Kevin Kilbane - Starts management

Only an aggregate playoff against FK Ventspils is in the way of us and the Europa League Group draw. I was really lucky, we could have been seeded against European giants such as Sevilla, Udinese, Spartak Moscow etc.

CT = Clive Tyldesley PD = Peter Drury SM = Sam Matterface JC = Jon Champion AT = Andy Townsend



CT: This the first challenge for both of the new managers, David Moyes of Manchester United and Kevin Kilbane of Wigan Athletic. How do you think they will take the pressure.

PD: I'm sure that Moyes is happy to be United's manager at the minute and if they win this match I'm sure that it will put a lot of United fans minds at rest if they are unsure whether he is the right man to have replace Sir Alex Ferguson, probably the best manager ever at this very successful club.

CT: I agree, but what do you think Kevin Kilbane will be saying to his lads now?

AT: I just think he'll be saying give it your all, what have you got to lose? He'll be right in saying that, if they perform as half as well as they did against Manchester City in that FA Cup shock they will always have a chance...

CT: Sorry to interrupt you but I think the teams are just about to be read out.



JC: Looks like Gareth Bale is going to get his Manchester United debut today. How do you think he will do?

SM: I think that he will struggle today because I reckon that Wigan will single him out and leave space out for other players.

CT: Looks like the players are coming on and the crowd are all clapping here at Villa Park. Just to confirm, the match isn't at Wembley because of a disagreement over whether the match should be played in Old Trafford or Wembley which is why the venue is Villa Park. Back to you, Peter Drury and Andy Townsend.

AT: Looks like United are going to kick off towards the Holte End where 20 odd thousand United fans are cheering and jeering. And we're off.

PD: 2 - Wigan are playing it around nicely, Holt passes it to McCarthy who shoots but it hits the back of Grant Holt and the chance goes away.

AT: 27 - Cleverley crosses it in from the corner but Scharner headers it back out to him. He crosses it back in but Boyce gets it out to the edge of the box where Carrick passes it back to Cleverley who is in a shooting position and has a shot but Al-Habsi saves well.

AT: 28 - Ball whipped in by Carrick and Bale volleys from 6 yards out but Al-Habsi saves and Wigan get it away.

PD: 30 - Valencia dispossesses Beausejour in the area and passes to Hernandez who shoots and SCORES!!! 1-0 United and they have deserved it! It's been all United so far.



AT: 32 - Wigan have to claw a goal back now and Beausejour plays a ball up to Holt who beats Vidic in the air and goes pass Smalling, he's one on one now and SHOOTS straight at David De Gea. A poor effort really.

PD: The second half gets under way and there has been 1 change in the Wigan camp where Simon Vukcevic has come off for Shaun Maloney.

AT: 48 - Corner whipped in by Valencia into the box where Vidic meets and it hits the crossbar! How unlucky can you get?

PD: 61 - Carrick whips it in to Hernandez who flicks it on to BALE but he hits the outside of the post from a tight angle. It looks like a double change from Wigan and look at this, Henriquez and Dicko come on for McArthur and McCarthy. This is strange, Henriquez is on loan from United but there is no rule in this competition. I wonder what his motivation is, to score or not to try? A risk from Kilbane lets see if it pays off.

PD: 65 - Bale whips it into Hernandez in the box who has space and SQUEEZES IT INTO THE NEAR POST!! 2-0 now and Hernandez has surely wrapped this game up.



AT: 69 - A counter attack from United, Bale finds Januzaj who SHOOTS and it just whistles past the far top corner. Wigan look like they've given up now.

PD: 81 - De Gea clears but only to Holt who runs towards the box, he finds Perch who spots Boyce in a good position and HE SHOOTS AND IT'S IN!!! STRAIGHT THOUGH DE GEA!! 2-1, GAME ON!!



AT: 83 - James Perch clatters into Januzaj and GETS A SECOND YELLOW, WIGAN DOWN TO TEN MEN! From hero to zero within minutes!

PD: 89 - Van Persie finds Bale in the box, WHO SHOOTS AND THAT'S THAT!! 3-1 GAME OVER! The £36 million debutant has won it!!



AT: 90+3 - There goes the whistle and the MANCHESTER UNITED FANS GO WILD!!! David Moyes has his first piece of silverware!!



FT: WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 - 3 MANCHESTER UNITED

There has been some more transfer activity at Wigan Athletic. Firstly, Jordi Gomez has gone to Premier League club, Norwich for a fee of around £4 million. This is Kevin Kilbane's what to say about it "I think it was time for Jordi to move on and be at a club where he feel challenged."



However, it looks like Wigan have brought in another signing in the name of Antonio Barragan who has joined on a fee to be believed around £1.8 million. He has come from Valencia and has briefly played in England for Liverpool.

Pos: 13th
August 2012



























Player of the month
Angelo Henriquez



Why has he deserved it?
Well I think 5 goals in one match says enough really. United have a real gem in him and I hope that he will push us on for promotion this season.

Kilbane's month in words
It has been a solid month for us, disappointed about the Community Shield defeat but other than that a good month. Very excited about who we get in the group stages.

League table:

Benjamin Schwarz has been signed on a free by Wigan Athletic after being released by 1860 Munchen. He was brought in to be a backup to summer signing Stephen Crainey.



Another player going out of Wigan was FA Cup hero, Ben Watson who has left to join Paul Lambert at Aston Villa. He has left for £3.2 million approximately and said that he is very happy to be back in the Premier League.



With the transfer window ending, I think the best piece of business Wigan did was to keep hold of James McCarthy. Also, Thomas Rogne has joined newly promoted Doncaster Rovers on loan until the end of the season.

Great story! With my favourite team, Cmon you Latics.

In game top 10 transfers - Worldwide

Luis Suarez -- Liverpool to Real Madrid -- £42M
Gareth Bale -- Tottenham to Man United -- £36.5M
Claudio Marchisio -- Juventus to Real Madrid -- £34M
Marouane Fellaini -- Everton to Arsenal -- £29M
Lars Bender -- Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea -- £27.5M
Andriy Yarmolenko -- Dynamo Kyiv to Atletico Madrid -- £26M
Seydou Doumbia -- CSKA Moscow to AS Monaco -- £24M
Sami Khedira -- Real Madrid to Man United -- £21M
Antoine Griezmann -- Real Sociedad to Tottenham -- £21M
Filipe -- Atletico Madrid to Juventus -- £21M



In game top 10 transfers - Barclays Premier League
Luis Suarez -- Liverpool to Real Madrid -- £42M
Gareth Bale -- Tottenham to Man United -- £36.5M
Marouane Fellaini -- Everton to Arsenal -- £29M
Lars Bender -- Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea -- £27.5M
Sami Khedira -- Real Madrid to Man United -- £21M
Antoine Griezmann -- Real Sociedad to Tottenham -- £21M
Nani -- Man United to Chelsea -- £19.5M
Jonathan Pitroipa -- Stade Rennais to Liverpool -- £19.25M
Ramires -- Chelsea to Bayern Munich -- £16M
Kevin De Bruyne -- Chelsea to Borussia Dortmund -- £15M



Summer transfers - Real Life
Edinson Cavani -- Napoli to PSG -- £55M
Radamel Falcao -- Atletico Madrid to AS Monaco -- £51M
Neymar -- Santos to Barcelona -- £48.5M
James Rodriguez -- Porto to AS Monaco -- £38.5M
Asier Illarramendi -- Real Sociedad to Real Madrid -- £34M
Mario Gotze -- Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich -- £31.5M
Fernandinho -- Shakhtar Donetsk to Man City -- £30M
Marquinhos -- Roma to PSG -- £28M
Isco -- Malaga to Real Madrid -- £25M
Henrikh Mkhitaryan -- Shakhtar Donetsk to Borussia Dortmund -- £21.5M

2013-08-27 16:47#131778 TheFMProject : Great story! With my favourite team, Cmon you Latics.

Thank you!

Europa League Draw

Here's the moment Wigan fans have been dreaming of, the Europa League draw and they are seeded in Group 3 along with teams such as Swansea City and Real Betis.

The first seeds are getting put in their groups now:

Group A
AZ Alkmaar
Fenerbache
Viktoria Plzen
Anzhi Makhachkala

Group B
Braga
PAOK
Feyenoord
OGC Nice

Group C
ACF Fiorentina
Real Sociedad
Freiburg
Hajduk

Group D
Tottenham
Besiktas
Genk
Legia Warsaw

Group E
Bordeaux
APOEL
Bursaspor
SV Zulte Waregem

Group F
Stuttgart
AS Saint-Etienne
Real Betis
Aalesund

Group G
Spartak Moscow
Anorthosi
Wigan
Sheriff

Group H
PSV
Lazio
Dnipro
SK Slovan Bratislava

Group I
Valencia
Club Brugge
Helsingborg
MYPA

Group J
Sevilla
Steaua Bucharest
P.Ferreira
Ludogorets

Group K
Metalist Kharkiv
Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Dinamo Bucharest
Shamrock Rovers

Group L
Dynamo Kyiv
Rubin Kazan
Swansea City
Vitesse

"We've got a relatively easy group compared to the other groups" Stated Kilbane. He later added "I think we've dodged a bullet there, the only team I have heard of is Spartak Moscow in that group with all respect to the other 2! However, the Europa League is the 2nd hardest cup in the world and even if we do get through, we won't get lucky again I can guarantee that!"

Wigan who have got Spartak Moscow, Sheriff and Anorthosi in their group are poised to finish 2nd in the group.

I really like this story so far matey! Keep it up!

2013-08-27 19:58#131830 Nathaniel : I really like this story so far matey! Keep it up!

Thanks mate!

Pos:10th
September 2012





















Player of the month
Simon Vukcevic



Why has he deserved it?
Simon has put in tremendous performances this month, especially in the Europa League where he has scored 2 of the 5 goals against Anothorsi.

Kilbane's month in words
Great month apart from the first 2 results. The Europa League score have been amazing, beating Anorthosi by 3 goals. Next game in the UEL is against Sheriff away and then Spartak Moscow away so I hope we perform well again to get us a step closer to the Knockout Rounds which will be financially beneficial.

League table:

Pos: 5th
October 2012































Player of the month
Gary Caldwell


Why has he deserved it?
One of the only players to have played in every single match in August, great ratings and great performances all month. A goal against Southampton in the Capital One Cup draw to put the icing on the cake at the end of the month.

Kilbane's month in words
A great start to the month, winning the first 5 matches and an amazing result against Sheriff. Shame about the Spartak Moscow result but the scoreline was better than expected although Gary Caldwell hit the bar in the last minute from a 25-yard free kick but a great effort for the lads. It seems we're doing well in all the cups, going into the Quarter Finals of the Capital One Cup. There maybe another Cup Triumph for Wigan Athletic!

League table:



UEL group G table:

Quarter-final draw

8 teams:
Chelsea PL
Derby County CH
Man United PL
Newcastle PL
Stoke City PL
Sunderland PL
Tottenham PL
Wigan Athletic CH

R - Reporter
KK - Kevin Kilbane

R - "A great win against Southampton in the last Capital One Cup match, how much confidence does it give you to carry on doing well in this competition?

KK - "Obviously, it gives us great confidence! I'm confident we can make it to the final.

R - "Who would you like in the next round?"

KK - "Derby would obviously be ideal with the greatest respect to them, but I am not too bothered, as long as we get I home tie, I will be satisfied.

R - "Looks like the draw is being read out."

*Radio starts playing*

Manchester United versus

KK - "Oh no!

Newcastle United

KK - "Phew!"

Stoke City versus

Derby County

R - "The 3 teams left who you could play are Chelsea, Tottenham and Sunderland. Who do you want?"

KK - "You know what! I want a challenge, I want Chelsea away!

Chelsea versus

KK - "Come on!"

Tottenham Hotspur

KK- "We've go Sunderland then, hopefully at home!"

*Long Pause*

Wigan Athletic versus

KK - "GET IN!"

Sunderland

R - "You've got Di Canio's men, are you happy with that?"

KK - "Let's just say it could have been a lot worse!"

R - "That's great, thanks for talking to us."

KK - "Anytime."

Pos: 8th
November 2012

























Player of the month
No one deserved it

Kilbane's month in words
A terrible month for The Latics, 7 games 6 points we need to end this poor run of form into the next month, Sunderland at home next. A big game next, Sunderland at home in the QF of the Capital One Cup. 1 more win will guarantee us going through into the knockout rounds of the UEL and it is against Sheriff at home.

League table:



UEL Group G table: