N’Zogbia will play on Saturday

Well, at least we can rest assured that midfielder Charles N’Zogbia will suit up and probably start against Chelsea. After manager Roberto Martinez explained his French midfielder’s absence in the season opener by saying he was “not mentally right to play,” Martinez has shifted his opinion and now says N’Zogbia is ready.

“But he has been back to himself in training this week,” Martinez said. “And when he does that, he remains a special player for us.”

Of course, this hardly means N’Zogbia will be staying put for the entire season. Martinez actually seems to be welcoming speculation by essentially saying that N’Zogbia will be moved whenever the right deal presents itself.

Tottenham Hotspurs are the latest side to join the rumored pursuit of N’Zogbia, with Juventus, Marseille and Sunderland already supposedly in the mix.

Also worth noting, apparently goalkeeper Chris Kirkland is getting another opportunity this week. I guess there’s something to be said with Martinez sticking by his man, but I’m hoping the leash isn’t too long.

Facing Chelsea, what is the appropriate mental state?

My cousin, a Tottenham supporter, recently asked me how I was feeling about this weekend’s Wigan-Chelsea matchup. I jokingly said I expect a 4-0 victory, but then conceded that I was OK with something like a 3-1 loss. Coming off a 4-0 loss to Blackpool, it’s pretty awful to think that starting the season being outscored 7-1 would be deemed acceptable.

Afterall, the last time these sides met, Chelsea was yukking it up and winning 8-0 to close out the EPL campaign.

Making matters worse is an apparent row between Wigan manager Roberto Martinez and Charles N’Zogbia that may have kept the French midfielder out of last weekend’s match against Blackpool. Martinez claims there’s nothing out of the ordinary going on here and there’s still a decent chance that he’ll play this week. I’m still holding out hope that N’Zogbia will stick around, but this does not seem to bode well.

Such is life as a lower-table supporter, I guess.

Then again, maybe I’m being too pessimistic. Sports in general, and soccer especially, is full of upsets. Look no further than last year’s Chelsea-Wigan match at DW Stadium.

You could be forgiven for forgetting that Wigan won that match, and not by some fluke, either. The score was 3-1 and Wigan never trailed. Wigan took the lead at 16′ on a Titus Bramble score. Chelsea equalized right before the half. But Peter Cech was eventually red-carded, Wigan converted the penalty and then put the game away witha  90′ strike.

That marked the first time Wigan would ever beat a “Big Four” side in 34 tries and would ultimately be the first of three victories against those teams, as Wigan went on to also beat Arsenal (3-2) and Liverpool (1-0) at home.

Last season’s victory over Chelsea, it should also be mentioned, came in the midst of a not-so-different run of form. Wigan entered that match having lost four of its first six EPL matches and had also lost to Blackpool (4-1) in the Carling Cup.

I’m not going to pretend as if I think a victory is likely on Saturday, but I think the game should at least be worth watching. There’s no way Wigan can play worse than it did last week and even tying Chelsea would give me some valuable bragging rights, which I would probably have to forfeit if I don’t at least watch the match.

0-4: Not the start I was hoping for

The best news to come out of Saturday’s fixture of opening EPL matches was that Wigan does not find itself at the bottom of the table.

Despite falling 4-0 to recently promoted Blackpool, Wigan finds themselves nestled safely in 19th after Chelsea’s 6-0 throttling of West Bromwich. After an offseason filled with promise, this was not the start I was looking for.

Gary Taylor-Fletcher put Wigan in an early hole with a strike at 16′. After a pair of goals from Marion Harewood at 38′ and 43′ set the match into halftime 3-0, the game was essentially over. Alex Baptiste closed out the scoring in 75′.

There were some points of positivity from the Latics, though. Newcomer Mauro Bosselli and last year’s leading scorer Hugo Rodallega made some strong connections and Bosselli nearly opened his scoring account with a header that glanced off the woodwork. Prior to Baptiste’s late goal, the Latics had actually controlled play during the second half, albeit against a team that had little reason to push forward. Wigan also had a second-half goal pulled back after what appeared to be an incorrect offside call.

“Today was extremely disappointing,” Latics manager Roberto Martinez told the team’s website after the match. ”We were excited about playing at home and looking forward to giving our fans the right performance to start the season with.”

On a personal level, I’m trying to not less this match get me too far down. I’m trying to remember that Charles N’Zogbia didn’t play, that Ronnie Stam was a substitute and that Ali Al Habsi can’t possibly do worse than today’s starting keeper Chris Kirkland.

Obviously, one lopsided loss hasn’t changed my interest in this team. It does, however, serve as a wakeup call. In watching today’s match, I know now more than ever that talent alone does not guarantee victories, especially in the EPL. At points, I was actually amazed at how quick and skilled Wigan’s players are in comparison to the players I usually watch in the MLS. I knew this was the case, but seeing two teams that could very well be fighting relegation this season really drove that point home.

So sue me, I have high hopes for Wigan

Maybe it’s my naivete, but I am genuinely excited about Wigan’s chances this year. I’ve read predictions that have run the gamut from near certain relegation to competing for a spot in Europa.

They have a fresh striker in Mauro Boselli, who early reports suggest may be one of the top transfers to hit the Premiership this season. The Argentinian was one of South America’s top strikers the past two seasons and was the leading scorer in Copa Libertadores while helping lead Estudiantes to the title in 2009. He scored two goals in Wigan’s final warmup against Dundee, and that $10 million transfer may turn out to be a decent bargain.

He seems poised to create quite a scoring duo with Hugo Rodallega, who was the team’s leading goal scorer last season. The 25-year-old Colombian closed out last season with goals in three of four matches and appears to finally be adjusting to the English game.

Both players are of similar stature and seem to play similar styles, so it will be interesting to see if that’s a problem or not.

The midfield, too, seems to offer some promise of hope. Charles N’Zogbia is another youngster (24) and just earned his first cap for France in their recent friendly. There have been rumors swirling that he’ll leave the team, but if he stays it could be the difference between fighting off relegation and aiming for something much more significant.

Mohamed Diame, just 23, has shown much promise as more of a defense-minded central midfielder. Unfortunately, he also has been linked in transfer rumors.

Quite honestly, I’m not sure what to think of this team. I’ve never followed EPL closely, so the fact there are a bunch of players that seem interesting seems great. The fact that so many of them are young, seems promising, but also potentially scary. It’s hard to imagine that a bunch of guys in their mid-20s will be able to hang with players that are in their athletic primes and have more years of high-level competition under their belts.

Still, I am quite honestly looking forward to this season. No matter what happens — barring a complete collapse in which relegation becomes a foregone conclusion — I’m expecting this season to be exciting. If that means the Latics will be fighting for their Premiership lives, I’ll be sure to find that interesting. If they end up being the surprise side of the league, that would be even better.

My biggest concern is figuring out how to watch these games without making my wife leave me (the early morning starts will not be popular).

N’Zogbia called up for French duty

This story is, admittedly, a bit old but it is worth reporting that Charles N’Zogbia will miss the EPL opener against Blackpool in order to earn his first call-up for the French national team. This likely ends the possibility that he will play for England (not that this particularly bothers me) but it does hamper the Latics efforts to start their season off right.

The move could also add some closure to the possibility that N’Zogbia will be transferred before the window closes at the end of the month. Among the teams that won’t, apparently, be acquiring the midfielder’s services are Birmingham, which should come to a relief to our friends at Aston Villa.

Well, apparently that Cleverley transfer was a bit premature

At some point, I guess I’ll start getting used to this stuff, but for now this stuff still amazes me: a.) a team in the same league would agree to let you use one of their players and b.) they’d just decide that they aren’t really that into the idea.

Apparently a day or two after agreeing to transfer Tom Cleverley to Wigan, ManU manager Sir Alex Ferguson has decided he’d like the 21-year-old midfielder to stick around. Here’s what Fergie had to say:

“Tom Cleverley is going to stay. He is an exceptional young player in the sense of his ability to play in different positions.

“He is such a mobile boy who can play wide on either side and in central midfield. Also, which he has showed at Watford last year, he is a goalscorer.

“Tom has got outstanding qualities as far as goalscoring is concerned, so he is going to stay.”

I’m honestly not sure how big of a loss this is, but it is a bit of a shock to the ego. I still don’t know much about Cleverley but he promised to be an interesting player to watch mature.

Wigan acquires ManU’s Cleverley on loan

While Charles N’Zogbia may be on his way out of town, Wigan may have found a midfielder to replace him. Tom Cleverley has apparently been loaned to Wigan, with manager Roberto Martinez beating out several other EPL sides for the opportunity.

Cleverley is considered an up-and-coming talent, although not quite ready to earn heavy minutes for Manchester United who still owns his rights.

Among the highlights of Cleverley’s recent form was a goal against the MLS All-Stars during ManU’s match at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.

Cleverley spent last season at Watford, a Championship team, and scored 11 goals in 33 matches.

As an aside, I’d like to add that as someone who’s still rather new to the EPL this is an odd development. Basically, there is such a gap between ManU and Wigan that there’s little concern with loaning out a quality player to another team in the same league. Unless I’m missing something, Wigan will play ManU at least twice and Cleverley will likely play significant minutes in those matches. I’m trying to think of an American equivalent to this, but I really can’t fathom what that would be.

N’Zogbia may be on way out

I haven’t had time to really get attached to any Latic, but one that I had fully expected to fall in love with was Frenchman Charles N’Zogbia. Unfortunately, it’s starting to look pretty unlikely that I’ll get the chance.

According to L’Equipe (via The Independent), Wigan officials have told N’Zogbia that they won’t stand in his way if he finds a more desirable location.

“When I came here, I was in a period where I wanted to relaunch myself,” N’Zogbia told L’Equipe. “Today I’m at Wigan but if tomorrow a good club with great aims contacts me, I am open.

“I have talked about it with my bosses. They won’t put a spoke in the wheel.”

N’Zogbia is also set to make his debut with the French National Team when they play a friendly against Norway. Obviously, this would be a blow to Wigan’s hopes of improving upon last year’s 16th place finish. It also serves a stark reminder of what kind of battle I’m facing in terms of rooting for a lower-table side. At least it’s interesting, right?

Among his rumored suitors are Juventus, Olympique Marseille and Birmingham City.

Wigan, I am disappointed

This is an opinion piece, in case you’re wondering …

I was pretty excited to see that Wigan has redesigned, and slicked up, its official website.

Unfortunately, as I soon discovered, the way they are paying for that new shine is by asking its supporters to pay fees to get “exclusive” content such as interviews with players and, in some cases, pretty basic news.

Now, there’s still some free content on there, but I’m not sure that I get this strategy. Maybe they just do things a little different across the pond, but I’m used to primary sources, such as team websites, doing everything they can to disseminate information as widely as possible.

It strikes as a bit shooting-yourself-in-the-footy, especially coming from a team that should be doing everything possible to expand its brand.

Far be it from me to question to online decisions of an EPL side, but as someone who is trying their darndest to get to know your team, I just don’t get this move.

Wigan signs Scottish midfielder

James McArthur, considered to be a dynamic young midfielder while playing in the Scottish Premier League, has completed his signing with Wigan.

“James is a really exciting prospect,” Wigan manager Roberto Martinez said, “and we are all delighted that he is chosen to join Wigan Athletic. We are building a squad here at the DW and I see James as being another real quality addition who will add great competition in the midfield areas.”

The 22-year-old scored 10 goals in 168 league appearances for Hamilton