Latics’ new club shop, imaginatively titled the Latics Club Shop, was unofficially up and running this morning. Stocking such merchandise as Wigan Athletic branded golf tees, babies’ bibs and cuddly teddy bears, it’s already looking a bit more promising than last year’s Latics WN1 trial run.

This time round, there were no photographers or guest appearances (at least not when I was there, about 10ish), rather a selection of half price Latics merchandise so we could all be ripped off by 50 rather than 100 percent. The glitz and glamour will be present on Tuesday afternoon as a selection of the Wigan squad and backroom staff officially launch the new Wigan Athletic home kit for the 2010 season.

And it’s certainly an improvement on the previous incarnation, with a much brighter atmosphere and better ‘shop’ feel. The one next to Ryman’s felt as though it was run by Arkwright from Open All Hours or something, a dark (and slightly smelly) cave in the deepest depths of the Galleries.

Latics’ marketing gurus seem to have learned from the WN1 experiment, and there’s no doubt the more spacious location across from BB’s Cafe is a lot more welcoming and professional.

As for the volume of stock, there’s just about the same as there used to be, but it’s all laid out in a more pleasing and accessible fashion. No comfy sofas though, sadly.

That didn’t stop the punters piling in, though. Things looked quite busy while I was there, so maybe the stock clearout gimmick was somewhat successful – there were three assistants on the counter so I’m guessing the big cheeses expected a hectic opening day.

Speaking of big cheeses, guess whose book was displayed rather prominently by the checkouts? That’s right, the Mighty Gorgonzola himself, Dave Whelan. He was nowhere to be seen, though. Think he might be on holiday in Barbados or something.

It’s been announced today that Olivier Kapo will finally leave the club after two relatively unsuccessful seasons. He scored his only league goal towards the end of the 08-09 season in a defeat to Chelsea, and quite a good one it was too. Unfortunately it takes more than a single goal to make a good player, and on too many occasions Kapo, or ‘Krappo‘ as I liked to call him, flattered to deceive. A shame, considering he cost Steve Bruce more than £3 million back in 2007. I think we can chalk that up as a net loss.

Jason Koumas: On his way

Also seemingly on his way out is Jason Koumas, who shall spend the forthcoming season on loan to Cardiff City, where I am sure he shall do extremely well. He seems to thrive in the Championship environment, but struggles for consistency at the higher levels these days.

At an initial price tag of £5.2 million, I would say Jase also failed to live up to expectations in the long term. He did score one more than Kapo, though, and will be remembered for his goal against Aston Villa in the first game of last season. At least his time at the club wasn’t a complete failure, more of a disappointment.

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Latics’ Honduran connection was out in force at the club shop today as Hendry Thomas and Maynor Figueroa were on hand to launch a limited edition poster celebrating Figs’ 60-yard goal against Stoke in December.

Attendees could also attempt to recreate the wonder strike out in the DW car park, where a training goal had been set up near the West Stand ticket office. As it transpired, not many managed to score — even from a distance ever so slightly shorter than sixty yards — though Hendry and Maynor had no problem at all.

A group of schoolkids, probably bussed in to ensure at least someone turned up on a Thursday afternoon, cheered heartily as Figueroa successfully placed the ball into the net just as he had done four months ago.

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Relaying of the much-maligned DW Stadium surface gets underway today and should be ready for next Monday’s visit of Liverpool. And not before time, you might say.

In seasons past, we’ve seen the pitch suffer badly around this time of year. You can point to any number of factors: poor weather, undersoil heating malfunction, moles etc. I will also concede that it doesn’t help that we have to groundshare with a rugby league team, but that isn’t the root of the problem.

And to be honest, I don’t think I could tell you for sure exactly what is causing the pitch to break up year upon year. After all, there are plenty of other northern clubs — Burnley, Stoke and Preston to name but a few — who’ve managed to keep their pitches in decent condition despite inclement weather, and they’re run on similar budgets to the Latics.

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