At this time, seven years ago, Wigan Athletic were still basking in the bright silver limelight cast by their newly-acquired FA Cup trophy.
Their shock 1-0 victory over the champions of England had been one of the greatest final upsets in the history of the competition – with Ben Watson’s last-gasp header sealing the Latics’ first major accolade in 80 years and plunging the tiny Greater Manchester town into delirium.
The celebrations, quite rightly, went on for weeks.
Locals knew how to throw a football party. By 2013, scenes of intense jubilation among supporters had become something of a semi-common occurrence.
Wigan, traditionally known as a rugby league town, had succumbed to football fever during their epic journey to the top tier in the noughties – and their FA Cup triumph ensured the club would forever hold a place in the history books.
But today, Wigan fans aren’t dreaming of silverware. They’re not even thinking about winning the next match.
On July 1, news rolled in that the Latics had entered administration – with an imminent 12-point deduction from the EFL all set to send them bottom of the Championship.
A series of financial issues had been pushing the club to the brink for several months, and coronavirus was the final nudge needed to knock them off the cliff.
Wigan’s money woes were well-known, but the announcement still came as something of a shock to many in the footballing world.
Only last month, Hong Kong businessman Wai Kay Au Yeung, of Next Leader Fund (NLF), took full control of the club – with executive chairman Darren Royal claiming this would “negate some of the immediate” damages caused by the pandemic.
The owners passed the EFL’s test and takeover process – which ascertains whether the buyer can financially support a club.
But within weeks, the survival of Wigan Athletic has been left on a knife edge.
Board members are dealing with administrators at Begbies Traynor as we speak – scrambling to find interested parties to save the side.
David Sharpe, Paul Sharpe and David Whelan holding FA Cup / Wikipedia
Wigan enjoyed a fairytale rise to the golden land of the Premier League under former owner Dave Whelan, with the tactical shrewdness of manager Paul Jewell fuelling the firepower of strikers Nathan Ellington and Jason Roberts to propel the Latics into the Premier League.
Defying expectations to finish 10th in their debut season, Wigan would remain part of British football’s 20 elite clubs for eight seasons – stunning City in 2013 to lift the FA Cup against all odds and competing in Europe the following year as a result.
The Latics have yo-yo’ed between the second and third rung of the EFL in the past decade, with Whelan stepping down as owner in 2015 and handing the reins to his grandson, David Sharpe.
International Entertainment Corporation bought the club in 2018, but sold off their shares to NLF a little over one month ago.
Wigan’s recent past has been remarkable, but for now, their future appears uncertain.
Fans will be under no illusions as to the gravity of the situation, with the tragic plight of not-too-distant neighbours, Bury, still fresh in the minds of football followers across the country.
Nonetheless, as history has taught us, these next few weeks will see rivalries set aside to provide Wigan with the support they need.
The whole of Greater Manchester – even Manchester City fans who had their hearts broken by the bulge of the net at Wembley in 2013 – will be behind them.
Sport
Streamer AngryGinge ‘arrested and banned’ from Silvestone at the British GP
Danny Jones
Popular Manc influencer, ‘AngryGinge’, was arrested, fined and ultimately banned from Silverstone at this year’s British GP.
The Salford-born Twitch streamer, YouTuber and social media personality (real name Morgan Burtwhistle) was detained at the circuit after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Ginge recently starred in Soccer Aid 2025 and is a well-known face both on the internet and in the sporting world, regularly working in and around football, and is an avid Manchester United – even featuring in the club’s third kit launch video last year.
The 23-year-old and two other fellow streamers, ‘Chazza’ and ‘Samham’, were accused of criminal damage after sitting in an F1 car whilst recording around the Silverstone complex.
AngryGinge returned to streaming after being detained by police for 15 hours
The streamer and several friends were arrested for climbing into a display F1 car at the British Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/WDSYb6MVtj
“On Friday, July 4, NP received a report that a classic Formula 1 car on display at Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix event had sustained several thousands of pounds worth of damage, which was alleged to have been caused by someone accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle.
“Officers carried out initial inquiries, and suspects were identified. Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody.
“Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident, all three men were released with no further action.”
Burtwhistle went into more detail on the incident on socials, explaining that the trio were taken away in handcuffs and “locked up” for several hours – 15 hours, according to SamHam (Samuel Imie).
All three individuals deny causing any damage to the racecar, even despite users sharing clips from the livestream footage captured for the Red Bull online Content on the day that many argue incriminates them, or at least sounds like it – we’ll let you watch and decide for yourselves.
Ginge himself went on to detail that ridculousness of the situation, explaining how he was effectively detained for watching someone else climb into the vehicle.
He’ll be dining out in this one for some time, you can be sure of that.
He’s literally a brands dream isn’t he 😂 so quick and smart with it
Featured Images — Soccer Aid/angryginge13 (screenshot via Twitch)/Samham (via X)
Sport
Boxing legend Ricky Hatton is coming out of retirement after more than a decade
Danny Jones
Mancunian and British boxing legend Ricky Hatton MBE is coming out of retirement after more than a decade for his first competitive fight in 13 long years.
This is sure to be one to watch.
The Stockport-born and Hattersley-raised fighter first retired back in 2011, but did flirt with a comeback a year later in what turned out to be a one-off fight and defeat to 35-year-old Ukrainian welterweight, Vyacheslav Senchenko.
‘Hitman’ Hatton also got back in the ring for an exhibition match against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022, enduring eight two-minute rounds after a decade away from fighting, but now he’ll be undertaking an official fight over in the United Arab Emirates.
Lacing up his gloves at 46 years old, Hatton will be facing fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah (same age), who was the first professional boxer in the UAE.
The ‘Pride of Hyde’ may have been out of the competitive sporting sphere for a while, but he’s still remained an active figure in the boxing world.
In addition to training his son, Campbell, who has followed in his father’s fighting footsteps, Hatton has continued to coach other young boxing talents from his gym in Tameside, including John Hedges and Chloe Watson.
Campbell, 24, has won 14 of his 16 fights, losing just twice since he began in 2021.
Meanwhile, his dad – who still boasts a record of 45 victories from 48 matches, 32 of which were by knockout – will be once again focusing on getting himself back in fighting shape for the Dubai bout.
The local athlete has done plenty to dispel the old jabs of ‘Ricky Fatton’ in recent times, mind you, having taken his talents as a once-promising young footballer to play in the Manchester Remembers charity match, as well as the aforementioned Barrera exhibition.
Set for this winter, Ricky Hatton will face fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah in a middleweight contest on Friday, 2 December, telling national media via video call in the recent press conference that confirmed he would be coming out of retirement: “What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Al Dah added: “It will be a true fight, true action. And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight. The place will be sold out, and it will be watched around the world.”
Will those Haymakers still hit like they used to? Well shall see before the end of the year.
The Manc -
1st July 2020 
