football tour in '09 - need help planning

[alexspepa]

Hey guys, my nephew and I are in the early stages of planning a UK football tour in 2009. I would greatly appreciate any advice or comments, and if there is a site more dedicated to this kind of thing if you could direct me there I would be grateful.

Here are a few preliminary questions:

1 - should we look at spring 08-09 or fall 09-10?

2 - should we try and book an organized tour, or grab a room and try to scrounge for tickets

3 - i'm also thinking we might just make a London-based tour, and try for a game at the Lane, and then see some lower-division games in the Championship and lower divisions...any comments on this approach?

4 - i know we have a lot to learn about away tickets, etc. so any help in this regard would be appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance...

[pookspur]

a couple of quick resonses to your queries.

1) i always tend to end up going in the fall, as it's easier to put alot of matches into a short trip. it's not when the league schedule goes up that matters, it's when sky puts out its revised fixture list. then you can start putting things together.

2) i've never done the organized tour thing, as it holds no appeal for me. that said, if you want as much top-level football as possible, it may make acquiring tickets easier. you'll be looking at alot of money, though. generally speaking, i'd say you'll want to have your tickets reserved ahead for any premier league match, but that you'll be ok getting your tickets at the stadium for lower divisions.*

3) you can see alot of football without leaving london (though not much of england). that's what i typically do. i never limit myself to the prem, and can vouch for really good times in all three divisions of the coca-cola within the capital. remember, though, that you can get to ALOT of clubs outside london within just a couple hours' train ride, so you can get away without the logistical hassles of having a room or tranferring your stuff outside your base in london. that said, the dollar's weak enough against the pound, and london is where the dollar is weakest.

4) never done away tickets with spurs; though the only way i know is through my membership's away ticket scheme. i'm sure others here have more information. electrickeeper just did spurs away to man city (in the carling cup) and arse away - i've no idea how he came up with tickets to that one.


*you'll still want to go to the website of the home club for any match you want to see, to insure that tickets will be available on the day. some matches are 'members only', and sometimes ticket offices will not be open on matchday, meaning you'll need them in advance. whatever, you don't want to get to the stadium at 2:45 and not be able to get in.

[alexspepa]

thanks pookspur...just what I was looking for.

this will be a once in a lifetime trip probably, so I am going to try and get away for 10-12 days. I am leaning towards putting it together myself, and seeing some lower division games as well as an EPL game or two if I can score tickets.

I also saw where sometimes you can get lucky emailing the clubs and explaining that you are coming over on Holiday...

[greatbluekingly]

It might be fun to try to explore a little bit of London's footballing world, the world beyond the Prem. Leyton Orient and QPR are two obvious sides to start with. Brentford might be interesting--I've always thought that Griffin Park is a nice place to take in a match and for only a couple of quid (comparatively speaking). If you want to get real obscure check out Corinthians-Casuals for a bit of that aristocratic footballing flavor of old. Corinthians were the last of the gentleman's amateur clubs, made up of Etonians and the like; there have been all sorts of legendary feats attributed to them like beating Manure 11-3 and the entire English national side being made of their players in 1894. But also the club's history has much to say about the changing class structure of British society in the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly as it is manifested by the conflict between professionalism and amateurism in football. Plus their kits are pink and brown (retaining that Victorian style of flamboyant colors)--I think they have blue shorts now too--and so are their scarves. Those are a few of my favorites, but of course, every trip to London has to include a trip (trips?) to the Lane.