PART ONE: Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'There is a beauty in a local ground-roots connection you cannot manufacture if you are not born and/or raised here...'

Statto:

Thank goodness a turbulent 12 months has come to an end. The blaze of optimism Talal brought in the first year in charge started to go wrong almost as the last player lifted the trophy at Shrewsbury. Late payment after late payment, points deductions, false promises, and finally hit rock bottom this week with the winding-up order by HMRC. Then on Wednesday afternoon, the light shines through with a new owner in Mike Danson, a local billionaire. Now as a fan I'd just like stability to be our number one aim and take what comes with it. But this being Wigan Athletic, I can't see it being plain sailing. We're not like that, are we... Stay safe.

Charlie Keegan:

Should we really be excited that Wigan Athletic have switched to a new ownership, or should we still proceed with caution? Fans across the globe exhaled a massive sigh of relief when the news officially broke that a company backed by Mike Danson took 100 per cent control of the club, finally allowing the Phoenix to fly far, far, away. The Latics 'Believe Bus' felt like it was hurtling down a dead-end street with the brakes cut, and seemingly nobody at the wheel. However, that is over now….or is it? Well, in the hours shortly after Danson had taken over, the remaining players and staff had been paid, and the HMRC debt had been settled. I also imagine any other outstanding debts had also been paid up in full to whoever had been waiting. While this is a fantastic bit of news to hear, which will have brought so much joy to the staff awaiting their hard-earned wages, there are for sure going to be relationships to mend inside and outside of the company structure. We know the strain our previous ownership had on sponsors and partners, as 3PL cut ties only a few weeks ago, and players/staff had taken to social media to vent their frustrations. You simply cannot mend these relationships overnight. However, I do believe we are on a path now to fixing them, and hopefully we can see recent partner departures arrive back at the DW Stadium soon.

I do love the storyline of somebody born local to the area taking control of their sports team. It’s not that I dislike people from outside the area, or overseas, taking control of sports clubs. However, there is a beauty in a local ground-roots connection you cannot manufacture if you are not born and/or raised here. We know Danson has a 25 per cent stake in the Warriors, and we know the ways in which he has made his money and what his companies are. The reason the EFL passed the ownership takeover so quickly is because Danson had readily available everything he needed to meet their expectations, and he co-operated with them. Something our previous owners failed to do on many occasions. There will be a hangover from this past couple of years, and one that will mean we have to fight like hell next season to compete. But that right there is what we all have permission to get very excited over...there will be a next season! We have been flying far too close to the danger zone for a while now, where the future of the club was in serious jeopardy. But right now we have a club, we have a future, and we have each other to lean on, and help to take our club forward to return to better days. It is important we remain vigilant, proceed with caution, and continue to monitor decisions and paths that we will ultimately go down. But we have cause to be excited and for now we can celebrate that. There is never a dull day being a Latics fan, but you really have got to love it. We are going nowhere.

Colin Garner:

Well, it's finally confirmed, we've been sold...thankfully! Let's not get carried away like when *some* did when the previous owners bought us - and I'll include myself in that. Let's focus on stability, forget going for promotion etc, realistically we need to concentrate on becoming a stable League One team for a good few seasons. I'm not clued up on Mr Danson, but I get the impression he knows what he's doing. Obviously, there's lots of talk regarding the links with the rugby team and what his plans will be. Personally, I am not a rugby fan, so the bickering doesn't bother me. But if joining forces means my club is safe and secure, then I'm all for it. Surely it's good for the town? A lot of 'thanks' go out to the fans groups involved in this behind the scenes. Is this time to unite the fans as a whole? And to all the staff at the club...we love you! Here's to the future! We're back baby!

Alan Rogers:

And so it’s over! I’d spent Wednesday moping around because it’s my birthday - quite a significant one - and I really wasn’t happy at the age I had somehow become! But in the space of a few minutes, everything changed. The news we had been waiting for finally came through, and somehow the world seemed a happier place. Most fans are amazed this kind of deal takes so long to finalise and, on the face of it, it’s hard to disagree. But when we delve a little deeper, it’s a bit more complicated than it looks and, for once, I seem to have got something right. My last job was working for a large American company, who had thousands of employees and many hungry investors. Over a period of time, I had probably been promoted beyond my level of competence, mainly due to good (or bad) luck. I wouldn’t say I had a seat at the top table but, because of the team I led, whenever a takeover or shutdown was in the offing, I would be one of the first people involved in looking at the situation. It’s important to say it didn’t matter whether they were buying, selling or closing a company, these kinds of deals often dragged on for a long time. At the beginning, there would be utmost secrecy while initial overtures took place. Then, when the time was right, a few leaks would be approved, just so that everyone could start getting used to the idea of what was about to happen, and also to gauge the reaction. In my example, so far, there isn’t much difference between what happens in the real world and what happened /is happening at the DW. Any kind of takeover/shutdown can be traumatic for those involved, be it a factory or a department store, for example. But selling a football club is different. If your company is closed or reorganised and people lose their jobs, then that is awful. You shouldn’t compare it to your local pub closing or your local team folding. But in football, there is a bond you can’t describe to a 'non-believer'. In the scheme of things, we should just put our shoulders back and carry on. But it’s not that simple.

Back in early April, I went to a funeral. It wasn’t in Wigan, and I didn’t know too many people. But I did recognise one familiar face. We spent a few minutes catching up at the reception after the service, and then he said something very strange. He knew I was a long-standing Latics fan, and he said - quite innocently - 'What do you reckon about your new owner?' I was a bit confused but replied that, after a few problems with cash flow, things seemed to have settled down. The person I was talking to shook his head. 'No,' he said. 'Not that owner, the new one.' He then gave me a name and further explained the club had run out of money again, and would soon be changing hands. I laughed at this, but he went on to give a few more details. The person I was talking to had no connection with Latics or the Warriors, but worked in finance. He didn’t ask me to keep the story to myself but, mainly because I didn’t believe a word, I decided to keep my mouth shut. Anyhow, eventually I decided I had to tell someone, so I told a few family members, but asked them not to tell anyone else. And then, a few weeks later, the wages weren’t paid again. I still kept my mouth shut, for several reasons, but now I really began to hope the story I had been told was true.

Moving slightly off topic, I don’t know how many of you watched Ted Lasso. I resisted for many months, but finally gave in and watched it. It’s totally ridiculous, but also totally wonderful. It bears no resemblance to football as we know it, but it is also a fantastic tribute to football. In one of the last episodes, a billionaire calls together the owners of certain Premier League teams and offers to make them rich beyond their wildest dreams...if they form a breakaway league. They appear to be on the verge of accepting when one of the owners - the only female in the room - speaks up. 'I mean, how much more money do any of you really need? Why would you ever consider taking something away from people that means so much to them? This isn't a game. Football isn't just a game. It's one of those amazing things in life that can make you feel like s**t one moment, and then like it's Christmas morning the next. It has the ability to make heroes and villains out of ordinary men. Just because we own these teams doesn't mean they belong to us.' And that last sentence - although it’s Hollywood at its worst - also probably sums up the situation Latics have been in. Too many football owners - at all levels - feel they have bought a 'thing', which now belongs to them and they will do with it as they please. They do not recognise how unique a football club is. They don’t set out to fail but, by not fully understanding the situation they are in, they are out of their depth.

I still believe Talal 'understood' how special a team is to a town/city and the fans. But he didn’t know how to run it. One big problem at Wigan is we have been truly spoiled. We had a fantastic businessman and true football aficionado as an owner - and we didn’t know how lucky we were. Like him or dislike him, Dave Whelan generally got things right. And so to the next chapter. Will our new owner be the person we want him to be? I truly hope so. And I think he will be, because hopefully he understands the club and the town. Oh, and the name I was given back in early April - which I have kept to myself (more or less) ever since - well, his initials are MD. By the way, a lot of people reading this are going to decide I’m talking complete rubbish. And maybe I am. Perhaps the person who gave me the details was just lucky everything he said to me came true. I didn’t want to start throwing this story out on social media, for several reasons. But I did tell a small number of people who, although they didn’t believe me at the time, are now looking at me and thinking that perhaps I’m not as stupid as I look.