Trip to London - Aug 2013

I am going to be in London the last weekend of August 2103. I was hoping to see a game at the Cottage, but the schedule just came out and the team is away in freaking Newcastle that day. Unfortunately that is the weekend I need to be in the UK (from Los Angeles) and it can't be changed.

My two questions:

1. Is there an organized trip/tour from London to Newcastle arranged by the team or a fan group? I know this sounds a bit nuts, but I thought I'd check.

2. Is there a pub in London where I could watch the game with fellow FFC fans? (Eight Bells is more for visiting fans, no?)

I am also Googling these questions, but I thought I'd ask the experts to see if anyone here has quality suggestions. Thanks.

 

Welcome 30frames, hopefully Tim will see this thread since he was going to go to the away Newcastle game last season, but because Newcastle was in the Europa League the game was rescheduled and he couldn't leave London. Pretty sure he was going up there by train. Doubtful the club will have an organized tour for a match that early in the season. St. James Park looks like an awesome stadium to visit. I do know from reading other Fulham sites that the visiting section is high up, but the town is a lot of fun and the people very nice. As for the pubs, other people who have actually traveled would be better informed, but The Crabtree and Bricklayers Arms are frequently mentioned.

 

First of all, Welcome 30frames. Happy to have another Angeleno on board.

As Joe mentioned, I was at one point looking into the Newcastle away match last season. But as I was in London for a family wedding, my flexibility was limited, and when the match was rescheduled, it was no longer an option. For that one, I believe there was organized coach transport from the Cottage, although I think you needed to have an active membership with the club to purchase a ticket for the trip (separate, of course, from the match ticket). The official site should have any details if it's being offered. In any event, it's a long haul, so my investigation suggested taking a train was a more practical option with less travel time. It seemed, from my cursory research, that getting from the train station in Newcastle to St. James Park was relatively simple.

As for pubs, I'll defer to others with more experience.

Please do keep us posted if you end up attending. And I should ask the requisite questions for those joining our fine community. How did you come to be a Fulham supporter? And how did you happen across our quaint (but very friendly) corner of the online football world? And, for the few of us here from Southern California, do you make it out to any local pubs?

 

Sometimes the team does have a special trip up to away matches. Check the official site.

8Bells is more for visiting fans, but that is on match days. On non-match days, it is like any pub, and does have plenty of local FFC fans there. I always have problems with the kitchen there. They seem to see me coming and then tell the staff to clear out. Ah, well, at least their beer is good. This goes to the next point: British pubs/sports bars are not like those over here where you can see every match at the same time. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this was accurate as of two years ago.) Due to their interest of "fairness", only a few matches can be seen on TV. For the past few years, I have been able to sit in my living room and watch more matches (both FFC and other) than my friends in London. Also, the streaming option, which allows USA bars to show all matches, is not available in the UK. (I think there is a lawsuit over a pub that got a Greek feed of BPL matches, but I have no idea how that turned out.)

At the very least, you should get to the Cottage for a tour. Have a blast.

 

Welcome 'frames!

Me and the missus are going next April (see "London Calling!" thread), so have a great time, take copious mental notes and let us know how you made out.

Again, Welcom!

 

Thanks for all the kind responses.

I know that TV viewers in the States often make out better than fans in England, but I also thought that pubs (or anyone with the $) could pay up and license a specific match to show at their place. Maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part. I looked up SoCalJoe's suggestions of Bricklayer's Arms and The Crabtree and both seem likely candidates. I will be there a few days before that Saturday, and maybe I can check in with the pubs in question to see if anyone is airing the match.

As to Tim's question of how I came to be a Fulham fan ... I picked the Cottagers because McBride was playing for the team at the same time I was just starting to be able to get EPL matches on TV. This was before Dempsey signed, so this was maybe 2006? I have never been the kind of 'joiner' who would pick Man United or whichever team just won the league. I must say the Michael Jackson statue on the tour is something I am anticipating with a mixture of dread and kitsh-ticipation.

My most likely pubs LA-area for me to visit for games are Fox & Hounds on Ventura Blvd, Village Idiot in Hollywood or sometimes Olde Ship in Anaheim (?).

 

Thanks for sharing 30frames; I think that experience is common to a lot of us.

I have to say I shared your feelings about witnessing the MJ statue in person. The good news, I suppose, is that it's safely nestled away in a corner (although the redevelopment of the Riverside may alter that). And apparently the club charges fans to go take pictures with it on non-match days, so there's extra money to pay for those transfers!

I used to be something of a Fox & Hounds regular, although I've been going less in the past couple seasons. But I'm going to try to make an effort to get out more this coming season, so perhaps I'll see you there.