Soccer: A northern tale of rags to riches

The romantic, halcyon days of top-flight football involving more than two or three big-name clubs are unfortunately long gone.

For the next 10 years, you will probably see the Premiership changing hands between two, maybe three sides at the most. It's a sad state of affairs. The days of Derby County, Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest and even Wimbledon competing for major success are a thing of the past. Which is why Monday morning's Carling Cup final between Manchester United and Wigan Athletic is such a breath of fresh air.

The success story of Wigan Athletic can be nailed down to two dates: February 1995, local businessman millionaire David Whelan takes control of the club as chairman; summer of 2001, Paul Jewell is appointed manager. These two men are now at the helm of a club which was only elected to the football league in 1978.

Whelan, as the owner of the JJB sports chain, has spent a small fortune since taking over. A player himself with Blackburn, he broke his leg in the 1960 FA Cup final, which effectively ended his top-level career at just 23.

With the compensation from the injury he started up a grocery business. By 1978, Whelan's discount Stores were sold to a supermarket chain for £1.5m. Whelan then developed the JJB Sports chain, and in 1994 the company was valued at £65m - it is currently the UK's leading sports retailer.

To say Whelan is a savvy businessman would be something of an understatement. But when he stated, upon his takeover of Athletic, that his ambition was Premiership football, even the most generous souls would have looked on in disbelief.

The journey upwards began in 1997 with the third division championship. More silverware was added in 1999 with the lower divisions' version of the FA Cup, the Auto Windscreen Shield. In the same year the club moved from Springfield Park to the JJB Stadium.

Whelan's ambition was coming closer to fruition but the final piece in the jigsaw was the appointment of Paul Jewell.

Jewell, like Whelan, was a professional footballer. He began his career with his hometown of Liverpool but failed to break into the first team.

He then spent four years with Wigan and was a favourite with the fans, before a move to Bradford City in 1988. Ten years later he got his managerial break, replacing Chris Kamara, and remarkably took City into the top flight for the first time in 80 years in 1999.

A brief and unsuccessful sojourn at Sheffield Wednesday followed before he rejoined Athletic as manager in 2001. Five years later, his team are eighth in the Premiership and facing Manchester United in the Carling Cup final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

It wasn't an easy journey to the final, either. Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers were disposed of before an epic, extra-time victory over Arsenal at Highbury, with Jason Roberts scoring the crucial away goal in the last minute of extra time.

It's the stuff of dreams and every neutral football fan would surely not begrudge a Wigan victory at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

It's another story of a wealthy benefactor funding a club's success - but when the benefactor is a local boy, who has invested in his community and is a true man of the people, it reminds us all of what the game used to be about.

Before the foreign invasion of players, managers and chairmen changed the face of British football irrevocably.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY