From 2005 to 2013, Wigan were a standard member of the Premier League. Although they struggled for survival all those years (highest success 10th place), it was nice to watch the club from a town of 100,000 inhabitants located exactly midway between Manchester and Liverpool. The question is whether we will ever see the blue and whites in the top flight again, they are currently in the third tier, but this Monday Wigan fans will at least briefly remember what it is like to play against the best English clubs. From 23.15 PM EAT, the famous Manchester United will be their guests, in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.In the previous two rounds, Wigan eliminated lower leaguers Exeter (2-0) and York City (1-0), and now the draw sent United to their feet. For the Red Devils, this will be the first match in that competition this season, as they were free in the first two rounds.Last year, Wigan were on the brink of disaster. They were relegated from the Championship, owed a huge amount of money to their employees and, the biggest ‘sin,’ to the state in taxes. The club was on the verge of bankruptcy shutdown, but then businessman Mike Danson stepped in and saved the club from his hometown. He paid back all the money owed, paid the taxes and Wigan survived.He was not the same: Ten Hag lifts the lid on Van de Beek’s anonymous exitEventually, they were penalized for the late payments and started the season with eight points deducted. That’s why the Latics now sit closer to the relegation zone in League One and are only thinking about how not to drop to the fourth rank.”We were in an impossible situation. I remember driving to the clubhouse every day, thinking this might be my last day at work. We owed too much money and there was no way we were going to pay it off. Bankruptcy was a real danger, every day we were waiting for it to be made official. We were so close to shutting down,” said Wigan coach Sean Maloney, a former player of that club, recalling the day when the new management arrived:”I’ll never forget the day I heard the news that Mike Danson was buying the club. I was overjoyed, because it meant 200 people saved their jobs. The footballers already got their salaries that evening, the tax was paid, as well as the companies that did business for Wigan”.Ten years ago, Maloney sent a cross from the corner and hit Ben Watson for the winning goal in the FA Cup final against Manchester City, which gave Wigan their first major trophy in the showcases. Ten years later the former Scotland international agreed to be Wigan’s chief of staff despite being aware that he would not be paid for it.”I felt a connection to Wigan and I tried my best to create an environment where we could win. However, every time the debt payment deadline was missed, points would be deducted from us. Those were terrible blows and it was not possible to work normally in those conditions”.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Maloney, however, believes Wigan can now return to their former glory under new management. First to win survival in League 1, and then follow in Bournemouth’s steps.”Bournemouth is a case we have to learn from. They started the 2008/2009 season with a 17-point deficit in League Two. With Eddie Howe on the bench, they managed to win survival that year, and then they built a club that is now in the Premier League. It is also necessary for us to survive this season, so that we start building something big. If we had not been deprived of those eight points, if we had not had sanctions on transfers, it would have been easier for us. Any club that would survive in the league in this situation could say they did something great,” Maloney concluded.𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 (𝗛) ⏳Take it away, Gaffer 😍#wafc 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/NM7dkhukKh— Wigan Athletic (@LaticsOfficial) January 8, 2024 Wigan’s match with Manchester United comes as a reward and for fans a treat to enjoy a match with one of the biggest English clubs. Long gone are the days when players like Emile Heskey, Marcus Bent or Charles N’Zogbia wore the blue and white jersey, everyone is aware that the 18th-ranked third division team does not have much of a chance against the Red Devils. Of course, this does not mean that Steven Sessegnon, Callum Lang, Callum McManaman, Thelo Aasgaard, Charlie Wyke and their teammates will not try to show themselves in the best possible light.This will be the first duel between Wigan and United since January 2017. Then, also in the FA Cup, but at Old Trafford, Manchester triumphed 4-0. The last time the Red Devils visited Wigan in a competitive game was on January 1, 2013, in the Premier League. Then, it was also 4-0 for the former champion of Europe.FA CUP1/32 FINALSSundayShrewsbury – Wrexham 0-1 (0-0)/O’Connor 75/West Ham – Bristol City 1-1 (1-0)/Bowen 4 – Conway 61/WBA – Aldershot 4-1 (3-0)/Chalobah 7, Malcolm 15, Dike 27, Fellows 87 – Bray 95/Peterborough – Leeds 0-3 (0-1)/Ampadu 34, 90, Banford 47/Luton – Bolton 0-0Man.City – Huddersfield 5-0 (2-0)/Foden 33, 65, Alvarez 37, Jackson (og) 58, Doku 74/Nott.Forest – Blackpool 2-2 (1-2)/Dominquez 39, Gibbs-White 56 – Gabriel 25, Morgan 27/Arsenal – Liverpool 0-2 (0-0)/Kiwior (og) 80, Diaz 90+5/Monday23:15: (9.50) Wigan (5.70) Man.Utd. (1.25)***odds are subject to change***
