Football crazy - just can't get a seat
By Kate Simon
It was good to be back at Old Trafford last weekend to see Manchester United spank Aston Villa 5-0 in the Women’s Super League. The game attracted a record crowd of 30,196, a sure sign that the women’s game is picking up fans, many of whom, I’m delighted to report, were young and female.
Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere in the stands is quite different from the men’s game and it’s quite a different price to get in, too – £6 as opposed to a starting price of £30 in the Premier League (if you’re extremely lucky). In fact, as I write, the men’s game against Villa on 29 April only has a few tickets left in the hospitality section and they’re an eye-watering £295.
The frustration of paying through the nose is only matched by the speed at which you must bag a ticket, including jumping through hoops such as becoming an official member, and, for big fixtures, entering a ballot. In short, you haven’t got a hope in hell if, like me, you go to a game only occasionally.
One way that fair-weather supporters can get last-minute tickets is by turning match day into an overnight break. Man Utd’s official tour operator is Sportsbreaks and it is currently offering a package that includes hotel accommodation, annual membership, and tickets to the match against Bournemouth on 3 January for £189 per person. It’s a bit of a saving all-in – the last few tickets for that match alone currently cost a minimum of £125.
Apart from attending a women’s game, the nearest you can get to the hallowed turf with any degree of ease and without breaking the bank is on a guided tour. I joined my football-crazy husband and son on one of these at Old Trafford back in 2006.
We saw inside the dressing room, hung with the shirts of that season’s squad including Neville, Solskjaer and Ronaldo, walked around the edge of the pitch, down the players’ tunnel, and took photos against the sponsors’ wall, just where the players stand on Match of the Day. Currently, across the city at the Etihad, you can have your photo taken with the Premier League Trophy, but we’ll gloss over that.
It’s like honey on your elbow, though, looking around your club’s ground without seeing any action on the pitch. Perhaps that’s why they created a tour with a thrill of its own at Tottenham Hotspur’s ground.
The new stadium at White Hart Lane features The Dare Skywalk, a specially built attraction where you can climb onto the roof and around the golden cockerel statue for fabulous views of the pitch and the London skyline. You can even make a controlled jump down to the stand below. Now, that’s a novel way to get yourself on the terraces.
Phil’s Beer Notes
Talking of Tottenham, the Spurs state-of-the-art stadium has its own microbrewery and tap room, operated by the club’s ‘official craft beer’, Beavertown, which was founded nearby by Logan Plant, the son of Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant (and is now owned by Heineken). It also runs famous football pub, The Cornerpin, on the err… corner. And not to be outcrafted, arch-rival Arsenal has teamed up with Camden Town Brewery at the Emirates.
Cask ale is harder to find at football grounds, but one notable exception is Brighton & Hove Albion’s Amex Stadium where Harvey’s beers pour. And I have to mention my own team, Leyton Orient. The Supporters Club bar at Brisbane Road has eight handpumps and is busy enough before and after every home game to drain every cask and quite often get through a second round. It’s won numerous awards and last year was among Camra’s Gold Awards for its commitment to real ale.
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