A quiet window for the Wigglers.

Well thats the transfer window well and firmly shut! The big deal of the window being Jeremy Toulalan moving to Arsenal from Lyon for £17m. There were many offers made for Wiggleville players however all were rejected, despite this there is a feeling that maybe Lee could be moving in the summer after being the centre of ever increasing bids.

Seen as no-one was sold there was no real need to bring any further personnel into the club on a permanent basis, however the loan deals of Weiss and Mignano were brought to a swift and early conclusion. Mark Randall’s loan expired despite efforts to extend it however Possebon remains with us until the season end. Therefore a few short term loans maybe considered.

There were no loan offers made for the 5 players mentioned in the previous post, so they will remain at Wiggleville to fight for their place.

With our cup commitments we have gained 2 games in hand on the rest of the league but remain 14 points ahead of 2nd place Colchester. However the month started with our FA Cup 3rd round tie at The Deva Stadium and is where I will begin the round-up.

The game started at a tremendous pace as Martin opened the scoring 44 seconds into the game and we made it 2-0 3 minutes later as Luck powered home a header. After that it was one way traffic, as the Wiggleville defence limited Chester to 3 shots, all of which were off target. For the next 20 minutes we continued to create chances, forcing a good save out of John Danby and Will Luck firing a free kick just over the bar. 4 minutes later Wiggleville were celebrating a 3rd as James Martin scored his second of the game. With half time approaching Wiggleville continued to press, good chances falling to Ben Newton, Ritchie Lee and Baba Onos who all failed to convert. Half Time at the Deva Stadium 3-0 to the visitors.

The second half proved to be much of the same, one way traffic from Wiggleville who were creating chance after chance but had to wait 15 minutes before they found the 4th, Martin sealing his hattrick. 10 minutes later and Wiggleville found the net again through substitute Edwin, who had replaced a dissappointing Onos. Wiggleville now 5 goals ahead slowed the play down and began to shut Chester out of the game. the last 20 minutes went by without incident, apart from a niggling injury picked up by Newton. Full Time 5-0 to Wiggleville.

Next up for the Wigglers was the long anticipated home leg of the League Cup Semi against Man Utd, the media anticipating that Man Utd would walk the game, those close to Wiggleville however could smell an upset. With both Newton and Taylor out for up to a month with knee injuries Insua and Broughton were brought in to the squad. The game started tentatively for Wiggleville with Raastad being called upon 5 minutes in to save a vicious shot by Tevez. The next 15 minutes however were all Wiggleville. Luck, Broughton and Onos having the pick of the chances, the score however remaining 0-0. Disaster struck 20 minutes in as Tevez ghosted into space and scored from 15 yards. Following that goal the game was played mainly in the midfield no team really capable of breaking the other down, that was until 2 minutes from half time when Jonny Evans scored a powerful header from a corner. Half Time Wiggleville 0-2 Man Utd

The second half kicked off and was again a midfield battle, which Man Utd were winning, as we were drawn into fouls and giving the ball away. With the game seemingly looking as though it were to end 2-0 Wiggleville made a few changes, going from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, but before the changes could be made it went from bad to worse as Tevez grabbed his second with 15 minutes remaining. The Wiggleville players were told to go all out to find a goal, Lee and Luck being asked to push on and join the front 2. The last 15 minutes were all Wiggleville, we created numerous chances but failed to score and as we entered into stoppage time the League Cup dream was pretty much over as finding 3 goals at Old Trafford would prove difficult. In the 92nd minute however Luck scored but it was a consolation goal as the final whistle was blown and the first leg was lost 3-1.

After the break from the league it was nice to start up again, and it gave us chance to get over the disappointment of the cup. First up were Hartlepool at home who were dispatched with some ease 3-0 at least our league form seemed to be back on track, another home game followed with Carlisle the visitors, a 2-0 win the outcome, Bishop scoring his first league goal to go alongside his cup goal against Rushden the game also saw both Newton and Taylor making their comebacks a week before the away leg of the League Cup, however Taylor picked up a knock and was a doubt. Therefore Insua was drafted in for the next league game away at Oldham, Wiggleville finishing worthy 1-0 winners.

A run of 3 cup games followed, and despite him carrying a slight knock Taylor was brought back into the side to face Man Utd. Following the 1st leg the media once again had this down as a Man Utd win, and the optimism had faded amongst the Wiggleville players, despite this the whole squad travelled to Old Trafford to offer support. Before the game the Wiggleville staff and players were shocked to see what was a rather weak Man Utd line-up, Rafael and Manucho starting with Lee Martin, Fabio, Welbeck, Gibson and Hewson on the bench. An air of optimism surrounded the away team dressing room as thoughts of Chelsea flooded back.

This optimism carried onto the pich as after 22 minutes James Martin put us ahead, and thanks to Lucks last minute goal at the Falcon’s Nest, Wiggleville were now back in the game. The aggregate score sitting at 3-2 to United. Fergusons side responded brilliantly though and 3 minutes later restored the 2 goal cushion through Manucho. Half time arrived without further incident the aggregate scoreline reading 4-2. The players were told to go out and carry on the game as they had started it, Lee who had picked up a knock was brought off and Robinson sent on in his place with Luck dropping in as our winger.

12 minutes later Robinson gave the best possible reason why he should get more game time, Wiggleville were once again back in the game 4-3 on aggregate. For the next 20 minutes Wiggleville were searching for a 3rd that would take the tie into extra time, the defence had solidified and were keeping United at bay. In the 73rd minute Wiggleville found the opening they were looking for as inexperienced Rafael tripped Luck in the area gifting the Wigglers a penalty. Despite the protests going on around him Taylor kept his nerve to send the Wiggleville fans into dreamland, well we were in the Theatre of Dreams…! The aggregate score 4-4 with both teams having the same number of away goals. Extra time loomed and at the end of 90 minutes the players were told to keep battling to find that winning goal, and super sub Robinson popped up again after 110 to score the winner. Wiggleville were going to Wembley to face Liverpool, beating Man Utd 5-4 on aggregate!

Next we travelled to Birmingham to play Aston Villa in the FA Cup 4th round, we managed to grind out a 1-0 win thanks to Will Luck, and we were rewarded with a home tie against West Brom in the 5th round. The North Section Final of the JPT was next up and a short journey to Leeds United for the 1st Leg, to give the League and FA Cup heroes a rest a weaker team was sent out, Leeds punished this by pulling off a good 2-2 draw, however we did have a goal wrongly disallowed.

Back to the league and a home game against Millwall, goals from Martin and Mitchell secured a 2-0 victory.

Overall Form

P 43 W 38 D 4 L 1 F 133 A 15

League Form

P 27 W 24 D 3 L 0 F 77 A 7 Pts 75 (14 ahead of 2nd)

Cup Form (Each leg is counted separately)

P 16 W 14 D 1 L 1 F 56 A 8

Fixture Round Up

FAC3 Chester 0-5 Wiggleville (Martin x 3, Luck, Edwin)
LCSF1 Wiggleville 1-3 Man Utd (Luck)
L1 Wiggleville 3-0 Hartlepool (Martin, Lee, Edwin)
L1 Wiggleville 2-0 Carlisle (Luck, Bishop)
L1 Oldham 0-1 Wiggleville (Luck)
LCSF2 Man Utd (4) 1-4 (5) Wiggleville (Martin, Robinson x 2, Taylor)
FAC4 Aston Villa 0-1 Wiggleville (Luck)
JPTNF1 Leeds 2-2 Wiggleville (Onos, Booth)
L1 Millwall 0-2 Wiggleville (Martin, Mitchell)

Next up is an away game at Yeovil and the expected line up is:

GK: R.S. Raastad
DR: J. Bishop
DL: P. Taylor
DC: J. Haskell
DC: S. Mitchell
MR: W. Luck
ML: R. Lee
MC: B. Levy
MC: B. Newton
FC: J. Martin
FC: P. Robinson

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