We appealed for Wigan fans to give us an insight into deadline day loan signing Nick Powell and got a good response, today we feature two of the replies, kicking off with Gary’s views
“Nick Powell came to Wigan with a huge reputation despite is tender years and was soon to show why he deserved that reputation. In his first 4 months under the stewardship of Owen Coyle he excelled playing in a deep lying striker role or on occasion as a loan striker. He showed he was adept at making chances from nothing, with superb close control and excellent balance on the ball. On the downside he was awfully fond of shooting, often when better passes were available, much to my own personal frustration. Scoring world class goals is obviously nice but attempting them three or four times a game takes it away somewhat.
That was the first half of the season. In December nobody’s favourite Glaswegian, Owen Coyle, was shown the exit door to much fan rejoicing and in came Uwe Rösler. Rösler brought a totally different style, both on the training field and on the pitch, and we swiftly saw a change in Nick Powell. Despite scoring a sublime overhead finish in Rösler’s first game Powell’s performances dropped away over the festive period and never really picked up. His body language was poor and his impact on games diminished. He still showed signs of prodigal talent, but you got the feeling that Rösler’s strict management, intense playing style and fitness regime did not sit right with him.
Things all came to a head at the end of the season when Powell missed the Burnley game, not because of a falling out with Rösler as the terrace grapevine was screaming, but because he had been arrested for drink driving. He subsequently missed a further game (I think one of the play-offs) because he was in court. Despite this, some of our fans were calling for him to return this season, in the hope of seeing the Powell that played in the early part of last season. A significant section of fans did not want to see him back (and, if the rumours are to be believed, a significant portion of the playing staff did not want to see him back).
So what kind of player have you got? Well, under Owen Coyles laid back approach to management and training you have got a maverick player who is good in the air, hard to get off the ball and with a definite eye for goal. Under Rösler we saw the arrogance leave the football field and manifest elsewhere, but when called upon he could still make the difference in games (see our FA Cup win against MK Dons). His attitude is likely to need addressing, but if you can work round that then you can be satisfied you've got yourself a very talented young attacking midfielder.
I doubt he will ever make it at United (although United are dropping fast…) but Championship/lower Premier League should be easy reach for him. He's not going to be missed at Wigan but maybe you can keep him on the straight and narrow for the whole season, he's banned from driving so that might help!”
In comparison to Gary’s article above, fellow Wigan fan David Perry gave us a brief overview
“Came on loan as an "attacking midfielder" but Owen Coyle used him as a lone striker, much to Powell’s frustration.
Nick is an obvious talent and scored some vital goals,
Uwe Rosler used a mass rotation policy and Powell became a bit erratic, classy one minute petulant the next .
But we forget he is young man and he will mature. His off field antics did not help- drink driving etc.
In summary though he is a very good player and I would have gave him another chance”
We will feature more Wigan fans views of Nick Powell early next week