Tuesday 3 March 2015

Thank you, Uncle Dave

This was always going to be an emotional day. We knew it would come eventually and all Wigan fans should use it as an opportunity to say thank you to the club's single greatest legend of all: Dave Whelan.

So from today Whelan is no longer our leader. He hands over the reigns to his 23 year-old grandson David Sharpe and whilst it is a huge step for someone so young, we should be grateful the club remains in the Whelan family.

In an interview with Jim White on Sky Sports News HQ today, Whelan laid out why the time has come for him to step down. And I for one found it a little emotional.

Whelan says he's started forgetting the players' names and it's the first time he's felt like that. Hearing an admission like that made me feel like I was listening to my Grandad concede he was getting old. And for David Sharpe that is literally what it was.

Whelan also admitted he would have said things a little differently in that infamous interview with David Conn in the Guardian. The six-week ban and fine for his racist comments have clearly hit him, and his pride, hard.

It seems an unfair ending to Whelan's fairytale that he steps down with his beloved Wigan Athletic nine points from safety in the Championship, appearing to slide closer to the third-tier with every game. Whelan has never been a quitter and it saddens me that it does look like jumping ship at a time when the club is going through one of its most difficult periods. 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but how he must wonder now what it would have been like to step down after the FA Cup win and finish a hero?

Likewise if he hadn't have sacked Uwe Rosler and didn't have to defend Malky Mackay's appointment; would we be blundering along in mid-table complaining about not going for promotion? Blissfullyunaware of what it's like to be celebrating wins at Blackpool like it's the cup final? How many more years of Uncle Dave as Chairman would we have had then?

No matter what the circumstances of his departure, we cannot lose sight of the rags to riches tale that Whelan has given this club. The FA Cup win of 2013 will go down as his finest hour but we musn't forget what else Whelan has done for Wigan Athletic. 

The stadium we play in wouldn't be there without him. And who would have ever thought we would have seen Wigan in the Premier League for eight seasons? Proving the doubters wrong is what Wigan are all about.

And now it's down to Sharpe to ensure his Grandad's legacy continues. In his first interview with SSN Sharpe was obviously a little nervous, but came across well and clearly knew how to respond to the questions of 'that' incident with Whelan before Christmas. Sharpe insists he's from a different generation and knows what is right and wrong.

Right now Wigan fans need him to know what's right and wrong when it comes to managerial appointments and transfers. He'll make some mistakes, as did his Grandad. But if he makes up for the errors in the same way his Grandad did then I'll be a happy girl.

But for now it's a big thank you to Uncle Dave for the memories. Enjoy even more trips to Barbados because you've earned them.