Roll up, roll up, all aboard the emotional rollercoaster

So another season is upon us, got to say it feels a lifetime since that win over Bristol completed our season.

So much has happened in the last three months, but things on the good ship Wigan Athletic seem relatively calm for the first summer in a couple of seasons.

The ownership has completed their deep dive in to our the terrible state that our finances were left in after Phoenix departed and for the first time in two seasons we’ve been able to pay a transfer fee for a player.

A budget that is mid-table will test the top six aspirations of the owners but there can be no doubting that we’re in a far better place at the moment than when Danson and co found us.

The big earners from the Phoenix era have all moved on now, saving a big percentage of that budget. The only one of those signings to stay is Jason Kerr who in signing his new contract arguably gave Shaun Maloney his biggest boost of the season.

There were departures obviously, most notably Stephen Humphreys who Maloney had revealed had been looking to leave since January and Jordan Jones. At the time of writing neither player has a club, which with the EFL season beginning on Saturday seems a bit strange to say the least.

Maybe the wages we were offering weren’t as bad as suggested after all?

Latics have leant in heavily to the loan market with a number of exciting Premier League talent arriving on season long loans. Including a return for Luke Chambers, which feels ridiculous considering how well he performed for us in the latter half of last year – I thought he would find himself at a Championship club for him to return to us is an undoubtedly positive move.

The other new names are too numerous to mention but there is some serious talent in there that seems to point towards Latics under Shaun Maloney being seen as a good destination for Premier League clubs looking to find a home for their young talent to gain experience.

The movement hasn’t been limited to solely on the pitch matters either after reaching 70 years of age earlier this year Graham Barrow has decided to step back from his role as Assistant manager and the day to day involvement of football. Maloney spoke of a concerted effort to get Barrow to change his mind from the chairman to Roberto Martinez all trying to get him to change his mind. Which shows how crucial he has been to Maloney’s Wigan Athletic.

Hopefully a position can be found for Graham to continue his involvement with Wigan Athletic. But that departure opens the opportunity for Max Rogers to become Assistant manager alongside the arrivals of Tom Huddlestone, Shadab Iftikhar and Andy Lonergan to a new look coaching team.

How will Latics fare this season?

There’s still arguably a couple of positions that need filling ahead of the close of the transfer window with us looking particularly light up front. The squad will still be made up by our academy graduates but this time around they’ll have had a full twelve months under their belts.

Also if we look at those around us it will arguably be a stronger division than last season. Rotherham and Birmingham in particular have been spending like there’s no tomorrow in an effort to get back up to the Championship and those who missed out last season will be expected to come back stronger.

I think everyone would be happy with a play-off push but that still feels ambitious, but ambitious is the term the owners have used and what Shaun Maloney will strive towards.

If we’re not ambitious, we’re in the wrong game. I would be delighted with a place in the play-offs that helps to showcase another year in the re-birth of our football club. So on that note lets look forward to another nine months with the biggest emotional rollercoaster in the world

Sean Livesey

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