Advice for a Visiting Yank - Prem or Lower League?

Will be visiting the UK in the next couple of months. Would like to see a match while there. I am scheduled to stay in Dorset, but will probably end my week staying in London. Would enjoy seeing Arsenal, but have read the Arsenal America website, and it sounds tough to get tickets legally on such short notice.

Assuming I can't get to an EPL game, would I be disappointed attending a lower league game? What is the general difference between the Prem and other league levels? I believe Bournemouth is near where I am staying. I see they are in League 1, but near the bottom of their table.

Any help provided is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Big drop off in standard between Premiership and Championship, less so between each lower division. You've also got Yeovil down there, a club that's come up from non-league football and done very well and is up near the top of League 1. Plus further east there's Portsmouth - Premiership, crap ground - and Southampton - Championship, nice ground.

The quality of play will obviously be lower, but you can get good games outside the premiership, just as you can get dire games in it. If you want to see a good contest then you'll have as much chance of enjoying a game outside the premiership as one in it, but if silky skills are your thing then you are less likely to enjoy a trip to Bournemouth etc. In the region, Southampton are probably the best bet as getting into Portsmouth could be difficult.

Go to a lower league / non-league game. They need your money far, far more.

Well, first, thanks to everyone who replied so far.

Bluebirds, your comment struck a nerve with me. I saw either an FA Cup or Carling Cup game on FSC last year. The game was held in a small town. The stands looked old, but they were packed, and some kids had shimmied up poles to watch the game. The small town was hosting a team one or two leagues higher. I recall the small town team pulled off the upset, and the commentator remarked about the young boys on the poles who would tell their grandchildren about the game.

If I can't get to an Arsenal game, that's the kind of experience I'd like to have: A town with fiery passion for the local lads. It probably sounds sentimental, but pro sports here in the states have gotten so "corporate." A match in a town where the day of the match is an event would make my trip...

i don't think it is that hard to get tickets to Arsenal if you give enough notice. you said you aren't going to be over there for a few months, I think that would be enough, but that is just me. I'm not the one getting the tickets!

i saw a QPR match, it was lots of fun, except the atmosphere wasn't as loud as I was told it would be. Loftus Road is a great ground though. I got tickets to the match on the day at the box office. 26 quid a piece

Hello All!

I am looking to come across to the pond in early March for the sole purpose of catching some matches in and around London.

My question is what is the best way to go about securing tickets to matches over there? I'd like to avoid a broker at all costs. Are scalpers prevalent?

Are tickets available to the public for Champions League, UEFA Cup, and FA Cup matches?
When do they go on sale?
And how easy are they to come by?

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated!

We may have a crap ground but so what?

I'm biased but 5x300, if you can get to a Pompey game you'll enjoy it - best fans in the country

You'll be able to get tickets - a few hundred go on sale a few weeks in advance - and you'll also have no problem getting a ticket for any Southampton game as their stadium's pretty big. Definitely recommend going to either us or Southampton instead of Bournemouth - much better football and atmosphere, and it's only 45 mins drive from Dorset.

When you're in London take your pick from Fulham, Charlton, QPR, etc.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Funny 'M', anyone who knows anything about football would realise that Southamptons ground is a souless, lifeless, plastic, corporate, bowl! Fratton park on the other hand has history, character, atmosphere and tradition on its side, which makes it the perfect place for a visiting american to experience.

yea ... portsmouth is one of the places I am interested in going ... their supporters are world-renowned ...

sometimes crap=awesome ... think fenway park or wrigley field ...

I bought Portsmouth from the club over the internet back when the tix for Portsmouth-Bolton's Monday night went on sale. There looked to be a few hundred empties there that game.

You should only be concerned about needing tickets ahead of time for Arsenal, Spurs, Chelski, ManU and Liverpool. Possibly Everton. I can almost guarantee that you can walk up to any other stadium and buy tix on gameday, unless it's a real derby game. Fulham, Charlton, Reading, Watford and West Ham routinely have empty seats on TV.

For lower leagues, I'm pretty sure walk-ups are the norm, unless it's like West Brom-Brum or Ipswich-Norwich.

Thx,

Jay!

Reading have sold out every game bar two since January. The only gaps have been in the away end.

Of the grounds i hawe visited in London i actually liked Charlton the most when it comes to atmophere and West Ham aswell. Fratton Park was absolutely electric. I hawe been to 42 grounds in England now and i`d say Fratton Park in Portsmouth was the best.

And i can recomend lover leagues if you want the "real" English football experience.

Ever been to Plymouth and visited Home Park????

Get yourself down to Cardiff or Bristol Rovers and stand on a terrace. It might not be anything like it used to be, but if you want a football experience, you should definately do that. The standard of football may not be as good as you're used to on TV, but you'll definately enjoy the experience a lot more.

I went to the boro vs fulham match just before xmas, and it was great, especially if want a historical experience, i dont think ive ever sat in an older chair before in my life.

the atmosphere was great, all the stuff you see on tv, like the diving shouts, etc. when fulham got the penalty everyone went mad.

but craven cottage is pretty small so you gotta buy tickets quick, i got them online.

Fulham? Atmoshpere? Going mad? Are you sure?!

Charlton games are very easy to get tickets for. I'm regularly given free tickets to see there games along with the rest of my team. The atmosphere is Ok but still its en enjoyable experience.

Get to a Pompey game if you can. Fratton Park has the best atmosphere in the premiership and the harbour area makes for a good day out.

yakubu gave us a stare down when everyone was shouting dive, was hilarious

Go to the Arsenal forum and have a read through the ticket thread. Give me enough notice and I am sure we can help you.

Thank you, Rick. I had read through your ticket thread, and will definitely consider it if given a proper amount of notice.