2000–01 Wigan Athletic F.C. season
During the 2000–01 English football season, Wigan Athletic F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.
Season summary
left after the end of the previous season, and former Arsenal manager Bruce Rioch was appointed in his place. Rioch had Wigan challenging for a play-off place but left in February; Wigan claimed that Rioch resigned, but Rioch insisted that he had been sacked. Former Manchester United player Steve Bruce took over and cemented Wigan's place in the top six, but they were knocked out of the play-offs by Reading in the semi-finals. Bruce then left to take charge of First Division Crystal Palace. Former Wigan striker Paul Jewell, who had previously led Bradford City to promotion to the Premier League but had failed to replicate the feat with Sheffield Wednesday, was appointed as his replacement.Defender Arjan de Zeeuw was named Wigan's player of the season.
Final league table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | F | A | GD | Pts | ||||
| 1 | Millwall | 46 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 49 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 40 | 27 | 89 | 38 | +51 | 93 | ||||
| 2 | Rotherham United | 46 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 50 | 26 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 29 | 79 | 55 | +24 | 91 | ||||
| 3 | Reading | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 58 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 26 | 86 | 52 | +34 | 86 | ||||
| 4 | Walsall | 46 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 51 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 27 | 79 | 50 | +29 | 81 | ||||
| 5 | Stoke City | 46 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 39 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 35 | 28 | 74 | 49 | +25 | 77 | ||||
| 6 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 29 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 75 | ||||
| 7 | Bournemouth | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 23 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 42 | 32 | 79 | 55 | +24 | 73 | ||||
| 8 | Notts County | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 37 | 33 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 62 | 66 | –4 | 69 | ||||
| 9 | Bristol City | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 47 | 29 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 | 27 | 70 | 56 | +14 | 68 | ||||
| 10 | Wrexham | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 28 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 32 | 43 | 65 | 71 | –6 | 63 | ||||
| 11 | Port Vale | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 35 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 27 | 55 | 49 | +6 | 62 | ||||
| 12 | Peterborough United | 46 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 38 | 27 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 23 | 39 | 61 | 66 | –5 | 59 | ||||
| 13 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 30 | 46 | 53 | –7 | 59 | ||||
| 14 | Brentford | 46 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 34 | 30 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 40 | 56 | 70 | –14 | 59 | ||||
| 15 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 35 | 26 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 18 | 39 | 53 | 65 | –12 | 58 | ||||
| 16 | Bury | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 37 | 45 | 59 | –14 | 58 | ||||
| 17 | Colchester United | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 23 | 36 | 55 | 59 | –4 | 57 | ||||
| 18 | Northampton Town | 46 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 26 | 28 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 46 | 59 | –13 | 57 | ||||
| 19 | Cambridge United | 46 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 32 | 31 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 29 | 46 | 61 | 77 | –16 | 53 | ||||
| 20 | Swindon Town | 46 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 35 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 65 | –18 | 52 | ||||
| 21 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 28 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 31 | 53 | 57 | –4 | 51 | ||||
| 22 | Luton Town | 46 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 35 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 45 | 52 | 80 | –28 | 40 | ||||
| 23 | Swansea City | 46 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 26 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 49 | 47 | 73 | –26 | 37 | ||||
| 24 | Oxford United | 46 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 23 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 30 | 66 | 53 | 100 | –47 | 27 |
- Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
- NB: In the Football League goals scored takes precedence over goal difference.
| Key | |
| Division Champions, promoted | |
| Promoted | |
| Participated in play-offs | |
| Promoted through play-offs | |
| Relegated |
Results
Wigan Athletic's score comes firstLegend
Football League Second Division
Second Division play-offs
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SF 1st leg | 13 May 2001 | Reading | H | 0-0 | 12,638 | |
| SF 2nd leg | 16 May 2001 | Reading | A | 22,034 | Nicholls |
FA Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 18 November 2000 | Dorchester Town | H | 3,883 | Roberts, Bidstrup, McIvor | |
| R2 | 12 December 2000 | Notts County | H | 3,886 | Ashcroft | |
| R2R | 19 December 2000 | Notts County | A | 3,349 | Kilford |
League Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 22 August 2000 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1-0 | 2,725 | Roberts |
| R1 2nd Leg | 5 September 2000 | Scunthorpe United | A | 2,062 | Sharp, Kilford, Haworth, Liddell | |
| R2 1st Leg | 19 September 2000 | Wimbledon | A | 1,941 | ||
| R2 2nd Leg | 26 September 2000 | Wimbledon | H | 5,387 | Haworth |
Football League Trophy
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| Northern R1 | 9 January 2001 | Oldham Athletic | A | 2,551 | McLaughlin, McLoughlin | |
| Northern R2 | 30 January 2001 | Walsall | A | 3,436 | Padula |