PART 1: Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'Let us get this season over, and there will soon be great leaps forward...'

Martin Tarbuck:

A change of tack this week from me. I know it has been covered by the club but I wanted to shed some light on the meeting on Tuesday night. I wasn’t massively desperate to attend and, whether it is a reflection of the mood online, I have been feeling quite a little concerned about the structure and direction of the club in recent months. Apart from a couple of related questions, which I will mention later, I only really had one burning issue: are we launching the fans’ fund because we are tied to a third party contract for a number of years (and have costs and commitments we need to recoup tied to the previous board)? Or are we doing it because it is the right thing to do? I walked away re-assured it was definitely the latter scenario. Indeed, my question was answered by Greg Coar (head of commercial) before I even had time to ask it. When the benefits (for the club) of the scheme are laid out in front of you, it is clear to see how much of an impact it is having. To listen to people like the Academy chief, Jake Campbell, speak with such pride and passion about the players they have brought through, and how these extra funds give them a competitive advantage in so many little ways, is quite inspiring. I joined the scheme at its inception and left towards the end, when the club wasn’t paying staff. But I was never in it for the benefits. They’ve probably still got a scarf and a Monopoly game lying in their stockroom somewhere belonging to me. I just come from that era when we used to put in a bit more if we could afford to, via a Blue Chip Lottery scheme or Latics Lotto. That was the way it was at most football clubs, when owners were just local business owners not millionaire (billionaire!) benefactors. The ticketing system will undoubtedly be an upgrade too, and it is clear to see that, for the second time in three years, the club has gone through a significant upheaval. However, the difference this time is that they are rebuilding gradually, cautiously but with more purpose, with none of the boom and bust we have just been through. It’s often easy to forget Wigan Athletic Football Club isn’t just a Twitter account that gets hurled abuse at it, it is a living breathing organisation with staff...staff whom, when you meet, are competent and care about their job, and they care about the club every bit as much as you or I do. For us, a football club is a hobby, a passion. For them it is their livelihood, and football in the back office sense is far from a stable environment to work in. You also get very few of the financial rewards a player receives, with one or two recent exceptions. You’d have to be bonkers to work in the sport. Despite all the money swimming around at the top, I dare say any football club is only a relegation or two from a staff member losing their job.

I used to speak to Jonathan Jackson a lot, and I'd be forever pecking his head asking him 'why don’t you do that', and typically I’d get three or four absolutely valid reasons as to why not. It is basically 'you can’t do this because the benefit over here will upset someone over there'. A classic example would be giving away loads of free tickets to boost crowds, resulting in angry phone calls and emails from paid in full season ticket holders. It’s no different on the pitch. Fans base their decisions on past performances or the 90 minutes a week they see a player on the field. Staff base their decisions on stuff that is monitored all week, by the hour: fitness metrics, training performance, injury and fatigue levels, and also scouting and researching the opposition. There’s no harm in debating this, as long as we can all acknowledge the staff who work at the club know considerably more than you or I. They have a lot more variables to hand, have to consider much more wide ranging factors, and then make a balanced decision they think is for the best. The chances are if you’re asking a question and demanding to know why something is the way it is, then nine times out of 10, they have asked the questions themselves and already know why it is what way. I was keen to understand the plan with the South Stand and spent a bit of time chatting with the Supporter Engagement Lead, Diane. As my good lady wife is a primary school teacher, and wanted to know (as did I) why the rugby players are in schools all the time and the football players aren’t. Diane is a real powerhouse, with dozens of brilliant ideas ready to go. But as mentioned above, getting those ideas in front of the powers-that-be is taking time. And it turns out you can’t even give away free tickets to schools, or run competitions or events, when we’re in the middle of migrating to a new ticketing system. As for the other bit, there’s not really restrictions on players doing community work, it's just the Warriors’ players see that as a fundamental part of their job and have done for decades, and the Latics players are a bit further behind the curve on that. It’s just completely embedded into the rugby club's ethos, probably more so comparatively, than any football club, let alone one with such a savage player and management turnover as ours. Let us get this season over, and there will soon be great leaps forward on this front, I’m sure of that.

Ultimately, whatever your take on the Believe Fund, sorry Future Fund, it is not meant to create two tier supporters. It is a genuine scheme intended to help the football club stand on its own feet a little more in future. It’s clear the owners do not have plans to pump millions into the club in the immediate future. The first-team squad can easily, and will continue to, cost more than we earn for the foreseeable future, and we can be grateful this is covered even if it potentially (unfortunately) might mean selling a player or two then reinvesting some. The running costs of a decent Academy are not cheap either, but small amounts can make a bigger difference there, in that every £18 per month can go towards something that improves the facilities for talented youngsters, which gives them increased chances of making it to the first team, and the more kids who make it to the first team, the more young kids we will be able to attract as they can see the pathway and the cycle continues. There has been a lot that has been perceived as going wrong at Latics in recent months, and I’ve not been absolutely convinced myself at times of the club’s direction. We’re just going to have to accept that many things can’t be fixed overnight. However, the club is listening and will be acting for the good of the football club, both now and in future. That future might look differently to what we’ve been used to in the past, but we are in safe hands, or at least safer hands than before. If all you demand is a decent, hard-working, functional football club which has good days and bad days (like all of us) on and off the pitch, then we will be in great shape. And if that changes, then trust me, I will be the first one out there seeking answers.

Ed Bazeley:

Callum Lang gave everything to Wigan Athletic, so it’s only right I dedicate this 12th Man piece to him. Thank you for everything, Langy. Although over the last 18 months or so (especially after Leam Richardson’s departure), Lang did not perform to the level we know he can, we must not forget the great service he gave to our football club over the years. After coming through the Academy, Lang had to wait his turn to get into the first team, and went out on loan to Oldham, Morecambe, Shrewsbury and Motherwell. Then, during the dark and gloomy administration season of 2020/21, Langy finally got his shot at first-team football midway through the campaign, and thank goodness for that! He was fantastic during the darkest period of the club’s history, scoring goals which kept us in League One, while we shouldn’t forget the thunderbolt he scored against Lincoln in a defeat that season. It was highly improbable that, despite being in administration, Wigan would manage to stay up that campaign, and the bulk of the credit must go to Richardson. But Lang was one of the real stars of that side and should always be commended for that. Then the following season, Langy scored 15 league goals, which he further complemented with seven assists, as Latics lifted the title. I once met Callum after Latics beat Accrington in our title-winning season and asked him for a photo, and he was very friendly. He smiled and we took a selfie together. Langy always seemed like a genuinely good bloke who cared about the football club as much as the fans and, while his time in the Championship last season wasn’t a success, his late winner at Huddersfield is probably why I view that game as the best away-day I’ve been to over the last couple of seasons, with the obvious exception of Horwich. Langy also scored, and created an assist, in the 2021 edition of hammering Bolton, which I will always remember. The fact he scored on his Portsmouth debut speaks volumes about his character too. Thank you Callum...go get yourself promoted with Pompey!

Tony Moon:

You pays your money, you makes your choice, so it’s Pascal Chimbonda, or Emerson Boyce. It’s Talal and Al Jasmi, or Choi and Au Yeung, up against Mr Danson, with song not yet sung. It’s the risk of rich pickings, though failure’s a chance, against learning to walk before trying to dance. Played rubbish in two, but got all points in both, then went on to get beat by a ref and a behemoth. So though some will kick out and they may even swear, we’re in solid mid-table when were we last there? And finally we come to our own, Callum Lang, and we all can be grateful for the joy that he brang. His long mazy runs (though sometimes up blind alleys) leave some wonderful memories and absolutely no malice. Thanks for the memories, Cal.

Colin Garner:

Not your usual 12th man this week, but I must pay tribute to Callum Lang. Now I know he hasn't been everyone's cup of tea recently, but long term he's been a diamond at Latics. I might come across as biased because I hold Callum in the highest regard, and personally I don't give a hoot what others think. I've followed Callum's career for years, I remember watching him in an Academy game once and he stood out, I followed him on his loans, and I was delighted when he returned from Motherwell, albeit under difficult circumstances. I've had the pleasure of meeting Callum on numerous occasions, and I can hand on heart say he is one of the most down to earth, caring lads I have ever met. He isn't your stereotypical footballer, he's given up so much of his time to help charitable organisations, and time with young fans. One thing that's struck me was his bond with young Alfie Jackson...emotional stuff. From a personal point, the time he has spent with my lad, encouraging and supporting him on his football journey, will always stick with myself and his mum (he's done well to win her over as she doesn't do football, haha). On the pitch,we can't forget his goals in our League One-winning season. This season hasn't been as good, but I believe he'll be his own worst critic! I could go on forever about what he has done for the club and especially fans, but I won't. His move to Portsmouth is best for everyone involved, in my opinion, and I'm sure he will do really well there. What has made me chuckle this week is some of the fans upset about him leaving are the same fans that have been criticising him all season....short memories! I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing him well, and thank him for his services to the Tics. I hate to say it, because I don't believe it, but on this occasion he is an exception...ONCE A TIC, ALWAYS A TIC. Good luck Callum and thank you.