Goalkeepers

Gary Walsh - 5

Signed purely as a squad player by Jewell. Didn’t look too bad against Hull in the Coca-Cola Cup but looked very iffy against Wimbledon, though so did everyone else to be fair. Barring disaster to John Filan we won’t be seeing much of him next season either.

John Filan - 8

I was absolutely amazed when he won the fans Player of the Season award, as although the model of consistency I could never really remember coming away from a game raving about his performances. However, 18 (I think) clean sheets in the league last year show just what a quality player Latics have between the sticks and how little I know about football!!!

James Salisbury - ?

From the people I know that have seen him play he’s supposed to be a good un & even impressed the two RMI fans I know. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to se him in 1^st team action next season in the early rounds of the Coca-Cola Cup.

Defenders

Nicky Eaden - 7

Seemed to take over from Peter Kennedy as this season’s target for the “boo boys” and to be honest I couldn’t understand why. Okay, he looked very poor early on (Lee Holmes at Derby tore him to shreds), but I felt he adjusted his game to compensate for his lack of pace and whilst his crossing can be a tad wayward I didn’t hear anyone moaning about it when he planted a peach of a cross on Ellington’s head for the crucial second goal at Knob End

Steve McMillan – 5

When he played I don’t think he put a foot wrong as he’s a quality left back & great going forward in support of a winger. BUT just how many injuries is it possible for a player to have? The fact that they all seem to be niggles & strains instead of broken bones & the like has led many to accuse him of faking it. It’s hard to know whether that’s true, but Ellington played with a dislocated shoulder & De Vos played with broken bones in his feet during the 2^nd Div championship season, whilst McMillan seems to spend months out with groin strains. People can make up their own mind.

Leighton Baines – 10

During one of my drunken Euro 2004 moments I told some bloke in the pub that Wigan Athletic had the next England left back on their hands, & whilst I may have been exaggerating a bit I think he’s destined for the top flight with or without Latics. Jewell was quite right in asking the press how on earth Baines had never represented England at youth level & you suspect that if he played for Crewe the press would be raving about him, top flight clubs would be linked with him & he would be an Under 21 regular. Still the longer they ignore him the longer he’ll stay with Latics. Some Latics fans complained he wasn’t quite ready for Div 1 after the mauling at West Ham, but that neglects the fact that McCulloch had a mare that day and left him marking two players every time West Ham attacked down the right hand side. My player of the season without doubt.

Peter Kennedy – 5

Started the season at left back and was putting in some good performances that helped the Latics in their great start. Just when he seemed to be winning a lot of Latics fans over, Jewell sent him on loan to Derby with the message that he wouldn’t be offered a new contract ringing loud in his ears. That appeared a bit baffling at the time but in hindsight was a masterstroke by Jewell to pave the way for the full emergence of Leighton Baines after his cameos the season before.

Jason de Vos – 5

I told anyone that cared to listen during the last close season that De Vos would struggle with the step up in class. I hoped I would be proved wrong but unfortunately I wasn’t. Horribly exposed by any forward with even an inkling of pace & his panic filled backwards sprint away from Darren Huckerby on Good Friday said it all – “I couldn’t attempt a tackle in the penalty as I might have given away a penalty” he later claimed. Maybe, but he had 40 yards before that to attempt a tackle but didn’t. Jewell left a lot of Latics fans baffled when Breckin lost his place to the Jacko/De Vos partnership for the Watford game. Poor distribution as well. That said, how badly could any of the back line have performed when Latics conceded the 3^rd fewest amount of goals in the division?

Matt Jackson – 8

Got my player of the season vote in 2002/03, when De Vos picked up the honour and of the two showed he was more able to handle the step up in class. The Jacko/Breckin partnership looked by far & away our best as what Jacko lacks in pace he makes up for with his speed of thought & quality on the ball. Unfortunately his season was interrupted twice by injury & I fear that at 32 his age is catching up with him

Ian Breckin – 8

Having seen little of him during our Championship season, Breckin was a revelation for me. Was exposed on a few occasions due to his lack of pace, but never seemed fazed by anything. Jewell was right saying that he had suffered a dip in form since the New Year, when dropping him for the Watford game, but I felt that had more to do with him trying to cover for De Vos’s mistakes than his own lack of ability.

Midfielders

Jimmy Bullard – 7

Having not been too impressed with what I saw of Bullard in 2002/03, his form at the start of last season was phenomenal and he looked a class act. Suffered a dip in form after the mauling at West Ham though he’d recovered by the season’s end and put in MOM performances against Sunderland & West Ham. Never shirks his responsibilities & if he finds consistency and learns how to shoot straight he could play in the top flight.

Jason Jarrett – 7

The 75k we paid for Jarrett looks an absolute steal to me, as I can’t remember Latics ever having a harder working midfielder – or at least not since I’ve been watching. Covers every blade of grass but needs to learn that becoming a “midfield hard man” isn’t just about committing to reckless tackles & conceding penalties. On the downside, if anyone in the squad is a worst shooter than Bullard, its Jarrett and in a small minority of games he’s been guilty of going missing. Second behind Eaden as a target for the boo boys & I’ve had arguments with fans who claim he’s garbage – yeah, one half of the most successful midfield partnership we’ve ever had and one that was capable of coming 7^th in the 1st Division. He’s garbage alright ??

Gary Teale – 8

Teale has shown glimpses of what he’s capable of in the previous two season, but Jewell seems to have worked with him & given him the confidence in his own ability. Teale must take credit for working hard on improving his game after being dropped after the opening day defeat by Millwall and it paid dividends. I honestly think but for the injury caused by the Sjoke thug (and Roberts’s suspensions) Latics would have made the play offs, and possibly more, easily. If he’s able to find the level of performance he was showing pre-injury this season I expect the big clubs to come sniffin and more Scotland caps to follow

Paul Mitchell - 6

Didn’t get much chance to show whether he’s capable of playing 1^st Division football, but never let Latics down on the few occasions he was asked to play. Be that at centre half, midfield, right back or left back. Don’t blame him for looking elsewhere but I hope he goes to a 2^nd Division club at least.

Mike Flynn - 4

Another player we’ve not had much chance to have a look at, due to the form of Bullard & Jarrett. Looked good coming on as a sub in a couple of games where his enthusiasm carried him through, but doesn’t look fit enough for the 1^st Division. A popular character with fans coz he’s often seen on nights round Wigan and will stop for a chat – a bit less boozing might improve his game

Alan Mahon - 6

At last, after crying out for a left winger for two seasons, Paul Jewell signed Mahon who came with glowing reports from Ipswich & Cardiff fans where he’d spent periods on loan. Got injured though, just as he seemed to be settling in and is yet to win over some fans. I expect more of him next season with a full pre-season under his belt

Tony Dinning - 1

Just go Tony, please. Has had all manner of problems at Latics and numerous final chance warnings from Jewell before his patience snapped. Unbelievably you can still find Latics fans who claim he’s a better partner for Bullard than Jarrett. That probably explains why at Walsall he never made the starting line up & that Blackpool cut short his loan spell (admittedly through injury, but their Chairman also said they had no intention of signing him permanently) and the fans claimed he was a waste of space wouldn’t it? He’d do a great job at the top end of Div 1 I’m sure!!

Forwards

Nathan Ellington - 7

There were some (me included) who debated whether the Duke was the great player some make him out to be and just how well he would cope with the step up. Well, he handled it superbly and looked a better player than he did in Division 2 as he no doubt benefited from not being such a marked man by opposition defences. His game seemed to come on another level when teamed up with Jason Roberts as it gave the opposition defenders another “dangerous” forward to worry about rather than just the Duke. If there’s one criticism of him its that he has a tendency to let his head drop if he hasn’t scored for a couple of matches or if things aren’t quite going for him in a match. Gets kicked all over the shop as well, but rarely moans

Jason Roberts - 6

If only we could say the same about Jason Roberts, we may be looking forward to a season in the top flight now. Not that I’m blaming one man for missing out on promotion, and he looks a class act who brings out the best in those around him when playing, but he needs to learn to keep his mouth shut when it comes to the officials. His two sendings off in 4 months cost Latics points at vital stages of the season and whereas the one at Sjoke was ludicrous, the sending off at Palace where he was booked twice for dissent (and rightly so) robbed us of our most potent strike-force in the most crucial 3 games of the season. It would appear from comments made in the press that Jewell has told him to watch his mouth and lets hope it has hit home, because there will not be a defence in the 1^st Division that will look forward to facing Ellington & Roberts next season. That said, I don’t think I have ever seen a centre forward who gets fouled as much yet gets so few decisions given his way

Lee McCulloch – 5

Sorry, but I just don’t think he’s good enough for the first division. As a left winger he is woeful and can’t remember him putting in a single telling cross for the two seasons he’s played there. He also tends to drift out of position so when Latics need someone to overlap down the left, he’s in the middle and he leaves the left back horribly exposed. He can be excused in that its not his natural position, but he’s had 2 full seasons to learn how to play there and he’s still not managed it. I don’t think he’s a 1^st div centre forward either & would perhaps be better employed as a linkman between the forwards & the midfield. There are some who’ve argued he should be tried out in midfield, but if he’s not good enough up front or on the left, he’s not going to be any better than our current crop of midfielders who’ve played there all their careers is he? His one saving grace is that he gives 110% but its not enough at this level.

Neil Roberts – 5

Didn’t get many opportunities this season, but like McCulloch he can’t be criticised for his lack of effort. Unfortunately, also like McCulloch he isn’t good enough at this level. His goal against West Ham however will live long in the memory, even if the game didn’t quite turn out how we all wanted.

Geoff Horsfield – 6

I’d like to give him 1 out of 10 due to the manner in which he left, but his 7 goals in 15 games ratio shows that he wasn’t a bad player. Had the ability to look cracking in some games. West Brom & Sheff Utd spring to mind, but absolutely awful in others (Coventry away). Lacked the pace and skill that Jason Roberts brings to the team but had a better attitude.