- The Long Read - Andrew Liddell
- Throughout the off-season, we'll bring you Long Reads of different players from different eras to talk about their time with our Club
- Andy Liddell joins us to discuss all things from his move from Barnsley, winning the Football League Trophy in 1998-99, and becoming the Club's all-time leading scorer in the Football League
When Andy Liddell first arrived at Springfield Park, he could never predict in his wildest of dreams about the legacy he was about to create at Wigan Athletic.
Born in Leeds, Liddell started his league career at Barnsley, making his debut as a substitute against Portsmouth in 1992. He spent seven years at the South Yorkshire outfit and helped his team win promotion to the Premier League in 1997. While Liddell played a part during the Reds' Premier League campaign, his appearances in the latter part of his time at Barnsley was from the bench.
After making over 200 appearances in all competitions for the Tykes, Liddell moved to Wigan Athletic in October 1998. Whilst he was naturally impressed by the ambition shown by the then-owner Dave Whelan to reach the Premier League, his lure to Springfield Park stemmed mainly from his own ambition to play more regular first-team football.
"I was annoyed in my last stage at Barnsley because I was playing well, and I should have been in the team and I wasn't," he said.
"I went to see the manager and he said we had to sell some players. I was probably on the verge of asking to leave anyway, but then Wigan Athletic called me after agreeing a fee with Barnsley and they asked if I could come down and speak to them.
"John Benson was the biggest factor, as I got on so well with Benno. Brendan O'Connell was there, and some ex-Barnsley players from Benno's connections had signed. I went over, spoke to them, and was shown the new plans for the JJB Stadium and Springfield Park.
"I just wanted to play, and I wanted to play for Wigan Athletic. Wigan wanted me, and I wanted them.
"Even when they showed me the new stadium, I didn't really care if they was going to play at a new stadium or not. I didn't really care if they would've stayed at Springfield Park for the next 10-years, it didn't bother me.
“They were saying to me - 'you're going to play, you will be one of our first choices, and then it's up to you to stay in the team. We're a good club and the chairman wants to get to the Premier League'. What's not to like about that?
"I wasn't playing at Barnsley, and Wigan wanted to sign me. That was enough for me.”
Liddell made his Latics debut in Division Two against Manchester City in October 1998, before scoring his first goal for the Club later that month in the 5-0 win over York. In his first year at Springfield Park, he made 28 league appearances and scored 10 times. He also helped Latics lift the 1998-99 Football League Trophy following Paul Rogers’ late winner against Millwall at Wembley, which is a day that Liddell still fondly remembers.
"I remember waking up on that day, and it was boiling hot," he said.
"I was so happy about that because I love playing in the heat, as I knew I was fitter than everybody else, so I knew that I would be going when people were flagging.
"I was always one of these insane players in pre-season when it was red hot, I loved it. Everyone used to moan, but I loved it because I knew I'd still be going at the end when everyone is dropping to their knees.
"I just remember as I was walking out the tunnel thinking this is brilliant. I was a kid from a council estate in the middle of Leeds who went from playing on the streets with my mates to playing at Wembley with Wigan Athletic.
"It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. People put down that competition because it's the bottom two divisions, but I don't care. There are hundreds and hundreds of players much better than me that will never get the chance to play at Wembley, and I did it twice.
"It was amazing, and to win right at the end with Paul Rogers scoring, it was brilliant. Millwall had a lot of fans, and when we won the game, Wembley just emptied. In the end, it was just our guys in the corner, and it was so good.
"We had a team with good characters, good players, and good coaches. I really enjoyed that day and the memories that followed celebrating with our supporters.”
As Wigan settled into their new home at the JJB Stadium in the following campaign, John Benson’s side went 26 league matches unbeaten before losing at home to Oldham Athletic in January 2000. Despite their strong start, Latics suffered a dip in form and found themselves in the Play-Off final at Wembley against Gillingham.
With the scores level after 90 minutes, Wigan took a 2-1 lead when Stuart Barlow scored a penalty kick. However, Gillingham scored two goals in the final six minutes through substitutes Steve Butler and Andy Thomson to win 3-2.
After suffering further play-off heartbreak in the 2000-01 season under Benson, it was time for a change at the JJB Stadium with former Latics midfielder Paul Jewell returning to manage the ambitious Division Two outfit in June 2001.
Whilst Latics finished 10th in Jewell’s first season in charge of the Club in 2001-02, it was a successful individual campaign for Liddell as he finished as the leading scorer and etched his name into the history books by scoring Latics' 1,500th league goal.
The summer that was to follow ahead of the 2002-03 Division Two campaign saw plenty of changes in personnel at the JJB Stadium, as Jewell looked to build a squad that was capable of promotion after failing to go up through the play-offs on three different occasions.
After scoring 18 goals in the previous season, Liddell was able to finish as the Club’s top goalscorer for the second consecutive campaign, as Latics won promotion to the Championship by winning the Second Division with 100 points.
Finishing 14 points clear of runners-up Crewe Alexandra, Latics enjoyed an exceptional campaign as they recorded their highest ever points finish in the Football League, and reached the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.
Liddell explained how the change in player demands and expectations from Jewell helped create a winning mentality, and led to the side’s immense success, and rise up the English Football League.
“I played my best football at Wigan. There’s no doubt about that, especially once Paul came in," he said.
"I was the fittest that I’d ever been when I was at Wigan. I was a fit guy at Barnsley, but when I got to Wigan, and you saw the standards when Paul Jewell came in, you quickly realised that you needed to pull your finger out. We trained like Olympic athletes under Paul.
“First and foremost, Paul was a great human being. That's the most important thing.
“As soon as he came, it was clear that he wasn’t going to be messed about. During the first couple of years of his tenure, it was a revolving door. He was being ruthless and he needed to be because that’s what the club needed moving forwards.
“There was a big clear out. With the play-off defeats in the previous three years, we just needed a bit of luck to help sway the tide.
“We didn’t have any luck at Manchester City when the referee made a huge mistake at Maine Road. We played Reading, and they missed a penalty and scored from the rebound. We played Gillingham, and we were winning 2-1 in extra time and lost 3-2, and in those type of matches, you just need a bit of luck to go your way.
“We had a clear out and Paul brought his own players in, and we made mincemeat out of the league. We didn’t need that bit of luck then because we absolutely wiped the floor with pretty much everybody that year.
“When Paul came in, there was a change of culture, and there is no doubt about that.
“His standards were extremely demanding. The training was really hard, some people say it was brutal, but I used to enjoy it because it was focused on running and fitness.
“I used to always do my own pre-season training before the players returned. I would do long distanced runs on the athletics track. The training was still hard, but my body was prepared for it.
“Selfishly, like every other player, I wanted to be as fit as I could be because I wanted to play. I wanted to show Paul that I should be in the team, and I’d be doing that by being as fit as I could, and playing as well as I could.
“At the time, I used to think nobody was going to be fitter than us, and if we can all get to this level, we can be some machine, and we were eventually.
“The intensity of training was incredible and it probably was harder than the matches themselves. When we came to matches, you were fit and you felt confident of getting the job done.
“He demanded a lot in training and in matches, and that was quite evident. If you didn’t put in the work, you didn’t play, so it was pretty simple.
“With the signings that we made and the work that we were doing, it was quite obvious within the first six to eight weeks of the season that we had a real good chance.
“Breaking the record was a big achievement on a personal level, but my most favourite memory was the promotion season as it was fantastic to be a part of.
“It was a fantastic group of lads with a fantastic spirit. We blitzed that league, and we battered people physically and verbally to be quite honest, because we were no shrinking violets."
During that particularly special time period at Latics, Jewell was also able to build a strong team spirit amongst the players he had recruited. In the dressing room, the players referred to themselves as the Band of Brothers, and they had all bought into his vision in what they all wanted to achieve for the Club.
“The togetherness was built by Paul’s recruitment. He signed some good guys and some good characters." Liddell said.
“If they are good characters and good people, you’d tend to work for each other. We did have some fantastic lads, and they would run through the proverbial brick wall for each other and that was built from Paul’s signings and us all gelling as a team.
“If you get a good spirit which is what we had, and you have people willing to go the extra mile for each other which we did, then you know you’re going to have a good chance of success.”
The 47-year-old was Wigan Athletic’s longest-serving player when he departed to join Sheffield United following the conclusion of the 2003-04 season.
In his final season for Wigan Athletic, he played 38 games and scored 9 goals. He played just under 250 games for Latics, scoring 70 goals. He finished as our all-time leading goalscorer in the Football League, topping David Lowe’s previous tally of 66.
Immortalised at the DW Stadium, the Leeds born forward is very proud to be a record holder at the Club where he believes he played his best football.
“It’s a lovely thing to have (the record). Because the history of the club is quite young, it’s not a massive tally, but it’s still something that I’m very proud of.
“It is an honour to hold something like that. I was very pleased to break it, I’m sure David Lowe when he held it before me was very proud to have it, and I’ll be proud to hold it until somebody breaks it.
“Wigan was a great club to play for. It was fantastic. The fans were always really friendly and I had a good relationship with them.
“I got on with the fans at every club that I played for, but particularly at Wigan, as I was there for a long time, and I think they appreciated that I would leave everything on the pitch.
“I scored quite a few goals for Wigan and it was a successful period for the club. I think if you spoke to the Latics fans, they would say I did provide some decent goals on the odd occasion, but I’d like to think that I provided value for what they paid to watch, and I never left anything out there.
“Wigan always treated me really well. I really enjoyed playing for the club and I wore the shirt with pride every time I put it on.
“I enjoyed playing at Springfield Park, and the JJB Stadium, and I liked playing in front of the fans. I played my best football at Wigan Athletic, there’s no doubt about that.”
Whilst Liddell left Latics before their eventual promotion to the Premier League, he always knew that the Club was destined to reach the top flight due to the remarkable commitment and dedication shown by the former owner Mr Dave Whelan.
“I knew they would always play in the Premier League with Mr Whelan at the helm.”
“As soon as Paul took over, it was quite obvious that they were always going to reach the Premier League. They just needed time.
“After I left, they took off and kept on going until they reached the Premier League. I’d have loved to have made it up to the Premier League with the club but it wasn’t to be.
“I reflect on my career that I got the most out of it. I made the most out of my career that I possibly could by using every ounce of energy that I had to improve, especially physically.
“I wasn’t the most talented on some teams that I played on, but I made the most of my talent through sheer hard work.
"I have no regrets about anything I did, or about anything that happened because everything happens for a reason."