[Albion] Club "investigating" dedicated train service to Manchester

[GT49er]

Not just football.

The designation under 2 (1) says all sports grounds over 10,000. If you click on the link, it then goes on to list all rugby, cricket and non-league (including Wembley) grounds where the capacity is over 10,000. So The Oval, for example, is on that first list, but Hove isn't.

Designation 2 (2) lists all PL and FL grounds 'over a capacity of 5,000' - i.e. all of them.

Interestingly, no racecourses are on that list, so it is still a bit arbitrary.

Just mostly football then! And to be honest. I don't think it's that surprising that horse racing isn't included - just remember who goes horse racing and who makes up the rules (clue: generally speaking, they ain'! usually big fans of football either)!

 

[wakeytom]

We have had regular dry trains to London when Sunderland were in the premier League. Polis stand at the front of the platform doing a full search and throw everything away, including people not involved in the football as it's generally between two times.

 

[Nottseagull]

I'm sure Sunderland in 77/78/79(?) was about a tenner.

The excursion on 1st October 1977 was £5. This was also the price for Blackburn, Burnley, Blackpool and (I think) Sheffield United and my memory is that the club used profits from these trips to subsidise the long one.

This doesn’t really concern me, I live in Spain, but as an olden with wisdom, I hope, I would like to give my opinion.
If you cannot go for 2 1/2 hours on a train without a drink I think you have problems that you should address in your own way.
The train should arrive at 12.30 in Manchester leaving lots of time for drinking and eating before the match. How much time do you need? How much can you consume before falling asleep?
I may have misjudged this thread and it is just a willy waving contest but really, do you have to drink all the way there and all the way back?
I appreciate that when we were shit you needed a drink to watch the team but that is not the case now, is it?
I don’t have your experiences of following Brighton because I haven’t been there for years. Albion will always be in my heart because I am Sussex born. Anyway, just saying.

An excellent post, and sums up just how out of step the British drinking culture is with most other countries.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

The problem with this service for me is that it has big drawbacks for two big groups.

(1) Those fans that go with their mates and want to have a few beers on the way. That's obviously been dis
(2) Those who want to go up with their kids, and aren't bothered about drinking. I was tempted, but getting a train at 7am, and then being in Manchester 2 1/2 hours before kick-off makes it a No from me.

 

[Nottseagull]

Best get this out of the museum

View attachment 101348

For our younger fans who don't realise, that's not a lapel badge given out to reward regulars! It's actually a shield, of maybe a metre in diameter. It was affixed to the front of the diesel, but I'm not sure what happened in North London when the locomotive was switched to an electric for those 110 mph journeys to the North West.

 

[BensGrandad]

A person who is drunk in a designated sports ground at any time during the period of a designated sporting event at that ground or is drunk while entering or trying to enter such a ground at any time during the period of a designated sporting event at that ground is guilty of an offence.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/57

Isn’t that what BG said they were charged with?

Yes it is but as pointed out earlier what is drunk to one person is not to another it is like beauty it is the eye of the beholder. and the ironical thing is they all 3 agreed that the one who was the worst for wear and argued with the copper was admitted. I think it was due to them taking money off of the locals who got the hump and the local old bill notified the Brighton copper, who was looking out for them as the pool players were refused and the heavy drinker admitted. Interestingly Balkham? didnt request a banning order to go with the conditional discharge.which is usual when found guilty of an offense at a football match.

 

[Bry Nylon]

I may have misjudged this thread and it is just a willy waving contest

I'm fairly sure this will also be frowned upon. Can't do anything to pass the time on a train journey these days.

 

[chaileyjem]

Is it normal to be drinking at 8am or 9am or 10am or even 11am on the day of a match then ?
And then go to the pub for 2 hours as well ?

Blimey. Am I the only one who fancies this yet will be getting on board with a coffee , a flask maybe and some breakfast from Hayward’s Heath Waitrose ?
Not fretting cos I can’t smuggle on half a dozen cans of cider or craft beer ?

That said it’s at least a 30 min tram to old Trafford once you’re there and few pubs close by are home friendly or not rammed to the rafters. And the concourse is terrible. Not exactly up to Amex standards. So maybe you need to come pre fuelled.

 

[BensGrandad]

I remember going to Wembley to an England Scotland game when this ban first came in and a large number of the supporters where eating oranges that had Vodka put into them via a syringe.

 

[The Large One]

Yes it is but as pointed out earlier what is drunk to one person is not to another it is like beauty it is the eye of the beholder. and the ironical thing is they all 3 agreed that the one who was the worst for wear and argued with the copper was admitted. I think it was due to them taking money off of the locals who got the hump and the local old bill notified the Brighton copper, who was looking out for them as the pool players were refused and the heavy drinker admitted. Interestingly Balkham? didnt request a banning order to go with the conditional discharge.which is usual when found guilty of an offense at a football match.

Well, a conditional discharge isn't actually a conviction.

 

[AlastairWatts]

I remember the Seagulls train back from Newcastle in 1979 after our promotion.... awash with alcohol and that was just the players!

Yeah, but from memory it was an ordinary service simply full of Albion fans. As I remember it, we drank the bar completely dry en route to London.

 

[Creaky]

Well, a conditional discharge isn't actually a conviction.

I thought you had to be convicted before being sentenced - isn’t a conditional discharge the sentence?

 

[The Large One]

I thought you had to be convicted before being sentenced - isn’t a conditional discharge the sentence?

It's something I found out from The Secret Barrister today. Follow the thread.

https://twitter.com/BarristerSecret/status/1052579000919371779

 

[Creaky]

It's something I found out from The Secret Barrister today. Follow the thread.

https://twitter.com/BarristerSecret/status/1052579000919371779

I don’t understand, “not a criminal conviction in law” - it still appears on a DBS check so what’s the difference?

 

[Mancgull]

Yeah, but from memory it was an ordinary service simply full of Albion fans. As I remember it, we drank the bar completely dry en route to London.

Not the one I was on.... the one I was on had all the players on. There's archive photos of the players walking through the train with fans and Mike Bamber with champagne. I distinctly remember Mark Lawrenson propping himself up at the bar, shoulder in a sling from his injury which kept him out of the last 2/3 games.

 

[East Staffs Gull]

Think there were three Seagull Special trains for the 1979 game. The first one to depart after the game left half full, leading to considerable overcrowding on the other two.

 

[Bodian]

Is it normal to be drinking at 8am or 9am or 10am or even 11am on the day of a match then ?
And then go to the pub for 2 hours as well ?

Blimey. Am I the only one who fancies this yet will be getting on board with a coffee , a flask maybe and some breakfast from Hayward’s Heath Waitrose ?
Not fretting cos I can’t smuggle on half a dozen cans of cider or craft beer ?

That said it’s at least a 30 min tram to old Trafford once you’re there and few pubs close by are home friendly or not rammed to the rafters. And the concourse is terrible. Not exactly up to Amex standards. So maybe you need to come pre fuelled.

Will you be able to leave your flasks in a safe place on the train whilst you're at the match?