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Thread: Old Trafford

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    Default Old Trafford

    My family really enjoyed the game and of course the result. However a couple of things spoiled the event as a whole. We have been to every GF that Saints have played in (except 2020 obviously!) and we have always parked in the official Old Trafford car parks, paying at the gate. Due to a puncture we got there later than usual and were told only prebooked cars were being let in. I asked the attendent if there were any official car parks where I could just pay on the gate. He directed me to car park N3. We located N3 only to be told, no, they were pre booked only as well. As a result I ended up parking on an industrial estate (and getting a parking ticket). What really made my blood boil was when we crossed the bridge to Old Trafford there were literally hundreds of empty parking spaces, why? Everywhere you looked small groups of cars were dotted through an endless tarmac wasteland that should have been used for parking. As we reached the outskirts of the ground itself three ladies in yellow high viz jakets stopped us, telling my wife her bag was too big and she'd have to hand it in. This is a bag that was too small to put the programme in! A gentleman then arrived in an orange high viz jacket and said they wouldn't let us in unless we left the bag with them (I think there was a £5.00 charge). We offered to empty the bag and turn it inside out but that wasn't good eneough. So we ignored them, found our entrance, got scanned and let in! All in all a good day, almost spoiled by really petty and poor organisation.

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    Definitely was a great day of rugby, such a shame that you had some issues. Hope you were able to get home safe?

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    Having watched it back I was surprised at the standard of Saints dressing room.Was this the away dressing room or some other room they used for COVID reasons.

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    The industrial car parks are a rip off at times, I remember the Saints v Hull final and parked up at the go kart track spaces, asked the parking steward if the exit would be kept clear and they said yes definitely. When we got back to the car exit was all blocked off and a couple of other fans were fuming. We saw another exit through the go kart track and we ended up moving about a dozen big tyres to carve up the track so that we could drive through and away.

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    Quote Originally Posted by saint mac View Post
    Having watched it back I was surprised at the standard of Saints dressing room.Was this the away dressing room or some other room they used for COVID reasons.
    Greyskull is a dump. The Glazers have run it right down.

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    Quote Originally Posted by saint mac View Post
    Having watched it back I was surprised at the standard of Saints dressing room.Was this the away dressing room or some other room they used for COVID reasons.

    I've just seen the dressing rooms now on playback. They definitely seemed pretty cramped

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    Quote Originally Posted by Webbo Again View Post
    Greyskull is a dump. The Glazers have run it right down.
    As a Man Utd fan...

    You are right

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    Quote Originally Posted by saint mac View Post
    Having watched it back I was surprised at the standard of Saints dressing room.Was this the away dressing room or some other room they used for COVID reasons.
    I don't know actually. I always thought the away dressing room was actually bigger than the home one at OT

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    We parked in the Trafford Centre. Free parking and about 10 mins on the tram to the ground. Return tickets for a family of 4 was £4.80

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    We prebooked a blue badge parking space. The stewards couldn't have been more helpful. The only problem as far as I was concerned was that to book the ticket online (because you can never get through on the phone) was that I had to become a Manchester United member.

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    The fight 3 rows behind us which spilled over into our row and escalated, together with drunken, loutish, foul mouthed and intimidating behaviour made us decide that we will not be going to any more GFs. We have been to them all up to now. Night spoiled. Only plus point was Saints winning a nail biting contest.

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    Quote Originally Posted by snellinmo View Post
    The fight 3 rows behind us which spilled over into our row and escalated, together with drunken, loutish, foul mouthed and intimidating behaviour made us decide that we will not be going to any more GFs. We have been to them all up to now. Night spoiled. Only plus point was Saints winning a nail biting contest.
    What happened? Who was it between?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Oh_i_wanna_dance View Post
    Definitely was a great day of rugby, such a shame that you had some issues. Hope you were able to get home safe?
    Yes we got home okay thanks, new tyre tomorrow! It was my sons birthday, so despite the annoyances it all worked out okay, Cheers.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Webbo Again View Post
    What happened? Who was it between?
    Don't know how it started but one guy ended up in our row and I think he'd been knocked there when the fans were standing up with about 20 minutes to go, don't know if it was by accident or not.
    There were a few who looked the worse for wear and although the stewards waded in it went on for a good 10 minutes. Two women were knocking spots off each other as well and one had a shiner!
    We were in W207, Row 24 and my seat was 132.

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    We had a really good time, but it's clear now more than ever that a lot of people just can't drink and maintain any level of dignity. Pre-game was great, had a few drinks and wandered to the ground. Upon getting to the seats (Corner of the Saints end) we were met with a 20 minute queue because people couldn't get to their seats at the back, so just stood in the aisle rather than sorting it. Eventually a steward came and resolved it and we got to our seats and they were taken. I was met with "Everyone is sitting wherever they want, it's Grand Final lad". I jokingly said, "Not, me I'm special, I get to sit in my seat, you can sit on my knee if you like". The guy stormed off, leaving his partner and young child saying he had had enough and was going home. Wife then storms off, falling down the admittedly enormous steps and leaves the kid stranded. He eventually walked down under the stand and they eventually returned and took their own seats. All this caused by a load of Karen's sat at the back refusing to move because they were too drunk to read the number on their ticket. They were in the wrong section and spent 20 minutes of the first half being moved because they couldn't understand the concept of sections. All fun and games, but can you imagine what the experience was like for the young lad, who was about 7 or 8?

    I went to take my lad to the toilet at half time and pushed an unlocked cubicle door open. There was a guy of about thirty with a poo in a wad of toilet roll smearing it over the cubicle walls. "What TF are you doing?" was met with an attempt to pass it off as banter and he walked off swaying everywhere telling me I was a boring c-word.

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    Should the final be moved to an earlier kick off? You have to wonder if a lot of these people will have any memory of the whole day, let alone the match, and doesn’t that kind of defeat the object?
    Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Wee Waa Womble View Post
    Should the final be moved to an earlier kick off? You have to wonder if a lot of these people will have any memory of the whole day, let alone the match, and doesn’t that kind of defeat the object?
    Exactly, I've been banging on about this for years, I go to the Grand Final to watch the match, the culmination of of supporting the team throughout the season and often the experience is ruined by "once a year" supporters spending all day in Manchester city centre drinking the city dry and then rolling up drunk, at least in my section the stewards were trying to stop speccies going to their seats with handfulls of bottles, by all means if you must, just have a couple of pints before the game and save the celebrations or commiserarations until after,

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    Never ceases to amaze me how many people are so thick that they are incapable of combining a row letter and seat number to work out where their seat is in a stadium.
    The guy smearing excrement on the cubicle walls doesn’t deserve to mix with normal people.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Saddened! View Post
    We had a really good time, but it's clear now more than ever that a lot of people just can't drink and maintain any level of dignity. Pre-game was great, had a few drinks and wandered to the ground. Upon getting to the seats (Corner of the Saints end) we were met with a 20 minute queue because people couldn't get to their seats at the back, so just stood in the aisle rather than sorting it. Eventually a steward came and resolved it and we got to our seats and they were taken. I was met with "Everyone is sitting wherever they want, it's Grand Final lad". I jokingly said, "Not, me I'm special, I get to sit in my seat, you can sit on my knee if you like". The guy stormed off, leaving his partner and young child saying he had had enough and was going home. Wife then storms off, falling down the admittedly enormous steps and leaves the kid stranded. He eventually walked down under the stand and they eventually returned and took their own seats. All this caused by a load of Karen's sat at the back refusing to move because they were too drunk to read the number on their ticket. They were in the wrong section and spent 20 minutes of the first half being moved because they couldn't understand the concept of sections. All fun and games, but can you imagine what the experience was like for the young lad, who was about 7 or 8?

    I went to take my lad to the toilet at half time and pushed an unlocked cubicle door open. There was a guy of about thirty with a poo in a wad of toilet roll smearing it over the cubicle walls. "What TF are you doing?" was met with an attempt to pass it off as banter and he walked off swaying everywhere telling me I was a boring c-word.

    That sounds horrendous, and I sympathise.

    I've never felt anything but 100% safe taking my daughters to LP/TTWS (apart from after one game against Wire, when a couple of pockets of their knobheads were trying to cause trouble outside the stadium), but OT (and once at Magic in Newcastle) can be cesspits of bellendery. We couldn't go this year, but after Salford (we were in a family stand but still had mutant idiots who could hardly stand - let alone look after their kids, who were running feral), the eldest asked if we could go in with the main group behind the sticks next time, to get the full atmosphere. I don't think I'd put myself or them through that, and that's really sad.

    The scumbag element following Saints has deffo grown since the early 00's.

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    I had a slightly more mature brand of supporter around me this year and it was nice - lots of singing and shouting but nothing stupid. But it does feel like a lottery whenever you get your tickets for a big final or semi-final. If you get surrounded by morons it can be a pretty miserable experience.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Webbo Again View Post
    That sounds horrendous, and I sympathise.

    I've never felt anything but 100% safe taking my daughters to LP/TTWS (apart from after one game against Wire, when a couple of pockets of their knobheads were trying to cause trouble outside the stadium), but OT (and once at Magic in Newcastle) can be cesspits of bellendery. We couldn't go this year, but after Salford (we were in a family stand but still had mutant idiots who could hardly stand - let alone look after their kids, who were running feral), the eldest asked if we could go in with the main group behind the sticks next time, to get the full atmosphere. I don't think I'd put myself or them through that, and that's really sad.

    The scumbag element following Saints has deffo grown since the early 00's.
    This is really sad to read - I had convinced myself that I could take my lad next year (who will be 8) provided we go in the Family Stand or expensive seats but maybe that is wishful thinking.

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    Quote Originally Posted by FearTheVee View Post
    This is really sad to read - I had convinced myself that I could take my lad next year (who will be 8) provided we go in the Family Stand or expensive seats but maybe that is wishful thinking.
    I think we were just unlucky with the extended family (the sort that is they had a white tooth in their head, they'd have a full snooker set), and the section we were in was fairly small. Were 4 or 5 adults and 6 or 7 kids varying in age from around 7/8 to early 20s. The 'father' (I presume it was, but who knows) would randomly stand up during the game and try to very loudly sing some song that he barely knew the words to, or launch into an expletive-ridden rant and Salford, and all the family would be laughing. These were the ones arguing with the stewards early in the second half for not being allowed to bring a whole case of beer to their seats. All but the youngest couple of kids were drinking.

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    I think the final should be moved forward. It is not possible to get a train to London after the GF which will limit attendance. Also it gives more time for alcohol to be imbibed (which IMO is probably not necessarily a good thing).
    Quote Originally Posted by The Wee Waa Womble View Post
    Should the final be moved to an earlier kick off? You have to wonder if a lot of these people will have any memory of the whole day, let alone the match, and doesn’t that kind of defeat the object?

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    Quote Originally Posted by parrmounter View Post
    I think the final should be moved forward. It is not possible to get a train to London after the GF which will limit attendance. Also it gives more time for alcohol to be imbibed (which IMO is probably not necessarily a good thing).
    Selfishly an earlier kick off, less wasted people and an ability to get a train home darn sarf would be great.

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    Quote Originally Posted by parrmounter View Post
    I think the final should be moved forward. It is not possible to get a train to London after the GF which will limit attendance. Also it gives more time for alcohol to be imbibed (which IMO is probably not necessarily a good thing).
    From some of the experiences on this post it's more a Theatre of Nightmare experience rather than Dreams, I agree about an earlier start, interesting that one of Superleagues only main sponsors Northern Rail put a press release out advising people NOT to travel by rail due to limited services which seems to defeat the object of being a sponsor, Old Trafford itself is looking a bit ramshackle these days, what's the feeling about approaching Man City to see if they would be willing to put it on in their reasonably new modern stadium, on a purely selfish basis I'd like that as I've never been to their ground

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