The high of Wigan Athletic’s FA Cup win, the first in its 81-year history, was matched by a crushing low, but one that was a long time in coming.
Tuesday’s 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Champions League hopeful Arsenal guaranteed that Wigan’s run as a Premier League side comes to an end after this weekend’s game against Aston Villa, following an eight-year tenure in England’s top flight. Wigan has been flirting with relegation almost annually since promoted, and the combination of a thin squad, inexperience and porous defending on a regular basis finally caught up to the Manchester-area side who will be plying its trade in the Championship come August.
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Whether or not manager Roberto Martinez will be accompanying the Latics down is another matter altogether. At the helm of Wigan since 2009 after a spell at Swansea City, Martinez’s coaching ambitions go beyond managing a side in England’s second division and an exit from the DW Stadium, though not confirmed, appears to be a certainty sooner, rather than later.
If you’re to believe the rumours, Goodison Park is the most likely destination for the Spaniard. With David Moyes leaving for Manchester United in July, Everton is in need of a new gaffer and Martinez’s name has been installed as a favourite by the newspapers. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, though, doesn’t believe the hype. The man who famously turned down the chance to buy Manchester Untied for a scant 11 million pounds in 1990 is under the impression that there will be no managerial search for the Latics.
“I still think there is a big, big chance Roberto will stay at Wigan,” Whelan said. “On the first Monday at the end of every season, I have sat down with him and he has put his cards on the table. We have always been honest with each other and the meeting on Monday will be no different.”
Even if Martinez is to stay, the question becomes whether or not the hype surrounding the Spaniard is warranted. Martinez’s record at the DW isn’t exactly sterling. In 151 matches in charge of Wigan, Martinez’s side has won 38, drawn 42 and lost 70, with its highest finish in the table last season’s 15th.
To simply consider Martinez’s record outside of proper context is unfair without considering the mitigating circumstances.
The Latics’ financial reach doesn’t exactly extend far. Their 38 million pound wage bill over the last calendar year is good for 17th in the Premiership. That’s under a fifth of what Manchester City pays its squad.
Because of the tight purse-strings at the DW, Martinez has seen the departures of key figures such as Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Charles N’Zogbia (Aston Villa), Hugo Rodellaga (Fulham) and Victor Moses (Chelsea.) This has forced Martinez to rely on youth like Franco Di Santo and Callum McManaman and look for bargain transfers such as Honduran international Roger Espinoza, acquired in January from Sporting Kansas City, making Wigan’s run to capturing the FA Cup all the more improbable.
Still, the good must come with the bad and Martinez cannot simply be congratulated for Wigan’s successes and not receive at least some of the blame for its failings.
The Latics bled goals this season, often through comical defending, leaving them at a horrid minus-26 goal differential with only one match left in the season. For further proof, look no further than last week’s must-win at home to Swansea where the Latics lived dangerously all game long with tentative ball control, ill-timed back passes and a Keystone Kopsesque routine from James MacArthur and Shaun Maloney that led to Dwight Tinedalli’s game-winning goal.
After a loss as demoralizing as that, pulling out a result against Arsenal was far too big of an ask, and it was almost a fait accompli heading into the Emirates that the Latics couldn’t pull off the upset.
Still, relegation is a cruel fate for any side and it’s time for Wigan to take stock and attempt to make their stay in the Championship as short-lived as possible, whether or not Martinez remains as gaffer.
But the final say will be the Spaniard’s and his alone.
“We will decide on Monday and I’ve always said, if he decides the time is right for him to go, I will not stand in his way, but nothing will be decided until that meeting,” Whelan said. “We will talk it through and be totally open with each other because we always are.”
The 39-year-old Martinez’s stock might currently be at its highest, meaning that his leverage in any potential deal, whether or it be with Wigan or a new club, will also be at its apex. It would be foolish for Martinez, known for being loyal almost to a fault, to not take advantage of his standing.
And that’s just the way football works sometimes. Even though, Wigan Athletic was trumped in its attempt to once again achieve safety, it seems that Roberto Martinez, its manager, will come up aces this summer.
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