It wasn't above 10k before they came up. The club has done everything they possibly can to build support but the support isn't there for Football in Wigan, never has been. They had an initial surge of interest when they got promoted, probably helped by the Rugby being in dire straits at the time, but that interest has gone.

Having said that - not been for a while but I reckon they are doing far, far better than the Rugby at getting the 10-20 age bracket into their games that we are. I'd bet the average age of a Wigan Warriors supporter is way higher than that of Latics. Perhaps the Rugby side should be worried that its support base is getting pretty old?

To counter that, I'd say Wigan RL have a higher ratio of 1-9 year olds, based on the fact that the South Stand (the unofficial family stand) is almost empty for the games I've seen on tv highlights over the last few seasons.

If thats the case then those 10-20 year olds will not carry on going when the team is relegated. The ones I know from high school and College etc. used to support one of the big clubs and only go to watch some football.

Wigan Athletic give free tickets out for most home games to people of that age group. Every month I used to be able to get free tickets for latics at Deanery!

With Junior Season Tickets being 26 quid I think they are on to it! No need to worry

Latics supporters have apparently taken their fustration out at the MEN in a familiar fashion...

I'm loving the comments underneath the article. Especially the rambling comment by "Sean Livesey"


Yes, and the £££ from Uncle Dave wasn't a factor was it?

To be honest, I thought the original article was nothing more than -stirring.

To start with, Wigan do not need fans to switch over from the Latics. We were getting 16,000 crowds when we were battling relegation and they were riding high. So to suggest that we're only doing it now because Latics are struggling and Wigan are winning trophies again has no foundation whatever.

I personally feel that Dave Whelan's Premiership football experiment in Wigan will come to an end fairly soon. But, though I was deeply concerned that it might take the shine of the Warriors when it first started, I don't think, outside the fantasies of a few wishful thinkers in the national press and among fans at other RL clubs, the evidence has supported this.

We are now cemented into the DW with a long-term lease. We have an insightful chairman, who, as well as taking care of things on the pitch, is taking care of them off it as well. We may occasionally have to step down and switch a fixture if there's a clash, though I don't see that happening too often if Latics get relegated, but aside from that there's no real issue. Latics have their fans, we have ours - there may be a slight overlap here and there whose loyalties may occasionally be divided, but so what? - I bet there are at least as many families on our border who are split down the middle between Wigan and Saints.

In the light of this, all that article has really done is annoy the football crowd (again ) and allow the sort of professional trolls who inhabit sites like TotalRL to call us all fickle.

Wigan RL have been on the receiving end of some truly crap journalism in the last few years. From the local papers, from the nationals, from Sky - and now the MEN is getting in on the act.

And the bad thing about that is that it just doesn't work.

For years, 2 of the clubs that gave the highest amounts of comp tickets out in the Premier League were Wigan and Middlesbrough, and we saw how their crowds fell away. Give people who aren't really that into it free tickets, and they'll take them, but they're unlikely to buy future tickets off the back of it when they know that more free tickets are in the pipeline.

The vitriol on CL is unbelievable. I’d no idea the posts were so childish, hateful, bitter, etc. I guess it stems from jealousy as we are a big (the biggest) rugby league club and they are only ever going to be an also ran given the way that football is going with money. Yes, their argument that they are a small fish in a much bigger global pond is true, but for how long will they stay in that pond?

Yeah, out of town support like me!
Born and brought up in Wigan but have not lived in the town for over 30 years.
I am still a season ticket holder as is now, again, my daughter.
To see a game is 60 miles round trip and I pass Goddison and Anfield on the way although I've never been to those places whilst living here on the Wirral.
Years ago we took a couple of friends to Saints to see the Wigan game and they are now season ticket holders. They live approx a mile from us.

In general a lot of out of town fans are like me and us. Have a connection with Wigan which has been built on. As far as I'm concerned, from where I live, I don't care where people live if they come to support Wigan RL. The best thing I can say to people who travel a distance to see the team is "well done you".

Couldn't agree more. We have friends who live in Devon and are Wigan RL fans. They arent' season ticket holders (for obvious reasons) but come to as many home games as they can and never miss a cup draw or play off game wherever it is being played. Fair play I say