Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - ‘We've now an owner that's actually running us as a business not a plaything, and that's okay by me...’

Caddy from the 5:

We're exactly one year into Shaun Maloney taking over the helm of HMS Tic'tanic...a glorious ship that was heading for disaster with Captain Kolo and the Bahraini owners treading water with the wages and finance. Looking how we've done in the last year, it really is a miracle we're sitting relatively pretty mid-table in Division Three with all that went on yet again. The game on Saturday, the excellent 3-2 win at Peterborough, saw a totally different starting XI to the one that took the field only a year ago at Blackburn and, remembering we can't sign any players for cash, started on minus eight, playing mostly our Academy lads and loans - yeah thanks again to the EFL and the Bahraini lads - he's 100 per cent doing a decent job. Of course not everything is perfect, but again remember he's working with one hand tied behind his back, until at least this summer, when we'll see just what Mr Danson's intentions for us are. The rebuild is already taking shape with high earners Charlie Wyke and Callum Lang off the books, and there'll definitely be more to come. If we've got to be self-sustainable and live within our means, which is being bandied about, so be it. Surely being stable is better than the bust and boom we've had over the last few years? We as fans are very fickle, we all want instant success, we all want the days out like Shrewsbury, the nights like beating Manchester City at ours. But maybe now it's time for reality to set in. We're not gonna be blowing daft money on anyone and anything soon, we've had it so good since the Whelan era that we were spoilt yearly, living way above our means. But we didn't care, we're not paying the bills and it's caught up with us finally. We've now an owner that's actually running us as a business not a plaything, and that's okay by me. Remember lads, we can see all what we've achieved in glorious HD on Sky Sports News, not like them from Horwich who see it all on Pathe News...ask your grandad. We've seen things most clubs will never see, and it's our turn to just take a back seat for a while and chill out and, knowing the Tics, we'll always be upsetting someone somewhere...bigger clubs, fans or the EFL, because it's what we do. It's in our DNA and long may it continue. Whatever the future holds for Shaun and the club, let's just enjoy the ride, because there was very nearly not one to be had a matter of months ago. Folk are tired of hearing this, myself included, but it's a fact! There's still a hell of a lot going for this club of ours, and it's never going to be straight forward. But we as the fans need to stick together, there's enough whoppers from other clubs waiting to have a pop at any opportunity without fighting among ourselves, so get to the bar, get yourself a 'Bow and just think... you could've been a Horwich fan and seen nothing... UP THE TICS!

Matt Auffrey:

Optimism, apprehension, satisfaction, doubt, elation, fear, restlessness, relief. If you felt a host of those emotions in succession last Saturday afternoon between the hours of 3pm and 5pm, you were assuredly a Latics fan watching the Posh match. The 3-2 victory that saw Latics finish the match with 10 men proved to be one of the wildest fixtures of the season thus far. By the time that the full-time whistle blew, the only thing that mattered was the three points on the board. Completing the double over a legitimate automatic promotion contender in Peterborough could possibly be Shaun Maloney’s most impressive individual accomplishment to date during his time in charge at the DW. Not just the victories themselves, but the outstanding comprehensive performances show Maloney can pull off moments of tactical brilliance against one of the most in-form sides in the country. The players should take just as much confidence from last weekend’s performance as well. The emergence of Thelo Aasgaard as our primary goal threat has been quite the recent revelation. We’ve waited with great anticipation for the 21-year-old to break out with a barrage of goals since he made his first-team debut three seasons ago. His goals played a crucial role in our 2021 league survival, and they will be just as important in 2024 if we want to maintain our status in League One beyond this season. There’s no question the club will need his development to continue trending in an upward direction if we aspire to play in a higher division within the next couple seasons. This coming weekend represents a prime opportunity to work our way up the league table as we look to defeat Gary Caldwell’s Exeter team for the third time in the past three-and-a-half months. The Grecians have won consecutive away matches at Barnsley and Bristol Rovers, and should be just as eager as us to create separation between themselves and the teams currently in the relegation places. Caldwell, in particular, will want to make his first return to the DW as an opposing manager a positive visit. Matt Smith will be missed in midfield, as he serves his one-match suspension for last weekend’s red card, but Scott Smith will surely be champing at the bit to make his first start of 2024 after missing all of January with an injury. Let us hope the rest of our squad is as healthy as possible after having a full week to recover from any ailments suffered during the Posh match. We are riding a big wave of momentum after our most recent victory, and there’s every reason to believe we can string together multiple positive results over these next few weeks. We've taken 11 points from our first six league matches of 2024. We know our players are capable of beating any team in this division on the right day. I got a feeling we have many strong performances left to unleash before the season wraps up at the end of April. Let's remain confident the next winning performance will come Saturday.

Charlie Keegan:

Well, Wigan Athletic’s February fixtures are off to a brilliant start! After a five-goal game against a battling Stevenage side, Latics had to travel to the Weston Homes Stadium to face a Peterborough side who had lost just once in their last 22 league games. And yes, that loss was at Wigan, thanks to Martial Godo and a Callum McManaman wonder strike. But Posh are serious promotion contenders this season, and I was nervous heading into this clash. The 90 minutes we were gifted with were spectacular, thanks to our players and the coaching staff for their brilliant game management. Losing any player to injury, especially so soon into the game, can have a huge effect on the overall game plan. But the reaction to Steven Sessegnon going down after five minutes was to bring Jordan Jones - who had only completed one light training session all week - into the game to play on our left side for the remaining 85 minutes. Jones was nothing short of immense all afternoon, and his contract extension simply has to be listed as a major priority now to secure him for the coming seasons. After Latics sold Callum Lang to Portsmouth and loaned our joint League One top scorer, Charlie Wyke, to Rotherham, there were rumblings as to whether we were leaving our squad too thin for the remainder of this season. Charlie Kelman came in, but the jury is still out as to what he can offer our front line. His cameo at the end was interrupted by Matt Smith’s red card, meaning Kelman had to do more defending than he would have originally been asked to. Two players have stepped up over the last five games, and their goals have led us to three wins and a draw over that period...Thelonius Gerard Aasgaard, and Josh Magennis. Two players that play in the same positions that Lang and Wyke have been playing in. Aasgaard now has four goals in the last five games, with Magennis netting three in that same period. The first and third goals were fantastic finishes from Will Keane...sorry, I mean Thelo! Oh, the similarities are starting to show, and I love it. February 6 marked one whole year since Shaun Maloney’s first game in charge of Latics. Ben Amos, Tom Pearce and Thelo are the only players from the 18 that faced Blackburn who are still here. This just shows how much has changed over the last 12 months - not that we need reminding - but it’s a good reminder to just zoom out and look at how far we have come, and what we are currently accomplishing this season with him at the helm. Once the shackles are off in the summer, who knows where he could take us? Next up, Latics host Exeter - a side we have already beaten 2-0 on two occasions this season. Gary Caldwell’s side has seen an upturn in their form over the last five games, beating Peterborough, Barnsley, and Bristol Rovers, alongside a 0-0 draw against Cambridge and a 1-0 loss at home in their second game with Bristol Rovers. The Grecians have picked up 20 from 54 points in all league games since we faced them last, and they now sit just a point behind us, having played a game extra. Our in-form No.10 scored and assisted at Exeter when we knocked them out of the cup at the start of November, and hopefully, he can help us to our second six-point haul when we play them on Saturday. Safety is inching closer, and we could all but confirm our status in League One this month if we win four of the next five. Wishful thinking at this point, but what a season this is turning out to be. Up the Tics!

Ed Bazeley:

Latics’ win over Peterborough on Saturday shows how well Shaun Maloney’s side can play on their day, and that they are capable of beating anyone in League One, even away from home. Although the eventual scoreline of 3-2 made for a nervy ending to the game, to lead 3-0 against a side such as Posh away from home takes quite something. Remarkably, Posh’s last defeat before losing to us again came against… Latics at the DW in November! The two most pleasing things from the win are the character we showed to grab a third goal following Matt Smith’s sending off, and Thelo Aasgaard now scoring goals from inside the box. Aasgaard, as we all know, has the ability to score screamers from outside the box and, although it’s a very good trick to have, you could argue, until recent weeks, he was a bit of a one-trick pony in terms of his goal productivity. If he maintains the poacher’s instinct he seems to have found of late, his ceiling is very, very high, and we should be more grateful than ever that his contract at the DW lasts until 2028. Jordan Jones once again imposed his influence on the game, and his performances under Maloney will hopefully see him being rewarded with a new contract, as it would be a pity to lose him after the season he’s had. This Saturday sees Latics go head-to-head with Exeter who, like Latics, have dragged themselves up the table in recent weeks with some good form. It will not be an easy game but it is winnable, while it will be an interesting dynamic to see Maloney and his former Wigan team-mate Gary Caldwell going up against each other in the dug-out.

Tony Moon:

A football match is a work of art, a thing of timeless beauty. Though at times, I must admit, watching t’ Tics is more a duty. The manager wants to play t’ right way, he wants us t’ pass and move. But at times, it’s fair to say, we’ve not always been in t’ groove. Some folk want jam, they just can’t wait, they demand success, and now! No time to nurture or develop, it should all just click … somehow. Well click it did at Posh last week, 10 men were up, three baht. Then reet at th’ end in injury time, they damn near stopped my ‘eart. But the lads are made o’ sterner stuff, and stood tall to the end. And nine points clear o’ relegation, the Tics are on the mend. The Beautiful South, they had it right when they sang their little rhyme. See, Sat’day, we were good as gold, and just needed a little time. Robbie Williams too hit t’ nail on th’ head, when he called for a little patience. A couple more wins, well maybe four, we’ll be fine (just no complacence). So what were all that panic about, and wanting rid o’ Maloney? Just the usual pile of bullocks, sugar, claptrap and baloney…

Sean Livesey:

Coming together, it’s all starting to come together nicely. No mean feat considering all that’s gone on this season, but coming together it is. Peterborough represented the first away win since York in early December, and the first league away win since Exeter in October. It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve been close on a number of occasions. This time the Thelo Aasgaard show really did fire us into life. Aasgaard’s season can mirror ours really...strong start, a couple of mid-season stutters, before emerging to look the real deal. He’s had an unlucky year with injuries. First off that shoulder injury picked up in mid-August at Carlisle and then, when he was getting back towards his best, he was once again knocked out for an extended period after picking up a ligament injury at Exeter in the FA Cup. Over the last couple of weeks, which has seen a return of three wins from four, Aasgaard has been key to all of those wins, and he’s finally beginning to show the continuous form we know he’s capable of. It’s easy to forget just how long Aasgaard has been around for...thrust into the first team far earlier than one would have expected thanks to administration, he’s nearly made a 100 senior appearances at 21. He is one of the biggest success stories of the Academy, and under Shaun Maloney really seems to be finding a place in the side. It was ironic one of Aasgaard’s first goals for the club came in a 2-1 defeat at Peterborough back in the dark days of 2021. And returning to London Road was like he had come of age. Saturday was a fantastic win - okay, the last few minutes were a bit nervy, but to go to one of the favourites for promotion and come away with three points and three goals shows we’re getting there. We’ll have the bouts of inconsistency like the defeat to Stevenage, but these are becoming less regular. Instead, the side is really beginning to show what they’re made of. It’s back home this Saturday and the visit of Gary Caldwell’s Exeter, who had a torrid time after we beat them in the autumn, but seem to have turned things around since then. Poor Gary and his coaching staff sounded really bitter last year after those two wins for the Latics, which is sad to see. I wonder if he ever did speak to Maloney again? We’ll find out on Saturday.