Who are you? We’re Wigan Athletic (2)

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Steve Halliwell*, from the estimable Wigan Athletic fans’ site Ye Olde Tree and Crown, concludes his answers to Salut! Sunderland’s questions and repays all our kindness by predicting at least a draw for his team against us at the Stadium of Light tomorrow …


Right. Say whatever you want, within the usual bounds, about Steve Bruce.

Managed us twice, left us twice so he mustn’t like the pies, mind you it does look like he ate a few.

He got us sorted second time around ( the first time he was with us wasn’t long enough to change the name on the manager’s door ) especially at the back, joking apart he certainly got the best of Titus Bramble, Player of the Season last term.

He does have an eye for a decent player BUT he also signs absolute rubbish, Kapo & De Ridder to name but two of many, he never tends to get anything in-between good to crap.

And what about the players linked with both clubs: Cattermole, Chimbonda and Kilbane spring to mind? You will recall others.

Chimbonda now there is a 100 per cent money mercenary and all that is wrong with quite a few of the modern day egotistical leeches that are ruining the game that I & millions of others love and adore.

I have no dissent over the wages that the players receive, if they ask for ridiculous amounts and chairman are stupid enough to pay it then so be it.

However when said player Chimbonda asked for a move still in his kit on the last day of the season beggers belief.

At least have some common courtesy to his fellow team-mates AND the fans by doing it thro’ the proper channels etc.

I somehow can’t see Arjan De Zeeuw pulling a similar stupid stunt, some footballers need to look up the word professional don’t they Pascal.

As for Lee Cattermole he has succumbed to the Wigan Athletic curse that is injury when you leave Latics.

The vast majority that have gone for greener pastures all seemed to have fallen bt the wayside, apart from Valencia & Baines the others are sat on the bench if they are lucky or in the Championship even lower in some cases.

Killer Kev & Jason Roberts always get a great reception on their return, in fact at the Blackburn Rovers game @ The DW recently both sets of fans were singing the big lads praises.

Our notorious Eduardo question: last second of the last game of the season. You’re drawing but a win secures survival or a place in Europe. Scott Sinclair, or whoever else’s name fits, goes down in the box and everyone knows he dived – except the ref. You score the penalty and win. Take it gladly, take it guiltily or feel so ashamed you almost wish you hadn’t got the win?

Take it gladly without any remorse whatsoever, over the years especially in the Premiership many a cast iron decision has gone against us.

It’s a boring cliché I know but crap like that does tend to even out over the course of a season. ( or three in Latics case )

Another boring cliché but true is that today’s headlines are tomorrows fish ‘n chips papers, folk soon forget especially if it doesn’t concern them anyway.

And which player would you have named in such a question, assuming it was a disgrace to single out the blameless Mr Sinclair?

Thankfully over the years we ain’t had many divers at the club but the likes of Howarth, Zaki, Mido, Chimbonda & Camara spring readily to mind.

Of the present squad Gomez tends to fall over easily while Scharner is a crafty character if the opportunity arises.


Club versus country. With the World Cup looming, you can’t wait for summer to shout for England , or you’re far too concerned with Wigan Athletic’s season to care?

I’ll always put club before country BUT The Cross of St George flag will be flying proudly in my garden whilst they are still in the tournament.

Capello needs to build a team around Rooney, let him play like he does for MoanU at the moment, he could virtually win the Cup for the three lions on his own.

As for the flag pole scenario, ever since we achieved top-flight status when Latics are at home the Wigan Athletic flag flutters at Aspull Towers. ( If its good enough for her majesty to show she’s at home its good enough for me )


Name the one thing the football authorities – or Wigan Athletic – should do to improve the lot of fans

Free pies for all ! On a less serious note if you are prepared to invest in the club before a ball is kicked with a season ticket (very reasonably price at The DW) you should have free admission to any home Cup matches (apart from European games! We‘ll argue that when we get into it)

Plus and its an old boring hobby horse of mine is that ALL clubs should be made to play in their first choice kit unless it really clashes with the other teams strip, none of this away strip rubbish, commercial revenues my ass.

AND while I’m on the soapbox my football clubs name is Wigan Athletic not Wigan, it bugs me when lazy journos and the rest of the media, local and national just say/print Wigan, its Wigan Athletic you lot that get paid to write/talk about theis great game of ours.


Will you be at our game? What will be the score?

No I won’t be heading to the North East for the match, away days are few & far between nowadays, I could blame work commitments & lack of funds but basically I got out of the habit well before even our Championship seasons.

My heart says a two-nil away win but my sensible head tells me a one-one draw and last game shown on Match of the Day.

You want a profile ? strewth cobber is Salut a bleedin dating site in disguise?

Well I’m your typical silver surfer but still playing 5-a-side on a regular basis at a half decent level !

Work wise I saunter around the great North West selling industrial cutting tools to the machine shops that are still open, manufacturing in this country has been decimated by successive couldn’t give a damm governments of both persuasions.

Firstly the cotton industry in the mills thro’ to the motorcycle factories, the warnings were there but ignored and we are now ALL paying the price as Great Britain becomes a retail park.

Started watching Wigan Athletic in 1965 after being enthralled by the grainy black and white images of the Liverpool v Leeds Utd FA Cup Final of the same year, like most devotees of gods great game I can’t remember what my first ever Wigan Athletic match was against, tis lost in the mists of time.

Unlike the kids at school who tended to support PNE, Southport, Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United / City and the odd Tottenham Hotspur fan I stuck my neck out to watch my home town club.

I do remember us winning three cups & finishing runners-up in the Cheshire League, not a bad first season eh? Glory hunter or what ?

Like the flickering tv images the past Latics Masters are a grey fog in my head but I do vividly recall my first impressions of Springfield Park, the lush green, green grass and the towering stand that was The Phoenix and I was utterly in football heaven, have been ever since.

Also a point to note plus a massive thank you to my Grandad, who was a true Evertonian ( I know black mark against me ) but he had an enormous influence on my early years as a football fanatic.

Back in the sixties the only written stuff about football was the papers, I loved the Football Pink on Saturday teatimes ! Not all this saturation coverage nowadays by the various media etc.

I digress, every Sunday we would visit my Grandparents and he would religiously ( well it was the Sabbeth ) test me on all the previous days results including Scotland !

Then I would be tested on all the grounds & nicknames of random football clubs, nowadays I’m a whiz at quiz nights on those type of questions!

My proudest moment of supporting Wigan Athletic and believe it or not there’s been plenty has got to be 1978 at Edgar Street when after walking rather boozily thro’ the cow pens to the ground to watch Ian Gillibrand lead my team out in their first ever League match against Hereford United, 0-0 it finished.

I’m not in the habit of shedding tears but I gotta admit a few trickled down on the blue & white scarf that day.

ps
If anyone likes the quirky side of football literature then the Yore Books website which isn’t updated often but has some cracking books and videos/dvds that are available about a bygone era, easy to deal with and a great bloke – PayPal is the best way to pay – I’ve had nothing but quality & first class service from them.

3 thoughts on “Who are you? We’re Wigan Athletic (2)”

  1. If we cant beat wigan bruce must be questioned surely? 3 points from relegation isnt good stevie boy-time for a change of manager i reckon- il go for 2-1 sunderland tho-were too strong for wigan and if we cant beat them at home im not wasting any more money on them……….

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