Wigan Athletic have survived by the skin of their teeth for yet another season in the top flight. The Latics were in the bottom half of the table all season and were in the drop zone more often than not in the second phase but managed to extract themselves out of the bottom three when it mattered, on the final day of the season with a gutsy win at Stoke. Roberto Martinez’ main signing over the summer was Argentinean striker Mauro Boselli to try and ease the pressure off Hugo Rodallega in the attack. Antolin Alcaraz and Ronnie Stam also came on board to try and help shore up a defence that had been porous to say the least in the previous season. Gary Caldwell and Maynor Figueroa returned at the back with Diame, McCarthy and Watson back in midfield, and Charles Nzogbia in his trademark right sided offensive position. Man Utd youngster Tom Cleverley joined on loan in September and went on to settle well in the side at the expense of Hendry Thomas. In typical style, the Latics had a dreadful start to the campaign, conceding ten goals in their first two games before going on to win at White Hart Lane. Martinez had also taken goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi on loan from Bolton, which proved to be his smartest move of the season. Wigan have a well documented history of inconsistency and it is typical that they only managed back-to-back wins to escape the drop in the final two games of the season. By the end of the first phase, they were just about keeping the bottom three at bay with only four wins and eight draws. N’Zogbia and Rodallega remained the main purveyors of goals upfront as Boselli failed to hit the net until he was loaned out in January. Al Habsi quickly supplanted Chris Kirkland in goal and went on to have a great season in goal. The Omani was more often than not the last line of defence and undeniably earned Wigan a fair number of points in his 33 starts. The Latics went out of the Cup competitions early which in a way enabled them to focus on the league in the second phase. The writing was on the wall when they dropped to rock bottom in early March but Wigan could always be trusted to react. Of their final nine games, they only lost two, amassing a precious 15 points in the process. Still, they were faced with the daunting task of having to win their final two games to save themselves, which they did with a combination of guts and great play, with the whole side pulling their weight. In the end, most fans will agree that the Latics have too much quality in the side to be in such a position and Roberto Martinez will be expected to address their chronic inconsistency next season if he stays at the club.
