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The issue I have is this “Self Sustainability” nonsense, and I’ll explain why.
We have an owner who’s made it clear both verbally and financially that we have to stand on our own 2 feet and not rely on him pumping millions in.
Since he took over we have roughly brought in approx £11.5milluon in sales, sell ons and compensation some of which was owed before he took over.
In that time we have spent again approximately £600,000-£700,000 on player transfers with very little been reinvested into the squad. So what’s the answer if he’s taking out and not putting back in ?
Self Sustainability = our youth players
We’ve lost the ability, like most clubs, to hold on to our young prospects before they reach the stage where they’re worth serious money. And why?
Well, it’s simple: we’re doing it again.
We’re bringing through everyone else’s young lads while our own are being asked to wait around.
Now, you can argue that the Gray’s and Walsh’s might be better in the short term, fair enough. But what’s the point long term?
Take Sonny Perkins, a 22-year-old we recently signed. His record is 5 goals in five years.
Now compare that with 21 year old Adam Moseley’s record, in both non-league and throughout our own youth setup.
Obviously, people will point out that they’ve played at different levels, and that’s fair. But it brings me back to the same question: what was the point in signing Moseley?
He’s scored 27 goals in 30 games in the youth set up and we send him out on loan.
And remember, his contract runs until the summer of 2027. If you were Moseley, what would you be thinking?
“There’s no chance for me at Wigan. I’m off.”
Same with Stones, who barely got a chance. Graham, Bettoni, who Lowe dropped after the Preston win.
If there’s one thing we’ve always been good at, it’s improving players by playing them.
Baines, Ellington, McManaman, Lang, Aasgaard. Hughes, Tickle and more.
Some were signed very young and some came through our own system, but my point is they were given opportunities and developed into very good players who went on either play at a higher level or bring in serious money for the club.
Yet right now, we’ve got six, seven, eight young lads around the academy and first-team squad who must be thinking:
“Nah. I’m never going to get a proper chance here. I’m off.”
And can you really blame them?
They just want to play football. They want a taste of first-team football and make money along the way. They want to feel like there’s a pathway from the academy to the first team.
Look at Cze.
He’s been here since he was a kid. He’s the same age as Perkins.
He comes on when we’re 0-3 down, puts an absolute beauty of a through ball a proper daisy-cutter and his shot on target forces the keeper into a great save and the only shot on target in the game for us.
He had 4 times as many touches as Power coming from a deeper role
He has only started 15 games for Wigan since his debut way back in 2021
I remember reading articles a few years ago saying the lad has loads of talent but he needs nurturing and, most importantly, needs a proper chance. Maybe he’s just a late developer, a bit like Lang was who knows.
And that’s my point.
We’ve got lads chomping at the bit, lads who’ve been at this club since they were kids and would give absolutely everything for Wigan Athletic.
Yet we seem to prefer bringing in young players from Premier League clubs who, let’s be honest, might be wondering why they’re even here in the first place — as we’ve already seen with one of the lads we’ve had to move on apparently due to a poor attitude.
So this idea of “self-sustainability”?
At Wigan, I honestly think it’s a myth. It’s nothing more than a pipe dream. If we keep bypassing our own young players then watch them walk away due to a lack of opportunities we’re well and truly knackered.
Because once these lads wake up, smell the coffee and realise they’ve got no realistic pathway into the Wigan first team, they’ll leave.
Yes, we might get compensation.
But in the bigger picture, 14 in and 14 out doesn’t help this football club one bit.
Self-sustainability isn’t about constantly replacing players every year and nurturing top clubs kids it’s about sometimes having to throw your own in and learn on the job.
It should be about developing your own, giving them a genuine pathway, getting them into the first team, improving them — and then, if the time comes, selling them for serious money.
That’s how you build something sustainable.
And right now, there is absolutely nothing for these young lads to aim for. Sometimes passion, desire, energy and hard work can take you a long way but right now our young lads must be thinking
What’s the Fffing point
Youth development takes years to come to fruition. It can also kick you in the nuts when you have soneone who can make the step up, like Bettoni, fuck off to be one of probably hundreds at Chelsea’s academy.
We need to remember that Danson is not Dave Whelan. He was a very reluctant buyer and as such it’s understandable that after his initial bulk funding, he expects the piss take party on steroids under the previous owners to cease and the club to live within its means.
The alternative is him to walk away, and with nobody willing to take on the ownership that would be curtains for professional football in Wigan.
It wasn’t me who brought up the words self Sustainability. I think we all know what he wanted when he bought us
The stadium.
Let’s not forget him and Lennagan tried to buy the stadium when we were in administration and if Begbies hadn’t have dragged their heels he’d have bought it and dumped us down the shitter.
Reluctant buyer?, he probably was but there was method in his madness.
We were basically looking down the barrel part 2. I’m sure there would have been a few potential buyers for the stadium but I don’t think Danson was prepared to risk that and watch the stadium slip through his fingers for a second time which I’m sure it would have happened.
A multi billionaire paying rent for the rugby ?.
The only safe way for Danson to achieve his goal of taking ownership of the ground was to take us on as well.
To be Self Sustainable you also have to reinvest part of any transfer money and bring in 1 or 2 older experience bit of quality. This in turn aids the development of the younger lads.
Not Dansons money, player incoming money.
But for this to work
1) you have to reinvest say 25% of all transfer earnings
2) take a chance on our young lads
Yes we are still here, we are still in survival mode but don’t ever think he did it to save Wigan Athletic not a fookin chance, his goal was to take ownership of the stadium and now he has it that’s it WAFC fook off you’d think
Till he said he would be actively looking for a buyer but he’d like to keep 25% shares in us.
Basically, I’ll let someone invest, then if we did well draw on it
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