Wigan pine for FA Cup glory as not even victory can lift them off foot of League One

<p>Gary Caldwell, club captain in 2013 and now manager, needs much more than Saturday’s win over Reading to disperse the clouds</p><p>If the 2013 FA Cup final represented a blip for the Sheikh Mansour-era Manchester City in their quest for total domination of English football, it was a historic moment for their conquerors, Wigan Athletic. Memories of that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/may/11/manchester-city-wigan-athletic-fa-cup">famous day at Wembley</a> still endure for Latics’ supporters despite the relegation from the Premier League that followed. Yet watching the modern-day Wigan, who remain bottom of League One despite a 1-0 win over Reading on Saturday, makes the toppling of City in a Cup final seem an epoch ago.</p><p>The club, perhaps understandably, continue to hark back to their halcyon days. Last season they brought back Gary Caldwell – club captain in 2013 – for his second stint as manager, having led the club to promotion from this division in 2015-16. Choosing to swap Exeter for a return to the Latics last season was seen as a risky move by Caldwell, considering the shoestring budget imposed upon him by Mike Danson, the owner who is keen to sell.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/oct/18/wigan-pine-for-fa-cup-glory-as-not-even-victory-can-lift-them-off-foot-of-league-one">Continue reading...</a>