This summer he has added Doncaster striker Graeme Jones (pounds 150,000) and Barnsley midfielder Charlie Bishop (pounds 40,000).Carlisle, whose title 15 months ago underlined the importance of financial muscle, may be Wigan's chief rivals. Relegation was embarrassing after Michael Knighton's boasts of "Europe in 10 years", but Mervyn Day has added imaginatively (French defender Stephane Pounewatchy) to a squad tried and trusted at this level.The picture of potential Northern domination is completed by Darlington. He later resurfaced in Wigan, supporting the 13-a-side code and building up a chain of sports shops.Happily for the round-ball minority, the multi-millionaire's interest in football was rekindled. Whelan bought the ailing Latics and, like some apprentice Uncle Jack, gave notice of his ambitions by signing three Spaniards a year ago.Roberto Martinez, Isidro Diaz and Jesus Seba - "Los tres Amigos'' - coped well with the culture shock of cold nights at Hartlepool and Mansfield. Not well enough, though, to keep Graham Barrow in the manager's job, his autumn replacement by John Deehan revealing the owner's restlessness for progress.Wigan missed the play-offs by two points, but look equipped to make sure this time.

For Luton, Bury, Shrewsbury, Rotherham and York, it may the best they can hope for.. THIRD DIVISION Wigan and Wembley have been virtually twinned during the Nineties, with all the kudos and cash going to the Lancashire town's rugby league giants. If Dave Whelan has his way, which he usually does, this will be the season Wigan Athletic fight back. Cheered on by a budding businessman called Jack Walker, Whelan played for Blackburn in the 1960 FA Cup final - but the team lost and he broke his leg that day. The coup in acquiring Martin O'Connor from Walsall showed that Fry sees the need for quality as well as quantity.Crewe's Dario Gradi is Fry's transfer antithesis. The home-grown potential of Gareth Whalley, Mark Rivers, Francis Tierney and Danny Murphy may have to be fulfilled elsewhere, however, unless he finds a happy medium between being required watching and sustaining a challenge.Of the promoted clubs, Preston have the momentum and money to pick up where they left off; Plymouth should flourish under Neil Warnock; and the meanest defence in history ought to sustain Gillingham. Alan Smith's Wycombe could be useful long shots, but Blackpool may need longer to recover from blowing promotion and sacking Sam Allardyce in favour of the unproven Gary Megson.The Bristol clubs are again in transition, with Rovers moving to the city's rugby union club under Ian Holloway's player-managership Mere survival would nevertheless be a disappointment. A good start and Elton John might even fund a few transfers amid the tantrums and tiaras.Millwall also look ready to revive after relegation.

Jimmy Nicholl has dispensed with his Russian misfits and spent pounds 1.5m in the market he knows best. Steve Crawford, his chief striker at Raith, won a Scotland cap last year, while Nicholl once described the defender Davie Sinclair as "so hard he has tattoos on his teeth".Barry Fry has suffered demotion too, though his knowledge of the lower divisions should be more useful to Peterborough than it was to Birmingham. Perhaps more significantly, Watford repelled Wolves' interest in David Connolly, the teenager whose two hat-tricks last spring led to Republic of Ireland caps. Taylor, after taking Watford's apparently forlorn fight to the final fixture, ran out of time.Heath has since brought over a Portuguese Under-21 striker, Bambo. A fee of pounds 65,000 saw Damien Matthew swap Crystal Palace for Turf Moor, though the master stroke may have been to persuade Vince Overson and Nigel Gleghorn to move free from Stoke.Taylor, abetted by Kenny Jackett, has added Wimbledon's Steve Talboys and the Sunderland keeper Alec Chamberlain. Heath won his, Burnley gaining some impressive results against the promotion pack.