Crewe impress as problems on and off the pitch for Wigan remain evident

Wigan Athletic really are in a serious predicament.

They’ve had a points deduction leading to relegation, they have a financially unstable owner, they’ve lost most of their players and now it looks as though League One could be a challenge.

The Latics produced a well below-par first-half display in their 3-0 defeat against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday with John Sheridan’s side lucky to go into the break two goals down.

The Railwaymen added a third from the impressive Mikael Mandron just before the hour mark but Wigan’s performance in the second half was an improvement.

However, it was blatantly obvious that Wigan’s players aren’t used to one another yet as a major overhaul was required in the summer to replace numerous outgoings. 

The only starter in the Wigan team that faced Crewe who played regularly for the Latics in the Championship was Kal Naismith.

It would’ve been quite the challenge to produce a half worse than their first when the Wigan players emerged from the tunnel, a couple of minutes earlier than their counterparts. Despite improvement, the visitors didn’t produce enough.

The final ball was usually wrong, Will Keane looked lost most of the time and shots rarely troubled Richards in the Crewe goal. 

As for Crewe, their performance was a complete contrast from that of Wigan, with the League One new boys looking very comfortable back in the third tier.

David Artell’s side produced slick, positive football with their second goal the perfect example of what they’re all about. 

A switch of play onto the left hand side, which was where most of their danger came from, a great through ball and an excellent curling finish past the keeper from left-back Harry Pickering.

Having not played for six months after being promoted on a points-per-game basis, Crewe have done well to pick up two wins from four very tricky games to start off the season with. 

Artell’s side certainly didn’t look out of place back in League One, which they’ve been out of for four years, and could certainly be a team to keep an eye on this season. 

The result pushes Crewe up to 13th, however the Cheshire-based club have a game in hand on the majority of their League One counterparts. As for Wigan, they’re sat in 16th and, if they produce more showings like Saturday’s, they’re in for a long slog of a season.

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