False Nine and False Hope

Today I saw Sir Elton John and watched Wigan lose a match. Only one of these things is unusual.

Before the game as the whole of Vicarage Road united to sing 'Your Song' I rightly predicted that would be the most memorable moment I would take away from today. Sir Elton was there to open a new stand named after him and got the crowd clapping their appreciation with an emotive speech firstly about what Watford means to him, and secondly in support of Dave Whelan.

Sir Elton said he saluted Whelan and what he had done for the club. A sentiment that we all agree with - none of us can fault what Whelan has achieved for Latics. What was perhaps more apt was 'I'm Still Standing' being the last song played before kick-off. A subtle message referring to Whelan's plight maybe?

On the pitch the same woes continue for Wigan. Whelan says he appointed Malky Mackay on footballing reasons. Well so far I'm not seeing any evidence to suggest the football we are playing is any better than that under Uwe Rosler.

The away end of Vicarage Road was one of bemusement in the build-up to kick-off as news broke of Mackay's team selection. No clear striker named in the 11 left us all pondering where a goal would come from and whether Mackay had come here for a 0-0.

James McClean, to his credit, ran his socks off. He chased every loose ball, pressured the keeper when required and covered more blades of grass than many a Premier League striker would have done today.

But it takes a bloody good side to make the false nine position work. And that we are not. False nine equalled false hope for Malky today.

After going in at half-time at 1-1 we came out a much better team in the second half, and looked a real threat. But those real threats never really amounted to much without a recognised striker on the pitch. We can't go relying on attacking midfielders to keep us up. Callum McManaman can't manage 90 minutes at the best of times, so how are we going to get the best out of him if he's doing unnecessary extra work?

It took going 2-1 down before Andy Delort came on. He's far from setting the world alight, but you have to feel for him in that situation. He's had barely any match time and is expected to come on and rescue a point in four minutes. Christmas may be a time for miracles, but even miracles have a limit.

I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words (sorry, no more Elton references) my frustration at Wigan's slide down the Championship table. The January transfer window is approaching and I hope I speak for all Wigan fans when I make this plea: Malky, don't rely on the impending return of a certain Grant Holt.

So as we head for another Saturday night analysing where it all went wrong, there's one more Elton song that seems to sum up our emotions: 'I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues.' (I lied about no more Elton references).