The hottest ticket in England last weekend "was one for a Premier League match, pretty much anywhere," according to Paul Nicholson of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Of a total of 369,536 tickets available across the 10 opening home matches, "a massive 362,658 were sold, leaving just 6,878 tickets unsold," half of them at Newcastle's St. James's Park for the 1:30pm Sunday lunchtime kickoff against Southampton. Five of the clubs -- Arsenal, Leicester, ManU, Norwich and Stoke City -- "filled over 99% of the capacity of their stadiums." The "total average capacity for the Premier League was 97.36%." Only Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion (Sunday lunchtime and Monday night fixtures) "sold less than 95% of their capacity." The weekend "saw the debut of Bournemouth in the Premier League, in the smallest ever ground the league has been played in with a capacity of 11,700." The Sunday lunchtime figure for St. James's Park "is likely a strong number considering Newcastle United's fans 'stay away' campaign last season and the lack of love they have for their owner." New seasons and new managers "bring new hope -- even in the hard-bitten north east of England" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 8/12).
