Another Yank to Man Utd

Well, I would suggest the Museum and Tour of Old Trafford - preferrably more than a day before or after a home fixture. It's less crowded and the tour goes to more behind the scenes places that aren't open the day of, before and after a home game.
Also, fit the Megastore in on that day - it's a nightmare on match days. Also, around the corner from the ground is Red Star Sports. It has other United stuff for sale that you don't see at the MegaStore... (if you don't see it when you get to the stadium, just ask around and they will be more than happy to tell you where it is)

As for other fixtures around that time: There may be some FA Cup replays scheduled for that midweek, or maybe a Carling Cup, UEFA Cup, or Champs League match in and around these dates as well. It's hard to plan ahead as the draw and qualifications aren't completed yet obviously.

You can check our here for the Reserves schedule, as well as youth team schedules: http://www.manutd.com/teams/default.sps?iTeamID=435

(Oh look! February 19th - Thur - Liverpool (H))

I went to a Reserves match last season and got to see some young players coming through and it was well worth it, and the games aren't usualy played that far from Old Trafford.

Also, leave plenty of time when planning around the Rail system in England. (don't count on them being on-time)

 

Well, they usually play the Reserve games at Altrincham - which is the last stop of the City Rail system, so it's pretty far outside of City Centre. However; they've been known to play some of the bigger matches at Old Trafford - and Liverpool would probably qualify - but I'm not sure. It's still a bit early. I wouldn't think that you could not walk up to either and pay at the door anyways.

If you go to the official Manchester United website and e-mail somebody in Customer Service and tell them you are an American and are coming over to see a match or two (tell them which you want to see) - they should be able to secure you tickets without problem.

United are trying very hard to break into the American market, so we are quite popular at the moment.

 

Man Utd and EPL Fan by Destiny

Where to start? This may not be the most appropriate place for this post, but here it goes...
I'm a relatively new Man Utd fan (basically starting with the summer tour 03) but I think I was destined to be a English soccer fan from birth (I was born in 1966). It started in May this year I had a chance to go to London for a United Airlines employee soccer tournament (a friend of mine is on the team - good opportunity for sightseeing and videotaping the games). London is a fantastic city to visit BTW I would recommend it to anyone. It was a great time, sightseeing and soccer during the day and pubs at night. One day I went to Covent Garden and found a vendor selling shirts - of course I did not know the EPL teams, but I chose the cool looking red one anyway - not sure what year, but the logo say "Super Reds" with Manchester in lettering where the Vodaphone logo is now.

When I came back home to Chicago, I watched all the United ChampionsWorld matches (my boss went to the LA game lucky bastard) on TV. (looking forward to Chicago 04!) So now I started to learn some of the big clubs and their players. I then got FSW on cable, so now I could see EPL, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, Ligue 1, etc. I started to understand the depth of soccer history and the complexity of competition (domestic leagues, Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA cup, Euro 2004) and I just got more and more interested. I'm looking forward to catching up on all the soccer history I've missed.

The EPL appealed to me the most - great players, exciting action, and super dedicated fans. (Not having ugly 20' fences around the pitch is an added bonus). But I knew I had to pick a team. Obviously I was leaning towards Man Utd; but how about Arsenal or Newcastle or Chelsea or some other team? The Man Utd/Arsenal game at OT turned me off to Arsenal (although Henry is a class player) as some of their players clearly don't have any class. The end of the game and reaction by Ruud to the and the rest of the MU players really made me a fan. Every player on MU is a class player. It will be fun to watch United/Arsenal/Chelski battle it out for the Premiership crown this year and in the years to come.

On top of everything else you have all the soap opera stuff going on - Abramovich, Ruud vs Advocaat, Tinkerman, Ferdinand missing a drug test, etc, behind the scenes. The big American sports seem tame by comparison.

Just wanted to make a post to share the excitement that the EPL and Man Utd has brought me. Looking forward to the rest of the season, both domestic and Champions League (and FA cup) and participating in the big soccer MU boards.

 

kuschews,

First of all, a warm welcome to BigSoccer and the Manchester United section. I hope you'll have a great time here, and learn a lot about Man United and soccer in general. I'm also in a similar position as you are, being fairly new to watching world soccer (about the last 5 years). I picked up Manchester United mainly because I saw them playing on TV, mostly in Champions League matches. I played youth soccer myself for many years, and I thought their level of play was amazing. I loved how they truly played as a team, and I now support them as strongly as teams in other sports who I have followed for many years. FSW is indeed a great channel, and though I get to watch plenty of matches from many countries, I always set the Tivo to record EPL matches. Its definitely my favorite league to watch.

I completely agree about the class found at Man United as well. Don't worry about the bitter fans who call Keane dirty or Ruud a cheat... you know if they could ever sign either of those guys, it would make their season. Henry and Bergkamp are incredibly classy, but I have little to no respect for Keown, Campbell, etc. Its a shame because Arsenal can be an exciting team to watch, but you know what they say--form is temporary, class is permanant. Luckily Man United have both in excess.

Again, welcome to the world of BigSoccer and international footie as well. There's hardly a dull moment.

P.S. I live just up the road from you, in Carol Stream. On weekends when there is a big game, a friend of mine and I will head over to either Ginger's Ale House in Chicago or Curragh Pub in Schaumburg to catch the matches on their big screen. Its a damn good time when watching with a crowd.

 

Watching MU

Thanks for the welcome, Achtung. Really looking forward to this weeks game with Chelsea. Don't have a TIVO yet, but a Comcast rep told me they will have their own DVR device available early 2004 (hopefully should be cheaper than TIVO when all is said and done).

Interesting comment: "Don't worry about the bitter fans who call Keane dirty or Ruud a cheat..." - when I was watching one of the ChampionsWorld matches earlier this summer in a Irish bar in Naperville, a couple from England walked into the bar and looked up at the TV. The wife said - great a football game, but bloody hell its Man United! The feeling I got was one of grudging respect for the teams accomplishments, not hatred. I can understand the bitterness because MU winning so much compared to the other EPL teams. However, nothing was ever just handed to them they had to earn it. Fans were probably bitter about Liverpool for the same reasons years ago when they were very successful.

Thanks for the tips on the football bars. Hopefully I can get there for a CL game soon (CL is not on FSW unfortunately). The "sports" bars around Wheaton, Carol Stream, Winfield are pretty lame when it comes to soccer. I've been to Curragh - great pub. Heard Nevada Smith's in Manhattan is football bar heaven, if you are ever in NY.

P.S. Any idea best place to get the ChampionsWorld Chicago tickets for Summer 04? They are probably not on sale yet, but which ticket broker would you think would be the best?

 

Sign up at http://www.championsworld.com for the news list. That should tell you when tickets go on sale. If you have a local Chicago area TicketMaster tracking site, do that as well.

 

Thanks

Thanks for the info David. Will look into your suggestions. Chelsea result today not good!
Did not see the match, but did see Fulham v
Arsenal - Fulham's keeper did a great job to keep
it scoreless.

 

I got tickets for last year's tour through Ticketmaster, even though they charge obscene service charges (ended up not going since I was finishing up my degree). Champions World and the Manchester United US Supporters' Club can help you out as well.

Definitely can't wait to see them this summer.