The week that brought Wigan Athletic its greatest moment in football has ended in sadness as the club's eight-year Premier League history has been placed in the to-be-continued pile along with so many others.

Few Wigan supporters will feel anything but overwhelming pride tonight despite being relegated, as an injury-plagued and thoroughly exhausted squad gave Arsenal a real scare amidst rainy scenes at the Emirates. With the scores equal in the second half, it was Wigan playing the better football, narrowly failing to take the lead on several occasions before an Arsenal counter-attack swung the match and ultimately put Latics down.

Ensuing weeks will address questions about who will stay and who will go. For the time being, it is safe to say that the work of Roberto Martinez's staff over the past three years has ensured that Wigan is in very strong shape to bounce back in short order. When the club was first promoted in 2005 there was little in the way of youth development or reserves. Times are different -- so much Latics progressed through the FA Cup using squad and youth players and, despite a number of injuries to key players, won the bloody thing.

Many have been mystified by Martinez's Wigan. Capable of beating absolutely anyone on their day -- often in style -- they have found themselves embroiled in relegation battles more times than not in the Premier League years. Why wait until the final stretch to get going? The yearly process of replacing first team players lost in the summer window plays a key role and certainly did this season. Not until the rise of Callum McManaman a couple months ago were Wigan able to replace the direct and skillful Victor Moses. But the funds raised from the Moses sale are exactly what have aided the rise of young players like McManaman and the purchases and development of talents such as Roman Golobart, Nouha Dicko and others that may become key players in the Championship next year. Those sales and that period of rebuilding were necessary for the model. Wigan have taken a gamble with said strategy for the past number of years and it has paid off, allowing the club to maintain Premier League status while building behind the scenes. This year, they lost the gamble with Premier League salvation, but Wigan won the FA Cup and qualified for European football for the first time in the club's history, a stunning achievement. True to form, Wigan Athletic have been relegated in what is arguably the club's most successful season ever.

On the pitch, the obvious deficiencies this season were defensive. Last year's player of the season and club captain Gary Caldwell was dogged by a troublesome hip injury from beginning to end, the excellent Antolin Alcaraz missed more than two thirds of the campaign, new signing Ivan Ramis has been out since January, while Maynor Figueroa, Jean Beausejour and Ronnie Stam were all injured in the crucial final stretch. Ali Al-Habsi, so influential in previous seasons, made several high profile mistakes and was dropped. Fixture congestion -- with the FA Cup final played only three days before today's match -- certainly didn't help. When yet another influential player, McManaman, went off injured in today's match, you got the sense it was the final straw for Martinez's ailing squad.

So an end has come to Wigan's memorable maiden Premier League voyage. Detailed analysis will follow but the lingering feeling remains that of pride in the achievements of a small town club that has graced the Premier League with unpredictable, exciting football over the past decade, climaxing at Wembley last Saturday. Today is a sad day, but keep an eye on those plucky Latics and their unique brand of underdog football -- they'll be back.

thanks to ned from www.threeamigoswigan.com

The Corrigan Brothers the Irish band whose chart hits include the ten million you tube international hit “There’s no one as Irish as Barack Obama” as well as the most moving song about a cat ever , “I’m Pebbles Boyle ,Spare a thought for me”, the song that told the true story of how Susan Boyle’s cat coped with Susan’s fame have reacted to Wigan’s historic win in song.

Lead singer Ger Corrigan said “ we watched in amazement as Wigan outplayed Man City, we knew Wigan would give everything and were thrilled to see them win. Their reward is a reflection of the humility of Dave Whelan and Roberto Martinez as well as the talent and resilience of the Wigan Athletic Players.

A new name on the FA cup and European football for Wigan Athletic, a fantastic footballing day”.

The Song will be recorded over the coming days and will have a big party feel about it.

. . .  and that name is WIGAN ATHLETIC

A BIG "This Northern Soul" thankyou to all the comments from across the football family on our FA Cup success.

Supporters from other clubs including Orient, Derby County, Yeovil Town, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers, Hearts, Everton & Hamilton Academicals  have taken the time & trouble to wish us all the best.

* this post was co-written by the father and son writing team, from the perspective of the Jakarta Jack, the father. 

My father loved Wigan Athletic Football Club. Hardly a minute would go by after the final whistle before he would launch into talk about the next match. Conversations - and in some cases, monologues - about line-ups, tactics and referees were a feature of my life as long as I can remember.

His love affair with the Latics began the year the club was formed in 1932, and never wavered until his passing in 2005. His devotion to such a modest club was difficult for others to understand in a region saturated with prestigious football clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton. It was especially difficult to understand for the rugby fans in the area.

But my dad wasn't too perturbed by that. In his 73 years as a supporter, he witnessed the transition from non-league to Division 4, all the way up to the Championship, or second division as it was known for most of his time. Wigan were second in the Championship under the leadership of Paul Jewell, propelled by the dazzling strike partnership of Nathan Ellington and Jason Roberts, when he passed away. The Latics were promoted to the Premier League four months later. They have remained there ever since.

Were you to tell my father that his Wigan Athletic would go on to spend eight consecutive years in the Premier League and reach both the League Cup and FA Cup finals during that period - he almost certainly would not have believed you. He would have beamed with pride.

Thankfully, pride is something that is passed down. My son and co-writer, Ned, once told me that,  while the inspiration for the name of this fan site was a tip of the hat to the symbolic arrival of Wigan's Three Amigos from Spain -  a pivotal moment in Wigan's rise up the tables and Whelan's revolution - it also on a more personal level represented the relationship between himself, his dad and grandad, who all shared that same passion for the club.

Neither Ned nor I were at that very first Wigan Athletic match back against Port Vale Reserves back in 1932, but we each remember our first Latics experience and know the previous history thanks to my dad. We know where the club came from, and we know we are living the Wigan Athletic dream.

No matter what the result is on Cup Final Saturday, or the outcome of the relegation fight in the Premier League, Wigan Athletic have confounded people with their achievements. The club has come farther than any of us imagined in our wildest dreams, and their achievements will leave an indelible memory.

What's more - the work that Roberto Martinez has done in his return as manager of the club has been transformative. Rather than playing the role of the little fish up for a Premier League cameo, his plan has been one of consolidation.

While Steve Bruce did a job in keeping the club in the top flight, the money he spent on players and their wages was hardly sustainable if Latics were to suffer a bad season and go down. There was no investment in youth development or infrastructure.

Martinez's work to cut operating budgets, sell the top players in order to fund long-term growth sets the club up to survive for years to come. Sure - relegation is a threat each year and is to many clubs with more money, more fans and so on -- but the club and its support are rapidly growing behind the scenes with every year that passes.

It is somewhat fitting, then, that Wigan's rival in the final is Manchester City - not only a club with massive support, but also the beneficiary of the largest cash injection in world football thanks to their billionaire owner. In comparison with Wigan Athletic and Manchester City even David and Goliath seem evenly matched!

Only a deluded romantic would expect a Wigan Athletic squad depleted by injury, mentally worn-down, in the middle of the most intense Premier League survival fight to date, to beat Manchester City on Saturday. But if the club's history is anything to go by, the seemingly  impossible can happen. The supporters of this club believe anything is possible because they are continuing to live it.

The Wigan Athletic story is far from over. Three matches in less than 10 days will determine whether the 2012-2013 season goes down in history as the year Wigan conquered the FA Cup, or survived for a ninth consecutive Premier League season against all odds.

But even if neither materialises, we could not be more proud of our club which takes pride in doing things in a sensible way and never gives up. Just to be in the FA Cup final, with the guarantee of Europa League football next season boggles the mind. A win on Saturday would just be icing on the cake.

thanks to  www.threeamigoswigan.com