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Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'Saving the club is one thing - building trust is another' Our panel of Latics experts present a hastily-convened special 12th Man, following the shock departure of managing director Sarah Guilfoyle on the eve of the new season... Greg Farrimond: Losing good people from any organisation is never easy, but I think the departure of Sarah Guilfoyle is far more significant than many people realise. I don't know Sarah personally, but I know people who do, particularly those who have worked closely alongside her, and the message has always been the same - she has been absolutely integral to this football club. At a time when both staff and supporters have had very few people in positions of authority they genuinely trust, Sarah has been ‘one of them’. She has been a constant through uncertainty and, from everything I've heard, someone who cared deeply about the club, its people and its place in the community. There is a broad spectrum of opinion when it comes to the current ownership. Some supporters want to see much greater investment in the playing squad. Others simply want clearer, more honest communication. There are also those who remain supportive because the owners saved the club when it mattered most. That should never be forgotten. Without them, Wigan Athletic may not exist in its current form. But neither should that become a free pass. Saving the club is one thing - building trust is another. The owners know the staff have endured prolonged periods of uncertainty. They also know supporters have repeatedly asked for greater openness, stronger leadership and a clearer sense of direction. That's why I found Lucas Danson's quote in the statement announcing Sarah's departure so disappointing. It wasn't just brief - it lacked substance. And what little it did say raised more questions than it answered. Nobody will begrudge the incoming CEO the opportunity to make his own mark, and everyone will wish him nothing but the best. His CV shows he's held positions that involve increasing commercial growth which is what we need. But speaking about improving relationships between the club and the community in the context of Sarah's departure showed a remarkable lack of self-awareness. It's obvious to supporters that Sarah spent years doing exactly that. She worked tirelessly to strengthen those relationships. The ownership, on the other hand, has rarely appeared willing to do the same. We've seen no interviews with this newspaper, very little direct engagement with supporters, and a series of statements that often manage to say plenty without actually saying anything. Repeating ambitions of reaching the Championship and eventually the Premier League sounds impressive, but nobody expects that to happen overnight. They know full well that isn’t on the agenda. What supporters do expect is honesty. If investment is going to be limited, explain why and how that will affect us. If there's a long-term strategy, share it. I'm the last person to draw lines of division between Latics and Warriors...I support both. But I don't think the ownership group is doing anything to dispel the feeling that they love one and tolerate the other. Sarah earned the trust and respect of staff and supporters alike. That isn't something that can simply be replaced with a new appointment. It has to be earned. Right now, that's the challenge facing the ownership more than anyone else. All this on the literal eve of the new season is so very, very Wigan Athletic. Rowan Draper: The Boardroom Pivot: A Farewell to Guilfoyle and a Commercial Reality Check The recent boardroom shake-up at the Brick Community Stadium has naturally sent the rumour mill into overdrive. But before we look at the structural mechanics of Anthony Cole-Johnson’s arrival, we have to look back and pay a proper tribute to Sarah Guilfoyle. Sarah stepped into a void when the club desperately needed a human touch. She did a fantastic job of connecting with the supporters and restoring a sense of community that had been entirely eroded. However, the lack of structural support she received has been apparent from day one. It is incredibly difficult to drive a business forward when it takes an age to sort out fundamental necessities like a kit supplier, a first-team squad, and a backroom team. The operational levers a managing director needs to pull were seemingly never fully handed over to her. She deserves our gratitude for keeping the ship steady in turbulent waters, and I have no doubt she would have eventually achieved commercial growth given the right tools. But football governance has changed, and we need commercial revenue yesterday. That brings us to Anthony Cole-Johnson. The London School of Economics doesn't hand out Master's degrees for nothing. Looking at his CV - which boasts senior commercial roles at Sky, Southampton FC, and Ospreys in RU - this is a genuinely high-level appointment. His career tells a very clear corporate story - he operates as a turnaround specialist. He goes into an organisation, fulfils a specific remit to build revenue streams, stabilises the commercial ship, and moves on to the next challenge once the structure is sound. There has been some cynical suggestion online that he is being brought in to be a ‘yes man’ for the ownership. This fundamentally misunderstands how executive careers actually work. With a background that includes Deloitte, you are trained to cut through the nonsense and tell the unvarnished truth to the board. Executives at that level are ruthless about protecting their track records...his CV is his entire currency. He will not allow himself to be a nodding dog for a failing board, because if the club's commercial operations tank, his reputation takes the hit. More importantly, the EFL doesn't care who says ‘yes’. Under the new SCMP regulations, our wage bill is strictly capped at 50 per cent of our turnover. It is a cold mathematical reality. A ‘yes man’ cannot fix a balance sheet, and a billionaire owner can no longer just write a blank cheque to bypass the rules. When fans say: ‘This is great, but we just need money for a striker,’ they are missing the point. You cannot buy the striker until you generate the commercial turnover to pay for him under EFL rules. Cole-Johnson’s specific track record is in maximising hospitality yield, securing major sponsorships, and aggressively driving B2B sales. He has been hired to do a very specific, very difficult job - generate the cash that allows the footballing side to breathe. It is the first genuinely forward-thinking, structural appointment we've seen in a long time. My instinct tells me his remit is to aggressively create those revenue streams, and make us a far more attractive, self-sustaining asset. However, the ultimate test remains the same. You can hire a top-tier commercial strategist, but unless he is given complete authority and decisions are executed promptly from the very top, we will still be fighting the financial tide. Let's hope he is given the operational freedom to finally let the business side of the club catch up to the passion on the terraces. Now, where does this leave me (as someone who pledged to ‘step away from the club’ in the last 12th Man column)? It's a tough one. I've had my own fair share of pushback, which was to be expected, especially from those of the ‘Kenny Swain Era’. My own stance has yet to change, because one appointment, offset against many losing their jobs, is still a stretch for me. My instinct tells me this is the sort of hire we needed, but it further disconnects the fan from the board. I hope it changes, for the better, but I can't help feeling we've lost a key individual who was showing immense promise. George Arkwright: All rather worrying, isn’t it? Once again, the club keeps everyone, even seemingly the subject of their focus, in the dark. I don’t know why we seem to have such persistently shadowy ownership...is it something about the club? Something in me says we’re an easy target. We’re not big, we’ve rarely, if ever, had the attention of the national media. And on the rare occasion that we have, it has been either misinterpreted, misrepresented, or fluff. I don’t think Mike Danson has the same level of nefariousness as the former two owners. After all, he is a Wiganer and, try as he might, your roots are rooted for a reason. But after this latest betrayal, of sorts, it is difficult to feel like he has the best interests of the club at heart. To see Sarah Guilfoyle go - someone who has lived and breathed this club for the entirety of her adult life - is incredibly disheartening. I had the pleasure of speaking to Sarah on multiple occasions, and she was nothing but warm, friendly, convivial and engaged in everything Wigan Athletic. I can’t imagine how she feels right now. Not only has she lost her livelihood (albeit I’m certain she will be on to bigger and more lucrative projects than ours) but I’d imagine she feels as though she has lost her place in a community that has been hers for a decade or more. To replace her with an unknown and, in the same stretch, talk about building a stronger connection with the club, is in my opinion downright disrespectful on the part of the ownership group. She deserves better. We deserve better. I’m sure she would admit that the incoming CEO, Anthony Cole-Johnson, has more experience in commercialising a venture such as ours, but she cannot be faulted for the way she conducted herself as our public figurehead. Her leadership has seen rise to many community projects and she has been incredibly commendable in trying to reform a fanbase fractured by years of malignment and mistreatment. A fanbase that seemingly, continues to be maligned and mistreated. The incoming Cole-Johnson certainly has a longer CV than our former MD, and his movement from a director to the CEO seems to me that they are looking to run the club more as a commercial entity moving forward. But to not even pay the dues of someone who has spent her entire career at our club more than an unceremonious exit through the back is, again, another sign of how little our ownership truly care. I appreciate that not every decision can be made publicly, but the lack of communication from the Danson family - having promised even and fair stewardship - is remarkable in its apathy. There isn’t one among us that would not thank Mike Danson for saving our club, but to replace a lack of meaningful communication with falsehoods and platitudes under new ownership is hardly an upgrade on the last lot of corrupt and inept owners. At least they gave us a couple of good months before the threw the towel in. The constant mention of attacking football, player development and investment, while also discussing the need for an increase in commercial revenue and a complete lack of transfer funds, feels as though the fanbase as a collective is being taken for a ride. We are not as easily distracted by this paltry attempt at slight of hand, and unfortunately, trying to divert our gaze while slipping the rug from beneath us is doing nothing except agitate an already anxious fanbase. For a club like ours to succeed, we all need to be pulling in the right direction. Right now, it feels as though Danson and Co are seconds from completely letting go of the rope. What we need is a word of comfort from the ownership - an acknowledgement of their plans instead of empty words and docile ineptitude. This is OUR club. It very evidently means far more to us than it does to you, but you have been intrusted with it. For the sake of the town, and for football as a collective, it is imperative that the right thing is done, and we are either invested in and empowered or moved on to a more worthy custodian. In other words, sell up, or put your money where your mouth is. Alfie Hurd: The state of this club has become toxic to the core, with lack of communication, lack of direction, and lack of knowing what’s ahead. I try not to blame the ownership, but something has to change. Mike Danson saved the club and all that, but it’s a disgrace how the club’s not communicating with us, and releasing staff -including supporters, like us - and not speaking about it directly. On the football side of things, I’m staying confident. Because I believe we have every chance against Barnsley, every chance we get 20 goals out of Sonny Perkins, and I surely believe it will be at least a mid-table season. On the ownership side, rumours of new investors provide some comfort, but it needs to happen. We need owners who care who try to invest and communicate to us. Anyway cant wait for the games now...and Up the Tics! Billy Haggerty: Oh the joys of another season coming up upon us, the joys of another Saturday heading towards the Brick Stadium. The joys of meeting up with fellow fans to discuss the new signings, the aims for the season and where we'll end up. We'll mention the joys of being fully informed on the direction of the club, the joys of knowing the ownership are fully behind the club, are giving us information that'll support this and we'll all be happy little bunnies forking out another £7 for a pint of Cruzcampo ( there are other brands of beer available). Once the beer is supped in Whelan’s, we'll joyfully head towards the stands to cheer on the latest signings of Vini Jnr, John Stones, Jack Grealish and a trialist from Ashton Town...at that point, my alarm clock went off, I pushed the 10-min snooze button, and hoped to find out it wasn't all just a dream. Back in the here and now with the new season lumming, I've got this 'couldn't care attitude, and wouldn't miss it if there was another month till the season starts...perhaps a hangover from the never ending World Cup game (oh and by the way, it *didn't* come home again – from a proud Scot!), or perhaps it's the loss in the spine of the team, the rumour mill of buyers, no buyers, director changes, strikers/no money for strikers, whatever it is it's certainly put a downer on the season ahead. The 'atmosphere meeting ' arranged by Sarah G went ahead without the aforementioned SG (wonder why?)...I went and it was sparsely attended, the biggest point made was around the total lack of communication, commitment and concerns from the owners, which is leading to mistrust from supporters, and them putting their hands in their pocket to purchase a season ticket… So here's a thought Lucas D/new CEO...how about a full and positive, no-holds barred statement of your plans, intentions and the way forward for this club…. Martin Lally: In the era of emergency podcasts, even the the 12th Man are getting involved...so here we go! What a few days at Wigan Athletic!! Is this going to be the new mantra of every single week? It feels like it. All seemed well as Archie Harris joined Gary Caldwell’s ranks in what appears to be another shrewd move from Bournemouth. Young, Hungry, been kicked in lower leagues, survived, inspired by the manager - familiar and worth the chance. The irony is that, in the background, the social media train has been engaged in speculation overdrive. What started as an stadium atmosphere meeting on Thursday evening seems to have developed into what can only be described as an American politics coup d’état, with the absence of our managing director from aforementioned meeting. One truth from that meeting is that – as proud Wiganers – some guidance and direction by board is certainly what will bring the fans on side. And that was before the departure of Sarah Guilfoyle. It feels like some have simply had enough...but are we forgetting the bigger picture? No matter what...they are our team. We are their heartbeat. The club can’t exist without its fanbase. Anyway, the confirmation of Sarah’s exit came early on Friday morning. Now I’m no expert and I certainly am not a fan of this board, but on the eve of the season...really? In the latter days of the Ryan Lowe era, and into the new revolution under Gary Caldwell I still proclaimed that I wasn’t happy with the board. And I still feel the same. The thing that really got me with the announcement is Lucas Danson’s audacity to suggest Sarah's replacement will bring the people of Wigan closer...when the man is further away from the fanbase than he could ever imagine. Okay, I don’t know Sarah, and I have no loyalty to her. But you hear nothing but great things about her and her love for Wigan Athletic. The one thing you can know for sure is that’s another person who truly cares about the club who is now locked under NDA and can’t say anything and has exited stage right. Why can’t we know what’s going on? It’s okay campers, there is a fans forum in late September, but you can guarantee that if the results are not going well then that will be postponed...cynical, but we’ll see! In a political or otherwise engaged cover-up, that’s maybe because there is a story to tell, and someone somewhere doesn’t want the story to be told, despite the appreciation that it’s common practice to include these in exit packages. And you know what Tics...all on the eve of a game against a Barnsley whose manager can’t find a good thing to say about his playing staff. A team that would have probably been relegated last year if the season was a few months longer, a chance for us all to see the Tics back in action, and maybe even get off to a good start. All this said, we haven’t even kicked a ball, and in the words of many but spoken best by a few...what a flipping club! Sean Livesey: It's never dull is it © Understatement of the century is that particular Wigan Athletic phrase. Another 24 hours, another episode of upheaval, another period of instability. We should be used to them by now but, each time this happens, the more damaging the feeling among the fanbase. So let's recap the latest episode. As regular readers will be aware, we've had a seemingly lacklustre summer on the pitch. A strong start in the transfer market has led to a quiet July and start of August with Latics looking somewhat light for an assault on the League One promotion places. The usual internet panic and it's always the internet began before the World Cup group stages were even over. This summer with the added drama of an on/off/never-actually-happening takeover to keep us in suspense. That was mixed with some decidedly average pre-season friendly results and performances meaning a lot (some would say quite rightly) being extremely concerned for our lot. That has been mixed with numerous accounts on social media presenting hearsay as fact and others even producing AI written articles indicating a takeover has been sealed and we were bringing Joe Taylor back. All of this when it fails to materialise leads to a febrile atmosphere among the fanbase and who can blame them at being cheesed off when these rumours turn out to be just that. Thursday was slightly different though, that was a rumour that actually had some substance to it. The latest in a long line of initiatives to try and improve the atmosphere at our cavernous two-thirds empty stadium was a meeting with Sarah Guilfoyle and Gary Caldwell and season-ticket holders. Sarah wasn't present at the Brick and rumours circulated online that she had left the club. These were confirmed on Friday morning and the announcement of the arrival of Anthony Cole-Johnson as CEO. Now Sarah has clearly spent a long time at Latics, joining from spells at Accrington Stanley and Tranmere Rovers in 2018, and she's risen through the administrative ranks and taken on a number of roles within the club. She was handed the managing director role following the first year under the ownership of the Danson family. Her passion for Wigan Athletic has always shone through and in particular her role within developing the next generation of Latics fans, an approach that's too often overlooked and undervalued. Ironically when Sarah was handed that role alongside a returning Brenda Spencer, many questioned the validity of her getting that role, as it was seen as a 'cheap' option by promoting from within. Anthony Cole-Johnson – or ACJ (as I'm sure he'll enjoy being called) – with the greatest respect to Sarah is in a different league experience wise (which is no sleight on Sarah, it's simply a matter of age)...and his experience seems to sit on the income generation side of sport directorship. There's no doubting his CV leadership roles at Sky, Bafta, Ospreys and Southampton among many others. He's the kind of appointment if made back in 2024 many would have applauded. But because he's replacing a popular figure, it seems like it's a negative move. Emotion needs to be taken aside in this situation and for us to look at it from a purely business decision. The accompanying statement goes on to say how growth off the pitch has slowed in recent seasons, and that the performance of the men's first team hasn't met expectations. Lucas Danson went on to say that Anthony can improve these things. The fact the performance of the first team brings in to question whether this was solely a business decision. Sarah and the recently departed Gregor Rioch were behind the managerial changes of the last 18 months, from Shaun Maloney to Ryan Lowe, and Lowe to Gary Caldwell. Are we to surmise that the ownership didn't agree with one or two of those decisions? Either the sackings or the subsequent appointments? I've no solid knowledge, I'm just playing devil's advocate. But of course this all comes down to money, and Wigan Athletic have got precious little of that at the moment. With the increasing focus of the income generation rules from the EFL this year, you can see why the club are desperate to turn that side around. Again, though, with the stadium and presumably its earnings now in a separate legal entity, one would presume that cash spent in the Brick doesn't actually go back in to the clubs coffers (although indirectly by the owners continued subsidising of our losses). So Cole-Johnson will speak to the fans at a fans forum next month. It's a huge task for him to turn this ship around and, without an increase in cash injections from the owner, there's only so much he can do. One would hope the head coach is aware of these changes, and is happy with them. It feels at least the power on the football side has consolidated with Caldwell, which I suppose is something. I think this also tells us the fantastical stories of takeovers being around the corner are at best wide of the mark, and at worst completely fabricated. Though a change in our financial position could well encourage more bidders to show themselves. I'm still minded to believe the owners have genuine reasons for what they're doing (whether I agree with them or not), but they need this next move to pay off. Any more missteps, and a battered and bruised fanbase will certainly make their feelings known. All of this on the eve of the new season. As Earth, Wind and Fire sang: 'Happy Season(s)!