Why Gary Caldwell feels the stars are aligning for Exeter as the League One side aim to emulate Wigan’s FA Cup heroes by stunning Nottingham Forest.
- Gary Caldwell was club captain when underdogs Wigan won the FA Cup in 2013
- The Exeter boss believes his side can cause their own Cup shock 12 years later
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Two photos are recorded within a single picture frame that sits on the wall of Gary Caldwell’s workplace in Exeter City.
They were seen four days apart in 2013. The first image shows Caldwell on his knees with his distraught Wigan teammates following a defeat that they all felt would send them to relegation.
In the other, the same players are elated. Caldwell touches the FA Cup as they celebrate on the Wembley pitch.
‘Everywhere I go, I take this with me,’ adds the Exeter manager. Tuesday and Saturday are football’s highs and lows. How rapidly you may rise from obscurity to global prominence. I use it frequently when talking to players about how they are feeling.
On Tuesday, his club, winless in League One since Boxing Day, will face Nottingham Forest, who are in form and 57 places up the pyramid, aiming for the Champions League after scoring seven goals against Brighton in their last game.
Caldwell predicted Plymouth’s stunning win over Liverpool in the FA Cup, recognizing the power of star alignment.
Gary Caldwell poses in front of two images in his office, one of Wigan’s probable relegation and the other of their FA Cup success, which remind him of the rollercoaster nature of sport.
Exeter celebrate beating Championship side Oxford United to reach the FA Cup fourth round
Gary Caldwell, Wigan’s captain, and Emerson Boyce won the FA Cup in 2013.
Perhaps Nuno Espirito Santo will make eleven changes, like he did in the third round against Luton. Perhaps Forest is preoccupied with their push for Champions League football. Perhaps Exeter can take the opportunity.
Perhaps Nuno Espirito Santo will make eleven changes, like he did in the third round against Luton. Perhaps Forest is preoccupied with their push for Champions League football. Perhaps Exeter can take the opportunity.
Perhaps Nuno Espirito Santo will make eleven changes, like he did in the third round against Luton. Perhaps Forest is preoccupied with their push for Champions League football. Perhaps Exeter can take the opportunity.
‘Since the draw was made, we thought they would keep winning,’ adds Caldwell. ‘The money in the Champions League is their first goal. We are aware of their quality. They have a fantastic management, and whatever team they put together will be of top quality. It’s a great task, but one that we should accept.
‘Everyone has a job, large or little, and if everyone does it to the best of their ability, I believe you can succeed. Regardless of who you are. I saw it in Wigan.
‘No one expected us to win the FA Cup, but everyone supported what we were doing. Roberto Martinez was a talented manager who understood how to get a tactical advantage against the top teams. We carried it into the FA Cup, and I hope to carry it into my management.
Wigan’s victory over Manchester City 12 years ago is possibly the last occasion the FA Cup produced real underdog victors, and Caldwell was the club captain.
With painkilling injections in both hips, he started the first of those games in the frame on his wall, at home against Swansea, where Wigan led twice but lost 3-2.
‘I had a good sense I wasn’t going to play at Wembley,’ Caldwell admits. ‘I missed a lot of games in the second half of the season and had not participated in any FA Cup games. Roberto knew I was struggling, but he probably didn’t realize how badly.
‘I had terrible hips from my mid to late twenties. I’d previously undergone double surgery a few years ago, and the left one began to cause me a lot of discomfort. The doctor was injecting me to workout and play, which in retrospect was probably not the best idea.
Gary Caldwell talks through the highs and lows of his career with Mail Sport’s Matt Barlow
Ben Watson (right) wheels away in excitement after scoring the winning goal for Wigan in the FA Cup final victory against Manchester.
Caldwell had surgery at the conclusion of the season and made only five more appearances. By the age of 32, he had played his final game. By age 35, he had two hip replacements.
“It was my job at the time,” explains the 42-year-old Scot. ‘I had to play, but I was in so much agony.’
Although he was an unused replacement in the Cup Final, assistant manager Graeme Jones, who currently coaches at Newcastle, asked him to lead his team up the Wembley steps and hoist the trophy alongside captain Emerson Boyce.
Caldwell calls it “my John Terry moment.” When he was suspended and unable to play in the Champions League final the previous year, the Chelsea captain changed into his kit and lifted the trophy.
‘I was worried what to do when Graeme walked up and said, “Get yourself up there with Boycey, you know, you’ve done a lot for this club” That was very kind of him. In a state of euphoria, it is easy to forget about others.
That’s when I pulled off my tracksuit top. I figured if I was going up front, I may as well make the photo appear better. To go up those steps with your colleagues, people you’ve known through good and terrible times, and to have that moment was incredible.”
The celebrations were barely extravagant. They returned home on the team bus, and Caldwell invited the families of Shaun Mahoney and match-winner Ben Watson for a BBQ the next day, but they were on a train back to London on Monday, when defeat against Arsenal secured relegation on Tuesday.
Wigan has not been back in the Premier League since. Ownership changes and financial troubles drove them to the brink of collapse. They are now in the bottom tier of the third division, alongside Exeter. However, few would exchange that day at Wembley for staying up.
Caldwell is sure no one had Wigan would substitute their FA Cup victory for having stayed up
Former Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, now Portugal manager, had a significant effect on Caldwell.
‘That will never be forgotten,’ Caldwell adds. ‘It definitely came at a high cost in terms of relegation, money, and subsequent issues, but I wouldn’t change it. I don’t think the town or the folks who were there that day would exchange it for that high.
‘This is why you play the game. You do not play the game only to stay in the Premier League. You play the game to earn prizes and make unforgettable experiences. We were able to do it. Little old Wigan won the FA Cup in 2013.
When they reached the semi-finals a year later, Caldwell came in as a substitute against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium, making his first appearance since hip surgery the previous summer. He came in at 1-1, helped them escape an assault in extra time, but missed a penalty as Wigan, then managed by Uwe Rosler, lost the shootout.
Caldwell says that Uwe asked, ‘Right, who wants to take a penalty’. ‘I raise my hand alongside three other individuals, thinking, “Well, we need one more lad.”
Jack Collison was the fifth. I missed one, and he missed the other, so we went out. That was a great FA Cup defence, and with Hull in the final, we left feeling like we might have won it again.
Exeter created history this year by defeating Oxford in the Championship to go to the fourth round for the first time since 1981, when they defeated Leicester and Newcastle before falling to Tottenham in the final eight.
‘You wind yourself on a run; you didn’t plan for it,’ says Caldwell. Every year, one club causes upsets, and there’s a tale behind it. As I told the players before Barnet in the first round, “Why can’t that be us?”
To reach the fifth round again would be amazing for a club that has been entirely fan-owned since being driven to the verge of bankruptcy by rotten ownership early this century and rebuilt with the proceeds from two FA Cup ties against Manchester United in 2005.
Following a goalless draw at Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo scored to force a rematch at St James Park. The tie holds a particular place in the club’s heart, which explains the outrage when replays were cancelled this season.
“It took something away from the competition,” adds Caldwell. ‘For the smaller teams down the football pyramid, it is a letdown, especially when they see the major clubs travel the world on friendlies to generate even more money. I believe the Premier League provides them with adequate opportunities.
‘This would be an excellent example because if we could draw this game, we’d have an away tie at the City Ground, which would increase revenue for the football club.
‘It’s a pity because competition throughout the years has rescued a lot of smaller clubs that are really essential to the individuals who support them and the areas in which they operate.
‘We need to look at the greater picture of football in England, not simply the Premier League and the larger teams’ capacity to earn more and more money.’
A argument that might be resumed another day. On Tuesday, Exeter face Forest, knowing they must win to secure another lucrative FA Cup tie this season.
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