LOPEZ FINALLY SIGNS FOR LATICS

Wigan Athletic have finally completed the signing of Spanish under-21 international Adrián López from Deportivo La Coruña.

The move comes after FIFA clearance was granted for the 23-year-old defender to play in England, almost six months after his contract expired at the La Liga club.

Latics’ boss Roberto Martinez had tracked the player for a number of months and is delighted the situation has finally been resolved saying: “We've been waiting a while for the FIFA resolution," before adding, "and it's great to see Adrián's desire to play for Wigan Athletic can finally be fulfilled." 

López played 23 league and 16 cup games for the Spanish side after coming through the ranks and has also represented his country at both under-21 and under-19 levels.

Martinez says the player has had an excellent football education in his homeland and has great potential, something which he hopes can bolster Latics’ fight against relegation:  "He is a defender who is very calm under pressure, and is a great reader of the game,” says Martinez, “I am confident he will be able to fulfill his potential at Wigan. He is desperate to help the squad to win games for Wigan Athletic." 

MANCINI'S MEN ARE THE BEST - KIDD

Manchester City have the best squad in the Premier League according to assistant manager Brian Kidd.

With the blues heading into the new year joint top with neighbours United, Roberto Mancini’s number two believes the current crop of players have what it takes to end the 34 year hunt for silverware: "I wouldn't swap our squad now for anybody in the Premier League,” he declared, “ to be honest I wouldn't swap any of our lads for anybody else in the top four or five.”

Kidd believes the second half of the season will see some twists and turns but says the management are more than happy with the current league position: “Our target has always been a top-four place from the start of the season,”  he says, “We're doing OK on that, but nobody's getting carried away, not the boss or the players. We know there's a lot of hard work still to come.”

City’s recent form has impressed Kidd but he believes there is still more to come as Mancini continues to transform a group of talented players into a team capable of bringing glory to Eastlands:  "He demands that we work hard and always look to improve - and we know, like him, that we're not the finished article even though we are going quite well. He won't rest on his laurels and think things are going OK."

With the blues chasing domestic glory and going strong in the Europa League, Kidd says the rotation system used by the Italian is essential to keep players fresh and hungry: “As with all the top teams, and maybe unfortunately for the players, the rotation is necessary due to the number of games you play,” he says, “but hopefully there's some exciting times ahead for Manchester City, with a little bit of luck and hard work I believe silverware will soon come.”

WE HAVE WHAT IT TAKES - ANTOLIN

Confident display pleases defender looking to 
continue good run of form


Antolin Alcaraz believes Wednesday's battling performance against Arsenal can give Latics some much needed self belief.

The Paraguayan defender thinks the spirited display shows the team have what it takes to climb out of trouble and produce results against teams of such high calibre;

"It was a very important point for us against a very difficult team" he said, "This game shows that we can do well against the big teams but we need to believe more in ourselves to produce these results consistently."

Antolin now wants the side to build on this impressive result and hopes they can go one better on Sunday when Newcastle visit the DW Stadium saying; "We need to take all three points in our next game against Newcastle and move up the table."

"They are in a similar position to us in the table and it is against these teams that we need to continue picking up points and move further up the league."

Despite dominating the opening half-hour of the match and also taking the lead, two quick goals from the visitors put Latics on the back foot ten minutes before the break, and Antolin admits he was disappointed to go behind;

"We were a little bit disappointed to lose concentration which allowed Arsenal to score two goals," he said.

"But in the second half we did much better and looked stronger and we need to play like that every week".

Latics' task was made all the harder when Charles N'Zogbia was sent off, and Antolin admitted it was tough; "Eleven versus eleven against Arsenal is difficult but ten against eleven is even harder.

"But we didn't lose hope and towards the end Hugo (Rodallega) did well to head the ball back for Gary to score the second goal."

The solid performance shown by the defence has also pleased Antolin and he says it will only get better; "The communication between Ali (Al Habsi) and Gary (Caldwell) is getting better by the day and it will only keep improving.

"Gary and I have played alongside one another just a few times but very quickly we've formed a good partnership and that too is getting stronger with each game."

Finally asked about the intense run of games during the festive period in England Antolin, who is accustomed to having two weeks off at this time of year, says he is enjoying it and adds; "It's a new experience for me but a good one.

"I knew the standard of football in the Premier League was very high before I joined Wigan Athletic, but this period has proved it."

ALI EYES NEWCASTLE WIN

Latics 'keeper delighted with Arsenal performance and recent form


Wednesday's hard earned point against title contenders Arsenal delighted Latics' stopper Ali Al Habsi but he also believes they did enough to win the game.

The stirring second half comeback to grab a share of the spoils gave the team just rewards for a battling performance but Ali thinks Latics could have taken all three points:

""It was a fantastic point for us" he said, "but to be honest we deserved more than that because for the first half we controlled the game and had more chances than them."

Despite a dominant start to the game Latics found themselves behind at the break after two quick-fire goals from the visitors, but Ali was impressed by the team's response in the second-half, especially after Charles N'Zogbia's dismissal towards the end:

"To play with ten men against Arsenal is always difficult" he said, "but I think the lads did well to concentrate and eventually get the goal."

"We had the same desire as last year and to be honest, although we could possibly have got more from the game, we are not too disappointed as it was an important point for us."
The result follows a string of battling displays which have seen Latics lift themselves out of the bottom three and Ali wants this to continue when Newcastle visit the DW for Sunday's televised game: 

"We need to take these performances against Stoke, Everton, Wolves and now Arsenal into the game against Newcastle," said Al Habsi.

"It's going to be a huge game on Sunday and we have to win to get us up the table. We have to enjoy ourselves and enjoy our football to continue moving away from the relegation zone."

AN UNCOMFORTABLE REMEMBRANCE

It was the renowned satirist and American politician Benjamin Franklin who once so eloquently said: “Of two things in life you can be certain, death and taxes.”

To this list he could also have added a third certainty – war, for it seems, wherever man has tread, war has never been far behind.

There are few places on earth that conflict has not touched at some moment in history and the world we live in today is shaped by conflict and continues to be so.

Wars have begun for many different reasons throughout history whether it be religious, territorial, political or even, in the case of the infamous four day conflict between El Salvador and Honduras, over a football match.

For whatever reasons there have been and where ever conflict has arisen there is also more certainty – there will be victims and lives will change forever.

The traditional act of remembrance in this country has assumed more relevance in recent times as the casualty list grows from Afghanistan, with many people tiring of Britain’s involvement in a war that, in all honesty, surely cannot be won.

Far off places such as Helmand and Sangin have become familiar names to a war-weary public – as has the small Wiltshire market town of Wooton Bassett, which its steady flow of returning flag-draped coffins.

The annual November parade of old soldiers, clad in an array of medals, first comes to mind when we think of Remembrance Day, as these men march in unison to pay respect to fallen comrades.

But what of those victims who go largely forgotten at this time of year? Those veterans with unseen wounds as in the case of PTSD victims? What of those soldiers executed over 90 ninety years ago in such controversial circumstances? And how many wreaths are placed at the cenotaph for the volunteers who defied the British government and fought against fascism in Spain?

Those who have been killed or had their lives touched by war whilst outside the parameter of what is militarily acceptable seem less likely to be remembered.

That is not to say those remembered every year are not deserving of the tributes they receive – these men and women warrant the upmost respect for their sacrifice and I challenge anyone to remain unmoved if they walk among the graves of a British war cemetery in France or Belgium, but what is undeniable is that many veterans do not receive the same focus.

When soldier x came back from the gulf in 1991 his life had changed more than he realised and instead of taking his place as a proud veteran among his comrades, he was kicked out of the army for drug taking.

The fact that he was suffering from the experience of combat was not taken into account and he was left unsupported until finally securing a pension 15 years later with the help of the charity Combat Stress.

Soldier x’s story is probably not an isolated case – and it would be interesting to see how the army’s treatment for combat veterans has evolved over the past 20 years.

Despite this, there can be no doubt that those suffering from combat related psychological injuries today are better understood than those shellshock victims of the First World War.

It is clear that a large number of the men executed by firing squad during that war were suffering from varying degrees of combat stress and the manner in which they were tried by courts martial was wholly inadequate.

These soldiers were victims of circumstance in a period when the psychological effects of battle were not fully appreciated. They were also governed by army regulations that seem archaic by modern standards.

The treatment these men received from the army was shocking and their deaths brought great shame and hardship to their families for many years after.

The pardon granted to them in 2006 was, although welcome, little comfort as it came almost 90 years after the shameful events and the majority of those family members most affected have long since died.

It was a politically uncomfortable situation for both the government and the army following the war, and the victims went largely forgotten until the pardons were granted.

Politics also explain why the International Brigade veterans receive little national remembrance. They acted out of personal political conviction on the whole and defied the official government stance of non-intervention.

The fact that many of these volunteers paid the ultimate sacrifice in a stand against fascism, is overlooked and it becomes more important when we see what happened when fascism brought the world into conflict soon after they had returned from Spain.

Ultimately it seems the national conscience of remembrance has been shaped by what has been politically and military acceptable to the higher echelons of power.

Many veterans are conveniently forgotten during these times of remembrance but they warrant the same respect as their former comrades who march with such pride every November for, after all, they are surely all victims of war.

THE FORGOTTEN VETERANS

When Spain erupted into brutal and bloody civil conflict during 1936 the country became, for a moment, the focal point of a watching world.

Over half a million people lost their lives during three years of bloodshed as the country was torn apart with a savagery seldom seen in modern Europe.

The conflict was a watershed in history, a fight for democracy against fascism and a testing ground for new military technology that would give the world an ominous foretaste of what would follow during the Second World War.

The conflict is also unique for the contribution of over 35,000 men and women who volunteered to help the Spanish Republic and who travelled from more than 50 countries around the globe to fight alongside their Spanish cousins on the frontline.

The International Brigades which were formed from these volunteers contained young men who decided to take a stand against fascism and who went to incredible lengths to get across the border and into Spain.

Despite the importance of the civil war and the number of Britons involved, there is a notable lack of coverage of the conflict in history books and museums, even at such a renowned institution as the Imperial War Museum.

Jim Jump, the national secretary of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, thinks there are a number of reasons for this, including the fact that the Second World War started just a few months after the Spanish conflict ended and, understandably, eclipsed it in peoples conscience. Jim claims there is also another underlying reason behind the lack of discussion of the conflict – the controversial non-intervention policy implemented by the British and French governments.

“There is a residual discomfort in recalling the war,” says Jump: “this is because of the role of British and other western democracies in cynically abandoning the Republic.”

He also thinks there was an erroneous ambivalence to the struggle that first appeared during the Cold War, in which the Republic was seen as a puppet of Stalin and, in effect, accepted Franco as an anti-communist bulwark.

The British government’s refusal to be drawn into the conflict and its non-intervention approach, despite the fact that Hitler and Mussolini both gave substantial support to Franco’s nationalists, is a shameful moment in British history claims Jump, saying : “Basically the British knew that its policy would lead to the defeat of the Republic.”

This non-intervention by Britain and France, meant that Republican troops were often left with outdated equipment and inadequate ammunition, with only the Soviet Union and some South American countries giving official help. The supplies that did manage to reach the Republican lines were usually no match for the state of the art equipment and trained men given to Franco by Germany and Italy.

Despite the lack of official British support, thousands of British men and women still made the arduous journey to Spain and, in doing so, risked arrest for breaching recently introduced laws designed to stop them.

Jim Jump believes it is important to remember the sacrifice of these people:

“They were the vanguard of a generation that defeated fascism in the twentieth century,” he says before adding: “The International Brigade veterans who have returned to Spain after the restoration of democracy, have always been enthusiastically received by ordinary Spaniards, who share the same romantic view of the volunteers as most people do in other countries.

“The IBMT would like to see the Spanish Civil War more widely taught in schools. That would help raise awareness of the International Brigades.”

The Brigades were finally withdrawn from Spain when a Nationalist victory became inevitable and thousands of demoralised Republican troops and supporters attempted to flee Franco’s advancing army, who were unleashing a wave of terror in the areas that fell to them.

Following his victory in 1939 Franco established a dictatorship which rewrote the history of the war and forced generations of Spaniards to endure another 35 years of oppression, persecution and censorship until his death in 1975.

Jim Jump believes the period was a pivotal moment in history and the lack of official help for the Republic from this country is something that should be recognised: “Maybe an apology from the British government to say its policy was wrong would be welcome – but we haven’t asked for it and wouldn’t expect it.

He believes the British veterans of Spain have become political victims of the period which has resulted in their sacrifices going largely unnoticed, especially in contrast to those that fought in the other conflicts of the twentieth century and Jim says:

“The International Brigades were a unique phenomenon, 35,000 volunteers who believed they could shape the course of history and who were the embodiment of international solidarity.

“We will not see their likes again for many, many years to come.”

BUTLER BREEZES TO WIN

Ellesmere Port super-flyweight Paul Butler has made a successful start to his professional boxing career.

The 21-year-old Vauxhall Motors ABC star and former ABA champion gained a convincing points victory over Sheffield’s Anwar Alfaldi in a four-round bout in Liverpool on Saturday night.

Butler, who signed professional terms with Frank Warren in the summer, showed too much class for his journeyman opponent and he now looks to build on his successful amateur career in the professional ranks.

The bout was part of a big night of boxing at the Echo Arena which also saw Liverpool’s Paul Smith lose his British super-middleweight crown to Olympic gold medallist James DeGale.

N'ZOGBIA'S DRAW FRUSTRATION

Charles N'Zogbia said he was frustrated Latics had not secured all three points against Stoke on Saturday but admitted it was a much improved performance after last week's disappointement at West Ham.

The Frenchman also saw a late effort palmed away by the visiting goalkeeper, a save that almost-certainly denied him a last gasp winner.

"It was a fantastic save from their goalkeeper," he said, "but a chance for a late winner so it was disappointing not to see it go in.

"It would have been a fantastic three points but we put in a good performance, we responded well to going behind against a difficult team."

The spirit shown by the team in battling back from behind pleased Charles but he admitted the team needs to try and avoid conceding early goals.

"It's difficult going behind in games and trying to respond, especially when you concede a goal in those kind of circumstances, but it was great to see us get us back on level terms and bring out the character in us."

Charles says the results will follow if the team stick together and perform as a group in the coming weeks and says he is determined to help the team with his own performances. "I'm enjoying my football at the moment and I'm always looking forward to getting out onto the pitch to show what I can do.

"I am always looking to open up opportunities and get on the score-sheet myself and although that didn't quite happen today we've come away with a good point and a good performance."

The team face an important run of matches over the next couple of months and Charles thinks Saturday's point at the DW was a good starting point in the potential battle for Premier League survival.

"After the recent defeats it's good to get back on track and although we haven't picked up a win we'll certainly take confidence from this game in time for the next one against Everton."

CLEVERLEY PLEASED WITH CHARACTER

On loan winger Tom Cleverley said he is pleased with the team attitude shown in coming from behind twice to earn a valuable point against Stoke City on Saturday. The tricky midfielder scored Latics' second goal and put in a man-of-the-match performance but said it was the spirit of the team that had impressed him:"We showed a lot of character against a team who are usually very good at holding onto leads," he said, "so from that point of view we're very happy.

" Tom added that he thought Latics were unfortunate not to grab all three points in an end-to-end game: "I think we've played very well at home lately to be fair and we were maybe a bit unlucky not to get all three points against Stoke.

"It was a tough game, and a draw at the end of the day probably suites both sides. "There could very easily have been more than four goals but both goalkeepers managed to pull off some fantastic saves at both ends."

Tom has impressed everybody since his arrival in the summer and the player is pleased with his current form on the pitch. "It's always a big confidence boost when you get on the score-sheet and I feel as though I'm really expressing myself at the moment, growing in confidence and very happy all round. "As a creative midfielder you have to create opportunities for your team-mates and try to get a few goals yourself."

Tom admitted there was some good fortune involved in his goal, but said that was something that had been lacking recently.

"I got a little stroke of luck in my goal, as did Stoke for their opener, but you need that sometimes and it's probably something we've not had a lot of lately. "As one of the attacking players it's up to me to get forward, create chances and get goals myself and I enjoy doing it."

Latics travel to Goodison Park this weekend hoping to build on Saturday's performance bu tTom acknowledges the next run of games are crucial in the effort to climb out of the relegation zone.

"The Gaffer has said that the next seven games are massive for us and we'll be treating them all as cup-finals.

"The Everton game is no different, we'll got there with the same attitude and with a lot of confidence after a solid performance against Stoke."