We’ve had worse weeks

It’s not been a bad week has it? Two wins one of those getting us back on track in the league and another a comprehensive thrashing in the Pizza Cup.

Let’s take a look at Cambridge first up, a win that was a bit closer than it needed to have been.

Cambridge are a decent side and you can see why they’re currently in the top half of the table.

It took a while but Latics class showed through in the end. The penalty made it seem less comfortable than it was but it was good to see the return of Thelo Aasgard and for him to get a goal that will do him a world of good.

Martial Godo who made his debut, apparently ahead of schedule according to Shaun Maloney was key in the build up to that second goal and he’ll surely have a big part to play this season.

Someone suggested it was the latest in a long line of boring performances from Maloney’s side and that we should show the players the Jewell tapes. Hopefully not those tapes {taps nose}.

I don’t imagine even the most ardent moaner in Wigan could complain about Tuesday night (they could) after Latics systematically tore apart Leicester’s academy side.

Let’s have it right, having the U21 sides in the EFL trophy nee Autowindscreen Shield does a great disservice to those football league clubs for who this is the one realistic chance of a trip to Wembley.

The EFL are held over a barrel with the Premier League dangling the carrot of extra funding to allow Premier League sides to enter. I imagine it’ll be a reputational nightmare if a PL side ever makes it to the final over the next few years.

Leicester are a Premier League side in all but name, they’ve had numerous seasons in Europe over the last few years, won the FA Cup a couple of years ago and it isn’t long since they won the Premier League itself.

Their academy is one of the best in the country but they had no response to this Latics side that was much stronger than many imagined.

There were concerns, voiced by many including me about strength in depth during this season but any concerns I had have been blown away by recent performances from those not even getting in the squad on Saturday.

Latics ran amock with a fantastic hat trick from Josh Magennis followed by a goal each from not one, not two, not three but four academy graduates in Callum Lang, Chris Sze, Harry McHugh and Josh Stones.

Whilst Callum McManaman the original academy graduate helped set up Josh Stones for his first senior goal.

Yes it was against Leicester’s academy but our young lads who have been given the chance and the responsibility to represent our club in the first team looked far more ready for the rigours of first team football than Leicester did.

Maloney said he would give anything to get back to Wembley in April and with performances like that there’s not many who would bet against him.

So it’s back to league action and a trip to Bristol on Saturday. Bristol Rovers have had a strong start on their return to League One with two wins, three draws and a couple of defeats.

It’s a tough place to play football but that famous win in the midst of the administration season is still fresh in the memory. The same again would be a brilliant way to keep momentum going.

Sean Livesey

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