Posts Tagged ‘manchester united’

The Red Army and The Field of Dreams

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Acquiring  Manchester United tickets for a home game not only lets you to see one of the most exciting clubs in Europe play live, but also lets you experience the atmosphere at Old Trafford, also known as the Field of Dreams, home ground of the Red Devils, parade ground for the Red Army.

  Apart from 8 years after it was bombed out during WWII, Manchester United tickets for home games at Old Trafford have been bought by fans since 1910.

One of the Club’s most beloved and famous players, Bobby Charlton nicknamed the stadium the Field of Dreams.   

Best known for his midfield attacks Sir Robert “Bobby” Charlton also had a deadly long-range shot which helped him win the World Cup and get names the European Footballer of the Year in 1966.

Able to seat 76,212 Manchester United ticket buying supporters, Old Trafford is the second-largest of any English football stadiums, and it is one of two stadia in  England to have been given a  “UEFA elite stadium” five-star rating by UEFA.

As a neutral venue, Old Trafford has hosted many FA Cup semi-final matches and a number of  “English national football team” England international fixtures.

During the  “1966 FIFA World Cup”   and  “UEFA Euro 1996″  and the  “2003 UEFA Champions League Final”  matches were also played at Old Trafford.

The Old Trafford playing field is surrounded by stands, officially known as the North, East, South and West Stands.

Each stand has at least two tiers, with the exception of the South Stand, which only has one tier because of construction restrictions.

The lower tier of each stand is split into Lower and Upper sections, the Lower sections having been converted from standing room only terraces in the early 1990s.

The best-known stand at Old Trafford is the West Stand, more famously, or infamously known as the Stretford End.

The Stretford End stand was designed to hold 20,000 fans,  it was the last stand to be covered and also the last remaining all-terraced stand at the ground before the early 1990s ushered in seating only rules.

Stretford End is home to Manchester United’s most die-hard supporters, known as The Red Army.

Most of the noise and atmosphere at Old Trafford emanates from Stretford End, and once the roar from the Red Army there was measured as louder than that of a jumbo jet lifting off.

There is practically no chance for anyone new to get a set in the Stretford End as the fans that fill this stand resubscribe to their Manchester United season tickets every year.

Manchester United’s fan’s, better known as the Red Army was once the biggest and most notorious group of followers British football has ever seen.

When the Red Army followed Manchester United to an away game, the town would fall into chaos: large numbers of fhe Red Army would travel en-mass by train, coach, car or even by foot if necessary, doing whatever it took to get to the game.  

During the mid-seventies when Manchester United had been relegated from the top flight of English football and played in the  “Football League Second Division” Second Division for one season, the Red Army caused such chaos at games around the country when visiting stadiums where they would often outnumber the home fans, that it led to the introduction of segregation and fencing between of home and away fans at football grounds throughout England.

These days, the Red Army is nothing like it was in the 1970’s & 80’s.

This Manchester United supporters club, now has a fan base of over 300 million fans across the world.

The huge number of Manchester United supporters, all of whom would like to visit Old Trafford, both to see a live game and to experience the atmosphere there, result in it almost always being difficult to buy Manchester United Tickets.

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The Real Cost of Buying Season Manchester United Tickets

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Demand almost always outstrips supply for those looking to buy Manchester United football tickets because the team has a huge following, and tickets are limited in number.

For many fans being able to purchase a ticket to even a single game at Old Trafford is so difficult that the thought of ever scoring a season ticket to see Manchester United play seems unbelievable.

However, if one looks more closely, the obvious advantages season ticket holders have of being guaranteed a seat for all home games and priority for away games, might be outweighed by the disadvantages.

Such as:
If the seat the season ticket holder scores in not in his area of choice, there is no way of getting it changed except by proving extreme medical hardship.

Because of this, there are those who choose not to renew their tickets at the end of the season, preferring to take their chances in the search for single tickets that may be in a more choice area of Old Trafford.

There is a Manchester United Club policy called the Automatic Ticket Scheme which ensures that every season ticket holder is guaranteed a ticket for all Champions League and FA cup home games.

Although this might appear to be a good thing, further examination shows that the season ticket holder is charged for each of these tickets even if he has no intention of attending one or any of those  games.

In  the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 seasons, there were 10 of these extra games – and with a single game ticket starting at almost 50 pounds, this is a huge extra cost on top of the already very significant price paid for the season ticket.

Those Manchester United fans who buy a season ticket thinking they can sell the games they don’t intend to  see to might find that that is not as easy to do these days as it was once.

Manchester United has an official ticket exchange where season ticket holders can post their unwanted tickets for sale at face-value, but tickets cannot be listed for sale there until the club announces that the game in question has been sold out.

There is no guarantee that the tickets put up for sale will sell, and the prospective seller then not only loses the ticket he is unable to use, he is out the substantial listing and handling fee it cost him to try to sell the seat.

One cannot deny that the price of a season’s 16 single tickets is more expensive than a season ticket, but when the other costs – at least 500 extra pounds for the Cup games; the possibility of getting a seat in an undesirable part of Old Trafford; and the lack of guarantee of being able to sell any unwanted game tickets are added up, investing in season Manchester United tickets might not be worth it to even the most loyal fans.

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When Can Manchester United Tickets Be Bought?

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Manchester United tickets are some of the most prized football tickets for Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League matches.

The team gives priority to its One United fan club members for home games by letting them apply for tickets in a lottery. Fans who enter the lottery must enter 4-6 weeks before game day and will receive their tickets in the mail (fans in some countries might have to pick up their tickets at the box office on game day). For games such as Champions League matches, the application period might be closer to game day. The easiest way to know when deadlines to apply for tickets are getting near, is to subscribe to the One United newsletter. Home game tickets are very rarely available to the general public, so becoming a member of One United and entering the lottery are your best bet to get tickets for a particular game.

Season ticket holders get priority for Manchester United away games. The allocation that Manchester United receives from the host team is usually only several thousand tickets and demand is generally much greater so One United members and the general public generally don’t have an chance to buy these tickets. Another option is to purchase tickets directly from the host team, but the downside to this is that you will be sitting with the home team fans. Tickets for games at Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, or for the local derby at Manchester City will be especially hard to get, but your chances of getting tickets improve when Manchester United plays at some of the less popular Premier League teams. The Group Stage of the Champions League might offer your best chance to see Manchester United play an away game. Because ticket sales dates vary from team to team, in order to get correct information you’ll need to check on the respective team’s website.

Manchester United is one of the most popular teams playing today so getting tickets for most games will be a challenge. Although careful planning is essential, it is still no guarantee that you will be able to get tickets. If you have not managed to obtain tickets by other methods there are many brokers who have Manchester United tickets for sale, but you will have to pay a much higher price than their face value.

Get your sporting events tickets at your concierge for global sporting events, www.premiumtickethub.com.

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