Off The Line Xmas Advent Calendar – Day #5

Wigan Athletic – Second Division Champions 2002-03
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The 2001-02 Second Division season had seen the Latics finish 10th in the table, and Paul Jewell headed into the following season with the aim of going for promotion this time around. Jewell had a strong squad at his disposal, with Nathan Ellington readying himself for his first full season for the Latics after his arrival that March leading the line. They made a strong start to the campaign, getting the season underway with four straight wins, with two wins home and away seeing them take an early lead in the table in a run that included three 2-0 wins. The back end of August saw Jewell’s side suffer their first defeats in the league, with two narrow 1-0 defeats – at home to Port Vale and away to Colchester United – seeing their start hit a brief bump in the road. Their form picked up, however, as they entered September, with the Latics putting together an unbeaten month that saw a confident 3-0 home victory against Wycombe Wanderers followed up by useful draws against Chesterfield and Peterborough United, along with comfortable away victories against Tranmere Rovers and Barnsley.

Their fine start to the campaign showed no signs of letting up as they made it through October and November undeterred, going unbeaten. Draws against play-off contenders Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City were followed with wins against Plymouth Argyle and Stockport County, before their defensive resolve really came to the fore in November as Jewell’s went all four games in November without conceding a single goal, with a brace of 2-0 and 1-0 wins saw them assert their dominance in the race for promotion as one of the early contenders. The Latics went from strength-to-strength in December as they stepped up their performances heading into the new year, once again not conceding a single goal as they recorded useful wins against struggling Port Vale and Huddersfield Town.

They headed into the new year full of confidence, with Jewell’s side providing a ruthlessness in front of goal as they secured a 3-1 home victory against Notts County, with the other three wins in the month all coming by a single goal. A 2-1 away defeat against Swindon Town did little to dampen their spirits in the search for promotion, as a narrow 1-0 home defeat against Plymouth Argyle in the last game of March was the only barrier as they nearly went the duration of February and March unbeaten in the league. While not blowing away their opponents, they continued to show their resolve and battling spirits, with six draws – four of which were by a 1-1 scoreline – enough for them to maintain their lead at the top ahead of the chasing pack.

April proved to be the defining month as they put the finishing touches to their campaign, with an unbeaten five games seeing their promotion to the First Division confirmed, a 0-0 draw away draw against Huddersfield Town sealing their feat as they couldn’t be caught. The remaining three games of the season proved to be no match for the champions elect, with wins against Oldham Athletic and Huddersfield Town on the final day putting the finishing touches on a near-faultless campaign in which the faith instilled in manager Paul Jewell by owner Dave Whelan was fully repaid as they romped to the title, losing just four games during the campaign.

Bury Town – Southern League Division One Midlands Champions 2009-10
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Bury Town headed into the season full of optimism, and their start to the campaign gave them cause for just that, with just one defeat in the opening month of games – a 1-0 away defeat to Hitchin Town – that otherwise saw them pick up two wins and a draw and an exciting opening day 6-3 away victory to Atherstone Town courtesy of a fine individual performance from Andrew Tidswell, who opened his account for the campaign with a hattrick. Their fine start to the league campaign showed no signs of letting up, as they continued into September with another unbeaten month, with a 5-1 home win against Beaconsfield the pick of the bunch thanks to a brace from Coker and Leabon. October saw just a single game in the league, with the increasing batch of cup competition fixtures saw league games against Aylesbury United, Leighton Town and Woodford United, and their sole league fixture coming at the end of the month against Bedworth United, a 2-2 away draw.

They continued to pick up pace in the race for promotion as they headed into November, with a busy November schedule seeing them record only one defeat in six games – a 3-2 home defeat against fellow high-flyers Burnham – and they went the remainder of the month unbeaten, with the Reed brothers and Dave in fine form, with eleven goals between the three of them throughout November as they recorded standout wins including a 4-0 away dismantling against bottom-side Aylesbury United and four victories by just a single goal. December continued in much the same vein, with just one loss in the month – an entertaining 5-4 home defeat against Woodford United – as their attacking fortunes in front of goal went from strength-to-strength, with hattricks from Underwood and Read seeing them romp to a 8-0 home victory against Barton Rovers.

Their form showed no signs of letting up, as they tightened their grip on top spot with a perfect start to the year with two wins out of two in January – a 3-0 win against Soham Town Rangers and a 5-0 win against Leighton Town – and they continued that scoring streak in front of goal into February, with a 1-1 away draw against Chesham United their only dropped points in the month as Bedworth United were put to bed to the tune of a 6-0 home humbling, with Underwood in fine form during the month with two braces. A backlog of fixtures see them enter March knowing that a good month would all but confirm their promotion and with it the title, and Bury Town did just that. Barring a 1-0 away defeat against Arlesey Town, it was an otherwise unbeaten month as they recorded eight wins, including impressive performances against Aylesbury United and Romulus, with the bottom side going down to a 6-2 defeat and Romulus getting beat 5-zip.

Firmly in the driving seat for promotion, Bury Town put in a perfect last month of the season to secure their promotion, with eight wins from eight in the league in April showing all of their credentials, with their attacking qualities showing no signs of letting up as another win against Bromsgrove Rovers – a dominant 4-0 away victory this time – followed up by three other games in which they scored three, including wins against three sides just on the outskirts of the upper part of the table in Slough Town, Sutton Coldfield Town and Woodford United. The league was close, still, with a 3-0 home win on the final day against Marlow seeing them get to 102 points to secure the title as they finished just two points ahead of next-placed Hitchin Town. An outstanding season finished in the most dramatic way, and a dominant and free-scoring last month characteristic of a highly-impressive season for The Blues.

Guess Who #5

We continue our Xmas Calendar Guess Who with a player that had a loan spell with Basingstoke Town, and has been promoted from the Conference Premier on two separate occasions. He retired in 2019. Who do you think it could be?

Let us know by commenting on this post, or on either of our social media posts (Twitter or Instagram) and we will reveal the identity of the player in tomorrow’s edition. Happy guessing, and good luck!