Andrew Stephen’s Hot Off The Habbin article in the match programme for the CUFC v Wigan Athletic match on 15th April 2026.
“No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.”
Buddha
Who would have thought that, having been relegated from League One in 2025, we would have been starting this season back in it, not fancied perhaps but stronger and much more ready than we were last time we were promoted from League Two. Last season we played many sides whose chief asst was physical strength. We saw in the Caribao Cup game against Barnet that long balls and head tennis belong to a kind of game which does not suit us. Wigan Athletic have some very good players, a very well thought of manager in Gary Caldwell and a reputation for playing the ball on the ground. Many Habbin North regulars were pleading for the ball to be pinged around accurately on the deck. When we did that, we scored twice and Barnet’s giants were taken out of the equation. I look forward to a better standard of official too. I know that life is hard for them but last Saturday I thought that a hand round the throat merits a red card.
These are difficult times for football, at a time when no one has much faith in FIFA and when a national President can overturn a red card and influence results. We are lucky in this country that our officials always demonstrate integrity and avoid favouritism. The game depends on it.
Wigan were formed in 1932 and faced a series of false dawns before promotion to the Football League in 1978. Astonishingly, they made over thirty unsuccessful applications. In the end they got in because Boston United’s ground wasn’t up to the required standard. Since then, Wigan have seen many promotions and relegations, spent eight seasons in the Premier League. They beat Manchester City in an FA Cup Final , although they were relegated that season. It has been a mixed picture since then. Once Dave Whelan who’d invested a fortune in the club walked away, it was difficult to cover costs. Players had to be sold and in 2020, the Latics went into administration and feared for their future. The situation is much more stable now and the club have ambitions to regain a place in the Championship. They are run in a much more sustainable way these days and, like us, have developed very strong links and ties with the community they serve. They have had many exceptional players during their history including enigmatic England international Emil Heskey. Best known to U’s fans though is one John Filan who many have argued was our greatest ever goalkeeper and our first ever Australian player.
I was impressed by some of our new players on Saturday, notably Heath and Perry, who haven’t played together much but I can see will make a formidable partnership. I look forward to seeing Patrick Bauer and, when he’s fit, Gassan Ahadme, who has done well for us before. Appere caught my eye too, playing as well as I’ve seen him and I hope to see more of Zak Bradshaw, a class player if I ever saw one. I’m not sure what the plan for Dan Efobi, fresh from the u18s is, but I’ve heard great reports about his potential. We still have many of the players who did so well for us last season and, who knows, by Saturday we could have a couple of new recruits. There was a lot of talk about Luke Berry at the bar too. One thing that is certain is that there are many players running out of time to find a new club. We are as good a prospect as most clubs. I certainly don’t think we’ll struggle like we did the season before last. If we play like we did at home to Notts County last season when Ben Knight and Sullay Kai Kai ran amok, no one will fancy coming to the Abbey Stadium
Andrew Stephen