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Advice Please

bceej

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2013
2,444
3,191
Gentleman (and/or ladies)...

My family will be vacationing in London this holiday season, and I want very much to get my wife (who is a huge Spurs fan) to a match while we are there. My frustration with StubHub (which is my usual "go to" for tickets for sporting events or concerts over here) has reached a critical level. Between their crazy fees and delivery (or "print by") dates of just a day or two before the match, I've just about given up on them. I'm hoping to find a way to get tickets in hand before we leave for the trip. That may not be possible. I don't know. I'm not asking if anybody wants to sell tickets. I know that is against the forum rules. I would just like the opinion of the hardcore fans as to the best place for me to look to procure tickets. I'm happy to buy them from the club if it is actually possible that they would have any available (the Dec 26 Brighton match is the one that we will have to try to go to - not sure if it will be more or less difficult to get a ticket since it is Boxing Day). Or if there is a different website that you think is better than StubHub, that is fine, too. Again, I'm not looking for anybody to sell me their tickets. I'm just hoping for some guidance.

Also, we're staying in Tottenham for a portion of our trip, basically in the shadow of the stadium, and I would welcome any recommendations for a local pub at which to close out each night of the trip. Thanks in advance.

The Beehive is a nice pub right next to the police station, about 10 minute bus ride from the stadium. Good food, big garden - decked out nicely indoors.
 

LeParisien

Wrong about everything
Mar 5, 2018
3,212
8,169
I dot have a clue about any of this and obviously the OP takes full responsibility for planning his own trip but ... I do think we could have been a bit more helpful / sharper as a forum.
 
Oct 12, 2019
6
26
I dot have a clue about any of this and obviously the OP takes full responsibility for planning his own trip but ... I do think we could have been a bit more helpful / sharper as a forum.
No worries, I assure you. Sports fan forums are largely the same, world around. It would have been a little bit disappointing if there had not been some joking around. As it turns out, I got exactly the information I needed. I will just wait for the tickets to go to general sale. It seems the popular opinion that there are likely to be plenty available when that happens. The EPL system for ticket distribution is just so different (and BETTER, actually) than we have over here. I usually go straight to StubHub when I'm wanting to go to a single game. Now I know how it works in the EPL. Thanks.

And as it happens, I haven't been stabbed yet. Still in the US. Much more likely to get shot over here. I appreciate the advice/warnings about where we are staying. We won't be wandering around the streets at night and we'll keep our eye out for Archibald&Crooks mum. I've stayed in a lot of warzones over here (Philadelphia, New Orleans, etc), so I'm pretty adept at steering clear of the business end of a blade. If my skills fail me in Tottenham, I'll be sure to come back on the thread and post a picture from the hospital. Chicks dig scars. Also appreciate the Billy Nick and Beehive recommendations. Checked them out online. They look good. We'll try to make it by there.

Looking forward to the game. I've only seen two professional football matches in my life...Club America vs Cruz Azul in the Mexican League playoffs at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (talk about a good place to get stabbed...never seen such angry sports fans...300 full cups of beer flew out of the upper deck with every goal) and Real Madrid vs Barcelona. I've never, EVER seen a crowd like that Madrid/Barcelona crowd. It was startling the way that crowd erupted when the first goal went in. I'll never forget that. Looking forward, I hope, to a similar experience in Tottenham.

Thanks again for the tips (and jokes), my friends. Very much looking forward to visiting your country and probably joining my wife (and all of you) as a Spurs fan.
 

Gb160

Well done boys. Good process
Jun 20, 2012
23,646
93,315
It was startling the way that crowd erupted when the first goal went in. I'll never forget that. Looking forward, I hope, to a similar experience in Tottenham.
You'll never experience moaning like you will at Spurs.
It's truly 'once in a lifetime' stuff.
 

Rob

The Boss
Admin
Jun 8, 2003
28,014
65,116
It was startling the way that crowd erupted when the first goal went in. I'll never forget that. Looking forward, I hope, to a similar experience in Tottenham.

You'll be fine. Brighton travel well and make some decent noise... :p
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
Gentleman (and/or ladies)...

My family will be vacationing in London this holiday season, and I want very much to get my wife (who is a huge Spurs fan) to a match while we are there. My frustration with StubHub (which is my usual "go to" for tickets for sporting events or concerts over here) has reached a critical level. Between their crazy fees and delivery (or "print by") dates of just a day or two before the match, I've just about given up on them. I'm hoping to find a way to get tickets in hand before we leave for the trip. That may not be possible. I don't know. I'm not asking if anybody wants to sell tickets. I know that is against the forum rules. I would just like the opinion of the hardcore fans as to the best place for me to look to procure tickets. I'm happy to buy them from the club if it is actually possible that they would have any available (the Dec 26 Brighton match is the one that we will have to try to go to - not sure if it will be more or less difficult to get a ticket since it is Boxing Day). Or if there is a different website that you think is better than StubHub, that is fine, too. Again, I'm not looking for anybody to sell me their tickets. I'm just hoping for some guidance.

Also, we're staying in Tottenham for a portion of our trip, basically in the shadow of the stadium, and I would welcome any recommendations for a local pub at which to close out each night of the trip. Thanks in advance.

As other have said Tottenham isn't nearly as bad as its reputation in my experience. It's not necessarily dangerous (especially in comparison to bad areas of US cities) as long as you just use your common sense.

However, if I was taking the missus/family to stay in London on holiday, Tottenham is one of the last places I'd stay. Firstly it's just not very nice i.e. it looks rough/shabby and there's not much there other than the stadium, a few fairly shit pubs and a few OK food places. It's really not somewhere that a family of tourists would normally choose to spend any time. Even if your missus doesn't feel unsafe, I am very skeptical that she'll be particularly impressed because it'll look like you've gone and booked the cheapest possible place you could find, which in my experience with women, doesn't usually go down too well.

Secondly, it's pretty poorly connected to the city centre which is where you'll presumably want to spend most of your time. If you're staying by the stadium you'll either need to walk down to Seven Sisters to get a tube (about 20 min walk I reckon, maybe longer - not particularly fun after a long day of walking around sightseeing) or get the Overground from Northumberland Park or WHL. The overground is not as frequent as the tube and takes quite a while to get to central London. Do you really want an hour's journey with multiple changes to get to/from whatever you're up to during the day? It's just quite an impractical place to stay really for anything other than the stadium itself.

As for pubs, the Antwerp Arms is nicer than most around the station. Haven't been in it for a few years now though in fairness.
 

Saoirse

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2013
6,143
15,550
No worries, I assure you. Sports fan forums are largely the same, world around. It would have been a little bit disappointing if there had not been some joking around. As it turns out, I got exactly the information I needed. I will just wait for the tickets to go to general sale. It seems the popular opinion that there are likely to be plenty available when that happens. The EPL system for ticket distribution is just so different (and BETTER, actually) than we have over here. I usually go straight to StubHub when I'm wanting to go to a single game. Now I know how it works in the EPL. Thanks.

And as it happens, I haven't been stabbed yet. Still in the US. Much more likely to get shot over here. I appreciate the advice/warnings about where we are staying. We won't be wandering around the streets at night and we'll keep our eye out for Archibald&Crooks mum. I've stayed in a lot of warzones over here (Philadelphia, New Orleans, etc), so I'm pretty adept at steering clear of the business end of a blade. If my skills fail me in Tottenham, I'll be sure to come back on the thread and post a picture from the hospital. Chicks dig scars. Also appreciate the Billy Nick and Beehive recommendations. Checked them out online. They look good. We'll try to make it by there.

Looking forward to the game. I've only seen two professional football matches in my life...Club America vs Cruz Azul in the Mexican League playoffs at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (talk about a good place to get stabbed...never seen such angry sports fans...300 full cups of beer flew out of the upper deck with every goal) and Real Madrid vs Barcelona. I've never, EVER seen a crowd like that Madrid/Barcelona crowd. It was startling the way that crowd erupted when the first goal went in. I'll never forget that. Looking forward, I hope, to a similar experience in Tottenham.

Thanks again for the tips (and jokes), my friends. Very much looking forward to visiting your country and probably joining my wife (and all of you) as a Spurs fan.
Joking aside, I will give you a warning about the Billy Nick. If you go there on the day of the match, there will be quite a good atmosphere, it's a good experience. But there will also be a scantily-clad lady dancing on the bar - so perhaps best avoided in front of the missus!

Tottenham is a rough area and dangerous by British standards, but still safer than American cities thanks to our much lower rates of violent crime in general. You're unlikely to find trouble if you're trying to avoid it, but it's just not a very pleasant area to spend time particularly of an evening. It doesn't feel massively linked to the club either in all honesty - most of our match-going fans don't live in the area these days, it's too expensive for the locals, and it actually won't take long for you to walk into Arsenal territory. So if it's still possible to refund the hotel and stay somewhere nicer you'll probably be better off, but if not I'd just travel from there and spend your time seeing the rest of London.
 
Oct 12, 2019
6
26
Joking aside, I will give you a warning about the Billy Nick. If you go there on the day of the match, there will be quite a good atmosphere, it's a good experience. But there will also be a scantily-clad lady dancing on the bar - so perhaps best avoided in front of the missus!

Tottenham is a rough area and dangerous by British standards, but still safer than American cities thanks to our much lower rates of violent crime in general. You're unlikely to find trouble if you're trying to avoid it, but it's just not a very pleasant area to spend time particularly of an evening. It doesn't feel massively linked to the club either in all honesty - most of our match-going fans don't live in the area these days, it's too expensive for the locals, and it actually won't take long for you to walk into Arsenal territory. So if it's still possible to refund the hotel and stay somewhere nicer you'll probably be better off, but if not I'd just travel from there and spend your time seeing the rest of London.
Well, we're only staying in Tottenham for a few days before we take the Eurostar to Paris. Then we come back at the end of the trip for a few days, and we're staying down closer to all of the tourist stuff. Our plan all along has been to commute into town for everything except the game, just using Tottenham as a place to sleep. Unfortunately, it's too late for a refund on the lodging, but on the upside, I'm not the one who comes off as cheap. She picked Tottenham to stay in.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
Well, we're only staying in Tottenham for a few days before we take the Eurostar to Paris. Then we come back at the end of the trip for a few days, and we're staying down closer to all of the tourist stuff. Our plan all along has been to commute into town for everything except the game, just using Tottenham as a place to sleep. Unfortunately, it's too late for a refund on the lodging, but on the upside, I'm not the one who comes off as cheap. She picked Tottenham to stay in.

Fair play. As mentioned above it won't be dangerous if you use your common sense. And if she complains about the area then it sounds like you can just tell her it's her fault for picking it then so you're in the clear!

Out of interest where in Tottenham are you staying? The only "hotel" off the top of my head that's right near the ground is the hostel above what used to be the Bell and Hare. Number 8 it's now called apparently.
 
Oct 12, 2019
6
26
Fair play. As mentioned above it won't be dangerous if you use your common sense. And if she complains about the area then it sounds like you can just tell her it's her fault for picking it then so you're in the clear!

Out of interest where in Tottenham are you staying? The only "hotel" off the top of my head that's right near the ground is the hostel above what used to be the Bell and Hare. Number 8 it's now called apparently.
We are actually staying in an airbnb, in an apartment. It had good reviews online, both as to the location and the apartment itself. It's always a crapshoot, though. We'll see what it's like when we get there.
 

DCSPUR64

Well-Known Member
Dec 2, 2018
1,476
2,349
FYI
My two seats in block 507 are for sale on the ticket exchange for the Brighton game, I am unable to view the availability as a season ticket holder, only members can but I assume there are many tickets showing for sale?
As many have said, this game will go on general sale, but my son and I were members for 14 years so when the opportunity came up to buy the season tickets, I took it.
I do not know how many season ticket holders reside in the US, I assume not many of us, but let me tell you my United Airline miles are jacking up, big time.
Flying out next week, for Bournemouth, hopefully Man U away and Burnley.
Have a great Xmas in Tottenham.
 

nailsy

SC Supporter
Jul 24, 2005
30,536
46,628
How many games have gone on general sale since we moved into the new stadium?
 

kthwlsn

Well-Known Member
May 4, 2019
945
2,655
As a US Spurs supporter that often spends Christmas with my in laws in France I've bought tickets three times for matches during that holiday time. Granted this was at WHL and at Wembley so I haven't had the opportunity to try it at the new stadium yet.

I've waited until they've gone on general sale. The two times I did it for Boxing Day it was easy. Last year Boxing Day was away so for the Saturday after Xmas home match it was surprisingly much more difficult. After talking with some other fans on the Underground on our way there they said that they bought their tickets AS SOON AS they went on sale to the general public that morning and got some. I waited until morning in the States (but afternoon in London) and it was too late. I actually took a chance with somebody on Craigslist and luckily it worked out but doing Craigslist internationally had me pretty worried until my ticket actually scanned. Hope this helps.

Also, I can't believe I have to stick up for Baltimore but Fells Point is great for a couple of nights out. Inner Harbor is fine for one night too but pretty touristy. Both are safe as any normal big city.
 
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