UK Soccer question

[FAUlty Gator]

@Menace Sockeyes

When we take that trip we want to go to a soccer match and be fans of whatever place we are at starting at the pub and walking up to the stadium. It can be a small club division 2 type team.

The three English towns we wil spend time in are Liverpool, York and London so anything close to those is great. Whatcha got?

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Going to a Fulham FC match at Craven Cottage in London has to be #1. Definitely a bucket list item for me. The stadium was built in 1896 by the greatest English stadium architect, and has a literal cottage in one corner that was built in 1780, and now houses the dressing rooms and clubhouse. Fulham has such a history with American players it is nicknamed “Fulhamerica” with US fans. Their greatest modern legend is Illinois’ own Brian McBride, and the stadium pub is named “McBride’s” in his honor. Another legend is American Clint Dempsey, who famously helped lead them to the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final. The Cottagers currently have Americans Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream playing for them. They share the same ownership, the Khan family, as the Jags too.

The ground is in the middle of a neighborhood, on the banks of the Thames. The area was once the hunting ground of Ann Boleyn and is a favorite spot to watch the Oxford-Cambridge boat race from. The fans are so notoriously polite and family oriented that they have the nickname “Friendly Fulham”. They’re the only Premier League ground with an official section for neutrals. Let them know you’re coming from America for your first game and maybe you’ll get lucky enough for a tour. As far as a pub, I hear a lot of fans walk from the pubs The Crabtree to the north and The Eight Bells to the south, along the River Thames. The former goes by neighborhoods and the latter by Bishop’s Park.

EDIT: You can book tours for a good price here:

Craven Cottage Tours

Go behind-the-scenes in SW6

www.fulhamfc.com

Here are two good videos...

 

[NDallasRuss]

Back in 2005 I got to go to a Champion's League match at Stamford Bridge and watch Chelsea play. It was an absolutely incredible experience.

We walked up to the box office window the day before the match and asked (mostly as a formality) if they had any tickets available. As it was, the guy had tickets for us - right on one of the corners, like 4 rows up from the pitch - if we could pay cash. Sure, maybe he was committing some kind of fraud, but we were all in!

I guess for Champions League matches they don't sell beer in the stadiums, so all ~40k people crowded into all the pubs around the stadium until right at kickoff, when everyone ran over into the stadium for the match. So we got to drink in the pub with a bunch of Chelsea fans, walk over with them while they were singing, and then watch the match. The older guys right in front of us told lots of great stories about how they'd been fans for so long that they remember when you used to be able to bring your dog into the stadium with you. It really was a great time!

Stamford Bridge | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club

Community

www.chelseafc.com

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Back in 2005 I got to go to a Champion's League match at Stamford Bridge and watch Chelsea play. It was an absolutely incredible experience.

We walked up to the box office window the day before the match and asked (mostly as a formality) if they had any tickets available. As it was, the guy had tickets for us - right on one of the corners, like 4 rows up from the pitch - if we could pay cash. Sure, maybe he was committing some kind of fraud, but we were all in!

I guess for Champions League matches they don't sell beer in the stadiums, so all ~40k people crowded into all the pubs around the stadium until right at kickoff, when everyone ran over into the stadium for the match. So we got to drink in the pub with a bunch of Chelsea fans, walk over with them while they were singing, and then watch the match. The older guys right in front of us told lots of great stories about how they'd been fans for so long that they remember when you used to be able to bring your dog into the stadium with you. It really was a great time!

Stamford Bridge | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club

Community

www.chelseafc.com

Pluses - Bigger club than Fulham. Their biggest star and playmaker is Christian Pulisic from Hershey, PA.

Minuses - Much larger and more modernized stadium. Less intimate, less likely to be close to action.

 

[NDallasRuss]

Pluses - Bigger club than Fulham. Their biggest star and playmaker is Christian Pulisic from Hershey, PA.

Minuses - Much larger and more modernized stadium. Less intimate, less likely to be close to action.

I agree that it was a lot bigger and more modern, so you wouldn't get that history with a stadium like Fulham, which would be kind of like going to a place like Fenway. I felt like our seats were really close to the pitch though. I tried to find a good picture to illustrate how close we were but I couldn't find a good one. At the most I felt like we were maybe 5 yards from the sideline and where players were taking corner kicks.

 

[seminoleed]

Faulty, when are you going? The Premier League right now has limited capacity in the few stadiums that are open for games. You really can't go wrong with any of the clubs in London, with the exception of Tottenham Hotspur. (Worst fans on the planet.)

Craven Cottage would normally be a must, but they're constructing a new stand on the banks of the river, so their are less available seats already.

If the pandemic is still going on when you go, you're probably SOL. But if you get into one, you'll never forget it.

 

[torbee]

Not-so-humble brag - just about this time last year I was in Liverpool and saw two games at Anfield. Expensive, and not the type of trip it sounds like you are planning this time, but I plan on going again. It is a cathedral to the game.

 

[FAUlty Gator]

Faulty, when are you going? The Premier League right now has limited capacity in the few stadiums that are open for games. You really can't go wrong with any of the clubs in London, with the exception of Tottenham Hotspur. (Worst fans on the planet.)

Craven Cottage would normally be a must, but they're constructing a new stand on the banks of the river, so their are less available seats already.

If the pandemic is still going on when you go, you're probably SOL. But if you get into one, you'll never forget it.

2022. 20th anniversary

Dublin to Liverpool to the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh to York to London

 

[torbee]

2022. 20th anniversary

Dublin to Liverpool to the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh to York to London

Highly recommend this tour in Liverpool. Even my moody, surly 18-year-old loved it:

Beatles Magical Mystery Tour

See the sights and sounds of Beatles Liverpool on the Magical Mystery Tour, with entertaining commentary and music.

www.visitliverpool.com

 

[LesClaypool]

Crystal Palace should be the priority. They have the best fans by a country mile, followed by Liverpool...but you’ll be hard pressed to get tix to either.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

I went to an Arsenal match a couple years ago and had a good time.

 

[LesClaypool]

I went to an Arsenal match a couple years ago and had a good time.

I love Arsenal more than almost anything in life...but the Emirates, while an awesome structure, isn’t a very intimidating place to play. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll be going back for the rest of my life...but the 2x I’ve been, the crowd was just so-so.

I’ve always heard the same about Old Trafford and Man United too. Too many tourists supposedly.

 

[Tom Paris]

Not-so-humble brag - just about this time last year I was in Liverpool and saw two games at Anfield. Expensive, and not the type of trip it sounds like you are planning this time, but I plan on going again. It is a cathedral to the game.

Bucket list for me.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Crystal Palace should be the priority. They have the best fans by a country mile, followed by Liverpool...but you’ll be hard pressed to get tix to either.

Rabid fans, no doubt. Probably the most college football like atmosphere and the Premier League. Even right down to the soaring eagle across the stadium like Auburn. Stadium is close confines, but more functional than unique, as I understand it.

 

[torbee]

Rabbit fans, no doubt. Probably the most college football like atmosphere and the Premier League..

Everybunny likes them!






How have we not seen this WOB before!?


It’s a good’un. 🙂

 

[seminoleed]

Ah, I see. Then you might want to try and get into Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace. Arguably the loudest, rowdiest crowd around, and only about 20,000 seats. They are known for the noise level and excitement. The Arsenal have a gorgeous stadium with great sight lines, but also have the most expensive tickets in the UK. Wish I was going with you.

 

[FAUlty Gator]

Everybunny likes them!






How have we not seen this WOB before!?


It’s a good’un. 🙂

Beat me to it. I don’t hare though. It’s all good.

 

[jaxhawk06]

I'm biased and I say you should try and take a trip to Craven Cottage. They're renovating their riverside stand so it should look amazing when it's finished. I was in Craven Cottage for a USMNT game in 2014. It was pretty cool to walk from the tube station along the Thames to the stadium at night. I'm hoping to make it back to a Fulham game in the next year or 2

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Everybunny likes them!






How have we not seen this WOB before!?


It’s a good’un. 🙂

Beat me to it. I don’t hare though. It’s all good.

Damn it! Should proof read next time I voice text. Now I’m going to have to be lapin up all this abuse.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

I'm biased and I say you should try and take a trip to Craven Cottage. They're renovating their riverside stand so it should look amazing when it's finished. I was in Craven Cottage for a USMNT game in 2014. It was pretty cool to walk from the tube station along the Thames to the stadium at night. I'm hoping to make it back to a Fulham game in the next year or 2

Jealous. Get a drink at McBride’s? Or is that only for a certain level of ticket?

 

[jaxhawk06]

Jealous. Get a drink at McBride’s? Or is that only for a certain level of ticket?

No,we were at a bar near the Putney Bridge tube station because that's where the AO pregame spot was. Hopefully if I get to go to a game in the future I can check out McBride's or whatever the new stand offers

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

ALERT: Those of you that have ESPN+, FA Cup snow game at the Cottage on now!

EDIT: Now a light freezing rain. Sliding all over.