Chapter 586: Vitality Stadium!

An okay result amid a stretch of good ones, but the draw at St James’ Park didn’t feel like the end of anything.

As the days passed, the narrative around Wigan shifted, highlighting their recent struggles and how supporters and critics alike began to question their resilience.

Their next two league fixtures were both away from home.

Bournemouth came first on 17 December, followed by Sheffield United, meaning Wigan were about to play three consecutive Premier League matches on the road.

That alone would have been a demanding stretch, but the timing made it worse.

Wigan had taken just two points from their previous three matches, and for a side that was leading a league as prestigious as the Premier League, questions and even expectations were bound to arise.

Television analysts debated whether Wigan’s incredible start had finally reached its natural limit.

Newspapers ran pieces questioning whether the league leaders were beginning to tire, and some radio shows spent entire segments debating whether Dawson’s side had simply been enjoying an unsustainable run of form or had built something concrete that was now experiencing turmoil.

Online, the reaction was even less forgiving.

Some supporters of other Premier League clubs were already treating the recent results as proof that Wigan had returned to where they belonged.

Wigan are going back to their default setting.

It was fun while it lasted.

Eventually the Premier League catches up with everyone.

Three games, two points. A very jarring reality check.

But others took a slightly different approach.

There were plenty who pointed out that, even with the poor run, Wigan were still sitting comfortably above the relegation places.

They’ve got nothing to worry about.

Even if they lost every game from here, they probably wouldn’t go down.

Whatever happens, Wigan have already done enough this season and let’s be serious. This squad isn’t getting relegated.

That argument was hard to dispute because the most points a Premier League team had gotten and still been relegated was West Ham back in the 02/03 season, with the Hammers accumulating 42 points but still being relegated in 18th place; Wigan were two points above that.

They had already beaten some of the biggest clubs in England, and so there was no way they were losing every game onwards, especially with one of their brightest squads at the helm.

Yet the criticism did not stop there.

Some of it began to focus on individual players, and Leo’s name appeared more than most.

With 12 goals, 5 assists, and the sort of young leader at the helm, many mouths were on him.

Leo Calderon has gone missing.

12 goals and 5 assists, and now he’s decided to dip. I would too, him, because he’s proven he can do it at a top level. I won’t be surprised if he leaves in January, to be fair.

Bro hasn’t scored since Matchday 14.

One post went even further, calling Leo a fraud, but that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

They could tolerate a lot, but the Wigan fans couldn’t tolerate any slander against Leo.

Are you actually serious? He’s eighteen in his first Premier League season and his first full professional season, playing as a deep-lying playmaker. Do you want him to be competing with Haaland?

Apparently, TWELVE goals and FIVE assists aren’t enough for a defensive midfielder. Remind me how many goals your striker has again.

Another supporter added:

He’s playing deep half the time, and you’re complaining that he isn’t scoring every week?

The argument spread quickly as some Wigan fans pointed out that Leo should never have been expected to maintain the scoring rate he’d produced during the opening months of the season.

He was not a centre-forward.

He was not even playing as an advanced attacking midfielder every week.

He was often the player starting attacks from deeper areas, covering for the full-backs, helping Wigan escape pressure and connecting the midfield to their forwards.

And somehow, in his first half-season of Premier League football, at eighteen years old, he had still reached double figures.

Those numbers had become so familiar that some people had started treating them as an expectation rather than an achievement.

The argument looked like it would have continued for weeks, but it was soon interrupted by the Bournemouth game at the Vitality Stadium.

And from the moment the match began, it looked as though the criticism had found another reason to grow.

Bournemouth started aggressively, leaving Wigan unable to establish their usual rhythm.

The home side repeatedly found ways to push them away from the areas where Dawson’s team were most comfortable.

Then, in the fifth minute, the pressure produced a penalty after Whatmough went in on Alex Scott with a desperate challenge.

Dominic Solanke stepped up, leaving Ben Amos to guess, but he guessed wrong as Solanke sent the ball the other way.

"Bournemouth have the lead!"

The home supporters erupted, while the away side kept on cheering, refusing to waver, especially away from home.

Five minutes later, Dawson was already shouting instructions from the touchline.

His players tried to respond, but Bournemouth kept making life difficult.

Then came the second.

A corner was delivered into a crowded penalty area, and Alex Scott rose at the right moment to get the decisive touch, placing the ball right beyond the reach of Ben Amos to make it 2–0 in twenty minutes.

For a few seconds after that, the away end went quiet.

The league leaders had not looked like the league leaders in recent games, but they hadn’t looked this weak either.

Dawson stood near the edge of his technical area, arms folded, watching his players reorganise, but there was a lot going through his mind.

"Wigan have got a mountain to climb here," the commentator said.

"They’ve conceded twice inside twenty minutes, and Bournemouth have been the better side."

Wigan needed something to keep themselves in it, but it was hard work to get the ball from behind.

And so they started sending long balls forward in hopes that it might go through for them, and they got their beak through a mistake.

Neto came out to deal with a ball that should have been straightforward, but his touch took the ball away from him and straight into Wigan’s path.

Ezra, known for his frantic pressing, got to the ball and pushed it beyond the goalkeeper and rolled it into an empty net, and suddenly, there was life in the game again.

"Ezra pulls one back!" the commentator called as the Wigan supporters finally found their voices.

The goal changed the feeling of the match.

Bournemouth became a little more cautious, while Wigan began to find their way into the game.

Passes started connecting, and for a period, it looked as though the league Leaders might even find an equaliser, but then Bournemouth struck again.

Semenyo received the ball on the right side, cut inside and found enough space to shoot with his right foot and did not hesitate.

Amos scrambled to cover his gaps, but he was forced to lunge early and, in the end, the ball still flew beyond him to make it 3–1 for the home side.

"Bournemouth restore their two-goal advantage just before half-time!"