PART 1: Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - ‘I really hope this is a lesson learned from the club moving on...because we, the fans, ARE the club...’

Caddy from the 5:

Another day, another snowstorm at the Theatre of Dramas! I've no idea why Netflix chose perennial losers Sunderland and ne'er do nowts Wrexham for their series, it's all on a plate here at Latics, the biggest small club in the world, we've had more storylines than Coronation Street. Bill Kenyon could be Stan Ogden, Brenda Spencer as Mavis Riley, Shaun Maloney as Kirk Sutherland, anyway I digress... One season watching what goes on at ours would have most football fans reaching for the gaviscon! This week's fiasco featured the Manchester United FA Cup game and, depending on which side of the fence you sit on, it's a disgrace or a storm in a tea cup. My own view is somewhere in between. But for me, all this could have been avoided if Latics had revealed what their plans were BEFORE announcing giving United the East Stand. They seemed to just make the decision and flew with it without consulting any fans groups, the ordinary supporters, or even the Tics royalty, the Ormes! All to maximise as much revenue as they could. Now the dust has settled, of course, I can see why they've done it. We're a club losing money, so a big pay day is a massive boost for the coffers. But at what cost though? Upsetting the fans is never a great start so early in their tenure because yes, Mr Danson, you are the custodian of the club. But we, the fans, ARE the club...and without fans, there is no club. My biggest gripe in all this is the blatant ignoring of the Supporters Club in the decision making . Now whether you like or agree with them is irrelevant. They ARE the supporters' voice, and nearest we'll get to the boardroom, and Caroline Molyneux especially has fought tooth and nail to get us where we are now - and all for free as well. The owners might want to remember this. Of course, the Supporters Club can't make these decisions, but surely even as a common courtesy they'd be invited into the discussions, to gauge fans' thoughts and not just ignored. I really hope this is a lesson learned from the club moving on. The statement, when finally released from the club, explaining why they'd come to the decision, was fine by me. We've got to stand on our own two feet as much as possible now, the days of splashing cash we simply don't have are over. No problem. The owner deals in figures and data, and ours don't lie. We don't bring enough money in, that's a simple fact, so they're maximising every penny they can from the visit of a massive club. Again, no problem, but there's ways and means to do this, and cheesing off your own fans without consultation isn't one of them. Back on the pitch, at least the discontent took away from the most 0-0 game you'll ever see on Saturday - bar us actually scoring a perfectly good goal from Chris Sze - and the less said about it the better. A break from the midweek games now for a bit will hopefully see some familiar faces get back on the pitch as Christmas approaches, and let's keep building on our decent form. Because as I've said before, we are more than a match for anyone in this division on our day, you only have to look at whose second in the table to see how poor it really is. Keep the faith, Tics fans, and you just never know what this season may bring. Right, I'm off having a 'Bow and dreaming of ending United's season in January…

Alan Rogers:

I was hoping not to bore you with my rambling this week, because I’ve been away and missed both games. But unfortunately this week's scribbles come from somewhere in the North Sea - not sure exactly where, because we are being blown about like a cork! We booked this holiday before the fixture list was out, and of course it dropped on one of the very few Saturdays we were actually at home this season! Anyway, I was out of contact with the outside world whenever we were at sea - because I'm too tight to pay the exorbitant on-board Wi-Fi rates. We finally landed and were walking along the quayside in Le Havre when my phone began to make more noises than an excited Pingu. I began to look at the many messages I had received, and I began to realise that, although I was always under the impression I would get first dibs on my seat for cup games, apparently I was wrong. Our new board had decided that won't be happening. I was still in France the following day, and spotted a copy of 'Le Monde'. The back page headline read: 'La Tics faire une connerie!' Rough translation: Latics get it wrong! (Well, I think that’s what they would have written if they had the spare column inches)... Of course, that headline is just my opinion although, as the day wore on, it seemed many others agreed with my views. I was disappointed the ticket news was released without any explanation or apology - it was only later that the club released a statement that, quite honestly, I found to be condescending. The biggest disappointment, however, was the fact that once again the Supporters Club and some committee members were thrown to the wolves. Unsubstantiated rumours began to circulate alleging collusion and worse. Some vicious insults were thrown about on social media, and once again - whether they claim to be from Latics 'supporters' or not - these people need to be exposed and named.

Getting back to the ticket announcement, any reasonable supporter would have to agree we do need to maximise every opportunity to raise cash this season. And I have no problem with the £30 admission fee. But I do feel strongly about how the seats are being carved up. We all know how the board has decided this will happen, but surely there were alternatives? Apart from the obvious one - leave things as they stand - why could we not explore leaving the East Stand alone and giving the South Stand to the away team? If we looked at that proposal, then season ticket holders in East and West could still have 'their' seats and perhaps the small number of season ticket holders in the South could be offered cut price seating in either East or West? If they really want to maximise profits, that would allow even more away fans into the ground. The only argument I can see would be policing, but how could it be any harder than the proposed plan? If we had looked at something like that, then the vast majority of Latics fans would be happy, the team wouldn't be running out straight to face the away supporters, and the most vociferous Latics supporters in the East won't be dispersed around the ground. Could we not have also looked at perhaps offering a free FA Cup ticket to anyone buying a half-season ticket? I would just be interested to see if there were any other solutions considered?

I think it's fair to say we owe a great debt of gratitude to the Danson family. They made a not-so-insignificant investment, saving the club from what would have been a very sticky situation. Hopefully, if they are supported by the fans and given the correct advice by their advisors, then they can start to rebuild our club. Speaking of the people they have around them, the goodwill we owe to the Dansons does not necessarily extend to everyone. Respect needs to be earned. People like Gregor Rioch and Shaun Maloney have earned our eternal gratitude, but the new chairman doesn't seem to have made such a great start. Going back to the belated statement he put out last week, he mentioned that 'this is a unique one-off cup game'. Well, without being too picky, the definition of the word unique is 'having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable'. I think if we took a short trip back in time, we would see we have had very similar big nights at the stadium in the past, and hopefully we will have several more in the future. This is not a unique game. But it is a big chance to raise some much-needed cash. The chairman used his message to remind us our attendances this season have been under capacity. I suppose if we'd had the occasional home game on a Saturday, that may have helped improve matters. He then also reminds us the club continues to make significant financial losses. I'm sure this will come as a big surprise to any long-term Latics supporters! In fact, to many EFL club supporters! Are there any EFL teams that aren’t losing money at the moment? In fact, the whole tone of his message seems rather patronising to me, but maybe that’s because I’m feeling woozy because of the sea-sickness. I really hope the evening is a great success with a near capacity crowd and a great result. By that, I mean I hope it's a draw so we can get a lucrative replay! But I won't be there. I don't agree with the decision, or the way it was taken. And it does worry me slightly for the future. If it's going to be finance above all from now on, then where could this end? Speaking of which, I’ll be ringing the club up next week to discuss the 'Believe' Fans Fund situation. We have supported this scheme as a family from day one but, over the last few months, everything has gone very quiet. Hopefully I’ll get some answers next week, otherwise I’ll be cancelling my payments. Anyway, I'll be watching the game on the telly and donating my £30 admission fee to a local Christmas charity. Perhaps some of the paid, senior members of management could also make a similar gesture. After all, I’m sure they will be sitting in their normal, complementary, padded seats during the FA Cup game...we didn’t see their seats on offer during the mad dash for tickets on the woeful booking website. Or perhaps I’m wrong and they pay for their seats just like the rest of us……

Statto:

Now I don't really know what has gone on behind the scenes, but I've long pointed out that if the East Stand was given to away fans, I'd swerve the match I also backed Shrewsbury fans not being moved so we had extra tickets for the League One title-crowning game last year. So I'm no hypocritic, and I won't be attending the Manchester United game. We have seen a lot of personal attacks on social media about people not attending! Never change WAFC, always turn on your own. Reading between the lines, the club was expecting to give United the full East Stand with a full capacity, which seems to be confirmed by away fans' hospitality going up from £168 last week to £198 this week. My own personal decision - after what I see as a disgusting stab in the back to loyal fans - is not to go to the game and also cancel my membership of the 'Believe' fans fund. Money back in my pocket. This is my point of view, and all decisions are mine and mine alone. Some may agree, some may not, and not doubt the in-fighting will continue long after the cup tie is nothing more than a mention in fish and chip paper. A short-sighted decision by the owners in my view. And the statement by the chairman the day after was like Krasner's Friday updates during administration. Stay safe.

Charlie Keegan:

Well... what an eventful week being a Wigan Athletic fan...again! I don't want to start this piece on a negative, so I am going to start with the Lincoln stalemate from the weekend. A positive? The Lincoln game? Yes! I will admit, a 0-0 where there was just one shot on target in the whole game, which came from the Imps, is hardly something to rave about. But I was genuinely impressed and proud of the strong defensive performance our players put in against a strong side. There is a lot of talent in the Imps squad and, even though Latics could field a relatively strong side ourselves - despite the injury worries we have at the moment - we saw our Academy graduates hold their own against a side who can go toe-to-toe with the best teams in this league. That, for me, is a strong positive, and I bet they all will learn more from that game than any high-scoring victory. I'm not sure what more can be said to express my joy any further in watching Baba Adeeko and Scott Smith battle away in the midfield. Latics are a club that prides itself in promoting home-grown talent, and these two are amongst the latest class of players to really shine. Were a lot of their passes sideways and backwards? Yes. But that is okay. If there isn't a viable space to play the ball into, and they don't want to risk turning possession over against a strong side, that is perfectly fine in my book. Besides, Charlie Hughes and Liam Morrison have proven they can pick out anybody on the field when the time and space opens up, so patient football will sometimes have to be our way. As the game progressed, I began to think how much it would suit a Callum McManaman and Chris Sze intervention, and again I was full of joy watching them actually go ahead and change the tempo and intensity of our attacking play. In years gone by, I have often looked to the bench and thought 'Well, I guess we could try them', or 'I'm not sure what they can bring, but let's roll the dice and see' Now I look at the bench and think 'Chris Sze could really attack their back line in that No.10 spot', or 'Callum McManaman could be useful on that right side to take on their left back', or 'Steven Sessegnon could be more effective running infield from the wing-back position to cut into that space'. The point here is I feel Shaun Maloney has given these players really specific instructions, which they are following very well, but also the majority of our squad players have strong traits that allow us to change games when we need it. Scott Smith said after the game 'if we can't win, don't lose', and that is a mantra that has long been said in football, but it is also very hard to actually achieve. After my last piece, where I spoke about how Latics have lost just two halves of football in our last 13 games, well, it is now two halves in our last 14 games. Is that not just incredible?

Now, the Manchester United ticket situation... and I get it. Mike Danson and his team of decision-makers are looking at Latics' cash flow and want to ensure we are heading in a healthier direction. That is business, and that is what football is: A business. Giving United an allocation of 6,410 tickets for the East Stand increased their amount by about 1,000, against the traditional away end of the North Stand. Let's average ticket prices at about £25 - as it is £30 per adult, then down to £20, £10, and so on. That is an extra £25,000 just for allowing them to bring more fans, plus food and drink, and then Latics fans will also likely sell higher. It makes financial sense to me. That said, the way the club went about coming to that decision, and then announcing that decision, was all wrong. The fans have long been asked to stand by the club, support it through the darkest of days, and donate their own money to help save the club. We even had little Jacob (age 6 at the time, in 2020) selling his belongings and donating that money to save the club. We, as Latics fans who have done nothing but support the club as much as we possibly can in our own ways, deserve far more respect from this ownership than they have shown recently. Is it the end of the world what they have done? No, absolutely not. However, this is about principle, respect, honesty, and ensuring they do not feel comfortable making such a controversial decision again without consulting the fans. Yes, Wigan Athletic is a business. But it is the Latics fans who spend their hard-earned money to ensure this business can operate, so do not bite the hand that feeds. Many of the Latics fans have brilliant ideas about how to help move the club forward into a healthier future, so the club needs to open the floor for these ideas and then listen to them. Anyway, that decision has been made now, and I am looking forward to watching Latics play United in the FA Cup third round. Next up is Port Vale, a side that sit three places and one point below us in the table. A victory against them would set us up nicely for the run-in to the New Year of Reading (a), Derby (h), and Carlisle (h). The top half of the table is within touching distance now, and that is not something I expected to happen before Christmas!