This is a club, though, that still retains a homely charm, despite luxuriating in the largesse of Whelan, its benefactor. In June, the JJB Stadium hosts a beer and brass band day; in August, English football’s elite arrive. Only a decade on from the days when they were struggling to stay in the Football League, less than 27 years after gaining League status, it could hardly be any other way.
After the lap of honour was done and the adulation lapped up, the players were treated to dinner in the JJB Stadium’s Italian restaurant. The strains of That’s Amore drifting through the corridors were appropriate for Whelan has developed a profound affection for the club he bought after rejecting an offer to take over at Old Trafford 16 years ago.
“Today was supreme,” he said. “Our promotion must give every Football League club hope that they can match what Wigan have done.”
The cynical response is that give most of them £65 million and they probably could, yet Wigan are little changed from the side that won promotion to the second tier two years ago, which is a tribute to Jewell. They brimmed with desire and urgency yesterday and battered Reading in the first 20 minutes. After 18 they were ahead, Jason Roberts using his strength to reach the byline and cross for Lee McCulloch, who had a simple task from close range.
Reading wilted; their opponents, coursed with energy and expectancy, added a second three minutes later, Roberts running clear to slide the ball in. The second goal jerked Reading out of what seemed to be a nervous paralysis. Needing to win to have a chance of making the play-offs, they pressed forward after the break and enjoyed the bulk of possession.
With five minutes left, though, all the lingering anxiety vanished as Nathan Ellington’s header sealed victory. Steve Sidwell scored for Reading in injury time, but it was too late to avert their third successive defeat.
The generosity of Reading’s own benefactor, John Madejski, has built them a stadium and a formidable team, but the giant leap Wigan have made will elude them for another 12 months at least. Sidwell is certainly a Premiership-calibre player but Steve Coppell, the manager, said: “I don’t think too many people will be busting a gut to sign my players,” he said, as downbeat as Wigan were delirious.
Whelan eager to stop Jewell thieves
The remarkable rise of Wigan Athletic to the Premiership
“WE’RE GOING INTO the land of the unknown as far as Wigan’s concerned,” Paul Jewell, the Wigan Athletic manager, said yesterday. In one sense, Wigan will be in the territory of the familiar. After toiling for decades in quiet obscurity, they will lock horns with the famous names of the English game next season after a 3-1 win over Reading yesterday meant Wigan beat Ipswich Town to finish second in the Coca-Cola Championship and win promotion to the Barclays Premiership.
Promoted to the Football League in 1978, in danger of returning to non-league football a decade ago, the rise has been rapid and Jewell has led Wigan to two promotions since taking charge in 2001. “I don’t think anyone would have seen us in the Premiership in four seasons. I just thought we needed to get out of the [old] second division. The club has grown dramatically,” he said.
“We’ll have to improve the squad, no doubt. You’ve got to spend wisely or you get the sack. It’ll be a very difficult season but one to look forward to. Called big spenders in the Football League, we’ll probably be known as the paupers in the Premiership.” Hardly. Dave Whelan, the chairman, said yesterday that he is prepared to spend £25 million on new players, in addition to the £65 million he has already ploughed into the club.
Although they will be the smallest Premiership club since Barnsley and have struggled to attract fans to the 25,000-capacity JJB Stadium, with average attendances this season of about 11,000, Whelan’s riches mean they are financially-secure and unlikely to lose their biggest assets, Jason Roberts and Nathan Ellington, the strikers who scored yesterday to take their joint tally to 45 in the league this term.
Jewell is expected to sign a new contract soon. “He’ll be here as long as one of the top six clubs doesn’t come in for him. There’s only six clubs in the land could get him. He’s just damn good, a basic no-frills Liverpudlian,” Whelan said. He added that West Bromwich Albion wanted to approach Jewell about their managerial vacancy last year, but he told Jeremy Peace, the chairman, that there was no point because they would not be able to afford Jewell’s wages. “I’ll let him choose how long he wants his contract for. If he wants to stay for another five years I’ll clap my hands,” Whelan said.
Ipswich, who drew 1-1 with Brighton & Hove Albion, were condemned to the play-offs, where they face West Ham United at Upton Park on Saturday in the first leg. “Everyone connected with Ipswich is disappointed because we’ve all thought about little else for the past few days and woke up this morning praying that it might be our day. It wasn’t, and I’d like to send congratulations to Wigan,” David Sheepshanks, the Ipswich chairman, said. “The season is about 46 games and they have won by rights. We now have to make sure we use our experience in the play-offs, make it count and go and join them.”
Darren Currie, the Ipswich midfield player, said: “We have to pick ourselves up and go again. [Wigan’s score] filtered through to the lads quite early. We’ve fallen into the play-offs rather than climbing into them, so there is an element of disappointment. We will have to play better than we did today to have a chance.”
WEALTH OF DIFFERENCE
BY SECURING AUTOMATIC promotion to the Premiership, Wigan Athletic have added about £25 million to their top line next season. That is the figure used by industry analysts to quantify the impact of being among the elite 20 who share the spoils of a £1 billion television deal and enjoy a boom at the turnstiles and in the club shop. The real amount could be less given that the promoted teams are not the biggest media draws and clubs receive part of their TV income based on appearances. This figure has furthermore halved to about £300,000 per game under the new Sky contract.
ASHLING O’CONNOR