SB Nation - Ivan Ramis

After Thoughts On: Possible Champions

HeapyLatic — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:02:01 -0000

This week my thoughts and general articles are all coming late and fast. First I apologize for that I have had very little time over the past week, and I keep saying normality will return (hopefully it will). But before I talk about this weekends game (only two days away!) I first want to take a (painful) look back at last weekends defeat.

It was in all sense of the word a poor game for Latics. We played a mediocre tactical first half, before a self-destructive second half did all the damage. Last season we had played a high tempo quick ball game, that blew United out of the water, this time round we didn't have any of the above.

So what was so different? Well in terms of players there were two differences, the first being no Antolin Alcaraz in the back three. Had the Paraguayan been fit, then I have a feeling that he would have been the man to play ahead of our new Spaniard Ivan Ramis.

Our new defender has looked shaky over his first tentative steps into the Premier League, and who could blame him. It is a much faster and competitive league that we have over here, and at time it catches people out. We do miss Alcaraz a lot in the defense, not only for his quality at tackling, but also for his aerial presence. That was proved against Stoke and the same patterns appeared against Manchester United.

We have no cleared header of the ball when Alcaraz isn't there. Okay we have Gary (Caldwell), yet the Scottish International has yet to really make a great header this season, Caldwell is more the sweeper who due to his great tactical brain and clear up the messes. For me that is the role that Ramis would be best pushed into, more as the sweeper to cover up, rather than an offensive defender.

It was the gap United exploited, the system not working hard enough to close down the free attacking players as they go space in between the defense and the midfield. It is the two 'wide defenders' jobs to close down these players and put the tackles in, had they done so more in the second half it could have been a different story.

Now the other new face that played against United was Arouna Kone. Now the Ivorian has shown that he can replace Moses in a few ways. Mainly a much harder work rate, plus the ability to keep his head in the final third. Yet the striker doesn't have the true pace that Victor did, nor does he has the ball control or the trickery to get away from players.

At times that has and will cost us, as we don't really have a player who can run with the ball and create a chance out of nothing. Albeit that most of Moses chances, he squandered last season, but that isn't the point. There is none making them, to keep the opposition focused on their own defensive work.

This is now when Roberto has a decision to make. Does he stick with his two strikers, who for me have played really well, or does he go for one striker and then a more wide player who has pace to burn.

Against the bigger teams playing Ryo Miyaichi maybe a better option to give us a player to get the ball to and let him run, yet when playing teams around us go more solid up front with the two strikers. It is an idea, and one that I would like to see Martinez try.

After Thoughts: Southampton and Nottingham Away Days

HeapyLatic — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 20:45:37 -0000

I decided before the Southampton game, that I would sum up both it and the Nottingham game together in my after thoughts section. At the time I didn't know how well they would link together, but looking back at the week, the two games couldn't have gone better. I could just say well done to everyone, all 21 players that have played over the two games.

Who said we didn't have strength in depth? The players that have played over the two games have all done well and from the list we are still waiting to see Roman Golobart, Adrain Lopez, Jordan Mustoe, Daniel Redmond and Rob Kiernan. Of course that isn't a lost of great names yet that is a list of talented player who haven't yet made appearances this season.

So while all bar five players, are playing well for the Wigan Athletic first team. But the good news doesn't end there. We have also got three strikers who as well as looking good, are scoring.

I am trying to think of the last time, we had two let alone three strikers on song together. The last two I can remember doing so were Amir Zaki and Emile Heskey (back in 2008). But with three players all competing for arguably two spots in the starting line up, that makes for a good headache for Martinez.

The defence however could be the issue again for Wigan. I am trying to work out whether or not Alcaraz will miss this weekends game after is double booking in the League Cup, because if he does I still don't think that Ivan Ramis is ready to face a physical Stoke team.

Ramis has shown he is a good player. Technically very gifted and quick of the mark to close people down. Yet it is his recovery time that is appalling and his inability to compete with the speed and physical ability in the English game. That is why he is being given the chance to bed in though. Think back to Alcaraz's first season in England, we all wondered what the fuss was about, now look at him one of the squads key players.

Yet if defensively we look fragile that isn't the midfielders fault. The players that have played in the central roles in particular have been exceptional. The two Jame's could have been forgiven for thinking they have the roles wrapped up after their impressive forms last term. Yet David Jones and Ben Watson showed they are both capable of filling the middle of the field, good signs if one of the James is out.

The wing options as well look to be strong even with our small numbers. Ronnie Stamm pretty much picked up where he left off last season in the right wing back position and could push Emmerson Boyce for a starting position and quite right to. Although Boyce will be a hard man to replace. On the left hand side Beausejour started his recovery against Nottingham put still looked off the ball, if anything it was a good exercise and a run out for the winger, however I would imagine Figueroa will play on the left side for the foreseeable future.

So that just leaves two players to talk about. They only got a brief cameo apperance for the last ten minutes of the Nottingham game. Yet the two of them work well together to set up the fourth goal. I am talking about Ryo Miyaichi and Callum McManaman. You can see why Miyaichi is wanted at Arsenal pure pace and creativity and his finger tips, I can't wait to see him in the Premier League in the blue shirt of Wigan.

The man that Ryo set up though. He looks like he can finally step up. Callum has had a long journey with Wigan, and his loan spell last season with Blackpool proved that he had the talent in him. The finish against Nottingham was brilliant and for him to keep his composure even better. I know it wasn't against Premier League opposition, yet for me Callum could pose some questions to Premier League defenses.

Match Report: Nottingham Forest 1-4 Wigan Athletic

HeapyLatic — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 17:15:20 -0000

It was only what I can call interesting last night, a mix of spectacular goals, great football and some comical defending at times. So in every sense of the word it was a cup tie, so good shout Sky Sports to get this one on their live line up. Each of the five goals that we saw were well executed, and in their own right great goals.

But before all that, their is the small point of the Wigan line up, as for me it was a lot stronger than I predicted. I said that the likes of Roman Golobart and Frazer Fyvie would start the match, giving the younger lads a chance to shine. Yet what we got instead, was (minus the defenders) a reserve first team side.

All of the eleven players who played wouldn't have looked out of place in the regular first team, and really that shows in the score line and in the way that for periods Wigan executed Martinez's footballing philosophy.

Yet it didn't go all our own way. Wigan as ever started the slower of the two teams. Sean O'Driscoll obviously telling his players to get in quick and early to up set their Premier League guests, and it nearly worked. Wigan were penned back for the first 20 minutes of the match, as Forrest out strengthen and out played Wigan. But the Nottingham team could not break down our back three, even though they were having a sloppy night.

The combination of Ivan Ramis, Maynor Figueroa and Antolin Alcaraz; sounds great on paper, however in reality it looked fraile at times. The obvious reasons showed with most of the Forrest attacks coming from the Wigan left. Jean Beausejour not totally on game pace was exposing Figueroa who was being pulled wide.

This is what lead to Nottingham's first chance. Two ex-Premier League players combing Chris Cohen getting free of the left, swung a ball into the box that found Simon Cox free. The Republic of Ireland international couldn't bring the ball down and instead it trcikled into Ali Al Habsi's hands.

Yet Wigan pulled themselves together, and two of the clubs outcasts stars linked up to get the first goal of the night. Ronnie Stamm who was playing in his much loved right wing back position, had the beating of the Forrest full back. The subsequent ball into the box was a beauty. Both defenders and keepers got stuck in two minds, as Mauro Boselli beat them to the ball to head home.

1-0 and the Argentinian got his first Wigan goal in over two years. That set the tone for the rest of the second half as Wigan turned on the style, and Boselli didn't stop moving. Getting into every little gap possible and making the Forrest center backs look ragged.

It wasn't long before we added another, ten minutes later Maynor Figueroa adding yet another collectors item to his assortment of goals. The ball at his feet with arcs of space, the Honduran does what he does so well. Driving the ball towards the goal and beating Lee Camp hands down. No chance for the keeper.

2-0 and Wigan were cruising. Which got even better before half time, when we added a third with a minute before half time. Jordi Gomez being fed the ball on the right hand side of the box, decided why not to have a go? Resulting in the best strike I have seen the Spaniard do, with his right foot!

That made it 3-0 at half time, and Wigan looked like they could walk.

Yet the second half didn't start very well. Simon Cox with a brilliant piece of individual play, to control the ball on his chest, turn Alcaraz before nutmeging the on rushing Ivan Ramis. Still with a good twenty yards to the goal, it looked like he wouldn't score. Yet a right footed smasher into the top corner, leaving Al Habsi no chance.

3-1 and Nottingham Forest sniffed blood. They start to circle and pushed forward with every chance they got. Yet really the second half turned into a brawl of a midfield battle, as David Jones and Ben Watson showed their worth for the football club.

It could have been worse of Wigan though. Alcaraz having already been booked for a silly push on an opposition player, then went of to slide in with Guy Moussi. Antolin deciding to back out of the challenge with the referee deeming that a second bookable offence.

Wigan went down to ten men, yet we didn't give up the fight. With both Callum McManaman and Ryo Mayichi coming on to bolster our attacking option, the combination would eventually lead to the fourth goal. That was after Frazer Fyvie was brought on to be given his first taste of English football.

The fourth goal as I said was the combination of the two young attackers. Ryo picking the ball up from a Forrest attack surged forward with the ball towards the Forrest goal. After pulling his defender this way and that, you would have expected him to shoot. Nope the Japanese forward instead played in Mcmanaman who dummyed past his marker to get free in front of goal and place the ball expertly into the goal.

4-1 scoreline was flattering in the end. Yet we took our chances, which in terms of Wigan. Is quite a novelty.

Analyzing the Two Goals against Wigan

Lamin Oo — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:07:48 -0000

On the surface, the two goals Chelsea scored against Wigan look very different from each other. For a start, one was scored from open play while the other from a spot-kick. And one scored by a defender, the other by a midfielder. But a closer look reveals that they actually have a lot in common. The two new boys from each team, Eden Hazard and Ivan Ramis, played a crucial role in the build-up to both goals. And both of the goal-scorers, Branislav Ivanovic and Frank Lampard, were involved in the early stages of the build-up and made deep runs from the edge of the Chelsea box into the attacking third. To find out how these two goals were scored and what other similarities they share, hit the jump button.

The Ivanovic Goal

Within a minute after the kick-off, Wigan built a solid attack with Victor Moses and Emmerson Boyce playing a neat one-two on their right. By the time former Chelsea player Franco Di Santo received the ball in the central area, Wigan were in a full blown 3-4-3 attack with both of their wing-backs in advance position on the flanks. Maynor Figueroa on the left was in a great position to receive a lay off, but Di Santo wrongly decided to pull the ball back to turn toward the right. That’s when he ran into John Terry’s challenge and the ball was knocked over to Ivanovic. The Serbian slipped a pass to Juan Mata before galloping forward down Chelsea’s right. The counter attack begins.

Note two things here. First, Ivanovic who would eventually score the goal at the other end started his run from the edge of the Chelsea box (whew! I'm out of breath just writing about it). Second, Wigan may have committed bodies in their attack but they still had central midfielders -- James McArthur and James McCarthy -- shielding their back three in order to hinder Chelsea's break. Mata, Lampard and Hazard would solve this problem next.

Simple geometry: a quick-passing triangle beats a pressing straight line. Mata found Lampard who tapped a first-time pass to Hazard at the center circle. Now here's the tricky part. The Belgian, showing great awareness and skills, made a clever little turn to beat the onrushing Ramis and sped past the defender. At the bottom edge, you can see Ivanovic moving forward; Figueroa, originally a fullback, kept pace with the Serbian up to the point when Hazard turned.

Now let's zoom out for a second and look what just happened from a wider view. Frame 2 of the above picture demonstrates the weakness of an attacking 3-4-3 formation: their flanks are wide open on opposition's counter attack. With Figueroa pushing forward, Ivanovic had a ton of space to run into on that side. But Wigan, at this point, could still have done some damage control. If, for instance, Ramis were to drop back to cover Ivanovic's run instead of committing a challenge (unsuccessfully) on Hazard, Wigan might have a chance at slowing Chelsea's counter attack down -- let the midfielders time to join the defense.

As it was, Hazard skipped past Ramis; the two other Wigan center-backs were distracted by Fernando Torres; and the passing lane toward Ivanovic just opened itself up for Hazard, who made a perfectly timed and weighted pass. Ivanovic was through.

And how about that finish! Composed, yet timely; accurate, yet powerful. Any striker in the world would have been happy with that strike. But what's more, he had covered about 85 yards in the process. The build-up to this goal -- from Ivanovic's first pass to Mata to his goal -- was made up of 4 passes and took 12 seconds to execute. Take a couple of deep breaths before we move on to the next goal. One... Two... Three... Ready?

The Lampard Goal

A mere two minutes after the first goal, Wigan were once again mounting an attack, this time from their left side. I have highlighted all the Wigan attackers' names in the above picture to show that they were pushing numbers forward. Seven Chelsea defenders were back to welcome the six Wigan players. McCarthy would find Figueroa on the left and the wing-back would put in a poor cross, which was collected pretty easily by Petr Cech. With this attack, plenty of Wigan players shifted toward the left and the center of the pitch was cleared. Cech was aware of this and would begin Chelsea's move down the center by rolling the ball to Lampard. From this point on, I will put the similarities between the two goals in square brackets like this: [Wigan attack and Chelsea counter].

Lampard was completely unchallenged from the edge of the Chelsea box to the halfway line; at which point, he delivered a great pass with the outside of his foot to Hazard who was on the right wing. [Ball move down the center then pass to right] [Lampard-to-Hazard pass]

The break was on -- Lampard and Torres down the center with Hazard and Mata flying down from right and left wings.

The above picture is there mainly to show you two things. First, Wigan had enough defenders back to deal with this Chelsea attack: it was a 4v6 situation. And Ramis initially made a good decision to wait for Figueroa to come back help out, but then he would unnecessarily lunge into a tackle to give away the penalty.

Secondly, I want to highlight Lampard's movement in frame 2. The Chelsea midfielder had covered about the same distance as Ivanovic did for the first goal and now he was at the D of the Wigan box. As Ramis and Figueroa doubled up on Hazard, Torres checked his run. Lampard, meanwhile, saw that little bit of gap between the Wigan defense and made a diagonal run toward the near post. Nothing really came about from this run but notice that Lampard, in frame 4, was now in a great position to score if Hazard were to have made a low cross to the center. That is one of the main reasons why Frank Lampard is THE goal-scoring midfielder that he is. Great awareness and intelligence. Now on to the penalty itself.

Most penalties are converted/saved/missed depending on three factors -- placement, power and luck. If you can place the ball into certain areas of the goal, it is almost impossible to save a penalty even if it's not hit with power. But sometimes, if you hit it hard enough within the frame of the goal, it will still make it hard to save. This penalty by Lampard didn't have great placement -- it was pretty close to the center. But it was hit with decent power and had enough luck to have slipped under Al Habsi's arms. The penalty, much like the team's overall performance, wasn't great, but it got the job done.

This goal -- from Cech's pass to Ramis foul on Hazard -- took a total of 15 seconds and involved two passes. Roberto di Matteo has said that his team won't make any radical change and that seems to be the case in the way these two goals were scored. Both came from transitions -- soaking up opposition's pressure and hitting them quickly and effectively on counter. Isn't this how we won the Champions League last season (oh by the way, we are champions of Europe!)?

Match Report: Hazard sparks Chelsea to life in season-opening 2-0 win over Wigan

Jack Goodson — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 22:31:30 -0000

Gary Caldwell, wanker.

The Wigan defender, already looking at a two-goal deficit thanks in large part to the brilliance of Eden Hazard, laid out the 21-year-old on 10 minutes. An old fashioned mugging, this was. Ruthless, madcap, from behind, before the ball had arrived - the tackle featured all the hallmarks of a sending off. It, of course, instead resulted in a yellow card.

So went the Premier League debut of our newest Belgian. When you're this good, you're bound to draw plenty of attention - from the rags and fake hard men alike. Hazard gave us all a sublime glimpse of what we hoped to see when the young man signed from Lille for £32 million. He starred in both goals as we frolicked to a 2-0 win over Wigan at the DW Stadium.

Quick question: Where are all those imbeciles that were spouting nonsense about Hazard being a flop after the Community Shield? Fairly silent, I'd assume.

Chelsea got their Preimer League season off to a flyer - a flyer in the sense of the opening 10 minutes, of course - thanks to the mercurial Belgian, scoring twice inside seven minutes. I was still trudging to the couch from my bed when we opened our account for 2012-13.

Yes, the fun started early. It started about 1:36 minutes in to be exact.

A decent enough Wigan buildup saw Emmerson Boyce break forward and complete a short pass to Franco Di Santo. The former Chelsea striker, in what can only be described as a pretty selfish attempt to find some space for a shot, what with Maynor Figueroa in miles of space to his far left, attempted to cut the ball back onto his right foot in the center, allowing Terry, tracking from the right, to nick the ball off him. Ivanovic picked up the loose ball and immediately fed Juan Mata, who swiveled, took a quick couple of touches and found Lampard, who then played a first-time ball toward Hazard in the midfield circle. The move really felt over at this point - the Belgian receiving the ball with his back to the attack, firmly marked by Ivan Ramis. However, it continued, to punishing effect. Ramis, like Hazard making his league debut, was viciously undone by a neat spin by the two-time Ligue 1 player of the year. Rooted, Ramis was finished. Hazard, meanwhile, took a touch before feeding Ivanovic, moving into the inside-right channel. Two touches later, Bane slammed a right-footed drive past Ali Abdullah Harib Al-Habsi and took Mata for a piggy back ride around the DW. Glorious.

That, friends, is how you counter attack. Thorough analysis on this move is no doubt coming very soon via Graham. Be sure to pay attention - there will be a pop quiz afterward.

Hazard wasn't done, either. About four minutes later, a short throw from Petr Cech to Lampard sparked another incisive move from the visitors. Lampard, after receving the ball, had an absurd amount of space in which to manaveur, frolicking from the edge of his own D into the midfield circle before raking a pass out to Hazard on the right with the outside of his right foot. Hazard did the rest, feinting past Figueroa first and then enticing Ramis into a clumsy lunge inside the penalty area. An easy decision for the referee. Lampard duly stepped to the spot. The penalty wasn't vintage, perhaps even a bit fortunate as it lashed under Al-Habsi, but whatever. Chelsea were up 2-0, and I wasn't even fully awake yet.

The rest of the match languished. It made for some rather monotonous fare to be honest (hey, a win's a win). Chelsea, content with what they had and with a view toward a pair of league fixtures in the coming week, dropped back, defended and looked to conserve energy. The visitors did have a chance to extend their lead midway through the second half, but Ramis, somewhat atoning for his nightmare first half (not really), managed to clear a goal-bound effort from Fernando Torres off the line. The Spaniard, following an indifferent first half, was much more active after the break. His near-goal was an excellent piece of play, Torres opting to stay on his feet and try to finish off the move despite a rough challenge that would have drawn a penalty had he hit the deck. He also showed some Hazard-esque trickery to win a free kick near the end of the match. Well done, Nando.

Wigan, meanwhile, tried and tried and tried to get back into the match. Of course, they took advantage of our lounging, but they still dominated for large spells and even had some pretty good looks at goal. However, it never felt like Chelsea were in trouble; furthermore, Wigan never forced the visitors to get out of second gear.

Di Santo was a culprit of profligacy on a couple of occasions. The closest he came to actually scoring was having an effort cleared off the line by David Luiz around the 45th minute, though the Argentinian probably should have done better given the time he had to pick his spot. Victor Moses, who should be plying his trade at Stamford Bridge in the very near future, was a consistent attacking outlet for the hosts, and he forced a decent stop out of Cech near the end of the opening half. Moses is a wonderful player when on the ball and will make for a nice addition, provided we wrap up the deal. Let's go, Michael.

Funnily enough, Wigan had 14 shots to our six and edged us in possession (52 to 48 percent). Who cares, though?

Some bullets:

John Terry will never, ever, be known as The Magnet. Sod off, commentary team
John Obi Mikel is rubbish. Kidding.
Oscar made his debut. It was fun. His first contribution was to annihilate Ramis down the right side before slicing a low shot just wide of the far post. This kid, he may be all right.
Juan Mata is knackered. Rest needed.
Ricky Lambert scored. This is good for my fantasy team.

All in all? Great weekend for the Chels. A simple enough win coupled with an Arsenal draw and a Spurs loss. Oh, and don't forget about Liverpool. To paraphrase the great O'Shea Jackson, today was indeed a good day.

Poll

Who was today's man of the match?

Eden Hazard

721 votes

John Terry

24 votes

Frank Lampard

8 votes

Ryan Bertrand

16 votes

Petr Cech

10 votes

Other

12 votes

791 votes | Poll has closed

Opposition Scouting Preview: Wigan

Tim Palmer — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 00:51:48 -0000

The first game of the new Premier League season sees Wigan Athletic welcome us to the DW Stadium in Sunday's early kickoff. We'll bring you all the team news in the general preview, and although it's difficult to get a comprehensive scouting report done in light of the fact this is the first competitive game Wigan have played in two months, (meaning we don't know what changes have been made in terms of team shape and system) seeing as Wigan provided perhaps the most tactical interest last season I thought it would still be appropriate to take a look at what Di Matteo can expect on Sunday.

This article will be written on the predication that Wigan will line up in the 3-4-3 formation that surprised so many at the tail end of last season. On paper (or rather, virtual paper), here's how it looks:

Despite interest from some of the top tier clubs in the Premier League Wigan have managed to hold onto Victor Moses, and although it seems he is line to start this Sunday, the smart money is on him lining up for the opposition by the end of the transfer window. Wigan have compensated for his imminent departure by bringing in both Arsenal's pacy winger Ryo Miyachi and Levante's Arouna Kone.

While the new attacking stars attract the headlines, it's the defence that causes the most intrigue, as a back three is a rare sight in England, although Chelsea fans will be familiar with it having faced Napoli's famous Three Tenors system in their victorious Champions League campaign last season. On the rare occasions it appears in England, it's been on one-off occasions and usually used to safeguard against Stoke.

There are two versions of the 3-4-3 system that Wigan play: the first is the more attacking style, which stresses possession football and taking the game to the opposition. The second is the defensive 5-4-1 which places a far greater emphasis on the counter attack and is the version Chelsea are far more likely to see on Sunday. The newfound creativity of the attacking three will then be crucial to breaking down a side which is ultimately greater than the sum of its parts, largely thanks to Martinez's astute management.

If we take the defenders individually, Maynor Figueroa and Antolin Alcaraz plays as aggressive outside defenders, often moving out of the back line to intercept passes and in the attacking phase. Figueroa in particular has the ability to bring the ball out of defence and retain possession. Lying in between these two is Gary Caldwell, who notably drops off and plays as a pseudo-sweeper, looking to clear Wigan's lines early so the ball stays well away from Al-Habsi.

It remains to be seen whether Martinez will break up this successful centre back combination, although the signing of Ivan Ramis from Mallorca suggests otherwise. Ramis is a strong, technical defender who has a proactive style of defending that would fit nicely into one of the outside centre back positions. He's currently overshadowed by an injury cloud, which should see Martinez retain the same selection that was so successful last season.

The centre of the park contains two similar centre midfielders in James McArthur and James McCarthy, but McArthur is the more proactive, often moving forward to press the opposition midfield, while McCarthy sits in behind and helps the side keep their shape. On the wings Beausejour and Boyce plays as wing-backs, and are vital to the system. They are required to not only assume defensive responsibilities but also move forward and support the attack through overlapping the wide players. Beausejour again on the left side is the more accomplished at this, having played a similar role for Chile at the 2010 World Cup.

However, his aggressive movements forward do leave space in behind, and with Chelsea looking to be more dangerous on the counter attack, Ramires' bursts on the break into that pocket could be crucial. Wigan will look to nullify this threat with Figueroa shuffling out to cover, although this will inevitably open up space in the back three.

The danger for Chelsea is the flexibility of the front men: Franco Di Santo plays as a static target and should not be too much of a threat for a full strength Chelsea backline, although his tireless attempts to press the opposition should not be disregarded. If David Luiz plays, he'll need to be cautious about being caught when bringing the ball out of the backs in trademark David-Luiz style. More danger lies on the flanks, where Martinez like his players to constantly switch wings and adding to the fluidity of the side by make drifting runs in front and behind the defence. Arsenal was especially culpable to the dynamic movement of Victor Moses in the spaces behind Bacary Sagna at the Emirates last season, and new signing Kone has the ability to perform a similar role, having done so for Levante especially well at the beginning of last season's campaign, where the Spanish side, for a few weeks at least, upset the natural order at the top of the La Liga table. On the other wing will likely be Shaun Maloney, who plays as more of a playmaker, drifting into central positions to get on the ball, and play incisive passes.

A final overarching concern going into the game is pressing. Chelsea need to be wary of how they approach the defensive phase, as they don't want to be caught in 2 v 1 situations on the flanks as Newcastle were away at the DW Stadium last year. This means that on goal kicks, Chelsea will need to either commit to pressing high up the pitch (and pushing the defensive line high as a result, running the risk of being exposed to clever balls in behind), or sitting back and allowing Wigan to play the ball out. If Chelsea does take the more conservative option, then the side will need to be far more disciplined when keeping its shape than they were against Manchester City.

You Wait For One to Come Along, Then You Get Three

HeapyLatic — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:59:03 -0000

Wigan fans, we have been a bit itching to see who the club would sign this summer. With several players leaving on a free and Victor Moses all but out the door this summer. We expected several signings, and we got one early signing in the young Scotsman Frazer Fyvie. This was eventually followed up by Ivan Ramis.

But this week the club have gone and got three in the space of four days. All in time to face Chelsea at the weekend. Is that good business? Or are we finally starting to get the players we want interested?

Of course two of the new lads are Arsenals Ryo Miyaichi (who we have signed on loan), and former Levante striker Arouna Kone (for fee of about 5 million euros). But who is this new player that the club have pounced for today?

Well the young man (aged 19), is a Serbia under-21 international who was at Manchester City's academy before making the switch to FC Twente. From there this mystery player (Philippe Orsula) was released this summer and has been training with the development squad.

It looks very much like last season situation with Nouha Dicko. Orsula will stay with the club till Januray then is likely to go out on loan to gain some first team experience in the lower leagues.