Wigan Athletic v Tranmere Rovers – ‘meeting the opposition’ ahead of an EFL Trophy tie.
On Wednesday night, Wigan Athletic travel to Prenton Park to face Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Trophy. With that in mind, I placed questions towards my friend ‘Jordan Kenyon’ who supports Wigan. I thought it would be interesting to see the thoughts of a fan who’s club will soon face Rovers, to see their opinions of Tranmere and their opinion on the state of their club at the moment amongst other subjects.
How long have you been a supporter of Wigan? How did you discover the club?
I have supported Wigan Athletic from birth, 18 years ago. I live in the town, that’s how I discovered them. They are the closest football club to where I live.
Where did your club finish last season?
We originally finished 13th but due to going into administration we had a -12 points deduction which dropped us down to 23rd. Thus, we were relegated due to being in administration.
What are your thoughts on your current manager?
John Sheridan is the manager of Wigan Athletic. He’s not doing a bad job, it was never going to be an easy role this season as the squad is full of youngsters.
What are your expectations for this season?
This season, my expectations are just to stay in league one. We’ve got a good enough squad to do so but I imagine it may be a struggle.
Which one player is your danger man? Why?
I believe ‘Joe Garner’ is our danger man. He’s got experience in this league, he’s a good target man and he always challenges for the ball. If he plays, he should pose many questions of the Tranmere defence. This season, the experienced forward has five goal contributions in 11 games (5 goals).
What is your score prediction for the match at Prenton Park?
It’ll be hard to call, as you never know the line-ups the managers will set out for an EFL Trophy tie. It’ll be interesting to watch though, as Tranmere are in the league below Wigan and I believe you would have to go back to 2003 to see the last time the clubs came head to head for a ‘competitive’ fixture.
Random fact about your town/club?
It’s not entirely random, I think everyone knows that, we’re a town that is famous for our pies.
Do you support/like any other club other than Wigan?
I like Rangers due to having family ‘up there’ who support them.
Proudest moment as a Wigan Athletic supporter?
My proudest moment as a Wigan supporter has either got to be the FA Cup final victory against Manchester City at Wembley. Or, seeing the fight that the players put in to try to stay in the championship last season knowing that if we stayed up we were going to be deducted 12 points. The fight the players put in to try to stay up by more than 12 points was unreal, unfortunately we failed to do so but I couldn’t be more proud of the players and the passion they showed.
What is your opinion of Tranmere Rovers?
My opinion of Wigan’s hosts on Wednesday night is that they’re not a bad side, it’s just a pity that the pandemic ruined their season last season and saw them demoted. In my opinion, the season should’ve been classed ‘null and void’.
What are your thoughts on the EFL trophy?
I completely disagree with the EFL Trophy, I think it’s a ‘load of rubbish’. It’s just a pointless trophy that includes under23 sides from the ‘premier league’, why not put clubs in the trophy that play in the ‘non league’? The EFL Trophy should be solely for the clubs that play in the EFL.
I would like to thank Jordan for his time answering the questions that I placed towards him, the tie should be an interesting occasion and I hope that readers enjoyed this Q+A.
Good idea that