Wigan Athletic | The Road to Europe

[Makoun]

Club Information
Full Name: Wigan Athletic Football Club
Nickname: Latics
Founded: 1932
Stadium: JJB Stadium
Country: England
City: Wigan, Greater Manchester
League: Barclays Premier League
Chairman: Dave Whelan
Manager: Steve Bruce

Kits





Home





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Stadium





Name: JJB Stadium
Opened: 1999
Owner: Whelco Holdings
Operator: Wigan Football Company Ltd
Construction Cost: £30 M
Capacity: 25,135
Field Dimensions: 110 by 60 metres

Manager Information





Full Name: Stephen Roger Bruce
Date of Birth: 31 December 1960 (age: 48 )
Place of Birth: Corbridge, Northumberland, England
Playing Position: Centre back
Clubs/Nation Played for: Gillingham, Norwich City, Manchester United, Birmingham City, Sheffield United, England Youth and England B
Teams Managed: Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Crystal Palace, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic (managed twice)

Honours
Football League Second Division 2002/2003 (Now known as League One) Champions: 1

Football League Third Division (Now known as League Two) 1996/1997 Champions: 1

Football League Trophy (Now known as Jonstone’s Paint Trophy) 1984/1985 & 1998/1999 Champions: 2

Northern Premier League 1970/1971 & 1974/1975 Champions: 2

Northern Premier Cup 1971/1972 Champions: 1

Northern Premier Shield 1972/1973, 1973/1974 & 1975/1976 Champions: 3

Lancashire Combination1947/1948, 1950/1951, 1952/1953, 1953/1954 Champions: 4

Cheshire League1933/1934, 1934/1935, 1935/1936, 1964/1965 Champions: 4

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[Makoun]

First Team Squad

Goalkeepers




Full Name: Christopher Edmund Kirkland
Number: 1
Nationality: English
D.O.B: 2 May 1987
Place of Birth: Barwell, England
Position: Goalkeeper
Previous Club(s): Coventry City, Liverpool, West Brom (loan), Wigan (loan)
Nationality Caps: 1 England cap




Full Name: Michael Francis Pollitt
Number: 12
Nationality: English
D.O.B: February 29, 1972
Place of Birth: Farnworth, England
Position: Goalkeeper
Previous Club(s): Manchester United, Oldham Athletic (loan), Macclesfield Town (loan), Bury, Lincoln City (loan), Altrincham (loan), Lincoln City, Darlington, Notts County, Oldham Athletic (loan), Gillingham (loan), Brentford (loan), Sunderland (loan), Sunderland, Rotherham United, Chesterfield, Rotherham United, Ipswich Town (loan), Burnley (loan)
Nationality Caps: None




Full Name: Richard Paul Franck Kingson
Number: 22
Nationality: Ghana
D.O.B: 13 June, 1978
Place of Birth: Accra, Ghana
Position: Goalkeeper
Previous Club(s): Great Olympics, Sakaryaspor, Goztepe A.S, Antalyaspor, Elazigspor, Ankaraspor, Galatasaray, Ankaraspor, Hammarby IF (loan), Birmingham City
Nationality Caps: 58 Ghana caps, 1 goal

Defenders




Full Name: Erik Kenneth Edman
Number: 3
Nationality: Swedish
D.O.B: November 11, 1978
Place of Birth: Huskvarna, Sweden
Position: Left back
Previous Club(s): Helsingborgs IF, Torino, Karlsruher SC, AIK, SC Heerenveen, Tottenham, Stade Rennais
Nationality Caps: 53 Sweden caps, 1 goal




Full Name: Paul Josef Herbert Scharner
Number: 7
Nationality: Austrian
D.O.B: March 11, 1980
Place of Birth: Scheibbs, Austria
Position: Centre back, midfielder
Previous Club(s): Austria Wien, SV Salzburg, SK Brann
Nationality Caps: 18 Austria caps




Full Name: Emerson Orland Boyce
Number: 17
Nationality: Barbados
D.O.B: 24 September, 1979
Place of Birth: Aylesbury, 1989
Position: Defender
Previous Club(s): Luton Town, Crystal Palace
Nationality Caps: 2 Barbados caps




Full Name: Titus Malachi Bramble
Number: 19
Nationality: English
D.O.B: 21 July, 1981
Place of Birth: Ipswich, England
Position: Centre back
Previous Club(s): Ipswich Town, Colchester United (loan), Newcastle United
Nationality Caps: 10 England Under 21 caps, 1 goal




Full Name: Mario Melchiot
Number: 25
Nationality: Dutch
D.O.B: November 4, 1976
Place of Birth: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Position: Right back
Previous Club(s): Ajax, Chelsea, Birmingham City, Rennes
Nationality Caps: 22 Netherlands cap




Full Name: Maynor Alexis Figueroa Rochez
Number: 31
Nationality: Honduran
D.O.B: 2 May, 1983
Place of Birth: Jutiapa, Honduras
Position: Left back
Previous Club(s): Victoria, Olimpia, Wigan Athletic (loaned twice)
Nationality Caps: 59 Honduras caps, 2 goals

[Makoun]

Midfielders




Full Name: Lee Barry Cattermole
Number: 4
Nationality: English
D.O.B: 21 March, 1988
Place of Birth: Stockton-on-Tees, England
Position: Defensive midfielder
Previous Club(s): Middlesbrough
Nationality Caps: 7 England Under 21 caps




Full Name: Benjamin Watson
Number: 8
Nationality: English
D.O.B: July 9, 1985
Place of Birth: London, England
Position: Midfielder
Previous Club(s): Crystal Palace
Nationality Caps: 2 England Under 21 caps




Full Name: Jason Koumas
Number: 10
Nationality: Welsh
D.O.B: 25 September, 1979
Place of Birth: Wrexham, Wales
Position: Midfielder
Previous Club(s): Tranmere Rovers, West Brom, Cardiff City (loan)
Nationality Caps: 33 Wales caps, 10 goals




Full Name: Michael Robert Brown
Number: 11
Nationality: English
D.O.B: 25 January, 1977
Place of Birth: Hartlepool, England
Position: Midfielder
Previous Club(s): Manchester City, Hartlepool (loan), Portsmouth (loan), Sheffield United, Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham
Nationality Caps: None




Full Name: Charles N’Zogbia
Number: 14
Nationality: French
D.O.B: May 28, 1986
Place of Birth: Harfleur, France
Position: Left winger
Previous Club(s): Newcastle United
Nationality Caps: 13 France Under 21 caps




Full Name: Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
Number: 16
Nationality: Ecuadorian
D.O.B: 4 August, 1985
Place of Birth: Lago Agrio, Ecuador
Position: Left winger/right winger, attacking midfielder
Previous Club(s): El Nacional, Villareal, Recreativo (loan), Wigan (loan)
Nationality Caps: 34 Ecuador caps, 4 goals




Full Name: Daniel De Ridder
Number: 18
Nationality: Dutch
D.O.B: March 6, 1984
Place of Birth: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Position: Winger/Attacking midfielder
Previous Club(s): Ajax, Celta Vigo (loan), Birmingham City
Nationality Caps: 30 Netherlands Under 21 caps, 2 goals




Full Name: Tomasz Cywka
Number: 21
Nationality: Polish
D.O.B: June 27, 1988
Place of Birth: Gliwice, Poland
Position: Midfield/Striker
Previous Club(s): Oldham Athletic (loan)
Nationality Caps: None




Full Name: Narcisse-Olivier-Kapo-Obou
Number: 23
Nationality: French
D.O.B: 27 September, 1980
Place of Birth: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivorie
Position: Midfielder
Previous Club(s): Auxerre, Juventus, Monaco (loan), Levante (loan), Birmingham City
Nationality Caps: 9 French caps, 3 goals




Full Name: Lewis Montrose
Number: 33
Nationality: English
D.O.B: November 17, 1988
Place of Birth: Manchester, England
Position: Midfielder
Previous Club(s): Rochdale (loan), Cheltenham Town (loan)
Nationality Caps: None

[Makoun]

Forwards




Full Name: Antoine Sibierski
Number: 6
Nationality: French
D.O.B: August 5, 1974
Place of Birth: Lille, France
Position: Attacking midfielder, Second striker
Previous Club(s): Lille, Auxerre, Nantes, Lens, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Norwich City (loan)
Nationality Caps: None




(On loan from Middlesbrough)
Full Name: Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid
Number: 9
Nationality: Egyptian
D.O.B: February 23, 1983
Place of Birth: Cairo, Egypt
Position: Striker
Previous Club(s): El Zamalek, KAA Gent, Ajax, Celta Vigo (loan), Marseille, Roma, Tottenham Hotspur (loan), Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough
Nationality Caps: 48 Egypt caps, 19 goals




(On loan from El Zamalek)
Full Name: Amr Hassan Zaki
Number: 13
Nationality: Egyptian
D.O.B: 1 April, 1983
Place of Birth: Mansoura, Egypt
Position: Striker
Previous Club(s): Al-Mansoura, ENPPI, Lokomotiv Moscow, El Zamalek
Nationality Caps: 48 Egypt caps, 29 goals




Full Name: Hugo Rodallega Martinez
Number: 20
Nationality: Colombian
D.O.B: July 25, 1985
Place of Birth: El Carmelo, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Position: Striker
Previous Club(s): Deportes Quindio, Deportivo Cali, Monterrey (loan), Necaxa
Nationality Caps: 21 Colombia caps, 6 goals

[Makoun]

Barclays Premier League Table February Update

NOTE: I am starting this MM after the January transfer window so I have simmed all games until the end of the January transfer window

[Makoun]

You may post now

[Footie-Hitman10]

You copied most of my OP! Lost me to post on your thread!

[Harald]

The kits don't work for me.

[Makoun]

Originally Posted by Footie-Hitman10

You copied most of my OP! Lost me to post on your thread!

Mate I've never even seen your Wigan thread before... Plus I only started coming back on the forums yesterday, so I have never seen it or copied it.

[Footie-Hitman10]

If you say so!

[Makoun]

Originally Posted by Footie-Hitman10

If you say so!

Ok then I posted my OP at 1:41 pm and it says you edited your op at like 2:29 pm, so obviously you must've copied and pasted my op on to yours.

[Footie-Hitman10]

i edited my kits around that time....... WHo do you support?

[rangers111]

ure kits still dont work

[Footie-Hitman10]

his dont no but mine do.... well there suppose to

[Jeppie SA]

I can see the kits

[Harald]

Well, I can't.

[rangers111]

hmmm wonder who copied who????

[ManchesterRed]

Great start, Mike!

Can't wait for more updates mate.

[Makoun]

Newcastle Team News
- Harper makes debut in goal after the departure of Given
- Ryan Taylor is on the bench against his former club and could make a debut
- Martins returns to the side from injury

--- Harper ---
--- S.Taylor --- Coloccini --- Bassong --- Jose Enrique ---
--- Jonas --- Nolan --- Butt --- Duff ---
--- Owen --- Martins ---

Wigan Team News
- N'Zogbia faces former club
- Koumas replaces Michael Brown in the starting line up

--- Kirkland ---
--- Melchiot--- Boyce --- Scharner --- Figueroa ---
--- Valencia --- Cattermole --- Koumas --- N'Zogbia ---
--- Zaki --- Mido ---

Players to Watch For

Michael Owen is Newcastle's player to watch for as lately he has been on good goal scoring form, scoring in 5 goals in 3 games. As well Owen has scored 15 goals this season which is considerbly good since he missed quite a few matches with some injury problems.

Mido made an impact straight away to the Wigan side with a goal on his debut and then scoring a goal in the following game. Mido has a point to prove to Middlesbrough as he was loaned out in the winter transfer window, but he could also impress the Steve Bruce if he keeps up performances like this, he could be signed to Wigan on a permanent deal.

[Makoun]

Latics Scrape Past Magpies

Lee Cattermole celebrating his goal

Match Report

First Half
Straight from the kick off it was just Wigan pushing Newcastle back, for the first twenty minutes of the game Wigan were dominating Newcastle.
Chances came very early on for Wigan as Mido had a good chance just inside the box, but it was hard for him to get his shot on target at an acute angle.

Chances kept piling on for Wigan, minute after minute. We saw Zaki’s chance just managing to skim past the post and Valencia having his fierce shot just saved from flying into the top hand corner.

However the possession Wigan had paid off in the 20th minute with a superb Amr Zaki goal. It was good build up play by the Latics with Wigan playing good football in the middle of the park and Mido got the ball, he looked up and found Zaki. Zaki was crowded by two Newcastle defenders but Zaki used his strength to shield the ball and he turned to the left and fired a powerful shot that hit the post and in. There was no chance of Harper saving that and it was a stunning goal.

After Zaki’s goal the Toon army seemed to wake up and started to actually play some football in Wigan’s half. Some of Newcastle’s possession was converted into chances as they kept firing long balls into the box, but it never really seemed to target Newcastle players.

But one cross did actually come to Obafemi Martins. A good cross was fired in by Jose Enrique across the Wigan box and Martins, who was unmarked, chested it down to his feet and poked the ball into the bottom corner. The Newcastle crowd started to get behind their team after that and Martins did his trademark back flip celebration.

Second Half
Newcastle carried on their strong performance from the end of the first half to the second, but Duff could never really exploit the left wing because Mario Melchiot was very solid. Tackle after tackle, Melchiot never let a man beat him down that wing.

But just for one moment Newcastle just turned off and Cattermole just dribbled down the middle of the park with no one closing him down at all. Cattermole took a shot just outside the box and the Newcastle defenders finally decided to close him down, but it was useless because Cattermole’s shot went through the legs of Coloccini and the ball went up and over Harper into the top hand corner. No chance for Harper there as that was a beauty, but the culprits of the goal were the Newcastle defenders.

Newcastle didn’t just give up there, but they only had one chance on goal. Jonas tried a shot from far out but it didn’t trouble Kirkland and after that Newcastle never converted possession into goal chances.

Wigan finished the rest of the half very strong, but in the 73rd minute Antonio Valencia picked up a groin strain from a hard, but fair Steven Taylor challenge. Daniel De Ridder was the man to replace Antonio Valencia and also Ben Watson came on for Jason Koumas.

With immediate effect Ben Watson made an instant impact as he took a shot from quite a distance. He blasted a low powerful shot that rolled across the ground, but he was unlucky as the shot just skimmed the post on the way out and Harper stood still with no chance.

Full Time: Newcastle 1 – 2 Wigan
Goal Scoreres: Zaki 20’, Martins 36’, Cattermole 56’


Man of the Match: Mario Melchiot 9/10

[fifa09worshipper]

I can't see the kits either. Good start though, I think.

[The Stig]

Titus Bramble

[Makoun]

Wigan Team News
- Antonio Valencia returns from injury just in time
- Same starting line up as last game

--- Kirkland ---
--- Melchiot--- Boyce --- Scharner --- Figueroa ---
--- Valencia --- Cattermole --- Koumas --- N'Zogbia ---
--- Zaki --- Mido ---

Arsenal Team News
- Silvestre keeps place as Clichy is not fit in time
- Andrei Arshavin makes his Arsenal debut

--- Almunia ---
--- Sagna--- Toure --- Gallas --- Silvestre ---
--- Arshavin --- Fabregas --- Denilson --- Nasri ---
--- Adebayor --- Van Persie ---

Players to Watch For

Lee Cattermole scored a great goal in the last game against Newcastle and he can prove not only he can win the ball in the middle of the park, but also score goals. Cattermole is a defensive midfielder and Stuart Pearce (the England Under 21 manager) has praised Cattermole in appearances for England Under 21's and Wigan, he has said that Cattermole could be a regular England international in the future.

With Gael Clichy being out for a while, Mikael Silvestre has replaced him and has had man of the match performances. Silvestre signed from Manchester United in the summer and he has provided experince and back up in the defence. With his form he could prove that his a first team starter going into this match.

[ManchesterRed]

Great win against Newcastle.

1-0 to Arsenal though.

[Jeppie SA]

1 - 1, Arsenal to score in 90th min