The Wigan Athletic Herald
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Louie Barry runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Bruno Fernandes is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Market21 Aug 2028
Yassine El Ouatki is on his way
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wigan Athletic is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Joshua Morgan signs on for the long haul
Wigan Athletic moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Joshua Morgan, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Louie Barry in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wigan Athletic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A late step up for Louie Barry
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Graduation day at Wigan Athletic
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words at Wigan Athletic training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christian Saydee is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market21 Aug 2028
David Murray steps up from the Wigan Athletic academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. David Murray has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Market Wigan Athletic promote Jason Phillips from within
- Market Wigan Athletic promote Nathan Walker from within
- Boardroom Wigan Athletic board go back on their word