Latics Christmas preview: What does good look like?

Micky Mellon’s stock phrases are enigmatic. He says, “I know what good looks like,” but is reluctant to tell you or I what it means.

He keeps the physical or material manifestation of good a closely guarded secret.

When Mellon says the players or team or club are striving to the be “the best versions of themselves”, only he knows what he’s talking about. Those of us in the non-poetic world are none the wiser.

He never puts a number on it when he says he wants to “finish in the highest position possible” in the league.

In a revealing and wide-ranging interview on YouTube about Latics’ historic promotion triumph, Charlie Raglan, who captained the side for long periods in the absence of Tom Conlon, said that promotion was never spoken of as the objective. It didn’t need to be, sayeth Raglan: “You just knew.”

This season the objective is a little fuzzier, more abstract and Mellon-esque, which isn’t helpful. “Being the best version of ourselves” doesn’t really stand up as an objective unless you’re fielding XI world-beaters. “Finishing as high up as we possibly can in the league” is another vague one, liable to misinterpretation by fans and, more significantly, players. In any case, it’s a circle of nonsense: every team finishes as high in the league as they possibly can, even if they get relegated.

Mellon’s mysticism is contagious, however, and Latics fans are showing signs of the same non-commitment. They say things like, “I’d like seven points out of 12 this Christmas” or “we could easily get nine out of 12 and be right up there”, but there is no consensus on where the side will pick up points or where they’ll drop them, or where that will leave them in the league standings. The fact is that all Latics’ games over Christmas – Grimsby at home on Boxing day, Walsall away next Monday night, Chesterfield at home on new year’s day and Bromley away on Sunday 4 January – are winnable.

Grimsby are a mixed bag whose goals for and against are among the highest in the league. Anything can happen at Blundell Park, as they showed when they beat Man Utd 12-11 on penalties in the League Cup back in August, but Grimsby’s home record stinks: five defeats in 10 games.

Walsall away is the toughest match of the four on paper, but Latics played them earlier this month and will have seen up close that, top of the table or not, they are nothing special.They were given a goal and Latics were – to steal a phrase –not the best version of themselves.

Chesterfield are a long way from the National League winners-elect who came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 the season before last. By failing to win that day, they failed to win the title at Boundary Park, which infuriated their fans.

There have been some memorable games between the two clubs in recent times, taking in Peter Clarke’s unforgettable last-minute header to give Latics a 0-1 win in February 2017, and James Norwood’s stoppage-time equaliser to win the National League for Latics in August 2023. Both goals sparked wild Latics celebrations on the pitch. Nobody likes scenes like that apart from every single football fan who ever lived. This has the makings of a big festive game, in front of a big crowd, and Latics fans will hope their side turns it on in the same way they did against Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

As for Bromley away…our two previous fixtures at Hayes Lane bookended the unlamented period when David Unsworth was in the dugout, ostensibly in the role of team manager. Two 3-0 defeats, two pathetic performances, inertia from the bench both times.

This time it will be different, right? Latics beat Bromley 1-0 at Boundary Park earlier in the season, signalling that Bromley’s days of fun beating Latics in the National League are over – that the club with the Football League pedigree is in the business of reasserting its status high above a glorified leisure centre. But those 3-0 defeats won’t go away in the minds of those Latics fans who were unfortunate to witness them, and a win away at the one of the Football League’s smallest ever grounds is long overdue.

The steady improvement of Latics this season is undeniable. The results are patchier, but the upward trend line running through them is discernible even to the most cynical observer. 

What does good look like this Christmas? It looks like everyone having a nice time, and Latics winning all four matches to go into the January transfer window with the solid, club-wide objective of achieving a play-off place.