The loss of Central Park seemed like a catastrophic blow at the time, and it certainly changed Wigan town centre for the worse. The famous Wigan Lane pub crawl now lacks any kind of spirit. Several of those boozers, once so famous for the landlords they had and the rugby memorabilia that filled them, are now seedy dens, which have been all but abandoned by the punters.

But ... and it's a big but, if Whelan had rebuilt CP and housed Latics there as well, can you imagine how we'd have felt that terrible play-off night when he showed us the door so the football could take priority? It was bad enough being told we couldn't play at the DW, but imagine being told we couldn't play at Central Park. That would have been truly unbearable.