English Soccer Trip Planning For Newbies

Peter Welpton and I try to help you get those tickets and avoid counterfeits.

Today, I offer you a piece that I will be able to use not only for today, but for every time I get the email that I always get.

If there is one recurring theme that I receive from those of you, it is most likely about Dak Prescott or Mike McCarthy. But, if there is one that has nothing to do with DFW sports, then it is roughly the following:

Hey Bob,

you seem like someone in the know since you’ve been over for soccer several times.  We are doing a family vacation over to London during spring break. My son wants to attend the Arsenal vs Chelsea game.  Do you have any ideas or best ways to go about getting tickets without going to the secondary market?  Appreciate the help! 

Robley

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Or this one:

Big question for you - what's the best way to get tickets to the PL matches and the other matches? It appears for City and Leeds, you need to be a member (which we will do), but no guarantee on tix. Is that the best way, or are there options in the secondary ticket market? If so, what and how?

Thank you in advance.

Mark

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Or:

Hey Bob!

Making my first business trip to UK on Wednesday. Will be there 8 days and could easily be in Manchester for the weekend. Should I take in the Man U v. West Ham match this Sat?  Don't know much about soccer or the Premier League, but I enjoy your stories. What's the best way to get tickets?  I will be by myself, guessing it's safe. Ok to go alone?

Appreciate any insight/suggestions. Thanks!

P1 Doug

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Or:

Hi Bob,

P1 Clayton here. My wife and I are going to be in London and would like to go to an English Premier League Match. We have never been to an EPL match before and we have never been to London before. Help! Thank you!

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You get the idea. I get asked this question all the time and thought it might be helpful to be able to just direct people here in the future. The English Premier League is the best football (soccer) in the world, and one of my favorite things to nerd out on. I have attended 24 different English matches over the years in my nine journeys to the UK and can’t wait to go again. Journey No. 9 in April gave me a chance to take my eldest son Brett with me and it was glorious. Trip No. 10 is certainly not far away. I will include my travel records at the bottom of this entry.

But, let’s discuss this very common topic and try to help people make their trip’s dreams come true. Here are a few things to remember:

• The bigger the match, the more trouble you will have securing tickets. If you just want to see a good match over there, I can tell you about an infinite number of great places where you can pretty easily get tickets. But if you insist on seeing Chelsea hosting Arsenal or Manchester United hosting Manchester City, prepare for pretty high NFL-level prices.

• I recommend smaller grounds. Most mid-table teams have a better stadium setting anyway. I have been to Old Trafford, and it is not that great. Same with Arsenal’s new stadium. (The old place — Highbury — was the best.) Go to Crystal Palace, Everton, QPR, Fulham, or Watford. Awesome scenes. It’s not that difficult to get in most matches, but so much fun. I realize if you are a Tottenham fan you will want to see their home scene, but most 60,000-seat stadiums will let you down.

• Beware of counterfeit tickets. Scammers fool plenty of people there. Do not be the person who is planning the time of their life only to get to the gate and to be turned away.

• Plan to spend some money. Low end isn’t bad ($40-60), but high-end can certainly get up there a bit (I have paid $300 for a match). The thing is, I go once every 24-36 months, so if you want to see something awesome, you have to bite the bullet sometimes.

• I have made connections over the years so there are occasions where I am able to get tickets the easy way, but in general, I had to learn how to buy them in the most efficient way possible. So, here is the big secret on how to make sure your tickets are legit, you will get in, and you will do what you wanted to do: book a hotel that has a concierge. It’s pretty easy to figure that part out and, yes, it will be a bit more pricey of a hotel, but save your money. Once you have booked your room, call the concierge and tell him the match you need to see. He will go to work for you. He will also charge you a little on his end, no doubt, but he is going to be obligated to make you a happy guest, and you will not have to worry about the tickets being authentic. He will find tickets and they won’t be terribly cheap, but you will have secured your match. Again, that will probably cost $200 or more per ticket, assuming you want to see a big match. Also, remember: If you don’t care about the particular match, pick a smaller occasion, and you might be able to get tickets at face value through the club.

I have never not had fun. It is safe, enjoyable and you can gamble inside the stadium in the UK, which helps those who get bored watching soccer. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking you can cheer for the road team amongst the home supporters; they don’t do that over there.

The concierge is absolutely my go-to move. I recommend that over most other possibilities. Also, since I started going, SeatGeek has become the authorized seller of several clubs and I assume StubHub UK has their own. These are options, but I would still go with my tried and true options.

Ok, I have a nice treat here to add to this missive. The great Peter Welpton is back. Peter is my go-to soccer guy and he has probably been to more than I have. I asked Peter to answer the same basic concerns and this is what he offered:

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The process of getting tickets to games in England is considerably different than in the United States.  You need to be prepared for several hurdles and the common issue that they do not operate under Norm’s belief of a “Schedule for Humans.”

No matter how the methods of getting tickets you first need to find the games you want to go to and how many tickets.  Having this info set will be the first thing any broker, app, or club will ask you. The next is the reality that you can’t really do much planning until 6-8 weeks in advance because the European football calendar is subject to change, midseason, depending on how that club’s progress goes in different tournaments parallel to the league season. For example: You may want to go see Liverpool play Newcastle on a date that appears set on the league calendar.  But, if one of those teams progresses in a mid-week European tournament, or domestic Cup tournament that date could very well shift from a Saturday to the next day, Sunday - or get rescheduled for a later date altogether. 

Yes, this makes trip planning very difficult and anyone who has done this trip more than once has had their heart broken a game they were looking forward to was rescheduled. The best advice is to be mentally ready for it, and have a Plan B for other games you’d like to attend that do not get shifted. If you’re in London, do not worry, there will almost certainly be plenty of options to choose from.  

Now on to the “how.” There are basically three general ways to go about this:  Via the club directly, via a ticketing service or via a broker. 

Clubs: When compared to how it’s done over here, this is the most unusual process. Over there the process of dividing fans of the two teams into their own areas is a really big deal, so clubs will only sell tickets to their games for seats intended for fans of their club.  In an attempt to foster this, you have to become a member of their club by registering.  The process to do this differs from club to club, it’s not really that big a deal, but it adds a step in the process most of us are not used to.  Once done you will have access to buy single-game tickets, but availability will differ from club to club.  This will also apply to buying both home and away matches. This will also be the least expensive way (ie: face value). 

Ticketing Services (aka: online): While this has gotten better and more secure over the years, the internet is fraught with scams. There is StubHub and similarly named platforms that sell and re-sell tickets. As with those services here in the US, “your mileage may vary” and as already stated the security of ending up with official tickets is better than ever, you will want to do your own research and take all the preventative steps to insure you end up with the real deal.  This will also be a more expensive route. 

Brokers: Another option is to work through the existing network of individual brokers and this too is filled with a lot of danger.  The trick to this is finding someone who comes recommended to you by someone you trust.  This group generally works by re-selling seats that belong to season ticket holders of that club. This bypasses the need to jump through the hurdles of becoming a member of the club and also is a great way to find tickets to the biggest and most hard-to-find matches. This practice falls into a category that some people find offensive (season ticket holders re-selling seats for profit) and also could mean you’re sitting in a group of home fans and while your team is the opponent. Which, by the way, is a somewhat more intimidating experience over there than it is here. This will also be the most expensive option.

It looks like Peter and I are on the same page. We have both gone all sorts of times and the good news is I think we have both eventually pulled it off. A few other quick thoughts:

Train travel is the way to go. You can usually headquarter in London and day-trip to any and all of England. We went down and back to Newcastle in April and it is a long day, but quite doable and Newcastle is the longest trip from London in the EPL.

Doubleheaders can be done in London. I have done them twice. One time it was a 12:30pm match at Arsenal and a 5:30pm match at QPR on a Saturday. Another time it was Arsenal at 1:30pm and Chelsea at 4:00pm on a Sunday, but I did leave Arsenal early to make Chelsea on time. It was a wild day.

Also, be smart and don’t try to do 4-day weekends. I have done it and I wish I would just burn the days and make it work.

Other than that? Peter is right. Pick one match to build your trip around and make that the centerpiece. Then, because there are so many matches, you can find others to fill in the gaps where it fits. But, don’t try to be to stubborn about your itinerary. Honestly, especially in the springtime – which is the only time I have ever gone because of the NFL schedule – you have to expect match times to change regularly.

Last one: Heathrow Express is your friend. Take it into London. Don’t cheap out and take the tube from Heathrow to Central London or you will hate your life.

Other than that? Have fun and hit me with any other questions below. Peter and I will get on them.

BONUS CONTENT

Here is the travel log from my nine trips to England that have spanned 24 matches at 18 different English Football grounds seeing 25 different English clubs (and one Spanish club, too). I have included the links to any and all game stories and lineup cards so you can find out when I saw David Beckham score, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Thierry Henry, and Mo Salaha in person. Enjoy.

Deportivo de La Coruna 2, Arsenal 0  3/12/2002 - Champions League - Highbury
Manchester United 5, West Ham 3  3/16/2002 - Upton Park

Arsenal 2, Charlton 1  2/28/2004 - Highbury
Newcastle 1, Portsmouth 1  2/29/2004 - Fratton Park

2007 Trip Recap Blog Here
Manchester United 1, Liverpool 0  3/3/07 - Anfield
Blackburn 2, Bolton 1  3/4/07 - Reebok Stadium

Chelsea 3, Aston Villa 0 4/10/10 - FA Cup Semifinal - Wembley
Liverpool 0, Fulham 0 4/11/10 - Anfield

2012 Trip Recap Blog Here
Southend 3, Barnet 0  4/20/12 - Roots Hall
Arsenal 0, Chelsea 0  4/21/12 - Emirates
Queens Park Rangers 1, Tottenham 0  4/21/12 - Loftus Road
Manchester United 4, Everton 4  4/22/12 - Old Trafford

2014 Trip Recap Blog Here
Millwall 1, Bournemouth 0 5/3/14 - The Den
Arsenal 1, West Bromwich 0  5/4/14 - The Emirates
Chelsea 0, Norwich City 0  5/4/14 - Stamford Bridge
Crystal Palace 3, Liverpool 3  5/5/14 - Selhurst Park

Nottingham Forest 3, Fulham 1 4/23/16 - Craven Cottage
Crystal Palace 2, Watford 1 - FA Cup Semifinal 4/24/16 - Wembley Stadium
Tottenham 1, West Bromwich 1 - 4/25/16 - White Hart Lane

Tottenham 4, Huddersfield Town 0 - 4/12/19 - Tottenham Stadium

Liverpool 2, Chelsea 0 - 4/13/19 - Anfield

Arsenal 1, Watford 0 - 4/14/19 - Vicarage Road

Everton 0, Crystal Palace 0 - 4/22/23 - Selhurst Park

Newcastle United 6, Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 4/23/23 - St James Park

There you have it. I realize this is not for everyone, but hopefully, some of you dig it.