I think Jason Taylors article is a few years old (the clue is the 3rd relaying!), but the rest of it sounds very plausible. Rich man, with a reputation for doing things as cheaply as possible, has stadium built but leaves the poisonous subsurface intact to save a few quid.

I bet when the stadium was built Whelan was hoping he'd have sold the Latics & the stadium by now, and was a permanent resident of Barbados or some other island. Instead, he's still having to fork out for a new pitch on an annual basis and his football team are worth a fraction of what they were worth 5 years ago. He should have sold up after their 4th or 5th "great escape" from relegation (I've lost count as to how many times they just scraped out of the bottom three before finally being relegated in 2013).

I think Jason Taylors article is a few years old (the clue is the 3rd relaying!), but the rest of it sounds very plausible. Rich man, with a reputation for doing things as cheaply as possible, has stadium built but leaves the poisonous subsurface intact to save a few quid.

I bet when the stadium was built Whelan was hoping he'd have sold the Latics & the stadium by now, and was a permanent resident of Barbados or some other island. Instead, he's still having to fork out for a new pitch on an annual basis and his football team are worth a fraction of what they were worth 5 years ago. He should have sold up after their 4th or 5th "great escape" from relegation (I've lost count as to how many times they just scraped out of the bottom three before finally being relegated in 2013).