Wigan Athletic 2, Shrewsbury Town 0.

Salop’s clock goes back.

Harold Wilson, to my knowledge the only Huddersfield Town supporter to become prime minister, is said to have remarked that a week is a long time in politics. Matty Taylor must be reflecting how long a week is in football, even when allowing for the extra hour produced by putting the clocks back. It is only seven days since Town’s morale boosting win against Derby County, a victory that seemed to change the prevailing landscape. Notwithstanding the reversal at Barnsley, where the hosts produced three goals from three shots on target, our circle of Salop fans were talking reasonably confidently about avoiding relegation with a degree of comfort. It only took the first four minutes of Town’s match at Wigan Athletic to write off another away game. By the end of the day the landscape was shifting again.

For fans that remember the rudimentary uniqueness of Wigan’s old Springfield Park stadium, a ground where you could literally watch the match from a grass bank, the DW Stadium represents the transition to another football world entirely. For a while the club graced the premier league, and the new stadium was designed as a home fit for this elite level with all the trimmings: a big screen showing a medley of action replays and advertisements in addition to a normal scoreboard; not a club shop but a megastore; digital pitch side advertising; an endless number of steps to climb to get to the away seats. Wigan’s fall from the top level and their travails to recover some dignity is and long story of financial chaos, dodgy owners spending beyond their means, point deductions and existential crisis. The latest chapter is relegation back to League One with a hefty points deduction but a more stable and viable existence to build on.

Empty seats abounded the stadium, not a surprise given it was built on the premise of hosting sell-out crowds for the visit of clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea, not the reality of entertaining Cheltenham, Fleetwood and Cambridge. If Wigan cannot fill the stadium with people, they compensate by filling it with noise; the public address system was cranked up to such a volume that it almost vibrated through the concrete beneath your feet.

The club makes a decent attempt to provide an entertaining and welcoming atmosphere, even if this does not stretch to producing a matchday programme. The young supporters are greeted by the club mascot Crusty the Pie, that rather unsurprisingly looks like a giant pie with a Latics hat and scarf. After season without a mascot, the club asked 90 local primary schools to suggest ideas for a new one. Over half of the entries involved a pie and Crusty was born and brought to life by two local children, Cayden aged eight and nine-year-old Neve. “We designed Crusty like this because everyone in Wigan loves pies”, the youngsters said not revealing any sensitivities about the virtues of a healthy diet. There again, the occasional treat does not harm, and community engagement is very healthy.

Any Town supporter that travelled with optimism of a positive result saw it evaporate within four minutes; some late arrivals had not even taken their seats. Before the match there was some discussion about the amount of effort that Town’s defence would have to put in on Wigan’s expansive pitch. (Most League One pitches look expansive in comparison to Town’s Subbuteo sized playing surface.) When Thelo Aasgaard flew through Salop’s stretched back three and Chey Dunkley saw the only way of stopping the Wigan forward was by cutting him down as he headed towards goal. A red card inevitably followed. This appears an incredibly rash challenge only minutes into the game, but defenders in a team that does not score many goals will be prone to impulsiveness.

With Taylor having stuck with the favoured 3-5-2 formation there was much discussion in the away seats about a tactical switch. “Should we sacrifice a striker?” “We sacrifice a striker every match!” replied a wag. Town’s head coach opted for continuity. In the immediate aftermath of Dunkley’s dismissal Wigan had shown themselves capable of attacking wide through the open spaces but were not able to get any return out of several crosses that flashed across the face of goal. Town meanwhile was making a spirted effort to retrieve the situation. The Latics’ defence had a porous look to it and Town managed some sights at goal, perhaps why Taylor opted to retain two strikers. The only problem with this was that two strikers that did not score many goals with nine players behind them were unlikely to come up trumps with only eight teammates in support. An out of form Daniel Udoh is carrying the attack and it is starting to show; there must be workhorses that have a more pampered lifestyle.

The grim reality was clear to most Town fans after the red card incident. It is not unheard of for teams reduced to ten men to get a result if they are creative, clinical at set pieces and brimming with confidence. Unfortunately, Salop currently score nothing in any of these areas. “If Town can get anything out of this game, I will eat Crusty the Pie!” I declared. Crusty was able to breathe easy: Wigan comfortably sealed a win with two goals either side of the break from former Salop players. Stephen Humphrys (two goals in 14 loan appearances for Town in 2017) managed to fire a shot past Marosi without engaging in any attacking approach play that bothered the Salop defence. Midway through the second half Callum Lang (three goals in 16 loan appearances in the season truncated by the Covid pandemic) effortlessly headed the ball into the net from McManaman’s cross. It could have been more but for Marosi, the woodwork and Wigan’s profligacy in front of goal.

If there was a positive about this game, it was that Salop did not collapse like a concertina; they deflated like a bouncy castle with a slow puncture. When the team has its tail up, like against Derby, the commitment and determination is certainly there and in games where things run Salop’s way there are results to be had. The problem is when the rub of the green is against them. Goals win matches; goals change the course matches. Town are not scoring goals: only three in the last ten league games. Cheltenham Town did not score in any of their first eleven league matches; their goal aggregate is now only one behind Salop’s total. Darrell Clarke has certainly got an immediate response from the Robins lifting them off the bottom of the division; he was available in the summer – did he apply for the Town head coach job?

Seven days ago, Salop supporters were bouncing with optimism; now the mists of uncertainty are drawing in again. With Paul Hirst’s dismissal as Grimsby manager on Saturday evening, many Town fans might feel the answer to the club’s current problems is to turn the clock back. I am not really convinced by that. What Town require now is unity and a sense of shared purpose both on the pitch and in the stands.