From Wembley way to Wigan’s woes
It’s all about Belgium for Maloney but he despairs at demise of former club
HAD his summer gone according to plan, Shaun Maloney would have been Wembley-bound this evening for the final of Euro 2020. A member of Roberto Martinez’s coaching staff for the past two years, Maloney was quietly confident that the Belgian national team could finally achieve something to match the ridiculous concentration of talent in its ranks.
Coronavirus means we’ll all need to wait another year to see whether Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens can click into championship-wining mode.
For now, Maloney has been swotting up on television footage of the squad members finishing off their delayed domestic seasons in the big leagues of England, Spain, Germany and Italy.
‘I think everyone was disappointed the Euros had to be put back a year but we are where we are,’ says the 37-year-old.
‘It will just be brilliant to be involved when we kick off again.
‘We have players scattered right through the leagues that are back and most of them are compressing loads of fixtures into a short period of time.
‘We have to try and keep a handle on everything and that means watching loads of football matches. There are stacks of live coverage, so we are not missing anything.’
Even without the tournament, Wembley has been pushed to the forefront of Maloney’s thoughts for bittersweet reasons.
Television news reports covering the financial collapse of Wigan Athletic have been playing the club’s on-field high point on a loop over the past couple of weeks, showcasing Maloney’s corner-taking skills on a nightly basis.
It was he who slung over the cross from which Ben Watson headed home the FA Cup-winning goal in 2013, a managerial triumph for Martinez and the fulfilment of a lifelong dream for then-chairman Dave Whelan.
That the club had been relegated from the Premier League that same season scarcely mattered but the legacy of demotion has ultimately led it to a dark place.
When Whelan, by then 81, sold up to the Hong Kong-based International Entertainment Corporation in 2018, he did so believing it was on a firm financial footing.
A subsequent change of ownership, to another Hong Kong company Next Leader, precipitated the shock news that the club would be placed in administration.
‘When Dave Whelan sold Wigan 19 months ago, the club was free of debt,’ stated Maloney.
‘Their outgoings were not excessive and, although in England’s second tier, they had a place in one of the richest leagues in Europe.
‘How do you go from that point to where we are now, with the club sold again to a new owner who comes in and then refuses to invest the money they had promised?
‘It is extremely unusual and concerning for anyone with an affection for the club and both I and Roberto fall into that category.
‘Winning the FA Cup in 2013, beating Manchester City in the final, was an amazing experience but it was just a highlight of what was a very important time in both of our careers.
‘The questions of what happened are for later really because the priority has to be sorting things out. New owners need to be found and they need to be people who can provide stability moving forward.
‘It is a worrying time for all concerned.’
Administrators Begbies Traynor have been placed in charge amid disturbing rumours that the club may have been at the centre of a significant relegation bet in the Far East.
With EFL rules bestowing a 12-point penalty on any club entering administration, the recent form of Paul Cook’s team — they currently sit eight points clear of the Championship drop zone — threatens to count for nothing.
‘The hardest thing to take is that, from a sporting perspective, everything had been so positive,’ said Maloney. ‘Since the end of January, the manager has had the team on a great run which has lifted them up the table.
‘From being in the relegation places at Christmas time, they were looking good for a mid-table finish. When you consider the club were in League One a couple of years ago that would be a decent achievement.
‘Now, out of the blue, it is administration and the prospect of getting relegated.
‘If they finish outside the bottom three, then the EFL will dock them 12 points. If they are going down anyway, then the penalty is held back until next season.’
Wigan’s plight led to an immediate transfer link for Maloney’s long-time friend and former team-mate David Marshall.
As youngsters the two played together at Celtic and were later team-mates at Hull City and with the Scottish national team.
Although Maloney played his last game for Scotland in 2016, Marshall has remained an active international and has been Steve Clarke’s first-choice goalkeeper over the past year.
With Scotland retaining hopes of qualifying for the Euros via the play-offs, his next career move will be important.
The timing of Wigan’s administration coincided with a breakdown in Celtic’s pursuit of Fraser Forster but, although the
‘IT IS VERY CONCERNING FOR ANYONE WHO
HAS AN AFFECTION FOR THE CLUB AND ROBERTO AND I FALL INTO THAT CATEGORY’