Comment: Why Ian Lenagan-led bid for Wigan Athletic makes sense

He, Wiganer Gary Speakman and Darryl Eales - former chairman of Oxford United - are spearheading a bid to take over Latics.

Their vision is for two clubs under one roof.

They’ve already got the name - Wigan Sporting Partnership; now they hope to raise the capital to convince administrators their bid is best.

Nobody can predict the future, but there’s something a lot more reassuring about a local businessman – with family and friends in the town, with a reputation to protect – being in charge of Wigan Athletic than, say, a shadowy Hong Kong group operating out of the Cayman Islands tax haven.

There may be some Latics fans, of course, who have deep-rooted hostilities against the rugby league club and may be uncomfortable operating so closely with the Warriors.

But having had their fingers burned by foreign owners – and by burned, I mean chopped off with a blunt butter knife – even they may welcome local ownership.

This is not a Warriors buy-out. This would be two clubs, real stable-mates, operating independently under the same owner.

Lenagan knows football and he knows the EFL - he was chairman when the Football League was renamed.

He has frequently spoken of his desire for fans to support both sides.

“I’d rather it be Wigan against the world than Wigan Warriors against Wigan Athletic,” he said not long ago.

It’s why, in 2013, he arranged for Dave Whelan to bring the FA Cup into the dressing room after their Challenge Cup success.

Why, as chairman of the EFL, he was proud to present the League One trophy to Latics.

And why, now, he wants to help out at a time when the club’s future is in doubt.

The 74-year-old, though, may also see potential in Latics. He’s a shrewd operator, certainly nobody's fool, and he'll be listening to his head as well as his heart.

Running a football club is expensive the higher up the league structure a club is, but there is a lot in Wigan Athletic’s favour.

They have the assets of the DW Stadium and two training grounds as well as, of course, a first-team squad with some talented players. Less than six months ago, Antonee Robinson was the target of a £9m bid from AC Milan... about the same figure as the previous year's losses.

Their academy is producing scores of talented youngsters – some, like Joe Gelhardt, have been targeted by Premier League heavyweights.

The challenge of operating a successful, sustainable football club may be exciting to him.

And the opportunity to control the DW Stadium would give him a chance to fulfill its potential – and also end the long-standing arrangement in which Warriors have been tenants, and Latics landlords.

Will his bid be successful?

It’s impossible to predict, without knowing the quality of other offers being prepared. But it would seem a sensible next step for the club and, certainly, the prospect of having local people - with the best intentions for the club - involved has an appeal.

Wigan Sporting Partnership. A pipe-dream, or a snapshot of the future?