PART THREE: Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - ‘Monday reminded us of the good old days. They aren’t that far out of reach if we all pull together...’

Matt Auffrey:

Monday night’s 2-0 home defeat to Manchester United was as far from a ‘best case scenario’ as it was from a ‘worst case scenario’. The performance and ensuing result was neither disappointing nor was it exceptional. We battled hard and did well to stay within a goal of our celebrated opponents for the game’s first 74 minutes. A controversial penalty decision given against us ultimately led to our undoing, as United’s second goal did everything but put the game to bed right then and there. With Mike Danson among those in attendance for the sold-out affair, the players put in a shift that should give us all a bit of hope for what lies ahead in the short term and the long term. On a less acceptable note, it was disappointing to read about the numerous ticketing issues that plagued a number of our fans’ experiences that evening. A competitive performance against a European giant represents positive progress in one area. The ticketing fiasco off the pitch shows us the club still has a long way to develop in other spaces. The United match was a grand opportunity to reel in more local fans beyond the one-off marquee cup tie. It’s a shame to think we potentially lost out on expanding our fanbase due to a lack of due diligence in planning.

While we fell short of fulfilling one dream this week, there is still much to play for over the next three-and-a-half months. We have the opportunity to get one step closer to Wembley when we travel to Doncaster in the round of 16 in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy next Tuesday. Rovers currently sit in the bottom six of League Two, but will certainly be taken seriously by Shaun Maloney, However, our more immediate priority should be creating separation between ourselves and the teams in the relegation places of League One, where there is only a four-point gap at the moment. There is still much work to do before we secure our status in this division for next season. Our trip to Northampton this weekend will provide a difficult challenge against a side that has established excellent home form over the past several months. It took an inspired second-half performance and a marvellous bit of late magic from Callum McManaman to defeat them five months ago at the DW. We’ll need nothing short of a strong 90-minute effort to secure three points on Saturday. The fireworks, television crew, and sold-out stands are now behind us, but our energy levels need to remain as high as they’ve ever been. Despite the losing result, there should be enough positives to take from the United match that will keep our spirits level for our return to league action. If we can secure a positive result at Northampton, we’ll generate even more momentum for the start of three consecutive home matches next weekend. Let’s continue to focus on one match at a time. There’s still much success to enjoy this season.

Charlie Keegan:

Well, our FA Cup third-round tie against Manchester United may not have been another one of our famous ‘giant killings’, but I was seriously impressed - and extremely proud - watching Latics go up against one of the biggest clubs in the world. At full-time, I said United were one of the ‘best’ teams in the world and, while that may not entirely be true this season - with some people quick to point that out (mainly Bolton fans - strangely enough!) - there can be no questioning the gulf in ability between the two sides. Latics starting line-up consisted of four Academy graduates - two of whom are in their first professional season - plus Liam Morrison and Martial Godo, who are also in their maiden professional seasons. United’s starting line-up consisted of players who are mostly established professionals at the very highest levels of domestic and European football. Raphael Varane has won more trophies than some of our players have played professional games! Yet we battled well, showed plenty of heart and desire, and the lads did themselves so very proud. I cannot ask for more than that. One thing we can ask more from, though, is the ticketing system. I am commenting on this having not been at the DW on the night, as I am currently away in Texas for a few weeks - having to listen to people pronounce our club as “The Why-gan Athletics” - and I paid $8 for the plane's wifi so I could watch the game ('Where’s my Superfan points, Danson?!'). That said, I have heard it was a shambles for some fans, and it’s a shame such a monumental mess ruined their experience of what looked like a brilliant night and atmosphere. I suspect not much can be done about the system we use for the remainder of this season, as it would be a huge task, and I imagine there are legally binding contracts preventing our ownership from just dropping the system for another. What the problems are, nobody knows for sure. But these problems have been going on for a very long time now, and need to be addressed in the summer to bring in a system that works well. ‘Come on, Danson, add it to the list, please!’

Elsewhere, James Carragher is the latest player to leave on loan, joining Inverness on loan for the remainder of this season. It makes sense to send him out again, after the Oldham Athletic loan last term lasted five games before a season-ending injury. But I was hoping for at least a Scottish Premiership level, or even a League Two, loan. Either way, I hope to see our young man get some strong game-time and I look forward to seeing what the future plans are for him! Next up, it’s a trip to Northampton, and one that will be very difficult despite our good win over them earlier in the season. Callum McManaman was the hero, but we dominated them really and should have finished the game more than one goal ahead. If you’re into your stats, then two stand-out ones from our last meeting are that we made the most key passes (18) and the most shots (23) than we have in any other league game so far this season. The problem with our shooting here is that just five were on target, with 10 off target (the most of our season), and eight being blocked (the most of our season). The Cobblers have stepped up a level since we played them, and we will have to match their level and then better it - just like Shaun Maloney tasks the squad with every single game - to get anything out of this one. Let’s hope the United performance has injected another spark of desire into the squad again, and we can push on for the remainder of our league campaign now. Enjoy it, Tics!

Sean Livesey:

Time to concentrate on the league, eh? I said I would be happy if we competed against Manchester United, and compete we did. There was to be no 2018-style fairytale, but even being on the pitch in the first place is a fairytale I and many other supporters need reminding of. There was some fantastic press coverage in the build-up to Monday night and the overriding theme was how lucky we are to be here. It’s become a cliché to be ridiculed 'hey at least we’ve got a club to support', but to ridicule that is to ignore stories such as Graham Barrow being called by Shaun Maloney on his family holiday in Portugal to be told ‘it looks like we’re gone’. Or how Maloney gave up his family holiday to try and convince Mike Danson to save us. Or how driving to work during that week did Maloney consider his career (money, kids, wife) or stay in the hope he could help save our club and build again. Thank goodness he chose the latter, as did Gregor Rioch, and the overriding theme in that press coverage is how lucky we were and continue to be. One article among the many stood out was in the 'I', from their chief football writer Daniel Storey. He interviewed Caroline Molyneux – another person (who alongside Maloney and Rioch and every other hero that helped to save us, twice) deserves our eternal gratitude. Caroline explained in length what had gone wrong under Phoenix 21, and how Danson had come to save us. Things got so bad last summer we were days if not hours from liquidation. Not the comparative comfort blanket of administration, but liquidation. I was lucky enough to appear on Radio Manchester’s build-up programme ahead of Monday's match and explained that, in the history books, there would have been an asterisk after the 2013 FA Cup winners. Like Aldershot Town, we would cease to exist. It was that serious a situation. If we look back to last summer, June specifically, and told our support that a few short months later, our Academy-led side would not only reach the FA Cup third round, but would then draw Manchester United, and in front of the biggest attendance at the DW in over a decade would compete, and on another night could have got something from a game that never ran away from our young lads...well, they’d think you were daft. But that’s what’s happened. Because of those that have saved us – Danson, Maloney, Rioch, Caroline, and the many more unnamed but equally deserving heroes.

As Latics entered the pitch to fireworks on Monday night, I couldn’t help but feel the ultimate pride. Call me a happy clapper if you like, I don’t care. Our football club lived to fight another day, and Monday - despite the result - was a night to saviour. Forget the controversy over the East Stand, which I know upset a lot of people. But in the end I think the decision was vindicated. If there were United fans in the home ends, then they disguised themselves very well. There weren’t the sort of unsavoury scenes we witnessed regularly in the Premier League, and the atmosphere in the home ends - particularly the West and North - was some of the best I’ve heard in a long time. That may not have been the case if those extra 2,000 United fans were looking for tickets in the home ends. Yes, there’s a lot to work on both for the club, and the infrastructure surrounding it. The ticketing system put in place by our former owners needs binning off as soon as possible, and replaced with something that works (I’d even take Ticketmaster back at this rate), and the club needs to appoint a board as soon as possible, which would allow us to set a direction for the future. There was a positive update in terms of the Fans Fund ahead of Monday, with the 'Heart and Soul' banner looking excellent being passed along the North Stand. I know a number of people have raised concerns about that, so it will be good to get clarification on what will replace that soon. Takeovers take time, and our time had run out last summer. IEC did around 12 months of due diligence before buying us, and that was a debt free club with no issues. As Caroline mentioned in the aforementioned interview, there was no time for due diligence. He bought us having not looked at the books, in an effort to save his hometown football club. There are probably many nasty surprises being found at the moment. That shouldn’t prevent us holding the club to account, but it should remind us that patience is a virtue and, if we are patient, with the right people in place who know where we can go as a club, Monday reminded us of the good old days. They aren’t that far out of reach if we all pull together. Wigan Athletic and the memories of those people who are no longer around to watch us deserve that.

* For David Porter and Phil Highton...two Latics lads of the finest variety who were taken too soon.