how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

I think I'm going to be in London over new year's for the first time, and I'm planning the trip around trying to catch two permiership matches. I'd like to see Chelsea and Arsenal if at all possible, but will take the best I can get if not. anyway, I've seen some brokers listing online who offer such tickets. however, when I look on official club websites, it seems like tickets that far ahead aren't even on the market yet.

anyone have any insight into what I should expect? approx prices? online brokers, or scalpers at game time? thanks.

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

If you want to go to Chelsea or Arsenal premiership games you will have an extremely hard time getting tickets by conventional means. A team like West Ham and you are more likely to succeed. Your first port of call should be the official club website - find out when tickets are going on sale, how much they will cost etc. It might be worth your while joining the club as a member first, as you will get priority on tickets that way. As for 'scalpers', who are known as 'touts' over here, how much you will have to pay depends on the game, but you won't have problems finding touts outside any premiership game. By official means you will be looking at $50ish for a ticket.

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

Looking at more like $100 a ticket for Chelsea most expensive around. If prepared to travel might get in an away game dpending on were they are playing.

You will be lucky to get a ticket to either club except via a broker or on ebay. MIght be easier next season once Arsenal move to their new ground. West Ham or Fulham are better bets, Fulham is mostly full of other teams fans anyway, I sat amongst their fans when my team played then and couldnt beleive how many were supporters of other clubs.

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

Notice Chelsea are playing away at Sunderland on the 15th if can come over then would be able to get tickets for that and get some good northern hospitality, is an hour on the plane from heathrow.

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

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Notice Chelsea are playing away at Sunderland on the 15th if can come over then would be able to get tickets for that and get some good northern hospitality, is an hour on the plane from heathrow.

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Chelsea have had difficulty selling out their Champions League group games. It was easy to get tickets from the box office for the Real Betis match, although they were steep at £50+. That might be an option.

For Arsenal, it's sometimes possible to get tickets for Carling Cup games, though the squad is usually backup players.

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

Isnt the CL on the winter break then though?

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

right, I meant to check champions league--which I'll do now. my travel window is around new year's, no other options. there are multiple matches in london area on saturday and monday (big name and not so big name), as well as arsenal-Man U on tuesday. I wouldn't have a problem paying a hundred bucks each for 2 matches, or $200 for one really big name match. thanks all.

okay: no CL at the end of december.

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

You won't get tickets for Arsenal v. Man U

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

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You won't get tickets for Arsenal v. Man U

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Agreed. I actually looked into Arsenal v Man U tickets a week ago and was quoted £225 each. They'll easily get that, but not from me. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

chelsea and aresenal will be very hard to get tix for right now, I really recomend that you check out a Tottenham match if you want to watch some good football. London has plenty of teams in all of the professional divions.

If you aren't that particular of seeing a great quality of play, you really should check out some of the lower league action, and it will be an interesting time for you.

I was able to see chelsea a few years back when I went over to London and was able to get great seats through the team's homepage. Of course, chelsea tix were easier to get when I went as that was when Bates was still the Chairman

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

I agree with this. In 2000 I went to two matches before heading down to Spain for study abroad. I was visiting a foreign exchange student who lived with me my senior year of high school who lived in Stoke-On-Trent. At the time I was a Liverpool fan (now I basically only follow Sevilla, see avatar and location).

I went to Stoke City - Preston North End, which was a matchup of two of the better 2nd division (which is the third flight as you know) teams. The experience was incredible, small stadium with rabid fans and the match was amazing. Stoke went down 0-1 in the fifth minute or so and Stoke scored a goal just at the end of the second half and another during injury time to get the win.

Later I went to Liverpool - Middlesborough at Anfield. The experience there was good as well, big stadium and all that. The match was terrible however, Middlesborough were just looking for the 0-0 draw and got it by completely plugging the midfield. Also, Owen got hurt early.

It just so happened that I went to an amazing second division match and a boring premiership match, but in general I would highly reccomend going to a small club match as it's a wildly different experience. I was with my "brother" at the Liverpool match, when we were leaving the traffic leaving the city was completely congested with all the out of town fans leaving the match. The small clubs have much more local and hence diehard fans which makes for a different environment.

Having been to those matches as well as several Sevilla matches and watching Real Madrid - Manchester Utd. in the Champions League quarterfinal I think that watching big clubs in Europe is basically like watching professional sports in the US, although if you're like me and prefer their brand of football to ours then it's better. The point is that the feeling in the stadium is fairly similar. Going to the smaller clubs that don't have broad support in the country and world will give you a different experience you can't really duplicate here, except perhaps with smaller college sports teams or something like that.

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

thanks all for the insights. it looks like I can get Chelsea-Birmingham for GBP100 from more than one online broker. Tottenham-Newcastle was about the same (I thought it would be cheaper...). and it only goes up from there (Arsenal-Man U was close to GBP300). if I sign up to be a member at Chelsea, it's something of a rigamarole (passport photo!), and it costs GBP47, for tickets that would cost GBP50 and might not even be offered to me anyway.

I could shell out the GBP100 now, or wait and take my chances when I arrive over there. The one thing I don't want to happen is to show up at Chelsea and find the best offer on the street is some hundreds of pounds--or that nothing is left at all--and not even have time to fall back on Tottenham or one of the others. hmmm. (also, I have to factor in whether to buy another one for the girlfriend, or leave her on her own and risk suffering consequences.)

I don't rule out going to a lower division (and I still need to look more carefully at Fulham West Ham Charlton Tottenham), but plan A would have to be Chelsea-Birmingham on Sat and West Ham-Chelsea on Mon (Arsenal not being in town until the exorbitant Man U match).

Re: how to get premiership soccer tickets?
 

Personally I would get the tickets now if you can, the time you are coming is obviously the holiday season so you tend to get a lot of people who are home for the hols etc wanting to go, boxing day and the new year matches are always pretty busy. I suspect the spurs match would be the better game of the two even if it is the scum they are playing, Birmingham will sit back and try and be hard to break down at Chelseas so prob wont be over exciting.