The trip to Wigan's JJB stadium was a rather poignant one. It would mean that I had again reached 80 grounds in my quest to complete all 92, that being the number I finished the previous season on.  Like the trip to Stockport back in May that saw me hit 80 the first time around, my mate Mark joined me for a day out before his imminent departure from the UK for three months due to work commitments.  I had another passenger in the car, a Bristol City fan called Ramsay who contacted me through these pages.  This was quite a convenient arrangement for both Ramsay and I, as he lives close to me and so shared costs were the two of us. The fact that we'd be picking Mark up near Wolverhampton only served to reduce the costs even further.

I'd decided to leave early due to the Bank Holiday traffic and we were soon relieved at making the early start as the weather was as hot as it had been all summer making the roads even busier. The journey seemed to take an age and for a while it was looking as if we may miss the kick-off.  However, Rick - another close associate through these pages and a staunch Bristol City fan - had arranged to meet me before the game as he had my ticket and he phoned me on the M6 to advise that he would be late arriving at the ground himself.  Knowing that he was on an official supporters coach and that their convoy was further behind us, we then relaxed as we realised that if the majority of away fans - and more significantly official parties - were late the police would delay the kick-off.  As it was, the traffic calmed as we passed the junction for the M56 and we sped up to Wigan with almost an hour to spare.  Parking spaces were available in abundance and free of any charge. The JJB stadium is situated within a retail park which itself has plenty of car-parks and we had time to enjoy a couple of drinks in a bar within the neighbouring Robins sports centre.

A kick-off approached we moved to the away fans' turnstiles and met Rick who handed over our tickets, although payment by cash was possible.  From the outside the stadium looked extremely impressive with it's size and cleanliness.  Once inside we took our first look at the vast stands on each side of the ground and wondered how full they would be by 3 pm.  The answer was what we expected - the ground was less than a third full.  Row upon row of empty seats could be seen all around the ground and the visitors were allocated the entire length of the pitch opposite the Main Stand.  Although City had brought a decent following it still meant that about eighty percent of the seats were unused.  That was such as shame as the stadium is magnificent and it is crying out for an injection of passion.