© It’s never dull is it?
Never has that seemed more apt than the last week. There was a headline used back in those heady days of 2015 ‘End of an Error’.
That was in relation to the sacking of Malky Mackay after a ruinous period in the history of Wigan Athletic.
Though that was in reference to the sacking of a man who should never have stepped through the door at the DW Stadium for reasons other than football we can certainly call the appointment of Kolo Toure an error.
I have no doubt that Toure and for that matter his coaching staff are gentlemen.
The players that Kolo has played alongside in his career have said as much but sadly in terms of on the pitch it was becoming clearer by the day that this was a serious error of judgement by the club.
Being the happy clapper that I am I’m always willing to give the club the benefit of the doubt, I had shared the same horror and trepidation when Toure was first announced as favourite on that Friday before the World Cup began and I wondered exactly what we were doing when it took an extra week to get the appointment over the line.
I’d hoped that Toure had done his home work on us before he agreed to take over, with each defeat it looked like he had never seen us play before (this is quite likely) let alone know how to get us out of the mess we found ourselves in.
The departure of Toure was the right move, now the club have to hope that they’ve got it right with the appointment of Shaun Maloney. If I tried to dissect the atmosphere on the ol social media this week I’d be here all week.
But it’s basically swung from one extreme to another, euphoria after Toure’s departure to anger (from some not all) at the arrival of Maloney and back to euphoria once people actually stepped back and watched what Shaun Maloney actually had to say about the side that he had inherited.
Many will disagree but the arrival of Maloney makes sense in some ways that Toure’s never could. It certainly matches up with what the board were reportedly looking for when they decided to end Leam Richardson’s reign at the club.
Someone who knew the town and knew the club, whilst committing to a clear philosophy and defined way of playing.
Maloney matches up with all of those, people obviously and quite rightly point to Maloney’s short tenure in charge at Hibernian as a cause for concern but that doesn’t always tell the full story.
He had a record of eight wins, seven draws and nine losses in all competitions during his time at Easter Road.
That gave him a win percentage of 33.33% not world beating but eerily similar to those that came before and those that followed him at Hibernian and importantly a win percentage that would easily see Wigan Athletic stay up if replicated over the next few months.
Maloney’s interview last weekend upon his appointment was a very good watch, and knowing that club legend Graham Barrow is back as Assistant Manager any thoughts that the players will be downing tools can be for the birds because that simply won’t fly under Graham Barrow.
People only need to see the reaction to his presence in the away end at Shrewsbury on the final day last season from Max Power, James McClean and Callum Lang to know just how important he has been for those careers.
If he and Shaun can foster the sort of spirit we’re going to need to get out of this, and importantly get those senior players playing at their best again we may just have a chance here.
Transfer deadline day brought more drama but not that many incomings or departures. A promising central defender from Arsenal and a winger from Norwich who reached the play-off final with Huddersfield last season.
You can’t say that we don’t look stronger than before the window opened but whether it’s going to be enough is still up for debate. Shaun Maloney represents an interesting time as a Latics fan, he was part of a side that delivered so much but can Shaun Maloney the manager deliver a fraction of that.
If he can his status as a Bonafede Latics legend will be cemented.
Sean Livesey
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