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{{football squad player| no=24| nat=Australia | pos=MF| name=[[Josip Skoko]]}}
{{football squad player| no=24| nat=Australia | pos=MF| name=[[Josip Skoko]]}}
{{football squad player| no=25| nat=Netherlands| pos=DF| name=[[Mario Melchiot]]||other=[[captain]]}}
{{football squad player| no=25| nat=Netherlands| pos=DF| name=[[Mario Melchiot]]||other=[[captain]]}}
{{football squad player| no=26| nat=England | pos=DF| name=[[Leighton Baines]]}}
{{football squad player| no=27| nat=Poland | pos=FW| name=[[Tomasz Kupisz]]}}
{{football squad player| no=27| nat=Poland | pos=FW| name=[[Tomasz Kupisz]]}}
{{football squad player| no=28| nat=England | pos=MF| name=[[Peter Moore (footballer)|Peter Moore]]}}
{{football squad player| no=28| nat=England | pos=MF| name=[[Peter Moore (footballer)|Peter Moore]]}}

Revision as of 14:30, 6 August 2007

Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic crest
Full nameWigan Athletic Football Club
Nickname(s)The Latics
Founded1932
GroundJJB Stadium
Wigan
Greater Manchester
England
Capacity25,138[1]
ChairmanEngland David Whelan
ManagerEngland Chris Hutchings
LeaguePremier League
2006–07Premier League, 17th

Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional football team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.

In 2003, Wigan were promoted to the Football League Championship for the first time, and in 2005 came second in the Coca Cola Championship to gain promotion to the Premiership. During the 2005-06 season, they reached the League Cup final for the first time and remained in the top half of the Premiership for nearly the entire duration of the season.

History

Life in the local leagues

Wigan Athletic F.C. was formed in 1932 following the demise of Wigan Borough the previous year. Wigan Athletic was the fifth attempt to stabilise a football club in the town following the demise of Wigan County, Wigan United, Wigan Town and the aforementioned Wigan Borough. Springfield Park, the former home of Wigan Borough, was purchased by the club and were elected to the Cheshire County League.

In the early history of Wigan Athletic, the most notable exploits came in the FA Cup. In the 1934-35 season, Wigan beat Carlisle United 6-1 in the first round, setting a cup record for the biggest victory by a non-league club over a league club, a record which still stands today.

In 1945 Wigan were elected to a different league, the Lancashire Combination, and in 1950 came close to election to the Football League, narrowly losing out to Scunthorpe United on a vote. In the 1953-54 season, Wigan played an FA Cup match against Hereford United in front of a crowd of 27,526, a Wigan Athletic record and also a record for a match between two non-league teams at a non-league ground. In 1961 the club moved back to the Cheshire County League.

Early league years

In 1968 Wigan were founder members of the Northern Premier League. After 34 failed election attempts, including one controversial but headline-making application in 1972 to join the Scottish League Second Division, Wigan were elected to the Football League in 1978 in place of Southport, who had finished next to bottom of the Fourth Division. Boston United were the Northern Premier League Champions in 1978 but their ground and facilities were deemed unsuitable for the Football League, therefore Wigan, as runners-up were put forward for election. In the club's first season of League football, Wigan finished sixth, and gained their first promotion two years later, prompting a ten year spell in the third tier of English football. The club won its first silverware as a League club in 1985, winning the Freight Rover Trophy.They were beaten in the Northern Final the following season by Bolton Wanderers.

Wigan were relegated from the new Division Two in 1993, and a year later finished 19th - fourth from bottom - in Division Three to complete their worst-ever league season. The following season, 1994-95, brought a secure mid-table finish.

Rising through the league

In 1995, local millionaire David Whelan purchased the club, which was then playing in the Third Division (fourth tier) , and stated his ambition to take the club to the Premiership, a statement which was widely ridiculed at the time.

The first step towards Whelan's dream came true in 1997 when they won the Division Three title under the management of John Deehan. Deehan's successor Ray Mathias took Wigan to the Division Two playoffs in 1999, losing 2-1 on aggregate to neighbours Manchester City after an extremely dubious goal. This ultimately cost Mathias his job as he fell victim to Whelan's relentless drive for Premiership football. His replacement John Benson led the squad he inherited from Mathias to a commanding position at the top of Division Two in his first six months, including the demolition of local rivals Preston 4-1 away, only to collapse in the second half of the season and once again fail in the play-offs. This was largely attributed to the dropping of leading goalscorer Stuart Barlow who was responsible for much of the side's early success, which coupled with a series of poor quality signings of ageing, and reputedly highly paid players and a run of poor performances led to strong disapproval of the management among fans. The season ended on a depressing note with Wigan losing 3-2 to Gillingham in extra time at the last ever Division Two play-off final to be played at the old Wembley Stadium.

Benson then moved 'upstairs' to the new post of Director of Football, under new manager Bruce Rioch. Rioch was hampered by severe injury problems and after a difficult and often unimpressive first half of the season left the club in February of 2001. He was temporarily replaced by club stalwart Colin Greenall, before the surprise appointment of Steve Bruce in the closing games of the season. His arrival brought renewed vigour to Wigan performances, with the club ultimately falling foul once again of the play-offs, this time with Reading. Following this blow, Bruce left for Crystal Palace after repeatedly pledging his future to Wigan, leaving behind a club both grateful for his help in getting so close to promotion and also angry and bitter at his betrayal. It came as no great surprise to many Wigan fans when he did the same thing again to Palace, choosing to desert to rivals Birmingham.

In 2001, former player Paul Jewell took over as manager, and after a mixed first season, won the Division Two championship in 2002-03 with a points total of 100. Wigan finished seventh in the 2003-04 Division One campaign - a last minute goal by West Ham's Brian Deane in the final game of the season saw Latics drop out of the play off picture in favour of eventual play off winners Crystal Palace.

In the following season the Latics earned promotion to the Premiership by finishing second in the Coca-Cola Championship, behind Sunderland. May 8, 2005 is now regarded by most fans as the biggest day in the history of Wigan Athletic. On the final day of the 2004-05 Coca-Cola Championship campaign, the Latics beat Reading 3-1 at home to secure runners-up spot in the final table and a place in the Premiership for 2005-06. At the final whistle the stadium exploded with cheers and the Status Quo song Rockin' All Over the World was played over the PA system.

Wigan in the Barclays Premier League

Wigan Athletic's first premiership match against Chelsea.

Wigan's preparations for their first season in the top-flight included the signings of Henri Camara, Damien Francis, Ryan Taylor, Josip Skoko, Michael Pollitt, Stephane Henchoz, David Connolly and the return of former captain, Arjan De Zeeuw, to the club. Inevitably, he took up his former role as captain. They also brought in the then unknown Pascal Chimbonda from Bastia for a mere £500,000. Unfortunately, during the summer, star striker Nathan Ellington, whose goals had propelled the club into the Premiership, was in the midst of serious contract negotiations. Despite the club's eagerness to hold onto his services, his overly high demands seemingly were not met. This, along with his well-known striking prowess alerted other clubs. Eventually, West Bromwich Albion triggered the get-out clause in his contract and was sold for a fee of £3,000,001.

Wigan's first game in the top flight was a dream come true — a home match against English Champions Chelsea. A game in which they came close to a dream start in the league, but to no avail, falling foul to a 92nd minute winner by Hernán Crespo. After the goal, Jose Mourinho went as far as to commiserate Paul Jewell on his poor fortune and in his post match interview claimed that Chelsea did not deserve to win.

Wigan are only the fourth English team in the last 20 years to win promotion to the top division for the first time. The most successful debut by any of these teams was that of Wimbledon, who achieved a sixth-place finish in 1987. Millwall debuted at 10th place in 1989 before going down the following year, while Swindon Town and Barnsley were both relegated after just one season among the elite).

By November, Wigan had surpassed even their own expectations, and sat 2nd in the Premiership, after wins against Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Fulham and Portsmouth.

Wigan's meteoric rise continued on 24 January 2006, when the club secured their first ever place in a major cup final. Wigan lost on the night to Arsenal 2-1 after extra time but Jason Roberts' last minute strike in extra time secured an away goals victory following their 1-0 first leg semi final victory at the JJB Stadium previously. However, Wigan were defeated 4-0 by Wayne Rooney-inspired neighbours Manchester United on February 26, 2006 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

During the 2005-06 season, Wigan Athletic also managed to complete double league wins over Sunderland, neighbours Manchester City and Aston Villa. Notably, Wigan Athletic took the most league points away from home, and had the most away victories outside the top three clubs. Wigan failed in their bid for European football and opted not to take part in the Intertoto Cup, yet retained a top ten finish in the Premiership. They brought in Paul Scharner in January to strengthen the side, and he quickly became a fan favourite with his heroic performances. Also, Wigan right-back Pascal Chimbonda was included in the PFA Team of the Season 2005-06 and was included in France's World Cup 2006 squad. However, this was overshadowed by his transfer request minutes after the last game of the season. He was subsequently sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £5.5 million on August 31, 2006.

During the close season, Wigan sold experienced players such as Jimmy Bullard (to Fulham), Graham Kavanagh (to Sunderland) and Jason Roberts (to Blackburn Rovers), and let Damien Francis and David Connolly leave after a season of disappointing performances and an injury-plauged season respectively. Stephane Henchoz also left after his year-long contract expired. In turn, Wigan brought in Emile Heskey, Denny Landzaat, Chris Kirkland, Antonio Valencia, Kevin Kilbane, David Cotterill, Fitz Hall and Emmerson Boyce.

After a slow start to the 2006-07 season, Wigan's fortunes picked up with four successive victories against Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham and Charlton Athletic. However, the club's form dipped dramatically with eight consecutive losses beginning with a close 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal on December 13. The lengthy injury to Henri Camara, along with fellow absentee Paul Scharner further hampered their winter period.

Finally, their slump ended with a 1-0 home victory against Portsmouth, on February 3. This tied in with their January transfer window signings of Caleb Folan, Julius Aghahowa and David Unsworth to help to stabilise the club's Premiership status. On March 4 2007, Wigan stood 15th in the Premiership and were in a more comfortable position than in previous weeks, moving eight points clear of Charlton Athletic after key victories over Newcastle United & Manchester City. The club finally seemed to be moving away from the relegation mire at the right time with inspired performances from new front man Caleb Folan and stand-in goalkeeper John Filan. Nevertheless, Wigan remained in serious danger of relegation after defeats at the hands of Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and perhaps more pivotally at home against West Ham United. Coupled with the resurgence of rival strugglers Fulham and Sheffield United, Wigan went into the last game of the season needing to beat Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

On May 13, the final day of the 2006-07 season, a 10 man Wigan team battled and beat their Sheffield opponents 2-1 and thus guaranteeing Premiership status for another year and in doing so relegated Sheffield United to the Championship. After a dominant, fast paced and confident opening, Paul Scharner rifled home Kevin Kilbane's low cross of 14 minutes to put the Latics 1-0 up. However, a recurrence of Arjan De Zeeuw's calf injury forced him off after 30 minutes, and a re-shaped Wigan were pegged back on 38 minutes through a Jon Stead header. Yet Wigan forced their way back in front in first half injury time. Phil Jagielka handled the ball inside the area while defending a free-kick, and former Blades defender David Unsworth belted home the resulting penalty. McCulloch was sent off in the 74th minute for his second booking which put Wigan under immense pressure. However, Wigan held on for one of the biggest wins in the club's history. On May 14 2007 Paul Jewell resigned as the manager; his assistant Chris Hutchings was appointed as the new manager later that day.

Wigan's third kit for the 07/08 season.

Hutchings wasted no time in bringing in experienced, well-known players, such as former Newcastle footballers Titus Bramble and Antoine Sibierski, former Rennes player Mario Melchiot, Preston keeper Carlo Nash, the much sought after Jason Koumas, Fulham's Michael Brown, while Andreas Granqvist signed on permanently and Antonio Valencia extended his loan for another season. This has poured water over Paul Jewell's argument that such players would not consider Wigan.[citation needed]. However, to allow more players into the squad, some players had to leave. This included Arjan De Zeeuw, who joined Coventry City, Matt Jackson, who signed for Watford, David Unsworth (released) and former favourite, Lee McCulloch, who finally sealed his dream move to Rangers. Melchiot was installed as the new club captain following the wholesale changes.

For the 2007/08 season, Wigan's home shirt returned to blue and white stripes, having been blue with white sleeves in 2006/07. The away shirt became white with a black trim, incorporating black shorts and black socks. They also introduced a third kit; dark blue with a royal blue trim.

Stadium

Main article: JJB Stadium

Wigan Athletic's stadium is the 25,138 capacity JJB Stadium, part of the Robin Park complex in Wigan. It has been the club's home since the 1999-00 season. The stadium, which is shared with the Wigan Warriors rugby league team, cost £30 million to construct. Previously, home games were played at Springfield Park, the former home of Wigan Borough.

The record attendance at the JJB Stadium for Wigan Athletic is 25,023 for a match against Liverpool F.C. on February 11, 2006.

The modern all-seater stadium was officially opened on August 4, 1999. Its inauguration was marked with a friendly between Wigan Athletic and neighbours Manchester United, who were then reigning European Champions, with Sir Alex Ferguson officially opening the stadium. However, Wigan hosted Morecambe three days earlier on 1st August as a dress rehearsal for the official opening against Manchester United. 4020 supporters braved a fierce electrical storm and torrential rain but unfortunately, the on-pitch action was less dramatic with the game ending in a goalless draw. The first competitive football match there took place on August 7, 1999, with Wigan Athletic facing Scunthorpe United in a Division 2 match. Simon Haworth scored twice, including the first competitive goal at the new stadium, as Athletic triumphed 3-0.

On March 7, 2005 Greater Manchester police announced that they would stop policing Wigan Athletic matches at the stadium from April 2. This move would almost certainly have resulted in the stadium's safety certificate being revoked, effectively forcing the team to play behind closed doors. The move was part of an ongoing dispute between the police force and David Whelan surrounding £300,000 in unpaid policing costs. The police's decision would not have affected Wigan Warriors, whose games are stewarded instead of policed. The situation was temporarily resolved on March 8 with both sides reaching an agreement that would allow Athletic to play at the ground until the end of the season. Four months later, Wigan, facing the prospect of playing their home games in the FA Premier League in an empty stadium, grudgingly paid the money they owed to the police. However, following the ordeal the club appealed against the payments in court.

Traditions at Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic's mascots are JJ (Jay-Jay) and B (Bea) who make regular appearances at home fixtures. The two mascots are intentionally named to create JJB, the club's main sponsor. The former mascot of Wigan Athletic was almost identical to the more recent JJ but was named 'Springy' in reference to the home of the club at the time, Springfield Park.

The most popular football chant used by supporters has been "You Are My Sunshine," but recent additions are the Frankie Valli classic "Let's Hang On!" which was representative of the club's record of 1-0 small goal leads, especially in the 2003-04 season. Other notable favourites include: "We Come From Wigan And We Live In Mudhuts" and "Teale Will Tear You Apart Again" - a parody of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" sung mainly when winger Gary Teale (now with Derby County) was playing, although it was first heard some ten years ago at Old Trafford, in ode to Ryan Giggs "Giggs will tear you apart". . Other chants for players include "Zooo!" for former captain Arjan De Zeeuw (now with Coventry City) , and also a chant to the tune of "Baby Give It Up", replacing the titular words with the name of striker Henri Camara. A new and recent chant is to the tune of The Automatic's hit, 'Monster', where the fans sing "What's That Coming Over The Hill, It's Emile Heskey, It's Emile Heskey!!' Another song is "We've won it 2 times, Auto-Windscreens, We've won it 2 times" mimicking Liverpool Won it 5 times song. Fans used to show their support for long-serving, former manager Paul Jewell, with the satirical, "Who Needs Mourinho, We've Got Paul Jewellio!"

The club's nickname is "The Latics", a corruption of the word 'Athletic', a nickname also shared by near neighbours Oldham Athletic. When the two teams meet, it is known as The Latics' derby, for obvious reasons.

Wigan's current local rivals are Bolton Wanderers who had failed to beat Wigan in the FA Premier League (until Bolton's 3-1 victory at Wigan on April 7, 2006) but have finished higher in the league than Wigan for every season since 1987/88. Bolton Wanderers supporters, however, rarely feel the same rivalry for Wigan Athletic, since the rivalry is a fairly recent addition and due to Bolton having more regular rivals such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Oldham Athletic and Blackburn Rovers in their vicinity.

Football / Rugby Feud

Curiously for an English football team, a rivalry exists with fans of the local rugby league team, Wigan Warriors, despite Dave Whelan owning both. This is long-standing and predates the club’s formation, as previous football teams within the town are said to have struggled to attract support due to the local rugby league culture.

Relative fortunes have also fostered resentment. In the 1989-1990 season, Wigan Athletic, deep in financial trouble, were given a lifeline with a two-leg tie against Liverpool in the Football League Cup. When approached, the Wigan RL board refused to allow the football club use of their Central Park ground, which would have given the home side a greater share of the gate revenue (due to larger capacity) and so both ties were played at Anfield. Both stadia were of a similar size but Springfield Park had it's capacity cut from 20,000 to 10,800 in 1985 by Wigan Council due to safety issues, however Central Park did not suffer the same fate even though it was in worse condition than the football ground. This led to accusations of favouritism and further fuelled the problems. Wigan Council had also been approached to help save Springfield Park's previous owners, Wigan Borough, just before their demise in 1931. Assistance was also denied on this occasion.

Generally, Wigan rugby supporters are associated with the eastern areas of town; Wigan Athletic fans are associated with the western areas, which surrounded their old Springfield Park home (although this is not exclusive). It is also argued that Rugby League is more favoured as a sport by followers of the Catholic faith ; although the rivalry does not have any sectarian elements. (St Patrick's RL club were often seen as a feeder to the professional team in the area. They are based in the Scholes district which was always looked on as the Irish quarter)

With Maurice Lindsay involved in both clubs, although more associated with Rugby League, and a stadium to share; the controversy does not show any sign of lessening. There are often chants aimed at one another when either of the teams play at the JJB. When the Latics received promotion to the Premiership, Whelan was interviewed by Sky Sports News while a reporter was at a social club in Wigan. Latics fans then started offensive chants against the Warriors much to a bemused Whelan's annoyance, who questioned these actions saying "Don't do that, it's your own town's rugby club"! The rivalry has even developed to the extent where fans of the rival sport will support the away team. However, it must also be noted that some fans do claim to support both teams and have tried to discourage the animosity. Many older Latics fans will be heard saying, "never forget" at this point.

The fact that the media regularly refers to Wigan as a 'Rugby Town' regularly fuels the fires of this debate. There is no substance to this claim however, as Wigan Athletic's average attendance is far higher than that of the Rugby team now that they are on an equal footing.

Supporters Groups

The Latics Independent Supporters Association, known locally as LISA, was formed in April 2006 in response to issues arising at the Club that many supporters didn’t agree with. The main aim of the association is to protect supporters interests in a rapidly changing football world.

Controversy, criticism, and the media

Wigan Athletic's rise to the Premiership has been well-documented by the English media, who at times have speculated and criticised the club about relatively low attendances for home matches. This was compounded by the League Cup semi-final game against Arsenal, where the match attendance was 12,181 (48 percent of ground capacity). The club's management argued that this attendance was because the match was televised, played on a cold, rainy, weekday evening, and also deep amongst the backlog of games created by reduction by a week of the football season.

Of course, these reasons exclude the traditional rebuttal that the proximity of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers have an impact on the crowds at the comparatively 'newer' team.

Further, for the 2006-2007 season, chairman Dave Whelan raised ticket prices which angered many fans who didn't agree with the substantial increase in demand in only Wigan's second season in the top flight. Responding to criticism and falling attendances, tickets were reduced to a maximum of £25 from January 2007, with promises that they would remain low for following seasons at a time when ticket prices are driving many away from attending live matches.[citation needed] Mr Whelan kept his word and released the 2007-08 season ticket at a cut-price £250 (£13.16 per game) for an adult seat anywhere in the ground with relative consessions for children and senior citizens. This was seen as a positive move when prices continued to spiral at other Premiership clubs.

In April 2006, a New York based production company spent a month filming behind the scenes at the club. The fly-on-the-wall style documentary will provide a narrative of the unique Wigan story.

Notable former players

Notable former managers

Players

As of 31 July 2007.[2]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Chris Kirkland
2 DF England ENG Ryan Taylor
4 DF Sweden SWE Andreas Granqvist
5 DF England ENG Fitz Hall
6 MF France FRA Antoine Sibierski
7 FW Senegal SEN Henri Camara
8 MF Ireland EIR Kevin Kilbane
9 FW England ENG Emile Heskey (vice-captain)
10 MF Wales WAL Jason Koumas
11 MF England ENG Michael Brown
12 GK England ENG Michael Pollitt
13 GK England ENG Carlo Nash
14 MF Netherlands NED Denny Landzaat
15 FW Nigeria NGA Julius Aghahowa
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF Ecuador ECU Antonio Valencia (on loan from Villarreal)
17 DF England ENG Emmerson Boyce
18 MF Austria AUT Paul Scharner
19 DF England ENG Titus Bramble
20 FW Ireland EIR Caleb Folan
21 MF Poland POL Tomasz Cywka
22 FW Wales WAL David Cotterill
24 MF Australia AUS Josip Skoko
25 DF Netherlands NED Mario Melchiot (captain)
27 FW Poland POL Tomasz Kupisz
28 MF England ENG Peter Moore
29 MF England ENG Lewis Montrose
30 GK England ENG Russell Saunders

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
–– DF Scotland SCO Andy Webster (on loan to Rangers)

For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers 2007-08.

Management

Honours

  • Northern Premier Cup
    • Winners 1972
  • Northern Premier Shield
    • Winners 1973, 1974, 1976
  • Cheshire League
    • Champions 1934, 1935, 1936, 1965
  • FA Cup
    • Best performance: 6th Round 1987

Records

References

  • "Brief history of Wigan Athletic". Retrieved December 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

Notes

  1. ^ "JJB Stadium - Facts & Figures". Wigan Warriors. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  2. ^ "The numbers game". Wigan Athletic FC. 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Template:Fb end

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