Played For Both - Wigan Athletic and Burton Albion

Wigan Athletic and Burton Albion:

 

Jonny Smith - Rob Kiernan – Jake Buxton – Matty Palmer – Adam Buxton – Phil Edwards – Stephen Warnock – Devante Cole – Frank Corrigan – Julian Dowe – Kevin Sheldon – Tom Naylor

12 players in this list, not sure if this is complete, certainly looks like it could be for the modern era, 1978 onwards, at least, some names in there that were fans favourites at both clubs.

A couple on the list, Kevin Sheldon and Frank Corrigan definitely names for the older fans, Corrigan a rock in midfield during our inaugural season in the Football League, whilst Sheldon, signed from Stoke City was superb as a flying winger in our first promotion campaign in the 81/82 season.

Stephen Warnock, I’d completely forgotten that our former skipper signed for Burton after leaving the Latics in June 2017 and got another season in the Championship with the Brewers.

My personal pick from the list as the stand-out for both clubs is Tom Naylor, a top performer, making 124 appearances for the Brewers, scoring 12 goals in four seasons at the Pirelli Stadium before leaving for Portsmouth in June 2018.

Of course the Latics secured Naylor’s signature from the South Coast club in the summer of 2021, in his two seasons at Wigan Athletic, Tom went on to make 79 apps scoring 5 goals, not a bad return for a defensive midfielder.

Alongside appearances and goals, Tom Naylor also features heavily in the stats column for both the clubs in assists, top tackles, duels won, interceptions etc. I mention stats because Naylor loves his stats and takes pride in what he achieves as he revealed on our podcast interview with him back in March 2022.

Tom Naylor Podcast

Tom Naylor has something else that he brings to games that isn’t recorded in any stat column, with the Latics he brought a presence on the pitch, a natural leader, commanding in front of the back line, breaking opposition attacks down, dare I say he has been missed this season for that quality alone.

A good servant both at the DW Stadium and Pirelli, gaining promotion with both clubs to the Championship, scorer of vital goals, I remember him scoring against us for Burton in a 1:1 draw at their place as we both were after the title of League One Champions.

Also who could forget his goals for us, three very important ones spring to mind, away at MK Dons and last season away at both Rotherham and Swansea spring to mind, a solid pro and valuable team player, Tom Naylor.

Grab a listen to the Burton Albion Preview podcast: