The last time I queued for Wigan Athletic season tickets, the line stretched almost halfway around the ground to the bridge over the River Dougie.

That year, we turned up an hour and a half early to ensure our perfect seats in the South Stand, and were not really surprised to find about 25 people had beat us to it – the guys at the very front had in fact been camping out since the night before. Hah, wouldn’t it have been funny if they went to all that trouble just for a ticket in the corner of the West Stand?

As for us, we had brought our fishing chairs as we knew we would be there for a good couple of hours. The wait didn’t really drag that much, partly due to the fact we’d brought a newspaper but also the general early morning camaraderie and buzz that increased as the 9 o’ clock opening time drew nearer.

That was Wigan’s first season in the Prem, and officials had reallocated away seating from the East to the smaller North Stand, meaning a whole load of fresh, halfway line seats were now up for grabs.

This season the club are expecting a decrease in season ticket uptake – in some ways a bad thing, but at least it ensured a couple of good-ish seats in the West. They don’t know what they’re missing…

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