Heart and Soul

How’s everyone’s nerves? Shot? Yeah mine too.

In the nearly three weeks since we entered administration I think I’ve encountered every emotion possible and following Saturday’s last minute equaliser for Charlton I felt as deflated as I have throughout this. As the clock ticked to 90+2 we were four minutes away from picking up an absolutely vital three points that if not mathematically confirming it would have gone a huge way to confirming our Championship status for another season (dependent on still having a Wigan Athletic next season)

As it was a momentary lapse was enough to turn everything on its head again and leaving our destiny out of our hands. We should have known it wasn’t going to be a straightforward weekend on Friday evening.

As many of us joined a zoom call with the Supporters Club we found out that West Brom had fallen to defeat against Huddersfield. Meaning that Huddersfield who looked dead and buried a couple of weeks ago were safe and after Brentford failed to beat Stoke on Saturday Fulham would once again have a sniff of automatic promotion.

Gee – how much worse could it get? Well if we didn’t get a draw in the Hull v Luton game a lot more – oh and it did cheers Kazenga LuaLua.

So the permutations are simple for Wednesday night, not as simple as we would have liked but simple all the same. First and foremost Paul Cook’s side must win on Wednesday. Not an easy task when their opponents are a Fulham side who score for fun and still have a slight chance of automatic promotion. Elsewhere Latics need either Luton or Charlton to drop points as well as Latics picking up full points. By no means impossible, unlikely – maybe but Latics deal in the unlikely.

The lads tired visibly in the second half against Charlton and it was a backs against the wall effort for a lot of the match, how many of those lads will be ready for one last push on Wednesday evening? Will we see some changes that may disrupt the flow of the partnerships across the pitch but could add some much needed fresh legs.

Will Kieffer Moore – such a big part of all of the sides great work since the resumption of the league feature? Even with the rumoured bid from QPR being accepted at the start of the week? Or will Joe Garner who scored some crucial goals last season get a chance to become the hero?

There are so many variables to Wednesday night and I literally have no idea how it will go, we’ve been written off so many times this season but have bounced back each time. Be that being bottom of the league in December, going in to administration or after drawing with Charlton on Saturday yet we’re still in there fighting.

We’re not dead yet, not by a long way. My heart tells me we’ve a chance and that all the amazing goodwill and energy generated to save the club over the last three weeks will get us over the finishing line, my head is slightly more pessimistic but then it would be a very dull world if head ruled heart.

Of course survival in the Championship is only one part of the current strange world of Wigan Athletic, survival of our football club trumps that and if it meant we would have a club to support next season I would be happily looking forward to trips to Portman Road, Bloomfield Road and the Stadium of Light. Whatever shape next season takes and whenever I can go and watch my club I just want to be in the Springfield Stand at 3pm on a Saturday being able to watch a team play league football in the blue and white stripes of Wigan Athletic.

That has to be our overriding focus and on that score we got more information on Friday night as the aforementioned Supporters Club hosted their ‘Night In’ event with Jonthan Jackson, Paul Stanley, the increasingly impressive Lisa Nandy and a whole host of former players to discuss what was happening, what had happened and what the next few weeks may look like.

Paul Stanley who has been more visible than Gerald Krasner of late gave an important update and clarified a few things whilst also offering hope for the future. We’ve got till Wednesday until the official marketing period is over with and we should then have someone who would move to preferred bidder status.

Wednesday could well be one of the biggest days in the history of Wigan Athletic and although there are a lot of reasons to be down now as Paul Cook quite rightly said on the pitch isn’t one of the reasons. Let’s put all our focus in to supporting Paul and the rest of the lads (remotely) and see where they can take us.

They’ve been written off before as have Wigan Athletic but that’s never stopped us before, if we channel the spirit of the FA Cup win over Man City with the heart of the Sheffield United relegation decider and the guile of the side that sent down West Ham we’ve a real chance.

It’s going to be a difficult few weeks if not months and we’ve a very real battle on for the future of Wigan Athletic but let’s put all that to one side and get ourselves up for Wednesday night, we may not be in the Stadium but we’re with the lads in heart and soul.

Sean Livesey

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