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John Chapman recounts the year Wigan Athletic won promotion via the ballot box

The long-term significance
Before 2004-05, this was the last time Wigan Athletic finished second in their league. Like last season they went up, but on this occasion the champions didn’t. Despite winning their fourth title in six years, Boston United’s ground was failed by the Football League inspectors, just four years after it had hosted Derby County and 11,000 spectators. So Wigan, 12 months after their worst ever season but on the back of a good FA Cup run, got put forward for election to the League. After tying 26 votes all with Southport in the first ballot, they won the second 29-20. They were to be the last side promoted to the league in this way.

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David Ogilvie’s only regrets about Stirling Albion’s finest hour are that he wasn’t there and that he has never seen the 20th goal. And yes, you read that right

In a year when Liverpool won the European Cup and Scotland’s rugby team won the Grand Slam, and in the month that Bob Geldof went from being a pop singer to the man behind Band Aid, an unremarkable football club also made headlines nationwide.

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Euro 2005 ended early with disappointment for the hosts, but this opening win highlighted – rather noisily – the growing enthusiasm for the women’s game, writes Helen Duff

One-second pause. Two-second pause. HONK! One-second pause. Two-second pause. Three-second pause. HONK! HONK! One-second pause. HONNNNNK! (Repeat, unrelentingly, for two hours.)

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Sky would kill for last day dramatics like this. Bobby McMahon retells the tale of one of the closest ever title races

The long-term significance
This season brought to an end a period in which teams other than Rangers and Celtic actually won the Scottish League. In the 19 seasons after the end of the Second World War, non-Old Firms clubs took eight of the championships. In the 40 years since, that has only happened four times. After winning the domestic treble the previous season, Rangers slumped to fifth while Celtic could only manage to finish eighth.

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Dear WSC
The story about Croke Park in WSC 220 failed to point out that one of the main reasons why the Ulster GAA delegates voted against allowing the IFA to use the stadium, is the presence of a British army base yards from the endline at Crossmaglen Rangers (a picture of this can be viewed here). The Ulster GAA has always said that while this base remains, they would continue to vote against “soccer” games at Croke Park. Perhaps, in the interest of balance, a statue of Bobby Sands could be erected along the new Wembley Way. I’m sure that this would go down well with the moronic England fans who continue to sing “No surrender” at every single game. I just pray that England and Ireland are kept apart in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, as I can’t imagine that their presence at Croke Park would be very well received.
John Rooney, via email

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