League One

Wigan Athletic: Dr Tom Markham discusses the new owners’ plans

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Image for Wigan Athletic: Dr Tom Markham discusses the new owners’ plans

Dr Tom Markham, a non-executive director at Wigan Athletic and one of the men behind Football Manager, has been speaking on the latest edition of The Price of Football podcast about the Latics’ takeover.

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An easy one to kick off our quiz on the 2020 summer transfer window in the EFL, which player left Birmingham City to join Borussia Dortmund?

Wigan are now owned by Phoenix 2021 Limited, and in their first statement released to the public, they said some promising things regarding the Latics.

Dr Markham spent some time on the podcast discussing Phoenix 2021 Limited’s ambitions and potential plans for the club.

He said: “I think having got to know the owners quite well over the last few months, their heart is in the right place, and they really do want to restore the club to past glories and where they should be, really.

“A few people from the new ownership group have spoken publicly, and these guys want to do everything the right way; they want to build [the] club up.

“It’s going to be focused around the academy. There will be recruitment, but not crazy recruitment.

“We’ve seen some very wealthy owners go into League One, and in particular recently, one of whom was at the DW yesterday, but I’d say stability, yes; extravagant spending, no.”

Are you excited about the future?

Yes, it looks good

Yes, it looks good

No, I am worried

No, I am worried

TIF Thoughts on Wigan’s potential plans…

This might disappoint a few Wigan fans who were expecting huge sums of money to be invested, but this is probably a much more sensible way of running the club rather than coming in and blowing vast amounts of money.

The owners are clearly ambitious, though, and you would think eventually they want the Latics back in the Premier League, judging by Dr Markham’s comment on restoring the club to past glories.

However, the first aim must be survival in League One with Wigan one point clear of the relegation zone after a 2-1 win over Sunderland.

You would think that if the Latics stay up this season, then that would give Phoenix 2021 Limited the perfect platform to build on going into next season.

In other news: ‘I spotted something at Companies House’ – Finance expert drops claim after Wigan takeover

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