What a rollercoaster of a season. The 46 games are now over and after being stuck in the mud, with one point separating us from the mire, we were able to battle hard and finish three places below the middle of the table–we finished 19th last season! We, also, finished on 58 points, which is seven better than the previous season, with 15 wins; 16 draws, which probably kept us away from the playoff area, and 16 losses. Last season, we chalked up 14 wins; nine draws and 23 losses, considering Wigan got relegated with 21 losses this season it makes me wonder how we stayed up last season, which saw us finish in 19th. We scored 51 goals and conceded 62 goals. I believe that we could have scored a lot more in our games and it is something that we need to work on for next season.
Managers
This season, we have had a few issues with managers, which resulted in us having a shaky start to the season. We had Shota Arverladze, who was appointed as head coach on 27 January 2022 and discharged on 30 September 2022, and he was able to chalk up three wins out of 10 league matches, with five losses and two draws. So that meant that he was only able to pick up 11 points out of a possible 30, which is poor, despite the amount of excitement and players that he brought to the club. His last game in charge was when he took us down to Swansea, where we were thrashed 3-0. I had hope in him when he won our first three home games, but then we were not able to pick up a win after that.
Then, we had Andy Dawson as interim manager and stupidly he was appointed on the day when we had a game, which was against Luton. Unexpectedly, we were beaten 2-0. He then led us to three wins (two on the road and one at home) and four losses, which matches the amount of wins and losses that we had when Shota was in charge. To be honest, he did not do that badly whilst in charge; however, he could have done better and when he picked up those two away wins, I thought that he should stay put. But, this run was crushed by two defeats at home.
At this point of the season, we were stuck in the mud and I believe that we were one point from the relegation zone, which is not what I anticipated at the start of the season. We were promised a great season and we had some brilliant players, but we could not gel and we were not getting anywhere. But, thankfully, and quickly, Acun found a new manager for us, which was ex Hull City player Liam Rosenior.
His first game in charge was against Millwal, at the Den, who were higher up in the table than us meaning that it was going to be a tough first game in charge. But, unexpectedly, we started the game very strong and even when Óscar Estupiñán received a red card, we managed to hang on to a hard-fought point. By the way the team was playing, I could tell that he was having a huge impact already. After this game, he led us to a 2-3 victory over Cardiff, at their ground. However, his first loss in charge came when we were defeated by Reading, at home, when they were able to get a last minute goal. Luckily, the World Cup break came after this and it gave Liam a chance to properly get to know his squad and work out what he wants to do. After the break, he led us to seven victories, 13 draws and five loses. Also, we were able to chalk up 13 clean sheets and he only lost twice at home. I have to say that he was the best option that Acun could have chose and he has steered our boat out of the relegation scrap and got us into a decent position heading into next season.
Favourite and Least Favourite Section
I went to all but one home match this season and despite having a drought of not being able to win at the MKM stadium for a lengthy period, we were able to switch that around and earn ourselves some great victories. I am struggling to narrow it down to one favourite match; therefore, I am going to name a few. First, it had to be the 2-1 over Bristol in the opening game of the season; second, our 3-2 victory over Coventry and, finally, our 3-0 win against QPR. On the other hand, I have watched some painful games, but the worst one has to be the 2-1 loss to Reading. This is because we were winning one nil, then they equalised and in the final minute, they were awarded a free kick. The ball was whipped in and Ryan Longman, one of our players, stuck it in the back of the net.
With our owner, Acun, generously giving us free travel for the remainder of the away games after the World Cup (excluding Sheffield away), it gave my brother and I, and many other fans, the opportunity to visit some other grounds, 12 in fact. My favourite ground to visit was Carrow Road, Norwich, because it was picturesque, it looked modern, it was full to the brim and the design was amazing. However, as I wrote in my last match report, my least favourite ground was Kenilworth Road, Luton. This is because it was old, you had to go through somebody’s back garden to get to your seat, the entrance was below somebody's house and the stands were falling apart.
There have been some amazing teams to come to us this season and without doubt the best one was Burnley, their level of football was too high and they had some amazing players. The worst team to come to us was QPR as they did not seem to be bothered and we destroyed them.
Players of The Season and Most Improved
We had some quality players join our squad this season, however, they could not gel properly at the start of the season. Thankfully, they were able to towards the end. Obviously Traore, Connolly and Ebiowei are exempt from this, but I still have a lot of players to choose from. I know that I am supposed to pick one player, but I am going to bend the rules and pick a few: first, Regan Slater. This is because he has contributed a lot to the squad and helped anchor the midfield throughout the season; second, Jean Seri. This is for the same reasons as Slater and despite making a few errors, his passing, dribbling and communication is exceptional and, finally, Lewie Coyle. I know a lot of fans do not like him, however, I do as he has done a great job as the captain, he always puts in a shift and he played a lot of matches with an injury.
The most improved players have to be Ryan Longman and all of the defenders–Sean McLoughlin, Alfie Jones, Jacob Greaves, Lewie Coyle and Callum Elder, who is sadly leaving. They started off very poor and we lost a lot of our games due to sloppy mistakes and wrong choices, but ever since Rosenior has come in, he has rectified the problems and we have conceded fewer goals and lost less. We may need a couple more signings as reserves and there are still a few things that need changing, but other than that, our defence will be great next season.
I think that I have covered everything and I am really excited for next season; we just need to get rid of a few players, bring more in, work on our finishing and our confidence. If we can do this, then I think that we will have a very good chance at pushing for the playoffs. In fact, I predict that we will finish in 6th next season and if all goes well, we will win our playoff battles and get into the final. Bring on next season.