Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'We are a team that has been built on defying odds...'

Our panel of Latics experts run the rule over the recent pre-season games, the summer transfer window, the recruitment so far and the competitive campaign getting underway next week...

Martin Lally:

It’s been a few weeks since I last commented on the Tics due to work, weddings and some planned travel. I have the pleasure of writing this week’s efforts from New York City where I have caught up with outstanding 12th Man contributor Matt Auffrey, who took me to a great bar called Donovan’s in Woodside before we watched the other love of my life... The New York Mets win 14-3 against Atlanta, and let me tell you, if you think the WAFC timeline melts down, you want to spend half an hour on #LGM.

I always value Matt’s views extremely highly, and he is so supportive of Tics visiting NYC, of which many have shared a chat and a beer with him... A genuine, great bloke and I feel lucky to call him my mate.

Anyhow, less of me, and let’s get to it. Wigan Athletic are back in action, and to date, we have seen two very different outings. I was actually quite happy post the Port Vale game... They were simply a few weeks ahead of us, but the highlight of the day for me was young Sam Bolland at centre-half pinging balls like a prime Charlie Hughes.

The second half youngsters in that outing looked energetic and bold, something we really didn’t see in the first half.

Despite this, Sonny Perkins had moments, and despite the negativity around Nico Lawrence’s journey, I liked both players, but you can’t help but feel that Perkins, if without a goal in August, would quickly become high on the negativity radar of some. My sincere wishes go out to Lawrence, whose time at Wigan Athletic appears, a lot like Martin Kelly at Blackburn (a), likely to be over before it really begins.

Ryan Trevitt has returned, and if managed, will be a fantastic addition as well as a new and well-deserved role for Callum McManaman - two great additions to a young dressing room. It appears Matt Smith is signing for his supper at Lincoln City, who are a fantastic club. I wish Matt the best, he has been a favourite of mine over the years and it’s sad that we can’t retain him, but that’s now Wigan Athletic unfortunately.

I didn’t manage to get to AFC Fylde due to wedding duties, not my own of course, but by all accounts it was a good run out. There is no doubt in my mind that Chris Sze has been dealt a cruel label already. The world is an awful place at times and the young lad has battled some difficulties, but to get back on the horse and go out to Southport in a rough and tumble league takes a bit of bottle and now he’s back with a chance. I don’t think any of us expected to be where we are but when are we going to stop imagining what August to May will look like when it’s only July?

We could carry on moaning about the owners and probably will but we are where we are and this time we have a very good management team in place that will expect nothing less than 100 per cent effort in every encounter this coming season. In some games, that could be the difference, and in those games you know we just shouldn’t have lost last year.

I’m keeping positive as I order another beer in a New York bar praying that this described monsoon about to hit the area doesn’t prevent a double-headed Mets day tomorrow before I fly home to focus on all things Wigan Athletic and the 2026/27 season.

Up the ‘developing’ Tics!

Matt Auffrey:

The start of the season is approaching a single-digit daily countdown, yet the energy surrounding the club feels much different now compared to recent pre-seasons. While some encouraging new additions to the squad have given the fanbase jolts of positivity over the past two months, a general malaise has still lingered over the club for the better part of the summer. The uncertainty of the ownership situation has left many fans confused about the club's current short-term and long-term goals. We know that the club is up for sale, but little information has been shared about potential buyers and any ongoing negotiations. The club is set to receive several million pounds from combined player sales and sell-on fees, but as we enter the final month of the summer transfer window, little money has been spent on replacements for some of our biggest departures from last season.

Considering the pre-season friendly performances, our transfer business, and the status of our current owner, many fans struggle to imagine us contending for the play-offs this season, let alone securing a mid-table position.

However, through every development, the underlying message I’ve picked up on is that we fans need to remain patient. It is obvious that we will be far from a finished product when the first competitive kick of the season is made at Barnsley next week, but the same will be said for many other clubs at that point in time. We can have the makings of a vastly improved side by the start of September.

I believe our real ace in the hole is the gaffer himself. He is no stranger to taking the hand he is dealt and achieving more with less in this division. Exeter sat eight points above us in the league table when Caldwell took over last February, only to finish seven points below us in the relegation places by the season’s end. His exit clearly had an adverse effect on Exeter’s results over the final stretch of the season while providing a significant boost to Latics in turn. He deserves the benefit of the doubt that he can have this group playing attractive winning football after a reasonable amount of time.

By all reports, there were many positive happenings at Fylde last weekend before the match ended early due to a serious injury. My thoughts are with trialist Nico Lawrence as he starts a long recovery after a devastating setback. Hopefully the club is doing everything within its capacity to support Nico and help him obtain the best treatment possible.

On a more positive note, I’ve recently had the pleasure of spending quality time with my good friend and fellow 12th Man contributor Martin here in New York City this week. We got to see the hometown New York Mets demolish Atlanta at the baseball and spent a few good hours catching up on all things Latics. Needless to say, we are both champing at the bit for the season to kick off. I’m hopeful he can bring that infectious New York energy back to Wigan and spread a bit around the Brick. I’m happy that in one week’s time there will finally be a competitive match to preview. Hang in there, everyone!

George Arkwright:

Conjecture – continuous, meaningless conjecture. As a collective, we are amongst the most reactive, pearl-clutching bunch in the Football League. It is quite incredible that so many of us have the foresight to write us off completely as relegation fodder before a competitive ball has been kicked.

Don’t get me wrong; I do not think our squad is in the place it needs to be to ensure our play-off hopes hold true. Frankly, I think aside from the completely untried and untested aspects in our newly acquired players, it is the weakest it has looked in a number of years. Maybe more. However, I do not think this is the time to lament our failings before they’ve even happened. We have had a turbulent decade, just based on league position alone. We have had mass exoduses before now, and we have aspired and achieved despite them. We have a habit of bringing through incredibly exciting young players, and I truly believe that this season will be no different.

Tobias Brenan, K’Marni Miller and Llyton Chapman all look like the next in line for greatness, and whilst, as mentioned, there is no guarantees of anything based on reputation alone, we are a team that has been built on defying odds and exceeding expectations.

We have arguably one of the top managers in the league at our helm backed by an impassioned footballing hierarchy and to me, that, alongside the goodwill and backing of our incredibly fervent support, can often be enough to build a platform of success.

This isn’t an exoneration of the ownership group and the lack of momentum we seemingly have in the transfer market. I am as unhappy as everyone else with the loss of the spine of our team. Matt Smith, Callum Wright, Joe Taylor, Jason Kerr, Will Aimson and Sam Tickle were definitely amongst our most consistent and prominent players last season, and to see none of them return; only to be replaced by unknown quantities, is not an ideal situation in the slightest.

Still, Caldwell is seemingly building his own squad. He is seemingly quite enthusiastic about the players procured thus far, and he is seemingly still intent on bringing players in. We are obviously not going to spend exorbitantly; that much is clear considering the fees we have received for Tickle, Harrison Bettoni and Alfie Devine that are yet to see the light of day. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t spend at all.

The way I see things; we have not met the expectations of the players that have gone because we potentially don’t value them as much as they value themselves. Agents' fees and ludicrously extravagant bonuses are a blight on modern football and maybe, just maybe, our management team have put their foot down and put a stop to them. Not paying over the odds for a player we don’t deem worthwhile keeping is not the same as not purchasing a player because we can afford them. Could it be that the money is there; we’re just waiting for the right opportunity and the right players to spend it on?

I am aware that this could be a naive take, but I think a little positivity goes a long way, and this is all meant to be nothing more than entertainment; it doesn’t pay to be upset and angry too vigorously.

Anyway, here’s hoping. Two games this weekend, a little over a month left of the transfer window, and I have every hope that we will be running into September looking a damn sight stronger than we do now. A striker, maybe a keeper, a defender or two and some wingers… It isn’t too much to ask, is it?