A Word on Wigan Athletic

Wigan staged a stunning comeback against Arsenal today, scoring three times in the last 10 minutes to come from 2-0 down and claim a last gasp 3-2 victory. You can watch video highlights of it here.

In doing so they pretty much secured their Premier League status for another season – great news for everyone, because Wigan are one of the most aesthetically pleasing and the most pleasingly erratic side in the division. Today’s win means they have beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea – yet lost 5-0 home and away to the other member of the Big Four (Man Utd for the retarded amongst you).

That added to crushing defeats to the likes of Bolton and Portsmouth – and of course the 9-1 capitulation to Spurs – is why we love them. Here is a selection of their more comedic results:

15-08-2009    Premier League    Aston Villa     0 – 2    Wigan Athletic
18-08-2009    Premier League    Wigan Athletic     0 – 1    Wolverhampton Wanderers
22-08-2009    Premier League    Wigan Athletic     0 – 5    Manchester United
19-09-2009    Premier League    Arsenal     4 – 0    Wigan Athletic
26-09-2009    Premier League    Wigan Athletic     3 – 1    Chelsea
03-10-2009    Premier League    Hull City     2 – 1    Wigan Athletic
31-10-2009    Premier League    Portsmouth     4 – 0    Wigan Athletic
22-11-2009    Premier League    Tottenham Hotspur     9 – 1    Wigan Athletic
28-11-2009    Premier League    Wigan Athletic     1 – 0    Sunderland
30-12-2009    Premier League    Manchester United     5 – 0    Wigan Athletic
21-02-2010    Premier League    Wigan Athletic     0 – 3    Tottenham Hotspur
08-03-2010    Premier League    Wigan Athletic     1 – 0    Liverpool
13-03-2010    Premier League    Bolton Wanderers     4 – 0    Wigan Athletic
18-04-2010    Premier League    Wigan Athletic     3 – 2    Arsenal

What says more than anything is that there are so many games that fit under the category ‘Wigan’s funny results’. A quick run through of the above:

• They started the season as they meant to go on – an impressive 2-0 away victory at Villa on the opening day was immediately followed by a 1-0 defeat at home to Wolves. A sign of things to come…
• Then four days after that, a thumping 5-0 home defeat to Man Utd. It looked like they just couldn’t cope with the extra class of the Big Four. A 4-0 defeat to Arsenal next month added weight to that.
• Then Chelsea on Sept 26th – all expected a comprehensive defeat. But being Wigan they turned them over 3-1.
• Next game after beating Champions elect Chelsea – Hull City. Which of course they lose, 2-1.
• Then at the end of the October they faced Portsmouth, already looking to be doomed to the Championship. They lose 4-0 in what was comfortably Pompey’s biggest win of the season.
• 22nd November – they nearly equal the Premier League’s biggest ever defeat, losing a barely believable 9-1 to Spurs. And it could have been more.
• Then of course they go out and win their next game, 1-0 against a strong Sunderland side.
• The return match against Man U – did their win against Chelsea give them more confidence against the Big Four? Did it bollocks, they lose 5-0 again to make it 5-0 defeats home and away.
• But being Wigan that couldn’t be their highest aggregate deficit to anyone – in February they lose 3-0 to Spurs to make that 1-12 overall.
• Another Big Four game came against Liverpool in March – of course Wigan beat them too, 1-0.
• That was immediately followed up with a 4-0 defeat to struggling Bolton
• And now Arsenal, 2-0 down with 10 minutes to go, and a 3-2 win. That means they have beaten three of the Big Four – the other one they lost both games 5-0 to…

That is both incredible and really funny. And to add to that, they have a manager who is on record saying he prefers to lose playing nice football than win playing ugly. Antiquated and brilliant.

What’s more, they are Chelsea’s opponents on the last day of the season – they’ve already had an influence on the destination of the title (United have won 6 points from them [and plus 10 goals] whereas Chelsea have won none, so far) and they could yet determine where it goes.

Wigan Athletic – not only everyone’s second favourite Premier League team, but potentially one of the most influential…