“There were glimpses of being a decent side, but it was too patchy”

Mudhutter editor Martin Tarbuck goes through Wigan’s season for us, with the Latics much closer to the relegation zone than the play-offs

Jun 19, 2025

Thursday 19 June 2025

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THE SCARF MY FATHER WORE 2025-26 CALENDAR: Having been to all 56 County games this season, I’ve taken thousands of photos. I’ve put together calendars for next season, featuring some of my favourite photos from the last year, plus some other County bits and bobs. £10 each. Get in touch if you’d like one.

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Wigan supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Thursday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Martin Tarbuck, editor of the brilliant Wigan fanzine Mudhutter, joins us today as we chat about Bolton, Bread and Ben Watson.

As you can see from the photos above, I was at Edgeley Park in October as County drew 0-0 against Wigan. I was also in the away end at the Brick in February as two late goals from Bate and Collar gave us victory. In fact, for the first time in my life, I’ve been to every single County game this season – all 56 of them! I’ve written a book about my adventures this season. If you’d like to support the publication by having your name printed in the book (along with a signed copy and a ticket to the book launch) drop me an email.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Gas Care. A big thank you to Carl.

Thanks also to Wigan Eats who sponsor our Wigan Athletic content on the website.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 253.75 miles

Total steps so far: 418,084

Total raised so far: £2,312

Total completed streets so far: 474 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

Photo credit: Wigan Athletic FC

Best moment of 2024-25?

Beating “them men” at their place for the third year in a row.

Worst moment of 2024-25?

Losing to “them men” at home for the first time in a decade to an injury time winner.

Funniest moment of 2024-25?

I don’t think there was any fun to be had. If pushed, maybe watching “them men” slowly turn on Ian Evatt. Come to think of it, that was also possibly the worst moment when they finally potted him.

The Birmingham Boasters and the Wrexham Wazzocks seem to have annoyed a lot of fans in League One this season. Which one are you most glad to see the back of?

You know what… both of them have lots of decent fans, fans I know who have stuck with their team through all the dark times. And I’m always reluctant to stick the boot in, because there’s no doubt many of them fully deserve every bit of their success. We’ve had it ourselves in spades over the past few decades, and I’ve no problem with someone else coming into large piles of money. I’m fine with it being someone else’s turn, not that this view is universally shared by all Latics fans.

However, with the niceties and disclaimers over, Wrexham seem to have a new breed of fan that simply don’t understand football at all. There was a load of them got free tickets in the home end at our place in April under the guise of a mental health charity. Fair enough, good on them, but don’t spend the game acting the goat, pissed up, singing, cheering and chanting and then crying foul when someone inevitably takes a swing at you…

Birmingham, however, have been next level gobby, from the moment they arrived in League One till the moment they left. To be fair, they had 40 million quid or summat to back it up. But making out they are the biggest club ever to find themselves in League One? Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Man City and Leeds United would all like a word, lads. And it’s not as if we played them in the Championship three years back and the ground was half empty…

Reform have been making a lot of noise recently. Based on this season, what’s in most need of reform at Wigan, on or off the pitch?

On the pitch, we seem to reform the squad every single year and this season is no different, what with Ryan Lowe seemingly handing out contracts to anyone who appeared as an extra in an episode of Bread. We are desperately short up front (isn’t everyone?) and I’ve got little faith the new owners will push the boat out to address this.

Off the field is more of the same. We’ve been bought by a “rugby mon” at a period when the rugby club have gone all-conquering again in their shallow gene pool of the M62 corridor and we are sadly seen as the lesser party. There’s just some fundamental stuff that needs fixing right now, and we’re just not a priority to them. The wages will be paid, and we will never come to any harm, but you know what it’s like with a football club: if you’re not spending millions on gum chewing idols, then you’re stagnating. Chuck a million at a rugby club and you can win everything in sight, do the same at a football club and you might move up a place or two in the table.

Four Four Two had you down to finish 9th, EFL pundit Gabriel Sutton thought you’d finish 3rd, while the Opta supercomputer predicted you’d be 8th. You finished 15th. Discuss.

There were glimpses of being a decent side, but it was too patchy. Some fans have pointed the finger squarely at Maloney but the failure to back him financially last summer, and a host of long-term critical injuries and downright bad luck, all contributed to his/our downfall.

I usually find Mr Sutton quite knowledgeable, but I hope someone can convince him to lay off the crack pipe the next time he does a season preview.

County 0 Wigan 0 in October. Wigan 0 County 2 in February. Thoughts?

I thought we held our own in both games. A decent first half in both, with you coming into it more in the second half and hitting us with two well-deserved sucker punches in the game at ours. No complaints really.

Best and worst away days of 2024-25?

See above for best. Other than that, I only did a few aways last year, probably my lowest tally ever. There was nowhere I really fancied and the ones I did, all seemed to land at crappy times. The one we all wanted to tick off was Crawley and they moved it to midweek. Reading away was probably the worst performance, it always is, and you have to go to Reading which makes it doubly worse.

Which Wigan player is most deserving of his couple of weeks on the beach this summer?

Sam Tickle. Daft bastard will probably spend the whole fortnight playing beach volleyball, chucking himself all over the place, and shit-housing with the locals in a playful manner.

Never mind Welcome to Wrexham on Disney+, a TV production company have just made Wigan Athletic: The Story of 2024-25. Which channel would it be most suited for?

Netflix. Our story pisses all over Wrexham in the same way the chairman who presided over it all used to piss on his hands to keep warm. I know we’ve no fans, according to popular parlance, which therefore could equate to no viewers, but there isn’t a club in the modern era who had such a rise to the top and such a prolonged period of success as we did, and of course the inevitable crash back down. I doubt there ever will be such a story again, such is the determination of those in the Premier League to pull the ladder up behind them.

And finally, apologies for darkening the mood, but you’ve only got 30 seconds to live. Putin’s pressed the red button and we’re all about to die. You can have one last moment of pleasure, watching a single Wigan goal from this season. What you sticking on?

I genuinely can’t remember any, it was such a tedious season. So, I’ll watch Ben Watson’s header to win the FA Cup final again please. Sorry for breaking the rules. What you going to do, kill me?

➡️ Any Wigan fans joining us today? As stated above, I’ve written a book having watched every County game home and away this season. There’s obviously two big chapters on Wigan included (home and away). Also, as I celebrated my 40th birthday this season, I’ve written about my four decades as a County fan as well, which I’m hoping will be an enjoyable read for anyone who supports a lower league club. There’s memories of beating four Premier League clubs as County reached the Coca-Cola Cup semi-finals in 1996-97, the club’s rise from the National League North to the brink of the Championship over the last few years, and the tale of a trip to Blackpool 20 years ago when me and my mates had a run-in with armed police after a day on the ale…

If you’d like to support the book, click on the link below to become a paid subscriber and I’ll post you a signed copy with your name printed inside once it’s published.

Book a slot with Gas Care to have your boiler serviced

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Photo of the day

A train, just after leaving Wigan North Western

Your editor celebrated County’s victory at the Brick last season with his first ever Wigan Kebab for the train home. Bloody delicious!

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Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. The Phoenician Scheme (15) at 6pm, followed by The Salt Path (12A) at 8.15pm. Click here for tickets.

🍺 Food and drink

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have a great range of offers throughout the week, including £5.50 for drinks off the Doubles Bar, a comprehensive range of shots for £1.50, and 3 for £7 on Jägerbombs. Also, double up for £2 on premium spirits.

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8).

A number of venues are featured on The Scarf My Father Wore such as The Crown (SK2), The Crown Inn (SK6), The Steelworks (SK6), The Three Tunnes (SK7) and Flute & Firkin (SK12). Support them this month by popping in for a few drinks and a bite to eat.