Warren Joyce left Manchester United to join a new adventure at Championship side Wigan Athletic as a successor for Gary Caldwell, however it is arguable Joyce has been a successor losing pretty much every game.
Wigan in the Championship have been gloomy, however after a dominating 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest the Latics have been rewarded with an attractive draw at Manchester United. With so many former United connections at Wigan, it is interesting to see what the score line will be. You may think I’m just a deluded fan, which is probably inevitably the case and that I will always back my team, but I do believe Wigan can cause the upset.
Set the scene, David vs Goliath. It’s kind of like the remake of classic films, similar to how Ghostbusters was remade in 2016 but with a female revolution. Unrelated that example, but you can surely understand my point. Some interesting statistics came out after the draw, Wigan have lost 8 of their 8 visits to Old Trafford, conceding 28 goals and only ever scoring once, which was funnily enough, a penalty. A staggering 28-1 aggregate of goals, no points ever collected for Wigan at Old Trafford, but I still think we can win. Great logic Jay, absolutely great. I mean at the end of the day, this article’s prediction will be terribly wrong and Wigan are bound to lose by a 5 goal margin, but you don’t have anything if you don’t have hope to win.
Funnily enough, Wigan have a few former United reserves in their first team squad. The former wonder kid Nick Powell, Reece James and Andy Kellett are apart of the Wigan squad, with Ravel Morrison and Cameron Stewart both training with the club.
The most interesting name on that list is Ravel Morrison. People believed he was set for greatness and even Rio Ferdinand stated that players like Paul Pogba used to look up to Ravel Morrison on how good he used to be. Due to off the pitch problems, Morrison has struggled with every club he has been at. However, he is looking at resurrecting his career with Joyce. Morrison was ranked better than Pogba, however Paul Pogba is now holds the record for the “World’s Most Expensive Transfer” of a nearly £100M, whereas Morrison is training for a contract at Wigan Athletic. Obviously Ravel Morrison has a little catching up to do.
I’m really looking forward to see the players individual battles on the day. Dan Burn potentially against Zlatan is one. Hopefully the 6’7 giant can keep Ibrahimovic quiet. Burn has won man-of-the-match at Old Trafford when he was with Fulham, for heading away about 700000 crosses, mainly due to him being 6’7. Boyhood Liverpool fan Max Power potentially facing United legend Wayne Rooney is another with Ravel Morrison and Paul Pogba possibly meeting again for the first team since they both went their separate ways. Will Grigg, the name of the Euro 2016, is looking to prove he is still on fire and defences are still terrified, however the United defence may have fire extinguishers on scene in case of any emergency. Former Liverpool defender and current Wigan captain Stephen Warnock will also relish the chance to shock the world, and defeat United.
If Wigan can pull off this upset, it can be one of the greatest upsets the Cup has ever seen with Wigan being the ultimate underdog in this contest. Wigan have already caused one of the greatest giant killings in 2013, winning the FA Cup against all odds against Manchester City, and are hoping to repeat the same feat. Will the magic of the cup appear once again? There is already slight evidence of the Cup magic with Plymouth holding Liverpool to a draw at Anfield in the most anti-football approach I’ve ever seen. But it worked, which is the main thing.
As a Wigan fan myself, I was delighted with the draw as Old Trafford is a ground I’ve never really had the chance to visit and I’m looking forward to go, however it is a bit of a shame that Wigan didn’t get drawn a team from the top four or that play in the Champions League.