Wigan Athletic – League One Champions 2017-18
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The 2016-17 season had seen Wigan Athletic relegated from the Championship, and so Paul Cook was brought in with the task of trying to rebuild their side and seal an instant return to the Championship. The summer window saw a number of players brought in to bolster their ranks, with central defenders Chey Dunkley and Terrell Thomas joining the more experienced Gary Roberts and Noel Hunt along with attacking player Gavin Massey, with Ivan Toney, Lee Evans and Christian Walton notably joining on loan. The additions seemed to have an instant impact, with the Latics going the first month of the campaign unbeaten as they laid down an early marker with three wins inside the first three – including a 4-1 home victory against Bury – as well as a valuable draw against one of the fellow promotion contenders in Portsmouth. They started September with their first taste of defeat of the season, a 1-0 away loss against Shrewsbury Town, but the Latics defiant with their response as they recorded back-to-back 3-0 victories – against Bristol Rovers and Charlton Athletic – along with a third straight win against Northampton Town. They were to suffer their second defeat before the month was out, coming out on the wrong end of an exciting 3-2 loss away to Peterborough United, but another good response in the form of two home wins (and two clean sheets in the process) marked what was a strong start for them.
September certainly provided the foundations for their good form, with the Latics going on to record an unbeaten October, dropping points in only two of their five games, a 1-1 draw away to Wigan Athletic and a home stalemate against who would turn out to be their closest competitors in Blackburn Rovers. November saw a reduced quota, with only three league games throughout the month, with a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Bradford City followed up by two consecutive wins against Doncaster Rovers and Rotherham United. While November may have provided an ease up in the demands on Paul Cook’s side in the league, they headed into the new year with a hectic schedule, but it turned out to be a fine test of their credentials in which they were to confidently rise to the challenge. Cook’s men certainly found their shooting boots, with a fine 4-0 away victory against AFC Wimbledon followed up by a faultless away display against Oxford United in which they hit 7 to no reply courtesy of a hattrick from the impressive Will Grigg.
With their sights firmly set on promotion having battled their way past a tough Christmas period, January presented another depleted round of fixtures, but in no way any let up in their qualities, with two wins and a draw – a 0-0 clash at home to Peterborough United – saw them well on their way. February and the start of March provided us with the first glimpse of any potential chink in an impressive Latics armour, with two straight league defeats – a 3-1 away defeat against Southend United and a 2-0 home loss against the Seasiders – was followed with two score draws, one of which being a 2-2 away draw against Blackburn Rovers (yet more proof of the close contest between the Latics and their Blackburn counterparts) and an entertaining 3-3 home tie against Scunthorpe United. As they had showed throughout the campaign, their response to their minor blip was emphatic with four straight clean sheets – against Bradford City, Walsall, Bury and Oldham Athletic – saw them recorded four straight league wins to keep them firmly in the driving seat heading into the final exchanges of the campaign.
The title race still remained a close run affair, with very little to separate Wigan Athletic and Tony Mowbray’s Blackburn Rovers. With any dropped points possibly proving the other side the upper hand, a 2-1 away defeat against Peterborough United was to provide a momentary cause for trepidation, but their form after this was to be emphatic and prove to be decisive in the race for promotion, with Paul Cook’s side going the next eight league games unbeaten to finish the season. Comfortable wins at home to MK Dons – 5-1 – and away to Rochdale – 4-1 – set the tone of an impressive home straight to the season, with it all going down to the final game of the season. With the Latics two points ahead heading into the final day against Doncaster Rovers, fellow competitors Blackburn Rovers faced Oxford United. A win for the Latics would seal their feat and with it the League One title, while a loss against Donny and a win for Blackburn Rovers would see Tony Mowbray’s side lift the trophy. With both already promoted, it was down to a one-game shootout to see which side would come out on top, and it proved to be Paul Cook’s men.
A 2-1 win for Blackburn Rovers was not enough for them to clinch top spot, as the Latics recorded a narrow 1-0 away win courtesy of a late goal from Will Grigg to ensure they were to finish out in front and secure the title, with Wigan Athletic finishing just two points short of the 100-point mark, but nevertheless put the shine on an impressive season.
Merthyr Town – Southern League Division One South and West Champions 2014-15
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Merthyr Town headed into the campaign eager to be in the mix for promotion, and their start would certainly give fans early cause for optimism as to the season ahead. After an opening day 1-1 draw against Wimborne Town, The Martyrs provided signs of what was to come as they found their shooting boots, with a confident 4-1 away win against Bashley followed up with a 7-0 dismantling of Clevedon Town. This was to be backed up with two more impressive victories as they began to assert their place in the mix at the top, ensuring they finished the opening month of the campaign unbeaten. September was to start in similarly impressive fashion, recording their second 7-goal haul of the campaign as they ran out 7-1 home winners against Sholing (to be followed by another 7-1 win, this time in the FA Cup). They would go on to round off September with no wins in two, as a narrow 1-0 away defeat against Stratford Town and a 2-2 draw with Shortwood United was to provide them with their first real test of the campaign.
A test maybe, but their response was impressive, emphatic in fact, as they went about asserting their dominance at the top of the division throughout October and November, with the Martyrs going seven games unbeaten, in fact not dropping a single point in the process as notable wins included two 5-2 victories – away to Larkhall Athletic and at home to Swindon Supermarine – as well as a confident 4-0 home victory against AFC Totton as not only did they show their promotion credentials, but their attacking qualities really came to the fore. December was similarly a display of their attacking talents, but was to present them with their next loss of the campaign, with a narrow 1-0 home defeat against Evesham United the only blot on an otherwise impressive December period in which they romped to a 6-0 win over Bashley and another 4-0 win, this time at the hands of Cinderford Town.
They entered the new year in a fantastic position, and while they were firmly in the driving seat for promotion, their form showed no signs of letting up as they went from strength-to-strength, with an unbeaten January putting them firmly on their way and another 7-goal tally at home to Wantage Town. Their only dropped points in January were to come against Mangotsfield United, with both sides sharing a point in a 0-0 draw. February was to show a slight mishap to an otherwise strong start to the new year, with back-to-back league defeats against Bridgwater Town and Didcot Town. However, if the chasing pack were hopeful that this was to be the start of a supposed downfall for the Martyrs, then they were to be bitterly disappointed as they would go on to finish the remainder of the campaign unbeaten.
As they entered the final two months of the campaign, all eyes were on Merthyr Town to see if they could finish the job off, and they certainly did just that. March saw just two points dropped in six games, with five wins along with a 0-0 away draw against Shortwood United, before they really upped their gear to end the season in style, winning four of their five games in April – drawing the other to Yate Town – as they made sure of the title with some dominant displays, including a scintillating attacking display as they dismantled strugglers Bishop’s Cleeve 9-0. A 3-1 on the final day of the season at home to Stratford Town put the finishing pieces into what was an impressive footballing jigsaw for the Martyrs, before they were able to crown off a near-faultless campaign by winning Southern League Championship Match against Kettering Town, putting the icing on a rather tasty cake. A fantastic season for Merthyr Town that saw them score an impressive 122 goals, and the final day win saw the smash through the 100-point mark to finish on 102 points.
Guess Who #7
We continue our Xmas Calendar Guess Who with a player that has played under their dad before, and has been promoted a total of three times with Yeovil Town. He also had a loan spell with Derby County. 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!
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