Sky Bet League One
Saturday 5th May 2018
Wigan Athletic are back in the Championship - and as champions!
History repeated itself today at the Keepmoat Stadium as the proverbial yo-yo club in the English Football League in recent seasons wrapped up the League One title for the second time in three years, with a 1-0 win at Doncaster Rovers.
The Latics looked a big strong and, at times, brutish side and it'll be interesting to see if the vastly underrated Paul Cook can finally bring some long-awaited consolidation to the DW Stadium in 2018/19, after all the recent yo-yo-ing.
It seems bizarre that just shy of five years ago, I was watching the Latics at Wembley - beating Man City in the FA Cup Final and playing a stylish brand of 'tippy tappy' football under Roberto Martinez, yet now they've opted for a totally different approach and it's absolutely worked 100%.
Cook deserves a crack at managing in the Championship for the first time, having sealed his third divisional title in five years, and the Latics look better equipped than they were two years ago when they won promotion then spectacularly ballsed it up and got relegated again.
As for Donny, they could do a lot worse than to have a look at Wigan's performance today and try to replicate a similar style, blueprint and identity next season - irrespective of whatever budget Darren Ferguson gets given.
Ferguson was actually absent from the sidelines due to his dad, Sir Alex, requiring emergency surgery following a brain haemorrhage so his assistant, Gavin Strachan, took charge instead.
Despite all the fanfare and what was riding on the result, the game itself wasn't spectacular and the opening 25 minutes consisted of not a lot, despite a great party atmosphere amongst the 4,000+ visiting fans.
The only time the party-like mood got deflated was when one of Donny's jobsworth stewards confiscated the fans' inflatable ball, but it was soon returned by a 'baldy-looking bouncer' who was a more tubby version of Grant Mitchell!
On the pitch, young Rovers full-back Danny Amos fell victim to some old fashioned shit house tricks inside the opening 30 seconds when he sustained an over-the-top knock on the ankle inflicted by Gavin Massey.
Amos has only made a handful of first team outings and this incident could have put quite easily forced him into his shell a bit, but he didn't wimp about and instead shook off his knock, before producing a decent display which only goes to underline his potential.
Wigan took around half-an-hour or so to get into their groove and once they did, they always looked the more likely to score first, despite Donny having the occasional half-chance.
Sam Morsy went close for the Latics before Will Grigg left Donny's defence terrified with a clever bit of movement and footwork inside the area just prior to half-time, but Marko Marosi was equal to his attempt at an opener.
The newly-crowned League One champions began in the ascendancy in the second half and Grigg went close twice more - forcing his Slovakian counterpart into a good low save on one occasion.
Rovers' Alfie Beestin nearly got on the end of a glorious ball across the danger zone by team-mate John Marquis as the hosts threatened an opener and Michael Jacobs saw a header bundled away from danger at point-blank range a few minutes later at the other end.
The Latics' travelling army began to chant 'If we score, we're on the pitch' and it wasn't long before they were in full-voice belting out a more familiar signature tune about one of their club favourites.
Grigg (well who else was it going to be?) pierced the high-line Rovers were playing defensively to get on the end of a long ball and in a one-on-one he made no mistake as he slotted past Marosi - sparking a pyro party in the away end.
That was enough to give Wigan the title, but there were a couple of 'shit yourself' moments in the closing stages - not least for Paul Cook when a squirrel got on the pitch and crept to within about two yards of him before he noticed!
The squirrel clearly wasn't a Rovers supporter as the first thing it did was make a forward run, which is something the team haven't done for the vast majority of the last five games.
Not long after the post-match lap of honour, pitch invasions and trophy parade, Donny announced their released list and whilst it's no indicator of what the budget will or won't be, you suspect that plenty of summer signings are needed if a play-off push is going to be a realistic target for next season.
Finally, the man on the Keepmoat microphone, Jonathan Heath, came in for some criticism following the recent game against Blackburn Rovers for his constant babbling to away fans to 'stay off the pitch' when it was always going to fall on deaf ears.
Today, the way he handled things was excellent in going on the pitch and up to visiting fans to address them directly ahead of the trophy presentation, rather than just being an anonymous voice over a PA system. Credit where it's due as this 'softly, softly' approach was well-received by the majority.
Wigan Athletic are back in the Championship - and as champions!
 |
| No pyro, no party for the Wigan fans! |
History repeated itself today at the Keepmoat Stadium as the proverbial yo-yo club in the English Football League in recent seasons wrapped up the League One title for the second time in three years, with a 1-0 win at Doncaster Rovers.
The Latics looked a big strong and, at times, brutish side and it'll be interesting to see if the vastly underrated Paul Cook can finally bring some long-awaited consolidation to the DW Stadium in 2018/19, after all the recent yo-yo-ing.
It seems bizarre that just shy of five years ago, I was watching the Latics at Wembley - beating Man City in the FA Cup Final and playing a stylish brand of 'tippy tappy' football under Roberto Martinez, yet now they've opted for a totally different approach and it's absolutely worked 100%.
 |
| A Bank Holiday weekend with good weather. What's going on? |
Cook deserves a crack at managing in the Championship for the first time, having sealed his third divisional title in five years, and the Latics look better equipped than they were two years ago when they won promotion then spectacularly ballsed it up and got relegated again.
As for Donny, they could do a lot worse than to have a look at Wigan's performance today and try to replicate a similar style, blueprint and identity next season - irrespective of whatever budget Darren Ferguson gets given.
Ferguson was actually absent from the sidelines due to his dad, Sir Alex, requiring emergency surgery following a brain haemorrhage so his assistant, Gavin Strachan, took charge instead.
 |
| The Keepmoat pitch is looking great for this time of year |
Despite all the fanfare and what was riding on the result, the game itself wasn't spectacular and the opening 25 minutes consisted of not a lot, despite a great party atmosphere amongst the 4,000+ visiting fans.
The only time the party-like mood got deflated was when one of Donny's jobsworth stewards confiscated the fans' inflatable ball, but it was soon returned by a 'baldy-looking bouncer' who was a more tubby version of Grant Mitchell!
On the pitch, young Rovers full-back Danny Amos fell victim to some old fashioned shit house tricks inside the opening 30 seconds when he sustained an over-the-top knock on the ankle inflicted by Gavin Massey.
 |
| Danny Amos, taking a throw, had a good game |
Amos has only made a handful of first team outings and this incident could have put quite easily forced him into his shell a bit, but he didn't wimp about and instead shook off his knock, before producing a decent display which only goes to underline his potential.
Wigan took around half-an-hour or so to get into their groove and once they did, they always looked the more likely to score first, despite Donny having the occasional half-chance.
Sam Morsy went close for the Latics before Will Grigg left Donny's defence terrified with a clever bit of movement and footwork inside the area just prior to half-time, but Marko Marosi was equal to his attempt at an opener.
 |
| Rovers players on the post-game lap of honour |
The newly-crowned League One champions began in the ascendancy in the second half and Grigg went close twice more - forcing his Slovakian counterpart into a good low save on one occasion.
Rovers' Alfie Beestin nearly got on the end of a glorious ball across the danger zone by team-mate John Marquis as the hosts threatened an opener and Michael Jacobs saw a header bundled away from danger at point-blank range a few minutes later at the other end.
The Latics' travelling army began to chant 'If we score, we're on the pitch' and it wasn't long before they were in full-voice belting out a more familiar signature tune about one of their club favourites.
Grigg (well who else was it going to be?) pierced the high-line Rovers were playing defensively to get on the end of a long ball and in a one-on-one he made no mistake as he slotted past Marosi - sparking a pyro party in the away end.
That was enough to give Wigan the title, but there were a couple of 'shit yourself' moments in the closing stages - not least for Paul Cook when a squirrel got on the pitch and crept to within about two yards of him before he noticed!
 |
| No squirrel to be seen here, but a few tails on the pitch at the final whistle... |
The squirrel clearly wasn't a Rovers supporter as the first thing it did was make a forward run, which is something the team haven't done for the vast majority of the last five games.
Not long after the post-match lap of honour, pitch invasions and trophy parade, Donny announced their released list and whilst it's no indicator of what the budget will or won't be, you suspect that plenty of summer signings are needed if a play-off push is going to be a realistic target for next season.
Finally, the man on the Keepmoat microphone, Jonathan Heath, came in for some criticism following the recent game against Blackburn Rovers for his constant babbling to away fans to 'stay off the pitch' when it was always going to fall on deaf ears.
 |
| The Latics are League One champions - again! |
Today, the way he handled things was excellent in going on the pitch and up to visiting fans to address them directly ahead of the trophy presentation, rather than just being an anonymous voice over a PA system. Credit where it's due as this 'softly, softly' approach was well-received by the majority.
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