Giantkillers meet as prospect of Wembley visit looms large
Wigan against Rochdale would be the most unlikely FA Cup final in history – but it could still happen
It is not a chant that, until recently, can have been heard much. But the gaggle of visiting supporters standing at the top of the north stand at the DW Arena were keen to give it a loud airing. “We’re the famous Rochdale and we’re going to Wem-ber-lee,” they sang.
As lyrics go, it may not have scanned, but there was no denying its accuracy. Rochdale are heading to Wembley on Wednesday for their FA Cup fifth-round replay with Tottenham. Their hosts Wigan, meanwhile, have no need of such second opportunities. By defeating the runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City last Monday they have already secured a place in the quarter-finals.
Indeed, as the two clubs scrabbled for points in a League One encounter, what the fans braving a freezing afternoon in Wigan were witnessing was a potential FA Cup final rehearsal. Not that any of the locals were viewing the game in that way.
“Cup final rehearsal?” said Brian Musgrave, who has been watching Wigan home and away for 14 years. “Seriously? Come on, can’t see Rochdale getting there.” However, he had no such problem envisaging his own side stepping out at the final.
“After beating City it would be silly to say we couldn’t,” he said.
At Wigan the FA Cup has long been the trophy that matters. Outside the front of the DW is a statue of the man after which it is named, Dave Whelan, Wigan’s long-time backer. He is depicted beaming, holding the Cup the club won in 2013, the trophy in pursuit of which he had seen his own football career come to a crunching end when he broke his leg in the 1960 final.
And the sense that Wigan might do what they did five years ago and surprise everyone by winning it again was everywhere around the stadium ahead of kick-off. There was a woman selling match programmes left over from the Manchester City game. And across the road from the Whelan statue, a street salesman had a stall of Wigan and City half-andhalf scarves.
“I wasn’t here Monday,” he said, sounding more than a little despondent at the missed opportunity. “Reckon if I had been I’d have sold 200 of these.” And how many did he reckon he might sell today?
“Not sold any yet. Be lucky if I shift three,” he said. “There won’t be a crowd today.” He had a point. After the DW had rocked with a boisterous capacity gathering on Monday, there were but 8,654 in attendance five days later. Though the difference may have been as much to do with finance as the standard of the opposition. As they had all season in the Cup, the club had only charged £15 to see the international superstars of City. For Rochdale, it was standard league pricing, at £22.
It meant there were vast swathes of empty red seats. But then, if there is a choice of seating, the football supporters in Wigan always choose to sit on the blue ones, leaving those who follow the Warriors rugby league team in this stadium to choose red.
“I know football lads who won’t sit in a red seat,” said Brian Musgrave. “Me for a start.” Wherever they sit, the fans sense this Wigan football team is on the march. And not just in the Cup. Under the shrewd stewardship of Paul Cook, they have been in the promotion places at the top of League One for much of the season.
“The parachute payments [from when they were relegated from the Premier League in 2013] have really helped us get a decent squad together. Gives us an advantage in this division,” said Musgrave.
It enabled Cook to make seven changes from the side that beat City and still have too much for Rochdale. Keith Hill’s side, who are in danger of being cast adrift at the bottom of the division, have none of that luxury.
But whatever the monetary disparity, if this were a Cup final rehearsal, it would suggest neither side would look out of place on Wembley’s open spaces. Cook’s Wigan, after parking the bus against City, demonstrated what a progressive force they can be. Even without injured Nick Powell and with Monday’s matchwinner Will Grigg on the bench, they delivered a series of challenging questions to Rochdale, Michael Jacobs’s fine finish for the only goal symptomatic of their prowess (pictured celebrating, left). And even in defeat, Keith Hill’s Rochdale showed they know how to pass the ball. Another victory hard on the heels of Monday means expectation is more than a little buoyant.
‘‘I’d prefer to win the Cup than get promotion,” said Ben Baldwin, a Wigan season ticketholder for 15 years. ‘‘Five years later, no one remembers who got promoted. But winning the Cup puts you in the history books. It makes you a pub quiz question, does that.”