Wigan Athletic center back Titus Bramble shows where the ball ended up every time Jermain Defoe beat him on Sunday

A large contingent of Wigan faithful traveled to White Hart Lane to watch their beloved boys in blue (actually, they wore day-glo orange) deal a blow to Tottenham’s hopes of finishing in the top four. Ninety minutes and nine Hotspur goals later, they had survived their team giving up 9 goals (5 to Jermain Defoe) and they were drifting somewhere between shock and anger.
However, in a display that I will cite as one of the reasons I love soccer for years to come, Wigan’s players have offered to refund Sunday’s ticket price for any fan who came to the match. This is so valiant that it almost makes me sorry that I put Titus Bramble’s emo-face as the header to this post (almost. He was really, really bad).
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez said he was embarrassed, and he should be. It’s during games like this where you have to be impressed at how well good managers prepare their teams for games. Every other sport offers the option of calling a time out to rally the troops, offer words of encouragement or throw a chair. In soccer, you can scream all you want but it’s largely out of the manager’s hands once a half starts.
From the manager’s hands, responsibility shifts to the players’ feet (and assorted other body parts), which Wigan’s eleven rarely used to positive effect during Sunday’s contest. Their lone goal was made possible by Paul Scharner’s blatant handball, although it’s hard to hold that against him given the final result.