TABLE-topping Wigan are facing bigger problems off the pitch than on it after Saturday's superb 5-0 drubbing of Crystal Palace was witnessed by their lowest league crowd of the season.
With the glitz and glamour of the Premiership closer than ever before, questions remain over how long Dave Whelan will bankroll a club unable to fill a third of their 25,000 seater stadium. The Latics' best result of the campaign was achieved in front of a paltry 6,796 - a figure hardly matching the aspirations their league position suggests.
Brenda Spencer, the club's chief executive, is at a loss to explain the lowly crowds, saying: "I don't think there is a simple solution to the problem.
Appeal
"However, when we are at the top of the division we should be getting crowds of more than 6,000. All we can do is to appeal to the people of Wigan to come and support their local team."
The Latics share the JJB Stadium with RL giants Wigan Warriors but she does not suggest that is to blame for low gates.
"People support one club or the other and do not really support both," she said.
Caroline Molyneux, chairman of the Official Wigan Athletic Supporters' Club, goes a step further.
"If you look at the figures over the years we have had an increase of 200 to 300 per cent.
Rugby town
"I hate to say the words `rugby town' but I think it is finally changing to a football town. I see a lot of kids now walking around in Wigan shirts.
"Our away support is actually very good. We have between one and two thousand die-hard fans who travel which is about a fifth of our home support."
However, not even a Carling Cup-tie last week against a Middlesbrough side fielding the multi-million pound talents of Gaizka Mendieta and Juninho could raise the JJB crowd past the 9,000 mark.
But John Heeley, co-editor of the Cockney Latics Fanzine, feels criticism of this figure is unjustified. "Our gate against Middlesbrough was considerably better than that of Bolton Wanderers the previous evening," he said.
He goes on to say that the club's average is not the worst in the division but the truth is that only Rotherham, Crewe, Walsall and struggling Wimbledon have smaller average gates.
Wigan's nearest challengers West Brom have an average attendance of over 22,000 while third place Norwich have not seen their crowd drop below 16,000. Wigan, above them in the league, have an average attendance of 9,444.
But, if Athletic do make the Premiership Brenda Spencer is sure the crowds would flock to the JJB.
"I don't think we would have this problem in the Premiership," she said.
Is it simply a case of there not being loads of Athletic fans in Wigan? Have your say
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Get your facts right before printing such rubbish!
Our average gate is 9444 not 8100 and you neglected to mention that our crowds have risen by some 400+% in the last decade making us the fastest growing club in the professional game.
We are the best supported club of any to have been promoted to the league since 1945 and our attendences are up 30% on last season already.
While I disagree with certain things written in this article it's not even close to being as badly written as that of Paul Hince.
It seems people are just commenting on our crowds to get some debate going. It works every time but it's gone on for too long now and all it does is wind people up and make them stop buying the paper that gives us a bad name by doing it.
I'll be interested to see who is commenting on our crowds at the end of the season when we've played host to the likes of Forest, Sunderland and West Ham. Somehow I don't think there will be a bandwagon to jump on.
Consider this scenario. On the one hand a first division club with 100 years history of the Football League, on the other a club with 25 years history in the Football League. The first club has 3 Premier League clubs within 25 miles, the second has 6 Premier League clubs within 25 miles radius. the first has no other major sports club to attract fans, the other has had to live in the shadow of a "world famous" club with 100 years of history. Over its last 2 seasons in the Football League the first club's average home attendace was 6700 whereas the second club's average after a dozen games was 9400 but one gate of 6700+ resulted in the club and its supporters being pilloried for having such a low gate. The first team was Stockport County - I trust your reporters dished out the same level of criticism that the Latics have just received!
i've always supported wigan,crowds will rise give it time