.Football Travel Blog

Pay on the day rail tickets to be simplifed

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:39:00 +0000

This a step in the right direction but isnt it about time they got rid of the silly system where its often cheaper to buy two singles than get a return ticket?

Its also time they relaxed the times on the advanced tickets. I forget how many times I have had a row with a jobsworth conductor because we have go the earlier train than the one stipulated. Fair enough if its a full train but it usually isnt.

The death of football

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:34:00 +0000

One of the best footballing pieces I have read in some time.

They'll Only Miss Us When They're Gone

See you next Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:45:00 +0000

I had to laugh when I saw this.

Non league fans at their best,Welling United v Maidstone last week. Apparently the fans did this after their keeper made yet another error!

Looking for hotels near football grounds

Isnt it about time the Scots caught up with the English?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:48:00 +0000

I was interested to read the threat of strike action by Scottish Premier League referees.

Surely Scottish referees should also get a retainer and a 'pay as you ref' fee. If the Scottish Premier league dont bring this in then it will have an effect on what kind of referees make it to the SPL.

Can you imagine in your office or factory asking your boss for time off to drive to Aberdeen to ref a match? Unless you have a sympathetic manager then they will probably let you go on unpaid leave or maybe not at all. So what this means is the only people that can ref at the top level are those who can do flexi time or those who are self employed.

Sort it out SPL!

Find Hotels Near Scottish Premier League Grounds

When a footballing bastion really is a bastion

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:38:00 +0000

and not just hyperbole.

Shaun Smith of 100groundsclub blog fame even writes whilst on holiday!

The blog which won our blog of the month competition last season (something we will resurrect for this season)carries a wonderful description of a match at Prestatyn Towns Bastion Road ground.

Thats a cracking name for a ground isnt it!

The Championship Season Ticket League Table so far..

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:56:00 +0000

From Channel 4's survey mentioned in the previous post the league table looks like this:

Derby County 22500
Norwich City 20000
Sheffield United 18700
Charlton Athletic 15000
Ipswich Town 14920
Cardiff City 14000
Bristol City 13530
Nottingham Forest 13000
Reading 13000
Southampton 9800
QPR 9700
Coventry City 9249
Birmingham City 9000
Swansea City 9000
barnsley 8500
Preston North End 8500
Doncaster Rovers 8000
Plymouth Argyle 7200
Burnley 6800
Wolves 14,7
Watford 10,696
Blackpool 0
Crystal Palace 0
Sheffield Wednesday 0

Where we have given a 0 its because the clubs did not give a figure.

Am very impressed and surprised at Derby and Norwichs' numbers! Cardiffs are also interesting but somewhat artificial as we believe these were sold on the back of getting a FA Cup final ticket. Not knocking the marketing of that at all, just wonder how many of those season ticket holders will bother going to games as all they wanted was a day out watching Cardiff City at Wembley.

Book hotels near all Championship Football Clubs

Season ticket sales in the Championship so far

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:15:00 +0000

We were sent the below by one of our blog visitors. In a time where everyone is talking about the 'credit crunch' it makes interesting reading!

Channel 4 News online contacted the media department of every football club in the Premiership and Championship.

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/sports/championship+season+ticket+sales/2357467

The replies marked as "official response" were the replies we received from media departments.

In some cases we contacted Ticket Offices after failing to get an official response, their replies are marked as such.

The figures relate to season ticket sales as of the week commencing Monday 21 July.

Barnsley
Official response: "Season ticket sales are currently around 8,500, which is 2,000 approx up on last season."

Birmingham City
No official response
Ticket Office said: "We have sold roughly 9,000 so far, it was 13-14,000 in total last season."

Blackpool
Official response: "Our season ticket sales for this season are set to match the same as the start of last season. Without revealing specific figures, I can say that we are roughly 350 sales away from the start of last season with just under three weeks still to go.

"So, with this in mind, we clearly expect our sales to match that of last season by the time we kick-off against Bristol City on August 9.

"By the end of the season we had sold 5,909 season tickets but some of these were purchased mid-season on various half-season ticket price deals and also by supporters looking to guarantee a seat for games when we had various sell-outs towards the end of the campaign."

Bristol City
Official response: "Our season ticket sales stand at 13,530 - a club record figure. This is up 3,276 on last season."

Burnley
No official response
Ticket Office said: "We have sold about 6,800 - which is around the same as last season."

Cardiff City
Official response: "Last Season: at this point in time we were around the 7,400 mark. That figure rose to a total number of season tickets for the entire season = 8,800.

"Obviously ST's continue to sell well into the season on a pro rata basis. The 8,800 was the total number sold.

"This Season: We are currently around the 14,000 mark with most areas sold out. This was down to us getting to the FA Cup final and people buying ST's to secure their Wembley ticket."

Charlton Athletic
Official response: "Rounding up the figures, we have so far sold 15,000 season tickets at Charlton this season. This is compared to a final figure of 17,500 last season."

Coventry City
Official response: "Coventry City's season ticket sales for 0809 currently stand at 9,249. This is compared to 9,119 at the start of the 07/08 season.

"According to a recent survey in The Sun, Coventry City had the lowest priced season ticket available in the Championship with an adult's early bird season ticket from just ?277 when purchased with a junior."

Crystal Palace
Official response: "Season tickets are slightly up on last year and we anticipate a healthy take up in the next four weeks" Ticket Office said: "We can't disclose those figures".

Derby County
Official response: "This year we have sold just over 22,500 season tickets, which is slightly down on last season's tally of 23,500, a total season ticket sell-out and a club-record figure.

"This season's tally is the second-highest we have recorded, and there is still time for it to grow ahead of the new campaign."

Doncaster Rovers
No official response.
Ticket Office said: "Season ticket sales are coming up to 8,000, but there is still a promotion going on. We sold 5,300 last season."

Ipswich Town
Official response: "We sold 14,824 last season, and have sold 14,920 as of this week.

"So we are up on last season and the season hasn't started yet! We did have a price freeze for those who bought season tickets by our 'early bird' deadline; the bulk of season ticket holders did take advantage of that scheme.

"We also reduced the price of a season ticket for the U11s (when bought with an adult season ticket) to only ?10 - bargain!"

Norwich City
Official response: "20,000 season tickets sold, which is a capped total. 19,714 sold last season."

Nottingham Forest
Official response: "We haven't released much information on season ticket sales so far. Figures at this stage can be quite misleading as there are still three weeks of selling time before the season starts.

"Traditionally this is always a reasonably busy period and conclusions cannot be drawn at this stage.

"However, we are about 2,000 sales up on this time last season. We finished sales at roughly 11,000 last season."

Plymouth Argyle
Official response: "We have sold around 7,200 season-tickets so far - around about the same as this time last season."

Preston North End
Official response: "Our current sales stand at around 8,500, which is roughly 1,000 up on the equivalent point last year."

Queens Park Rangers
No official response
Ticket Office said: "9,700 season tickets sold for this season - 8,100 last season."

Reading
Official response: "We have 13,000 season ticket holders for next season, compared with around 16,000 last season."

Sheffield United
Official response: "We have sold 18,700 season tickets so far, which is very similar to the figure at this stage last season. We sold 19,300 in total last season and we expect to reach that figure by the time the season commences."

Sheffield Wednesday
Official response: "Unfortunately, season ticket sales are confidential club information, so we will not be able to accommodate your request."
Ticket Office said: "Please talk to the media department."

Southampton
Official response: "We are at 9,800 right now, and at this time last year we had an approx 11,000."

Swansea City
Official response: "We have sold a record number of season tickets this season, even topping our 'glory days' in the old First Division.

"So far we have sold 9,000 season tickets, topping last season's total of 7,900."

Watford
No official response
Ticket Office said: "We have sold 10,696 at the moment, it was 11,000 by the end of last season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Official response: "The last figure released publically was 14,700 about a fortnight ago.

"This was about 1,300 behind the same figure at this stage last season.

"Wolves finished with 17,800 last season but with tickets still on sale for the next few weeks, they are hoping to get near to that mark again."

Book hotels near Championship football clubs and stadiums.

Aberdeen FC still on course for Stadium move

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Interesting to read that Aberdeen have come out to reassure their fans that the stadium plans are still on despite cash fears regarding the problems with the local council.

Aberdeen City Council are having to tighten their belts as they need to save 50 million quid apparently and local Council Kate Dean is under pressure to resign.

Although Aberdeen's new stadium is only going through a feasibility plan right now, Aberdeen FC have underwritten Aberdeen City Councils financial contribution to the plan. I think this shows Aberdeen are really committed to this which is great news. I love Pittodrie but its time to move on, the club and the city of Aberdeen needs it. They hope to have a new stadium by 2012.

Hotels Near Pittodrie, Aberdeen FC

Lest We Forget

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:21:00 +0000

Very often journalists write about football using words from military battles and campaigns. Teams soldier on, the reds probed the left flank that kind of thing.

This afternoon I read an interesting piece on Leyton Orient (then known as Clapton Orient) who were the first Football League team to enlist for service during the First World War.

They were posted to Northern France and fought in the tragic Battle of the Somme. During the first day of that bloody battle the British Army lost 20,000 men. Sometimes we are guilty of not really appreciating the numbers but just imagine next time you are in a football ground with 20,000 that that was the amount of British young men to perish on the first day.

Thirteen Orient players were wounded whilst 3 tragically lost their lives.

Orient fans commemorated this recently, read more about the Day for Orient Fans to Remember.

Everyone could score at the 2010 World Cup!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:12:00 +0000

Durban is discussing legalising prostitution at the South Africa 2010 world cup!

In a country where 5 million have the AIDS virus this is just asking for trouble surely? I can't see the South African authorities allowing the sex trade to go legal but of course it will all happen underground anyway.

Not that it bothers me, I doubt Wales will make it anyway!

Football travel blog to relaunch for 2008-9

noreply@blogger.com (Shane) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:24:00 +0000

Dear Reader

We have been awful, wrists duly slapped and we hope you will forgive us for last season. Work committments got in the way which meant the blog wasnt updated. We are going to improve it and commit to making it a good read this season

Enjoy the last few weeks of the summer ;-)

Who are the real football hooligans?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:41:00 +0000

I was saddened to read about the 'overzealous policing' towards Bolton supporters in yesterdays UEFA Cup match.

English fans do have a bad reputation in Europe but it is principally historic rather than contemporary. It seems to me thats its the 'old bill' who are now the ones that deserve the poor reputation.

Look at the photos from last night and then remember the scenes from Roma when Man Utd were there?

Even the British Police described last nights policing as 'heavy handed' which is interesting as its rare the Police every criticise another force.

Bolton are complaining to UEFA about last nights events, I doubt anything will happen as UEFA seem to treat anything English with contempt. Attitudes must start to change and here is hoping that Phil Gartside the Bolton Chairman can rock the boat a little bit at the Swiss HQ of UEFA.

Easter weekend - feast of football!

noreply@blogger.com (Shane) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:18:00 +0000

I am working abroad at the moment so really missing my fix of live football.

I was back to watch Cambridge City FC play FA Cup heroes Havant and Waterlooville, Havant won 2-1 but it should really have been a draw.

I then booked some flights to come back on Good Friday so I could make the annual trip to Southend United, it's the only sad thing about getting promoted (if we do of course) is missing the trip to Roots Hall.

A week or so later the club announce they are bringing the fixture forward to 1pm on Good Friday!! Talk about gutted. I was told at first that it was the Police who had asked for the but it later transpired that the Swansea City Manager Roberto Martinez had asked for the move in order to give the Swans more time to prepare for Bristol Rovers on the Monday. From a footballing perspective I can understand this but the fixtures came out eight months ago so this could have been arranged long ago.

So I have to 'shell out' for another hotel night and another day off work, still if Martinez brings the title back to Swansea then I wont complain.

Actually it does mean that I can now watch the following:

Southend v Swansea and then on the next day:

Cambridge City v Maidenhead then on Bank holiday Monday I can watch

Bromley v Cambridge City and the Swans Bristol Rovers game is on the telly Monday evening. So I can 'od' on football that weekend!

Hotels near Fulham FC, Hotels near Craven Cottage.

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Hotels near Fulham FC, Hotels near Craven Cottage.

Of course another firm favourite for travelling football fans who want to stay over is London. We take a lot of bookings for London hotels which is no real surprise.

Today we take a look at hotels near Fulham FC

Search for hotels near Fulham FC

Craven Cottage is home to Fulham Football Club, Fulham are the oldest professional football club in the capital city. Not a lot of people know that. They play in the Premier League but are facing a tough fight to stay there this season. (07-08)

There are plenty of hotels near Fulham FC. The closest hotel to Fulham that works with footballhotels is London Putney Bridge Premier Inn. Its about 1km from Craven Cottage and starts from £79

If you are looking for cheap hotels near Fulham FC then we recommend The Beaver Hotel, stop laughing. They actually do a lot of bookings with both Chelsea and Fulham fans who just want a clean bed for the night. Their rates start from £32. Not bad at all.

We usually talk about classy hotels as well but to be honest this is Chelsea/Fulham country you are spoilt for choice.

Have you stayed in a Hotel near Fulham FC? Got any recommendations then let us know.

Most football fans have done the Tower of London and Leicester Square and very often want to do something local. Of course, Fulham is home to the famous or should that be infamous Kings Road, with its glamourous shops and former drinking holes of the late George Best. In fact shopping in Fulham provides a nice change from the usual selection of standard high street names.

From antiques to Harley Davidson, this is a place for individuals who prefer independent shops.

Of course Chelsea FC is up the road, most die hard Fulham fans wouldnt bother going there but if your team is playing at Craven Cottage then why not pop up and see if you can get a tour of Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea Harbour is also nearby. This grand development offers a marina, hotel, restaurant and the impressive glass domes of the Chelsea Design Centre.

It is a secluded part of London, yet less than 3 miles from Big Ben. You can stroll along the river promenade for great views across to Battersea or spend a sunny afternoon with a cool drink on the terrace of Aquasia, overlooking the marina.
Dont forget to visit Imperial Wharf, with its restaurants, bars and leisure facilities.

Hotels near Southend United FC, Roots Hall.

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:13:00 +0000

Hotels near Southend United FC

The Essex seaside town of Southend is also a favourite for football fans who like to stay overnight and make an evening of a fixture. Although its only an hour or so away from London, footballhotels takes many reservations on its hotels near Southend United page.

Southend has more than just football to offer though. The Essex town is a regional centre with a cosmopolitan atmosphere, offering something for everyone in its vast array of entertainments, venues and events. Southend is well known for its sea-side attractions, especially its famous pier. Southend has some cracking pubs most of which are fine with away supporters. The Golden Hind has been a firm favourite of ours for years.

Southend is well served by roads, with two junctions off the London-Orbital motorway, the M25. Southend is very easy to travel to there are two train stations, Southend Central which is located next to the high street and Southen Victoria which is located near a museum. Prittlewell is the station that is most nearest to Roots Hall.

Southend is most famous for its pleasure pier and beach, and the town has a range of attractions on offer, including the annual illuminations, carnival and airshow, boat trips, the Golden Mile of arcades, the Kursaal bowling alley, a strong lineup of shops on the High Street, plus an assortment of restaurants, bars, cafes and night clubs.

Southend is a watersports enthusiast's paradise and its sparkling waters are a hive of activity for kite-surfing, windsurfing, personal watercraft, sailing and much more.

Southend is twinned witht the Polish town of Sopot. Sopot is the location of the longest wooden pier in Europe, while Southend is the location of the longest iron pleasure pier in the world.

Southend's pier also featured at the end of British TV comedy classic Minder during the Ray 'not as hard as Terry' Daley years.

There are plenty of hotels near Roots Hall

Footballhotels.co.uk works with nearly 30 hotels in the Southend area so if you are looking for hotels close to Southend United or indeed cheap hotels near Southend United then this is the place to look. Remember though you pay at the hotel not upfront which doesnt hurt the wallet so much! Any tips, comments, queries then get in touch.

Hotels near Southend United FC

Nominate Your Favourite Fanzine

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:24:00 +0000

We at footballtravelblog are happy to give a plug to the Football Fanzine Awards

Here you can vote for your favourite online or offline fanzine. If there is one you read and appreciate why not give them your vote, go on you know it makes it sense.

Hotels Near Swansea City FC

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:07:00 +0000

In this post we look at hotels near Liberty Stadium Swansea

Many fans stay overnight when they go to the game. There are of course many reasons for this. So we thought we would profile a few of the destinations that are popular for fans to stay at.

In this post we will look at hotels near Swansea City FC.

Swansea has a lot to offer football fans. The 20,000 seater Liberty Stadium opened for its first international match on the 17th August 2005, it hosted the Wales v Slovenia game. Many fans and in particular 'groundhoppers' have been looking to get to Swansea to see the new ground. Some also venture down to the old Vetch Field, the former home of Swansea City FC as its not been knocked down yet.

Footballhotels lists 13 hotels near Swansea City that can be booked online. They include:

Ramada Swansea
The Grand Hotel
The Dragon Hotel
The Village Hotel and Leisure Club, Swansea
Ibis Swansea
Shoreline Hotel
The White House Hotel
Express By Holiday Inn Swansea
Singleton Hotel
The Mirador
The Dolphin Hotel
Leonardo's Guest House

Football fans have a choice between luxury hotels near Swansea City Fc or cheap hotels near Swansea City FC.

If you want to stay near the ground then the closest hotel is The Ramada Swansea. The ground is a little way out of the town though but if that doesnt appeal then The Ramada is good. Though the cab fare into town shouldn't set you back more than a tenner and at least you have somewhere to park the car.

The hotel with the best guest rating is the Mirador with 4.7 out of 5. The Mirador is a cheap cab ride away from the town centre and the nightlife. Its walkable if you are familiar with the area.

If you are looking for a bit of class and have a motor then we recommend the Fairyhill on the Gower Peninsular, pricey but ideal if you want luxury. The Gower was one of the UK's first areas of outstanding natural beauty, so you can combine football with a great walk on of the many beaches on offer.

If you are on a budget then there are cheap hotels in Swansea too - check out Leonardo's Guest House, they have single rooms from 30 quid. Its a family run B&B and they even have wireless internet available from five pounds a day.

Hotels and Guest Houses Near Swansea City FC

We are collating reviews of all hotels so if you have stayed at a hotel near Swansea then please do let us know what you thought.

Coventry City Kenilworth Supporters Club Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Shane) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:37:00 +0000

We have been chatting recently with Harry, a devoted Coventry City fan who runs the Coventry City Kenilworth Supporters Club.

1. Can you tell us about your site? Whats' it all about?

CCFC Kenilworth Supporters was started as as a means to get Coventry fans from Kenilworth and Warwickshire to the Ricoh for home games. The Ricoh Arena has next to no parking, and to get to it from Kenilworth you had to take to buses. After a while we soon knew that more than a coach club was needed, so we set up a Supporters club.

The Web site followed and now after 3 seasons we are about to have taken 5,000 fans to the Ricoh. The Web site is about getting CCFC, Football, and local issues across. I try to bring them all together.

2. What was the inspiration behind it?
Thats easy I love Coventry City and Football, to think I am helping in any way helping my football club and local football thats all the inspiration I need

3. Whats the worst away trip you have ever been on?

I enjoy all my away games I get to I always make a day of it and take it as it comes.

4. How many Grounds have you been to yourself?

62, when I was younger the was a group of us who if we did not have a game, we would throw a dart a the fixture list on Friday night and thats where we would go.

5. Whats your favourite away ground?

Tottenham We have had some good days and results we don't get up there much these days

6. Whats your worst away ground?

I think all grounds have something about them, but if I have to chose it has to be the Crisp Bowl at the wrong end of the M69

7. How do you normally get to away games?

We have run the odd away coach, but I nomally go by car

8. Have you ever made it an overnight stay?

Yes over the years I have, I have had some good nights out Blacpool and Newcastle have been the best.

9. How about matches abroad, have you ever been to any grounds that have really impressed or depressed you?

No but it is a dream of mine to see Coventry in Europe

10. Are you prone to a pie at half time? Whats your favourite half time nosh? What ground for you has the best bit of scran?

I go balti pie, but nomally before the game not at half time, they let us out at half time for a fag.

I went to Woking Feb 1997 when we played them in the FA Cup and had a chilli burger, (well it was that nice by the end of the game I had eaten 4) never been beaten

11. Other than your site, what other football sites do you visit?

I am always looking for new football sites but I do like IFAN AND NEWSNOW

12. And do you read any blogs regularly?

Yes I like the ones where supporters from all clubs get on them a bit like this one

13. What about outside of football? What sites do you visit daily?

You Tube the is some crazy stuff on that and ebay but I don't know if that counts as I am nomally after football bits

14. Coventry City have had a tough time of late, are you safe now?

We have a new deadline in April to get the 90% shares needed for the takeover to go on but they are up to the late 80% so it is going to happen, now I think they need to see the season out and look to the summer and next season, Don't get wrong we could make the play-offs but we need to focas on the pitch now I think with the take-over, the team has gone down up to now. But as we say next season will be different.

15. What do you like and dislike about your own ground?

Its a new ground and has alot going for it so the is alot to like, but I dislike the fact we don't own it alot of money not going into the club

16. Do you have any travel tips for football supporters coming to Coventry City's Ricoh Arena?

Go by coach they get moved out first the cars have to wait and the parking is poor and costly.

Kevin Keegan unveiled as new Newcastle Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:03:00 +0000

'Geordie messiah to be unveiled as new United manager' blurts out the Newcastle United website today. Whilst I am sure the Toon Army are delighted with the Second coming its no bloody good to me. I had a few quid on Martin Jol!

I honestly thought he was going to come in as a surprise candidate as I couldnt see another decent English manager come in and take over to stop the rot at Newcastle United.

Droylsden FC Butchers Arms Park

noreply@blogger.com (Shane) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:53:00 +0000

Photos from Butchers Arms Park Droylsden here. PLease be patient for the write up am in the middle of moving.

Sloppy reporting from the Independent.

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:13:00 +0000

This is an interesting one.

A Swansea fan showed us his correspondence with the Football Editor of the Independent.

Basically the Indy had give high praise to Kevin Amankwaah, in fact they labelled him as one of the top three League One players to watch. Hmm, this led to some head scratching by the Swans support as there are plenty better than Mr Amankwaah, in fact he struggles to get a game most weeks.

One intrepid Swans fan put pen to paper (sorry finger to keyboard) and pinged an email to Glenn Moore Football Editor.

Mr Moore responded that it was indeed the mighty Chris Kamara who had nominated Kev in the top three.

The Swans fan pressed him again and then got this pearler of a response.

'Kamara, to give him his due, may actually have been speaking about Angel Range.l It was a bad line from Spain, he mentioned the right-back at Swansea but was not quite sure of the pronunciation. I clicked on the website, saw Amankwaah was No.2 squad list and a right back, said do you mean Amankwaah and Chris said yes. When I saw Amankwaah was playing on Match of the day at right-back it appeared to confirm that was the guy Chris meant.

This sort of thing happens occasionally, unfortunately. But who knows, Amanwaah may yet get a run in the team - oer somewhere - and boosted by our bigging him up regain confidence, form etc. '

Oh dear. I am sure this thing does go on quite a lot but its not what I really expect from a broadsheet and certainly not one that I read!

Droylsden Daydream Believer

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:44:00 +0000

There is always a sense of excitement when going to a new ground. On Saturday I will make the three and a half hour journey to Droylsden FC on the Cambridge City FC Supporters Bus.

Droylsden are currently anchored to the bottom of the Blue Square National league but its the FA Trophy so form will go right out of the window!

I will be honest I didnt even know where Droylsden is! I had to check it out online. The first site I found was chillingly named 'bloods on the net'

Droylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, about 4 miles east of Manchester City centre. It has a population just above 23,000. Very small populace for a Blue Square National team. Then again Histon FC only have a population of 8,000!

They play at the quaintly named 'Butchers Arms Ground' and were founded in 1892. The Capacity stands at 3,000.

According to Wikipee, the manager Dave Pace is also the Chairman. Unfortunately and rare in this day and age I cant find an official site for them.

Interesting to note that Davy Jones from The Monkees and Howard someone or other from Take That actually grew up in the town.

I will report back on my trip to the North West next week.

Taxis Cheaper than some Train Fares!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:43:00 +0000

I was very worried to see this headline 'Grab a Cab Its cheaper than the train' in the paper the other day:

'THE PRICE of rail travel has risen so much that it is cheaper to share a taxi than take a train on some of Britain�??s busiest routes, research has revealed.'

Yes its worrying from a green standpoint but also very worrying for those of us who use the choo choo to get to the football.

OK I am not likely to shell out £163 to go to Doncaster (nothing wrong with Donnie but £163?) but its a sad state of affairs.

To be honest I rarely get an open return to football matches, I just scope out the tickets as far as I can in advance. There are the odd occasions where I travel on the day and I have been stung in the past - now it seems I will get hit even harder.

But for £163 rail return I may as well get a cheaper ticket and stay overnight and have a night out. I cant see me ever jumping in a cab, even if it is cheaper. No khazi and having to listen to some cabbie banging on for several hours would be a mare!

Mind you it will make you wonder when you hear 'Come in a taxi you must have come in a taxi' chant again, if they really did come in a taxi because it was cheaper than the train!

Eurostar makes online booking even easier

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Eurostar today announced that they have integrated with 7 UK train operators. This means if you are lucky enough to have continental opposition you can, depending on where you live book a train journey through your local operator.

In the past travellers would needed to have booked a ticket to Waterloo or indeed St Pancras International now. Then purchase another ticket for the European leg.

Now, football fans from such cities as Leicester, Cambridge, York and Birmingham can just go to eurostar.com and book one fare valid for the entire journey to Paris, Lille, Brussels (and any station in Belgium), and 75 other connecting destinations in France - making the whole travelling experience simpler.

Fujitsu has linked Eurostarâ�?� s online services with those of Chiltern Railways, East Midlands Trains, First Capital Connect, Hull Trains, London Midland, National Express East Coast and Virgin Trains. In mid-to-late 2008, in the second phase of project, more UK towns and cities with mainline stations into London will have through-fares to the Continent and Fujitsu will link eurostar.com to other UK train operators online ticketing systems.

Sing When You're Losing!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy C) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:41:00 +0000

There has been a lot of talk about the atmosphere at football grounds since Sir Alex chirped off about the lack of noise at Old Trafford of late.

I am yet to visit Old Trafford so cant comment but I cant say I am totally suprised by this. I believe a lot of it down to removing the terracing and the sheer cost of a ticket thesedays. When I used to watch the Swans as a kid there was also a load of teenagers walking to the ground, I cant really imagine this at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge. It is very often the teenagers who start a chant at a match, they are in the main shameless and arent to embarrassed to start up a song.

I was interested to see a league table of noise in the Independent this week.

Blasting out: Premier League noise levels

1. Sunderland (av. decibels) 129.2

2. Tottenham Hotspur 128.2

3. Manchester City 127.4

4. Aston Villa 126.5

5. Everton 126.1

6. Chelsea 125.8

7. Middlesbrough 125.4

8. Derby County 124.7

9. Newcastle United 124.5

10. West Ham United 123.8

11. Birmingham City 122.7

12. Arsenal 122.3

13. Portsmouth 120.9

14. Blackburn Rovers 119.5

15. Bolton Wanderers 119.1

16. Liverpool 118.9

17. Manchester United 117.5

18. Wigan Athletic 116.8

19. Reading 116.2

20. Fulham 115.4

I cant say I am surprised to see Sunderland at the top, but am very surprised to see Liverpool in 16th, Man Utd in 17th and Arsenal in 12th.

Lack of passion? Or is it just the fact that they usually always win (maybe not Liverpool) and therefore have little need to sing and shout. Sunderland meanwhile need their 12th man and the fans rally together to try and provide it.

I am though quite cynical with these tables. I mean whats the parameters? Are the acoustics taken into account. Maybe Fulham fans do make a lot of noise but Craven Cottage does not have good enough acoustics to amplify it?

So Sunderland fans nearly make 130 decibels of noise, what does that mean in reality?

'The World Health Organisation stipulate 70 decibels as a maximum safe noise level in the work place. Relating this to propane cannons and AV Alarms, these devices create noise at between 115 and 130 decibels! Wow so a day with the Mackems is like watching football next to a propane cannon.

The WHO say that levels over 70 decibels lead to:

annoyance
stress
high blood pressure
sleep loss

Hmm I am sure Sunderland fans are suffering from the above and not because of the noise levels!