I mentioned in the [url=http://wigan.rlfans.com/news.php?readmore=984=#FF0000match report[/url I've just written how we are poor at home.



So what is the difference? Why are we struggling so much at home when we have consistently performed well away, and how do we fix it?

Other teams raise their game when they come to wigan? There certainly isn't a fear factor about the place

It's simple - at home we lose that backs to the wall mentality which is always there in tough away games . We also seem to feel the need do something amazing in attack in front of the home crowd - we drop more ball and push the pass when it's not on.

We put pressure on ourselves in my view. We need to be more ruthless and stick go our game plan.

The reasons mentioned are as good as any, i have been pondering that question since last season, and it still baffles me

i think all the players should be taken for a drive in the team coach for an hour or so around wigan before each home game .. then they can prepare like it's an away game ...

Not bad, I like it



Seriously though, although we have some of the best facilities in the league, I always prefer away games and dont dread them like I sometimes dread home games.

I geuninely think atmosphere comes into it. last week we were loud and noisy, this week, we hardly had anything.
I said to my friends dad when the fans are all bunched up in one stand they tend to make more noise and it carries better. split into three stands won't have much effect (odd as that may sound!)
only time i've heard genuine noise from us at home was when we played SGI and Hull. they were close games and we came out on top in the Hull game and one score behind for the SGI game

This in my opinion. We need to play the home games more like the away games; be unforgiving in attack and defence. Look at Saints last week away at Leeds; they kept it simple and effective. That's what Wigan need to do at home. Stop trying to be fancy and get on with it.

As Bilko says we lose the big games against big teams like last night.
We also lose when there are big crowds in the place, including the loss to Quins.
Are our players getting overawed by the size of the Stadium and the size of the crowds?
Do we not have enough experienced big game players in the squad and the inexperinced lads can't cope with the atmosphere?
Last week at Hudds there were just over 8k on in a stadium same size and similar construction to the DW yet they were superb.
At Hudds a 95% completion rate, last night 62% completion rate.
At 62% you won't beat anyone home or away.
Do they try too hard at home? Calls for the high ball from players with tens of yards to cover when our FB is in line and it's his ball.
We have a club sports psychology coach, time for him to get to work on this one.
Although the basics for me on this loss was the very poor completetion rate at 62%. Drop the ball that often and you won't come close to winning and last night we didn't come close.

But then again, with what was it? 72k? at Old Trafford, they coped just fine.

IMO we just lacked experience/game-time in certain areas, plus a couple of huge players in Paddy/Gleeson.

We did appear to be trying too hard to pull off the flashy stuff, so maybe we need to get back to the Melbourne style of last year (which didn't work out too badly for us, did it?) of just pressuring the opposition with brutal defence, until they crack and only *then* do you pull the trigger in attack.

We have not won at home when there is a big crowd on, all the big games at home we lose! Our average would be up by 2k if we had been winning these games.

When away from home we definantly have a backs to the wall mentality which people have said, we don't have it at home.

Last night we were just very poor and beaten by a better team. Worst performance under Maguire IMO. We will learn from it though, it probably means a win next week at Leeds.