Wigan 4 Manchester City 0
Chelsea Pearce will have to rummage in her toy box for a new mascot for her dad after Beanie the horse's luck finally ran out.
And while she's in there she might also dig out her Tele-tubbies because they would have put up more of a fight than most of the Manchester City players based on this gutless performance.
This was the heaviest defeat of his 19-month reign as City manager and his side have collected a woeful five points from their last 17 Premiership away games.
The Guardian
Valencia takes advantage as City defence throws in the towel
For Manchester City fans the fourth goal was the final straw. As Wigan celebrated Luis Antonio Valencia's thumping strike - the Ecuadorian taking advantage of a defence that had all but thrown in the towel - the exits in the away end at the JJB jammed with supporters unable to get away quickly enough.
Wigan were the beneficiaries and they were strong enough to take advantage. Though Paul Jewell had pleaded for realism ahead of this game, asking supporters to "look what we are up against", not many clubs spent more than the £16m or so Wigan splashed in the summer. There was relief, therefore, that there had finally been some return on the investment.
The Mail on Sunday
Quick - fire Heskey puts Pearce on the rack
Stuart Pearce left behind the wreckage of his makeshift team's dismal performance knowing that he now faces another demanding chapter in his development as a leading manager.
Long faces on the City side of the JJB Stadium directors' box were accompanied by the disdain of 1,900 travelling fans and the slow, disconsolate walk a stunned Joey Barton took to the tunnel at the end.
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