2005–06 Wigan Athletic F.C. season


The 2005–06 Wigan Athletic season was the club's 28th season in the Football League and their inaugural season in the Premier League, following their promotion from the Championship the season before.
Despite starting the season as one of the favourites for relegation, Wigan managed to exceed expectations with a nine-match unbeaten run early in the season. The club eventually finished the season in tenth place.
Wigan also reached the final of the League Cup, the club's first ever appearance in a major cup final. They lost the match 4–0 to Manchester United.

Background

Prior to the club's promotion to the Premier League, Wigan were a team that had spent the majority of their history in the third and fourth tier of English football since the club's election into the Football League in 1978. In 1995, when the club was playing football in Division Three and struggling due to financial difficulties and declining attendances, Wigan was taken over by local businessman Dave Whelan, who ambitiously proclaimed that Wigan would be playing Premier League football within ten years. With the help of Whelan's financial backing, the club rapidly rose through the divisions, gaining promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time in 2003, and culminating with their promotion to the Premier League on the final day of the 2004–05 Championship season. Despite this success, the club was predicted by many to be relegated straight back down to the Championship, including The Times, who suggested Wigan "will need a miracle if they are to survive".

Pre-season

On 7 July, Greater Manchester Police issued the club with a court summons over an unpaid bill of approximately £270,000 for policing the club's football matches. The police had also threatened to withdraw their services if the club failed to settle the debt before 1 August. Chairman Dave Whelan later agreed to pay the bill to prevent the cancellation of fixtures in the club's first Premier League season, but would continue to resolve the matter in court.
The squad began their pre-season preparations with a training camp in Denmark. They played two friendlies against local opposition behind closed doors, and won both games 5–0. Midfielder Jimmy Bullard also agreed a new three-year contract with the club, ending speculation that he would leave before the end of the transfer window.
DateOpponentResultVenueScorersAttendanceMatch Report
19 July 2005Elite 3000 Helsingør0–5AwayMahon 45', Thome 47', Teale 57', Bullard 70', Teale 82'330
21 July 2005Herlev IF0–5Away?621
27 July 2005Preston North End1–1AwayMcCulloch 9'3,124
30 July 2005Macclesfield Town0–4AwayJohansson 39', Bullard 57', Teale 81', Mahon 87'1,024
2 August 2005Morecambe0–1AwayEllington 77'1,262
3 August 2005Accrington Stanley1–1AwayMcCulloch 74'983
6 August 2005Boavista1–0HomeEllington 21' 5,837

Premier League

August

Wigan's opening league game was at home against reigning Premier League champions Chelsea. The home side played well and despite missing opportunities to score themselves, it looked as though they would manage an impressive draw, but were denied by a spectacular injury time winner from Hernán Crespo. After losing 1–0 to Charlton Athletic on 20 August, Wigan's next game was a crucial home match against relegation rivals Sunderland. Wigan won the match 1–0, their first ever Premier League win, with Jason Roberts scoring the goal – a penalty which had been awarded within the first 15 seconds of the game.

September

On 10 September, Wigan came from behind to beat West Bromwich Albion 2–1, claiming their first Premier League win away from home, and scoring their first Premier League goals from open play. Following a draw in the next game against Middlesbrough, Wigan played their first cup game of the season against AFC Bournemouth in the League Cup, winning the match 1–0. On 24 September, Wigan extended their unbeaten run with a 1–0 away against Everton. As a result of the club's impressive form, manager Paul Jewell received the September Manager of the Month award.
DateOpponentResultVenueScorersAttendanceMatch Report
14 August 2005Chelsea0–1Home23,575
20 August 2005Charlton Athletic1–0Away23,453
27 August 2005Sunderland1–0HomeRoberts 2' 17,223
10 September 2005West Bromwich Albion1–2AwayConnolly 40', Bullard 90+2'25,617
18 September 2005Middlesbrough1–1HomeCamara 68'16,641
24 September 2005Everton0–1AwayFrancis 47'37,189
2 October 2005Bolton Wanderers2–1HomeCamara 48', McCulloch 63'20,553
15 October 2005Newcastle United1–0HomeRoberts 40'22,374
22 October 2005Aston Villa0–2AwayHughes 32', Mahon 82'32,294
29 October 2005Fulham1–0HomeChimbonda 90+2'17,266
5 November 2005Portsmouth0–2AwayChimbonda 48', Roberts 79'19,102
19 November 2005Arsenal2–3HomeCamara 28', Bullard 45'25,004
26 November 2005Tottenham Hotspur1–2HomeMcCulloch 88'22,611
3 December 2005Liverpool3–0Away44,098
10 December 2005Chelsea1–0Away42,060
14 December 2005Manchester United4–0Away67,793
17 December 2005Charlton Athletic3–0HomeCamara 9', 51', 63'17,074
26 December 2005Manchester City4–3HomeRoberts 11', 45', McCulloch 23', Camara 71'25,017
28 December 2005West Ham United0–2AwayRoberts 43', Camara 45'34,131
31 December 2005Blackburn Rovers0–3Home20,639
2 January 2006Birmingham City2–0Away29,189
15 January 2006West Bromwich Albion0–1Home17,421
21 January 2006Middlesbrough2–3AwayRoberts 2', Thompson 29', Mellor 90+3'27,208
31 January 2006Everton1–1HomeScharner 45'21,731
4 February 2006Bolton Wanderers1–1AwayJohansson 77'25,854
11 February 2006Liverpool0–1Home25,023
19 February 2006Tottenham Hotspur2–2AwayJohansson 10', 67'35,676
6 March 2006Manchester United1–2HomeScharner 60'23,574
11 March 2006Sunderland0–1AwayCamara 8'31,194
18 March 2006Manchester City0–1AwayMcCulloch 55'42,444
25 March 2006West Ham United1–2HomeMcCulloch 45+1'18,736
3 April 2006Blackburn Rovers1–1AwayRoberts 53'20,410
8 April 2006Birmingham City1–1HomeJohansson 49'18,669
15 April 2006Newcastle United3–1AwayBullard 5'52,302
18 April 2006Aston Villa3–2HomeBullard 25', Camara 56', 60'17,330
24 April 2006Fulham1–0Away17,149
29 April 2006Portsmouth1–2HomeCamara 34'21,126
7 May 2006Arsenal4–2AwayScharner 10', Thompson 33'38,359

FA Cup

League Cup

Wigan entered the League Cup in the second round and were drawn against AFC Bournemouth. Manager Paul Jewell made 11 changes to the side, with several players making their debuts. Bournemouth, suffering from an injury crisis, could only name four substitutes, but held Wigan until Jason Roberts broke the deadlock four minutes from time to send his team into the next round. Wigan played Watford in the third round, and the game was taken to extra time with neither side able to score after 90 minutes. Ryan Taylor scored the opening goal from the penalty spot in the 98th minute before Andreas Johansson sealed the victory with two goals late in the second half of extra time. In the fourth round, Wigan were drawn at home against Newcastle United, but despite being drawn against stronger opposition, Jewell reiterated that he would continue to use his fringe players in the cup, as Premier League survival was still the main priority for the club. Wigan beat their opponents 1–0 through a penalty from David Connolly late in the game, with Newcastle manager Graeme Souness conceding that Wigan were "totally dominant". The club then met local rivals Bolton Wanderers in the quarter-final, where Roberts' two goals late in the first half were enough to take Wigan to their first ever major cup semi-final.
Wigan's next opponents were Arsenal, with the first match of the two-legged tie to be played at the JJB Stadium. Wigan won the match 1–0 against a weakened Arsenal side, with debutant Paul Scharner scoring the goal. The attendance of 12,181, the lowest figure for a League Cup semi-final for almost ten years, was criticised by several media outlets, but club officials argued that the poor attendance was caused by a busy fixture list – the match was Wigan's fifth home game in the space of three weeks. Arsenal fielded their "strongest available line-up" for the return leg at Highbury, but struggled to beat Wigan goalkeeper Mike Pollitt, who made "a string of outstanding saves", including a first-half penalty against José Antonio Reyes. Arsenal made their first breakthrough around the halfway point of the second half, with Thierry Henry scoring the goal to tie the game on aggregate. The game went into extra time, and Arsenal took a 2–1 aggregate lead through a Robin van Persie free kick, before Wigan's Jason Roberts scored in the final two minutes to clinch a place in the cup final on the away goal rule.
The final was played at the Millennium Stadium against Manchester United, with Wigan going into the final as "huge underdogs". Mike Pollitt, a former youth player at Manchester United, picked up an injury early in the first half and was replaced by John Filan. Although Manchester United finished the game as comfortable 4–0 winners, Paul Jewell was "proud" of his players and felt the team "didn't get the breaks" they needed to beat their opponents.

Squad statistics

Transfers

After initially struggling to attract players to the club, Mike Pollitt became the club's first signing of the summer. This was followed by the signing of little-known French right-back Pascal Chimbonda, Ryan Taylor of Tranmere Rovers and experienced defender Stéphane Henchoz. Nicky Eaden and Ian Breckin, who both featured regularly in the previous season's promotion winning side, were sold to Nottingham Forest. On 6 August 2005, Wigan signed Senegalese international Henri Camara for £3 million, smashing the club's previous record transfer fee of £2 million paid for striker Jason Roberts. Former player Arjan de Zeeuw also returned to the club after being signed from Portsmouth, and was made the club's captain. Just before the start of the season, West Bromwich Albion made a £3 million bid for previous season's Championship top goalscorer Nathan Ellington. This met the minimum fee release clause in the player's contract, meaning the bid had to be accepted, and Ellington completed the move a few days later. Wigan signed David Connolly for a fee of £2 million as a replacement for Ellington on transfer deadline day.
Wigan strengthened the side further during the January transfer window with new signings Paul Scharner and David Thompson, as well as bringing in Neil Mellor and Reto Ziegler on loan. In April, Fulham had a £2.5 million bid accepted for Jimmy Bullard after the offer had triggered the player's release clause, and a deal was agreed which would be officially completed after the season had finished. After the final match against Arsenal, Pascal Chimbonda almost immediately handed in a transfer request, resulting in a transfer saga that would last for the entire duration of the summer transfer window. Henchoz and Thompson, whose contracts were due to expire, were both released.

In

Loans out

Final league table