Stephen Humphrys has had a solid season so far but was omitted from the starting lineup for Wigan Athletic’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat away at Bristol Rovers this weekend.
The 26-year-old has bagged three times in League One this term and also registered one assist, ranking him joint-twelfth for goal contributions in England’s third-tier, according to FBref.
The ex-Shrewsbury Town forward has been one of the first names on head coach Shaun Maloney’s teamsheets this season, predominantly starting on the right of the Latics’ 4-2-3-1. However, Fulham loanee Martial Godo was given the nod by the manager ahead of yesterday’s clash at the Memorial Stadium.
Humphrys did eventually enter the fray ten minutes into the second half, replacing Thelo Asgaard on the flanks but his introduction made little difference as the former FA Cup champions were already 3-1 down by that point.
Speaking after the game, manager Maloney revealed that Humphrys’ omission from the starting eleven was due to a disciplinary issue as opposed to a knock [quotes via Wigan Today]
“It was really difficult because it wasn’t a footballing decision. Stephen is a very good kid, and he’s been brilliant since I’ve been here but he was late to a team meeting this week.
“Everyone is pretty clear there is a culture at the training ground, in terms of everyone being as punctual as they can.
“When somebody drops below that, I have to make a very tough decision, for the good of the group,” he continued.
“It’s done, though, the matter is now closed, and it’s back to training on Monday with a clean slate.”
Writer’s View
Maloney is not the first manager to discipline a player for a lack of punctuality but it always looks worse when the team ends up losing. Hindsight, unfortunately, is 20/20.
Despite the result, it’s encouraging that Maloney is not only trying to get points on the board but is also looking to set the culture at the DW Stadium, something that was desperately missing last season.
