Premiership Preview--15. Wigan Athletic

They play some of the ugliest soccer in the Premiership. Their field surface is undoubtedly the worst in the Premiership and sits in one of the league’s smallest stadiums, which is also shared with a rugby club. They have no star players to speak of, and are run by a 71-year-old chairman with questionable financial savvy, to say the least. With all that said, Wigan Athletic continues to surprise outsiders by surviving in England’s top flight, and will look to do for a fourth consecutive season after finishing 14th last year with 40 points.

Steve Bruce is a very underrated manager who has crafted a nice career for himself in taking, and I mean no offense here, low-profile, low-prestige teams (Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Wigan, Crystal Palace, and Birmingham City) and exceeding expectations. He’s had to work for everything he’s achieved, starting in the Championship and eventually working his way up to the Premiership.

Without his rearrival at Wigan after leaving Birmingham late last November, the Latics would’ve been relegated. They were moving in reverse under Chris Hutchings, and Bruce proved to be the master of the 0-0 draw and 1-0 victory. His club went unbeaten in five of their last six games a season ago, and had another unbeaten stretch of four games prior to that.

Because of Wigan’s location — they’re based in suburban Manchester, where they fly under the radar and are overshadowed by United, City, and even Blackburn — and unattractive style of play, Bruce didn’t get a lot of credit for the job he did, but he’s a capable manager and the club is in good hands with him at the helm. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not the type of guy who can win you something, but he’s a survivor and a fighter and his players take on their manager’s approach.

Bruce doesn’t have much of a transfer budget to work with; he’s bought Olivier Kapo, a talented attacking midfielder he had at Birmingham last year, and Lee Cattermole from Middlesbrough, but he’s sold a few spare parts to do so (Andreas Granqvist, Julius Aghahowa, and Andy Webster) and often uses loan deals, as he did with striker Amr Zaky from Egyptian side Zamalek, and free transfers to bring in players. Cattermole and Kapo will both see plenty of playing time in midfield, if not start, while none of the departed players had a role of any real significance. Zaky will replace Marcus Bent as Emile Heskey’s partner up front.

Especially now with those two on board, midfield is Wigan’s strongest asset. Michael Brown is one of the dirtiest players in England but can be a solid central midfielder when his mind is right. Wilson Palacios was one of last summer’s best signings and fellow Spanish-speaker Antonio Valencia can play on either wing and is good on both. Jason Koumas can make plays from the right side and provide a spark off the bench when called upon. Kevin Kilbane played mostly at left back last year as the club struggled to find a replacement for Leighton Baines, but is a natural left-sided midfielder. Antoine Sibierski is still useful as an attacking midfielder and will provide valuable depth behind Kapo. Dutchman Daniël de Ridder, another summer signing, is another versatile player like Valencia. The once-extremely promising career of Ryan Taylor has been curtailed by injury problems, but he’s a terrific set piece taker and can play right wing and right back.

Projected Starting Lineup (4-4-2):
GK: Chris Kirkland

RB: Mario Melchiot (captain)
CB: Emmerson Boyce
CB: Paul Scharner
LB: Kilbane

RMF: Valencia
CMF: Cattermole
AMF: Palacios
LMF: Kapo

ST: Heskey
ST: Zaky

Out of teams 11-20 last year, Wigan had the best defensive record with only 51 goals conceded. They’ll be in every game, home and away, but they need to get over the hump on the road and pick up some more points there to avoid another relegation fight.

January is the toughest month on Wigan’s schedule, with away dates at Manchester City and Aston Villa and home games against Tottenham and Liverpool.

Bruce’s boys will welcome Arsenal and Manchester United to the JJB Stadium in successive weeks in the middle of April before closing the season out with five manageable games, three of which are certainly winnable (Bolton, @ West Brom, @ Stoke).

Aside from January, there is no difficult stretch of any length, but there isn’t an easy patch either. This team likely won’t have much consistency over the course of the year; you’re not going to see any long winning streaks and you also likely won’t see them fail to pick up points in a three or four-game span.

Bottom Line: Steve Bruce is as experienced as they come in leading this type of team. Having been one himself, and a successful one at that with Manchester United, he’s a player’s manager and doesn’t have large egos to tread carefully around. Wigan won’t get blown out too often, and they won’t pound anyone into the ground either. You may not be happy with the brand of soccer Wigan plays under Bruce, but it’s effective, and it will keep you in the Premiership for another year.

Tomorrow we move closer to the middle of the table with places 14 and 13, where the threat of relegation shouldn’t be a problem.

Steve Bruce..Give the Man Some Love

When Steve Bruce left Birmingham City to take over as manager at Wigan in late November, many people questioned both the man himself and his new club.

"What was Dave Whelan thinking in hiring Steve Bruce? He's rubbish."

"Steve, why would you leave a club in the relegation battle just to join another club in the same predicament?"

I'll tell you what, folks, Steve Bruce is not a bad manager. I'm not saying this just because Wigan ended Chelsea's title hopes yesterday, either. Check the archives; I've been high on this guy since I first started watching the Premiership two seasons ago, when Birmingham was relegated. Bruce took them back up the next season, and although I predicted Birmingham would go down again this year, it wasn't because of the manager.

When he left for Wigan, I wrote an article about it and in that post, I said that his departure "really hurts Birmingham's chances of staying in the Premiership as Bruce is a quality manager whose players love playing for him." I talked about how Wigan, as a squad comprised largely of veteran, experienced players, had legitimate hopes to stay up because Bruce was the right guy to harness that experience and get the best out of what he had.

He supports his players in public and never throws them under the bus in the media. He takes the blame when his team doesn't get a result and gives the players credit when they do walk away with points.

This is a guy who, like Sam Allardyce, can grind and grind away and at the end of 90 minutes, can get out with a point or even steal a victory. Remember, Bruce has two draws at Anfield this season (one with Birmingham, one with Wigan), a draw against Arsenal, and now a draw against Chelsea. He's won the games he's needed to win, including a 2-0 victory against his former team 10 days ago.

Since Bruce's arrival at the JJB, Wigan is 9-6-10 in all competitions. I'll admit, that record doesn't look like anything special by itself, fair enough. When you look at what he has to work with, though, you do have to be impressed with where Wigan is right now. In 15th place, the Latics are safe and are just two points short of leaping into 13th.

Yes, there is a lot of experience on the roster, but there really isn't too much in the way of talent. When your goalscoring leader is Marcus Bent, yes, Marcus Bent, and he only has seven league goals, you have to admire the job Steve Bruce has done. A whopping 23 players have started a Premiership game this season and two others have appeared solely off the bench. Ryan Taylor, arguably Wigan's best player, rarely actually is on the field because he's always injured.

It's about time that more people started appreciating Brucey as a manager. He's not flashy and his teams don't always play an attractive style, but at the end of the day, all you can ask for is results and that's what Bruce can give you.

Wigan Should Consider a Synthetic Turf Field

Watching today's game at the JJB Stadium between hosts Wigan and Arsenal, one thing was made patently obvious: That field is a disaster and shouldn't be used for Premiership games. It has gotten worse and worse as the season has gone on and it's gotten to the point where it just seems unplayable; the surface is an embarrassment to a league that is one of the top three of its kind in the world.

The field is as hard as a rock on sunny days and a mudpit on rainy days. There are vast stretches without grass. There are clearly visible remains of rugby lines from games played by rugby Super League's Wigan Warriors, who share the JJB with Wigan Athletic.

My high school soccer field was in much better shape than what I'm seeing today and have seen for large portions of the season. I've seen better elementary schoolyard fields than that as well.

What's the solution? Something many purists of the game don't want to hear and likely will criticize me for even suggesting it.

Synthetic turf.

You know what, I don't care if it isn't commonly used on soccer fields in Europe. That doesn't matter. I don't care if it isn't part of the sport's tradition; the only reason synthetic turf wasn't used back in the old days was because it hadn't been invented yet. If it had been, it would've been installed and there would be none of this debate about tradition and sentiment.

The Premier League and its member clubs have a responsibility to provide the best and most safest possible fields with the surfaces most condusive to the game. You can argue and cite studies that indicate that natural grass is safer than synthetic turf and if all things were equal, I'd agree with you. I'd rather play on grass than turf also.

But when the conditions lead to such slop like we've seen for a majority of the season at the JJB, synthetic turf simply has to be considered. It would be safer than what we're seeing now and it would allow the players to contest a game with as close to a perfect surface as possible. As I said earlier, this is one of the top, if not THE top, leagues in the world. It's inexcusable to see balls skipping around all over the place and players not being able to gain any firm footing, especially when the technology to prevent those things is out there.

UEFA announced in 2005-2006 that approved artificial surfaces were permittable in their competitions. Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim in Salzburg, Austria has an approved synthetic turf field and will have matches played on it in Euro 2008 this summer. Heracles, a Dutch Eredivisie side, has a synthetic surface in their stadium, which, like the JJB, is a multi-use ground.

The field in today's game was a joke. A joke. There are alternatives, namely in the form of synthetic turf, that just have to be considered. Soccer purists, I don't want to hear you. It's not about tradition, which I respect, it's about getting it right and providing the best possible surface for these players to compete on.

A Trio of Six-Pointers

Things have been pretty busy in the soccer world recently at least as far as this site goes, what with the African Cup of Nations in full swing and the FA Cup 4th Round ties and 5th Round draw over the past few days.

Let’s not forget the bread and butter though. Premier League action heats up again with a round of midweek games, starting with four tomorrow and then five on Wednesday. Three of tomorrow’s matches are extremely, extremely important and so I wanted to give you a brief preview of what to watch for. These games are the definition of the term “six-pointers”, as each of the six teams involved are in the relegation fight and could either go three points closer to safety or three more points behind the teams they’re chasing in the battle to remain in the Premier League.

Middlesbrough (13th; 22 pts) vs. Wigan (17th; 20 pts):

This will be game #1 of the post-Jonathan Woodgate era at Middlesbrough. Say what you like about Woodgate and how injury-prone he is, but he’s a quality center-back and his presence will sorely be missed at the Riverside, especially as Boro have already conceded 37 goals this season. They’ve won just once in their last six league matches and only twice at home all season. Both Tuncay Sanli and Gary O’Neil should return to the lineup, however, and that will be a boost to Gareth Southgate’s club.

Marlon King should be set to make his debut for Wigan after recently joining the Lancashire side from Watford. King is a serviceable striker who will help Wigan up front; they’ve scored only 23 goals in as many matches this season. They’ve won just once away from the JJB this year but have earned points in five out of their last seven league games, including their sole road win at Derby. As a sidenote, this will be Wigan’s 100th match in the Premier League.

Bolton (15th; 21 pts) vs. Fulham (19th; 15 pts):

Out of the six clubs I’ve highlighted today, I think these two need a victory the most.

Bolton lack any type of scoring punch now that Nicolas Anelka has continued his nomadic ways and moved to Chelsea, and the likely signing of Aston Villa central defender Gary Cahill doesn’t address that need whatsoever. The Trotters have won just twice in their last seven league games and those wins came against Derby and Birmingham. El-Hadji Diouf and Abdoulaye Meite are both away due to African Cup of Nations duty and that doesn’t help matters at all.

One thing that does work in Bolton’s favor, however, is Fulham’s awful road form. Bolton have been solid at home this season (5-3-4) and Fulham have picked up only four points in eleven away league matches so far (0-4-7). The Cottagers actually hadn’t won away from home in the 2007 calendar year either, so Bolton should have the advantage tomorrow in that regard. Fulham will need Clint Dempsey to have a good game tomorrow if they have any hope of gaining a much-needed three points.

Sunderland (18th; 20 pts) vs. Birmingham City (16th; 20 pts):

Sunderland will head into tomorrow’s match with a much-weakened side as Michael Chopra, Danny Higginbotham, Grant Leadbitter, Ross Wallace, Kieran Richardson, Carlos Edwards, and Dickson Etuhu will all be out and each of those players has had an appreciable role with the club this season. The Black Cats have shown improvement recently with two wins in their last five league matches, including the dominant 2-0 win against Portsmouth at the Stadium of Light on January 13. Kenwyne Jones is capable of scoring every time he walks onto the field and Birmingham will likely have trouble containing him in the air.

The Blues have the most away wins (2) out of any team in the bottom seven in the Premiership and will likely hand James McFadden his first start since his recent move from Everton. Mauro Zarate has joined the club on loan as well and trust me, this kid is a star in the making. He scored the winning goal for the Argentine U-20 team in the final of last summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup against the Czech Republic, and was the co-top scorer in the Argentine Apertura in 2006-2007 with 12 goals. Birmingham are healthy and will have every opportunity to steal a victory on the road, although they’ll have to earn it as Sunderland are 5-3-3 on home turf this season.

From the Predictable to the Unpredictable

On Friday, I posted about how "Grand Slam Sunday" was never likely to live up to the hype, and that there were some other fixtures that had the potential to be lively, fast-paced, and exciting.

Through one half of the "Battle of the Big Four", it's been exactly as anticipated. Manchester United eked out a goal from Carlos Tevez to beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield and move to the top of the table pending Arsenal's date with Chelsea later today. The Liverpool-United game was clearly full of passion from the players, but it was an incredibly dull affair. Liverpool had two clear chances in the span of three minutes in the first half but other than that, were completely bottled up by United's back four. United, for their part, really didn't threaten at all during the 90 minutes and it took a set piece for the Red Devils to score (Rooney and Tevez combined for the goal; haven't I been saying for some time now that they are the best strike duo in Europe??).

We'll see what happens with this Chelsea-Arsenal game but with key players missing from both sides, I'm not expecting much. Chelsea play some of the most sleep-inducing soccer known to man anyway and they'll be without their best goalscorer, Didier Drogba, and Arsenal may not have the services of midfield playmaker Cesc Fabregas, who won't be 100% even if he does play.

I did say that there would be games yesterday that would be much more exciting than the ones we'd see today, and I was right. The games I picked out, however (Derby-Boro, Portsmouth-Spurs, and West Ham-Everton), didn't exactly deliver for me. It was the Wigan-Blackburn game that proved to be yesterday's best, with two players, Marcus Bent for Wigan and Roque Santa Cruz for Blackburn, racking up a hat trick for their respective sides. Wigan won the game 5-3 and even that is a bit misleading as Marcus Bent didn't score Wigan's 5th goal, the one that put Blackburn away, until the 81st minute.

For as much as I criticize the Premier League for its predictability, its games like these that keep me coming back for more. I love attacking, free-flowing soccer and games between teams that have so much more to gain than they have to lose, like the four teams (and two boring games; one for sure so far, the other likely) we'll see today. The Premiership is the most entertaining league in the world; you can argue all you like about the level of soccer and the players' technical ability, whatever, all of that may be higher in other leagues. This league has the best value for money and is the most exciting, and there shouldn't be any debate about that.

Steve Bruce Joins Wigan

As reported by ESPNsoccernet, Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce has signed a four-year, $16 million US contract to become Wigan's new manager. Wigan is believed to have sent $6 million US back to Birmingham as compensation.

This really hurts Birmingham's chances of staying in the Premiership after this season as Bruce is a quality manager whose players love playing for him. The squad he'll inherit at Wigan isn't exactly on the young side, so Bruce should be able to tap into that experience and get the best out of his new team in hopes to maintain their place in the top tier of English soccer.

The problem at Birmingham for Steve Bruce was the pending new ownership under Carson Yeung and uncertainty surrounding Bruce's future at the helm of Birmingham's second-best team. Bruce hadn't been given the guarantees he sought from the incoming ownership and obviously felt the security offered to him by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan was too much to pass up.

It's uncertain who will step in and guide Birmingham, at least for the short-term, because Bruce's number two with the Blues, Eric Black, will probably step into the same role at Wigan in the very near future as assistant manager.

Season Summaries So Far

Due to this international break, the most critical one of the year for many countries across Europe (particularly two of the British sides--England and Scotland), we're 11 days away from the next round of games in the Premiership. Teams are roughly a third of the way through the season with either 12 or 13 games played, and I figured it'd be a good time to come out with a brief capsule for each team, starting at the bottom of the table and working my way to the top. I'll have, in parentheses, my preseason prediction as to where I thought these teams would finish at the end of the year. Some, I'm proud to say, are spot-on or pretty close to it; others are pretty far off as I either greatly overestimated or underestimated the talent and coaching that those teams have. The plan is to come out with two a day, which will take us right up to November 24, the next set of games.

Bringing up the rear, we have Derby County:

20. Derby County (My preseason prediction: 20th)

There really isn't too much to say about this team other than the obvious: they are awful. Derby have a -26 goal differential in their 13 games played; in fact, they have yet to score a goal away from Pride Park this season and have been shutout in their last five Premier League games. Their only win of the season came against perennial underachievers Newcastle, and the Rams were eliminated in the second round of the Carling Cup by Blackpool, who currently sit in 19th place in the Coca-Cola Championship. It's a new excuse after every game for manager Billy Davies; it's one thing that your team "deserved" a result in one game or another, it's another thing to actually get a result and Derby simply haven't been on the right end of many games this season.

Benny Feilhaber and Giles Barnes, two promising young players for the Rams (Barnes especially), have combined to make 4 Premier League starts this season. If you're going to go down, which Derby most certainly are, at least play some of the younger players so that they can get some Premier League exposure and experience. The more they play and the better they play, the more money Derby can make when they sell them and that's important for a team that doesn't generate a lot of revenue on their own.

19. Wigan Athletic (My preseason prediction: 18th)

Wigan are another club in desperate straits. Chris Hutchings started the year as the manager who was supposed to guide Wigan into the post-Paul Jewell era but 13 games into the season, he's gone. Jewell has since ruled out a return to Lancashire and it looks like former Everton, Ipswich and Oldham manager Joe Royle has emerged as a favorite for this job.

If Royle takes over, he'll inherit a club in disarray. Jason Koumas was counted on to play a much larger role than he has up to this point; he's looked downright lazy on the field this season and as Wigan's biggest signing this summer, he hasn't lived up to expectations. Antoine Sibierski and Marcus Bent, two retreads if there ever were some, are co-leading this team in scoring with 3 goals apiece. Titus Bramble, of all players, has started every Premiership game this season and he's a detriment to any team's back four. Wigan also were knocked out of the Carling Cup at home to a lower-league side (Hull City-11th in the Championship; the crowd at that game was a meager 5,440). If the Latics are going to stay up, they'll need to do a better job away from home (1 draw and 6 losses at the JJB so far).

Goodbye, Chris Hutchings

Six consecutive losses and just 8 points from 12 league games forced Wigan chairman Dave Whelan to make a managerial change today as Chris Hutchings has been given the axe.

"This has been a very difficult decision for me and the board to make but I felt we had to act in the best interests of the club and its long-term future.

'Chris has worked very hard since becoming manager and I cannot fault either his effort or commitment to the cause. However, it is crucial for the development of Wigan that we maintain our Premier League status this season and following results and performances in recent matches, we feel it is critical to act now.

'My energies will now be fully focused on getting the right man, firstly to stop the decline we have suffered in the last two months or so, and secondly, to take us forward in the future," said Whelan in a statement.

Realistically, Wigan know they're in a fight for their Premiership lives and this move has the markings of one to give the team an immediate, short-term spark in a hope to turn the season around. I picked this team to finish 18th, the last relegation spot, and I stand by my prediction. Wigan don't have the players and don't have the money to go out and acquire much talent in the January transfer window. Their only hope is for teams like Middlesbrough and Bolton to keep struggling, as we all know Derby will finish last.

Former boss Paul Jewell has been linked to reclaim his old position in charge but he's too talented of a manager to be stuck with a team that's probably going to be relegated; Jewell would be idiotic to take this job. He's in a decent position to become England's next manager once Steve McLaren gets fired (and he inevitably will, sooner or later), and there will be more attractive domestic jobs out there than Wigan.

Premiership Preview--18. Wigan Athletic

18. It's going to be one place away from safety for Wigan Athletic this season, as they'll return to the Championship after two years in England's top flight. The drop would cap off the wild ride Wigan supporters (all 4 of them, as evidenced by low attendance at JJB Stadium) have been on in recent years. Three seasons ago, Wigan clinched second place in the Championship on May 8, assuring themselves of a Premiership spot. The next year, Wigan finished in the top half of the Premiership and had a chance to play in Europe, though they turned down their place in the Intertoto Cup. Last year, they narrowly avoided relegation by beating Sheffield United on the last day of the season.

Wigan's one good signing this summer, Welsh international midfielder Jason Koumas, is an underrated move that should pay dividends for a club that was in dire need of a midfield playmaker. However, Wigan still took one step forward and two steps back with the addition (or is it subtraction??) of Titus Bramble, a once-promising defender who is now known more for his comical blunders in the back than anything else, and the departure of Lee McCulloch, who made 224 league appearances for Wigan since 2001. The club will also be counting on new acquisition Antoine Sibierski to step up and score some big goals this season. There's still a chance that Leighton Baines, the young left-back, will leave the club this summer. Baines rejected a move to Sunderland recently and it now appears that Everton, Baines' childhood team, are the front-runners for his services.

Without Paul Jewell in charge, Wigan don't look to have much chance of staying up. Jewell took Wigan from League Two in 2001 to the Premiership in 2005. New manager Chris Hutchings has been at the helm only one other time during his coaching career, a stint with Bradford City from June-November 2000. He recorded 7 wins, 4 draws, and 10 losses during that time and then was sacked. He's been assistant manager at Wigan for the past six seasons, but I thought Wigan needed to go get a more experienced, higher-profile coach this summer and they failed to do that.

The schedule is fairly navigable up through November, and Wigan will need to take as many points as they can from the 11 games they'll play to that point. November brings Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal (the latter two on the road), and it's likely they'll take no points from those three games. A trip to Bolton in early December doesn't make things much easier. Their three matches in February could turn out to be the pivotal point for Wigan this season. They're home to West Ham and Derby County, with an away match at Sunderland sandwiched in between. Wigan will probably need to take maximum points out of those games if they're in trouble heading into February, because their last five matches are as difficult as they come (Chelsea and a much improved Aston Villa side away, Tottenham, Reading, and Manchester United at home).

Bottom Line-If Wigan lose Leighton Baines this summer, give them absolutely no chance to stay up; put them below Birmingham in the end-of-year table. It may take a managerial change in the middle of the season to bring life into a club that just doesn't have the personnel to stay up.

Benayoun to Liverpool, Nugent to Portsmouth; Baines to Everton?

According to the agent of Israeli midfielder and captain Yossi Benayoun, Liverpool and West Ham have agreed to an $8 million US fee that would send Benayoun to Liverpool. It is the second high-profile deal between the clubs this week (Bellamy to West Ham). Benayoun is just 27 years old and played as an attacking midfielder for West Ham, though Liverpool sees him as the perfect replacement for Luis Garcia, who left the club for Atletico Madrid. His acquisition seems to signal Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez's intention to reinforce the outside midfield positions this year. The move further strengthens a midfield that is probably the best in all of England, with Xabi Alonso, Gerrard, Harry Kewell, Jermaine Pennant, Javier Mascherano, and Mohamed Sissoko already signed through at least this season.


Former England U-21 striker David Nugent is reportedly set to sign for Portsmouth on Wednesday, according to BBC Radio Lancashire. Nugent has starred for Championship side Preston North End since 2005, scoring 33 goals in 94 appearances for the club, but the 22-year old has been seeking a move to a Premiership team and Portsmouth is a team where he would be able to play a lot of games and contribute at a high level. Sol Campbell has been pleading with management all summer for additions at the striker position with the departure of Svetoslav Todorov and the controversy surrounding Kanu and his return to the club, and this signing could be just what Portsmouth needs to contend for a European spot this season. The deal is rumored to be worth $12 million US with Nugent then having to agree to personal terms and pass a physical.

Updated Wednesday, July 11: Nugent's transfer has been confirmed and completed as he passed a physical and signed a four-year contract with Portsmouth, keeping him on the South Coast through the 2010-2011 season.


Another former England U-21 player, Wigan defender Leighton Baines, could also be on the move within the coming days. Wigan has rejected multiple offers from Sunderland but now Everton is lining up a $9 million US bid to bring Baines to Merseyside. New Wigan manager Chris Hutchings said that Baines would be part of his club next season:

"I have told (Sunderland boss) Roy Keane that Leighton is not for sale. He is part of this club.

"Every player does have a price but I am happy to keep him here as I am building a team."

With this being said, if Everton can match the price at which Wigan rates him, I would expect a transfer to be completed. At only 22 years of age, he's already been a part of Wigan's first team for five seasons, and he is still a young talent growing into his tremendous potential. Baines will only be looking to play for a bigger club in the future anyway, and I think Wigan would be wise to sell him if they can get full value so they can bring in more players to address their multiple needs.

Titus Bramble, Antoine Sibierski to Wigan; Wigan's New Home Uniform

The 25-year old former Newcastle defender becomes the first signing of new Wigan manager Chris Hutchings as he heads to the JJB on a three year contract. Bramble became expendable after Sam Allardyce took over at Newcastle and after making 105 appearances for the Magpies, he was told his contract would not be renewed.






On another free transfer, French striker Antoine Sibierski has joined Wigan from Newcastle. The 32-year old signed a two year contract with the Latics, previously appearing in 118 Premiership games in total with Newcastle and Manchester City while scoring just 14 goals. He's a fairly versatile player who is capable of occupying a role in midfield or as a striker although his best days certainly appear to be behind him.




Wigan also have put images of their 2007-2008 home uniform on their official website
(mentioned below). They are not "copy-and-paste-able", so check out the site and take a look. Blue and white stripes are the look on the jersey, with all-blue shorts and white socks. It's a nice uniform, safely conservative in form. The uniform will be released to the public through Wigan's fan shop on June 14.

To view Wigan's new home uniform, see http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10429~1032696,00.html

For the club's official press release concerning Bramble, see
http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10429~1032324,00.html

For the club's official press release concerning Sibierski, see
http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10429~1032776,00.html

Here's a video clip that explains why Sam Allardyce
didn't want to keep Bramble around:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgnWpCZfpC0