Wigan Athletic : The 12th Man - 'He already looks like he's going to have a big part to play this season...'

Matt Auffrey:

There's no fanbase in football that appreciates a 4-0 scoreline more than our own. While it took nearly 400 days for the club to repeat the magical result that last materialised in August 2023, our patience was rewarded with an early away-day-of-the-season candidate at Bristol Rovers. On top of an astounding victory, reports of a 4-0 Huddersfield victory in Horwich only made the day sweeter. Jensen Weir delivered a man of the match performance in his first start for the club that could only be described as exceptional. The expected goals (xG) statistic is far from universally regarded as meaningful, but the fact we had a higher xG total after 40 minutes in Bristol than we did during our first four league matches combined tells quite the story about how potent our attack was. Joe Hugill scoring a first-half brace to get off the mark for the league campaign was also a very encouraging sight. A professional second-half performance that featured goals from Thelo Aasgaard and Luke Chambers took the fanfare to another level. Even Shaun Maloney couldn’t hide feelings of pure joy at full-time as the lads celebrated with the traveling fans. The result elevated us out of the bottom four of the league table and up to 15th position. We found a way to stop the rot that saw a dark cloud hover over us as we entered the international break. We are far from a finished product on the pitch, but winning our first away match of the season - in dominant fashion, nonetheless - marks a big step in the right direction.

Our next opponent, Lincoln, has started this season impressively after just narrowly missing out on the playoffs last May. The Imps added two familiar faces over the summer in Tom Bayliss and Tendayi Darikwa - both of whom have started every league fixture so far, and have combined for one goal and two assists. It took one of our best performances of last season to come away with a last-gasp winner at Sincil Bank. We should expect a great challenge again on Saturday. However, the potential of an unchanged starting XI and a team full of confidence should give us every reason to remain optimistic about our chances of victory. Next Tuesday’s fixture against Stevenage marks the start of three consecutive home matches. Entering that stretch of fixtures off the back of two positive results away from home could set the stage for establishing the strong home form we have all desired to see since the start of the new campaign.

On an unrelated note, I have to acknowledge the ‘Barclaysmen’ campaign that has blessed our social media feeds recently. Not only has it been a joy to relive some of our best moments of our Premier League era as a Latics fan, but seeing so many fans of other clubs paying tribute to our past players has been quite fulfilling as well. We’re over a decade removed from our ‘Barclays’ days, but the legacy of Wigan Athletic’s eight seasons in the top division remains as prominent as can be. We have a mountain to climb to reach the Premier League once again, and when that day comes, we will arrive in a vastly different landscape than what we last knew in 2013. Yet, as long as days like last Saturday continue to come about every now and then, we can hold onto hope the future equivalent of ‘Barclaysmen’ are somewhere out there waiting in the wings for us.

Alan Rogers:

Just after 5pm last Saturday and the silence was deliciously deafening. Not from the majority of Latics fans - no, they were very happy and social media accounts were buzzing. The silence seemed to be from those who had previously heaped blame on the manager, the owners and the players. It was a pleasure to celebrate a great win, not just because of the scoreline but also because of the manner of the win. I don't want to tempt fate, because obviously there will be some dips in the weeks to come. But perhaps the team finally clicked. If nothing else, last Saturday showed us what certain players can do and perhaps can be used as a yardstick against future performances. It gave us hope. It was just a pity the dissenting voices from the early part of the season couldn't be a bit more humble and perhaps admit they may have got a few things wrong. We need to have a healthy debate, but some people - not just football fans - seem to have entrenched views and won't entertain the idea they may be wrong. It's ironic we are living in a digital age with so much information at our fingertips, yet some people don't seem to want to explore the fact there are usually two sides to every argument.

An example of this happened a couple of weeks ago, when a man said he wasn't going to sing a song, and a lot of people took great offence. The man in question was the interim England manager, and the song was the national anthem. A few years ago, I was at a game where the anthem was played, and some people were incensed because not everyone was joining in. After the game, we discussed the situation in the pub. A few fans were enraged that not everyone joined in. I asked them if they thought perhaps they should sing all the verses? They were puzzled. First of all, they didn't know how many verses there were. My argument was that it may be more respectful if people took the trouble to learn all the verses instead of just parroting a few lines. They didn't seem keen on doing that. I then asked them their opinion on the line 'Rebellious Scots to crush'. They thought I was making it up. The point I was trying to make is that I think most people agree that it's a good thing to have a national anthem, but if you are going to abuse others for not joining in, then you should at least take the time to learn about our own song! And it's the same with football and with Wigan. We all want the team to do well, but the majority of us have taken the time and effort to look at the bigger picture and set our expectations accordingly. Whereas a small number seem to have a more simplistic view and, if/when we don’t win, they lash out. Saturday's result was a big boost for the (more or less) silent majority.

And the answer by the way was six. I’m sure everyone knows but just in case, there are six verses in the national anthem…

Stephen Unsworth:

So where did that come from? Well, from wanting Shaun Maloney out, and desiring more community inclusion and transparency from the board, with clarification on the Tics Stadium ownership...to all smiles and deep joy. Away at Bristol Rovers. The Gas. The team set up like this: Carragher, Aimson, Kerr and Chambers at the back. Jenson Weir and Matt Smith in centre mid. Up front Hugill and Aasgard, with Rankine and Silko the wide players. All the worries were still there about two wingers being out of their depth, a centre forward misfiring and a kid playing right-back when he’s really an Academy centre-back. Oh, and Matt Smith and his cramp. How misguided was I?! Weir stole the show, charging through midfield with the ball and absolutely tearing Bristol apart. The two wingers,all of a sudden, were getting crosses in, and Hugill looked like a proper target man. Two goals to the good. When Bristol did get chances, they were snuffed out by a solid back four. Immaculate. Asamoah will force his way in. Pacey, intelligent...who’s Jordan Jones?! With Tyrese Francois and Michael Olakigbe to come in, we’ll see depth in wide attacking areas and central midfield ball-winners, Samy Morsy style. Fish and chips at the Willy Wicket beforehand, and on the beers afterwards...all in all it made me feel a right idiot in doubting this club's DNA. UTT!

Sean Livesey:

Are things beginning to click for Shaun Maloney and his Wigan Athletic side? The signs certainly looked promising on Saturday, as Latics absolutely dominated in the sunshine in Bristol. This was a match where it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Latics could have had five or six, let alone four. The struggles of previous matches had gone, and they were replaced with what seemed to be a new-found confidence. It had been lost in the noise of the first few matches and disappointing performances that followed, but this side is essentially a new side. If you cast your mind back to the Premier League days, it would take months for the team to get used to each other, and that's why we often saw Latics turn into prime Barcelona come the spring. Last season there weren't that many changes to the side, as a lot of those mainstays from the previous two seasons were still there. But this time around it's a virtually new side, and they'll take time to get used to each other. As in the old adage...'Let Latics Gel'.

A big part of Saturday's performance came from Jensen Weir, our youngest ever player, who returned at the end of the transfer window. He already looks like he's going to have a big part to play this season. Equally two young lads, Dion Rankine and Sliko Thomas, who have had their fair share of criticism this season, had their best games in a Wigan shirt. Dion showed the kind of ambition to beat a man that maybe he hadn't shown earlier in the season, but you can see just why the club were so keen to get him tied down when he does beat a man as he caused havoc in Bristol's box. The same can be said of Silko on the other wing. Coming back from an injury, it's not been an easy introduction to life in Lancashire for the lad from Leicester, but he looked threatening every time he attacked on Saturday.

Elsewhere, James Carragher looks to have made that right back spot his own now, and looks like he's been playing there for years. Which is the biggest compliment you can pay him. On the other side of the defence, Luke Chambers is going to be some player. His goal capped off another excellent performance. A final mention for Joe Hugill who had struggled in the first month of the season, but there was no sign of that struggle at Bristol, as he showed his poaching instincts to put Latics two ahead. So all of a sudden, life is good again and, although one swallow doesn't make a summer, it certainly helps to remind you that this side, a work in progress, can play. Maybe the much derided manager and coaching staff do know what they're doing? Just a thought. Maloney was clearly delighted at full-time on Saturday and rightly so. It's been a tough start to the season, but it's only a start. It's a long old season ahead of us, and Latics are showing they have levels to reach. Get behind these young lads, it could well be an exciting ride. So on to Lincoln, where last season's win ultimately derailed their play-off bid. But the Imps have picked up where they left off, with a number of impressive results. Bristol themselves were on a run of decent results when we travelled there, so no side should be feared. If we see a performance similar to Bristol again, we could be in for a good afternoon.