Just because he didn't guide them to mid-table isn't necessarily something that should go against him. Klopp moved to Dortmund after being relegated with Mainz.
As for his 'spending', Wigan average breaking even on transfer deals every season. Not exactly gigantic. And I would also imagine it isn't the easiest task in the world to convince good players to come play for a rugby town in the north west of England in a tiny stadium that they can't even fill 2/3 of.
Actually, Klopp moved to Dortmund after failing to get Mainz back in the Bundesliga. And under him, Mainz not only achieved their first ever promotion but also made steady improvement, including European qualification. And while it can be argued that Martinez just won the FA cup I don't really think Wigan have made much progress in terms of league performance in the last 4 seaons or so.
Furthermore, most of the players Wigan sold in order to break even were players from the pre-Martínez era, except for Moses (Palacios, Valencia, Cattermole, N'Zogbia...). While it's pretty clear that players have to leave in order to get new players in, the fact that Wigan consistently failed to show signs of progress (in my eyes, at least) is largely due to the fact that they were unable to improve their squad even when they had money available to them. I can agree with you, though, that not many top players would join a club like Wigan, but not many would've joined Swansea and look at them now (and yes, I know Martinez managed Swansea before Wigan, but IMO they are where they are due to Rodgers, although Laudrup's been terrific since taking over).
You can argue the first two really. But I honestly don't see how you can say Sammon was a bad signing having made a profit on him. Remember he's still a young player and he could have improved a lot. Derby obviously thought so.
To have come up with a list of about 7 bad signings in a 6 (?) year spell with the club, many of which are debatable, is hardly a bad amount for a premier league manager. Of all the other candidates I doubt you would find one who's transfer record is much better.
Like I said, in hindsight, from a financial point of view, it wasn't that bad, but as a footballer the lad was terrible.
And regarding the second bit of your argument, first of all, it was a 4 year spell (during which their best position was 15th). Secondly, those players I mentioned are the ones I could remember. You could probably add a couple more to the list (Hendry Thomas comes to mind). Furthermore, I didn't juge his free transfers (some were decent, some were not), and there are a few players I'm not sure of, either.
Anyways, it's a pointless argument since I'm not the one calling the shots. We'll see how it turns out (if, indeed, he is given the job) in a few months' time, I guess.
And don't even mention the new crest. It looks like something taken from a 5-and-under drawing contest.
