Having started the campaign with two heavy defeats -conceding ten goals and scoring none- Wigan were marked by many as doomed for the drop even before August was finished. Add to the mix their star man, Charles N’Zogbia, was looking for a way out, and it’s fair to say the start of the season was something of a nightmare for those around the DW Stadium.
Two months on and Roberto Martinez has turned the club’s fortunes around impressively. Having subsequently tightened up at the back, Wigan have lost just one of their last six games and, over the last couple of games, are now starting to play again. The Latics found the net only twice in their first six games but have now netted two goals in each of their last two games, with N’Zogbia’s return to form being fundamental to the upswing in their attacking fortunes.
Whereas last season saw N’Zogbia used predominantly as an inside-out right winger, Martinez is utilising his talents on the winger’s natural left flank this time round, too. With Hugo Rodallega dropping to the bench last weekend at St James‘ Park, N’Zogbia played as a left-winger in Wigan’s 4-3-3 set-up and silenced the home crowd with a quickfire brace as Martinez’s side took the game to their hosts.
As the above passing heatmaps show, against Newcastle 90% of his passes came down the left hand side of the pitch at Newcastle whereas in Wigan’s previous game, the 2-0 home win over Wolves, it was near an even split as the Frenchman attacked Mick McCarthy’s side on both flanks. A third of his passes against Newcastle were in the final third, whereas two-third of all passes against Wolves were in the final third, showing just how much of a menace he is to the opposition.
Regardless of where he plays, however, N’Zogbia (number 10) -as these average position maps from the two aforementioned games illustrate- tends to be the further forward of Wigan’s players, and with other similarly priced midfielders Chris Brunt and Charlie Adam scoring similarly so far this season, this fact may swing the odds in his favour for those considering budget midfielders.
Of the four goals Wigan have scored in these two games, N’Zogbia has played a part in three of them, scoring two and assisting one, in a pair of performances that have seen him pick up the maximum 3 Bonus Points in both games. Having picked up 5 Fantasy League Points in Wigan’s first five games, N’Zogbia’s price has plummeted from £6m to £5.4m, but the winger has subsequently racked up an impressive 28 points in his last 3 games.
Wigan have something of a mixed bag of fixtures in their next six (BOL, ful, bla, LIV, WBA, mun) but as he begins to replicate the form that saw him bag 5 goals, 7 assists and a fantastic 31 Bonus Points last season, Charles N’Zogbia is showing just how important he is to Martinez’s side as they continue to climb the league.
