Wigan Athletic club stats
Monday, 21 May 2007 16:20
Facts
Formed: 1932
Home Ground: JJB Stadium, capacity 25,138
Nickname: The Latics.
People
Owner: Dave Whelan
Chairman: Dave Whelan
Chief executive: N/A
Head coach: Chris Hutchings
Assistant coach: Vacant
Team captain: Vacant - formerly Arjan De Zeeuw
History
Although Wigan Athletic can boast a history of almost a century, years of obscurity and failure have made the last decade by far the most consequential in its history. It's recent record can be directly traced to the moment JJB magnate and local millionaire Dave Whelan took over the club in 2005 - then still languishing in the third division.
Whelan (much to the astonishing and frank disbelief of many in football) announced his intention to make this small club in a rugby-dominated area of Lancashire a Premiership side, a dream he achieved in 2005 under the stewardship of Paul Jewell.
Before Jewell's tenure, the club scooped the Division Three title under John Deehan in 1997, before several years on the managerial merry-go-round, culminating in the appointment of the man now immortalised in the "who needs Mourinho, we've got Paul Jewellio" song, who led them to the top flight with quickfire promotions.
The team, then featuring shaggy-haired midfield maestro Jimmy Bullard and powerful centre-forward Jason Roberts, confounded their critics to secure a respectably high league position of 10th and a place in the Carling Cup final - only to be undone by a rampant Manchester United side.
Honours
Premiership champions: 0
Division One champions: 0
FA Cup winners: 0
Community shield winners: 0
Division Two champions: 1 - 2003
Division Three champion: 1 - 1997
Last Season
Premiership: 17th - P 38 W 10 D 8 L 20 GF 37 GA 59 GD -22 PTS 38
Uefa Cup: N/A
FA Cup: Third round – lost 2-1 to Portsmouth
League Cup: Second Round – lost 2-0 to Crewe Alexandra
A fan's view of the 2006/07 season
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