The Premiership’s fixture list is out and in what has to be considered the glamour tie of the opening weekend, champions Chelsea will travel to newly-promoted Wigan’s JJB Stadium. From the Guardian’s Dominic Fifield.
The Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, whose first game in charge of the club attracted 1,452 fans to Springfield Park for a basement-division fixture against Hartlepool a decade ago, expects a crowd of more than 25,000 for this match. He hopes to persuade the visiting chairman Roman Abramovich to try some local delicacies at the game on the weekend of August 13-14.
“I’ll offer Mr Abramovich use of my helicopter pad, which is 400 yards away from the stadium,” said Whelan, whose side will end their first top-flight season by visiting Arsenal. “He can also help himself to some of our local delicacies if he likes. We’ll have one or two pies lined up for him and he can help himself. He can also take away a bag of Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls with him. They are made in Wigan and are part of the history of Wigan. It’ll be interesting to see what he makes of the pies.