Match Of The Week: Wigan Athletic 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
During their season in the third tier during the late 1990s, Manchester City supporters had a song that summed up their feeling of disbelief at the turn for the worse that their club’s fortunes had taken: “We’re Not Really Here”. This lunchtime, Wigan Athletic have taken this to its logical conclusion by being not actually there. There are gaping holes in the crowd for this lunchtime kick-off, most likely on account of the Rugby League Challenge Cup final being played today. To this extent, the town of Wigan remains, in sporting terms, conflicted. Yet this is an important match, in its own way. The nature of the league programme means that there is a tendency for the points accumulated at the end of the season to be treated as more important than those won earlier on in the season but, of course, they’re not. If either of these two clubs wants seriously bolster its chances of avoiding the relegation trapdoor, picking up points from matches like this is not far from essential. Take a moment, if you will, to consider the amount of preparation that a professional football club puts into its match on a Saturday afternoon – the training, the tactical preparation, the logistical side of matters and the travelling supporters, who give up the majority of their Saturday afternoons (and, let us not forget, a reasonably voluminous...
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