Wigan Athletic predictions

Wigan History

Wigan Athletic were founded in 1932, following the demise of Wigan Borough who went out of business due to the effects of the Great Depression the previous year.

However, the Latics were not admitted to the Football League for 47 years. They featured in competitions such as the Cheshire County League, the Lancashire combination and the Northern Premier League, until they finished second in the NPL in 1978 and were picked ahead of the winners Boston United (due to facility requirements) for election into the Football League Fourth Division.

It took them just four seasons to make the next step but having won promotion to the Third Division in 1982, they stayed there for over a decade and then went back down in 1993. The turn of the century saw them rise again but this time more rapidly and with more substance, and in 2005, they finally made it to the Premier League for the first time. They achieved their best ever league result (10th place) in the debut season and reached the final of the League Cup, and stayed among the elite until 2013 when their current roller coaster between the Championship and League One began.

Though Wigan were relegated that year, they also won their only major trophy in 2013 by surprisingly beating Manchester City in the final of the FA Cup, after which City sacked league-winning manager Roberto Mancini. The current Premier League title holders suffered another huge shock at their hands in 2017/18, when the Latics kicked them out of the same competition in the fifth round.