Relegation from the Premier League is seldom seen as a positive for any club.
But it could prove to be exactly that for Wigan Athletic.
Following the club’s miraculous first Premiership season in 2005/06, they were second in November before eventually finishing tenth, when they secured the clubs best ever league finish, the Latics have stared relegation in the face as a matter of regularity.
The club was famed for its late season miracles during its eight-year stay in the Premier League.
Since the end of the 2005-06 season Wigan have seen over 60 players come into the club on permanent deals for a grand total of just over £100million. 59 players have left the club over the same period of time.
In addition to this, the revolving door at the DW stadium has also seen numerous loan signings.
The overall result has been a staggering inconsistency in the squad with successive managers Paul Jewell, Chris Hutching, Steve Bruce and most recently Roberto Martinez have faced the daunting prospect of rebuilding a team almost every summer since 2006.
Although early signs suggest that this summer will be as frenetic as ever, Wigan have signed seven players already, now could be the time for the Latics to finally build a squad that could stay together for a number of years.
When Wigan first came up, with a team featuring relative unknowns Jimmy Bullard, Pascal Chimbonda and Nathan Ellington, the side’s togetherness was noticeable as a remarkable start to the season saw them lie second in November.
After finishing tenth, defying many pundits’ belief that the Premier League was a step too far for the club, the squad’s stars were picked off at the end of the season.
Bullard left for Fulham, Ellington to West Brom and Chimbonda, who was named in the PFA team of the year for the 2005-06 season, secured a dream move to Tottenham.
The clubs fortunes declined and after surviving relegation on the last day of the 2006-07 season, Leighton Baines and Jason Roberts also left the club for Everton and Blackburn respectively.
In one respect there was little Wigan could do, their star players were being picked up by bigger teams, however the continuation of this process has meant Wigan started almost every season on the back foot.
Under Martinez, who is widely considered one of the best young managers in the game, the Latics failed to finish above fifteenth.
Before his first season in charge the Spaniard saw influential winger Antonio Valencia leave for United while midfield dynamo Lee Cattermole also left the club.
Subsequent summers saw stars Charles N’Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega, Victor Moses, Steven Caldwell and Mohamed Diame leave the club.
Wigan have been in the heart of the relegation battle at Christmas in each of the past four seasons and this reflects the problem of discontinuity that Martinez has faced.
The club made an average of 8 permanent signings a year under Martinez as he continually rebuilt the team and the club often resorted to short term loans in order to aid their relegation battle.
The loan signing of Tom Cleverly ahead of the 2010-11 season is credited with being a large part of Wigan’s survival that year.
Any success the club did have, namely staying in the Premiership, only caused more damage as the players who kept them up moved on time and time again.
Following their relegation to the Championship, new manager Owen Coyle has the rare opportunity to build a squad.
Though the club will no doubt miss the limelight afforded to the 20 clubs in the Premier League, this is a chance to start again in many ways.
Although the club look set to lose star striker Arouna Kone, the prospect of European football, a result of the club’s FA cup success, could convince youngsters McManaman and McCarthy to stay for at least one more year.
In addition, with the calm figures of Whelan and Coyle, who won promotion to the top flight with an unfancied Burnley side, at the helm the club is in safe hands.
Having already brought in seven summer signings, including a good number of Premiership quality players with years of Championship experience, the future looks bright for Wigan.
Experienced campaigners Grant Holt, Scott Carson and Chris McCann, along with Emerson Boyce, will provide the core of this seasons side and Coyle’s workman like approach could see the formation of a team reminiscent of the 2004-05 promotion winning side.
Though they might not gain promotion at the first attempt, the club are clearly signing players with a return to and a sustained period in the Premiership in mind.
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