PART 2: 12th Man - ‘We’ve always done well with Scousers at the helm, and I hope he can build that siege mentality...’

Sean Livesey:

What a strange seven days MK II. The departure of Shaun Maloney was always going to be a shock to the system, a surprise departure at a time of the season when Latics fans probably least expected it. I’ll be honest, after the side seemed to stabilise under Glenn Whelan, I suspected the club would just go with him for the rest of the season. Especially with there being absolutely zero rumours to the contrary, or indeed any sort of whisper of a new manager arriving. So imagine my surprise as, out of nowhere, the original favourite Ryan Lowe - and indeed the manager who seemed the best fit - was named as our new head coach. Is that the first time we’ve had a head coach in Wigan? I suspect it is.

So Lowe arrives on a three-and-a-half-year contract, and it’s clearly a statement of ambition from the club. A feeling we haven’t had for a while. Fair play to the club for firstly moving quickly and secondly for going for a manager (or head coach) who’s got a successful EFL track record. I still think Maloney was treated poorly by the club, but he would be the first to say ‘that’s football’. We move on and, as mentioned last week, Maloney has left a club in rude health financially after two-and-a-half years of system shocks. This should hopefully give Lowe the platform to progress the club, and it also shows ambition from the top - which is the most important part of this. To attract someone of Lowe’s stature means (you would think) that promises have been made about resources. Which also plays into the fact that - and what the club and Maloney were preaching - money would be available from next season.

A quick scan of Lowe’s record shows why he immediately became favourite. Two promotions to League Two with Bury and Plymouth Argyle before a move to Deepdale and three impressive Championship finishes with Preston. Now a lot of North End fans seemingly were happy to see the back of Lowe last season. Not being a Preston fan, I can’t claim to know the reasons for that, but for us it’s a clean slate. Due to the work of Maloney, and latterly Whelan, it means Latics are nearly there for safety this season, and two more wins should see us safe. That means the new man will have a good chance to look at what he’s going to have for next season, and what he needs to bring in. If he’s backed by the ownership, that should make for an exciting summer. We’ve a long way to go yet before the club is back to any sort of the level it was before, but the future is certainly looking promising.

Martin Lally:

The feeling at full-time on Saturday can only be described as relief. Upon viewing the League One table, it felt like that win might be the one that secured our safety for the next season in League One. The exciting news at 2pm of the return of Luke Chambers was more welcomed than an immediate change in some of the current world governments. Although working out the formation required a high IQ or the ability to solve a Mensa puzzle. I’ve enjoyed the role Glenn Whelan has played in the season. His passion alongside Shaun Maloney has not gone unnoticed.

Another puzzle on Saturday was the final farewell from Shaun. I could talk more about the game, but I’m still perplexed at the lack of plan and direction of the board. I do understand it’s a big decision, and they wanted to take their time. But if that was the plan, why disrupt now? I’m hoping the fanbase came away with a clear explanation and some acceptable focus for a positive future from the Fans Forum. I suspect there may be some difficult questions to answer similar to the feeling only felt by teachers at a Governor's meeting.

Lowey:

Two events have united the fan base this week. Firstly, Ryan Lowe’s announcement as our new manager has proven to be a unanimous popular decision. I’ve trawled the depths of social media and yet to find any negativity. Looks to be a statement appointment by the owners, not one by those ‘just after the stadium’. The second event was the news that broke last week that one of our own Darren Orme was missing.

I don’t personally know Darren, but know of him. I have come across him many times more frequently in the Springfield Park days with his Uncle Alan. It’s heart warming to see how the fanbase and the wider local community has come together to help find him. The word legend is often used too lightly in football, but Darren is without doubt a Latics legend. We continue to hope and pray we see him at the game again soon.

Martin Tarbuck:

The king is dead, long live the king! I will endeavour to keep it brief for once, but I didn’t want the appointment of Ryan Lowe to pass without comment. It’s probably quite clear to regular readers I was shocked and disappointed with the departure of Shaun Maloney, but I am reassured to know there was a plan after all. And on paper, Lowe is an upgrade on Maloney in management terms. It also quietens my mind when it comes to all those worrying questions that frequently pop up in my mind about the owners’ intentions for Wigan Athletic.

The continual talk of budgets and challenges haunted a lot of Maloney’s post-match interviews. Were they a man trying to manage expectations by alluding to a picture of struggle or chaos? Or was Maloney just a perfectionist trying to deliver the impossible? An emotional man who cared too much and struggled with the weight on his shoulders of trying to take this wonderful football club back where he sees it belongs.

That is the end of looking back. I see Lowe as a much more confident, arrogant, bullish character, and his pedigree is very good. I unfortunately made the mistake of consulting quite a few PNE fans and, well, let’s just assume they were bitter about his departure as the feedback wasn’t good to say the least. His track record on paper is very decent, he is a local lad eager to get back into the game, and with every new job in football, you learn from the last one. If he gets us to mid-table in the Championship and keeps us there, regardless of performances, he would be a hero (well, you’d think so!). We’ve always done well with Scousers at the helm, he has a good number of Scousers in the team, and I hope he can build that siege mentality we have frequently thrived on in the past.

There’s a lot of Paul Cook vibes in there, and it will be interesting to see what energy gets injected into the squad. The bigger job will be over the summer inevitably and, again, you must assume someone like Lowe would not have taken the job unless there were guarantees he will be backed financially. I think we all know Sam Tickle will be sold, ideally Antonee Robinson will finally leave Fulham, and at least a million or two of that will be given to Lowe on wages and transfer fees to strengthen the squad. I really hope there isn’t too much overhaul, while recognising there needs to be some to play a different system and style. Again, the main thing from my perspective looking forward, is that it points to a period of stability and, whisper it quietly, growth - after several years of continual firefighting.

Preston fans have also opined Ryan Lowe’s football can be boring, despite promises of it being exciting, but I don’t care about that one bit. I am quite happy to watch and analyse the subtle changes being made, and quite happy to accept up days and down days. However, it will be interesting to see how long the honeymoon period lasts for some of the more demanding elements of our fanbase. It could look very different in the summer, and I suppose whether that’s a good thing or not depends on whether you thought we had a good squad and a bad manager this year, or both a bad squad and a bad manager.

My personal view is it has been underfunded this year, but again the signs are the ownership group have put in place a plan and a coach who can build and recruit a squad capable of holding our own in this division, and pushing towards the top end of it in the next year or two. I also dearly hope this is rewarded in the form of increased season-ticket sales for next year. League One will no doubt be a touch easier next year with the Hollywood and big-spending Galactico clubs out of the way and, if we are to continue to be (moderately) sustainable, us being a slightly bigger club always helps, as we won’t always have a Tickle to sell, or a Robinson sell-on fee to bank, to plug operating losses.

I don’t see much changing between now and May, and I feel like this season in general hasn’t really been the best. I don't believe it has been as bad as made out either. There have been glimpses of what could have been, but we've been crippled with injuries and haven't turned up some days. Right down to the timing of fixtures, it has been a bit glum, so there is very much a free pass for Lowe for the rest of this season. There’s just one ask from me and it involves not losing to THEM MEN. Thanks in advance, Ryan, and all the best!