# 2004–05 Wigan Athletic F.C. season

During the 2004–05 English football season, Wigan Athletic F.C. competed in the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

After only 27 years as a Football League club, Wigan Athletic won promotion to English football's top flight for the first time in their history, securing promotion on the final day of the Championship league campaign as runners-up in their division. This was also their highest-ever finish in the Football League in their history. It was also only Wigan's second season in the second tier of the English league, having just missed out on the playoffs a year earlier.
Wigan's league success did not translate to the domestic cup competitions: they only played one match in each cup before being knocked out. This may have turned out to be beneficial to Wigan, as it allowed the club to focus on the league rather than a cup run.

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
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 | AUS | John Filan |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Paul Mitchell |
| 3 | MF | SCO | Stephen McMillan |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Matt Jackson |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Emerson Thome |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Ian Breckin |
| 7 | FW | SCO | David Graham |
| 8 | MF | SWE | Andreas Johansson |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Nathan Ellington |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Lee McCulloch |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Graham Kavanagh |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Gary Walsh |
| 14 | MF | IRL | Alan Mahon |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | ENG | David Wright |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Jason Jarrett |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Nicky Eaden |
| 20 | MF | SCO | Gary Teale |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Jimmy Bullard |
| 22 | FW | BRA | Magno Vieira |
| 23 | GK | ENG | James Salisbury |
| 24 | MF | IRL | Gareth Whalley |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Anthony Stephan |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Leighton Baines |
| 30 | FW | GRN | Jason Roberts |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Kevin Lee |

### Left club during season

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 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Paul Mitchell (on loan to MK Dons) |
| 8 | FW | WAL | Neil Roberts (to Doncaster Rovers) |
| 12 | MF | WAL | Michael Flynn (to Gillingham) |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Tony Dinning (to Bristol City) |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Brett Ormerod (on loan from Southampton) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | DEN | Per Frandsen (Retired) |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Chris Lynch (to Hyde) |
| 27 | FW | ENG | David Moore (to Hyde) |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Greg Traynor (to Hyde) |

## Transfers In

| Date | Name | Club From | Fee |
| 24 May 2004 | Per Frandsen | Bolton Wanderers | Free |
| 16 June 2004 | David Graham | Torquay United | £215,000 |
| 28 June 2004 | David Wright | Crewe Alexandra | Undisclosed |
| 4 August 2004 | Emerson Thome | Bolton Wanderers | Free |
| 15 September 2004 | Gareth Whalley | Cardiff City | Free |
| 8 January 2005 | Andreas Johansson | Djurgardens IF | Undisclosed |
| 4 March 2005 | Graham Kavanagh | Cardiff City | £400,000 |

## Transfers Out

| Date | Name | Club To | Fee |
| 26 May 2004 | Jason de Vos | Ipswich Town | Free |
| 23 June 2004 | Andy Liddell | Sheffield United | Free |
| 28 July 2004 | Peter Kennedy | Peterborough United | Free |
| 9 August 2004 | Tony Dinning | Ipswich Town | Loan |
| 6 December 2004 | Tony Dinning | Bristol City | Free |
| | Michael Flynn | Gillingham | Free |
| | Neil Roberts | Doncaster Rovers | |
| | Per Frandsen | None | Retirement |

## Statistics
### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
* GK: #1, John Filan, 47
* RB: #19, Nicky Eaden, 34
* CB: #4, Matt Jackson, 36
* CB: #6, Ian Breckin, 43
* LB: #26, Leighton Baines, 42
* RM: #20, Gary Teale, 30
* CM: #14, Alan Mahon, 23
* CM: #21, Jimmy Bullard, 47
* LM: #10, Lee McCulloch, 43
* CF: #9, Nathan Ellington, 43
* CF: #30, Jason Roberts, 46