I'm more concerned that we've still, somehow, never beaten these at Oakwell. Curses/hoodoo are obviously bollòx, but why is it teams can't beat certain other teams who are basically on the same level? Reading are another one we never beat at Oakwell, conveniently who we play right after the Wigan game!
I think simple answer is ‘money’ with Wigwam, at least in modern times. After not playing them for years, we dropped down into league one around the time they were taken over by Whelan. Not only could they outspend us, but they also took some of our players. De Zeeuw & Lidds both went there for the better money, as did Kieffer, and there was also the situation with Morsys loan.
Yeah, they’ve almost gone full circle now when you look at their numbers. Attendances gravitating back towards where they were when Whelan got involved.
I’ve just found out we have actually beaten them at home. 20th November 1954 - so almost 70 yrs ago to the day. They were non league at the time, and we didn’t play them in the league until 1979. Are we taking that??
Of course we're taking it lol. That game in 1979 was something, weather wise! It proper slung it down all day long. We shared the side stand with the Wigan fans with a line of hobbies down the centre. Didn't Clarke score a last minute penalty for us to make it 1-1?
It’s a shame there won’t be many reds fans around to remember the late 40s early 50s . We all look back on the Clarke/Hunter years, but there are probably some good stories untold as people passed away with time. Average gates just above and below 20k, and highest attendances in the mid 30s. Oakwell must have been rocking!
