sammon and McCarthy both had shots charged down in the area as the home side, for the first time in the game, looked like being the ones most capable of scoring.

With ten minutes remaining, a simply dreadful header by Curtis Davies looped upwards and behind him for Rodallega to lob the ball into the net over Foster but referee Lee Probert ruled the Colombia international had pushed Roger Johnson as they challenged on the edge of the area. Subsequent footage of the incident shows that he was absolutely correct. It is extraordinary therefore, that the referee failed to penalise a virtually identical incident in the Wigan penalty area in the 88th minute. A chip into the box found Curtis Davies in a good position to aim a header at goal. Antolin Alcaraz completely takes the player out and is not looking at the ball. This was as clear a penalty kick as I think I’ve seen all season. Whilst it is true that the award would probably have given Blues an undeserved victory it was to prove the third turning point of the game. In time added on at the end of the game with both sides seemingly settling for a point Blues were stunned when a late shot from Figueroa whistled past Foster in the 92nd minute. The ball appeared to pass very close to the keeper and a comment made by Alex McLeish in one of the Sunday papers today suggests that he was totally unsighted by the bodies in front of him and do not see it until it was virtually past him.

This result is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for Blues. I’m afraid to say that we got what we deserved for failing to put a poor team to the sword when we had the chance in the early part of the match. The second half performance by Birmingham was atrocious and rates right down there with those against Wolves and West Bromwich Albion. This season reminds me of the last time that Blues were relegated when we drew too many matches and failed to beat teams around us. I hope and pray that in the nine games that are left at our disposal that somehow we can muster the points necessary to avoid this calamity. However, if we are going to play like this and surrender all control of the midfield for vast swathes of the game the Championship beckons.

There is no doubt that the better team won this game and given how very poor Wigan Athletic are it speaks volumes for the overall strength of our squad. I hate to get on Curtis Davies’s case again but positionally he is hopeless. We were very lucky to get away with the disallowed goal by Rodallega which came about purely because of the miss timing of perfectly routine header that any average centre half should deal with comfortably. He has his central defensive partner Roger Johnson to thank for covering his embarrassment and there is no doubt that Rodallega pushed Johnson in the back before putting the ball in the net. Whilst we were once again robbed of a clear penalty which seems to have become a recurring theme this season we can have absolutely no complaints about this result.
Too many players were in cruise control yesterday with the exception of Stephen Carr who was immense as usual, Roger Johnson who showed passion, aggression and superhuman will to cover for the shortcomings of others which unfortunately fell just short and finally Cameron Jerome who ran himself into the ground despite receiving wholly inadequate support all afternoon even when Obafemi Martins came on.

As I write this, I feel gloomy, desolate, depressed and forlorn. Our season is in grave danger of falling apart after the elation of our Cup win. If any of our players were in any doubt that we are in a relegation dogfight at this stage well they had better wake up and smell the coffee. The only saving grace from what was a catastrophic day in terms of results yesterday is that the bottom eight teams in the Premier League are still clustered together by just three points. Right now we need wins and I cannot honestly see when the next one is coming from. Let us hope that the next two weeks will allow our players to recharge their batteries, get over niggling injuries and put in the sort of effort, commitment and spirit that our fans demand and expect.

The Good: Chris’s company and Little Jack’s Mohican haircut coloured blue for effect! The steak and chips with mushrooms that I enjoyed on the return journey back at Baginton after the match.

The Bad: Blues second half performance which was lamentable. The terrible traffic on the way to the game.

The Ugly: The very nasty thought that I’m getting about the futility of a European campaign (in all probability a very short one) as a Championship club.

Wigan Athletic: Al Habsi 6, Boyce 7, Gary Caldwell 6, Alcaraz 6 , Figueroa 8, Watson 7, McCarthy 7, N’Zogbia 8 (Diame 90, N/A), Cleverley 8, Moses 5 (Sammon 63, 6), Di Santo 5 (Rodallega 63, 7).
Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Gohouri, Gomez, Stam.
Booked: Moses, Alcaraz, Figueroa.
Goals: Cleverley 25, Figueroa 90.

Birmingham City: Foster 6, Carr 7, Johnson 7, Jiranek N/A (Davies 14, 4), Ridgewell 7, Larsson 6, Gardner 5, Ferguson 5, Mutch 6 (Martins 64, 5), Beausejour 5 (Bentley 58, 5), Jerome 8.
Subs Not Used: Doyle, Murphy, Phillips, Parnaby.
Booked: Davies.
Goals: Ridgewell 6.
Attendance: 16,421

Ref: Lee Probert (Wiltshire) 6: Overall the officials were adequate but it is fair to say that they missed the offside ruling against Ridgewell when we scored but in fairness this decision was tight one and every fan in the land would take one of these in their favour for their team. The failure to award a penalty to Blues with only two minutes left was both baffling and wholly unforgivable; the officials bottled this decision and it was to cost Birmingham the game.

Bazza