OPINION: Wigan Athletic under Mike Danson ownership - how it's gone...and where it's going...

The day the club was saved. A day where we could all dare to dream again. A town rejoiced.

Incredibly, it's been exactly one year since Mike Danson's deal to take over the club was completed.

After several weeks of worry and torment - which led Shaun Maloney, by his own admission, to weep for a club he thought had gone - the future was secured.

No outlandish promises of a return to the Premier League within 'x years'. Just a commitment to keep the club going, and to pay the bills and wages on time.

Which, rewind only 12 months, had been an unwanted four-weekly countdown for all concerned.

Fast forward a year, and where are we? In surprisingly good shape, if truth be told.

Under the watchful eye of Shaun Maloney and Gregor Rioch, Latics far exceeded their target for the season of merely retaining their League One status.

Despite an eight-point deduction for financial issues relating to the previous ownership - which still rankles with Maloney to this day - Latics secured a top-half finish that, for most of the campaign, looked an unlikely target.

Achieved with a much-changed playing squad, featuring a growing number of Academy products, who contributed almost half of the overall playing minutes through the 46 games.

Not bad for a side that had finished the previous campaign with the oldest squad in the Championship with, according to the stats, the lowest resale value.

Talking of resale value, Latics have also managed to tie down their brightest youngsters to long-term deals, to ensure the strongest possible position ahead of any future transfer dealings.

The likes of Sam Tickle, Charlie Hughes and Thelo Aasgaard - and hopefully Baba Adeeko, Scott Smith, Chris Sze and Josh Stones further down the line - will no doubt go on to play at a higher level before too long.

Hopefully with Latics. But if not, their sales will ensure maximum recompense to reinvest into the model that produced them.

One of the most noticeable differences has been the reduction of the wage bill, with almost all of the single high-earning senior players having been moved on.

The budget has been slashed but, as Maloney has been the first to argue, a reduction in wage bill does not have to necessarily equate to a reduction in quality.

We've already seen - with the captures of Matt Smith, Steven Sessegnon, Martial Godo and Luke Chambers - that the free and loan markets can provide elite talent at this level.

Now the transfer embargo has been lifted, Latics are also able to spend money in the market.

Although that will involve identifying young, untapped talent to develop, rather than throwing money at senior players, which caused so much damage in recent years.

Not that everything is hunky dory in the garden, of course. There have inevitably been one or two teething problems in year one of the new ownership.

Hopefully the issues we've seen over the last few months regarding ticketing will become a thing of the past as the new system beds in.

And staff members announcing via social media they have been made redundant is never a nice thing to hear.

Clearly, costs have had to be - and will still have to be - cut across the board. With two significant sporting institutions sharing the same premises, back under one ownership, it's inevitable there will be crossover in terms of departments, skillsets, and manpower.

We're still to hear at length from the ownership group about their long-term plans, and that would be a good place to begin the second year of the rebuild.

There's no doubt we're in a much, MUCH healthier position today than we were 12 months ago.

But it's also not unreasonable for fans who have twice seen their club teeter on the brink in recent years to want some clarity about the future. If only to set minds at rest.

For now, though, we can reflect on a first year that over-delivered, rather than over-promised. A very solid first step towards a bright new future.

Given the alternative we were staring down the barrels of this time last year...we can all raise a glass to that.