It could be said that it is a step into the unknown but the opportunity to play an amateur side from Wigan was far too good to miss for the Sports Journalism Football team at UCLAN.
Fresh from a decent first half of the season, Chris Plumb’s team are set to challenge teams from further afield and it could be said of higher quality.
Chairman, Dan Birch has arranged fixtures against Sports Therapy, IQ Kopa (The largest halls at the University) plus an obscure team of a group of friends. However, all these teams are unknown and Wigan Celtic will certainly provide the toughest test.
Formed last year by UCLAN third year student, Paddy Ryan, Wigan Celtic are a new local club in the area who will enter the Lancashire Premier Amateur League next season. Playing in the shirt of Ryan’s native Glasgow Celtic, the squad is mainly full of ex semi professional footballers who have all joined a project, with high ambitions having been raised at the club.
As the first team coach, and captain, Ryan has said that the team aim to win everything going in it’s first season. If they did indeed win the league they will be entering the next season, they would enter the first division of the North West Counties which is just five divisions below the national Conference. That would make it possible for Wigan Celtic to enter the English Football League in six seasons, if they win everything. Scary or not?
Indeed, the club will also operate a reserve team and an Under 18 side which shows their ambitions. As well as obtaining other players from other sides in the league, the club also has a majority of very good footballers who have good reputations. The goalkeeper was a Wigan Athletic reserve keeper last season, plus there a number of ex Athletic and Everton players in the team. Some of the majority however have trained with teams such as Bamber Bridge near Preston.
The most interesting piece of their squad however is the signing of a Canadian reserve international who was due to sign for Colchester United for £300,000 but was not able to obtain a green card (to live in the UK). Therefore, he will sign for Wigan Celtic having been a team mate of the chairman of the club at the famous independent Scottish school, Gordonstoun. The fact, Nottingham Forest are also supposedly after this man certainly shows how ambitious the club actually are building their way to the top and it is certainly no Gretna story for sure.
But what for the Sports Journalism team? Is a match against this supposedly much feared new team full of ambition, a step too far? Not a chance, and the squad will be keen to put on a good performance as well as show their talent to the opposing team, as Wigan will also be on a scouting mission to purchase new players, maybe from the SJ team.
Adding to the loss of Paul Cox and Jonathan Croft, rock and roll star, Thomas ‘Seagull’ Wilson is out once more leaving manager Chris Plumb without any recognised wingers plus a patchy squad of about thirteen to fourteen.
Squad (probable): Anderson (GK), Fleming, Boon, Persico, Haile, Lowson, Plumb, Birch, Hucker, Clark, Squires, Haile, Mackley, Watson
I assumed with Caldwell going to Wigan you had just renamed the premier team. This sounds a really tough game- take the calculator?