PART 2: Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - ‘We’re in danger of stumbling into a relegation battle we weren’t in’

Sean Livesey

I’ve seen some appalling decisions in my 30-odd years watching this football club, but the events of the last few days must surely rank up there. Reading on Saturday was disappointing, no doubt about it. Even after going ahead we didn’t necessarily look comfortable and then the substitutions which were meant to firm up the side and protect the lead did the complete opposite. We know how the story ends, and once again it was a case of our 'Jekyll and Hyde' season striking once more. One step forward, two steps back. It’s been the tale of the season. But - and it’s a big 'but' - we’re still more likely to finish the season in mid-table obscurity than bottom-four oblivion. There weren’t many boos walking off at full-time, just more resignation or rather acceptance of our position.

Is it good enough? No, of course it’s not. Is it a symptom of where we are as a football club and the continuous hits we’ve experienced since July 2020? Yes, of course it is. But Sunday’s news came like a bolt out of the blue. Even those that had decided it was time for a change, I imagine, weren’t expecting the change to be made. Two days before a relegation six-pointer at Mansfield, and six days before an even bigger relegation six-pointer at home to a rejuvenated Cambridge United. Then the WhatsApp groups fired into life, and reaction from even those who I mentioned above that had decided a new manager was needed was more ‘what?’ than ‘great’.

Let’s go even further back, and the previous week had seen an impressive Latics take an away point from both Crawley and Wycombe. Maloney’s team followed that up with arguably the performance of the season against Huddersfield with new signings - Maloney’s new signings - being central to that performance. Yes, it wasn’t followed up against Reading, and that’s obviously a concern, but how can that be the straw that broke the camel's back?

Looking back at Maloney’s overall time in charge of Latics, it's not hard to feel a huge amount of sympathy. He arrived at the back end of the Bahraini experiment, probably at the time when lies were beginning to be told on a near daily basis. Coming in after the clown show that was Kolo Toure’s tenure, Maloney immediately made us harder to beat and started grinding out results. Three draws sandwiched in between a win over fellow relegation-threatened Huddersfield saw us begin to climb away from the relegation zone. It would be the actions of Talal and co that would plunge us straight back in there. More wins followed, but it would prove too much as the penultimate game against Reading saw us come away with a point that wasn’t enough to stave off relegation from the Championship. Indeed the further points deductions from the EFL would have seen us relegated regardless of what Maloney had achieved. The club came perilously close to disappearing for the second time in just over two years as the Bahraini financial tap was turned off, and it was the work of Maloney alongside Gregor Rioch that helped to keep us alive.

I don’t need to repeat what has been said many times in these pages about Maloney’s efforts to keep us alive during that dark few months, but it’s on public record about Maloney’s efforts to save us, and I don’t think it’s dramatic to say he could have expected more loyalty and indeed respect over the last week in recognition for those efforts. Last season, despite seeing a number of senior professionals depart in the summer, and an eight-point deduction being levelled against the club before the start of the season, was a success. A 12th-placed finish, inside the top half of the table, and one that would have seen us in touching distance of the play-offs without that deduction, was a hugely impressive return for a side full of free transfers, Academy graduates, youth loans and a sprinkling of senior pros.

This season hasn’t followed that path, recruitment has been severely lacking and hampered a big part of this season. How much of that can be laid at Maloney’s door is up for debate, but the continued austerity we’re experiencing would make it difficult for any manager. But even with all of that and the senior pros departing the club which has made our efforts a lot more difficult this year there have been bits of light. Little bits of progress to point to and generally a feeling that although we aren’t going up this year, we’re certainly not going down, and a recognition we had strengthened after January and that many of these lads will form the basis of a stronger side next year.

All of that goes out of the window with Sunday’s events, and it’s simply now a case of doing enough to get over the line. Many presumed, me included, that a new manager must have already been lined up with the eagerness with which the club pulled the trigger on Sunday. But as the week has gone on, it seems no target is lined up. Why then, it begs the question, have we dispensed with Maloney now? A loyal club man who has clearly put his heart and soul into the job over the last two and a bit years, probably to the detriment of his own well-being.

I find it terribly sad the club have made this call now, time will tell whether it’s the right choice, but Maloney should have been allowed to finish what he’d started. And we’re in danger of stumbling into a relegation battle we’ve never really been in danger of being involved in. Those players - many of whom will have only experienced Maloney as their manager - may have struggled this season, at times quite a lot. They would run through walls for him, and you only have to watch back the videos from Bristol, Bolton, Stevenage and last week against Huddersfield to see how much they thought of him in return. Although it’s not a stretch to begin to question whether Maloney was the man to take us forward, he should have been given till the end of the season.

Glenn Whelan and Graham Barrow have a serious job on their hands getting those players off the floor. Let’s hope they manage it otherwise that buffer between us and the relegation places could quickly evaporate. I hope the board realise what they’re doing. Maloney deserves every compliment he’ll receive for his time here. Without him there is a real chance we would cease to exist and for that we should be eternally grateful – and that’s without mentioning his time as a player and the myriad of highlights over the last couple of years.

Lowey:

The sacking of Shaun Maloney came completely out of the blue. Ironically the performances and points gained have been better recently than at times when we thought he was under pressure to go. A poll by our host publisher showed one in three thought it was the correct decision. I personally believe it was the right decision, but at the wrong time. I thought we would be okay this season, but a decision would have to be made in the summer as to whether he was the man to take us forward next season. It would make more sense if we had a replacement lined up that may not be available in the summer. Ryan Lowe or Paul Warne would be a great choice and would justify the decision now. Leam Richardson is also a frontrunner. In my opinion, Leam was fantastic for us and sacking him was a stupid decision back in the day, but re-appointing him now would be more stupid!

Mansfield away was our first game post-Shaun, and I read various comments that the performance was that of a team who were mourning the loss of their manager. I disagree, because we put in equally inept efforts when he was in charge. It was a point gained/stolen on the night. Very little going forward and I can't even say we defended well, we just got away with it. Thankfully Mansfield's attack was as blunt as ours. Cambridge at home on Saturday, a team in the bottom four, new manager in the dug-out? What can possibly go wrong?

George Arkwright:

I started to write this particular edition of ‘12th Man’ on Saturday night. Honestly, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it, as I felt like even after a relatively positive week previously, the result against Reading had felt like one step forward and two steps back. We were as lacklustre and uninventive in front of goal as ever, and provided far less in the form of entertainment than our previous three outings. Yet again, a silver lining had almost come in the form of a sure defence, but unfortunately Shaun Maloney’s substitutions seemed to kill the game, giving Reading the space and time they needed to leave us empty-handed. It feels like foreshadowing now - they were the last substitutions Maloney would ever make for Wigan Athletic. A damning indictment.

As far back as I can recall, I haven’t felt this turbulently about a managerial departure. It is plain to see that results, especially at home, were not good enough. We’ve struggled to perform at ‘The Brick’ all season, and that is a statistic that will be relatively damning for any manager, anywhere in the EFL. Our performances as a team, and his as a manager, have been consistently inconsistent since his arrival at the club just over two years ago, bringing some excellent results and games alongside some of the most abject football I have seen played by our men in blue and white since Messrs Mackay, Joyce and Toure. On the basis of form alone, he probably deserved to go. However, to delve deeper; Maloney’s story in my opinion is far more colourful than some might admit at first glance.

His time at Wigan has been tumultuous to say the least. Dragged into a relegation scrap after the departure of Kolo Toure at the dying embers of Talal et al’s tenure as our owners, he almost achieved the impossible, narrowly missing out on safety and playing some strong football with a side most believed weren’t fit for the league in which they found themselves. From there, he almost single-handedly kept the club afloat for a time, with Gregor Rioch and himself working both on the footballing question and the day-to-day running of the club.

He spoke to players in order to secure their future, despite their ability to leave for free through broken contracts. He held an angry and divided fanbase together through his positivity, communication and determination to succeed, despite the odds. He lost his hair, and at the end of it all he produced a quite remarkable feat in convincing historically ‘Rugby Man’ Mike Danson, personally, to take over the club, hours from its almost inevitable demise.

His contribution here as a player and as a manager - and more importantly, as a man - should not be overlooked. He steps into hallowed halls of great managers past, and we owe him a debt of gratitude more so than most before him. I’m sure he’d thought it may well be smooth sailing from that fateful day back in 2023. Well, it seems he’d stepped out of the frying pan, as they say, and into the fire. That summer saw the departure of another large swathe of our playing squad, and an eight-point deduction for late wage payments which we overcame with relative ease, and without which we may have even been pushing for promotion.

Alongside this, came the emergence and development of three of the finest young players to grace our team in many years - Charlie Hughes, Thelo Aasgaard and Sam Tickle. Admittedly, his ethos and a convincing part of his presentation to the powers-that-be had been to focus directly on youth development, to sell through talented players and keep ourselves sustainable through a consistent growth of young talent, while dramatically reducing our wage bill and outgoings in an effort to be, as the new ownership puts it, ‘self-sustaining.’

It is no wonder Maloney’s second season has felt uninspiring...no experience, dozens of long-term injuries, no strike force, and a number of untested loanees and young players that were evidently incapable of either staying fit, or playing with the quality needed to push up the league. Coupling the on-field issues with the complete lack of footballing management and administration in the club, it feels as though Maloney had been steering the ship himself, and what makes things stranger is the seeming lack of cohesive thought from the powers-that-be now they are in charge. Just 48 hours before Maloney’s departure, the new CEO, Sarah Guilfoyle, released the February update for the club in which she spoke of the positive outcomes of the three games previously. Furthermore, previously acting CEO Ben Goodburn had been outspoken on his belief the hierarchy had secured a robust succession plan across all areas of the pitch and the dugout. One question: does this not extend to a manager?

Unfortunately, it is all well and good lamenting the demise of Maloney’s tenure, but the fact of the matter is he is gone. We don’t seem to have anyone in mind to succeed him. Acting manager Glenn Whelan doesn’t necessarily want the job, and it sounds as though he’ll have a hard time motivating his players, who are evidently reeling judging by a completely spineless performance against fellow strugglers Mansfield on Tuesday. During his post-match interview, Whelan mentioned he and the playing staff had all reached out to the ex-manager prior to kick-off, so it is obviously just as much of an unexpected kick in the teeth for all of them as it is for us. We have seemingly entered into what could be described as a make-or-break point in our season, back-to-back six pointers, without a manager, and with no-one on the horizon. It smacks of naivety, poor planning, or at worst, complete apathy. Forgive me for feeling a little Mal-igned.

Tony Moon:

Well, what a difference a day makes eh?! Whodathowt? Whodathowt after last Tuesday night that the manager would be gone by the time we were tucking into our Sunday roast? Of course, some wanted him gone earlier … some much, much earlier. Some even wanted him gone before the end of the Championship season (and of course, they’re now telling us that they were “right” all along). Then again, if anyone ever calls for the head of a manager, then they’re always going to get their way … eventually. So, onto the next chap … or lass. Wouldn’t that be a thing? Nah, let’s be honest … there are no lady managers on the merry-go-round, so that’s not going to happen. I’ve little interest in who it is … cos what’s the point in speculating … especially when you’ve bugger all real knowledge about their style, their philosophy, their tactics, or even their choice of matchday clothing … or shoe colour. Nah, for me, get the fella in, and we can wait till then before we start chucking the rocks, and calling him rubbish. It’s the Latics DNA … innit.