February 26 – The Road to Wigan Pier

THE late, great Bob Monkhouse once said: “They laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian. Well they’re not laughing now are they?!”

When Dave Whelan bought Wigan Athletic in 1995 he was almost laughed out of town when he pledged to bring Premiership football to the club. At the time they were struggling in the fourth tier and looked about as likely to reach the top flight as Alex Ferguson is to overcome is crippling fear of balloons.

Ten years later and they only ones laughing were the Wigan fans when they were promoted to the Prem and then held their own among the big boys.

Today in 2006 Whelan and the Wigan fans had their day in the sun when the club reached the Carling Cup final and took on Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium.

The Latics had earned their place in the final after negotiating their way past Bournemouth and Watford in the early rounds before dispatching of Premier League Bolton in the quarter final and then impressively overcoming Arsenal in the two-legged semi final. After the second leg Whelan was overjoyed to have reached the final, but a tad concerned about the impact it would have on his pocket. He told the Guardian: “They’re on a hell of a good bonus to win it next month but I’d only be guessing how much; I can’t remember. When the lads talked to me back in the summer and asked what they’d get if they got a cup final I probably just said: ‘Well, what do you want because we’ll never get there.’ I never thought we’d get to the final so I might have gone mad. I might have offered them £1m; that’s what I’m worried about.”

The final itself would prove a bridge too far for Paul Jewel’s plucky players who succumbed 4-0 to United with two goals from Rooney, one from Ronaldo, and one from Louis Saha – playing in place of the dropped Ruud van Nistelrooy who would never play for the club again after going off to Real Madrid in a sulk.

The result broke what passes as a trophy drought at Old Trafford, as it was the first gong won by United since the FA Cup in 2004. It was also the first senior trophy for Wayne Rooney and the first United had won since the arrival of the Glazer family.

You can see Ronnie’s contribution to the scoring below and have a look at what else was going down in the world of football on this day right here. Until next time, dear readers, until next time.