Well that was a week! I remember at the end of last season Stan Collymore kept reminding Wigan fans that we hadn’t won back to back in about 50 games. He was right, Wigan had no consistency, well other then losing. We then went on to beat West Ham & Stoke on the final day of the season…..
So to last week, I know I ramble, but Wigan went on to beat Manchester United & Arsenal back to back, apparently we are the first team to do it in 11 years! Not sure who did it last, it was probably Real Madrid, Barcelona or maybe Liverpool when they were good?
All in all it now means that Wigan are in 16th place and out of the relegation zone proper for the first time since the 1st October. The bookies too seem to think we are safe, but until the maths Mrs Satisfield taught me in the 70’s add up I won’t be celebrating.
So to Fulham, I have a lot of respect for Fulham, they are like Wigan of London, probably don’t get a lot of the credit they deserve as there are bigger (Oh I hate using that word) teams around them, a well run team with good respect on how they play their football and manage their club.
Form going into the match, Fulham have won 2 and drawn 1 in their last 3, with 3 defeats on the spin prior to that. As for Wigan, well everyone knows about our form; 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat to Chelsea in the last 6, only Manchester United & Newcastle United have better form in the last 6 games.
So to the match, Fulham vs Wigan Athletic at Craven Cottage! In October Fulham came to the DW & beat us easily 2-0, for Wigan that was their 7th Premier League defeat on spin, the sequence ending at 8.
Head to head between these 2, well anyone who knows their history, Wigan & Fulham have met many many times and not just in the Premier League. There have been many clashes in the old Division Two & Three. Overall there have been 38 league matches, of which Fulham have won 17, we’ve drawn 13 and Wigan winning 8 times.
Wigan’s last victory was a 1-0 win @ Craven Cottage back in October 2006 with a goal from Camara. There have also been a couple of League Cup matches 10 years ago with Wigan winning both @ the then JJB stadium.
Team news for Wigan is positive, with Maloney and Pollitt coming back from injuries? Hugo’s dodgy knee we’ve heard is now okay after loads of Savlon! We just have Crusat who looks like he’ll miss the game.
But as you know Wigan are on fire in front of goal, so Hugo may just be going to London to carry bags & make the coffee…..only joking Hugo, no doubt you’ll score a screamer from 25 yards.
As for Fulham their treatment table is like this, it says there are 5 on it at the moment, with 2 who’ll have assessments prior to the game. They are Ruiz, Sidwell, Grygera, Johnson & Pogrebnyak, the later 2 having tests on foot & knee injuries respectively.
Referee for the match is Lee Probert, hopefully the press won’t be probing his performance (did you see what I did with words there). We’ve had the pleasure of Lee twice this season both defeats to Spurs and more worrying at the time Wolves. We’ll just see Lee (I’ll give over).
So to the result, I realise this review is not Quick anymore, I’d love for Wigan to carry their form on and in reality grab that win to almost confirm an 8th season in the Premier League. It would then show so many critics never to write us off. In reality looking at Fulham I’d be happy with a draw, 35 points and lets see what happens next.
Come on Wigan.
Andy
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