Very few of the others were established Premier League performers when they joined Wigan though they went on to be.
Ditto Leicester at Stoke and QPR at Everton and, indeed, Everton themselves: with Champions League qualification up for grabs, will Roberto Martínez commit to the Cup as fully as he did with Wigan?
Despite the impressive finishing, the game lacked finesse for long spells and McCormack almost capitalised on slack Wigan defending for a second time after latching on to a cross-field pass from Michael Turner, only for the striker to be halted by a desperate last-ditch slide from Emmerson Boyce.
United's manager, Steve Evans, raced to the away end on the final whistle to celebrate a result that put his side nine points clear of Wigan in 22nd.
Wigan v St Helens is not the only high-octane derby as the feast of rugby league begins on Thursday when Hull FC lock horns with their city rivals.
Given their torturous progress en route to the finishing line Wigan could have been forgiven for wishing the season had finished in March, when theirs had effectively ended.
Wigan, like Bournemouth, had a generous benefactor, though throwing masses of money at anything is not in Dave Whelan's character.
Caldwell's brother and club team-mate, Steven Caldwell, and James McArthur, also from Wigan, have been called up as replacements.
On Monday, Bournemouth host Birmingham, Brentford host Forest, Ipswich go to Huddersfield, Norwich host Sheffield Wednesday, Derby go to Wigan and Wolves host Leeds United.
Then: captain of Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth, led Wigan to the 2006 League Cup final.
