Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'I don't know how many times we can keep saying the same thing...'

Alan Rogers:

At the end of last week, Gary Caldwell told this publication he thought 'Wiganers were the best he'd ever seen at getting behind a group and individuals and their own'. He went on to say that we are going to need that this season 'with a young group that will miss chances, make mistakes and give goals away."

I think he should have qualified that statement by saying Wiganers are the best when things are going well...but some can be totally unforgiving when things go wrong. And so it was to prove on Saturday. I honestly can't find the words to describe how bad the performance was. All the tributes and praise from Wednesday turned to dust after just 20 minutes.

It was only to be expected really, as soon as I saw the team announcement before the game, I was very worried - no sign of where a goal could come, and seemingly a disjointed side. But what do we know? It all goes back to the trust I spoke about last week.

We trusted Gary and his backroom staff to put out the best team available on Saturday and, on reflection, Gary and his team got it spectacularly wrong. But here's the thing, they are flesh and blood - not robots. They will get it wrong occasionally and with this young, unknown team that's sort of understandable.

But there's a lot of experience and expertise in this coaching team, and I'm confident they will get it right when it matters. The ownership team also made a mistake in sacking Shaun Maloney, and made a bigger mistake with his replacement, but hopefully they too, have learned from their mistakes.

Sadly, the feel-good factor from Wednesday evaporated quickly on Saturday and social media went berserk. The poisonous platform formally known as Twitter was particularly toxic, and became unreadable as the evening dragged on.

There was a small amount of light-hearted entertainment though - we had a number of new 'protest' groups appear. These ranged from the 'Wigan Athletic Section Of The Tooting Popular Front' to the 'YAMS People's Front Of Judea'.

I knew that AI would eventually take over the world but I didn't realise it would become the weapon of choice of some of the more deluded among us. It would be funny if it wasn't tragic. If only they could harness all the energy expounded on shouting into the void and use it to actually support the team!

I don't know how many times we can keep saying the same thing. When Mike Danson bought us out, it was with the warning that there would have to be big changes moving forward. 'No problem!' Everyone said. 'We understand.'

But some people didn't understand, and they still don't understand today. No-one likes watching garbage like Saturday, but we need to keep a sense of perspective. We can't keep wasting time and energy on a group of people who either don't understand or refuse to recognise the situation we are in.

Matt Auffrey:

Three league matches over seven days last week delivered some belting highs and some crushing lows. We took two big steps forward on Wednesday, only to completely backtrack on Saturday. When the dust settled at the end of the weekend, we found ourselves at the very bottom of the league table again.

With Joe Whitworth and Bradley Burrowes serving as our only deadline day announcements, plenty of scepticism remained about our ability to not only score goals but also just plain compete game in and game out.

Our doubts were temporarily quelled when our magnificent long-range shooting efforts delivered three beautiful goals against MK Dons. While our strikers did not provide any goal contributions, their comprehensive efforts resulted in a more cohesive display in our attacking third of the pitch.

Fast forward to Saturday, where it took all of 21 minutes for the wheels to fall completely off on our home pitch. There was no questioning Stockport’s quality heading into the match, but our tactics were clearly substandard.

We were consistently punished for allowing a team with plenty of attacking impetus just enough daylight to punish us early and often. Regardless of the positives from an improved second-half performance, or the negatives from our inability to score consolation goals, the greatest takeaway is that we are still miles away from consistently competing at the level we expect.

While the summer transfer window has been closed for over a week now, the recent moves that saw young striker Adam Moseley head to Southport on loan and Ronan Darcy depart the club as a free agent open the door for some form of reinforcements to arrive.

There are still some notable free agent strikers available on the market, but it’s been made very clear that our tight budget limits our prospects. Getting Christian Saydee back from injury within the coming weeks will feel like a new signing.

However, we still need to discuss our need for additional experience and depth as our three current strikers (Sonny Perkins, Dara Costelloe, and Chris Sze) have struggled to deliver the desired impact through the opening month of the new campaign.

Their job (along with everyone else’s job) will not get any easier this weekend as we travel to Hillsborough to face a high-flying Sheffield Wednesday team for the first time in five seasons. The Owls have resurfaced with a full head of steam after a nightmare 25/26 season in administration that saw them relegated from the Championship by February.

They enter this weekend’s fixture as top of the league, a position that has become increasingly foreign to our club, especially since our reintroduction to League One in 2023. Nonetheless, this weekend represents an opportunity to regain some form of confidence after the Stockport shellacking.

The other side of the coin predicts an outcome where we concede many goals to the league’s top scorers while continuing to experience our own struggles with putting the ball in the back of the net. We can only hope that a full week of training allows Caldwell ample time to right the ship and have our best available XI ready to start Saturday’s match on a strong note.

Our ascent from the bottom of the league table may be slower than we'd like, but any progress this weekend will suffice.

Martin Lally:

It finally felt like we were getting our season underway and getting on track post-MK Dons. But no, we returned to the absolute devastation of an extremely comfortable (for the away team) loss at the hands of local rivals Stockport County.

Once again it feels like it’s going to be a roller coaster of a season where, as it stands, we really haven’t seemed to have started. Let’s explore deeper and go back to transfer deadline day. TDD has almost become now as commercialised as Christmas due to Sky turning it into a yellow tie event. Every club up and down the land is desperate to land a marquee signing in the last 24 hours, despite having months to sort beforehand.

I will accept that this year was a little frenetic because Premier League teams had a late start due to the World Cup in the summer, but let’s assess. Dare I even say did we do so badly? Is it the case that we signed no-one? No, quite the opposite, as the number of new arrivals at the club reached the teens.

However, with a fanbase in meltdown due to the lack of a striker signing, the volcano erupted at the news that we were nowhere near securing Stephen Humphrey from Bradford City. Now don’t get me wrong, Stevie is a great player at this level, and on his day he can be a game changer. But he can also be a very frustrating player, and of course he’s not a striker.

Let’s go all Marvel for a second and imagine an alternative world, where Stephen was a Wigan player again. Would he have suited the high press we adapted to try and counter Oliver Norwood and Stockport this last Saturday? I really don’t think he was made for that type of intensity, and all of a sudden the social media pile on would have began again!

You honestly can’t win There have been some key messages this week, and I really do believe it will be a season where some weeks it will be great, some weeks it will feel like a kick in the guts, like it did Saturday, but all this talk about protest and revolt is just simply stupid and ridiculous.

You only need to listen to the manager...these lads that play for us now have only ever known social media in the world. You would be a fool to think they don’t look at what’s said online, it would be harder to avoid it!

Yes we are all frustrated, but there is never a better feeling with Wigan Athletic than when we are being the Wigan that we can be, and no matter the challenge we are backing our boys. Because let’s be honest, if we believe some social media outlets, we are nothing but a rugby town, close to Manchester, that no-one wants to come to!

Well that’s fine, but we are Wigan, and we know what we are. Proud and always stronger when we progress with unity, together and as is said defying the odds or the hand dealt against us. And if you stuck with me through my attempted motivational speech, then please pass on to people you know that the club relies on local people doing jobs for and in connection with the club.

This continuous pile-on of the podcasts, Supporters Club and local media is simply embarrassing. I believe we are so much better than this. So there’s my view. Does it hurt? Yes it does. Did the manager get it wrong against Stockport? Yes he did. Should we pile on him? No, because he’s doing his best and guess what...people make mistakes in life every day.

Will we learn from Saturday? Yes course we will, and hopefully we won’t ever see a performance like that again. Now I could be accused this week of being too much ‘left’. Am I annoyed at the way our club is being run? Yes I am. But you have to trust and support them, because there are 71 others that would love just a year of what we had, and you never know...when all the washing is done, and in a parallel universe where football is defunct of money, we may just be in a better place than most. Once a Tic, Always a Tic

Alfie Hurd:

On and off the pitch, things have become more turbulent since last Wednesday, with supporters' groups taking action and planning protests. It's never an uneventful day, but groups are highlighting the disconnection between the fans and ownership, showing that we really just want answers.

We really do need answers soon as all sorts of fans...from that lad at Wimbledon calling on us to sign a striker, or the protest ideas...all want the same thing - an ownership that cares

On the pitch, we had a good midweek with a good performance against MK Dons that saw a goal off the season contest, which turned that into a disastrous 4-0 battering to Stockport that, in my

opinion, is the worst I've ever experienced with this club in some time.

I do still back Gary Caldwell, but he was too defensive against Stockport, there was too much rotation. We as fans still back Caldwell, but on Saturday at Sheffield Wednesday, we need to give it everything and try to nick a draw. It's not impossible, and hopefully the old Wigan defying the odds returns. Onwards and hopefully upwards. Up the Tics!

Chris:

Where to begin? In a time where it seems Wigan Athletic have been anything but fractured recently off the pitch, it’s startling to start feeling like the days of 2020/21 were mild compared to what we are now facing.

Of course this isn’t the case, as the threat of extinction no longer hangs over us, thanks to Mike Danson. However, is it unacceptable to question the current owner's motives now? I’d say that actions do indeed speak louder than words, and a catalogue of errors both on and off the field since 2023 has us at the foot of League One.

Supporters of a certain age are no stranger to the current plight we find ourselves in, of course. One of the main issues I myself have with the current group is the inconsistency of the statements made since purchase.

Nobody demands Premier League or even Championship football, for that matter. But when promises are made in the public domain to make those dreams a reality, supporters automatically have the right to expect the club to try and deliver on them.

We now have a very challenging set of games ahead, which in reality could really make things toxic off the pitch. We have to give this manager and his players our full backing. We have a very young inexperienced team, which isn’t their fault, it’s just how we have ended up due to bad recruitment, broken promises, or whatever reason social media provides.

I do believe things will get better, and I do believe we have the perfect man leading our team week in, week out. And in true Wigan fashion, there's still time for plenty miracles! UP THE TICS!

John Walker:

Death of a thousand cuts. It’s been three years since this ownership group apparently saved us. I say apparently, because if he really did save us three years back, he’s certainly trying his best to kill us now. One of the questions that really needs to asked. Is why he saved.us. And as a lifelong. Latics fan, to me that question has never been truthfully addressed.

Yes we have been told he stepped in at the 12th hour from various sources - the MP for one, and the Supporters Club for two. We get told on a regular basis that the rugby would have got their hands on the stadium anyway if we had folded. But would it have been that simple? With the HMRC involved? I doubt it.

From the outside looking in, we are now just the poor lodgers contributing to the stadium. I dread to think what the situation would be without the money from player sales. Let’s just remind ourselves what we have sold under this ownership.- a few million plus a few deals with sell-ons.

Transfer deadline day came and went. Every man and his dog knows we need a forward, deals looked like they were lined up and pulled at the last minute. Now we are being told we can’t even bring free agents in until we make space. Some serious questions need to be asked. From a very concerned Wigan fan.

Truelatic4eva:

Well, what can you say about the Stockport debacle? It was utterly soul destroying, and I firmly put the blame at the manager's door. After the midweek high, we reverted to what can only be described as a shambles. The players looked clueless, obviously blinded by science from the manager, whose team selection looked like he was setting up to hang on for a draw from the word go.

Mr Caldwell, like most modern managers these days, loves to tinker, a trait used disastrously many times by a certain Mr Maloney. Whatever happened to sticking with a winning team? Let's hope, as our clueless politicians like to say, 'lessons will be learned', because we are in a mess.

Rock bottom with a team of kids and the odd over-the-hill journeyman, coupled with a billionaire owner who has shown us all he has zero interest in the football club...the future looks bleak.

Billy Haggerty:

Well, what a spineless show that was last Saturday. From the off, we looked disjointed and unsure about how we should be playing. We were chasing shadows for the vast majority of that game, and what's glaringly obvious to everyone except our owners is the real need for a decent centre forward.

The current offerings we have can't hit the proverbial barn door. Not sure why we changed the winning side from last Wednesday's excellent performance against MK Dons, and I'm sure a few players were probably thinking the same.

Watching the Stockport debacle from the comfort of hospitality was a very hard watch. Firstly, it's like a morgue at the best of times. Secondly, if you dare raise your voice over a whisper you get dirty looks. Thirdly, looking over towards the East Stand, it was sparse to say the least. How can we hope to reach out to new fans or generate an atmosphere when we're offered the 3 t's…

A timid approach to the game. A terrible performance from the team. And a toothless forward line. Shame we couldn't carry on the good work from last Wednesday, I mean even if we'd put up a decent fight and lost, that would have been a little more acceptable. Unfortunately that wasn't.

Tony Moon:

What a difference a day makes, sang Dinah Washington. Well just imagine how massive that difference might be when you’re talking three days, and chucking Wigan Athletic into the mix.

But why should that be? We all know that we’re a team still in the early development phase (given the owner's tendency to sack the two previous managers when the road got a little rocky).

So, here we are, having to start all over again, and to expect smooth sailing should be beyond even the wildest optimist...if not the run of the mill pessimist.

Against Stockport, we were very poor, with very few positives to take from the game. The manager took it on the chin though (as he should), but looked and sounded just as determined that he and this squad can give the fans what we’re after - some positive results from playing decent football.

He hasn’t got a magic wand (the tight fisted owner wouldn’t pay for it!), so he’ll have to do it through graft and time. In order to help him out, maybe we should give him a little of ours...