Wigan’s time in the Premier League

At the final whistle of yesterday’s game between Arsenal and Wigan Athletic, the dejected Latics got the tag which they would have never wanted – the first club in the history of English football to have won the FA Cup and get relegated in the same season. And suddenly, everyone feels some kind of sympathy for a club like Wigan, who have fought hard for so long with limited resources, only to go down just four days after winning the FA Cup.

Wigan’s decline in recent times was perhaps inevitable as they, by no means, are a big club and they have always fought hard for their place in the Premier League which certainly makes them one of the most memorable and notable clubs of the Premier League era.

Wigan Athletic earned their first ever promotion to the Premier League in 2005 when they beat Reading 3-1 in front of their home fans at the JJB Stadium. They played their first ever Premier League game against Chelsea which they lost 1-0 and went on to finish the season in the 10th place, which remains the club’s highest ever league placing.

The next season saw Wigan’s fortune drop a bit as they suffered eight consecutive losses in the Premier League, but the club managed to finish the season in the 15th place after they beat Sheffield United 2-1 on the final day of the season. The coming years had some ups and downs as Wigan suffered a humiliating 9-1 loss at the White Hart Lane in 2009 but a subsequent 1-0 win against Liverpool and a 3-2 win against Arsenal made Wigan’s intent clear as they kept battling for Premier League survival.

The Latics left the world stunned after they beat the previous year Premier League Champions’ Manchester City with a goal in the dying minutes of the game in the biggest FA Cup final upset in 25 years. Wigan will be not be forgotten after relegation anytime soon, as most of us expect them to climb up again.