Wigan Athletic

In a packed Wembley Stadium on a sunny Sunday afternoon, fans enjoyed the return of top-tier English football, as Manchester United claimed a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic.

Both sides featured a host of debutants, with David Moyes and Owen Coyle taking to the dugout for the first time as Red Devils and Latics managers while Wilfried Zaha, James McClean, Grant Holt, Stephen Crainey, Leon Barnett and James Perch all took to the pitch in new colours.

United settled extremely early, fizzing the ball around with ease and stirring up a lot of tension and nerves in their Championship opponents.

A goal came as early as the sixth minute, as Robin van Persie rose unchallenged to head home and lift the pressure off Moyes.

Ryan Giggs' superb use of space allowed United to stream forward and RvP's ball out wide to Patrice Evra was returned in the form of an inch-perfect cross. Van Persie, fully 16 yards out, powered a header into the far corner past a helpless Scott Carson.

The strike set the tone, and the Red Devils dominated the opening 25 minutes with ease.

Zaha got several early touches and showed immense promise, while Danny Welbeck dropped in and out of his left-sided role at will to contribute to the buildup play.

Coyle's side were all at sea, but United were unable to add to their tally, which allowed their Lancashire counterparts back into the game.

The final 15 minutes of the first half saw some superb aerial tussles between Grant Holt and Nemanja Vidic. McClean should have produced an easy tap-in for Holt just before halftime, instead slamming it well wide from the acutest of angles.

The second half started in a pedestrian manner, with the opening 15 minutes dragging by.

The crowd began urging United on, willing them to put their foot back on the gas, and Van Persie duly delivered once again.

Neat buildup play outside the Wigan box saw the ball moved from left to right in seconds and the Dutchman latched on to it on the right-hand side, cut in and fired a deflected effort past Carson.

Two goals to the good and United were cruising. What followed was a flurry of substitutions from game sides to ruin any flow the match was about to develop.

Clear-cut chances were few and far between from the 60th minute on, with Evra's late weaving run and Tom Cleverley's scuffed effort on goal as the highlights.

Moyes has a trophy under his belt and boasts a 100 percent win rate in competitive games. After a torrid preseason campaign, this victory was direly needed.

Key Player Grades

Robin van Persie: B+

Despite going missing for long periods in a very preseason-esque run out by United, Van Persie takes our top honours thanks to a two-goal performance.

His header to open proceedings was stunning, and while his second was a little lucky, he did fantastically to engineer half a yard of space to shoot.

Nemanja Vidic: B

For stretches, the United defence were spectators, but Vidic was watertight on defence when called upon.

He got the better of man-mountain Holt on a number of occasions while keeping his tentative goalkeeper, David de Gea, safe from a bombardment of crosses into the box.

James McClean: B-

It took him a while to get settled, but Wigan new boy McClean put in an excellent showing on the left wing.

He's the perfect complement to target man Holt and a clear change in style is in the offing. With a bit of added composure, he can be a creative force in the Championship this season.

Complete Player Grades

Manchester United Player Grades
Player	Grade
David de Gea	C+
Rafael	C+
Phil Jones	C+
Nemanja Vidic	B
Patrice Evra	B+
Michael Carrick	C+
Ryan Giggs	B-
Tom Cleverley	C
Danny Welbeck	B-
Wilfried Zaha	B-
Robin van Persie	B+
Chris Smalling (on 16')	C+
Antonio Valencia (on 61')	C
Anderson (on 67')	C
Shinji Kagawa (on 83')	N/A
Adnan Januzaj (on 84')	N/A

Wigan Athletic Player Grades
Player	Grade
Scott Carson	C+
Emmerson Boyce	C-
James Perch	C
Leon Barnett	C-
Stephen Crainey	C-
James McCarthy	C
Ben Watson	C
James McArthur	C
James McClean	B
Shaun Maloney	D
Grant Holt	C+
Marc Antoine Fortune (on 60')	C
Callum McManaman (on 60')	C
Chris McCann (60')	C
Jordi Gomez (on 83')	C-
Roger Espinoza (on 84')	C+
Nouha Dicko (on 86')	N/A

What's Next?

Manchester United face Swansea City in the Premier League opener on Saturday, August 17. Wigan resume normal service in the Championship, travelling to Bournemouth on the same day.

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European football clubs have made a habit of travelling the world during their preseason preparations over the past few years.

Some clubs go to faraway lands to spread their brand like Manchester United's tour of Thailand, Australia and Japan. Some go to resort areas to train in seclusion while getting some team bonding in, such as Southampton's trip to Girona, Spain.

Wigan Athletic's preseason tour doesn't fit either category.

Wigan came to America primarily to face the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer last Saturday; a match the Latics won 2-1. The FA Cup champions also have a match scheduled against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer Leagues Pro Division, the third division of American soccer, at their brand new Highmark Stadium on Friday.

But with five days between matches, Wigan had some time to fill, So the Latics hastily arranged a friendly with the Dayton Dutch Lions, another USL Pro Division team for Tuesday night. 

The Dutch Lions don't have their own stadium. They primarily play their matches at Beavercreek High School's stadium, which is primarily used for American gridiron football. The field is artificial turf and lined for football, so it wasn't the ideal field for Wigan to play on.

So the match was moved 25 miles North of Dayton to Wertz Stadium in Piqua, Ohio. Piqua (pronounced PICK-wah if you are curious) is a small town of just over 20,000 people according to the U.S. Census. While Piqua isn't exactly a soccer hotbed, neither their boys' nor girls' high school teams finished above .500 last season, Wertz Stadium is one of the best high school soccer facilities in the area.

Wertz Stadium seats 5,600 people and features a natural grass surface (which isn't a given in the area), so it was seen as the proper venue for the match, despite the distance from the Dutch Lions' usual home base.

Over 2,000 fans turned out for the friendly on Tuesday night, including a handful of fans wearing Wigan jerseys. No one would have blamed Wigan for fielding a bunch of reserves given the setting and opposition, but manager Owen Coyle fielded a starting lineup with familiar names like James McCarthy, Ben Watson, Shaun Maloney, Callum McManaman, Roger Espinoza, James Perch and Marc-Antoine Fortune.

While third-division soccer isn't exactly a huge draw in the U.S., the Dutch Lions do have a small group of dedicated supporters who do their best to keep the atmosphere lively. The Oranje Legion have a sense of humor about themselves, singing "We are orange. Nothing rhymes with orange!" among their various songs.

The heat, which was 92 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, and the humidity made the temperature feel more like 105 degrees, certainly slowed the pace in the first half. Wigan also had some problems adapting to the heartier grass surface that was longer than they were used to. But the Latics thoroughly controlled the early play. There were a couple of early penalty shouts that went unheard by the referee, but Wigan goals by Fortune and McCarthy gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at halftime.

The second half have the hosts a glimmer of hope and one player a memory of a lifetime. Just two minutes into the second half, Dayton forward Brandon Swartzendruber looped a header over Wigan keeper Mike Pollitt to make the score 2-1.

Any thoughts of a comeback were quickly dashed a minute later. Grant Holt, who had come on as a substitute at halftime, quickly re-established the two-goal lead by re-directing a cross from Maloney into the net. The Latics scored two more goals, with Nouha Dicko and Rakish Bingham getting their names on the scoresheet.

The spirit of goodwill throughout the evening could be summed up in a two-minute sequence that occurred when Holt had a one-on-one opportunity against Dayton keeper Wichert de Wit. The new transfer from Norwich City easily beat De Wit, but he beat him so badly that De Wit injured his ankle. Holt, seeing the keeper was down, kicked the ball out of play instead of scoring on the open net.

De Wit continued for a couple of minutes. But when Dicko was taken down inside the Dayton penalty area, Wigan keeper Lee Nicholls, who started for the Latics, ended up finishing the match for Dayton. Holt would end up getting his second goal after all, beating his teammate on the ensuing penalty kick to make the final score 6-1.

After the match, both teams signed autographs and posed for pictures along the fence line near the benches.

Both teams got what they wanted out of the evening. Wigan got each of their players a run-out without major injury (McManaman did leave the match early with a minor hamstring strain, but nothing serious). The Dutch Lions got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play a major club from England. And the town of Piqua, Ohio, will get to tell the tale of the time the defending FA Cup champions visited small-town America.

Wigan's new manager, Owen Coyle, has been a busy bee in the last few days as his preparations for a quick return to the EPL really got going.

Three players have now been signed, which is half the amount that Coyle had been looking to recruit to bolster his team that is set to lose some key players. 

Coyle looked set to raid his former club, Burnley, to sign Chris McCann and Martin Paterson, but only half of this rumor turned into fact.

Irish midfielder McCann became Coyle's first major signing for the Latics, and maybe his arrival provides an assurance in central midfield, should star player James McCarthy leave the club.

McCarthy has been hotly tipped to be playing Premier League football again next season, with Tottenham and Everton rumored to be interested in his signing according to Jonathan Northcroft's report in The Sunday Times.

Twenty-five-year-old McCann played for Coyle during his nine-year career at Turf Moor, but his move will only officially take place on July 1, when his contract expires with the Clarets.

It doesn't look likely that teammate Paterson will be joining him, though. Sky Sports revealed that Wigan were closing in on the signing of the striker as well as McCann, but so far that move has not materialized.

However, strikers are what Wigan need as they look set to lose Ivorian forward Arouna Kone and already have Franco di Santo out of contract.

Kone was the Latics' top scorer last season with 13 goals in all competitions, but the 29-year-old has been linked with a move to Everton to join up with Roberto Martinez again as Sky Sports reports.

It's understood that Kone has a buyout clause in his contract believed to be in the region of £5 million, according to Tom McCooey's report for WiganToday.

Fellow striker Mauro Boselli has left Wigan to join Mexican side Club Leon.

Latics fans will not be too upset by the Argentine's departure, as the 29-year-old never made an impact at the DW following his arrival from Estudiantes in 2010.

Having only scored five in 23 appearances, Boselli was regularly loaned out, and his disappointing stay has now finally ended.

At least Wigan are starting to bolster their defense, which was also looking slightly weak with the departure of Maynor Figueroa at Hull and the likely exit of Antolin Alcaraz.

Thirty-two-year-old Stephen Crainey has now been revealed as Wigan's second summer signing.

The Scottish left-back signed a one-year contract after arriving on a free transfer from Blackpool and is relishing the challenge ahead of him.

He told Wigan Evening Post:

"The Championship is a grueling division, with tough games every week but that and the chance to play European football is a challenge I’m really looking forward to."

The Latics also revealed Celtic's Thomas Rogne as Coyle's latest signing today after arriving on a free and will provide extra defensive cover.

The 22-year-old Norwegian, who was out of contract with the SPL champions, has become Coyle's third signing in less than a week.

Meanwhile, there has been lots of speculation concerning Callum McManaman.  

According to a Wigan Today report, McManaman looks set to stay at Wigan, which manager Coyle is delighted by, and the new boss said: 

I came to the game against Swansea and he was outstanding.

Every time he got the ball the crowd was out of their seats because they thought something was going to happen.

There’s no doubt he is an outstanding talent, but we have to balance that against the number of games he has played. He is still a kid, but I believe he is destined for a huge career.

However, a report by Alan Nixon of The Sunday People (via Mirror) suggests that Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio is lining up a £7 million bid to scare off a potential bid from Everton. 

The 22-year-old, who is still recovering from an injury sustained in the FA Cup final, would probably remain at Wigan unless a more sizable offer was to be made. 

 

Wigan Athletic's new manager Owen Coyle will have plenty to do in the offseason, and keeping star players will be one of his toughest tasks.  

Key players like James McCarthy, Arouna Kone and Callum McManaman have each impressed in a team that claimed FA cup glory but struggled in the league.

Now, with a new season in the npower Championship ahead of them, Coyle has been given the target of leading Wigan back into the Premier League (with the incentive of a £1 million bonus from chairman Dave Whelan should he gain promotion at the first attempt). 

This transfer window will definitely see one or two players leave for good money, but should Wigan have a fighting chance of getting out of the division, they will need to find the right balance between making a tidy profit and clearing out too many players.

This article will break down the chances of which players are likely to leave and where they may go according to recent rumors and speculation.

At the moment it is very quiet on the Wigan front in terms of bringing players in.  The Latics obviously have enough on their plate trying to persuade as many players as they can to remain at the club.

James McCarthy

Wigan's dynamic midfielder has been the one player that has drawn huge interest from many clubs around the Premier League. 

The latest rumor is that Tottenham lead the race for his signature.  Jonathan Northcroft of The Sunday Times (subscription required) reports that Wigan would want £20 million for the 22-year-old Ireland international.

This is unlikely as according to the article, club chairman Daniel Levy is reluctant to meet the asking price.  

McCarthy remains one of the most likely players to exit the DW Stadium considering the amount of teams reported to be interested in him.

He has also been linked with Liverpool, Arsenal and Fulham at various points of the season, but it would be no surprise to see him join Martinez at Everton.

Toffees right-back Seamus Coleman has been talking with his international teammate and getting excited about the prospect of impressing his new boss.

Coleman told SkySports.com: 

I spoke to James about him. He always has good things to say about him.

Like David Moyes with me, Martinez was brilliant with James, so he obviously has positive things to say.

Perhaps these two Irishmen will be playing together too at club level next season.  

The high fee for McCarthy might not be a problem for Everton, especially if they cash in on the sale of Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini.

Arouna Kone

Kone has a contract that runs to 2015, but whether he is prepared to play in a lower division remains uncertain.

Phil Kirkbride reported in the Liverpool Echo that the Ivorian striker is unlikely to end up at Everton despite former Latics boss Roberto Martinez being in charge at Goodison Park.

He was quoted as saying:

Just because the gaffer is in charge makes the link stronger but, to be honest, I don’t know what will happen.

After the international games I will know more then.

I have a contract until 2015 with Wigan and I settled very well there.

It is a brilliant community football club. The chairman is fantastic.

However, Simon Jones of the Mail Online reports that the former Wigan boss would like to bring Kone to his new club and hopes to beat Steve Bruce and Hull to his signing.

Kone is rumored to be valued at £5 million, and should a team come in with an offer in that region he is likely to leave.  

The 29-year-old striker scored 13 goals in all competitions last season for the Latics and would be a good acquisition for Hull, so that would be a good bet should they put in a strong offer.

Callum McManaman

McManaman has gained a lot of admirers after a string of promising performances and his man-of-the-match display in the FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City, 

Like many of Wigan's star performers, he has been rumored to follow Roberto Martinez to Everton.

This would be logical for the once Goodison Park trainee, and he certainly would be a player the Everton fans would want to see at their club.

However, the 22-year-old would be wise to stay at Wigan where he would be able to develop further under Coyle and be almost guaranteed to start every game.

Remember, McManaman only featured regularly in the second half of last season for Latics after impressing in the early rounds of the FA cup.

He is still raw and needs to keep plying his trade with Latics and if he continues to impress the big clubs will still be interested and Wigan can demand an even higher price should they want to sell.

Phil Kirkbride writes in Liverpool Echo that Callum McManaman is unlikely to head to Goodison Park. 

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan is prepared to sell players should the right offer come in, and McManaman would attract a sizable fee.

The new boss has said that he wants to keep as many players as he can, and Coyle told ITV.com:

We want to keep the main ones, sure we do. But the chairman always said if the right offer comes in, he'd never stand in someone's way. It's a talented squad.

The odds of the winger leaving this term are low and Wigan should be able to keep him at least for one more season.

Aside from the above three, it looks like Maynor Figueroa is set to join newly promoted Hull City according to SkySports.com.

Also, fellow defender Antolin Alcaraz could soon be on his way out of the DW stadium as a host of Premier League clubs are chasing him, as reported by SkySports.com.

Roberto Martinez has resigned from his position as manager of English Premier League side Wigan Athletic.

The news comes after weeks of speculation over his future as Wigan failed to keep their place in the Premier League next year and were demoted to the Championship.

Confirming the news, Wigan owner Dave Whelan said, per BBC Sport:

He wanted permission to move so I've given that. He has 12 months left on his contract, so whoever comes in for him must pay the remainder of his contract.

He feels he's not the man to lead us back into the Premier League. I've got to accept what he feels. He loves Wigan and the fans. We have to move on now and want applications for the job.

Roberto Martinez joined Wigan from Swansea in 2009, having previously played 229 times in his career for the team from 1995 to 2001.

The 39-year-old had previously coached Swansea from 2007 to 2009 and has been credited as the originator of their sleek passing game, which he also introduced at Wigan Athletic.

He recently won the FA Cup in unlikely fashion against Manchester City, then coached by Roberto Mancini. His only other title as manager is the Football League One trophy he won with Swansea.

Martinez has been linked with the vacant Everton manager post and his departure makes the move even more feasible.

A former Wigan Athletic teammate of Martinez, Dutch defender Arjan de Zeeuw, recently claimed that Martinez would leave Wigan if there was Premier League interest in him. Speaking to BBC, he said: "If there is interest from another Premier League club, I think Roberto will leave Wigan. [If I were Everton's chairman] I would definitely be asking the question and give him a phone call and see what his thoughts are."

Last week saw Wigan Athletic's eight-year reign in the EPL come to an end, but if certain factors had changed, would we still be looking at the same outcome?

There will always be games in a season when luck went against a team and decisions didn't go the right way. However, in Wigan's case, a few other factors could have led to their own downfall.

Toward the end of the season, the FA Cup winners obviously had to play more games than the teams around them.

Could this end-of-season fixture pile-up have had a detrimental effect on Latics' league form?

When Wigan beat Everton 3-0 in the quarterfinals, they had 10 league fixtures left, but also had two trips down to Wembley ahead of them.

The likes of Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke only had to concentrate on getting themselves clear of the bottom three, while Latics were caught on a roller-coaster last two months.

Roberto Martinez didn't have the biggest squad to choose from and suffered with injuries to key players such as Ivan Ramis and Maynor Figueroa.

It was always going to be hard trying to find the balance between resting players and playing fringe players in the cup.

With the final in sight, no one can blame Wigan for going all out to win their first major trophy, and the triumph will forever be a momentous part of the club's history.

After reaching the final, Martinez certainly didn't think the distraction of the FA Cup was a negative. Via Manchester Evening News:

That gives you a positive feeling - around the town, around the fans and around the dressing room.

We are taking every game in the league with the importance it has. We all understand that is the priority.

But having an FA Cup final is a fantastic reward to fight for in the league.

From the players' point of view, that is what you are fighting for at the end of a game in the league.

That is going to help us perform as well as we can in the next four games in the league.

We shouldn't forget that the FA Cup run brought the likes of Callum McManaman, Joel Robles and Roger Espinoza into prominence, and they all performed well in the latter stages of the season.

However, Martinez's remarks came after the 2-2 draw at home to Tottenham, in a game were they conceded a late equaliser. After that match, Latics went on to lose to Swansea and Arsenal.

It's quite possible to see that the cup success was a hindrance, but Wigan's general play didn't suffer too much.

This leads us on to what was probably the biggest "what if" of the season, and if it had been different Wigan would most likely have remained an EPL side.

Defensive errors proved very costly.  Although the team's performances were pretty consistent, if individual errors had been eradicated, Wigan surely would have got the extra four points that would have kept them up.

These errors were highlighted mostly in the 3-2 home defeat to Swansea, which was probably the last straw for Latics.

Twice in that game Wigan conceded a goal due to horrendous mistakes from defense.  First, Gary Caldwell gave the ball away from the back and was made to pay, and then James McArthur and Shaun Maloney got in each other's way to gift Swansea the lead.

Against Spurs, keeper Joel Robles' lazy approach to clearing a back pass deflected off Gareth Bale's boot in what was another schoolboy error.

Looking at these mistakes alone, if Wigan had distributed the ball better or cleared their lines in danger, they could have been five points better off and safety would have been assured.

Latics conceded 73 goals in the league, which was the joint most along with Reading, via BBC Sport.

The final "what if" was arguably down to injuries. Yes, every team suffers throughout the season, but Wigan lost at least five defenders at varying points.

Spanish defender Ramis suffered a long-term knee injury in January which forced him out for the rest of the season.

This was a crucial loss, as his performances were strong, and a good partnership was being formed with Paraguayan center-back Antolin Alcaraz.

Fellow defender Adrian Lopez also missed a significant chunk of the season when he injured a hamstring in December.

Along with Figueroa missing the final few games, Wigan never had a settled back four for the majority of the season. 

If at least Ramis and Alcaraz had been fit for the last two months of the season, there may have been fewer errors and the silly goals that were conceded may have been avoided.

Wigan will be hopeful that they can keep exiting players to a minimum if they are to gain promotion from the Championship next year.

They will also need to invest in a number of defenders and strikers, as the likes of Alcaraz, Figueroa and Franco di Santo are out of contract while Angelo Henriquez returns to Manchester United from his loan season. 

From the elation of winning the FA Cup final to the devastation of being relegated from the EPL, it's one week that will live long in the memory of all Wigan fans.

It's common knowledge that manager Roberto Martinez is in demand, and Latics will find it hard to keep his services for the fight to re-join the top flight.

Roberto Martinez confirmed on Wigantoday.net that several players whose contracts expire this summer will be leaving the club.

These include influential defenders Antolin Alcaraz and Maynor Figueroa, as well as striker Franco di Santo and the versatile Ronnie Stam.

Latics are also set to lose their on loan players to their respective parent clubs, including goalkeeper Joel Robles, Angelo Henriquez and fan favourite Paul Scharner. 

Robles, who has kept Ali Al Habsi out of the team for the last few months, will head back to Atletico Madrid, who are now Copa del Rey winners after beating rivals Real Madrid.

According to Eleanor Crooks of The Independent, Martinez admits there will be departures, but it won't be as many as six leaving the club, he said:

You wouldn't lose six because that's not realistic. It's nothing to be worried about.

Sometimes when you hear the word relegation it brings a chaotic time internally at the football club, you don't know where you are financially, you expect the worst. At Wigan Athletic this is the best that we've ever been.

Callum McManaman and James McArthur are arguably the two most in-demand players after impressing in a team that struggled in the league.

After a man-of-the-match display at Wembley in Latics' triumph over Manchester City, McManaman was called up by Stuart Pearce to the England Under-21s.

And his performances, especially in the glorious FA Cup run, have caught the eye of many who are tipping him for great success.

According to James Dickenson of the Express, Liverpool are rumoured to be ahead of the field to land both McManaman and McArthur.

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers watched the pair at the Emirates as Wigan's eight-year stay in the EPL came to an end.

The 22-year-old winger showed glimpses of his raw talent when he gave Kieran Gibbs a tough time early on, in the same way that he ran Man City's Gael Clichy ragged throughout the FA Cup final.

Like McManaman, 25-year-old Scottish international McArthur has been one Wigan's best performers this term, and if a bigger club comes in for him, he would find it hard to say no.

One player who seems to be content to remain at Wigan and help them in their bid to come straight back up is midfielder Shaun Maloney.

According to SkySports.com he has a new two-and-a-half-year contract that he signed back in January and is happy at the club.

If Wigan are to cope with the extra fixtures in the Championship, as well as playing in Europe for the first time in the club's history, they will need a big squad.

Keeping as many key players as possible will be crucial, and the 30-year-old Maloney is definitely one of those players.

Apart from the players that are out of contract, Wigan should be able to keep the bulk of their squad. 

Top goal scorer Arouna Kone, who has scored 11 goals in the EPL this season, would be a player who may attract several clubs around Europe, and it will be hard to see him playing in the Championship.

With the inevitability of players coming and going, the biggest concern for all Latics fans, and indeed chairman Dave Whelan, will be whether Martinez will stay or go.

The Wigan boss is due for talks with Dave Whelan next week, but he has consistently avoided talking about his future to the media until after their final league match against Aston Villa.

He has been heavily tipped to succeed David Moyes at Everton after the Scot landed his dream job at Manchester United.

David Anderson of The Mirror reports that the Spaniard will do what is in the best interest of the club. Martinez said:

On Monday we will celebrate with the FA Cup around the town. Then we will need a few days before sitting down with the chairman next week to decide what's best  for Wigan Athletic to move forward.

Looking ahead to next season, Latics will need to buy several defenders since they are set to lose three, as mentioned earlier.

A proven goal scorer will also be necessary, as di Santo is out of contract, and if Kone were to leave, too, Latics will have much to do in the transfer window.

It will be a busy time for whoever is in charge ahead of next season, but it's looking increasingly likely that it won't be Martinez, although I for one would like to see him guide Latics back to the big time. 

Even in the moments after relegation, Roberto Martinez refused to speculate about his future.

“This is not the time for that,” he replied when asked about his plans for next season. (BBC)

Instead, all he wanted to talk about was his group of Wigan players—an injury-ravaged group, he conceded, but one that had done ever so well to win the FA Cup and fight for the Premier League survival until the bitter end.

“The players have been great ambassadors for Wigan Athletic,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve deserved to be in the bottom three, but we are.”

He added: “We’ve got one more game. We need to reflect and share our good feelings with the fans after winning the FA Cup.”

Whatever he is—and his rising stock suggests he’s an up-and-coming manager—Martinez can’t for a minute be accused of being selfish. He claimed none of the praise heaped on his players following Saturday’s FA Cup win against Manchester City at Wembley; he hasn’t once even hinted at a move away from DW Stadium.

But that’s not to say he won’t make a move this summer.

Given David Moyes’ Everton exit and the increasing likelihood that Martin Jol will be pink-slipped at Fulham in the coming weeks, there are a handful of attractive jobs about to open in the Premier League, and no doubt Martinez’s name will be at or near the top of the list of many a chairman.

Not only is the 39-year-old universally liked (his tone and expressions compel admiration), but he is brave as well. Wigan operated with three at the back through much of the season, and while the goals they leaked eventually proved their undoing they also played some of the most attractive football in the top flight.

That will go a long way at clubs whose prospects are mid-table at best to begin with, and if Alan Pardew suddenly finds himself on rocky footing at Newcastle there could be an opening at St. James’ Park as well.

Martinez, you’d think, will have no shortage of options when the dust settles from the early-summer round of managerial sackings. But at this point he remains in charge of Wigan Athletic, and it’s Wigan Athletic who should still be considered favourites to keep him going into next season.

“I’m just hoping Roberto waits and has another one or two years with us, because he will eventually go to a top European club,” remarked Wigan chairman Dave Whelan after watching his side fall 4-1 to Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, Wednesday. (Talksport)

“Roberto knows how I feel about him, and I know how Roberto feels about me and the club. He’s a very, very loyal gentleman.”

But, added Whelan, “When the day dawns—and it will—when he says, ‘chairman, I want to go to this or that club,’ I will release him immediately.”

That’s some high praise—about as high as it gets in professional football.

But it’s not at all misplaced.

Roberto Martinez is that rare manager who engenders respect wherever he goes. And he’ll deserve whatever job he gets, should he choose to take a new one.

Follow @jerradpeters

Going into the Emirates Stadium and beating an Arsenal team playing for its Champions League life was always going to be a tall task for Wigan. It turned out to be too tall, as Arsenal defeated Wigan, relegating the Latics to Championship football next season.

This gives Wigan the distinction of being the first team to win the FA Cup and be relegated in the same season, per ESPN's Paul Carr:

Wigan is the first team to win the FA Cup and be relegated in the same season.

— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) May 14, 2013

The crushing blow was dealt by Theo Walcott, who broke a 1-1 deadlock early in the second half after a nice cross from Santi Cazorla. The Gunners went on to tally two more goals from Lukas Podolski and Aaron Ramsey.

Wigan came into Tuesday knowing it likely needed two wins to remain in the Premier League, trailing 17th-place Sunderland by four points with a game in hand. Though a draw against Arsenal would have technically kept Wigan alive, Sunderland would have held a plus-11 goal differential, which is the tiebreaker when two teams finish with the same amount of points.

Wigan, which has played in the Premier League for eight straight seasons, always seemed to find a way to stave off relegation in the waning moments of the season.    

In 2007, a win over Sheffield United on the last day of the season kept the Latics in the Premier League. In 2011, a win over Stoke City on the last day saved Wigan, which went into the day in 19th place. Last year, the team went from 19th place with six games remaining to 15th on the table after winning five of those games.

This year, however, the magic ran dry. Now, Wigan will have to stave off other clubs from poaching its manager and top players.

Manager Roberto Martinez, often a hot name in managerial searches, could finally switch sides. Quality players like James McCarthy, James McArthur, Callum McManaman and Shaun Maloney could be snatched up by top-flight teams. Wigan could quickly find itself in a full rebuilding mode.

All good things must come to an end, and Wigan was playing with fire each year, saving its best football for late in the season. In 2013, that bad habit finally caught up with the club. 

The FA Cup was supposed to have lost its magic. Just last week, this writer wrote a lengthy lament on this theme.

On Saturday at Wembley, however, there was a spark of enchantment once again. Thanks to an injury-time header from Ben Watson, Wigan were awarded the first major trophy of their 81-year history, leaving their moneyed rivals Manchester City with empty hands this season.

It was a true tale of an underdog triumph. Wigan have only been a league club for 35 years, and their squad cost just $17 million to assemble. The Citizens have 11 players who cost more than that individually (statistic via CNN).

As a Wimbledon fan, I can certainly appreciate the story of a small club beating a heavily favoured title contender in an FA Cup Final with a header from a set piece.

Unlike the Stoke side that faced City in the final two seasons ago, the Latics played positive, attack-minded football and were awarded with a memorable day for their fans.

But as the celebratory hangovers subside, a sobering reality is about to hit Wigan fans.

If they fail to secure at least a point at Arsenal on Tuesday, they will be relegated from the Premier League.

Seeing as Arsenal have the second-best form in the league and a 16th-consecutive appearance in the Champions League to play for, the future looks bleak for Roberto Martinez's side. To compound this misery, the Spaniard who has managed to keep them in the top flight in the past few seasons looks set to take the helm at Everton (via The Guardian).

The bittersweet situation in which Wigan find themselves sparked this furious debate among my friends: Would you rather win an FA Cup and be relegated, or lose the final and stay in the Premier League?

Those friends with a pragmatic point of view immediately sided with staying up.

As FA Cup winners, Wigan will receive £1.8 million in prize money for the final, around £1.6m for the rounds leading up to it, TV rights payments and gate receipt money. At a conservative estimate, perhaps that will bring in £5 million.

According to the Express, this season's relegated clubs will stand to lose around £200 million. This is the slice of the £1.5 billion TV rights pie being served to Premiership clubs next season, and further losses will come in the form of lower ticket revenues and less sponsorship opportunities.

Clearly, it does not take an economist to see that losing £1.8 million of prize money is better than losing a share of a £200 million bounty and all the other financial perks that come with life in the Premier League.

Also supporting this side of the debate is the fact that the league should always be a club's main focus. It is the main reason for a club's existence, and the opportunity to stay in the world's most watched and biggest-earning division is nothing to be sniffed at.

In terms of securing the continued prosperity of the club, it seems clear Wigan should have focused their energies on the 38 Premiership games, rather than the six cup matches they played to reach Wembley.

Based on these facts, a right-thinking person might say staying up and losing the cup final is the correct answer in this debate.

But personally, I would choose to win the FA Cup and take the plunge. Without hesitation.

Wigan are very unlikely to ever win a league title, or to progress particularly far in Europe (next season permitting). This FA Cup win might realistically be their only shot at silverware, aside from the less favorable League Cup.

In 25 years time, Wigan will proudly be able to say they won the FA Cup in 2013. It is an indelible mark on football history, and something that will always be in their heritage. In 25 years, being relegated may not ultimately matter.

Incidentally, it is the 25th anniversary of the year Wimbledon famously beat Liverpool at Wembley, and, with the possible exception of promotion to The Football League as AFC Wimbledon a few seasons ago, that win is still the most important moment in the club's history.

Much has happened to the Dons since then in terms of league position—including dissolution of the entire club—but their FA Cup legacy still prevails.

The day at Wembley is a memory that Wigan fans and officials will hold with them forever. It is a trophy that cannot be taken away for another year. And it is a trophy that guarantees a potentially exciting foray into Europe next season.

Having a special day in London isn't the only benefit for a fan in Wigan's situation. The Latics have watched their side lose 19 times in the league this season, shipping in an average of nearly 2.5 goals in those games.

Watching a team be relegated from the Premier League can be depressing (trust me, I have done it). The Championship, by contrast, will be a breath of fresh air, where Wigan fans will be treated to a lot more wins and the potential excitement of chasing the playoffs or automatic promotion.

It is also worth noting that the Championship is a rather fantastic division, which has certainly been more exciting than the Premier League this season. At the end of the season, just 14 points separated playoff side Leicester and relegated Peterborough. That is a reflection of a closely fought league where anything can happen.

If you ask me, I'd rather watch Championship football as an FA Cup holder than endure another stressful campaign of fighting relegation—with no silverware to show for it.

Ultimately, this debate is a simple matter of head vs. heart. The head says it is far better to lose the FA Cup Final and stay up. The heart steers you toward the romance of climbing the stairs at Wembley to watch your team add a new chapter to its own folklore.

For me, the heart wins every time.

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