A week after the disappointment of the Spurs draw, we’ve had time to consider that while it might have felt like the end of the world, it wasn’t the end of the season. Robbie Keane might have gone from appreciated footballer to irritating arse when he decided to stop falling over, whining into the ref’s ear, and spoiling our day, but there are still ten games to go. On the other hand, those who think we only have to beat Wigan to achieve safety should look at the home games after that – Hull, Man Utd, Everton, and Chelsea – then ask where the points needed will come from. I reckon we’ll probably get more in our last four away than our last four at home, but who knows, It’s tighter than Bob Murray’s wallet outside the top six, and I honestly think that there are fourteen teams who could end up in a different division come August. Fulham’s defeat by Blackburn (Diouf, hey, why not for us?) means that they’re within striking distance, and Boro can’t score to save their lives despite the nonsense against Liverpool.

Liverpool – having watched them scalp Real the other night, we should take some comfort from the fact that we only let two in against them.

And then, just when you think the Prem is a complete load of capitalist nonsense, Karren Brady of Brum once again showed her complete lack of knowledge of football and her inferior journalistic skills by badmouthing Alex McLeish and his recent signings. Alex McLeish is a decent bloke and not a bad manager, but I don’t like Brum, and I like Brady even less. She’s a bad journalist, and was only given the chance to be a journalist because of her position in football. At least her newspaper nonsense gives her the chance to regularly embarrass herself - and her club. Think yourself lucky that you’re not a short-arse Canadian footballer of moderate ability, or she might have married you.

In trying to keep my mind off the football, I went along to our Gary’s first gig as a member of his Country band. It was in a part of town that sounds like it’s where eggs come from, and I had visions of Patrick Swayze on the door and bottles raining down on the mesh in front of the band, but no such thing. It was calm and fairly sedate until his band came on, and they let him loose. Considering his background is metal and blues, it was no surprise when the band let him rip at every opportunity, and I came away well impressed and with nothing worse than a slight case of Boxcar Willie. And he’s got a gig at Tan Hill in a few weeks, which should be a laugh, as well as bit of a change from bursting speakers around Bishop.

So it was off to the Wigan three-point-must-have game. A quick tour of the Deptford area, as we’d dropped the football card on the way through and had six quid each to burn, culminated in a Ryhope Tug at the Salty (fnaar fnaar).

No surprises with the line-up of:

Fulop
Bardsley BenChay-eem Collins McCartney
Steed Deano Leadbitter Reid
Cisse Jones

Again, we kicked north in the first half. I don’t know why, but I just don’t like it, and against high-visibility Wigan, in their cast-off Sheff Utd away tops (courtesy of Steve Bruce, I should think), didn’t seem that keen to come forward and played only Mido up front. To be honest, and not a little sarcastic, he looked like a hot air balloon with a wig. We tried to break down the right, but Grant ran out of both space and pace, then the small band of visiting fans warmed to their five across the back and hump it away routine which, to be fair, worked for them. They just didn’t want to get beat. After five minutes, Grant won the ball and fed Cisse, who cut inside and did what he does – put nine million tons of thrust into the shot when picking his spot might have been a better option. Result? Someone in the upper North Stand with a sore head. Bardsley won a corner, but it was cleared, and when the keeper hoofed it our way, Phil took it down well to instigate another attack. This, however, ended when he switched it to the left and Reid couldn’t make headway. At this point, news that the mags were a goal down raised our spirits a bit, and from a deep free-kick we set Steed away, but the header from his cross was easy for the keeper. After eleven minutes Wigan attacked, we won the header in the box, but it went up in the air and there was Ben Watson, who had sensibly turned down Boro ‘cos they smelled funny, to watch the bounce and volley unchallenged into the corner. Maybe there was a bit of a deflection, but Fulop couldn’t get anywhere near it. A few minutes later it looked like we’d be level, but when Jones fed Reid the shot was smothered and the follow-up blocked.

Jones then failed to hold the ball up on halfway and they broke. Thankfully we got in the tackle that mattered and got the ball up to Cisse on the right, with a corner resulting. It was short (why now, and not the latter minutes against Spurs?) and we won another, but the keeper took it comfortably. Reid played it long to Jones, but it was cleared for a throw on halfway then a free-kick. Needless to say that came to nothing, but was followed quickly by another which went nowhere. An injury on Bardsley produced the compulsory tea-break as drinks and sundry nibbles were passed around the field for five minutes. Fulop had to be smart to thwart a break into the box, and we got the ball to Jones, then Cisse. It looked promising down the right, but Djib’s cross was hard, low, and twenty yards in front of anybody in a red and white shirt. McCartney contrived to lose the ball from our throw, but thankfully they shot wide of the post – Watson again. Riding our luck with the bounce for once, Cisse kept his shot low but it was well saved, then we built well through Steed, Reid, and Cisse for the ball to get to Reid again on the left, but his cross was easy for the keeper. Despite having a lot of the ball, we gave it back to Wigan on too many occasions and were not looking good. Simply put, there was not enough drive from the centre of midfield, with Deano looking like he was under strict instructions to cross halfway at his peril, and Djib’s little flicks gave the ball away too often. With five to go to the break, Grant produced some tenacity on the edge of the box, won the ball, and drove forward a couple of yards before knocking the ball home. Nice one son, let’s go and get them. Just when it looked like we’d got on top of the visitors at last, they broke and virtually walked the ball into the box before shooting horribly high. Still, we thought, we’ll have them in the second half.

Not so. They burst out of defence on the left, Charlie Insomnia bore down on goal, we couldn’t be arsed to tackle him, and it was 1-2, which just about summed up the first half.

No changes for the second period, and Steed soon found himself flat out on the centre-spot, with the ref quick to stop proceedings. Why not when Jones was felled by a flying elbow before their second goal? (OK I’m being picky, but why not? I’d leave them all lying there until the game ended if it was down to me). We almost got in down the right from Reid’s cross, but it was knocked away. Fulop produced a good save with his feet on 58 when they broke in from their left, but when we tried to break there was no real drive from midfield.

Steed got Jones through, but the big lad lost out in what looked like a soft challenge on the edge of the box, then Murphy replaced Reid. Soon after that Edwards replaced Steed (not what I would have done, but I’m only a fan) and it went downhill from a fairly low position from there. Any shape we had vanished, and when Healy came on for Ben Haim – three at the back at that stage I agree with - it was in vain. We got in a few shots, but more often than not we failed to turn (Cisse in the box, in particular) when a really good chance looked on. There appeared to be a lack of basic footballing skills from Cisse, who will have to do a whole lot more if he’s to justify what we’re paying him, never mind getting a permanent contract.

I could bore you with another couple of hundred words on the game’s closing fifteen minutes, but I’ll spare you that. Suffice to say we were well worse than a very moderate Wigan side, and we were lacking in so many basics today that it’s worrying. On the bright side, we’ll stay up simply because there are so many other bad sides in the division. Boro and the mags drawing might sound initially disappointing, but they were the best results for us.

Man of the Match? Probably one of the hardest choices I’ve had to make in this department, as we were, to a man, disappointing. It would have gone to Grant for scoring and getting the tackles in, but he gave it away far too often, so it’ll go to Fulop for that save with his feet.

Keep the Faith

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