Can’t They Count in Wigan?
It seems there’s a problem with maths in Wigan. The town teams throughout Lancashire have all released their season ticket sales figures without any issue.
Burnley have sold 13,500, which is around 500 more than us at Bolton. You’d expect a bigger disparity than that given they’re off the back of several Prem seasons but, still, it’s not too bad.
Preston have sold 11,000 – for a side that no longer seems to make an impression beyond mid-table in the Championship that’s at least respectable.
Blackburn have sold 7,500 – that’s a poor total. However this piece is not about the dingles.
Wigan Athletic have been bragging that their season ticket sales have increased on last season. Yet they don’t say by how many or what the overall total is.
“Every fibre in the bodies of Wigan Athletic fans and officials yearns to be comparable with Bolton Wanderers.”
It’s another interesting glimpse in to the psyche at the DW or whatever their ground is called these days. Every fibre in the bodies of Wigan Athletic fans and officials yearns to be comparable with Bolton Wanderers. When they read we’ve sold 13,000 season tickets it hurts them. When we get better average gates year in and year out irrespective of whether they are doing better than us on the pitch, it really irritates. It’s easier therefore not to reveal a figure and avoid the disobliging comparison.
It all comes from the same state of mind that has led to them spending 20 years or more signing players from us or trying to gazump us in the transfer market rather than having a sensible transfer strategy based on the needs of their squad and the money available.
A few years ago when their scruffy youth were dancing around Nat’s statue wishing we’d go bust we looked on with bemusement at their fanaticism. You have to wonder what they’d have done with themselves if we’d gone the same way as Bury. Their yardstick would have gone and their whole reason for being gone with it.
In football supporting terms they really are pitiful. If they created as much atmosphere at home games as they do heat and light on Twitter they’d be challenging for Europe every year.
There was a recent job advert placed for the vacant post of filling the costume of their mascot “Crusty the Pie” on Saturday afternoons. It’ll be interesting to see if any of their number can extract themselves from Twitter for long enough so as to make an application. Or perhaps they’ll be too busy to notice the advert due listening to The Buff podcast on the off-chance that Wigan get a mention. Then listening all over again in desperation just to make sure they didn’t miss a Wigan reference.
Blackburn, Preston and Burnley are worthy of being considered local rivals. Wigan?!