We’ve met Hull City 26 times down the years, the first of which came in
the 1981/82 when we gained our first ever promotion as a Football League side,
we did the double of them that campaign winning 0:2 at Boothery Park and 2:1 in
the return fixture at Springfield Park.
The Latics and the Tigers have met three times in the FA Cup, twice in
the 3rd round, January 2011 a 2:3 away victory at the KC
Stadiumand 4-1 victory at the DW
Stadium the previous season.
We also met in the 5th round back in February 1987, 3rd
tier Latics’ reward for knocking top flight Norwich out in round four was a
home tie against 2nd Division Hull City.
Latics won the game 3:0 with goals from Chris Thompson, Paul Jewell and
Bobby Campbell, but it was a tougher match than the score-line suggested, Hull
midfielder Billy Askew had a fantastic game for the visitors and was very
dangerous on the ball, with Latics leading 1:0 early in the 2nd half
there was an almighty cheer form the home supporters when Askew was surprisingly
substituted.
Hull’s threat disappeared with Askew going off and two more goals gave
us the win and set up a ¼ final against Leeds United.
We’ve had some high scoring encounters with Hull City down the years,
the 0:5 away win in the Premier League at The KC in August 2008 is a standout,
goals from Kevin Kilbane, Antonia Valencia, Emile Heskey and an Amr Zaki brace
gave us an emphatic victory.
We can’t play Hull City without recalling our record win, the old tele printer
on Grandstand (ask your dads) must have been going bonkers, Wigan Athletic 8
(Eight) Hull City 0. What a game, what football we played that night, it wasn’t
that Hull were bad, we were simply delicious and the final goal of the game
from Kieran Dowell was one of the best ever scored at the DW. Enough chat, just
watch it.
Highlights
Latics 8:0 Hull City
The reverse fixture earlier this season was also a high scoring affair,
this time though on a chilly February day it was the Hull players who were
banging the goals in as they triumphed 0:5.
We’re off to Humberside on Saturday to face already promoted Hull City
as we continue the battle to retain our League One status, the man in charge of
the game will be Wakefield referee, Bobby Madley.
Bobby Madley
Madley rose quickly through the ranks and became one of the youngest
ref’s to make it to the top, when in April 2013, aged just 27, he took charge
of the Premier League game between Southampton and West Brom, this came less
than two years after he made his debut in the Football League in the Preston v
Notts County League One game in August 2011.
The 2013/14 season saw Bobby make it to the Select Group of referees and
officiate in five top flight games, though he ended the campaign in the bottom
tier with a League 2 encounter between Burton and Chesterfield.
In a recent interview Bobby explained how he got into refereeing:
‘I had played for a Championship team’s
School of Excellence and didn’t quite make the grade. I returned to playing for
my local junior team, Ossett Town, but had become a little disillusioned with
the game.
‘I was advised to take the referees course which I
did, along with my brother Andy who came to keep me company. I was 16 when I
took the course and at 23 I was promoted onto the Premier League as an
Assistant Referee.
Previous Games
Madley has taken charge of four Latics games previously, this season he was
the man in the middle for our trip to Rochdale in January, which ended 3:3.
January 2013 he was in charge of our 3rd round FA Cup
tie against Bournemouth, the game may have ended 1:1 but it was the first step
of our historic run to win the competition.
He also took charge of two games in the 2014/15 season, our 1:0 defeat
away at Cardiff in August, and our 1:2 away win at Derby in October.
Following an incident in 2018, Madley was sacked by the PGMOL, however
he was allowed back into the English game in February 2020, initially at
grassroots level and subsequently onto the National List for the start of the
2020/21 season.
Bobby Madley Card Watch 2020/21
Games – 33
Yellows – 106
Reds – 4
Penalty Awards – 11
Hull City v Wigan Athletic
Referee – Bobby Madley
Assistants – Mark Cunliffe and Paul Newhouse
Fourth Official – Andy Haines
Wigan Athletic has been in the ownership of the
Phoenix 2021 group for four weeks, we have already witnessed on the pitch a turnaround
of form that has come with the stability of having come out of administration
and the prospect of a bright future ahead.
Art work by Kieran Dowd
@KieDowd
Following a very dark period in the club’s history we
now have a new chapter to look forward to with Phoenix 2021 at the helm, there
will be a period of rebuild both on and off the field due to the ravages of the
past nine months, that is inevitable, but there is a sense of real optimism
around the place with both fans and staff excited about what lies ahead.
Phoenix 2021 consist of Mr Al Jasmi, the owner, new
club chairman Talal Al-Hammad, CEO Mal Brannigan and directors Tom Markham,
Oliver Gottmann and Richard Bramwell.
The club’s new chairman, Talal Al-Hammad, it is
fair to say, is very popular amongst the Latics supporters, his enthusiasm has
shone through and via the activity on his twitter feed he’s revealed his real excitement
about the Latics and the fan base have connected with him and taken Talal to
heart.
So, who is Talal Al-Hammad? What has drawn him to
the Latics, what are his plans for the club, who are his favourite football
players and what does he think about the Latics fans?
PWU were privileged to be able to communicate with
Talal over the weekend and managed to ask our chairman a few questions:
PWU
- Ali Al Habsi is possibly the most famous 'Gulf' player, are there any
emerging stars from the region that we could bring to the club?
Talal
- Ali Al Habsi is a legend and a professional at a high level and of course he
is considered the best representative of the Arabian Gulf in the English
Premier League, and there are many players from our region who have the same
unique qualities.
I have complete confidence in the club's management to select
the best players who will represent the club on and off the field.
PWU
- Who is responsible for what at the club and what is a
breakdown of your role.
Talal
- We work as a team at Phoenix 2021, putting together the right strategies and
vision for the benefit of the club. It is carried out by Mr. Mal Brannigan on
the ground as the CEO of the club and my role is to make sure the club is
heading in the right direction.
PWU
- When did you first become aware of the football club Wigan Athletic?
Talal
- I first came to know about Wigan Athletic when Amr Zaki represented the club
extraordinarily, the club's popularity increased in our Arab region. At this
point, I started to watch some matches and became more familiar with Wigan
Athletic.
PWU - Did you get approached to become involved in the
group to buy the club or did you see the opportunity yourself and put together
the group?
Talal
- Investing in the sports and the social sector has always been a part of our
company's strategy. When we decided to go forward with the acquisition of Wigan
Athletic, we put together a professional team to complete this process from day
one, and in the end our attempt was successful.
PWU
- Whose idea was it to buy the Latics?
Talal
- I came forward with the idea to Mr. Al Jasmi and after assessing all the
particulars, he gave me his approval to go ahead with the process.
The idea of
investing in this field was my suggestion and was settled with the help of
several professional individuals.
PWU
- I can see that you are already embracing the songs, culture and even Uncle
Joe's mint balls of Wigan, can you see a way that we as fans can embrace
Bahrain history and culture in some way?
Talal
- Wigan Athletic fans have already raised the Bahraini flag, and my
country's name and native language were both mentioned in chants the fans
created. I think we succeeded in connecting two different cultures.
PWU
- Three key priorities to be achieved in the next 3 years?
Talal - To be more realistic, the next three years will be
a tough period as we need to rebuild the club again.
Therefore, we will work to
create stability, create new job opportunities, ensure the continuity and
development of the club, develop the youth sector and integrate it with the
community and after achieving all of that, the desired outcome will definitely
take place.
As I said in a previous interview, Rome wasn't built in a
day.
PWU
- How long do you envisage the ownership of the club ?
Talal
- We will remain as its owner for as long as we can keep adding value to it and
contribute to making it one of the finest.
PWU
- What is the business structure, as in are there assets that the club relies
upon which are owned by other companies in the group still?
Talal
- We will support the club so that it relies on its own resources. This is a
strategy that makes any investment successful.
However, I do not expect
this to happen in one day but by successful implementation of the strategy in
place, we can ensure that the club will depend on its income to continue for
many years with or without Phoenix 2021.
This is the most important element we
are focusing on right now, to ensure the club is stable enough to remain for
future generations.
PWU
- Who is your favourite player? Would you like him at Wigan?
Talal
- All my favourite football players are retired, amongst them Aimar, Riquelme,
Del Piero, Brazil's Ronaldo and Zidane. But among the players out there today,
I think I enjoy watching Mbappé.
PWU
- Wigan is looking forward to welcoming you, what are you most looking forward
to when you come to Wigan?
Talal
- The thing I look forward to most is being present in the DW stadium and, to be
honest, everything the fans are excited about.
PWU
- Did you watch Wigan win the FA Cup vs Man City?
Talal
- Yes, I watched the game and as usual that night, Wigan Athletic went against
all odds and won the FA Cup.
PWU
- Finally, what is your message to the Wigan fans?
Talal
- What the fans accomplished for this club to get through the hardship it faced
is remarkable.
I am proud to say that I am not only the Chairman of this club
but also a member of its fan base.
You are a perfect example of devoted
football fans and your loyalty to the club is exceptional. Up The Tics!
Talal Al-Hammad
Just like to comment here on how grateful we are
that Mr Al-Hammad gave his time to us for this interview, but more importantly
how much he has our eternal gratitude for saving our club, that is impossible
to put into words, but thank you one million times.
