A Simpler Story....Started At The Bottom, Now We're Here!

October 2019

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October 2019
"A Winless Month In The League"



Matchday 12: Welling United (Home)
Telford Top Performers: Murphy 7.4, Singh 6.9, Cowans 6.8

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A poor result against one of the weaker sides in the division.


Matchday 13: York City (Away)
Telford Top Performers: Butler 7.3, Williams 7.3, Singh 7.0

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Ah my old nemesis York City. Well at least I didn't lose to them this time.


Matchday 14: Guiseley (Home)
Telford Top Performers: Butler 7.3, Cowans 7.0, Williams 6.8

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An end to end game where they just got the better of us. No wins in 3 now....are the wheels coming off?


Matchday 15: Boreham Wood (Away)
Telford Top Performers: O'Keefe 7.2, White 7.0, Oxborough 6.9

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We really struggled to create anything in this game.


Matchday 16: Gateshead (Home)
Telford Top Performers: Oxborough 7.1, Butler 7.0, Williams 6.9

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Our first 0-0 draw for nearly 2 years!!



The winless month in the league has seen us drop out of the playoff spots for the first time. However, we're still massively overachieving holding our place in the top half for now.

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The draw for the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round was made and we were handed a tough tie against high flying Gateshead.

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But, despite Gateshead having the best of the game, a penalty and an own goal was enough to see us through. I've made the FA Cup 1st round at the 3rd attempt!

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Which will see us invite Port Vale to New Bucks Head.

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My strikers keep getting injured.

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And I added a new goalkeeper to the ranks this month...

Aston Oxborough
Signed from Dulwich Hamlet - Fee £190

For two and a half seasons I've not really had any competition for Jasbir Singh in goal. Luckily I've got away with it as he has stayed injury free, but it was still something I was keen to address. I picked up Oxborough from Dulwich for a whopping £190....less than his weekly wage!

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A very good start to life in the National League on the whole, you're well above your expectations. The signing of Jason Gilchrist caught me eye, he's a top striker. The fact he hasn't been playing regularly for you can only suggest you have a great striker partnership. Hopefully you can carry this form on, a lot of teams tend to start well and then collapse in the second half of the season. Good luck!
 
ScottT said:
A very good start to life in the National League on the whole, you're well above your expectations. The signing of Jason Gilchrist caught me eye, he's a top striker. The fact he hasn't been playing regularly for you can only suggest you have a great striker partnership. Hopefully you can carry this form on, a lot of teams tend to start well and then collapse in the second half of the season. Good luck!
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He's been struggling for goals for me with only 1 in 12 appearances. Although he has weighed in with 4 assists.

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November 2019

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November 2019
"Our Poor Form Continues As We Slide Down The League"


Matchday 17: Eastleigh (Away)
Telford Top Performers: Cowans 7.0, Oxborough 7.0, McKeown 6.9

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Our winless streak continues into November and I'm getting a little worried now.


Matchday 18: Billericay Town (Home)
Telford Top Performers: R.Thompson 9.2, Butler 9.0, Murphy 8.8

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What an amazing game for the fans but a disappointing result for us after being 3-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes!


Matchday 19: Morecambe (Away)
Telford Top Performers: Singh 6.7, White 6.7, Lussey 6.7

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Morecambe were great to be fair. We just couldn't live with them.


Matchday 20: Salford City (Home)
Telford Top Performers: White 7.6, Williams 7.5, Butler 6.9

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We dominated the game but still lost...lady luck just isn't on our side at the moment.


Matchday 21: Newport County (Home)
Telford Top Performers: McGrory 8.0, R.Thompson 7.1, C.Thompson 7.0

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A brave effort against the side at the top of the league.



Our second winless month in a row sees us slip right down the league table to 18th. However, things are so tight that a couple of wins could see us shoot right back up again.

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Well that's an unwanted record...

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We dropped out of the FA Cup with a defeat against Port Vale who were just too strong for us in the end.

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And the draw for the FA Trophy took place.

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And the injuries to our strikers keep coming thick and fast.

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I have to admit I'm starting to get itchy feet at Telford too. I've been linked with a number of high profile jobs and I've been tempted to throw in a couple of cheeky applications this month. I was invited to a couple of interviews...

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But after getting my hopes up of a big move to the Championship or the SPL, my ego took a dent as I was rejected for both...

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December 2019

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December 2019
"Much Improved Form Lands Me A New Job"



Matchday 22: Macclesfield Town (Away)
Telford Top Performers: Cowans 8.2, Sutton 7.1, R.Thompson 7.1

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First win in 11 games in the league. Much needed!


Matchday 23: Wrexham (Away)
Telford Top Performers: White 7.5, Sutton 7.4, Cowans 7.3

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A decent result away from home against the side sitting 4th in the table. Back to back clean sheets now too.


Matchday 24: Boston United (Away)
Telford Top Performers: Sutton 7.7, Gilchrist 7.2, Cowans 6.9

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We were dominated on possession and they made it count.


Matchday 25: Sutton United (Home)
Telford Top Performers: Cowans 7.3, Lussey 7.3, Sutton 7.1

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A late goal from Jordan Lussey earns us all 3 points on a rainy December afternoon. Well deserved, hard fought victory!



The couple of wins this month moved us a bit further up the table.

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We recorded an easy win in the FA Trophy to progress to the 2nd round.

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Where we were given a tough draw away at Tranmere Rovers.

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And as we approached the Christmas period, a job came up that really appealed to me. I was invited to interview for the role at Wigan.

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And only a matter of days after the interview had taken place, I was offered the job. With a heavy heart, I will be leaving Telford and moving a bit further north to Greater Manchester.

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Telford Recap

So before I continue my career with Wigan, let's have a recap on what I've achieved with AFC Telford....

I've been in charge for 916 days in total and managed 134 competitive games. I had a decent record with a 51% win ratio. I've brought plenty of entertainment to New Bucks Head with more than 300 goals scored since I took over.

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I've led the club to consecutive playoffs in the National League North, where we were victorious in my 2nd season and gained promotion to the National League.

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This season were expected to be battling relegation, but I leave the club in a decent position with a nice cushion between them and the relegation spots. Hopefully my successor can keep them away from the drop zone.

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I also led the club to a semi final in last year's FA Trophy, where we were knocked out by Maidstone United. We were seen as the overachievers of that tournament.



I received a couple of new contracts in my time at the club which saw my salary rise from £375 per week to £800. The club also funded several coaching courses for me to get me to the Continental B License....with me currently studying for the Continental A.



In all fairness, I'm going to blow my own trumpet and say 'I did good here'!





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Wigan Athletic

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Wigan Athletic are a professional football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, and were founded in 1932. The club are nicknamed The Latics.

The club play their home games at the DW Stadium, which has a capacity of 25,133.....to be honest, my new place of work is pretty impressive.

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The club also boast great training facilities and a good youth setup. With over 7000 season ticket holders, the club is valued at just over £10 million.

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The club play in blue and white stripes and have a pretty sharp kit. Our fiercest rivals are Bolton Wanderers, although we also have local rivalries with the likes of Burnley, Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers.

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The club have some history with 8 trophies in the cabinet. Their most recent success was lifting the League One title in 2016. And it was only a few years back in 2013 that they lifted the FA Cup with that famous win over Manchester City.

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As for me, I've been given a 2 year contract with a hefty pay rise to £2,500 per week.

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Wigan Situation

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First day on the job and the first task at hand is to take a look at the squad I've inherited. At first glance, it looks pretty decent with not many players under a 3 star rating. We've got stand out players in defence, midfield and up front as well. Obviously, I'm delighted to see that Will Grigg is still with the club and I'll be looking to get the best out of him.

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My best individual players are....

Already mentioned him.....Will Grigg. He is the man we will be looking to bang in the goals for us. An in form Will Grigg could be the difference between gaining promotion or not.

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Max Power is a central midfielder with all round decent stats. For this level, he really is a great player and offers me so many options through the middle of the park.

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Connor Goldson is on loan here from Brighton but really stands out as my best defender. Not only is he a beast at 6ft 3" tall, his tackling, marking and heading stats are all high for this level. He's got a bit of pace about him for a centre back as well.

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The dynamics look good here too with a decent dressing room atmosphere. I've already got an ok level of managerial support so if I can get a few early wins under my belt, I should have the lads right on side quickly. I'll be trying hard to keep Sam Morsy at the club although it looks like he's trying to force through a move to Championship side Derby County.

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The finances are pretty stable and I have a good couple of million to spend in the January transfer window if I want it.

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So where do I pick up. The club are in League One, where they've been for the past couple of seasons, finishing 11th and 3rd, losing in the playoffs last year.

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Half way through this season's campaign, the club is in good shape, sitting 4th in the table. Although we are a massive 17 points off top spot. But only 4 points separate us and Coventry who occupy the other automatic promotion place.

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And that's what I'm aiming at as the board are expecting me to make automatic promotion this year.

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Although the board don't give a **** about the Checkatrade Trophy, I'll be giving it a good go as I'd love to win a trophy in my first season here and the league looks potentially out of reach. In the competition, we have already made it through the group stages and into the 3rd round where we have a tie lined up against Walsall.

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BallyC7 said:
YESSSSS! I love this! I think every fan in the country wants their club to sign Will Grigg just so they can sing this song!
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Well I'm a Rangers fan and we were linked with him and think we all hope he would join just because of his song haha, It's like our song for Joe Garner was amazing also (not as good as wills) but I'm sure he said he hates it because it put alot of pressure on him.
 
Wigan have the resources available to be a top half Championship club at the minimum, so this is a great career move in the right direction. Good luck with Max, he’s a really great player and a good lad too, spoken to him a few times through a mate.
 
January 2020

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January 2020


Matchday 24: Doncaster Rovers (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Brereton 8.7, Grigg 7.7, Lewis 7.7

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Boom! I kick off my Wigan career with an away win at Donny. That man Will Grigg got on the scoresheet but it was his strike partner Ben Brereton that stole the show.


Matchday 25: Coventry (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Obika 9.7, Barker 9.2, Lewis 9.1

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What a way to introduce myself to the home fans. And against the club currently sitting in 2nd place too! I gave 21 year old centre back Sam Stubbs his debut for the club and he banged in a goal and scored a rating of 9.0!


Matchday 26: Bristol City (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Lewis 7.7, Martin 7.2, Barker 7.1

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A solid 1-0 win against the league leaders.


Matchday 27: Bradford City (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Power 9.0, Lewis 9.0, Hawkins 8.9

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Bradford came into this in top form having won 4 of their last 5 league games. Despite that, we were still far too good for them!


Matchday 28: Exeter City (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Barker 7.7, Hawkins 7.0, Power 7.0

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My first defeat comes against relegation battlers Exeter in a bit of a shock result....we were poor.



Although still in 4th at the end of the month, we have closed that gap on Bristol City at the top from 17 points to only 11 and we have a game in hand too!

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I bag a manager of the month award in my first month at the club!

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And my players are recognised in the player and young player of the month awards.

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We also had a game in the Checkatrade Trophy this month, beating Walsall easily, which will see us through to the quarter finals of the northern section.

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Where we will play Newcastle U23s.

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I've brought my striker injury curse with me. In my first month in charge, Will Grigg, Josh Gordon and Jonathan Obika all pick up injuries.

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Now, let's have a look at who I brought in during the January transfer window...

Jan Bednarek
Signed from Southampton - Season Long Loan

Jan will add some real quality to the defence for the 2nd half of the season. He has some fantastic stats and looks like a really good player for League One. We are contributing to £4,000 per week on his wages but I'm hoping he will be worth it.

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Safwan Mbae
Signed from Hibernian - Fee £23,500

Safwan was a player my scouts found up in Scotland and when I realised he was available at such a cheap fee, it was a no brainer to bring him in as a backup player for the first 11. He has some decent stats and with hard work he could still force his way into my team.

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Eoin Doyle
Signed from AFC Wimbledon - Fee £140,000

With the striker injury crisis I have going on at the club, Eoin was a deadline day transfer to bolster the attack. I had a look at League Two to see who was banging in the goals. Eoin came to my attention as he's scored 12 goals in 24 appearances for Wimbledon this season and has an average rating of 7.10 in the league below. He has some decent stats and was available at a relatively cheap price so I snapped him up. Obviously when I have my full quota of strikers back, he won't necessarily be a first team starter, but he will make a decent backup.

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There was one departure this month as well as Andrew Taylor was moved on. The aging full back was sold to Colchester for a fee of £5,250.

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Also, Sam Morsy will be leaving the club at the end of the season on a free transfer to join Lokomotiv Moscow. I tried to keep him here, but his mind mas made up and he'll be moving to Russia at the end of the campaign.

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ScottT said:
Wigan have the resources available to be a top half Championship club at the minimum, so this is a great career move in the right direction. Good luck with Max, he’s a really great player and a good lad too, spoken to him a few times through a mate.
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He's already one of my favourite players only 1 month in
 
Great way to get started there. Shame about losing Sam Morsy as he's a fantastic player, but Doyle is a good option - he's doing very well irl for Oldham.
 
Yea I was gutted about Morsy....the previous regime had obviously failed to get him tied down and by the time I arrived here it was already too late.
 
February 2020

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February 2020
"Continuing To Close The Gap At The Top"


Matchday 29: Fleetwood (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Martin 8.6, Barker 8.3, Bednarek 7.9

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We put the loss against Exeter behind us immediately and get back to winning ways with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Fleetwood. Unbelievably, my striker injury curse hits new signing Eoin Doyle immediately as he has to be stretchered off on his debut.


Matchday 30: Chesterfield (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Barker 9.0, Hawkins 8.9, Power 8.3

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A good away win. A relatively even game but we came out on top in the end.


Matchday 31: MK Dons (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Hawkins 9.4, Barker 9.3, Brereton 8.8

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A really good home win against a side challenging for a playoff place. Ollie Hawkins is starting to make a name for himself in the absence of some of my other strikers.


Matchday 32: Luton Town (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Brereton 8.9, Barker 7.9, Byrne 7.3

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A poor result against a struggling Luton side.


Matchday 33: Bury (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Grigg 8.6, Byrne 8.4, Bond 7.9

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A good solid home win to quickly put the disappointment of the Luton result behind us.


Matchday 34: Blackburn Rovers (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Power 7.7, Byrne 6.9, Barker 6.8

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The sending off of Jack Byrne really cost us in this game. I think if it remains 11 v 11, we win this game.



Despite a couple of defeats towards the end of the month, we have closed the gap to top spot a bit more. There's now only 6 points between us and Bristol City and all of a sudden the league title looks within reach. Only two month ago when I took over, there was a massive 17 point gap!

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Again, we had players recognised in the league's player and young player of the month awards.

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My striker injury curse continues!! Eoin Doyle joined the club on transfer deadline day and in his first competitive game for us, he picks up an injury that will see him miss the rest of the season! Unbelievable!

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Telford finally appointed my replacement. I'm actually quite ****** that this guy is being paid more in his first ever manager role, than I ever got at the club!

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Will Grigg this month became the clubs record league goalscorer with 71 goals. He'll go down in the history books, exactly where he belongs.

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March 2020

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March 2020
"Our Title Challenge Has Gone To ****"


Matchday 35: Walsall (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Morsy 8.3, Barker 7.5, Hawkins 7.5

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This was just one of those days! Max Power was sent off in what I think was a really harsh decision from the ref, and all three of their goals were absolute screamers from outside the box which we could do nothing about.


Matchday 36: Lincoln City (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Leahy 7.4, Sims 7.2, Garrick 6.9

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With our severe lack of strikers, scoring goals is proving difficult as our forward players today really struggled to tuck away their chances. We managed to salvage a point at the death with an equalizer from Josh Sims, with the assist coming from 16 year old Josh Garrick on his debut for the club.


Matchday 37: Bristol Rovers (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Morgan 7.3, Martin 7.0, Dunkley 6.8

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We were completely dominated from start to finish. We literally offered nothing! Worryingly, this was our 4th game without a win and we've now only won 2 of our last 8!


Matchday 38: Northampton (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Lewis 9.1, Brereton 8.8, Power 8.6

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I decided a change in formation was needed and it seems to have done the trick here. We went from a flat 4-4-2 to a 4-1-4-1. A much better performance and a good win against the side sitting just outside the playoffs in 7th.


Matchday 39: Peterborough (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Power 7.8, Sims 7.1, Brereton 7.0

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The new formation that we used to thrash Northampton didn't have the same effect against Peterborough as we end the month with another defeat!



Only 1 win this month has seen us drop down the table and well out of contention to win the league. We're also now in a position where it will be difficult to grab 2nd for an automatic promotion place.

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Will Grigg picked up another injury....

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And my star forward was attracting interest from LA Galaxy this month, so I signed him up on a new contract to keep here for at least next season.

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Josh Garrick set a new record for the youngest player to ever appear in a Wigan first team shirt.

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April 2020

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April 2020
"Only 1 Loss This Month But Automatic Promotion Slips Out Of Reach"


Matchday 40: Portsmouth (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Lewis 7.2, J.Byrne 6.9, Sims 6.9

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This was a must win game if we wanted to keep any hopes of automatic promotion alive, and a point is not enough to keep us realistically in the running. Despite dominating this game from start to finish, it took a late penalty to rescue a draw for us.


Matchday 41: Blackpool (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Grigg 8.8, Barker 8.4, Lewis 7.6

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If we hadn't of beaten the side at the bottom of the league, I'd have been seriously concerned!


Matchday 42: Charlton (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: Mbae 7.3, Morgan 7.1, Peltier 7.1

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Ultimately, this was not a bad performance against one of the better sides in the league (who currently sit 3rd), but we just couldn't quite find the winning goal.


Matchday 43: Rotherham (Away)
Wigan Top Performers: Morgan 6.8, N.Byrne 6.8, J.Byrne 6.7

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Not good enough!!


Matchday 44: Rochdale (Home)
Wigan Top Performers: N.Byrne 8.9, Leahy 8.4, Grigg 7.5

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A game of two halves....we dominated the 1st and took a 3-1 lead into the break. They came out and battered us in the 2nd half but couldn't score.



We have guaranteed a playoff place this month, but with 2 games left we can no longer gain automatic promotion. 2nd place looks to be fought out between Portsmouth and Charlton now. Doncaster and Blackpool are confirmed as relegated.


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I've been in charge at Wigan for 20 games now and have made a name for myself here with my attacking style of football as we've banged in a **** load of goals...

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