The Blackpool support was reminisant of the following behind the Wigan Athletic team that opened the season against Chelsea at the DW Stadium five year ago.
Just a quick look down the teamsheets should have been enough evidence that the Latics would romp away with the three points and Blackpool would be smarting from their first encounter in the top flight.
Football however choses not to follow the script.
Charles N'Zogbia has clearly rocked the ship with his so called transfer request. So much so, the newly capped French international was not named amoungst the first team squad and seems destined for a move away from the DW Stadium. So long and thanks for all the fish.
Deja vu
The game panned out in a similar way to the Carling Cup tie at Bloomfield Road last season. The Latics were alarmingly slow out of the blocks and the players clearly believed they only had to turn up to win.
Blackpool on the other hand were fully focussed and committed on getting everything they could from the game, and it showed. Ian Holloway had drilled his players very well and they knew what to expect from the Latics.
It would be all too easy to criticise Roberto Martinez for his lack of a motivating teamtalk, and perhaps his naivity. But at the end of the day, the eleven players that started for Wigan Athletic today are all professional footballers who should not need a humdinger of a team talk to win a football match.
Too many players today had the cocky swagger of an individual who was dreaming of some faraway club at the top end of the Premiership, when in reality they are mediocre footballers and there is a reason why they are plying their trade at the DW Stadium.
Chris Kirkland will no doubt be dropped from the first eleven after a frighteningly shacky performance that culminated in two embarrasing errors and goals for the Seasiders, and his usual comedy footwork and kicking. He will be lucky to play another game this season should Al-Habsi capitalise.
Things were not much more improved in the defence. Maynor Figueroa displayed no positional sense what-so-ever as he was consistently beaten by the easy ball inside him, whilst Steve Gohouri seemed incapable of even the most basic control.
Antolin Alcaraz looked assured and showed glimpses of what there is to come, but he didn't at all look settled. Emmerson Boyce at right back gave his usual huff and puff display, but with a team underperforming, it is difficult to win any individual credit.
Bone idle midfield
Going forwards into midfield and things took another turn for the worse, if that is possible. Momo Diame was in slow motion and Ben Watson was in reverse as the game passed both of these passengers by.
Watson seems to have left his ability to take a set piece in the same place that Jimmy Bullard never picked his up from. The first man from corners and free kicks must have been about 12ft tall.
James McCarthy was left trying to mark four Tangerine midfielders, and even this talented 19 year old couldn't manage that.
Victor Moses was lively with the ball but he was another passenger when the Seasiders were in possession. He simply chose to watch and wait until the white and blue spherical object arrived at his feet again so he could go on another long mazy run to nowhere.
South American Superstars
Perhaps the biggest disappointments of the day came from the two supposed South American superstars.
Firstly, Hugo Rodallega went hiding again. The Columbian is all too good on his day but he just goes hiding in a difficult game. There was no fight and no effort from our supposed star forward as a former Southampton and Portsmouth reject, Stephen Crainey marshalled him out the game.
The genuine worry of the day came from Mauro Boselli. £6 million worth of striker who just looked bone-idle. Cathcart and Evatt at the heart of the Blackpool defence won't have an easier day. He didn't chase a single ball and certainly didn't challenge aerially.
There were a few glimpses of the odd pass being made, but otherwise there was very little. He certainly isn't quick, nor big, nor strong, the list goes on. He had one header that flicked off the ball in the second half, but that effort aside, he looked terrible. It will be difficult for a Wigan team to carry such a player in the side. We'd have been better off with Marlon Harewood, and he didn't cost anything!
In a somewhat ironic way, Martinez showed his anger with the first half by adding a right back and a defensive midfielder to the game before the kick off for the second. Hardly mouth-watering stuff.
It was even more ironic that the above mentioned right back, Ronnie Stam, turned out the be the best attacking threat for the Latics. Stam's display is the major positive that we can take from the game, well perhaps the only positive.
Thomas on the other hand put in his usual performance, but he was hardly going to be a game changing substitution was he?
It must be said though that full marks to Blackpool and Ian Holloway. They came to the DW Stadium and did exactly what it says on the tin. 110% from each and every player and they got what they deserved. I truely hope they enjoy their time at the top of the Barclays Premiership table.
In the blue and white corner, as the coroner realses his verdict, each and every player in a Wigan Athletic shirt there today should look in the mirror and ask if that is the best they can do. If it is, then they would be much better off retiring.
Who to blame
It is important to note that none of the above poor performance can be blamed on Roberto Martinez. Perhaps Alcaraz and Boselli not being settled, but the Latics boss probably wanted to blood them in what should have been an easier game against Blackpool.
What Martinez could not have expected was such a display of self arrogance and disrespect for the club that was given by a worryingly large number of his first team players.
No doubt the messageboard will be full of idiots calling for the managers head and singing the praises of the fat head at Sunderland who never had a plan further than the next transfer window.
It would be more wise to judge the Latics on their display against Chelsea next week when motivation won't be an issue and they will have had a week of embarrasing insults thrown at them (a good fair share from this website).
There is also going to be the cash from the N'Zogbia and Scotland sales to spend. It is all too easy to jump to conclusions. It is a marathon, not a sprint, and I will be surpirsed if Blackpool won't finish above the Latics this season.
Rewind five years and then you think that perhaps it is somewhat ironic that we have Chelsea next week at the DW Stadium. Whilst a 1-0 defeat would not be welcome, the support from the stands, and the same committment and desire from the playing staff would be more than welcome for the Latics.
Player Ratings
Chris Kirkland 1
Emmerson Boyce 4 (Ronnie Stam 7)
Maynor Figueroa 3
Antolin Alcaraz 4
Steve Gohouri 4
Momo Diame 3 (Hendry Thomas 5)
Ben Watson 2
James McCarthy 5
Victor Moses 4
Hugo Rodallega 2
Mauro Boselli 1
The Table
| Latest match Saturday, 14th August 2010 |
Pld | Home | Away | Overall | Pts | GD | |||||||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 1 | Blackpool | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | +4 | ||||
| 2 | Aston Villa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | +3 | ||||
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +1 | ||||
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | +1 | ||||
| 5 | Birmingham City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 6 | Sunderland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 8 | Fulham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 9 | Manchester City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 11 | Arsenal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 12 | Chelsea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 13 | Liverpool | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 14 | Manchester United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 15 | Newcastle United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 17 | Stoke City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1 | ||||
| 18 | Everton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 | ||||
| 19 | West Ham United | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -3 | ||||
| 20 | Wigan Athletic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -4 | ||||
Next Game
Just the easy visit of Chelsea to the DW Stadium. A spanking defeat to Blackpool is obviously expected so the posh team from London will be an easy three points. Just like last year.