Hey all, I'm a Spurs supporter going on my first trip to London (and the Pompey match) in March. I joined the One Hotspur club to get priority on tickets. They're on sale this week for members, but I'm not sure where to sit. It'll be for me & the wife. I've heard great things about being at the Lane in person. We're looking for atmosphere but my wife is short, so if people are standing the whole time, she won't be able to see the match. I'd like to keep it to 40 pounds/ticket or less. Advice?
standing won't be a problem anywhere. the best atmosphere (and cheapest tickets) is in the park lane (south) end*. obviously, some will prefer sideline to endline seats, as they provide better views at both ends. the east stand is good, but there are two big supports that can somewhat restrict certain views. the west stand has the best sightlines, but is the most expensive, and undoubtedly has the least atmosphere. park lane upper is my choice. east stand upper is good, too, so long as you sit in the second or third section from either end. that way, only one support column is in your view, and it's pretty much through midfield - that is, not blocking any goalmouth action. never sat in paxton (north end), but why would you, if you can get park lane? west stand sucks. don't know if pompey's a 'B' or 'C' match, but either way, but i'm guessing if you want to keep it under 40bps, you'll want park lane or paxton. you can get the prices at the website anytime. *it also sells out the quickest.
I'm looking for tickets for this match, is there a way that I can get them without signing up for the membership. Anybody have any advice? Thanks for the help
there's a good chance there'll be tickets available to the general public for pompey, i would think. to maximize your odds, set your alarm for 4:00am (or 4:30, or whenever they open up sales) on the day that tickets will go onsale to non-members. just log on and get your ticket online.
plenty. nothing special from the outside, as is the norm for older english stadia. we (americans) are all accustomed to having them in large, cleared out areas, from which the stadium stands out majestically. in england, though, many (most) of the traditional stadiums were built right in the middle of neighborhoods, and you often have to get right upon them to even recognize one stand. often you see nothing but the lighting standards towering above the neighborhood until you're right upon the grounds. frankly, it's one of the most impressive things about old english stadia, to my thinking. when you go by some of these new places, like pride park or the reebok, standing out on their own, seemingly near no one, it appears oddly sterile - out of a club's proper context, if you will. prior to entering the old english stadium, the magic comes from the journey (the walk). the crowds building and building until you're there, and what overwhelms you is not some majestic stadium, but the mass of like-minded brethren all with the knowledge that - no matter how dire their team's been of late - today might just hold something special. it's all augmented by a pint with your mates at the pub just outside the grounds (something else that won't find at the new symmetrical stadium outside of town). and it's only when you get inside that the stadium unveils its magic. and the lane has it in spades. still largely empty (save, perhaps, for the away support) twenty minutes before the match, it fills up quickly, and the singing begins. holding 36k, the lane, oddly, seems both larger and smaller at the same time - both majestic and intimate. then comes the match ... ... and it's all downhill from there. just kidding about the last part, though back in the not-too-distant 'bad old days' of gross, graham, and hoddle, it played out like that all too often. these days, though, we usually get good football with decent results, and with both, the magic invariably lasts well into the evening. as for that 'lacking in atmosphere' stuff, i've never seen it. the lane has always been charged when i've been there - usually singing up the lads, otherwise lashing them venomously for their wretchedness. frankly, the ability of a crowd of 36,000 to go from one to the other, in a matter of seconds, is really quite extraordinary. still, occasional grumpiness aside, the yiddos do a better job than all but a very few sets of home fans.
Naturally That's a good way to sum up the whole gameday at the Lane experience for us WHL-deprived, pook. And WHL is such a unique-looking ground from the inside, it's breathtaking to see on TV, and must be even more spectacular in person. About the atmosphere, it's very intense during important games, like the 5-1 thrashing last month. That was probably the best atmosphere I've witnessed at WHL in my short time as a Spurs fan. And who can forget 30 mins of Martin Jol's Blue and White Army vs Sevilla last season? You never see that at the Emirates I liken that experience to Americans kids visiting a baseball stadium for the first time, stepping out of the tunnel and seeing that beautiful, fine-cut green grass and expansive playing field for the first time. It's such a sight to behold, you know. There's really nothing quite like being at a sporting event. And on Hoddle, he also played on those legendary cup winning sides of the 80s. He's a true yid, right up there with Bill Nick and Danny Blanch, and I would love to meet him someday.
Best seats at WHL? In the away end. And to ^^ yes, you're right. You wouldn't get Arsenal fans singing "Martin Jol's Blue and White Army" for half an hour at the Emirates. That's a given, duhhh. And with regards to I didn't realise you sat analysing the support of Spurs and Arsenal by the decibel. Do you have a day job? And to top that, I've probably been to more games at WHL than you have so the tee-vee isn't really basis for comparison fella.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26102007/58/premier-league-sunderland-top-noise-table.html There's the proof. Not that we needed it, anyone that has been to the games knows full well our fans are far louder and A*rse fans are some of the quietest and most boring around. Even people who have only seen the games on TV will be able to tell the difference.
to be fair, arsenal ranks a bit higher on that table than i would have suspected. to be up with brum isn't awful, and to have been louder than pompey is a bit of a shock. that said, given the differences in capacity, they certainly should be louder than both.
Yawn. If you like. Statistics say nothing, there are a lot of questionable things there...Manchester City, really? They fill their ground against Man Yoo and that's it, and you're seriously giving the benefit of the doubt to a survey that ranks them as the second loudest fans? Give me a break. I like the way you say "the games" as well. So you judge it simply on games between Arsenal and Spurs? Right OK, didn't realise it was a two game season. Hmm.
That's the thing. Surveys like that don't take just the fans into account, it also represents the stadium etc...for example some stadiums are tightly contoured so this keeps a lot more of the noise in - WHL is an example of this, all the corners are bricked in like one big bowl so the noise stays in, whereas Ewood Park has 4 seperate stands and as a result a lot of the noise escapes. Put any teams fans into WHL and Ewood and you will get two very different ratings. Look at this: 1. Sunderland The Stadium of Light is totally enclosed. 2. Spurs WHL is totally enclosed. 3. Manchester City Eastlands is totally enclosed. 4. Aston Villa Villa Park, while not technically totally enclosed, consists of four stands connected by seating, some of which have a gap in the corner of the upper tiers. 5. Everton Goodison Park is 3/4 enclosed, with only small gaps either side of the main stand. 6. Chelsea Stamford Bridge is totally enclosed. 7. Middlesbrough The Riverside Stadium is totally enclosed. 8. Derby County Pride Park is totally enclosed. 9. Newcastle United St James Park is totally enclosed. 10. West Ham Upton Park is enclosed save for the gaps either side of the East stand and the main structure of the ground. 11. Birmingham City St Andrews is half enclosed, with gaps between two of the stands. 12. Arsenal Emirates Stadium is totally enclosed. 13. Portsmouth Fratton Park is now enclosed save for a gap between one of the stands. 14. Blackburn Rovers Ewood Park has gaps between all of its stands. 15. Bolton Wanderers The Reebok is totally enclosed. 16. Liverpool Anfield is totally enclosed. 17. Manchester United Old Trafford is totally enclosed. 18. Wigan The JJB has gaps between all of its stands. 19. Reading The Madejski is totally enclosed. 20. Fulham Craven Cottage has gaps between all of its stands. I think this illustrates my point, the stadiums do have an influence. But the survey has its problems, I won't go down the road of insulting other teams fans but I don't think this accurately reflects anything – doing a survey at one home match in August and September for each team is hardly a way to get an accurate reflection of the noise fans make.
well, after looking back, it's not really clear. i was under the impression that they took readings at all the home games (which is, of course, every game) of august and september, but with the wording, yes, it's possible (probable?) that they did only one home game for each team in that time frame. and, yes, that would absolutely mean little, as atmosphere will vary from match to match for everyone. still, as has been discussed at length over on the arse boards, the fact is that the emirates, while sometimes (seldom? often? ususally? you know better than i) very good, is occasionally (and more than rarely) inexplicably quiet. and not just when the arse is being beaten, which would be understandable, but when they are winning and playing well. and that's where the reputation comes from. i understand and appreciate why it grinds on you that the arse has this reputation, and why you are keen to dispute it. but, as the letter you fired off and the volume at the next home match imply, it's always going to be an uphill battle. because the only folks who are inclined to have arsenal look good are arsenal fans. and some fans (i.e., us) will always be inclined to have them look bad.
Yeah it is sadly true that the ground is quiet some of the time. And yes I shouldn't have fired that letter off, seems I took all our supporters voices when I pressed "send" If it's quiet tonight, I don't think it will ever get as loud as I would like it to be.