[Albion] The buses to and from the ground at marseille

[Herr Tubthumper]

TBF when the buses started taking people to the ground I was told they were leaving half full as fans decided to stay and drink rather than get to the ground early - result from this I guess is that those who arrived late couldnt get on buses as they we full of fans who didnt want to get to the ground early

it seemed one bus arrived 30 minutes or so into the game as a number of really pissed people started piling into block AA. I can only assume they preferred drinking in that crappy Jolliete square than being at the ground on time.

cant say I have any sympathy for these guys. I do have sympathy for those seated near them.

 

[Skaville]

it seemed one bus arrived 30 minutes or so into the game as a number of really pissed people started piling into block AA. I can only assume they preferred drinking in that crappy Jolliete square than being at the ground on time.

cant say I have any sympathy for these guys. I do have sympathy for those seated near them.

We started queuing at 16:30 and got into the ground at 19:00. Is that our fault?

 

[Dirty Dave]

In marseille now. Spoken with many who didn't get out of the ground for 3 hours. Think about it. 3500 fans to move so how many coaches/buses does that take? Return journey for coach is 50 minutes. I saw 22 coaches, each taking 55 to 80 on the crammed bus. Convoy was well organised but needed more transport.

.....and better communication

 

[sam who likes albion]

We started queuing at 16:30 and got into the ground at 19:00. Is that our fault?

I was in the same boat. Got to the square at around 16:00 and just waited for about two hours, and only saw the departure of two 4 bus convoys before the final one came that I was able to get on. I would have taken the metro had I known we would actually be able to get in, which I was told we wouldn't be able to.

 

[Albion_Dave]

Coaches last night nearly as bad as Flixbus. 1.40 minutes late from Nice on Wednesday and just 1.10 late this morning.

 

[Man of Harveys]

Apparently getting into the away end at the ground once you arrived by tram or metro was no problem at all. So we were lied to in our instructions, basically. Nice one.

 

[sam who likes albion]

The coaches out were worse than the coaches in for sure. Someone's mom fainted on my coach and the damn bus driver wouldn't stop for a minute or two.

 

[dwayne]

Police and albion stewards were trying to get people onto buses from 1.45. I was meeting people and we got on around 3.30. Those who went early got lots of beer and seats outside.

This is an image around 25 mins into that 50 min journey

We started near Jour, were aiming for the red pin. The blue dot shows the actual location

View attachment 167711

Come on though who wants to get to the ground 4 hours before kick off it’s ridiculous

 

[Nicks]

Come on though who wants to get to the ground 4 hours before kick off it’s ridiculous

At least we could drink beer and eat in the ground in peace although I will never complain about the ques in the concourses at The Amex anymore as they were just serving hatches at the ground, although there was a gap of about an hour where no one was queing up. Must of been when the buses were on their return journey back into town etc

 

[MattBackHome]

Come on though who wants to get to the ground 4 hours before kick off it’s ridiculous

Especially if you're gonna be there 4 hours after the final whistle

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

A 15 minute drive that took an hour. There must’ve been a more efficient way than that.

A great experience though as others have said. Totally surreal as far as watching the Albion are concerned.

We took a taxi and a direct route from La Joulite. It took 1 hour 15 minutes. Traffic through the city and approaching the ground was very busy.

Edit: on reflection it took 20 mins to get out of La Jolly which I presume the buses didn't experience as the road closures which slowed our journey were for them ….so make it an hour.

 

[Arthur]

Apparently getting into the away end at the ground once you arrived by tram or metro was no problem at all. So we were lied to in our instructions, basically. Nice one.

Yep. You just walked down the ramp and into the underground car park.

 

[Official Old Man]

And to top it all 25 minute delay for our train. Going to be pushed in Paris to catch the Eurostar now. Running shoes and taxi.

 

[ROSM]

Come on though who wants to get to the ground 4 hours before kick off it’s ridiculous

I didnt want to but its simple maths that more people filling the buses early and going it means buses do more routes and more people get there and the 4pm queue would have likely had a whole square of buses to choose from. We were told it would be a 45mins journey and that, unlike the amex, you could drink smoke whatever at the ground.

Knowing what we know now, in the same situation again more people would head off earlier. If youre going to be buying bottles of beer to stand in a square and sing with limited facilities you could buy 4pints of it at a time and stand in the ground and do it

 

[Willow]

Times have certainly changed. I'm sure in 1998 for the World Cup game there we just parked up and walked.

 

[Originunknown]

Come on though who wants to get to the ground 4 hours before kick off it’s ridiculous

Doubt anyone would have been there 4 hours before KO even on the first buses. The traffic got progressively worse as it got closer to KO.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Those bus journeys were just hateful. On the way there I think was stuck with the most oikish, racist neanderthals who could only communicate with the word "caant" I genuinely hope I never see them again at the football. Fat, horrible pigs. We were even treated to some WW2 history "Saved your lives you facking French Caant" Not one brain cell between them.

The way back wasn't much better. Probably on the last set to leave and then aimlessly drive around Marseille whilst standing up in someone's armpit with no aircon. Midnight we got back to the square when the game finished around half 8. Thankfully the hotel bar seemed to be open for as long as we wanted - which was 3 bottles of wine between 2 in my case - which was a nice way to end it all. First time I'd relaxed all day.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Those bus journeys were just hateful. On the way there I think was stuck with the most oikish, racist neanderthals who could only communicate with the word "caant" I genuinely hope I never see them again at the football. Fat, horrible pigs. We were even treated to some WW2 history "Saved your lives you facking French Caant" Not one brain cell between them.

The way back wasn't much better. Probably on the last set to leave and then aimlessly drive around Marseille whilst standing up in someone's armpit with no aircon. Midnight we got back to the square when the game finished around half 8. Thankfully the hotel bar seemed to be open for as long as we wanted - which was 3 bottles of wine between 2 in my case - which was a nice way to end it all. First time I'd relaxed all day.

There some knobs in attendance last night. My favourite was a midden-aged, short, tubby, balding, bespectacled guy in a polo shirt who spent some time trying to stand and goad the OM fans. As if that bunch of topless Ultras would be scared of him. I noticed the police were amused by this chap as they took photos of him for their amusement. utter mess of a person

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I was in the same boat. Got to the square at around 16:00 and just waited for about two hours, and only saw the departure of two 4 bus convoys before the final one came that I was able to get on. I would have taken the metro had I known we would actually be able to get in, which I was told we wouldn't be able to.

I guess the Docks location was confusing. How long did it take before realising it was a bus you needed?

 

[Iggle Piggle]

There some knobs in attendance last night. My favourite was a midden-aged, short, tubby, balding, bespectacled guy in a polo shirt who spent some time trying to stand and goad the OM fans. As if that bunch of topless Ultras would be scared of him. I noticed the police were amused by this chap as they took photos of him for their amusement. utter mess of a person

The guy behind me was that pissed he was giving it the double wanker sign but couldn't co-ordinate it at the same time. I'd be amazed if he remembers the game.

You will also be pleased to know I'm back on the Rose