This just in: the FA is proud to announce a new sponsor for the League Cup from 2014. In a five-year deal with Lurpak, the trophy shall henceforth be known as the Butter Cup. And following lengthy negotiations with the British Farmers’ Board, the runners-up will now receive the prestigious Egg Cup in addition to…
I wasn’t in a great mood yesterday afternoon. “What? No, go away. I’m still watching the cricket… or at least, footage of men in macs draining a sodden outfield. Blasted northern weather. Sigh, suppose I’d better just accept that the football season, with its relatively tame, sledge-free 90-minute test matches, has begun once again.” Of…
At the 2013 PWU End of Season Dinner, I wasn’t the only one to claim that a playoff place would be a positive finish to the season. On that day it was decided that returning to the Premier League via an extremely ornate side door with heavy press presence would, on balance, be a greater…
As I munched my Friday lunch, it was with great disappointment I learned that Latics had already lost 4-2. But before I could pick up the phone for a refund on my ticket, I received a Twitter notification saying Gary Caldwell’s time machine had malfunctioned, and the game was on a Friday. Good job, as…
Jaws hit the floor as the starting line-up for Latics’ end-of-season ‘bash’ was posted on the noticeboard. At the risk of eliminating what remains of my street cred, I had forgotten all about those fringe-teamers Doris The Tea Lady, Dave The Work Experience Lad and The Matchday Fish ‘n’ Chip Vendor until this afternoon. I’m…
As Uwe Rosler approached the DW Stadium on Monday morning, he was nigh on suffocated by reporters and small time internet webloggers clamouring for an explanation. “Uwe,” screamed a strangled voice from the rabble, “just how will your team recover from this disastrous barren run?” Uwe’s wry smile was answer enough. Yep, apparently two straight…
If you’ve ever watched the London Marathon on television, you’ll have noticed how competitors always save some energy for the final 200 metre sprint. During the 26 miles up to that point, they help each other along the way by taking the lead for stretches, sharing laborious legwork. The Championship run-in is much the same:…
I am not in a good mood today, folks. Those canny newsagents have cottoned on to my usual masterplan of buying up chocolate eggs when they’re reduced on Easter Monday. Much to my annoyance, it is the first time in living memory those swines have taken the stance of “it is still Easter, so why…
“Can they put the seal on it? Jarrett’s cross… Ellington. It would be so appropriate… it is very appropriate. Nathan Ellington scores, and Wigan Athletic are on their way to the Premiership!” — Excitable Sky Sports commentator On a warm spring evening such as this, I simply couldn’t last a full paragraph without mentioning the…
“You see that FA Cup and you want to get hold of it, you want to kiss it. There’s something about it that’s magical.” — Dave Whelan on the little tin drinking vessel. There’s little doubting just how much yesterday’s game meant to Wigan Athletic fan, player and chairman alike. The bodies that took to…
At times like this I wonder whether the Football League fixtures really are computer generated, or if they pay a little man to sit at his desk with an unsharpened HB and Filofax. Do they lock him in his office without breakfast or an emergency supply of Ovaltine, forcing him to quickly scribble down roughly…
You’ve probably seen them shuffling through the pubs and restaurants of Wigan town centre in their nylon ‘I heart Division Three’ T-shirts and faux-plastic ‘Hutchings 4Ever’ baseball caps. They’re the Latics hipsters, a hardy bunch of decaf-fuelled neo-Nathan Barley types that won’t be happy until the club returns to the ‘Golden Land’ of League Two….