All Gone Latics 03
28
-
Upload
all-gone-latics -
Category
Documents
-
view
214 -
download
0
description
Â
Transcript of All Gone Latics 03
2
First words..... This month’s donation is going to the fundraising efforts of
John ‘Chunk’ Holland who is raising money for Joseph’s Goal — or if someone
tries to pass off a copyrighted piece of work as their own again, my court fees.
Issue 4 is out on Friday 20th February for the visit of Charlton, a fixture set to
go down in history as one of the coldest played beside the river Dougie that
month. Touch wood the players leave the turf in a rough state for the rugby
league fixture a couple of days later.
Those of you that like what you see in these mags can buy our Three Amigos
Subscription (including free postage) for just £7.99. By doing this you’ll be
receiving our next 3 editions hot off the press. Such value.
And finally, a total of £948 was raised for the Brick Project homeless charity by
Latics fans deciding to boycott our Boxing Day match at Leeds. An
impressive effort by all concerned.
Now, let’s get ourselves out of the mess we’re in... Come On Wigan!
Issue 3 Contributors
Mark Cowley Drew Darbyshire Dan Farrimond
Nathan Johnson David Jones Kieran Makin
Nathan Mylum Dan Rodenby Liam Sephton
Bought this thinking it was the matchday programme?
Want the answers to last month’s enthralling word search?
Contact us: [email protected]
Views in this poorly constructed booklet do not necessarily represent those
of Wigan Athletic or the FA Commission.
3
January Incomings
This transfer window is arguably the difference between relegation and staying up. Do we
have enough goals in the team right now to keep us up? Absolutely not. Whether Mackay
can persuade an old team-mate to come, maybe Nicky Maynard or Danny Graham try and
keep us up, or a young Premier League striker on loan, will remain to be seen. Another
priority this window has to be a commanding centre-half, were just lacking a big, strong,
confident centre-half for me.
Liam Ridgewell is poised to sign on a short-term loan deal. A good signing in my eyes,
has plenty of Premier League experience, could play on the left side of the back three or
left back when playing with a back four, he’s a big, strong lad who pops up with the odd
goal too.
Mackay could also be looking out for an attacking midfielder/winger to replace Maloney
when he leaves. Maloney hasn’t been great this season, but were lacking the quality
behind the strikers that Gomez, Powell, Maloney, McManaman gave us last season.
Forshaw has been given the job to create, and he’s just starting to reach his best form for
us, with Huws also set to return we might be alright, however if McManaman was too
leave to it would be an area to strengthen.
Obviously the absolute priority this transfer window has to be to sign a striker or two.
Two strikers I wouldn’t be surprised to see us sign would be Maynard and Graham.
Mackay paid £3 million for Maynard while at Cardiff, injuries hampered his chances, but
he’s obviously someone Mackay knows very well and admires; Maynard has featured
rarely this season, therefore Cardiff will probably be happy to let him leave. Danny
Graham enjoyed his best years at Watford under Mackay scoring 39 goals in 81 games for
them. Sunderland have loaned Graham out 3 times since they signed him, so it’s clear he
isn’t in their long-term plans. Could he find his goal-scoring boots if he was re-united with
Mackay? With a bit of confidence and regular starts, I certainly don’t see why not.
These players may not set the world alight, but when we’re sitting 23rd in the
Championship it’s not the most attractive place to come, particularly at January when
clubs will be reluctant to let goal scorers leave. If Mackay can sign a couple of
experienced defenders who could steady the ship at the back, then sign a Graham or
Maynard upfront who could score 8-10 goals, hopefully we can steer clear of relegation.
All we need to aim for is to stay up, then the real clear-out starts in the summer. Let
Mackay have complete control, sell who he wants, and give him the chance to build his
own squad he feels can get us promoted. Don’t forget that Mackay (unlike Rosler) has
won promotion to the Premier League so he knows what type of squad you need to
succeed in the Championship.
All eyes towards @reluctantnicko. Any news Al?
Dan Rodenby
@DanRodenby
4
Give Malky Time
This article was written after the 0-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
A minority of fans took to social media after the game to blame Mackay for the loss, some
even called for him to be sacked, ridiculous. We haven’t started as planned under Mackay
by any means, I’m as disappointed as anyone with the results. However, we’ve certainly
improved since the departure of Rosler in my opinion. The team does look more
organised, more willing to fight for the shirt and give 100%, which is something we all
appreciate, the problem is still scoring goals, but McManaman and Maloney seriously
underperforming, Delort and Riera weren’t even played by the manager who signed them,
so they can’t be upto much, Waghorn’s been injured for a 6-8 weeks now, which doesn’t
leave him with many options.
Mackay guided Cardiff to a 4th placed finish, then the following season won the league
with Cardiff. So for fans to suggest he’s a **** manager is ridiculous, he knows exactly
what you need to succeed in the Championship. Hopefully he can sell the ‘uninterested’
players we have, as well as the ones that simply aren’t good enough, and use the money
to sign a few good players, whether they are loans are permanent that can keep us up
this season. If he can keep us up this season he’s done well, because some of the players
in this squad are completely disinterested and it’s not easy working with players like that.
In the summer we need a complete squad overhaul, stick to a formation, make sure we
have a good spine of the team, and every player is willing to fight for a starting spot.
Every game we have lost so far has been my one goal, therefore it’s small margins
between winning and losing. Against Wednesday, if McManaman hadn’t got himself sent
off, we could of quite easily went on and won that game, what a difference it would of
made to of been out the relegation zone heading into the New Year, it was a perfect game
to win. I thought what McManaman done showed exactly why we are where we are,
stupid mistakes, yes he’s probably trying to prove a point to the manager, but there’s no
excuse for two footing somebody in a vital game like that.
Mackay has already identified the squad is far too big. A squad size of 23-24 players is
about right for the Championship. With Espinoza already gone, Riera off on loan, Kvist
and Rogne linked with moves abroad, Martinez coming back again for Ali this time,
Maloney heavily linked with Leicester and a few clubs looking at McManaman could see us
trimming the squad down to a suitable size. Now ‘Mr Saviour’ has been ruled for 9-12
months, I’m sure Mackay will be looking for a new striker.
In the Championship hard work is a lot more important than quality, if you can find a mix
between the two like Derby, Bournemouth have, you have a great chance of promotion.
Look at Burnley’s squad last season, had two goal scorers in Ings and Vokes, and apart
from a few other players they didn’t have a great amount of a quality.
If we can stay up this season and Mackay doesn’t get banned; I’d fancy us to do well next
season. Mackay has a great Championship record. We are probably only a few players
away from being a good Championship side, but it’s finding them few players and having
the money to buy them. The main problem is obviously goals, but as I said above, some
5
Blast from the past - Latics v Rovers Over recent seasons meetings between Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers have been open encounters, usually with plenty of goals and a Lancashire atmosphere for fans to indulge themselves in. For this month’s issue of AGL, I’ve had a look back at some of the classic local derbies we’ve had with the Rovers - both good and bad.
• Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Wigan Athletic (Ewood Park - 7th May 2012) - A
victory that will live long in the memory of Latics fans, the game that completed our very own ‘Great Escape’. Antolin Alcaraz headed a late winner at a rainy match live on Monday Night Football, the ‘Tics only victory at Ewood in the Premier League, keeping us up and sending them down.
• Wigan Athletic 0 - 3 Blackburn Rovers (JJB Stadium - New Years Eve 2005)
- The fantastic days of the first season in the Premier League, we were riding high after a magnificent first half of the season until Blackburn ended our year on a low point. Rovers gave us a footballing master-class and I witnessed one of the best goals I’ve ever seen, Steven Reid’s pile driver that almost took Pollitt’s net out the ground.
• Wigan Athletic 5-3 Blackburn Rovers (JJB Stadium - 15th December 2007)
- An eight goal thriller, Latics raced into a 3-0 lead including a rare goal from Denny Landzaat, only to be pegged back to 3-3 by a hat-trick from Rovers’ talisman Roque Santa Cruz. A tense game was wrapped up in the second half as
Latics’ on-loan striker Marcus Bent completed his own hat-trick and give Wigan the three points.
• Wigan Athletic 4-3 Blackburn Rovers (DW Stadium - 5th February 2011) -
A game that contributed to the highest scoring Premier League weekend in history, Jason Roberts put the visitors 1-0 up with his customary goal AGAINST us for Blackburn. However, Wigan were inspired by two-time goalscorer James McCarthy who gave the Latics a 3-1 lead. The other goals included a penalty each and several long balls, but Latics held on for a vital victory.
• Wigan Athletic 3-3 Blackburn Rovers (DW Stadium - 19th November 2011)
- Yakubu scored in the opening and dying seconds of a dramatic Lancashire Derby which broke both Latics players and fans hearts. The Yak opened the scoring before Wigan turned the deficit around to lead 2-1, before being pegged back to 2-2 by a Junior Hoilett strike. A scarce sighting, which was Albert Crusat scoring a potential winner, gave Latics fans hope of a much needed victory. BUT in the 99th minute, Yakubu tucked away a penalty to salvage Rovers a point and continue our long winless run.
Kieran Makin
players have let us down, others have been overlooked by both managers. I’d trust
Mackay in the transfer market, as he’s been there and done it. Anyway, WE are the most
important part of this football club, we have to keep supporting and singing our hearts
out week in week out, the good times will return.
Dan Rodenby
@DanRodenby
6
Jesus Was A Wiganer Time Capsule FA Cup 3rd Round: Wigan 4-1 Hull (Posted on January 3 2010) The mainstream media outlets had a good old-fashioned field day, hauling out the tried
and tested ‘Little Wigan, paltry attendances’ angle just because many fans decided they’d
rather be in the pub or something. A little over 5,000 witnessed Latics’ biggest win of the
campaign thus far, even if it wasn’t in the Prem.
The ten thousand-odd ‘missing’ people that decided not to brave the bitterly cold weather may wish they’d made the trip to the DW to see perhaps Wigan’s best performance of the season so far. Goal-wise, it was certainly so, but with a hint of good fortune thrown in there as well. But was it really worth getting frozen feet for? Well yes, actually, but only in the second 45.
Scotty Sinclair made much of Wigan’s early running, causing Hull many problems on the wing and pressing his case for a first team start in Mohamed Diame’s continued absence from the midfield. For all their sprightliness in the first 20 minutes, however, the closest Wigan would come in the first half was a shot-come-cross courtesy of the aforementioned Sinclair pretty early on in the piece.
A somewhat frosty reception for a clearly miserable Latics faithful saw Martinez’s men booed off at half time (but not from myself, you understand) and I’ll bet a bunch of them wish they’d decided to stay at home in front of a warm fire.
It took Charles N’Zogbia, who entered the fray for the start of the second period, to get Wigan on the scoresheet with what was his first foray into enemy territory on 47. Two goals in three minutes, first from James McCarthy — who required a bit of a deflection for his shot to beat Boaz Myhill — and N’Zogbia once again, all but killed the game off with half an hour to play.
A fine (and fully deserved) strike from Scotty Sinclair placed the glazing on the cherry on the icing on the pavements of Wigan town centre. Incidentally, it really was rather slippery out there, and evidently we were the only ones that decided to utilise public transport for this game. Still, we agreed it was worth the £15 we each parted company with for an afternoon in Wigan’s largest freezer.
Wigan 0-1 Man City: Nearly, but not quite (Posted on January 17 2012) I know I say this pretty much every time Latics play on a day other than Saturday, but it just feels weird. All the weekend’s footballing drama is normally washed away by our return to the daily grind at 8AM on Monday morning, and the whole day is ordinarily something of a sedate affair. The last thing I expect to see is more frantic Premier League action when I return from work, but once or twice a year we get these anomalies, these
freaks of nature.
Last night could have been unusual in more ways than one – there was a possibility that champions elect Manchester City could drop points at bottom-of-the-table Wigan, and the little guys certainly gave Mancini’s Fantasticos a run for their (no doubt Balotelli-donated)
Monday roast.
Latics rode their luck and did just about enough in that second half to warrant a more even result. In the end, however, Antolin Alcaraz’s needless challenge led to a Dzeko goal that ultimately decided the contest. Though City had their chances, and really good ones
at that, they consistently failed to double their lead and Latics were always in with an excellent chance of at least a point.
7
The problem was getting that goal, and Wigan just couldn’t do it. Guess that’s why we’re still rooted to the bottom of the table – harsh but fair, I’d say. Perhaps the best chance fell to James McCarthy, who benefited from Hugo Rodallega’s willingness to chase lost causes, but saw his shot blocked by Joe Hart. That was it for clear-cut chances, however, and though Latics were a side revitalised in the second half, those shots on target deserted them once more.
City remained strong in defence and did what Liverpool and Chelsea couldn’t – beat Wigan at the DW Stadium. For Latics’ part, they certainly weren’t outclassed or outplayed but are still missing that final piece of the (Rodal)lego brick house, and tonight it was nearer the top than the bottom. I hope you understand what I mean by that, because I
don’t think I do.
But all our perceived toils pale in significance to the recent plight of Darlington Football Club, who were yesterday forced to sack their remaining playing staff. Win or lose, we are lucky enough to be in existence to this day, but The Quakers may disappear before
Saturday even arrives.
The town of Wigan lost its last Football League club to The Great Depression but came back strong, albeit some three or four decades later. Granted, all but the eldest of Wigan football fans will know what it feels like for your beloved club to become extinct, but we
wholeheartedly sympathise with your situation. Fingers crossed.
Things overheard on the terraces at Macclesfield v Wigan (Posted on January 28, 2013)
Living a life of luxury at the DW Stadium has spoiled us somewhat. I miss the days of standing out on the urine-soaked, cramped terraces, blokes blowing smoke in your face and spilling beer on your brand new bright white jacket when a goal is scored. Maybe not for those reasons, but the general banter of 2,000 fans squeezed into a 1,000-capacity terrace.
When you are so tightly packed you can lift your feet off the ground, you can’t help but overhear every little snarky comment made by those wannabe Charlie Brookers. I am thinking of starting a television programme dedicated to these kinds of people, but until I persuade Channel 5 to give me financial backing, this little list will have to suffice.
From the John Askey Terrace…
“They’ve run out of hot dogs at the concession wheelbarrow!” — Funnily enough, they had loads of pies left. Who’d have believed it, eh?
“Gomez has the turning circle of an elephant.”
“There’s only one Pink Iguana!” — Reference to Roman Golobart’s Twitter nickname
A chant about cold chips, met with an audible ‘what?’ from elsewhere in the stand.
“Look at them lot over there in the posh seats!” — Regarding Wigan fans in the covered stand
“He [Fraser Fyvie] has found his level, then.”
“He can’t understand you, he doesn’t speak English!” — After at least a minute of ‘Joel, give us a wave’ bore no fruit
The greatest cheer of the day for the local brass band at half time. “We love you brass band, we do…”
Dan Farrimond
@illarterate
8
From The Visitors: Blackburn Rovers
1) Does Gary Bowyer have the managerial experience to get you promoted?
Yes I do. I think he has done a very good job so far and I think it was always 3 or 4
years job to rebuild the club and cut the wage bill of high wage earners and players
Bowyer didn't want whilst bringing in players who are suited to the Championship.
2) You have two goalscorers in Rhodes and Gestede, why aren't you in the top 6?
We conceded far too many goals defensive. Bear in mind we have beaten Bournemouth
who are top of the league and took a point from Ipswich who are second so we’ve shown
we can compete against anyone in this league.
3) Would you rather sell Rhodes for around £13 million and sign 4 or 5 good players, or
keep Rhodes?
Tough question to be honest. I can see either view. Rhodes is a proven goalscorer at this
level but if we sold him we could have bought in 3 or 4 quality players. Plus a lot of it
depending who we would have signed as Rhodes's replacement if we had sold.
4) Your best players so far this season?
Marshall and Olsson.
5) Do you think any of your players are Premiership quality?
Good question. I think Marshall, Rhodes, Gestede, Cairney and Evans could be but you
can never truly know until they play at that level and depending on which team it was
6) Would you take a play-off place now, or do you believe you can still finish top 2?
I would take a playoff place right now. Top 2 is very tough now. Bournemouth are
outstanding team. Ipswich doing very well and Derby are the best team I’ve seen this
season.
7) Score prediction for Blackburn v Wigan?
Rovers win 3-1. Goals from Rhodes, Marshall and Gestede.
Questions asked by Dan Rodenby
Questions answered by Chris Chadwick
Head To Head vs Blackburn Rovers
Wins 5 Draws 3 Losses 15 (Goals: For 31, Against 47)
Latics v Rovers matches average over 3.7 goals a game
9
From The Visitors: Huddersfield Town
1) What was your immediate reaction when you appointed Chris Powell, and has your
opinion on him changed?
When Powell was appointment I was reasonably pleased with it as he did a good job at a
similar sized club in Charlton. Most fans hoped initially for Lennon but when it became
apparent we couldn't get him, Powell was, in my opinion, the best of the remaining
candidates. My opinion of him hasn't really changed. Most disappointing has been
inconsistency, but at times we've played very well and had some decent results. Think
what he needs is a transfer window where he can bring in three or four of his own
players, and put his own stamp on the team.
2) What were you expectations at the start of the season?
The last couple of seasons have been pretty poor to be honest, especially second half of
the season. So I was hoping for signs of improvement and a steady climb up the table, to
avoid a relegation dogfight. Mid table would be seen as adequate progress.
3) How did Holt do for you, will you miss him?
Holt did very well initially. We needed that type of player, a big physical presence upfront
as we're a bit lightweight otherwise upfront. Last few games though, for some reason he
faded, wasn't as influential. No idea why.
4) Your best player and why?
Best player over the season probably Sean Scannell. Talented wide player, got pace,
strength and good feet. For some reason not fulfilled his potential but since Powell took
over he's been outstanding. Jacob Butterfield is another talented, creative player who is
having a good season.
6) Best team to play at John Smiths Stadium this season?
Bournemouth played us off the park on the opening day, beating us 4-0. I could see then
that they would challenge for promotion.
7) Score prediction for Latics v Huddersfield?
Hopefully a better game than the one at our place, that was pretty poor. I’m going to go
for 1-1, don’t think there’s much between the two sides.
Questions asked by Dan Rodenby
Questions answered by Simon Mickelthwaite
Head To Head vs Huddersfield Town
Wins 8 Draws 8 Losses 12 (Goals: For 27, Against 34)
Huddersfield are yet to win at the DW Stadium
Ask Dr Teletext With that bloke off the PWU Podcast. No, not Statman…
Dear Dr Teletext,
I read with great interest your article on the passing of my dear friend teletext (AGL01). However, something is amiss - I have it in good authority you are, in fact, too young to
remember things like cheating at Bamboozle or attempting to decipher tomorrow’s weather through thick glitching caused by poor reception. As a Johnny-come-lately, you have no right to an opinion.
Yours faithfully, Nick Freepoints, Atherton.
Dear Nick,
I am so glad that you took the time to address me personally rather than through an anonymous handle on some web forum. No idea where you got my postal address, but at least we can settle this once and for all so you can go back to fighting the good fight for social justice on Twitter. Wait, do they have that in 2006?
Anyhow, please find attached a short piece that originally appeared on the now-retired ‘Thas Not A Patch On Harry Lyon’ Wigan Athletic fansite over five years ago, which will prove to all concerned that I have been complaining about the digital switchover for much longer than is healthy. Hah, Charlie Brooker has nothing on Dr Teletext c.2009.
Thanks once again for your correspondence. I shall now return to texting the wife on my genuine 1962 rotary dial telephone. Now, let’s see… “Dearest Vera…”
Yours faithfully, Dr Teletext
Attachment:
Farewell to 517 Posted by Dan on 21st July 2009
Image credit: Teletext Ltd.
13
It has been ‘Latics’ Home on the Telly’ for many years, but from January 2010, it shall be no more.
517, the number so embedded in the brain of many a Wigan fan, shall soon be forgotten like a bad season or ill-informed message board rant, consigned to the bin of history as but a fading memory. That number, my friends, is of course the Teletext page for the latest Latics news, fixtures and team statistics.
Or at least, it was. The word from the powers that be is that today, we have the Internet for this sort of thing. “Go and buy yourself a broadband connection to the Information Superhighway, ja? Stop living in the Dark Ages.”
But not everybody wants to. The Internet is full of boring idiots that have nothing better to do than write endless drivel about stuff nobody is interested in. (Quick, move on now before it registers in their brain — Ed) They go on for hours, often skating past or merely alluding to the point in their seven page epics on why Jason Scotland will be even worse for the club than Olivier Krappo.
Teletext was always to-the-point, concise and above all reliable. Yes, it had those annoying flashy adverts for BetFred and dodgy chatlines, but at least it was free. That’s a whole 40p less than your typical tabloid newspaper, which really does struggle to find stuff other than inclement weather to fill back pages in the off-season.
Away from Internetland, where else could you get the latest Latics OPTA statistics and Clubcall rumours without paying through Fergie’s nose? You could take a trip to the BBC’s Broadcasting House and ask for them for a printout, but they’d probably look at you as if you were Pascal Chimbonda returning to Paul Jewell to beg for forgiveness or something. “Haha, so you want facts, do yer? Well tough turkeys, I’ve got to align these individual crisps in a perfectly straight line to avoid another Gary Lineker outburst. Stop wasting my time, laughing boy.”
Much like Chimbonda, once it’s gone, it really isn’t coming back. But there is a crumb of comfort for the armchair Latic – this BBCi interactive telly thing over on the other channel hasn’t quite bitten the dust yet. Though it is as annoying as heck and doesn’t include a specific page dedicated to Wigan Athletic, it does have a pleasant local sports news section that’ll stop the withdrawal symptoms, at least for a short while.
Failing that, there’s always Sky Sports News to fall asleep in front of. Now, why can’t I get subtitles for Phil Thompson?
Dan Farrimond, Jesus Was A Wiganer (http://wigan.illarterate.co.uk)
You can Ask Dr Teletext a question!
Tweet to @jesusisawiganer starting with ‘Dear Dr Teletext’
14
(The Real) Away Daze... Bolton in the cup
“Number 23...Bolton Wanderers”. Everyone said ‘yes’ at this moment, “Number 53....will
play Wigan Athletic!” Local derby, good session and a chance to beat the team that ended Uwe’s reign. As they say — 2 out of 3 ain’t bad! We never have done a coach to Bolton as its the train for many and not ideal going to Ashton first, its always been just one minibus but this time we needed four as 34 of us met for a post Christmas
breakfast (and a last booze-up before work calls again). Now it was too early to be drunk so that's not the excuse Shaun can use for asking four of us ‘how many we thought would be in fancy dress at Bolton today?’ “None” we said in unison as he failed to flinch. Trigger style, quality. With the minibus spot on time, we
were soon Hindley bound. The two hours in there wizzed by and its off to the ground we went, where my first sight is Andy Delort in the away end! My rambles to him are not about team tactics (or football at all). With not much more than a couple of chances, we are out the cup with a bit of a whimper at the first hurdle.
The night sank in to morning with a session in The Hingemakers, Ashton. While others are empty at this time, this place is always packed! A good Latics pub and definitely worth a look at. Short and sweet, just like our attack.
Meat Loaf
15
(The Real) Away Daze: Leeds on Boxing Day
This was a trip that supporters had looked forward to since the fixtures came out. A short trip in fancy dress to the home of the self proclaimed ‘Champions of Europe’. Well the proverbial hit the fan when Leeds announced a massive £36 to get in. Talks of boycotts filled the snug room of the Dog and Duck and even made it’s way into the Evening
Post. If in the end it made a difference, I didn't notice, and with the players going halves on tickets it was happy days for those that wanted to go anyway! Around 100 supporters were in the pub on Boxing Day morning. From a Fairy to Zippy, Mr T to a Buddha, ready and buzzing whilst the ‘Boycott Brigade’ stayed at home. enough of that as we set off to a small
village outside Huddersfield , the form of the team 5 points from safety the last thing on the agenda as the coach starts to tilt into a country lane via the sat-nav with locals pouring out to say ‘turn back’. The driver less than pleased after a 403 point turn and thirsty punters baying for blood (and a pint). Luck and fortune got us to a little boozer with a capacity for 50. We drank the place
out of beer and set off on the short journey to Elland Road. It was a great atmosphere as expected for a Latics match on Boxing Day and a great performance especially from our defence — a brilliant McClean goal finishing things off. A 2-0 win, and hey, we may just make the play offs you know *clutches straw*. Bit of a blizzard as we crawled back home but the singing and happiness on the coach is one we certainly haven't had for a while.
Don Revie
16
‘Springfield Scene’ • The first floodlit match at Springfield Park came in 1966 when Latics
played Crewe.
• Wigan Athletic vs Hereford United holds the record for the highest
attendance between two non-league sides (excluding Wembley finals).
• Upon Wigan Athletic purchasing Springfield Park, it was agreed that
greyhound racing was to never take place there.
• Wigan County were the first team to play at Springfield Park.
• After being drawn away to Stalybridge Rovers in the Rawcliffe Cup,
Wigan United declined to play due to a waterlogged pitch. However,
the referee still allowed the game to take place, leaving Stalybridge to
kick-off and dribble the ball into the Wigan goal.
• Wigan Athletic’s highest Football League attendance at Springfield
came against Noblot in 1983 as 10,045 turned up.
• 1929 saw the largest ever attendance at Springfield Park as Wigan
Borough lost 3-1 to Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup 3rd round.
Liam Sephton
@Sephton_wafc
17
Things we’ve learned so far
1. If people ask “is that the programme,” then there’s no way they want to listen
to you drone on about this little fanzine you’ve got.
2. Exactly how PayPal make their money!
3. Standing beside the Dougie for more than an hour is painful during Winter.
4. Everyone still writes ‘Lancashire’ on their address. Not a single online order
has come in with a ‘Greater Manchester’ address.
5. Graham Kavanagh’s strong Irish accent is not easily understood.
6. Nobody knows our name is All Gone Latics (probably because it’s a terrible
name and people don’t want to say it in public). From fans, it’s either “is that
the fanzine?” or “is that the programme?”
The AGL Team
Weird and Wonderful
• Fabricio Coloccini becoming an early favourite for the Newcastle job with odds of
1/2 with SkyBet was a good one on 29th December. This was made even more
ridiculous as Coloccini does not hold the relevant coaching badges to manage in
the division, even if Mike Ashley was to attempt to appoint him. After bookies
realised how ludicrous it was that someone with only the equivalent of a pass in
GCSE PE could take over as manager of a Premier League club, his odds quickly
drifted to 100/1 (Ladbrokes).
• Manchester United defender Macros Rojo posted a picture of Columbian drug lord
Pablo Escobar on his Instagram account. ’The King of Cocaine’ linked with the
deaths of hundreds of police officers in the 1980’s and 90’s. Escobar’s wealth was
estimated at £20billion and has been regarded as the richest criminal in history.
• Some 20,000 Oldham fans signed a petition demanding that Ched Evens should
not be signed by their club. For a side averaging home crowds of 4,094 (so well
under 4,000 home supporters) in League 1 this season, something’s not quite right
there. But what do we know, copy-cat Latics aren’t we...
• Sky Sports asked all the teams in League 1 and League 2 if they were looking to
sign Ched Evens and conduced a poll. Unsurprisingly, 22 said they would not
comment and a further 11 chose to ignore them. What’s next on Sky Sports
‘HQ’...a poll asking every North West Counties side if they’d interested in Fraser
Fyvie? (Sorry to all the Fyvie fanatics out there).
Liam Sephton
@Sephton_wafc
10 Latics Quiz Questions
1. Jason Roberts joined Blackburn from Wigan
in which year?
2. Which player scored the winner at Ewood
Park for Latics in the 2011/2012 season?
3. In 2013, which player scored our 3rd goal
away at Huddersfield in the FA Cup?
4. Nick Powell scored how many goals in last
season’s Europa League?
5. Larry Lloyd joined Wigan from which side?
6. Former manager Kenny Swain took charge
of Wigan in which decade?
7. Who is the club’s current Development
Squad coach?
8. Juan Carlos Garcia is on loan to which
Spanish team?
9. Who wears the number 36 shirt for Wigan?
10. Adam Forshaw scored his first Wigan
Athletic goal against which club?
ANSWERS: 1) 2006 2) Antolin Alcaraz 3) James McArthur 4) Three 5) Nottingham Forest 6)
1990s 7) Peter Atherton 8) Tenerife 9) William Kvist 10) Fulham
20
Latics Team of the Year
As voted for by you, the avid (and not so avid) supporters of Wigan Athletic.
Four of these players left in the summer and we don’t half miss them.
Scott Carson
James Perch Ivan Ramis Rob Kiernan Stephen Crainey
James McArthur Chris McCann
Callum McManaman Jordi Gomez James McClean
Nick Powell
21
The Xmas Period — Winners and Losers
Here we take a look at which fans got a pair of socks (other than Wigan and Blackpool)
and who was spoilt rotten over the Christmas period.
Top sides, Bournemouth and Ipswich, both furthered their push for promotion over the
holidays. Both of the top two are now unbeaten in their previous ten games [not including
the weekend of Latics’ trip to Brum].
If these two sides can maintain that level of performance, they may cause a real upset as
two outside contenders at the start of the season for promotion.
Relegation strugglers Millwall had a tough time, losing all three of their games over the
festive period. The lowest moment was surely sinking to a 6-1 defeat against Norwich.
It may be a tough remainder of the season for Millwall, who under Ian Holloway’s
guidance may find their way to safety.
Brentford must have had one to many chocolates on Christmas day as since then they
have slumped to two defeats, which sees them slide down the table.
The festive period, didn’t see a change in fortunes for Nottingham Forest. Stuart Pearce’s
men still remain winless in their last six, and could be on his last legs.
December Table Pts Form Actual Pos.
1. Bournemouth 15 WWWWW 1
2. Ipswich Town 13 WDWWW 2
3. Watford 12 WWWLW 5
4. Derby 10 WLDWW 3
5. Middlesbrough 10 WWLWD 4
6. Norwich 10 WWDWL 7
7. Wolves 10 LWDWW 8
8. Sheff Wed 9 WLLWW 10
9. Birmingham City 9 LWWLW 14
10. Noblot 8 DDWWL 15
11. Huddersfield 7 WLLDW 18
12. Rotherham 7 DDWDD 19
13. Brentford 6 LWWLL 6
14. Fulham 6 LWWLL 17
15. Reading 5 DLLDW 16
16. Brighton 5 LLDDW 21
17. Blackpool 5 WDLLD 24
18. Blackburn 4 LLWLD 9
19. Nottingham Forest 3 DDDLL 11
20. Charlton 3 DDLDL 13
21. Millwall 3 LWLLL 22
22.Wigan 3 LLLWL 23
23. Cardiff 2 DLLDL 12
24. Leeds United 1 LLDLL 20
Nathan Mylum
@NathanMylum
22
INTERVIEW - Joe Newton For this month’s edition we spoke to former Wigan Athletic Centre of Excellence
coach and scout Joe Newton.
Best memory at the club
From the 3rd Division as it was called back then, all the way to the Premier League; two
Wembley finals; a League Cup final at Cardiff. Which do you pick out of them?
Auto Windscreens final, 1-0 against Millwall, Colin Greenhall man of the match. I thought
he was dead once! Colin went up for a header and the lad in front of him ducked, but
Colin still went over the top of him — going head straight first into the ground. His arms
were behind him, he never moved. I said to Benno [John Benson], “He’s friggin dead!”
Also up there with my best memories is when we got out of it at Sheffield, Heskey playing
centre back and he had a blinder. He’d do a job for us at centre half at the minute.
Wigan 3-1 Reading... Barbados here we come!
Paul Jewell’s new role back in football as first team coach at West Brom
Paul’s always got on well with Tony Pulis. I think he’s wanted to get back involved for a
while. I spoke to him a few weeks ago and he said he’d be up for going as a coach, but
not as a manager. The way I see it, being a manager must be a terrible job. What I mean
by that is, you’re life isn’t your own — the phone’s going all the time and you can’t afford
to switch it off.
Man Utd Away 2009/10
Martinez played a 4-2-3-1 system away Man United one time. It was half-time and we’re
already 3-0 down with. Rooney had bossed it, we had six men in defence but he still ran
rings round us up front on his own.
Titus [Bramble] came in the dressing room saying ‘the system’s crap etc.’ and Roberto
snapped at him: “It’s not the system that’s crap it’s the players”. He didn’t often get
upset Roberto, so this was a rare occasion.
I’ll give him credit he does well to be positive in times like that. Roberto was talking about
scoring early in the 2nd half and getting back into the game, whilst I’d have settled for
3-0 there and then. But he doesn’t think like that, all he thinks is ‘play the game, forget
what’s gone on’. The Premier League doesn’t work like that, at times you’ve just got to
cut your losses. We we’re never going to come back from 3-0 down at Old Trafford.
Michael Millett
Michael was always destined to go Wigan, even though everywhere he went big clubs
were tapping him up. He had everything to be a top player, a complete central midfielder.
I think he would have been a Premier League player.
As soon as Graham Barrow heard the news he cancelled the day’s training sessions.
23
Names to look out for in the future
Preston have got a few good young lads, the best being a lad I sent to Scotland Under
15s, his names Elliot Watt — one of the top sides will buy him. Harry Wilson at Liverpool
is another one who has a chance of being a top player [made his Welsh first team debut
in October 2013, age 16], and his teammate Ryan Fulton. Now, there’s a lad who Everton
have paid quite a bit of money for from Northampton called Fraser Hornby, Scotland
U16s. And as expected, Crewe have a few good young lads.
Jimmy Bullard’s antics
I was in the room next to Jewell’s office when Jimmy [Bullard] came upstairs and walked
into his office to have a word. A couple of minutes later, *BANG*, “bloody ‘ell Gaffer”, and
Jimmy was off running down the stairs. Later on that morning he had a big lump on his
head, “F****g Gaffer trapped me head in the door”.
He got Graham Kavanagh one day after training in the canteen. Jimmy comes over with
some paper and draws a big ‘8’ on the page with four dots on the outside of it and says
“What you’ve gotta do Kav is follow the line round like this and avoid the trees (the
dots)”. So Kavanagh starts following the line round. Jimmy says, “Right, now you’ve got
the hang of it do it with your eyes closed”. Kav starts following the line round with his
eyes closed and then Jimmy whacks him over the head — “You’ve just ran into a f****g
tree”. If Kav would have caught him, he’d have killed him!
We we’re in Barbados and Jimmy got half-a-dozen Jet Ski’s. “We’re riding out into the
Ocean, let’s see who the last one is to turn back”. Everybody knew who would win. All the
rest had turned back after a while but Bullard was still out going and we could hardly see
him at this point.
The next day Jimmy and Hammy [David Hamilton, Chief Scout] asked if I wanted to go on
‘the doughnut’. Basically it’s a big round boat fitting about 10 people on it, towed on the
back of a speed boat. I said no chance, went for a walk then came back later on. Hammy
was on a sun lounger with two pieces of cotton wool up his nose — “I’ve broke my nose.
That b*****d Bullard put me on the outside and when the boat turned I went flying”.
Jimmy said he went about 30ft in the air, landing on his face.
He could do anything, Bullard. Great golfer and fisher for a start. Wiped the floor with
Paul Jewell at pool once too and Paul wasn’t happy.
Pascal Chimbonda transfer request
Chimbonda got on the coach after the Arsenal game and Chris Hutchings at the side of
me said, “Here he is, that b*****d”. Kavanagh shouts down the bus straight after, “You
better not send that b*****d up here”.
John Deehan and David Lowe
We were 3-0 down at half time away at Bristol City one day and Deehan comes in ranting
and raving. “Their first goal started with you Lowey. On the edge of their box you jibbed a
tackle.” Lowey, playing up front that day came straight back: “Oh aye, how many more
tackles did they go through?” Deehan told him to get changed and kicked a full bag of kit
24
at him, rattling Lowey with it — a David Beckham moment.
Youth Team
We used to lose our best 14 year old every year to one the likes of Man United, Liverpool
or Everton. Having said that we had a few of them back at age 16 when they’d been
released.
Sometimes the risk with signing players who had been released by the top clubs at that
age is you don’t know what your taking on, off the pitch as well as on it. A few young lads
we signed were into all kinds of things!
During a training session one day we were jogging along the canal on our way from Robin
Park back to Springfield Park. I was at the front and all of a sudden *SPLASH*. Not only
did I know who had gone in without turning round, I knew who had done it. Tony Scott
had gone in.
One of David Moyes’ first game for Preston North End after moving from Hamilton was
against us for their ‘A Team’. Scotty [Tony Scott] ran at Moyes from kick-off, nicked the
ball from him and slotted it past the keeper. Moyes was just standing there, hands on his
hips.
Auto-Windscreens superstition
In one of the first rounds of the Auto-Windscreens cup run, Ray Mathias had worn one of
these big, long bench jackets and we won obviously, so in the next round he wore it again
and so on. We drew Wrexham in the semi’s and it was a 6:30pm kick-off, the sun was
beaming. We walked out onto the pitch after arriving at their ground for the away leg —
Ray with the big jacket on, sweat running down his face.
Facebook Comments of the Month
Best comments of the past month [basically from 6th-7th Jan really, so it was a quiet one
for our standards] taken from the Wigan Athletic News And Banter Page on Facebook.
Graham Lomax on Delort: He thinks he's on the catwalk, not a football pitch.
Neil Barker: Haha Fortune must be a f*****g world beater in training. F*** off
Malkey, not good enough. Don't think he knows what getting beat by Horwich
means to the fans.
Danny O'Reilly: I've heard of a young lad with proven goal scoring record in
this league. I think he's called Nouha Dicko? If only we had the chance of seeing
him in a Latics shirt...
Paul Stafford on Danny Graham: Please let this be a wind up. He's a real
donkey, even the donkey lashers don't want him...
25
Leeds Away Ticket Prices
Let’s say a family of four wanted to pay on the gate with two adults, one young adult and
an under 16 year old. How much do you think that would be? £129 to be precise… and
that’s just for the tickets. The family would have to pay for travel costs and maybe even
food and drink on top of that. That’s just outrageous.
There are a lot of stories recently about prices for tickets in football and if the high prices
are driving fans out of the beautiful game simply because some of us just cannot afford to
go the games anymore and I think this games prices are a perfect example of driving fans
out of the game.
However, it was a great gesture by the players of our football club that they went halves
on the first 500 tickets that were sold ahead of the Boxing Day spectacle. Although, was
this enough to resolve the situation? Were halves on just 500 tickets enough? It was a
nice gesture by the players and club but 283 of our fans were made to pay the full price
for their ticket.
Will we charge the same price as Leeds in the reverse fixture? I think not. We are one of
the very few football clubs in this generation who care for both sets of fans and this
shown as Latics were recently voted the best away day in Championship in a survey
published by the Football Supporters Federation earlier this year.
Football without fans is nothing, so if clubs keep charging these extortionate prices then
the game we all adore may soon to nasty and into a business-like organisation with only a
place for the average earning person who can afford to go the games.
• Leeds United charged Wigan Athletic fans £41 to watch a two bottom half second
division sides.
• Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund regularly charge less than £13 for their
cheapest match-day tickets in the Bundesliga.
#JustSayNo
Drew Darbyshire
@drewdarby_
Category Price Prior to
Matchday
Price on Matchday
Adults £36 £41
Over 60 Years £24 £29
Full-Time Student £24 £29
Young Adult £24 £29
Under 16 Years £18 £18
Ambulant/Disabled £24 £29
26
AGL Personality Quiz
A. It’s 2:55pm, ‘tics kick off at 3pm at the DW. What are you doing?
1) Ordering a pre-match pint in The Brick/Pagefield.
2) Reading the latest copy of AGL.
3) Hoping that the matchday announcer doesn’t embarrass the club any further.
4) Going through a list of “Common derogatory phrases to shout at a Latics game.”
B. Bolton away. How are you travelling there?
1) Northern Rail cattle train.
2) Cowley Coachways / Green Machine.
3) Car.
4) Supporters Club.
C. Full time... Wigan 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday. What’s your reaction?
1) Another week, another unused pyrotechnic.
2) When’s our next away match?
3) Head straight over to Twitter, Macca might call someone a strap-on.
4) Bloody rubbish Wigan.
D. Favourite matchday song?
1) Whelan, wherever you may be...
2) Chunk will tear you apart again.
3) Do I Love You, Frank Wilson.
4) None. That racist manager can hear me shouting better when it’s quiet.
E. Half time... What are you doing?
1) Awaiting the inevitable “no hot food” sign in the East Stand.
2) Drinking.
3) Watching the half time ‘entertainment’.
4) Going through my list of “Common phrases to shout at a Latics game.”
F. James McClean has just two-footed Scott Parker. How do you react?
1) Ohhhhhh, Posh Beck’s is...
2) Ger’up Parker you soft ****.
3) Ger’up Parker you soft ****.
4) Ger’up Parker you soft ****.
G. Favourite current Latics player?
1) Callum McManaman.
2) Emmerson Boyce.
3) Ben Watson.
4) Anyone but Don bloody Cowie.
Count up your score! Now, here’s what it means...
6-9 ES2 is your home.
10-13 Not quite part of the traditional ES2 hardcore, but you’re close!
14-18 Neither ES2 or West Stand. You’re stuck in the middle.
19-24 West Stand, aren’t you?
27
Should I stay or should I go?
If I stay there will be trouble, an’ if I go there will be double. These wise words from The
Clash must be spinning round the heads of many of the squad, most of which have been
part of at least one FA Cup adventure at Latics — now finding themselves as instigators of
arguably the worst season we have ever had.
Relegation zone, League Cup 2nd round, FA Cup 3rd round. It couldn’t get worse even if
we tried (thanks to Blackpool, bless them). Our players call fans strap-on’s but none of
them would go as far as to send a picture with the caption: “We are going to lose, again.”
If player’s want out then there’s not much the club can do. Our record over the years in
retaining unhappy players is poor, but that can also be seen as very good management.
Dave Whelan had a clearout of players who didn’t want to play for Jewell when he first
came in, and Whelan’s faith in standing by his new boss was repaid with interest.
It’s not always the manager’s fault as we’re now starting to see just that. First Martinez
says he doesn’t feel he would be able to win us promotion due to a lack of resources, then
Coyle comes in doing a reasonable job before 3 straight home defeats and then Rosler
picks up the pieces brilliantly before choosing to implement his own style of play which
produced largely well below par performances. Now Mackay has come in and only
managed a single win [writing before the trip to Birmingham] and even then one of the
goals in that victory at Leeds was an own goal.
As a player why would you want to play for us, a team with a bunch of so-called Premier
League quality players are facing relegation to League 1. As a manager why would you
want to managed us, everyone else has failed so why are you any different. So just from
thinking about that, we can presume that our team — on paper at least — will look less of
the Championship title challengers we hope to be. Just like on paper, Rotherham and
Sheffield United come away from the DW fresh from being hit for six. Or maybe that’s
just the illusion in all of our minds.
Playing without a striker is suicidal, I get that, but I’m sure Malky knows that too. Having
Fortune as our main striker, the one who impresses most in training according to the
gaffer, must say more about Delort and Riera than anything else. Or does it rather say a
lot about the management? Oriol Riera had the choice between several La Liga clubs
before choosing to head to Deportivo until the end of the season. Casting our minds back
to when Mauro Boselli was wanted out of Latics, he went to Genoa and Palermo on loan
(winning Wigan Athletic an FA Cup 3rd round replay in between). Deportivo, Genoa and
Palermo are all sides with resources greater than ours and they are willing to pay most of
the wages and start on a regular basis a striker that is surplus to requirements at Wigan
Athletic. That doesn’t sound right now, does it?
It seems we either rotate them too often, play them up front on their own or sign them
on loan. One problem after another for our strikers. And some seriously thought we had it
bad with Di Santo and Kone. How times are changing...
Liam Sephton
@Sephton_wafc
28
Football’s a Fairground
Football as a Sport is often taken too seriously by fans, managers and the media. I understand that it is a job for players at a professional level but you can’t help take a
light-hearted approach at some of the more comedic events that have happened in the beautiful game. Starting with one of our personal favourites and Latics and recent jungle habitant Jimmy Bullard, whose wit ranged from leap-frogging a huddle of Everton players to pulling Freddie Ljunberg’s shorts down in a blacked-out JJB Stadium. Also, who will ever forget the fat lad from Burnley’s (David Dunn) panenka attempt in which he tripped himself up, whilst wearing the colours of Birmingham City. In more recent times the technology of Sky Sports* almost captures every aspect of a
live football match. For example, in the meeting at Old Trafford between bitter rivals Manchester United and Liverpool, a section of United ‘fans’ were caught clapping the Scousers’ very own Lazar Markovic; hilariously thinking it was their summer signing Radamel Falcao. Sky Sports also capture some brilliant moments in their pre/post match analysis. From Carragher and Neville bickering on MNF in the most thick scouse and manc accents you’ll ever hear, to Kevin Phillips with some panicking punditry when he referred to Gylfi Sigurdsson as Sigger DeJeffson. Other mediums of media capture some moments of brilliance as well, including the latest sports channel BT Sport where one of their Journalists was gunned down by United gaffer
Louis Van Gaal. In a nutshell, he asked Van Gaal would he give some insight to his transfer strategy, to which the Dutchman looked him dead in the eye and replied with a cold-blooded ’No’. Not to forget this was the same Van Gaal who mystically calculated Falcao was only fit to play 20-23 minutes or something ridiculously precise. But playing the media wrong is something that can work against you as we’ve found it in a race scandal with our manager and chairman. Then you think you’ve heard it all until the moment David Sullivan claimed that Birmingham City almost signed Christiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon for £6million.
And there’s surely only one place to finish a subject like this. Macca called that fan a strap-on. Robert Huth playing #CONC [search the hashtag if you don’t know what it means] on New Year’s Day — quite sensational scenes. *as this is a fanzine, we are contractually obliged to make it clear that Sky Sports are bastards. Ipswich at home on a Monday night? Christ!
Kieran Makin
@Kieran_Makin
29
True or False: Latics in the Championship
1. Nick Powell is the youngest player to ever play for Wigan
Athletic in the Championship
2. Wigan won promotion to the Championship via the
play-offs in 2003
3. Latics’ highest home attendance as a Championship club
came against Sunderland
4. Roberts has scored more Championship goals for Wigan
than any other player
5. John Filan is the oldest player to play for Latics in the
Championship
ANSWERS: 1. True 2. False (Latics finished as winners) 3. True 4. False (Correct
answer is Nathan Ellington) 5. False (Recently overtaken by Emmerson Boyce)
True or False: Blackburn Rovers
1. Blackburn won the 1992/93 Premiership title
2. Rovers have not won the Community Shield in over 100
years
3. Our Wigan away at Blackburn in 2012 was our first ever at
Ewood Park
4. Steve Kean’s win percentage as manager of Blackburn was
greater than that of Roberto Martinez at Latics
5. In 2005/06, Latics beat Rovers 3-0 at the JJB
ANSWERS: 1. False (won in 1994/95) 2. True 3. True 4. False (very close though) 5.
False (Wigan lost 3-0)
True or False: Huddersfield Town
1. Huddersfield were once champions of the old First Division
2. Wigan Athletic have reached more League Cup finals than
Huddersfield
3. Grant Holt scored on his Huddersfield debut vs Millwall
ANSWERS: 1. True 2. True 3. False (His first goal was against Blackpool)
30
Half Time Entertainment
As a young boy and I found the half-time entertainment mesmerising — what was the
half-time entertainment during that period? The crossbar challenge of course! It was one
of the features that lightened up the matchday experience when the Latics performance
45 minutes either side of it wasn’t at it’s best. The game engaged fans in the stands to
watch the competitors in front of what was a noisy Kop, full of South Stand veterans. All
participators had to do was try and hit the crossbar from the penalty spot, sounds simple
eh? As I’m sure many will remember there was always a variety of fans taking part, from
the drunken middle-aged men, to the teenagers who lived for the competition and the
near-toddlers who just wanted to score — never mind hitting the crossbar. Once upon a
time every youngsters dream to win a Latics goodie bag after hitting the crozzy and hear
Martin Ode say: “Wave to the South, wave to the West, wave to the East... and to the
away fans”.
It’s a shame but Latics seem to change our half-time events pretty regularly nowadays.
So just a few seasons after the crossbar challenge came into place, half-time just wasn’t
the same. It was changed to Penalty Kicks were the competitors simply had to score a
penalty past JJ. However, this game didn’t last long – probably because JJ never dived for
the ball and stayed in the middle, so therefore, Latics couldn’t afford to keep giving prizes
away every time someone scored – especially as we have FA fines to deal with.
The next event at half-time for home games was when Latics introduced a shooting game
which can be known as ‘Hoop-shoot’. The goal was covered up with a net with a couple of
holes the size of the footballs in so the participators had to try and get as many balls
through the holes in a certain time. It’s just like the ‘Car park game’ on Soccer AM near
the end of the shows – but nowhere near as entertaining. This game soon became
tedious. Once again, this only lasted a couple of seasons; the club were struggling to find
a piece of half-time entertainment better than the crossbar challenge.
Ever heard of curling football? I hadn’t either before Latics thrown this into the half-time
entertainment this season. This game lasted just weeks before it was axed. Competitors
had to kick the balls onto a target but this didn’t work as the target was not level so the
ball would either roll back or forward – the ball hardly ever stayed in the target. The
game was that hard that even some of the Latics players would struggle to get it in the
target!
Now we’re onto the current game called ‘Shoot’ which is the best half-time game since
the crossbar challenge all those years ago – but still nowhere near as thrilling. It’s a game
that see’s participators try and score into an open net from various distances away from
the goal. It’s always entertaining to see them take a shot from the halfway line on a wet
night knowing none of them have much of a chance. As Chris Roughley (ES3’s main man)
found out last month, the new half-time game is a lot harder than it looks!
Hail, hail, the Crossbar Challenge.
Drew Darbyshire
@drewdarby_
31 Copyright © 2015 All Gone Latics
