Small English Soccer tour...help please.

[bphilipb]

Hey guys....

I'm coming across the pond (from Virginia) to see some EPL matches as well as seeing some lower division games. Can any of you on either side offer any tips? Best place to get tickets? Getting to the stadium? Stadium tours? What to watch out for? Good pubs? Or anything else that I might need to know before heading over. Thanks in advance for the help. If you have some really detailed info just pm me.

Note:
I'm staying in London near the Kings Cross station. I'm coming over in late November and staying till the first week of December.

[RichardL]

Hey guys....

I'm coming across the pond (from Virginia) to see some EPL matches as well as seeing some lower division games. Can any of you on either side offer any tips? Best place to get tickets? Getting to the stadium? Stadium tours? What to watch out for? Good pubs? Or anything else that I might need to know before heading over. Thanks in advance for the help. If you have some really detailed info just pm me.


it depends on how far you are willing to travel, and for how long. England's small, but not that small.
Here's a rail travel site (actually German, but better than the British rail site) that'll allow you to get some idea of how long it'll take from place to place.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en


Pubs? There's one or two in London. I'd suggest The Red Lion ;)


Note:
I'm staying in London near the Kings Cross station.
well you won't go short for company then.

[Iplayedforchelsea]

I walked up to the ticket booth and got two decent tix at Charlton Athletic (they were playing Darby County) 20 or 30 minutes before the game a few years ago. I was told that was normaly the case, except for Man U, Arsenal, etc.


Went and saw Chelsea v. Leeds the next night at Stamford Bridge. Got the tix in Atlanta, of all places, from a ticket broker who had them waiting for us at our hotel when we got there. ABout $300 bucks for both of the tix.

When we told the concierge at our hotel, about how we got our tix, he told told us he could get us tix to just about any game we wanted. Cheaper than what we had paid the broker, but more than face value obviously.

Good luck with the rain!

[bphilipb]

Thanks guys. I know the rain is going to be a pain but I'm looking forward to getting over there.

BB

[youllneverwalkalone]

You'll have the time of your life. I went this past March, and it was the best week of my life. We stayed in London, but of course we had to drive up to Liverpool to watch them against Wolves at Anfield.

[bphilipb]

"You'll have the time of your life. I went this past March, and it was the best week of my life. We stayed in London, but of course we had to drive up to Liverpool to watch them against Wolves at Anfield."

How many games did you see while you were over there? Was it easy getting the tickets for Liverpool?

[fatback]

While going to a Highbury, Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford are nice do yourself a favor and go check out a lower division game. The passion is the same if not greater and you are right on top of the action.

[MikeLastort2]

My wife and I will be at Chelsea v Spurs on September 19th. I can't wait.

[Mobile]

While going to a Highbury, Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford are nice do yourself a favor and go check out a lower division game. The passion is the same if not greater and you are right on top of the action.

Agreed.

[bphilipb]

I am planning on going to a lower division game. Actually, I may go to a couple of lower division games. The prices of those games seems much more reasonable. I would like to catch one EPL match but I will go to whatever I can. I just wish there were more games during the week.

Is there a good website out there for info on the lower division teams and where they are located? Anyone?

[Mobile]

This is the Football League site:

http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10794,00.html

Not sure if it shows locations of teams but you can find that out fairly easily.

If you're staying near Kings Cross then it's only a 45-minute journey to watch Cambridge play and it only costs £12 to get in ;)

[M]

Try and make use of Friday, Sunday and midweek games if you want to see a variety of fixtures. Additionally, the first Saturday in December is the FA Cup second round where teams from the 3rd level on downwards will be playing.

[bphilipb]

This is great guys. Thanks for the website. This trip can't come quick enough for me. I totally forgot about the FA Cup so I will check into their schedules to see who is playing where and when.

Do you guys have any favorite stadiums?

[SuperElf]

This is great guys. Thanks for the website. This trip can't come quick enough for me. I totally forgot about the FA Cup so I will check into their schedules to see who is playing where and when.

Do you guys have any favorite stadiums?I just went last November. Was based in London too, but went up to Liverpool for four days to see a couple at Anfield. Saw Spurs-Bolton at White Hart Lane, and got tickets in the front row. Not the greatest view in the world, but watching Okocha thunder down the wing with the ball in the fifth minute and shake off two defenders was worth the price of admission. I got those seats on the public on-sale date, about 6 weeks before. Caught a Leyton Orient game and had a smashing time there, too. You really can't go wrong.

I did an awful lot of research into transportation, tickets, and all that jazz, so if you have any questions don't hesitate to PM me. No reason to go through all my leg work again. (Maybe I should open up a tourism agency for Yanks who want to visit England and watch football . . . )

[RichardL]

If you're staying near Kings Cross then.... it only costs £12 to get in ;)
I've heard that.

[RichardL]

Thanks guys. I know the rain is going to be a pain but I'm looking forward to getting over there.

BB
It doesn't rain that often (although November is probably the most rainy month - except for August this year). It's about a 10 minute walk from where I park the car to the ground at Reading, so rainy days would make it a rather unpleasant experience, but memories of being soaked walking back to the car are few and far between. The wettest I got to/from/at a match last season was at Barcelona. They tend to keep quiet about their winter climate do the Spanish. It rained in Madrid when I was there too.

[M]

This is great guys. Thanks for the website. This trip can't come quick enough for me. I totally forgot about the FA Cup so I will check into their schedules to see who is playing where and when.


FA Cup fixtures won't be known until the draw after the previous round three weeks earlier.

[bphilipb]

It doesn't rain that often (although November is probably the most rainy month - except for August this year). It's about a 10 minute walk from where I park the car to the ground at Reading, so rainy days would make it a rather unpleasant experience, but memories of being soaked walking back to the car are few and far between. The wettest I got to/from/at a match last season was at Barcelona. They tend to keep quiet about their winter climate do the Spanish. It rained in Madrid when I was there too.


Actually, Reading was one of the teams I was thinking about seeing. They have a Yank on their squad Bobby Convey who used to play for D.C. United. I wanted to see one of his games and from what I can tell Reading has a nice stadium.

[bphilipb]

I did an awful lot of research into transportation, tickets, and all that jazz, so if you have any questions don't hesitate to PM me. No reason to go through all my leg work again. (Maybe I should open up a tourism agency for Yanks who want to visit England and watch football . . . )


Please do. That would be great to have a one stop source.

BB

[M]

Please do. That would be great to have a one stop source.

BB

Here's my general advice having done this thing about a dozen times. Sorry, a lot of this is probably a bit late for you.

1. Pick a week where there are midweek matches scheduled in at least one and preferably more divisions, or pick a week scheduled for midweek FA Cup replays.

2. Unless you're only going to matches in and around London and are based centrally, hire a car. Makes getting back from midweek games a lot easier.

3. For Premiership games, it's a good idea to get a ticket in advance for most games so as to avoid the risk of disappointment. Check on the home team's website to see when tickets for the game go on sale and 'phone up for tickets on that day. If tickets are tight, it's sometimes easier to get a ticket through the visiting team. I've never failed to get a ticket for any Premiership game, including ones that have sold out. But if want to go to places like Man Utd and Arsenal, you'll almost certainly have to pay scalpers' prices.

4. If you go to an FA Cup game, try to pick a game where the home team is playing a team from a higher division. These games are usually better attended and sum up the 'romance' of the cup.