After a season of ups and downs both on and off the pitch Wigan Athletic have achieved their objective of staying in League One, and have secured a hugely respectable 12th-placed finish.
Latics never do things the easy way, which I think is what makes this season review so tough to write because if truth be told this season has been a pretty straightforward one by our standards. We stayed up comfortably, our season was as good as over by the end of March, and we had our fair share of great results and performances as well as our fair share of poor ones.
The reality is this is what happens to normal football clubs. They have seasons where they don’t go up, don’t go down, and don’t ever look like finishing anywhere other than slap-bang in the middle of the table.
And a normal club, while it might not sound particularly sexy, is what we should try and be a bit more like. That’s not to say I want us to lose that slightly bonkers edge to us that makes us the best in the world, but we need a club-wide understanding of our past, our present, and our future.
Since the Whelan family left the club we’ve been promised the world by two different sets of owners, both of whom took us to within minutes (quite literally) of extinction. Both promised immediate success by any means necessary. In a way both achieved it, but both proved entirely unsustainable and again, both nearly killed the club we all love.
In the summer of 2023 there were days where I was resigned to the fact that I would not have a football team to support this season. Quite frankly if you had told me I would be writing a 2023/24 season review right now, I would have expected it to be after the end of a North West Counties Football League campaign.
Even when the season began with a team of youth players, free transfers, loanees and players whose Wigan career was all-but dead, I wasn’t expecting much more than another brutal relegation battle. We had eight points deducted remember. Eight points. Eight (8).
Therefore, the fact I’m talking about a League One season that ended with a stress-free month of football, and included some of the best moments and football we’ve seen as Latics fans in a long time, is as fantastic as it is remarkable.
It’s not all been fine and dandy, and believe me I’ll talk about that, but as a whole this season has been a successful one for Wigan Athletic in my opinion. Now it’s time to review it – month by month, key moment by key moment.
June / July – Not Just Any Old Pre-Season…
On the 28th of June the Latics media team released an 18-minute long interview with Shaun Maloney, during which he discussed the ‘incredibly difficult’ time he went through between then and the end of the 2022/23 season.
He discussed a two to three week period, I would imagine from the trauma of late wages and winding-up orders in mid-May to early-June when Mike Danson’s takeover was completed.
“When you start to recall these moments a lot of emotions start to come up,” Maloney said, with a slight smile on his face. You know the kind when you’re on the other side of a bad moment, but it still irks you deep down. It was that kind of smile.
“There are some amazing people at this club and they did an incredible job. As the manager I was desperate to do everything I could to convince Mr. Danson that it was possible to run this club in the most sustainable way we can, whilst still trying to achieve what we want to achieve.
“In some of the toughest times that I’ve ever seen people grouped together, and I’m just really thankful that we managed to get through it.”
Quotes like this ought to remind us as supporters that, while it’s absolutely fair to voice your opinions about results and performances in matches, those matches very nearly did not take place. We were close to not being included in the EFL’s fixture release in June. That quite literally would have been that as far as Wigan Athletic Football Club was concerned.
We lost a CEO, a board of directors, a recruitment team, and 14 first team players before this interview with Maloney was filmed. Despite this he was seemingly relaxed and excited about what July and pre-season had in store for the club.
He was buoyed by news that season ticket sales were up on where they were 12 months previously, a quite staggering statistic when you consider the different states the club were in (or at least appeared to be in to us).
“I’m really ambitious for this club, but we need to do things in a sustainable way. We can’t have what’s happened in the last few months ever happen again and I bear a big responsibility for that moving forward. I think if we’ve got that stability then in 12 months time we can have a very different conversation, but for now I want us to be humble and understand where we’ve come from. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done behind the scenes to build this club back up.”
Shaun Maloney – June 2023
We kicked off our summer business with the signing of Liam Morrison, who joined on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich. Two days later Charlie Hughes extended his contract till the summer of 2028, which may prove to be one of the most significant days in the club’s recent history.
Next through the door were the Smith’s. Jonny was first, arriving on a 2-year-deal from Burton Albion, before Matt was recruited after his released from Arsenal. Shaun Maloney described the signing as ‘a big move for him and us’, which I think it’s fair to say has aged well.
Club legend Callum McManaman returned after a long and successful trial period. “I am proud of what I have achieved with Wigan Athletic, but that is in the past now, and it’s time to create new memories,” the winger said upon his arrival. Mission accomplished, Cal.
The squad jetted off to Hungary for a week of high-intensity training at the National Football Federation. During the trip Max Power’s exit was confirmed, ending his long affiliation with the club before jetting off to Saudi Arabia to complete a move to Al-Qadsiah.
Sean Clare, who was Maloney’s first choice target in his position, was the next to join. It filled the gaping hole we had at Right Back, and meant we had a squad big enough to field a decent squad for the opening game of the season at Derby which was now less than a month away.
That was until Will Keane, Jamie Jones and Curtis Tilt all left the club within a couple of days. With over 250 games for the club between them it left the squad looking incredibly young, inexperienced and thin.
James Balagizi and Liam Shaw were loaned in to bolster our midfield options, while Thelo Aasgaard committed his future to the club by signing a contract until 2028. The 21st of July was a great day, because it also saw the release of our lovely new Wigan Casino inspired home kit.
The good feeling around the club was damaged somewhat when Jack Whatmough and Jamie McGrath both walked away from their contracts to pursue moves elsewhere. Two of our more valuable players left for free, with Whatmough joining Will Keane at Preston and McGrath joining the previously departed Graeme Shinnie at Aberdeen.
Whatmough’s replacement was his former partner Kell Watts, who returned to Latics on loan. With August around the corner things seemed to be calming down off the pitch as the season opener drew closer.
However, we’re Wigan remember. We don’t do calm.
August – Plus Two Babyyyyy
August started with the news that James McClean, who was set to be the club’s captain for the season, had been sold to Wrexham for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £250,000. The club claimed they were keen to retain him, McClean suggested his age proved a stumbling block in contract negotiations. Either way it was sad to see a club legend leave, even if it would prove to be the right decision for everyone in the end.
The opening day trip to pre-season title favourites Derby County would prove to be one of the club’s finest afternoons in recent memory. Latics showed off their new style of football, a new set of tactical innovations and a hell of a lot of bottle from an incredibly young squad. Charlie Wyke bagged a double as we ran out 2-1 winners, chipping three points of our deduction in the process.
We exited the Carabao Cup in the First Round after a penalty defeat to a James McClean-less Wrexham in front of the Sky cameras, and then it was time to prepare for our first home game of the season against newly-promoted Northampton Town.
Gregor Rioch was appointed as the club’s new Sporting Director the day before the Northampton game, and new owner Mike Danson penned an open letter to the club’s supporters outlying the club’s hopes for the season.
Despite falling a goal behind to a worldie free-kick from Sam Hoskins, Latics fought back with two late goals to pick up another 2-1 win. Callum McManaman proved the match winner with an absolute peach from 20 yards, before a great celebration in front of ES2. It wouldn’t be his last.
Next up against Carlisle we played the best 45 minutes of football I’ve seen in years from a Latics team, but could only leave Cumbria with a 1-1 draw. It left us on minus one points from three games, and a trip down the road to Horwich was next up.
Bolton had started the season in perfect fashion and were big favourites in front of their home supporters. That was until three first-half goals sent the 4,000+ travelling fans crazy, followed by another after the break to complete another 4-0 win at our local rivals.
Plus Two Babyyyyyyy.
The good start came to a crashing halt at home to Barnsley, who won 2-0 after a controversial red card was given to Charlie Hughes early on in the first half. New signing Steven Sessegnon’s introduction to the DW faithful was the highlight of a disappointing afternoon. Overall though August went about as well as anyone could have expected, if not better.
September – A Rude Awakening
Despite seemingly content with his squad prior to Deadline Day, Shaun Maloney made two late additions before the window slammed shut. Exciting forward Martial Godo arrived on loan from Fulham, while Omar Rekik returned to the club from Arsenal after spending the second-half of the 2022/23 season on loan at the club.
Young goalkeeper Sam Tickle, who cemented himself as the club’s no1 with a brilliant start to the season, was called up to the England under 21s squad. He was the first academy graduate to be called up since Leighton Baines, and proved to be another shining light of our incredible academy.
Before he jetted off for international duty though he had a trip to Blackpool to make. Latics were miles off it from the get go, and the first signs of Maloney’s tactical struggles were there for all to see. Also obvious was the mental fatigue of a squad of players who had started the season fantastically, yet were still languishing near the bottom of the table because of the minus eight.
We lost 2-1 to a last-minute winner from the hosts, who exploited space left by a needlessly open Latics team with a clinical counter-attack. This game had a lasting impact on Maloney I feel. I think this was the first time doubts crept into his mind about the 4-2-3-1, and the seeds were sown of a future move to a back three.
After the international break we bounced back with a 2-1 win over Cambridge. The win was important, but the performance and attacking display, especially given the amount of possession we had, was disappointing. Issues were starting to appear at the back with a high volume of shots being conceded week after week, and in an attempt to sure us up the manager seemed to make sacrifices going forward.
Eventually it caught up with us. We went to Bristol Rovers and were thrashed 4-1 by a team who found it very easy to create chances against us, especially down our left side. Worse news was that Matt Smith’s Hernia issue had worsened, putting the pivotal midfielder out for more than three months.
A 2-1 defeat to league-leaders Portsmouth followed, making it four defeats in five games since we made it to positive points. Charlie Wyke’s red card put an end to his positive start to the season, and ultimately his Wigan career as a whole. Martial Godo’s goal that day was quite nice though.
It was a really poor month for Latics. The Cambridge result was nice, as was the 7-1 thrashing of Leicester u23s in the EFL Trophy. Baba Adeeko’s Ireland u21 call-up was a proud moment, and one of very few highlights. To quote Green Day, we wanted waking up when September ended.
October – A Month Of Two Halves
Things started badly in October, and for the first time I felt genuinely concerned about our survival chances. Defeats at Burton and Stevenage proved that our young squad was quite easily bullied by brutal EFL opposition, a weakness that remained for the rest of the campaign.
I can’t mention the defeat at Stevenage without remembering referee Alan Young. What a waste of everyone’s time that chap was. 11 yellow cards and a red for Latics led to a hefty FA fine for failing to control our players. Again, that was a sign of things to come.
The first murmurings of discontent at Maloney surfaced after the Stevenage game, and they only grew louder when a disastrous first half left us 2-0 down at home to Fleetwood in the EFL Trophy. However, a revitalised Jordan Jones turned the game on its head and spearheaded a comeback that resulted in a penalty shoutout win. Josh Stones netted a lovely goal that day too.
With a long trip to Exeter next up it was vital that we gained some confidence. Martial Godo put us ahead early on in Devon and what followed can best be described as a pasting. We were under the cosh constantly and had to rely on some heroic goalkeeping and defending to maintain the 1-0 lead. Maloney’s decision to change to a back three was proving vital.
That was until Jordan Jones, who had been subbed on in an unnatural left-wing-back position, careered down the wing and fired home for 2-0 to wrap up the most undeserved victory of the season. Or at least that’s what Gary Caldwell would have you believe. Bless him and his sweet, sweet tears.
We went 3-4-3 in our home game against high-flying Oxford United next time out and picked up another 2-0 win, limiting the visitors to barely any chances while creating a few of our own. Vice-captain Callum Lang netted his first goal of a disappointing season with a beautiful free-kick, and an even more special celebration in tribute to a young supporter.
In perhaps our most dominant performance of the season we then beat Shrewsbury Town 2-0 at the DW, albeit aided massively by ‘agent’ Chey Dunkley’s early red card for Salop. Back-to-back-to-back clean sheets and wins came at an important time for the club, and took us out of the relegation zone for the first time.
As October always does, our month ended in frightening fashion with a 3-2 Halloween defeat to Charlton Athletic. Maloney, maybe overthinking things and relaxing after a strong set of results, made some questionable changes that ultimately cost us. I think there are some who still haven’t forgiven him for that night, even though it proved to be completely insignificant. It was one of the manager’s worst games of the season for sure.
November – Movin’ On Up
Another backs-to-the-wall victory over Exeter, this time in the FA Cup First Round, got November off to a great start. Steven Sessegnon scored a beauty, and created some top content in the process. Well in, Sess.
The reward for progression proved to be a trip to National League strugglers York City, presenting Latics with a real chance of a bumper Third Round tie.
Next up we hosted Peterborough United, who were cruising past everyone they encountered prior to our meeting. We played really well and limited them to very little with our 3-4-3 shape, while taking the two main chances we had ourselves. And who can forget Cal Mac picking up another match-winning goal with a scorcher from the edge of the box. Not me. Not me.
A couple of disappointing draws away at Cheltenham and Leyton Orient ultimately came down to a couple of missed penalties from Stephen Humphrys. We struggled to create anything meaningful in both games, and this is where I felt as though a change up was needed, especially against sides we expected to dominate the ball against. I had a bit of an argument with Phil Brown on BBC Radio Manchester after the Cheltenham game, as he felt we did enough to win, and I certainly didn’t. What great memories.
Those changes came in the 3-0 win against Fleetwood. We changed to a back four again, albeit with Jordan Jones dropping from LW to LWB fairly regularly off the ball, and looked a lot more threatening going forward. Fleetwood were rubbish. Like really, really bad. That being said we had some brilliant performers and capped off an unbeaten month in style.
December – Ups And Downs
We kicked off the month with a couple of cup wins behind the doors of our advent calendars. Firstly, we took on York City or in the FA Cup, or at least I think we did. No one could see a thing through the fog, but Stephen Humphrys apparently scored the winner with a lovely composed finish in front of a packed out away end.
The added bonus of TV and prize money was handy, but the best was yet to come. A home tie against Man United in Round Three was the reward, a huge moment for the club both on and off the pitch. News that the away fans would be seated in the East Stand caused some controversy, but the decision would prove a smart one when the DW was sold out for the first time in over a decade.
Next up was a comfortable win over League Two high-fliers Stockport County in the EFL Trophy, which set up a trip to strugglers Doncaster Rovers in the next round. Liam Morrison netted his first professional goal that day, while Jonny Smith hit home his first goal in Latics colours.
The return to League One action saw a complete downturn in form though. A 0-0 bore draw against Lincoln City was followed up by a defeat at out-of-form Port Vale, who dominated from start to finish and were unlucky to only win 3-2. Charlie Wyke scored what may well prove to be his last league goal for Latics, while Chris Sze scored what will hopefully be the first of many that day.
A 2-0 defeat at Reading before Christmas was followed by a 1-0 loss against Derby on Boxing Day, and we really started to show a lack of creativity going forward. We didn’t register a shot in the first half against Derby, inexcusable for any side regardless of the injury problems we had that day.
We ended December with a really comfortable 2-0 win against Carlisle. Maloney changed to a back four and we created plenty of moments in the final third which probably should have been taken. It was probably the last time we picked a natural back four too, which is pretty strange considering how decent we looked.
In fairness, it was a tough month for the squad. Martial Godo, Thelo Aasgaard, Matt Smith, Jason Kerr, Charlie Hughes and Tom Pearce were big misses at times, and it made it clear that we needed a few things freshening up in the January window.
January – Money Money Money
2024 started in typical Latics fashion – a crazy game where we played really well but had to wait until the last minute to take anything from it. We dominated Barnsley for the majority, but Devante Cole’s goal looked to have won it for the EFL’s favourite informants. However, Jonny Smith’s Goal of the Season contender earned us a well-deserved point and a solid start to the year.
Luke Robinson returned from his loan at St. Johnstone as soon as the window began, only to return later on in the month having signed a new contract. James Balagizi’s fairly insignificant loan spell came to an end, freeing up a much-needed loan spot to help boost the squad elsewhere.
Next up was the big game against Man United in front of the nation on ITV. Over 22,500 supporters packed into the DW, and who knows what might have happened if Thelo Aasgaard’s early chance had beaten Andre Onana. In the end it finished 2-0 to the visitors, but it was a proud day for the club to see so many academy graduates competing against some of the world’s most talked about players. You didn’t think I was going to say best, did you?!
A late substitute that day was Callum Lang, one of our very own. His start to the season was well below par by his previous high standards, and as his game time decreased the rumours of a potential exit increased. His three minute cameo against the biggest club in the country would prove to be his last in a Wigan shirt, and based on his crestfallen demeaner after the full-time whistle I think he knew it.
Our first January addition came in the form of left-footed defender Luke Chambers, who joined on loan from Liverpool. Unlike Balagizi, the 19-year-old proved to be an incredible signing and stepped up immediately to make his debut in our 1-1 draw at Northampton.
Someone ‘just as good as a new signing’, Matt Smith, made his long awaited return from injury that day too. Almost immediately he changed the game and made our equalising goal with an exquisite pass in the final third. It was the kind of pass we hadn’t seen since his injury over three months previously, highlighting just how important he is to our team.
Defeat to Doncaster in the EFL trophy caused uproar, and rightly so to be fair. I think we had a real chance of reaching the final this season, but for whatever reason we downed tools after taking the lead and the hosts deservedly won the shootout. The mentality was a real issue that night, and I think it has been on several occasions this season. More on that in my squad review articles though.
Back-to-back 1-0 home wins against Reading and Wycombe moved us into midtable and started to ease the fears of relegation. Thelo’s goal against Reading was absolutely textbook for the Norwegian, while Charlie Hughes’ 110th minute strike against Wycombe broke records in a way only Wigan Athletic can. Of course it’s us that holds that record. Who else?
We lost to Stevenage in the final game of the month. There isn’t loads to say about that game, other than the fact that we felt hard done by by the referee throughout. Against Steve Evans and his posse of Stevenage snarlers? Well I never!
Away from the field, Omar Rekik’s loan came to an end, and he was replaced by Charlie Goode who signed temporarily from Brentford. Maloney had been desperate for some experienced defensive cover, and I’d suggest Goode’s impact was big both on and off the pitch. I don’t think we survive so comfortably without him, that’s for sure. Charlie Kelman was also loaned in, although his impact was slightly less obvious. I feel for him because we rarely played to his strengths, but he did a job. We had a gap and he filled it so that’s nice. Cheers Charlie(s).
Callum Lang’s transfer to Portsmouth was eventually confirmed, for a fee that will have increased greatly thanks to Portsmouth’s promotion into the Championship. Congratulations to them by the way! We also sent Charlie Wyke on loan to Rotherham United where he linked back up with former boss Leam Richardson. The pair were part of one of the Championship’s worst ever teams, but it saved us a load of money so that’s nice!
My very basic calculations have me believe that we probably made over a million quid in January 2024, while saving another £100ks in wages by losing Rekik, Lang and Wyke. All things considered I think these moves aged very well, because in no way did it hamper us on the pitch or prevent us from achieving our goal of staying up. As we found out later our wage bill was a disgrace, so to get around £20k a week off it was pretty good work. Folk moaned, the pressure on Maloney seemingly grew among some supporters, but overall I think January was a good month.
February – Consistently Inconsistent
I think one of my happiest days supporting Latics came when Thelo Aasgaard put us 3-0 up away at Peterborough. I’d watched 80 minutes of expertly drilled pressing football, an out-of-possession monster who had the division’s form side on the ropes unlike ever before. We created good chances and took them clinically; sureeeeetheynearlymadeit3-3andruinedeverything BUT, they didn’t. So… Excellent. For me this was the result of the season.
PS: Mr Josh Magennis, please give Thelo the second goal. He deserves the hat-trick. Fact.
Hilariously we followed up our performance of the season with consecutive defeats in games we definitely shouldn’t have lost. Exeter did to us what we had done twice to them, so in fairness we probably had that result coming. However, their two deflected goals were excruciatingly annoying. Oh well I thought, that’s our dose of bad luck out of the way!
Next up we went to Oxford. Ahhhhhhhh.
We lost 4-2. We dominated the first half and conceded with their only chance, and it took a slight deflection on its way in. Three deflections in a row soon became four after the break, then five and then six. It was grim, we took zero points from a pair of games we should’ve taken at least four from, but that’s just how things go sometimes. As bonkers goes it doesn’t even make the top 250 list in my lifetime, so we kind of just shrugged it off.
Admittedly that was made easier by the fact that we won away at Shrewsbury next time out courtesy of a deflected goal by Matt Smith. Considering Shrewsbury were one of League One’s worst attacking sides we conceded a hell of a lot of chances, but ultimately Sam Tickle and co kept them out for another clean sheet. A few of his saves that day were just magnificent.
Another 1-1 draw against Cheltenham provided little excitement at the DW, with chance creation proving an issue once again. 70% possession, just nine shots. Less xG than the visitors who had fewer shots. It wasn’t good.
I’ll tell you another thing that wasn’t good or fun to watch: the first 68 minutes of our home game against the division’s (third) best side Bolton Wanderers. In fairness to Ian Evatt’s water pistols they dominated the game from the off, but were unable to create any meaningful opportunities against Baresi and Maldini Kerr and Goode in the Latics defence.
Things burst into life when Stephen Humphrys finished off a beautiful move to put us one up, and in a crazy few minutes that followed we somehow didn’t extend our lead despite huge chances for Aasgaard and Godo. Thankfully we didn’t live to regret those moments and held on for a huge win that sent the DW delirious.
The post-match scenes were great fun. Be it Godo’s goading, Tickle’s joking, Evatt’s crying or Ozone’s bouncing, it made for some bloody good viewing. Not only did it hurt our rival’s own ambitions, it felt like the first time we really felt as though a relegation battle wouldn’t be in store for us. And as Wigan fans, that’s incredibly rare!
Elsewhere, it was revealed that under-18s captain and lifelong Latics fan Callum Jones had made a successful recovery from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after months of chemotherapy. The young man’s story was inspirational enough as it is; making it as a footballer for his boyhood club, but to have overcome the obstacles he has done is just remarkable. I’ve been told, aside from being a brilliant lad, he’s also got a really bright future on the pitch and I’d love to see him feature for us at some point in the future. If anybody deserves to live the dream, it’s him.
March – Survival Secured
That was until we kicked off March with a trip to Fleetwood Town, who I believe most people would agree are rubbish! That is surprising considering a few of their squad are serious players -one of which, Bosun Lawal, scored a couple of beauties. Our two goals were great too, but a lacklustre second half proved fatal as we fell to a really disappointing 4-2 defeat. Sean Clare’s comments afterwards suggested that the frustration at the weak mentality shown in these kind of games wasn’t just held by supporters. He was rightly angry, and good on him.
We then moved into a week with three winnable games, and Maloney set the target of achieving survival by the end of the Blackpool game. A win against 10-man Leyton Orient started things off very well, only for us to lose to Wycombe after one of the first first half performances you will ever see. An away game against a gritty bottom-half side that all went tits up? I’m getting bored of writing about them now!
Thankfully a win against Blackpool four days later saw us reach the 50 points mark including our deduction, which essentially confirmed our League One status. To have that done and dusted with over a month left in the season was as relieving as it was rare for us. It almost felt weird to think we’d be going into the final seven games with nothing major to play for, and despite Maloney claiming he wouldn’t allow that to be the case, it basically did!
Another positive international break for our academy was topped off by Thelo Aasgaard scoring for Norway’s under 21s, and Sam Tickle making his debut for England’s under 21s at The Toughsheet Stadium in Horwich. He finished the season with an impressive aggregate score there of 11-0, and was booed on both occasions. Very, very funny.
March ended with a 1-1 draw against Burton. We scored, then they did. I literally cannot bring myself to write anything more on that game, in fact I’m a bit annoyed I’ve had to push a more important thought out of my brain to type these words. I look forward to forgetting this, and several other games, ever happened.
Elsewhere in March, we released our financial accounts for the 2022/23 financial year. The figures were crazy and a lot of intriguing things came to light as a result of the report, all of which I covered in depth at the time here. Take a look!
And even earlier on in the month the club announced something far more positive: the confirmation that there will be a Wigan Athletic Women’s team next season. Everyone knows that women’s football is growing at a brilliant rate, and I think it’s great that we’ll be playing our part in boosting that. The new ownership clearly made it a priority which is lovely and signals their intentions to boost all aspects of the club… and even create new ones! In case you missed it, you can find out more information here!
April – On The Beach And On A High
April summed up our season beautifully. It was the perfect combination of highs, lows and everything in between as Latics secured a top half finish despite everything that we had to contend with.
It started off with a 3-1 defeat at Cambridge, and that was rubbish. Players playing out of position, a missed penalty and ridiculous follow-up, poor defending and just an all round grim afternoon. That was then followed by a similar showing against Port Vale, albeit that game ended in a 0-0 draw.
For me there were warning signs in the sense that we had two no pressure games against struggling opposition and not once did we look capable of dominating possession, territory or goal-mouth action. Next season we have to find a way of dominating games with the ball, and it felt like we wasted a couple of good opportunities to try that at the start of the month.
Then things started to pick up, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we started to play against sides who were willing to press us far more aggressively. First up we travelled to Charlton, and after a disappointing first half Shaun Maloney made a decision that I HOPE will become a permanent one.
He switched us to a back four, or at least that’s what we were on paper personnel wise. Sean Clare and Tom Pearce flanked Charlie Hughes and Jason Kerr at the back, and we looked very similar to how we did at the beginning of the season. Sure, we looked a bit open at the back, but to see us attack in numbers, at pace, and with quality was vital after a tough few weeks.
As if we needed further proof, Maloney showed quite how committed he is to the cause that evening too. Having spent most of the day with his partner and new-born child, the gaffer raced down the motorway to make it in time for kick-off. It’s things like that that tell you how much we mean to him, how much being in charge of Wigan Athletic means to him. That fills me with a lot of pride. We need a leader like that.
We followed that up with a trip to Lincoln, who were 16 games unbeaten going into the clash at Sincil Bank. As has so often been the case this season we looked right at home against one of the division’s best sides, and for the first half an hour it felt like watching prime Latics. Jonny Smith’s opener was a thing of beauty, and probably would have won goal of the season had it not been scored a few hours after the shortlist was released!
We rode our luck at time and I do think the game showed a failing of ours; we struggle to maintain our performances levels beyond the hour mark. Charlie Hughes’ last-minute winner capped off a lovely afternoon, and made the calls stronger for a 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 to be the go to structure for our team selection.
By that I mean this: we may not play those formations per-say, but we are at our best when we pick four ‘defenders’, three central ‘midfielders’, and three ‘forwards.’ They may occupy different roles and positions during the game, both in and out of possession, but getting the right profiles out on the pitch is something I believe is vital.
And our penultimate game proved that. Yes Portsmouth had sore heads after a 72-hour (ish) piss-up, but we were excellent. Our goal was lovely and we could have had more, but once again we seemed to dip off after an hour and conceded a lot of efforts on goal. We relied on Sam Tickle heavily, and our second goal came from his great distribution, but all in all I’d say the win was deserved.
You don’t win away at the champions without being a good team. In fact, you don’t win away at the top two, and home and away at third and fourth, without being a bloody good team. I think it’s fair to say that if we learn how to beat the lesser teams in the league we’ll be onto a winner next season!
Somehow though, neither were our best showing of the month. I’m writing this a few hours after the final whistle of our game against Bristol Rovers, and bloody hell we were good. I know they were rubbish, but we made them look like a semi-professional side with how dominant we were.
From back to front we were ace. The football was mesmerising at times and as Shaun Maloney said afterwards everything just seemed to click. The tempo was right, the confidence was oozing out of the lad’s ears and 2-0 flattered the visitors. They gassed out. Haha.
To end the season on a high in front of 14,000 at the DW was lovely. The lap of appreciation was a little emotional, because as I said at the beginning of this piece there were moments when I didn’t think we’d be here. Shaun Maloney looked like he was thinking along those same lines too.
We needed a day like that. If that is a sign of things to come we’re in for a great time next season. I already cannot wait.
Final Thoughts
First things first, if you’ve made it this far then thank you! I know this has been a much longer piece than you usually find on this website but after so long without an article it felt right to come back with a bang.
The overriding emotion I’m feeling at the end of this season is pride. Wigan Athletic are a football club like no other, and those of us lucky enough to call ourselves supporters have experienced highs and lows that 99% of other football fans never ever will.
A year ago the future of Wigan Athletic looked bleak. In fact, the future of Wigan Athletic looked non-existent. We were falling apart from top to bottom, and it felt like there was news coming out every day that made things worse than the day before.
However, in times of trouble the weak are separated from the strong. As owners, directors and chief executives fell by the wayside, the real heroes stepped up to be counted. We had people doing their own jobs, as well as the jobs of one, two, three, maybe even more others just to keep the club going. Just to keep the lights on. Just to keep a little bit of hope in the hearts of Latics fans everywhere.
Shaun Maloney, our inexperienced manager rocked by a brutal first few months in charge, went above and beyond. Gregor Rioch, the man whose good work had saved the club three years before, went above and beyond. Thank you for being the two best custodians we could ask for. Your rebuild will leave us stronger than we have been since the Premier League, I’m sure of it.
They’re the two whose work has been publicised, but I want to extend that praise to every single member of staff at the club who remained strong, faithful and hard-working even when they had no clue if they’d have a job when they woke up the next morning. You’re the heroes we needed in our darkest hour.
To the Danson family, thank you for saving our football club. We needed rescuing when I don’t think anyone knew the extent of our damage. Those that did would have been well within their right to turn away at the first opportunity given how bad it was. But you didn’t. You saved the jobs of hundreds, and the lives of thousands.
To the players and staff, thank you for sticking together and achieving more than we could have imagined given the obstacles you had to overcome. To start the season eight points behind the rest through no fault of your own is an injustice that will never sit right with me, but rather than sulking you did what good Wigan Athletic teams do, and will continue to do. You defied the odds. It has been a pleasure to watch you play, develop and thrive despite being written off by many before a ball was kicked.
And finally, my fellow supporters. It’s not easy following Latics sometimes but that’s never going to stop us from doing it. There will always be moans and groans, disagreements over players, tactics and all sorts. That’s not a Wigan thing, that’s a football thing. However, if we’ve learned one thing this season it’s that there is a positive future for Wigan Athletic. We have a manager who cares like he is one of us. An owner who is one of us. A squad of players who have come together to represent us properly, regardless of age and origins. We’ve got our football club back.
The season may have ended, but the era has only just begun. Wigan Athletic are a club to be proud of again. Enjoy your summer, keep the faith, and believe.
Every little thing is gonna be alright…
Dan x
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Talking Wigan 
I am a gentleman aged 89 with football (Everton blue) running through his veins, who when he came up to Wigan from Liverpool with a wife and two small children in 1969, went to Springfield Park to watch the Lattics, and fell head over heels in love with them. I dont go now (health issues) so I have to depend on what my season ticket son tells me, and other sources (written and word of mouth) to keep me abreast of what is happening in our beloved club. Reading your article has given me more pleasure than winning the Lottery. Has Roberto use to say onwards and upwards.
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Wow… what a wonderful thing to say. Thank you so much for sharing your story; it has made my day! I’m glad you enjoyed the article. If I can make my words resonate with my fellow Latics fans that’s the best compliment I can receive. Thank you 💙
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Hell of a read, Dan. Agree with everything you’ve written. I was sat at home after Bristol and like you, I was so proud, still am. It genuinely feels like we’re building the club up to be stronger than ever and I can’t wait to see where we go.
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