I’ve never thought of Steve Bruce as a genius. It could well be that is not one, but the tactics he used against a cocky Arsenal team worked better than those employed by AC Milan’s Carlo Ancelotti. Or could it be that Wigan’s back line is better than that of Milan? Nesta, once considered the best defender in the world was brushed aside by Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor as if he were a rag-doll. And Maldini was AWOL for Arsenal’s second goal, though let’s not take anything away from the great man who is probably the best left-back most people have ever seen.Back to Wigan though: Hleb was reigned in better by Wigan than he was by the Milan defenders, as was Adebayor and many of the London side’s players. The Sky commentators whinging about the state of the JJB Stadium pitch was a bit much. Surely the players have not forgotten their roots? Perhaps they have never played against Heage Miners’ Welfare ankle-deep in mud on a freezing cold, blustery Derbyshire day. It may be that players have been so mollycoddled with perfect playing conditions that they cannot cope with any adversity pitch-wise. Backpasses to goalkeepers should always be played outside the post-line so that “Robinson-in-Croatia” is an impossibility. Remember Beckham skying his penalty kick over the bar in Istanbul? The penalty spot was probably watered heavily pre-match so that that would happen; Beckham didn’t test the ground for the plant-foot adequately on that occasion. Van Persie should have kept his head down when in the inside left channel – he could have used that bobble to hammer the ball goalward had he been paying more attention.
