Source: TheGuardian
Wigan Athletic and Fleetwood renew rivalry for first time in 40 years | Paul Wilson
Fans of these League One clubs will enjoy return of a local fixture after years spent going out of business, re-forming and yo-yoing through the divisionsWigan Athletic take on Fleetwood Town on Saturday in a deceptively routine-looking fixture that highlights the mobility now possible within the English football pyramid.As recently as the 1970s, when the teams were at opposite ends of the Northern Premier League, Wigan were so poorly served by the Football League’s re-election system that after a series of rebuffs they attempted to publicise their plight by applying for admission to the Scottish League Second Division. Because a previous incarnation of the club, Wigan Borough, had been wound up mid-season in 1931, there was strong resistance to readmitting a Wigan side to the league and an incredible 34 applications met with failure before they were voted in to replace Southport in 1978. Related: Wigan’s fall from FA Cup winners to League One: where did it all go wrong? | Paul Wilson Continue reading......read full article
