# 2007–08 Wigan Athletic F.C. season

The 2007–08 Wigan Athletic F.C. season was the club's 30th season in the Football League and their third season in the Premier League.

## Season summary

Under new manager Chris Hutchings, the team started the season well, winning two of their opening three games and briefly leading the Premiership table for the first time in the club's history. However, after going the next ten games without a win, Wigan found themselves in the bottom three. Hutchings was sacked and Birmingham City's Steve Bruce was appointed as the new manager a couple of weeks later. Results began to improve, and the club steadily pulled away from relegation before finally securing their survival in their penultimate game in a 2–0 away win against Aston Villa. The club finished in 14th place at the end of the season.
Wigan had little success in the cups, and were knocked out of the League Cup in their first game against Hull City. The club also made it to the fourth round of the FA Cup before losing 2–1 to Chelsea. Marcus Bent, on loan from Charlton Athletic, finished the season as the club's top goalscorer with a total of seven goals, and Paul Scharner was voted as the club's Player of the Year.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Newcastle United | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 45 | 65 | −20 | 43 |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 42 |
| 14 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 34 | 51 | −17 | 40 |
| 15 | Sunderland | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 36 | 59 | −23 | 39 |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 37 |

## Squad
### First-team squad

(Sources)
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Chris Kirkland |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Ryan Taylor |
| 3 | DF | SWE | Erik Edman |
| 5 | MF | HON | Wilson Palacios |
| 6 | FW | FRA | Antoine Sibierski |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Kevin Kilbane |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Emile Heskey |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Jason Koumas |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Michael Brown |
| 12 | GK | ENG | Mike Pollitt |
| 14 | FW | JAM | Marlon King |
| 15 | FW | NGA | Julius Aghahowa |
| 16 | MF | ECU | Antonio Valencia |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | BRB | Emmerson Boyce |
| 18 | DF | AUT | Paul Scharner |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Titus Bramble |
| 20 | DF | CMR | Salomon Olembé |
| 21 | MF | POL | Tomasz Cywka |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Marcus Bent (on loan from Charlton Athletic) |
| 24 | MF | AUS | Josip Skoko |
| 25 | DF | NED | Mario Melchiot (captain) |
| 26 | MF | NED | Rachid Bouaouzan |
| 27 | MF | POL | Tomasz Kupisz |
| 31 | DF | HON | Maynor Figueroa (on loan from Olimpia) |
| 32 | DF | NOR | Erik Hagen (on loan from Zenit St. Petersburg) |

### On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 4 | DF | SWE | Andreas Granqvist (at Helsingborg) |
| 7 | FW | SEN | Henri Camara (at West Ham United) |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Carlo Nash (at Stoke City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | WAL | David Cotterill (at Sheffield United) |
| — | DF | SCO | Andy Webster (at Rangers) |

### Transfers In:

| Date | Position | Name | Club From | Transfer Fee |
| 19 June 2007 | Defender | Andreas Granqvist | Helsingborgs | Undisclosed |
| 27 June 2007 | Goalkeeper | Carlo Nash | Preston North End | £300,000 |
| 1 July 2007 | Defender | Mario Melchiot | Stade Rennais | Free Transfer |
| 1 July 2007 | Defender | Titus Bramble | Newcastle United | Free Transfer |
| 1 July 2007 | Forward | Antoine Sibierski | Newcastle United | Free Transfer |
| 10 July 2007 | Midfielder | Jason Koumas | West Bromwich Albion | £5,300,000 |
| 31 July 2007 | Midfielder | Michael Brown | Fulham | Undisclosed |
| 30 August 2007 | Forward | Rachid Bouaouzan | Sparta Rotterdam | Undisclosed |
| 18 January 2008 | Midfielder | Antonio Valencia | Villarreal | Undisclosed |
| 18 January 2008 | Defender | Erik Edman | Stade Rennais | Undisclosed |
| 25 January 2008 | Forward | Marlon King | Watford | Undisclosed |
* ↑ Valencia had been on loan at the club since August 2006

### Transfers Out:

| Date | Position | Name | Club To | Transfer Fee |
| 24 May 2007 | Defender | Matt Jackson | Watford | Free Transfer |
| 1 July 2007 | Goalkeeper | John Filan | Free Agency | Released |
| 1 July 2007 | Defender | David Unsworth | Free Agency | Released |
| 1 July 2007 | Defender | Arjan de Zeeuw | Free Agency | Released |
| 11 July 2007 | Midfielder | Lee McCulloch | Rangers | £2,250,000 |
| 7 August 2007 | Defender | Leighton Baines | Everton | £6,000,000 |
| 31 August 2007 | Forward | Caleb Folan | Hull City | £1,000,000 |
| 25 January 2008 | Forward | Denny Landzaat | Feyenoord | £1,000,000 |

### Loans In:

| Date | Position | Name | Club From | Length |
| 31 August 2007 | Forward | Marcus Bent | Charlton Athletic | Full Season |
| 17 January 2008 | Defender | Maynor Figueroa | Olimpia | Until end of season |
| 31 January 2008 | Defender | Erik Hagen | Zenit St. Petersburg | Until end of season |

### Loans Out:

| Date | Position | Name | Club From | Length |
| 31 August 2007 | Forward | Henri Camara | West Ham United | Full Season |

### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
* GK: #13, Chris Kirkland, 38
* RB: #25, Mario Melchiot, 33
* CB: #5, Fitz Hall, 24
* CB: #19, Titus Bramble, 27
* LB: #17, Emmerson Boyce, 26
* RM: #16, Antonio Valencia, 31
* CM: #11, Michael Brown, 29
* CM: #18, Paul Scharner, 39
* LM: #8, Kevin Kilbane, 36
* CF: #9, Emile Heskey, 29
* CF: #23, Marcus Bent, 26

## Results
### Premier League
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 24 January 2019. Source: 11v11

#### Results per matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | W | D | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | D | W | L | D | W | L | L | W | L | W | D | D | W | L | L | W | D | D | D | W | L |
| Position | 17 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report |
| 1 | 11 August 2007 | Everton | A | 1–2 | 39,220 | Sibierski 80' | Report |
| 2 | 15 August 2007 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | 14,007 | Sibierski 55' | Report |
| 3 | 18 August 2007 | Sunderland | H | 3–0 | 18,639 | Heskey 19', Landzaat 62' (pen), Sibierski 69' (pen) | Report |
| 4 | 25 August 2007 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | 33,793 | Scharner 78' | Report |
| 5 | 1 September 2007 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 50,461 | | Report |
| 6 | 15 September 2007 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | 16,973 | Koumas 80' (pen) | Report |
| 7 | 22 September 2007 | Reading | A | 1–2 | 21,379 | Bent 50' | Report |
| 8 | 29 September 2007 | Liverpool | H | 0–1 | 24,311 | | Report |
| 9 | 6 October 2007 | Manchester United | A | 0–4 | 75,300 | | Report |
| 10 | 20 October 2007 | Portsmouth | H | 0–2 | 17,695 | | Report |
| 11 | 27 October 2007 | Birmingham City | A | 2–3 | 27,661 | Bent (2) 23', 59' | Report |
| 12 | 3 November 2007 | Chelsea | H | 0–2 | 19,011 | | Report |
| 13 | 11 November 2007 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–4 | 35,504 | | Report |
| 14 | 24 November 2007 | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | 60,126 | | Report |
| 15 | 1 December 2007 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 18,614 | Scharner 25' | Report |
| 16 | 9 December 2007 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–4 | 20,309 | Landzaat 14' | Report |
| 17 | 15 December 2007 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 5–3 | 16,489 | Landzaat 10', Bent (3) 12', 66', 81', Scharner 37' | Report |
| 18 | 22 December 2007 | Fulham | A | 1–1 | 20,820 | Bent 70' | Report |
| 19 | 26 December 2007 | Newcastle United | H | 1–0 | 20,304 | Taylor 40' | Report |
| 20 | 29 December 2007 | Aston Villa | H | 1–2 | 18,806 | Bramble 28' | Report |
| 21 | 2 January 2008 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | 42,302 | Bramble 80' | Report |
| 22 | 12 January 2008 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | 31,652 | Sibierski 82' | Report |
| 23 | 20 January 2008 | Everton | H | 1–2 | 18,820 | Jagielka 53' (o.g.) | Report |
| 24 | 29 January 2008 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | 22,963 | | Report |
| 25 | 2 February 2008 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 | 20,525 | Kilbane 45' | Report |
| 26 | 9 February 2008 | Sunderland | A | 0–2 | 43,600 | | Report |
| 27 | 23 February 2008 | Derby County | H | 2–0 | 20,176 | Scharner 60', Valencia 84' | Report |
| 28 | 1 March 2008 | Manchester City | A | 0–0 | 38,261 | | Report |
| 29 | 9 March 2008 | Arsenal | H | 0–0 | 19,676 | | Report |
| 30 | 16 March 2008 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 17,055 | Heskey 33' | Report |
| 31 | 22 March 2008 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–3 | 23,541 | King 17' (pen) | Report |
| 32 | 29 March 2008 | Portsmouth | A | 0–2 | 18,623 | | Report |
| 33 | 5 April 2008 | Birmingham City | H | 2–0 | 17,926 | Taylor (2) 15', 55' | Report |
| 34 | 14 April 2008 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 40,487 | Heskey 90' | Report |
| 35 | 19 April 2008 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–1 | 18,673 | Heskey 12' | Report |
| 36 | 26 April 2008 | Reading | H | 0–0 | 19,043 | | Report |
| 37 | 3 May 2008 | Aston Villa | A | 2–0 | 42,640 | Valencia (2) 52', 63' | Report |
| 38 | 11 May 2008 | Manchester United | H | 0–2 | 25,133 | | Report |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report |
| R3 | 5 January 2008 | Sunderland | A | 3–0 | 20,821 (1,184 away) | Scharner, Cotterill, McShane (o.g.) | Report |
| R4 | 26 January 2008 | Chelsea | H | 1–2 | 14,166 | Sibierski | Report |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report |
| R2 | 28 August 2007 | Hull City | H | 0–1 | 5,440 | | Report |