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Over to you Mr Chairman

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Wigan target Premier League return, says Darren Royle

By Richard Cooke

Last Updated: 16/11/18 9:30pm


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Darren Royle says Leicester have proved other teams can be successful in the Premier League

Wigan have made it an "immediate ambition" to return to the Premier League, according to new executive chairman Darren Royle.


Royle is part of the management team installed by the club's new owners, International Entertainment Corporation PLC (IEC), who completed their acquisition of the club from the Whelan family earlier this month .

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Royle said Wigan, who were relegated from the top flight in 2013 and have since spent two seasons in League One, do not intend to stay in the Championship for long.




"The club has obviously been in the Premier League for eight years and done very well," he said.

"It's all well documented and it's an immediate ambition in the next few years to try and get back into the Premier League as soon as possible.


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There was applause at the DW Stadium as Wigan celebrated 23 years under the Whelans.
"That's certainly a short to medium term objective and, as Leicester City have shown, it's not all about the size of the club.

"They've achieved a dream as well. No-one could ever have imagined them winning the Premier League so why couldn't Wigan Athletic certainly compete at the top echelons of the Premier League?


"There's nothing more intimidating than a legacy but nothing more motivating as well.

"So that's our promise to try and emulate the success, I'm determined to do that back in the Premier League."

Wigan are 16th in the Championship, having won just six of their 17 games so far.


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Highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Wigan.
Royle accepts it won't be easy to return to the top flight after a five-year absence - which has also included two seasons in League One - and he says manager Paul Cook will not have unlimited funds to spend on players.

He added: "It's a very sensible approach, a conservative perspective I would say in terms of viewing the market place around everything involved with the club, not just the transfer market with players but also investment in the infrastructure as well.

"It's to capitalise on the momentum and the confidence in the group and look to try and enhance it wherever possible.

"I think with Fair Play rules now we have got to be very prudent with how we invest and move forward with the club, so obviously there's that stuff to adhere to.

"It's a steady, sensible approach we would like to take."
 
"Wigan have made it an "immediate ambition" to return to the Premier League, according to new executive chairman Darren Royle."

If the new owners aren't willing to splash the cash then they/we can forget the above, i knew what you meant John, it wasn't too difficult.
 
I want a luxury holiday with accommodation at a five star hotel but I can’t get that without paying for it. Mr Royle will learn very fast that if he wants to make lemonade, he’ll need to buy some lemons...
 
Almost sent me to sleep listening to him - Mr charisma he's not.
It's also disappointing that since his appointment there has been zero engagement with fans, little or nothing in local press and even this interview ha snt made it onto the club website
rule 1 into any new business - get all the stakeholders onside !
 
Hampton said:
Almost sent me to sleep listening to him - Mr charisma he's not.
It's also disappointing that since his appointment there has been zero engagement with fans, little or nothing in local press and even this interview ha snt made it onto the club website
rule 1 into any new business - get all the stakeholders onside !
Click to expand...
 
Hampton said:
Almost sent me to sleep listening to him - Mr charisma he's not.
It's also disappointing that since his appointment there has been zero engagement with fans, little or nothing in local press and even this interview ha snt made it onto the club website
rule 1 into any new business - get all the stakeholders onside !
Click to expand...
I think the charisma comment is harsh, David Sharpe was hardly Nelson Mandela and he did alright.

However I fully agree on your second point. The lack of fan media engagement regarding the new owners has quite frankly been disgraceful. This is the single biggest development of our club’s modern day history and could shape our future for years to come. For the first time in 23 years our club is under new ownership, not to mention the new owners are people we don’t know rather than the owner of JJB. All we’ve had is a 6 minute heavily edited scripted interview with one member of IEC until yesterday where Sky have been kind enough to give us a 90 second clip from our new chairman. No public press conference, no extended interviews, no fans forum no nothing. Embarrassing!
 
I wonder if this will also mean we cast our scouting net wider again? as there can be better value looking abroad. Promising young talented players to play in the Premier League (if we get there), or at least that we'd let them move on if they tear it up in the championship. Both would seem to fit the model they're going for.

From memory Royle jnr is into the analytics of football scouting so may have some good contacts/targets that would suit us already
 
Some fair points around fan engagement. If he hasn't already he needs a twitter account so folk can tweet him and kiss his ass after a victory and berate him after a loss. In all seriousness social media is the main medium so he does need a presence on it. Perhaps a fans forum as well - allowing open questions, not those pre vetted, so supporters can get a better handle on what he's like, iec intentions etc.

I must say the takeover has come across as very low key and a bit flat so sorting a few fan events probably won't be a bad thing and sorting out a few contract extensions of key players would be even better.
 
To be fair to these newcomers, to them it's just a money investment. £22 million for a stadium with a paying tenant two training centres and an old mis-managed chippy and a few million in player values is an absolute steal. Owd Dave is laughing too with another £22 million to add to his other £250 million or so.
Us lot who just love our football club are just nothing to any of them so why would they communicate. Pissed off with them already with their lack of consideration and amateurish communication to supporters.
Of course we have nothing to be pissed off about, well the rah rah brigade will say that.
 
A little different than when Dave came swash buttling onto the scene. Where did these international business men from the other side of the world even pluck Joe royle and son from. There are no connections or affiliations between them and our club. All I want is a little bit of communication to get me excited about the future of our club and also a little more of a personal approach rather than just a corporate feel. We will never get a total openess (we never have) but lets just hear something.
 
I'm going to play devil's advocate here; The lack of communication is probably down to making internal decisions and identifying the issues with the club and any scouting targets that Paul Cook may have requested. A low-key, easing into the door might not be the worst thing to happen - I can recall once or twice deals and rumours of players (Rob Green, Rob Hulse off the top of my head) about to be signed and off they went to rival clubs. In this tough footballing financial climate, it's imperative that we keep our cards close to our chest. I don't want our new owners being screwed over on deals that fall flat.

Darren Royle was overseeing Opta and perhaps our data analysis is getting an overhaul. Joe Royle's been a coach assessor in his time so coach education would be another thing being looked at. The commercial opportunities are also very important and I think an area that we could really use a tune up in. For example, Tranmere Rovers have held a few concerts (Madness, Little Mix off the top of my head) and have a firework display from he ground on Guy Fawkes Night. That's a League Two club diversifying the ground usage and to consider that Wigan Council have a share in the DW Stadium, you'd hope there'd be some working partnership there.

All that being said, I do feel that the lack of outreach to supporters to be disconcerting, mainly because it has taken them an age and a day to get the deal done in the first place, so frustrations from that will boil over, naturally so in my opinion.
 
jeffs right said:
A little different than when Dave came swash buttling onto the scene. Where did these international business men from the other side of the world even pluck Joe royle and son from. There are no connections or affiliations between them and our club. All I want is a little bit of communication to get me excited about the future of our club and also a little more of a personal approach rather than just a corporate feel. We will never get a total openess (we never have) but lets just hear something.
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You slagged off the previous owners, now live with what you wished for
 
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