Popped down to Wigan at lunchtime for what I thought would be the grand opening of Latics’ new town centre shop with Martinez, Graeme Jones and Brenda Spencer, who’d be on hand to cut the ribbon. Over the weekend, I received an email via the club’s mailing list that our very own Titus Bramble would also be joining in the fun, taking on all comers at Nintendo Wii! I thought I would have a piece of that and give him a good whipping at FIFA 10… as Tottenham.

Well, Sky Sports News and North West Tonight were there, but not for the planned opening of WN1. Actually, they were at The Galleries for a certain other story. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the grand ceremony had been postponed as I’m sure poor Roberto and co. would have been crushed under the sheer weight of media presence after the event which must not be mentioned ever again.

The defeat was bad enough, but imagine the damage that could have been done had the Daily Mail and Beano Comic decided to park their vans in the market square – the Wigan public would have eaten them alive.

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Stripey at the unofficial opening of Latics WN1 in the Galleries

Wigan Athletic’s new shop in Wigan town centre, Latics WN1, opened its doors for the first time this afternoon, and our man was there to check it out. Though the official opening ceremony is slated for Monday, when Roberto Martinez will be on hand to cut the ribbon, fans could get their Latics merchandising fix from 4PM today to coincide with the Wigan Christmas lights switch on.

Stripey the Laticat and an official club photographer were on hand to greet the first visitors and snap a few pics for the official website and match programme.

Things are currently looking a bit sparse, with relatively few products in there as yet but we expect the place to fill out on Monday when the place will no doubt be heaving. Perhaps.

As you can see from the pic on the right, there’s a changing room area and some jazzy lighting as well as a couple of plush seats for visitors to take a rest, presumably from perusing the wide range of Latics merchandise. I think that’s supposed to be a Latics Christmas hat on Stripey’s head, but it looks a bit like a rubbish eyepatch or something. Maybe he’s angling for a part in the next Pirates of the Caribbean film?

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