Emotional Swing for English Soccer Club

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/sports/soccer/an-emotional-swing-for-wigan-athletic.html

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WIGAN, England — Just up a narrow alley from the shops in the center of town here, away from all the singing and chanting and shouting, there is a tiny square. This is where “The Face of Wigan” is, its expression unflinching and its aura unbowed. A statue crafted from stainless steel, “The Face of Wigan” rises nearly 20 feet tall — it is a giant head sitting on a block — and features a molded visage with sleepy eyes, a sharp nose and, perhaps most notably, a stiff, staid, solid upper lip.

The renowned English sculptor Rick Kirby, who created the piece in 2008, has said he was attempting to capture the universality of Wigan’s population with his work. But this oversize representation of neutrality, as if this entire borough were stuck somewhere between a smile and a frown, has never been more appropriate than it was this weekend.

On May 11, Wigan Athletic, a minnow in England’s star-heavy Premier League, stunned the soccer world by winning the F.A. Cup final against Manchester City, capturing the club’s first major trophy in its 81-year existence. Men wept. Children shrieked. A slice of northwest England positioned, essentially, in the shadows of Manchester and Liverpool celebrated like never before.

Just 72 hours after their shocker at Wembley Stadium, though, Wigan lost to Arsenal in a league game on a chilly Tuesday night, a defeat that ensured the club would finish 18th in the 20-team Premier League. In England’s promotion-and-relegation system, that meant the Latics, as Wigan is known, had become the first team in the F.A. Cup’s 142-year history to win the world’s oldest knockout tournament and also be relegated from the top division in the same season.

“Is it a roller coaster?” one fan, Ceri Cahill, said as she fingered her blue-and-white-dyed hair. “That might not be descriptive enough. The up was simply and truly glorious, and the down was absolutely, completely, totally brutal.”

Other fans offered more colorful — but less printable — descriptions of the emotional swing. Regardless, it was obvious that the unprecedented yo-yoing of feelings for Wigan left everyone associated with the club, from players to coaches to executives to fans, in an odd state of flux.

Sunday was the ultimate betwixt-and-between afternoon for Wigan, as the Latics tied Aston Villa, 2-2, in their final game of the Premier League season. Depending on whom one asked, the atmosphere at the game was either that of a “carnival” — as one fan submitted, with the club celebrating its Cup win and an eight-year stay in the top division — or, another spectator suggested, that of an entire day “laden with massive disappointment,” as the drop to the second division is often spoken of, in terms that make it seem roughly equivalent to a death sentence.

With such a schism in place among the fans, questions understandably abounded, and debates at DW Stadium ranged from the monumental (was the season a success or failure?) to the hypothetical (would you trade the Cup win for staying up?) to the philosophical (is it better to succeed or simply not to fail?).

“This isn’t a wake; it’s a party,” said Dave Hayes, who described himself as a Wigan fan since the 1960s. He shook his head at any suggestion that relegation day is inherently sad. “The club has accomplished so much,” he said.

Others felt far less rosy. Of course they were ecstatic about winning the F.A. Cup, they said — how could they not be? After all, Wigan is the ultimate small-market team, put together for less than $30 million, or about $270 million less than the Manchester City team it beat at Wembley.

An entire season of ticket sales at DW Stadium is less than what Manchester United makes on tickets in one game, according to a Wigan official. By most accounts, the club is not even the main sports attraction in its own town; with so much spillover from the surrounding cities, Liverpool, Manchester United and perhaps even Everton have more support in Wigan proper. Beyond that, there is also a famous rugby team (Wigan Warriors) and, for the slightly smaller niche that is attracted to competitive eating, the World Pie Eating Championships (current record: 12.91 seconds to consume an entire meat pie), which is contested annually at Harry’s on Wallgate.

Although those factors made Wigan a charming Cup champion, the lucre of the Premier League was seen as more critical to many fans. Dropping out of the most popular soccer league on the planet means missing out on as much as $150 million in revenue, a crucial infusion for smaller clubs like Wigan. Playing in the more-modest second tier will also lead to an even tighter budget — the club’s staff is especially worried about potential cuts — as well as an inevitable decline in exposure.

Next season, there will be no more league games against Chelsea or Manchester United, no more blanket news media coverage and no more appearances on the beloved highlights show “Match of the Day.”

“We’ll still be on ‘The Football League Show’ — it’s only an hour later,” Carl Davies, another longtime fan, said a bit hopefully.

Neil Bradshaw, who has season tickets just behind the team dugout, shook his head. “The Premier League is where it all happens,” he said. “When we fell behind against Arsenal, I just stared at the floor. I could hear the game going on, but I didn’t watch.”

He added: “The Cup was great. But relegation is just the worst feeling in the world. It’s like, ‘You’re not welcome here anymore.’ ”

Inside the club, that sentiment seems more prominent. Roberto Martinez, the team’s coach, was ecstatic about winning the F.A. Cup but also said it was “a shame” that it came during a year that would be marred by demotion. Roger Espinoza, a Honduran defender who used to play in Major League Soccer, said in an interview Sunday that the players barely even celebrated after winning the F.A. Cup because they knew the stakes of the Arsenal match that loomed just a few days away.

“The bus ride back from Wembley was one of the quietest I’ve been on,” Espinoza said. “We wanted to stay up. Winning the F.A. Cup was amazing, but you want to be in the Premier League. I’m not British, of course, but I would definitely make that trade for sure.”

Adding to the stress was the club’s uncertain future. Martinez — whom Hayes likened to “Abraham Lincoln in terms of being a historical figure for us” — seems very likely to leave after four seasons for a more prominent job, while several top players, including midfielders Shaun Maloney, James McCarthy and Callum McManaman, figure to be sought by Premier League clubs.

After Sunday’s tie with Aston Villa, Martinez, who could replace David Moyes at Everton, was circumspect, saying that he would wait a bit before sitting down with Wigan’s chairman to discuss what comes next.

“We need a bit of breathing space,” Martinez said. He shrugged, adding, “It’s been a very emotional week.”

Sunday, of course, was the cap to it all. Yes, there is a parade with the F.A. Cup scheduled for Monday, but effectively, the players said goodbye — to the fans and to this unusual season — just past 6 p.m., as they took a lap around the field that felt like an odd combination of celebration and group therapy.

Espinoza took his turn holding the F.A. Cup. Goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi carried his infant daughter, who clung to his gray jersey while wearing a miniature version (she had the matching socks, too). Martinez trailed the group, waving and clapping and blowing kisses into the stands.

It was joyous and touching, but tinged with hollowness all the same. Even the stadium announcer concluded with something of a mixed message as the players headed inside. First, he thanked the fans for their support through the glorious Cup run and the season proper. Then he asked that everyone return in August, when the schedule would begin anew. Wigan would defend its F.A. Cup title, he said, and. ...

He trailed off, if only for a moment. The reality was impossible to ignore. “And,” he continued, “that will be when we take our first step toward getting back to the Premier League.”