Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'Project Big Picture? Project Power Grab more like...'

Matthew Auffrey:

Latics looked keen for a bright start at Crewe last Saturday. We were pressing high, looking sharp on the ball, and created the first two chances of the match through a lucky goalward deflection followed by a close-range miss from Kal Naismith. That positive spell of play lasted shorter than Mikael Mandron’s tenure as a Wigan player. Prior to suffering our most decisive loss of the young season, the events leading up to kick-off were downright bizarre. Crewe had four players test positive for Covid-19 since their last match – an EFL Trophy fixture that took place on September 29. Not only did our match at Crewe on October 10 continue as scheduled, but two of the four players that recently tested positive featured. Wigan surely could have benefited from subbing on one of their own couple of central defenders who recently tested positive, as Crewe did, and pushing Kal Naismith into an attacking position. Crewe did Latics no favours by sending these players onto the pitch, yet alone without face masks, and the EFL did Latics no favours by allowing this match to occur, especially just three days before they postponed Crewe’s next match against Oxford. Across the Atlantic Ocean, just 12 hours after the Crewe-Oxford match was supposed to be played, the Tampa Bay Rays won another Major League Baseball play-off game. Their win on Tuesday put the team one game away from competing in the World Series. Disregarding the events that led to Tampa Bay Rays co-owner Randy Frankel and Gauthier Ganaye’s recent failed purchase of Wigan Athletic, I would like to place emphasis on the baseball franchise’s financial standing. Tampa Bay would enter this year’s MLB World Series with the fourth-lowest player wage bill of 30 professional teams. Their estimated $28 million payroll is roughly a quarter of what the New York Yankees spend. If they were to win this year’s championship, it would represent the closest American equivalent to Leicester City’s Premier League title in 2016. As Latics fans, we have embraced our underdog role whole-heartedly. For the better part of this millennium, the majority of the clubs we have faced in competitive matches have been richer than us. Competing in the Premier League for eight seasons, winning the 2013 FA Cup, and maintaining legitimate aspirations for a return to the top flight through the 2019/20 season has made the journey of being a Wigan fan absolutely thrilling. ‘Project Big Picture’ would have significantly lowered the ceiling of Wigan’s long-term potential as a professional football club. While the club is in a dire enough position that any type of bail-out payment should be welcomed, a compromise must be made between football’s ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ that presents a more equitable solution for how future funds will be distributed throughout the professional pyramid. As we continue to wait for stability in ownership and consistency in team performance, let us hope new developments in the football world bring much-needed light after many dark times.

Statto:

Project Big Picture? Project Power Grab more like. It’s no surprise this was led by American owners who don’t have domestic promotions or relegation in their main sports. If this had gone through, the Premier League would have ended up like Scotland – no more chances of Leicester City type of winning the league. Thanks to Rick Parry, though, it looks like the only chance of a funding package will be a bribe. Back to the Tics, and a bad performance on Saturday got what it deserved. But at this moment in time, we are going to get games like this. The more worrying thing from Saturday is how we can play Crewe sandwiched in-between them calling off games against Oxford for Covid-19-related reasons. Once again, the EFL is lacking leadership on this issue, and proving unfit for purpose. Parry should be sacked/forced to quit...but he’ll just carry on as normal, turning a blind eye, passing the buck. Stay safe.

Sean Livesey:

Well Saturday was a rude awakening wasn’t it? After the boost of two league wins in a row following quick on the heels of the news of an imminent takeover, things were beginning to look rosy again in the garden. Sadly a horror show at Crewe brought us crashing back down to earth, and indeed reality with a bump. The Railwaymen managed to capitalise on some poor defensive performances to come out of the game with a 3-0 win, and it’s the first time this season we’ve actually looked outclassed. As hard as the result is to take, it’s important to remember there’ll be many days like these this season. Leam Richardson, John Sheridan and the rest of the coaching staff have done a marvellous job so far with literally no resources and a team blended together of youth players and free transfers. There have been enough high points to make us think this season may not be one that could ultimately end in relegation, but as much as that is true it’s important to temper those expectations. Our squad is not the biggest, and there is very little in terms of senior back-up if any of those first 11 are missing due to injury, suspension or covid as in the case of Nathan Cameron and Adam Long last weekend. Speaking of Covid, it was surprising in some quarters to see Crewe decide they couldn’t fulfil their fixture with Oxford on Tuesday, despite managing to fulfil their fixture against us at the weekend. Even more surprising that Omar Beckles appeared for Crewe despite testing positive the previous week. I wouldn’t expect any retributions from the EFL, of course. Speaking of the EFL, it wasn’t surprising to see Rick ‘I heard it was a bet’ Parry behind the Project Big Picture that set tongues wagging across football this week. A project that would focus all of English football’s decision making and power in to a small band of elite clubs. All of whom roundly rejected the proposals earlier this week. The headline for the EFL was an immediate bailout of £250 million and a future share of any Premier League TV deals. All welcome offers but, as a result, major changes to the pyramid structure of English football. EFL clubs desperately need support, but they needed support before the Coronavirus pandemic too. If we accept football’s problems have been exacerbated by the Premier League’s breakaway from the EFL, the solution surely can’t be to hand all of English football’s decision making power to six clubs on account of their financial might. English football desperately needs change and restructuring, but this isn’t the way to go about it. That Manchester United and Liverpool had reportedly threatened to the FA they would form their own league if the plans weren’t supported tells its own story. Even Sky and their worldwide fanbases would get sick of United-Liverpool six times a season. You disregard the English pyramid and the collective bargaining at your peril. Back to the Latics, and it’s a return to the Valley this weekend. Personally I’m still having nightmares from that 92nd-minute equaliser by the Addicks last time out. If we had managed to hold out for another two minutes in that match, this summer could have been so different. As it is, John Sheridan will take his depleted Latics side to South London needing a reaction after the humbling defeat at Crewe. Charlton, boosted by ending their own ownership worries this summer, have recruited well with Sir Ben Watson among those big names arriving at the Valley. I think it could well be our toughest match of the season, and I’d be delighted with a point frankly. The domestic transfer window also closes today, and the one bonus of the pandemic from our point of view is there are still numerous players available who in normal times would have been snapped up – but thanks to Covid are without a club. So the transfer window closing shouldn’t affect us in that regard.

David Perry:

I’ve previously written about the historic redistribution of football finances being in favour of the bigger clubs at the expense of the rest – such as tv money, gate receipts, pools money, etc. Every concession made was followed by another demand, and the greed at the top level became ever more insatiable. It’s no longer a financial divide in football, but we have an upper tier that is oblivious to any economic reality or sense of fair play. Where they know the exact price of everything, but the value of nothing. Project Big Picture was being sold as a progressive blueprint for change with a benevolent gesture to redress some of the financial inequality that now exists. Call me a sceptic, but the strings attached look like chains. While any financial help filtering down the pyramid is to be welcomed, especially in a pandemic, we must question the motives behind this and scrutinise those who champion this idea. If Rick Parry told me what day it was, I would double check the calendar. This is a power grab that goes beyond money and influence. It is a shift in who makes decisions, exercises control of the game, and protects vested interests. The simple game we love is now repackaged as a ‘product’. An image rebrand where some faces fit and others are less welcome. We are all equal… but some are more equal than others, as Orwell once said. The product needs to be sexy and the game is in danger of becoming a television programme rather than a sport – if it has not already. There are people who want to see the game played only by ‘big clubs’ and privately don’t care about the fortunes of the rest. For example, Bournemouth v Crystal Palace live on a Monday night might not be seen as glamorous to TV executives. Their vision of wall-to-wall TV football requires so-called glamour clubs to sell it to a TV audience worldwide, to people who never set foot in a stadium. While TV football revenue is welcome and there is an element of not biting the hand that feeds it, the tail should not be wagging the dog to that extent. Wigan Athletic’s promotion to the Premiership back in 2005 was a great story, but it created a backlash and revealed an attitude that is now becoming all too apparent. When we beat Reading on the final day, I was driving away from the stadium and tuned in to a well-known national sports radio channel. Listening to the presenters congratulate other clubs for successes and commiserate with those less successful. I waited for our turn to bask in the reflected glory of our miraculous achievement. Instead, the subject of their phone-in would be ‘What is the point of Wigan Athletic?’ Studio guest Rodney Marsh gleefully predicted we would be an embarrassment. Marsh liked to be a thorn in our side, but this attitude was not unique. One well-known BBC presenter described us as ‘nouveau-riche upstarts gatecrashing the party’. Football is a meritocracy, where success on the field determines how high you go, and how much you achieve. God forbid any non-glamour club having the audacity to play by the rules and maintain the spirit of the game. These new proposals would make it harder to get promoted to the top flight and offer more protection for the established clubs from relegation. Ultimately, I see a model of Premier League 1 and Premier League 2, with limited, if any, promotion or relegation. Seeing clubs like Latics in the Premier League and Leeds in the third flight won’t be happening again. The sport will be engineered for big-city clubs to prosper or at least have an advantage. When there was a debate about Rangers and Celtic joining the English Premier League, it was often cited ‘the likes of Wigan’ should make way. Please forgive the doomsday scenario, but these proposals are once again primarily in the interest of the chosen few. To be fair, not all big clubs and their supporters are backing this, and that is to their credit. However, the real power-brokers in football have a track record of having their own way – and getting away with it.

Deb Chapman:

I’m hoping the no news is good news on the Wigan Athletic front, and that all is going well with the new bidders in the background. Not a great result at the weekend but dare I say it: ‘I’m just happy to see us play’. Oh, and ‘Let Latics gel!’ At least we do have a team to try and gel. Do we get fans back in the grounds or not? I’ve tested positive for Covid so I’m saying not at the moment, but it definitely needs to happen (I’d wear my mask if necessary). Hoping for some good news very soon. Stay safe everyone.

Samantha Seddon-Davies:

Never living more than a five-minute drive away from DW Stadium, it’s safe to say Wigan Athletic has been a staple upside to living in the town for me. The stadium still holds the same significance it seemingly always has, from looking at the big arches out of my high school science window to using it as a meet up location with friends, the sound of cheering fans reaching me in my back garden from the fans in the stands will sit with me forever. The idea of this wonderful club maybe not existing at some point makes me feel an overwhelming sadness that has become too familiar this year. Only getting into football properly a couple years ago, matched with the fact none of my friends enjoy the sport and my dad is a devoted Liverpool fan, at 17 years old I have yet to step foot inside the stadium to witness a match in person for the first time. I didn’t imagine there’d come a day when that might not be possible. But I am not defeated. The prospect of the new buyer becoming more and more likely to successfully take over as time passes on presents all of us fans with an optimism typically befitting of Latics supporters. However, our opinions allow us to see the EFL and the chances of the deal between them and our no-longer-mysterious buyer going wrong, no-one can take away the positive spirit shared between the fans, and that for me is probably the best thing about supporting my team. Despite the sense of uneasiness ever looming over the heads of fans, staff and players alike, as well as the mystery of the future that will be brought to us, the unmistakable hope of Wigan continues to shine through everyone involved with the club. Who knows where we’ll be this time next year, which players we’ll get to call our own, whether a Spanish twist will be added to the top, or if the lovely stadium I’ve grown up around will still house football alongside its rugby. Hopefully the wishful thinking of us fans will become reality and all the right things will fall into place. So to keep up with the ambitions and joyous determinations of my town. Whatever happens in the future, I know I will do one thing. The first chance I get, I will sit in that crowd and I will cheer on my team, and hopefully there will be a sombrero stitting there with me.

Mike Goodman:

Just when you thought football couldn’t sink any lower, the ‘Project Big Picture’ details that emerged this week showed the so-called top six clubs in England have only one aim – to monopolise the game in their favour. Thankfully the proposals were dismissed out of hand. Funnily enough, all 20 Premier League clubs voted against the idea in a meeting on Wednesday. Given the project is the brainchild of the owners of Manchester United and Liverpool, they voted against bringing in their own proposal to attempt to try and save some face, but this will not be forgotten. It’s not the first time we’ve heard of plans by bigger clubs in England to earn more money from TV revenues and it won’t be the last, but it’s disgraceful how selfish they see things. They earn multi-millions of pounds from TV revenue from all over the world, have global fanbases who buy merchandise regularly to help top up their finances and mind-boggling sponsorship deals from top brands, but it’s never enough is it? They want more and will always want more. The disappointing thing is that the project contained ideas that should have been introduced into football as standard years ago, namely the capping of away tickets at £20, subsidised away travel for fans and a long-awaited increase of television revenue from the Premier League down to EFL clubs. It’s obvious these incentives were used to try and bring fans and clubs on side at a time of absolute crisis, where lower league clubs are fighting for survival and desperate for cash, which is shameful. It’s good to see the vast majority of fans were against this idea, but I do understand why some EFL clubs came out in favour of it. They’re in desperate need of money and this was their bail-out to help them survive. I expect many were worried it may have been a case of take this or nothing else will be offered. Fortunately, alternative funding has been provided, at least for Leagues One and Two so far. It would have been disastrous to give absolute power to a select few clubs who, if they had got their way, I’m sure would have reduced the percentage of TV money they outlined would be given to the EFL over the course of a few years, closed off access to the Premier League for clubs from the EFL, and made the top flight a franchise of hand-picked teams of their choosing – and maybe even split away from the domestic leagues to form a European Super League, taking English football to a place I don’t think anyone wants to see it go. Does football need to be looked at? Yes, 100 per cent. But not by giving absolute power to a select few clubs. Hopefully the rejection of this ‘Project Big Picture’ is actually the start of a meaningful look at the bigger picture. A fairer and more sustainable football pyramid where clubs do not spend beyond their means, are not heavily reliant on their owners, and the riches from television broadcast revenue are not hoarded by the Premier League in such a dominant way. One can hope anyway...

Andy Carey:

Take me back to the mid-’90s, £2.50 entry with Junior Latics membership, handing in my membership number at the caravan before standing on the St Andrews Terrace, shouting and sending signals towards whichever away following was getting soaked. Life was much simpler then. Football at the top level was changing and Manchester United were growing into the force they became. Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Leeds among others had had their turn. Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City were all to follow with varying degrees of success and silverware. In the first season of the Premier League the top six was made up from United, Aston Villa, Norwich, Blackburn, QPR and Liverpool. Clubs who have fallen and come back. That’s what competition is all about – winning, losing, developing and trying again. Fast forward to modern football with its billionaire owners, Sky TV and the armchair consumer. Those at the top are now only interested in retaining the power and money which comes with being there at that moment in time. The proposal this week, which quite rightly was rejected, was merely an opportunity for those in lofty positions to assert their dominance and keep the competitors at bay. EFL clubs are struggling, many through their own mismanagement, and would welcome the hand-outs in order to survive, whereas this should be a reality check for clubs to be run responsibly. As we know all to well what happens when the money dries up. I see Blackburn’s owners, the Venky’s, have spent around £6million per season over 10 years and in total put around £190m into the club. What have they seen for their investment? I’d argue very little, other than finishing second to us 2018. We know how close we were to losing our club, and I wouldn’t wish it on any football fan. The distribution of money needs addressing and independently regulating to prevent these proposals coming about again. Let’s see what happens. Anyway, last weekend we lost 3-0 to Covid Alexander who, for some reason could not fulfil their midweek fixture. It was an off-day and there will be more during this moment of transition. We have to accept it and move on. A tough game now at our new friends Charlton. It’s a shame we can’t be there to thank the EFL for supporting our clubs these past few months. Lucky for them.

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