FA Cup Third Round Draw

[Peter Venkman]

TBF if you read these few pages as a neutral or as a Wigan fan then some of the comments of our fans are quite ludicrous.

We are not bigger than them any more, they are a Premier league side yet some fans STILL think we are bigger than them.

Yes Wigan is an absolute hole (my brother in law lives on the outskirts and it certainly is grim).

But

We have every right to be confident, we are on a great run, why should we lower prices for away fans? they will not bring more than a few hundred anyway so fucking charge them the full £25. 400 fans at £25 or 500 fans at £10 because theres a cheap deal? no brainer.

They have pretty much THE poorest home following ever in the Premier League history.

Last few seasons they have mustered up 6,987 for a LC derby with Preston, 7,515 for an FAC derby with Bolton, 5,519 in the FAC against Notts County, 5,335 in the FAC against Hull City.

And they ridicule us with our average of 7,918 3 divisions lower than them?

They have only won 1 game and drew 1 game in the last 12 games, whereas in the same period we have won 9 games and drawn 3.

Gotta be the roots of a proper cup upset.

[jimmy_onions]

I am with Ardiles on this, Wigan are a waste of a prem space....joke of a club, punching way above their weight, artifically,  because of the bank rolling...

Pisses me off on MOTD, the likes of west brom, norwich etc, grounds bursting at the seams every week...
Wigan, nothing club, never amounted to anything, noone cares, miserly support.


Oh, and really hope the bank is open for this...reckon we can pack the ground, close them in and make them all feel very uncomfortable...
Arrogant? Most definitely, thats what comes from a few good results...

[mrverve]

Agree JJ, there is an element of our support who think we're bigger than what we actually are. Wigan are probably a bigger club than us at the moment, more fans (albeit a lot of plastics), better players, more money etc but Wigan down at our level would be getting 4,000/ 5,000 max.

[london_red]

To be honest ardiles I have less of an issue with clubs buying their place if the sugar daddy bankrolls their losses. I do have an issue if they can't and the club goes into admin.

The latter is spending money you don't have which is cheating. The former is just an exaggeration of our own position.

This is a good point. Not many clubs have the luxury of (allegedly) paying players 5k a week in league 2.

[tans]

I didnt know wigan had a pier

[ghanimah]

I didnt know wigan had a pier

They don't

[Peter Venkman]

I didnt know wigan had a pier

Its more of a jutty.

[url width=648 height=431]http://www.canalscape.net/Book%202/Wigan%20Pier%20Nightshot.JPG[/url]

[Matchworn Shirts]

West Broms ground bursting at the seems?  not likely

[tans]

Is it really worth them signposting that on the M6

[DRS]

The rugby town references are a bit stereotype from us aswell if i am honest. They average around the same for the rugby and the football.

As for bankroling them and buying sucess again i think that is wrong.Wigan have always sold players for decent fees and reinvested.

Ok they are not the most glamourous but why should the fans who DO turn up take the shit for low attendances etc,alot of our fans have a unhealthy superiorority complex in my opinion

[Ardiles]

I was driving up the M6 with an ex-girlfriend years ago, and went past one of those brown & white tourist info signs that read 'Wigan Pier'.

Me (throw away comment): This must be the Road to Wigan Pier, then.
Ex: Er, yes.  (Gives look as if to say 'you feeling all right?')

The relationship didn't last a lot longer.

Back to Batch's point about not bankrolled vs bankrolled buying of success, I agree that the latter is an exaggeration of our own position.  But there comes a point where the exaggeration is so far exaggerated and removed from the other position (ie ours) that it's hardly the same thing.

I don't expect everyone to agree with my take on this, because it's fairly trenchant: Wigan simply shouldn't be in the league that they're in.  To me, there was nothing to be proud of during their ascent.  Won promotion to the Premiership?  Of course you did.  Which team wouldn't in similar circumstances?  What exactly are you supporting?  I honestly do not understand what motivates the supporters of a team whose success is guaranteed by an open cheque book.

[jimmy_onions]

West Broms ground bursting at the seems?  not likely

Can say I've analysed this in great deal, just using visual evidence...whenever I have seen west brom on motd, you dont often see many empty seats, if any...

[Peter Venkman]

Can say I've analysed this in great deal, just using visual evidence...whenever I have seen west brom on motd, you dont often see many empty seats, if any...

West Brom have a capacity of 26,500 and an average gate of 24,788 so that does seem to tie in that they are pretty packed every game. Thats running at about 94% capacity on average.

Wigan in comparison have an average of 70% capacity on average every game.

[70s townender]

ost  ok 4 numbers for 10% of winnings for tues  and score for sat ,, need xmas money , 27 kids 3 dogs 4 rabbits 6 girlfriends to feed and get pressies 4

[jonny72]

West Broms ground bursting at the seems?  not likely

I've always thought West Brom are a model football club that we should be looking to emulate. They've spent the last 10 years bouncing in and out of the PL, each time spending the extra money carefully and gradually building the club up.

Anyone having a go at Wigan for spending money they don't have is a hypocrite. We've been doing it for years and continue to, we just haven't been as successful as them at it. Our annual losses are about 20% of our turnover, nothing to be proud about. As long as someone is bankrolling it and you don't go bankrupt I don't see what the problem is.