Wigan in Administration

Hip Priest wrote:It's not just a few of them though is it WS63. It's a well known and statistically proven fact that 87.9% of all Latics fans are officially classed as moronic.

Just joshing of course W63 but you have to admit, the Buggers are a bit hard to like.  

The Rugby League supporters are as bad.

Hip Priest wrote:It's not just a few of them though is it WS63. It's a well known and statistically proven fact that 87.9% of all Latics fans are officially classed as moronic.

Just joshing of course W63 but you have to admit, the Buggers are a bit hard to like.  

To be perfectly honest HP I don’t actually very often give them a thought. You can’t deny that they’ve done well for such a small club, especially given that Wigan is really a rugby town as that’s where all it’s true history is so for them to make the PL, Europe and win the FA Cup it’s pretty impressive. I don’t personally know any Wigan fans so I couldn’t comment on them generally but I suspect much of their angst is actually jealousy knowing that however they do they will always be a poor relation to Wanderers. I’m happy to have let them have their moment in the sun because I don’t suspect they’ll have many more in the future?

Whitesince63 wrote:I don’t personally know any Wigan fans so I couldn’t comment on them generally but I suspect much of their angst is actually jealousy knowing that however they do they will always be a poor relation to Wanderers.

Why would they be jealous of us?

They're in a higher division and have won a major trophy in the last 10 years.

Wigan thought they'd won and were favourites to stay up when they scored with only 9 minutes to go but Reading scored an equaliser in the third minute of extra time which meant they ended up getting Wigan relegated instead!

There is still a round of games to play but the third and fourth bottom teams, Reading and Huddersfield play each other - and whatever way that match ends, it means that Wigan (or Blackpool for that matter) can't leap above both of them and stay up.

Wigan and Blackpool are therefore relegated and Reading or Huddersfield will go down with them.

Highlights of the game here -

Reading 1-1 Wigan | Championship highlights | Video | Watch TV Show | Sky Sports

What a shame, the pie eating twats have gone down

Norpig wrote:What a shame, the pie eating twats have gone down

Max Power style!

I'm glad they're coming down, and Blackpool too, just to liven up the games next season.

Natasha Whittam wrote:I'm glad they're coming down, and Blackpool too, just to liven up the games next season.

We won’t be in league one.

Not only will they come down but they might just have a problem being in the league at all from my reading of the situation. Their owners clearly want rid but have failed to find a buyer and they’ve already indicated that they aren’t going to put much into the club player wise preferring youth and free transfers and with no income from gate receipts they’ve got to get through the summer yet plus offload the majority of their big wage earners, so it wouldn’t surprise me if admin came calling again. They’ve had their moment in the sun and for me with no Whelan on the horizon to save them and no serious buyer interested it looks like all downhill now for our “friends” down the road?

Whitesince63 wrote:Not only will they come down but they might just have a problem being in the league at all from my reading of the situation. Their owners clearly want rid but have failed to find a buyer and they’ve already indicated that they aren’t going to put much into the club player wise preferring youth and free transfers and with no income from gate receipts they’ve got to get through the summer yet plus offload the majority of their big wage earners, so it wouldn’t surprise me if admin came calling again. They’ve had their moment in the sun and for me with no Whelan on the horizon to save them and no serious buyer interested it looks like all downhill now for our “friends” down the road?

Utter nonsense.

Wigan will be serious players at L1 level next season.

Whitesince63 wrote:Not only will they come down but they might just have a problem being in the league at all from my reading of the situation. Their owners clearly want rid but have failed to find a buyer and they’ve already indicated that they aren’t going to put much into the club player wise preferring youth and free transfers and with no income from gate receipts they’ve got to get through the summer yet plus offload the majority of their big wage earners, so it wouldn’t surprise me if admin came calling again. They’ve had their moment in the sun and for me with no Whelan on the horizon to save them and no serious buyer interested it looks like all downhill now for our “friends” down the road?

I would put too much emphasis on what you read on social media (including my views too!) as the only people/person who really knows what the plan is, is the person who is funding everything.

He either carries on doing so (if he really has deep pockets and WANTS to spend it on his 'hobby') or he set's a limit and turns off the financial tap when he gets to that point.

My view (and as I've said take it with a pinch of salt) is as follows -

Their recently published accounts are (remember) over a year old - and those accounts not only stated they had made a trading loss from buying the club to that point in time but also stated they had budgeted for an even bigger loss (something like £7m iirc?) for the current season which has nearly ended.

So, you don't budget for a loss if you can't afford it - because if you can't afford it you pull the plug at that time rather than rack of a further £7m loss from your own pocket.

ALL clubs, BWFC included, are ALWAYS for sale at the right price, so it really isn't that unusual for anyone to say Wigan is looking for a buyer (we too are looking for a buyer if someone really wants to pay whatever FV wants to sell us for!).

It seems to me that what has happened over the last year, is that Wigan made some really, really bad decisions - they gave Richardson a new contract for another four years (or whatever it was) then sacked him 3 weeks later???

They then appointed Kolo Toure and then sacked him (and his backroom staff) two months later as well!

That in effect is that they have (with the current manager) three managers on their payroll PLUS three sets of their backroom staff as well!!!

That must have had some impact on the clubs cashflow and if the owner is 'asset' rich, he would have had sometime lag to 'liquify' his assets and be able to pay the wages - hence their problems (or part of them anyway).

The question is does the owner still want to put his money into the club or do an Eddie Davies and turn off the taps?

If he does, then there is no reason to think that Wigan would have the money to at least survive comfortably at the third tier next season. However if he doesn't then yes, expect the best players to be sold, the higher wage earners to be loaned out (if the can - we did it with Ben Amos remember?) and the squad filled out with free transfers and the youth team.

The only other guide I can give you, is that their current manager is still there - despite him not having his own wages paid at times.

My point being that he must believe the club does have some future under the current ownership otherwise he seems the type that would have walked away from the mess if he could see no future for the team or himself there.

No doubt we will find out soon enough as you correctly pointed out, monthly wages still have to be paid during the summer and there is no money coming into the club during the summer!

If the owner isn't putting his money in, we will know in the next month or so for sure!

Apparently Wigan wages have not been paid on time yet again!

If anyone wanted to know why 'Jelly and ice cream' is synonymous with many people's seeming hatred of Wigan is, well it all date back to this...

Sluffy wrote:If anyone wanted to know why 'Jelly and ice cream' is synonymous with many people's seeming hatred of Wigan is, well it all dates back to this...

The shitbag has restricted his Twitter account

Pitch protest (at 19mins 32 secs into the game apparently - Wigan FC founded in 1932) planned for tomorrows game...



Should be suitably embarrassing and lead to a fine and/or points deduction.

(I don't really think they've though this through properly - just like the Reebok protest against Anderson had zero impact on Anderson actually going).

Seems the latest crisis is over.

Wages paid.

And apparently £3m in the bank as shown to the EFL.

Also no points deduction to the club for late payment - although the owners may face a fine.

Information from the club official twitter - the rest from Nixon.



Wigan fans seemed to be split down the middle - all agree they can not trust the owner and believe it will be impossible to attract new players because of the clubs current reputation of not paying wages.  Some are saying they aren't going again until the club has new owners, most will pay for their ST's over 8 months (so can cancel if all turns to shit again).

All believe player sales/cost cutting is on the way.

Depends I guess on just how rich the owner is and if he wants to spend more millions on Wigan.

As he's just committed another £3m for wages, then I guess he's still in the game - and maybe he and Wigan are now over the worst.

Who knows - time will tell as always.

EFL have given Wigan a 4 point penalty and a further 4 points hanging over them if they miss paying the wages again before the end of next season.

The owner was fined 10k for late payment of wages by not setting up an agreed bank account with a deposit of one and a quarter months in it and waiting to be paid - thus ensuring all future wages will be there for payment.

Fwiw Wigan also had a further 3 points deducted from their end of season points total as well.

https://wiganathletic.com/news/2023/may/19/EFL-Statement--EFL-confirm-point-deduction-for-2023-24-season/

Seems Wigan have missed the deadline for depositing the 125% of the wage bill into a bank account (to ensure there is money to pay the next due players wages.

Wigan fans having a total meltdown.

Headlines from their local paper...

Wigan Athletic fans' groups call for immediate and decisive action as eight-point deduction looms

A conglomerate of Wigan Athletic supporters - backed by Wigan Today - have called for immediate and decisive action to be taken at board and ownership level, as the club's four-point deduction for next season looks certain to be doubled.
https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/football/wigan-athletic-fans-groups-call-for-immediate-and-decisive-action-as-eight-point-deduction-looms-4156876

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Utter nonsense.

Wigan will be serious players at L1 level next season.

Really? 

Utter nonsense. -8 pts now and counting!! 🥴

Whitesince63 wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Utter nonsense.

Wigan will be serious players at L1 level next season.

Really? 

Utter nonsense. -8 pts now and counting!! 🥴

The extra points deduction hasn't been awarded yet - and may not be IF the 125% bank deposit has been set up in accordance with the EFL instructions but we don't know if the EFL may have given them an extension to do so?

The EFL certainly doesn't want another club to fold and did seem assured that the owners of Wigan did have the funds required just a week ago - so maybe they will go light  on the owners if the money is banked in the next day or two.

It is a bit of a mystery to understand what is happening at Wigan because the owner seems to have put in £20m plus, so far - and will lose it all if the club goes bust or goes into Admin.

On the other hand they will have to throw good money after bad if they intended to keep the club going - and the next lot of monthly players wages are due next week.

I can't see them selling the club - who in their right minds would want to buy it now and have to pay the players wages all summer - might as well let the current owner pay them surely?

Either the owner is stupidly rich and can write off the money and walk away or sell the club for peanuts or they really have the money but for some reason they can't get it out of Bahrain (or wherever it is) easily.

Or all this is some sort of big mistake, as in Venkys buying Blackburn or the mug whose lashed out millions at Chelsea yet hasn't got a striker to score the goals?

Maybe they bought the club but had no idea how much it would really cost them???

Who knows but for now nothing is certain and the ball is in the owners court in that he needs to find the money for the deposit and then straight afterwards the clubs monthly wages due for next week or find some sort of immediate exit plan because the EFL will sooner or later pull the plug on them like they did with Bury.

I would think the EFL will allow it to go on for as long as they can during summer and deal with it once and for all once the new season is about to start again - as they won't let a club go bust during the season - they will not let them start the season without cast iron guarantees.

The Wigan fans are all going mental.

Jelly and ice cream anyone...