Following the news that Wigan Athletic had entered administration, The Athletic’s Adam Crafton suggested that the club’s staff, including the players and management, were ‘blindsided’ by the news regarding their financial situation.
Just a month after a change in ownership, the Latics find themselves in administration and on the receiving end of a 12-point deduction which will be applied at the end of the current season if they finish outside of the relegation places. If the club are to finish inside the relegation zone, then the penalty will be applied at the start of the 2020/21 season (as per BBC Sport).
Speaking on a recent edition of the Going Up, Going Down podcast, Crafton spoke of how the news came as a surprise to those within the Greater Manchester-based club. He said: “Most people who work for Wigan Athletic were blindsided by what happened [on Wednesday]. Certainly, the playing staff were stunned, the manager was stunned, everyone found out yesterday morning.
“It’s taken everyone by surprise because Wigan for so long under the Whelan ownership and then when Dave Whelan then sold to the IEC investment firm from the Far East, they were actually quite well run for the first 12-18 months, and then there was a takeover around 4-6 weeks ago and then within a month they’ve been put into administration, so it’s stunned everybody.”
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Since the restart, Wigan Athletic have won all three of their games and currently sit seven points outside of the relegation places (as per BBC Sport).
TIF Thoughts…
Wigan previously enjoyed eight seasons in England’s top-flight, winning the FA Cup back in 2013 with a victory over Manchester City at Wembley, however, they appear to have fallen on much harder times.
The Latics are now effectively five points adrift of safety and must now place a 12-point buffer between them and the drop zone to avoid dropping back down to League One, with that battle starting away at Brentford on Saturday afternoon.