Not a fit for Wigan Athletic, then, now indeed ever

Two months too late but finally the decision that should have been made has been made.

Embarrassing that it took a 6-1 mauling to do it. Rather than any sort of recognition of the malaise we’ve found ourselves in for the majority of this season.

A club legend last season who hadn’t seen us in the relegation zone and with what many consider an inferior squad was sacked in a brutal fashion by the club.

Which made the fact that they wouldn’t even consider moving on from Lowe even more inexplicable.

In the end the angry scenes witnessed at both Doncaster and yesterday in Peterborough forced the club to act.

They had stuck their neck on the line to appoint him and made such a big thing of the ‘new era’ stuff that it must have been difficult to see what everyone else could see.

Ryan Lowe was not a fit for Wigan Athletic football club. Not now, not before, not ever.

After the way he’s conducted himself this season I doubt he’ll be a fit for any other football club anytime soon.

It’s something to consider a character as divisive as Lowe when over the last fifteen years we’ve had the likes of Coyle, Joyce, Toure, Sheridan and Malky Mackay in charge.

Lowe beats all of them hands down.

‘Mr Not My Fault’ (credit the artist Tat) spent his time either belittling the supporters of this great club or the players representing this club.

How many references to our small support, to our league status, to our lack of success in recent years could one man make.

Let alone arguing with supporters in the stands at regular home matches since the Autumn.

The vibe with Lowe throughout his tenure was ‘I’ve better things to do with my time’ and that Wigan Athletic, sorry ‘Atletic’ were lucky that he had decided to come and do us a favour.

There wasn’t space in our football club for the ego of Ryan Lowe. His appointment and the subsequent eleven months in charge will go down as some of the worst in the modern history of Wigan Athletic.

Talented players cast aside because they didn’t fit with some unworkable formation that gained us no results, instead of adapting his system or formation to the players he had he instead decided our failures were on the players.

They weren’t following his instructions, and if the supporters didn’t like it? Well they were a ‘small’ number who couldn’t be on the same level as the footballing genius that is Ryan Lowe.

But the warning signs were there.

From Bury fans, from Plymouth fans and most inexplicably from Preston fans. I imagine the supporters of all of those clubs were happy with their league positions under Lowe.

Indeed Preston who had decent finishes under Lowe, but scratch below the surface and the digs, the criticism, the avoidance of responsibility were all there long before he joined Wigan Athletic.

I’ve never felt such a discontent with the club as I have done this season and that starts with the manager.

But he’s not the only one to blame, the board of Wigan Athletic take a huge responsibility for this monumental mess we find ourselves in.

There are serious questions to be asked of the club over the next few weeks.

First needs to be what kind of recruitment process we went through last year.

On paper Lowe was a strong candidate, but did we have the players for his rigid wing back system, had we looked in to his character? It isn’t enough for him to have previous connections to some of the staff in the club.

Secondly why when even a blind ostrich could see the direction of travel over the last month did the board give the head coach their 100% backing just a week ago. Wasting the month to try and get a new manager in and as such wasting the transfer window.

Thirdly and for me more importantly, what kind of values do we want to represent our football club. The last manager in my eyes did not align with those values. The board need to get this next decision right or the tide of discontent heading their way will turn in to a tsunami.

I hold no personal grudges against those running our club, they are doing a difficult job in a thankless industry. They are learning on the job and unfortunately that lack of experience has shown in a dramatic fashion this season

The issues on the pitch only arise when you’re losing but they exacerbate the issues off the pitch that people may prefer to overlook in the good times.

As I’ve said many times before Wigan Athletic is a club that has been hollowed out over the last six years. Two near death experiences, two relegations and various points deductions mean this club is unrecognisable from what it was in 2019.

That is part of the reason of that anger now and not all of it can be aimed at the board and owner. There are no quick fixes and our days of spending our way out of trouble are long gone.

But nonetheless that’s why we need a manager who understands these challenges. Our budget may not match the top of the division but it will still be larger than 50% of this league. The team we have simply should not be propping up the division.

It’s time for those players to now come out and prove me and the many who have continuously backed them correct. Prove to us that our faith in you hasn’t been misplaced.

Leave your all on that pitch for Graham Barrow (and Glenn Whelan) I can’t speak for Whelan but Barrow bleeds blue and white, if you’re not giving your all for that man then our faith in you has been misplaced and you’re as culpable as the head coach who left with his tail between his legs.

For us on the terraces. Channel the anger on Tuesday. Get down to that cavernous ground we unfortunately call home and get behind that 11 that take to the pitch, get behind Graham Barrow and get behind our Wigan Athletic.

It isn’t too late to save this season, I believe these players are good enough. Now it’s time to show it.

Sean Livesey

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