Football 2015/16

[TheGayTent]

How easy is it to get tickets for a German game? I really want to start going to some matches abroad and doing a city break at the same time. Germany is the obvious first destination.

I also want to go to a game in turkey, is that wise? anyone have any experience?

German tickets are very easy to get almost always.

German tickets are occasionally expensive but still pretty easy to get (think Schalke v Dortmund)

Most games tickets are cheap and easy to get.

If there's a particular club you're interested in I might be able to say more - have been to 7 or 8 now so may have experience depending on the club.

[TheGayTent]

I've never thought Rooney was as good as people have made out. But I have to point out that its not just the last few seasons where he has been moved about positionally.

I'm a firm believer that his best position is attacking midfield/ number 10.

I'd have an England set up of: (fitness allowing)

Wilshere Henderson Rooney (midfield 3)

Chamberlain Sterling (wide)

And one of Kane, Sturridge, Welbeck , Walcott etc up top

That's a terrible midfield that would leave our defence exposed woefully IMO.

[TheGayTent]

He spent some time in Germany when he was around 15 (1977-ish) so it probably originates from that time (it might be where he stayed) rather than something he's taken on in the last decade when he's been living or half-living in Germany.

They got to the European Cup Final in 1977....

...they lost to Liverpool

[eFestivals]

They got to the European Cup Final in 1977....

...they lost to Liverpool

 

That might have a big bearing on it then, as perhaps the only German team he really knew of when he went there. 

[LJS]

Half man half biscuit?

Wrong team (unless they had another song)

https://youtu.be/na12OyJEgJ8

I met a man with a Dukla Prague away kit at Kendal Calling 2 years ago.

Edited August 25, 2015 by LJS

[kaosmark2]

Wrong team (unless they had another song)

https://youtu.be/na12OyJEgJ8

I met a man with a Dukla Prague away kit at Kendal Calling 2 years ago.

They do

 

 

My uncle decided to go see Borussia Munchengladbach over another team on a trip to Germany because of it.

[LJS]

They do

https://youtu.be/ZE_CUkUeWk8

My uncle decided to go see Borussia Munchengladbach over another team on a trip to Germany because of it.

Wow. Thanks Kaos.

What a band.

Edited August 25, 2015 by LJS

[TheGayTent]

Yilmaz deal looks to have been accepted by Galatasaray. If we can agree terms that would be a decent signing I think.

Definitely has the talent and quality, just the adapting and settling to worry about.

Edited August 25, 2015 by TheGayTent

[pink_triangle]

He's always been quite a big step below the best forwards in the world. Nothing has changed there has it? He's also always been a player that has goal scoring streaks and barren streaks. Nothing has changed there has it?

The only thing that has changed is him being messed about in the last few seasons with regard to his position.

I remember before the South Africa world cup the tabloids were trying to lump him in with Messi and Ronaldo as the 3 top players in world football, some even saying he had a better all round game than the others.

I think he is still a very good player. He may not be worth 300k a week, but that's Man utds fault for offering him the deal. I think his bad patches tend to be a little over exaggerated as he doesn't have many fans in the media or even in his own club.

[TheGayTent]

Tabloids like bigging England up before major competitions - it allows them to crucify the manager and players when they fail*

*fail as in not reaching the unrealistic targets set of them by the media.

[TheGayTent]

Some cracking cup ties tonight. 4 premier league sides still might go out.

[zahidf]

Fellini to be used in a striking role at utd according to lvg...

Ha ha ha ha ha ha

[Gucci Piggy]

so what you're saying is, if you pre-decide all the other results to cause Liverpool to need the points off Utd, Liverpool need the points off Utd?

I wish i had your analytical skills.

I'm saying Liverpool's squad is a little worse than United's so they'll probably do a little worse than them across the season and therefore need to take points off them to finish above them (which they probably won't do if they're worse).

[Gucci Piggy]

They are still only 6 points better off. Its very simple maths

If there are 6 apples and both Man Utd and Liverpool are hungry, but Man Utd take all 6 apples, how many apples are Man Utd better off than Liverpool?

They're 6 apples better off than Liverpool, but they could have been 6 apples worse off if Liverpool had taken them all, which is a difference of 12.

Look at it this way:

Say we you take both United-Liverpool fixtures out of the standings at the end of the season and United are 6 points ahead of Liverpool.

Now add both those fixtures back in as United wins. United finish the season 12 points ahead of Liverpool.

Now instead of adding them in as United wins, add them in as Liverpool wins. Both teams finish the season on the same amount of points.

There is a potential 12 point difference to be had from two games between two teams competing for a position. None of Liverpool's other pairs of fixtures allow them the opportunity to create more than a 6 point swing between them and United (they'd have to rely on United losing their corresponding matches which is out of their control).

Now it gets kinda confusing, because you could say it's the same when comparing the two teams' fixtures against any other team (one team winning two and the other losing two vs. the opposite happening creates a 12 point swing (which I think may be what Neil is saying)), but the point is that in fixtures between the two teams, it's in Liverpool's power to gain themselves the points whilst also forcing United to drop the points.

Whereas if you instead compare both team's results against a random team (say, West Brom), Liverpool may take 6 points from them, but then United dropping points is out of their control.

The basic point is that the games between the two are most important because Liverpool can gain points whilst also forcing United to drop points. The point swing thing is only minor and only makes sense if you think about it in depth (I keep confusing myself thinking about it), but your apple thing doesn't prove it wrong.

Edit: I still don't know if this post explains it at all.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Will-2609

[eFestivals]

They're 6 apples better off than Liverpool, but they could have been 6 apples worse off if Liverpool had taken them all, which is a difference of 12.

 

it's not correct that there's 12 points. You're falling for commentators bollocks.

 

If they start on equal points and one team wins both matches, the winner ends up just 6 points ahead.

 

There is no way to make it a 12 point gain over the other team from winning without re-inventing maths.

[ThomThomDrum]

The basic point is that the games between the two are most important because Liverpool can gain points whilst also forcing United to drop points. The point swing thing is only minor and only makes sense if you think about it in depth (I keep confusing myself thinking about it), but your apple thing doesn't prove it wrong.

Edit: I still don't know if this post explains it at all.

 

You are overthinking it and and trying to complicate something that is rather very simple. There is 6 points on offer when they play. Not 12. So you can not gain a 12 point advantage by winning both (unless, as you say above, you already have a 6 point advantage before the game)

 

I blame the media for this confusion in most people calling "big games" 6 pointers. Its hype, but has nothing to do with the real maths. Lets not forget that when a team "drops" points they dont actually drop points. They simply dont gain points.

 

A true swing would exist (like in elections) if the 3 points you gain are taken from the other teams already accrued tally 

[mjsell]

German tickets are very easy to get almost always.

German tickets are occasionally expensive but still pretty easy to get (think Schalke v Dortmund)

Most games tickets are cheap and easy to get.

If there's a particular club you're interested in I might be able to say more - have been to 7 or 8 now so may have experience depending on the club.

 

To be honest I wouldn't be too fussed, my only desires would be that the team be from a fairly major city in Germany so that I can explore that as well as catching a game. So without any major thought any team from Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich or Stuttgart (I have probably missed a city).

 

Where would you say was your most enjoyable experience?

 

Also, I'd like to add that I think '6 pointer' is my favourite footballing term.

[eFestivals]

So without any major thought any team from Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich or Stuttgart (I have probably missed a city).

 

I've not been to a game but i've spent a number of weeks in Frankfurt over the years working.

 

It's not an exciting place to visit. From things others have said to me it's considered one of the duller cities.

[ThomThomDrum]

Munich is a top city. Not been to a game but went to a gig on one trip and stags on another. Great place

[mjsell]

I've not been to a game but i've spent a number of weeks in Frankfurt over the years working.

 

It's not an exciting place to visit. From things others have said to me it's considered one of the duller cities.

 

I only really included Frankfurt due a belief that a flight there would be cheap after pulling out a bit of trivia from the back of my mind (this may now be wrong) - that Frankfurt airport is the busiest in Europe.

[eFestivals]

I only really included Frankfurt due a belief that a flight there would be cheap after pulling out a bit of trivia from the back of my mind (this may now be wrong) - that Frankfurt airport is the busiest in Europe.

 

I think Schipol might beat it, but yeah, I know it's one of the busier airports.

 

But there's busy and busy. It's more like Gatwick than Heathrow (or at least, it was - it's been a while since I was last there).

[TheGayTent]

I've not been to a game in Berlin but I have run round the Athletics track on the perimeter of the football pitch. Berlin is a great city for a weekend and tickets are cheap and easy to come by. The stadium holds 70 odd thousand but they average in the 50s so easy to get tickets.

Agree with Neil (!) on Frankfurt. I saw them play Monchengladbach a couple of years back and the game, stadium, and atmosphere was superb. Highly recommended. However, big downside is the city itself. It's the financial city of Germany, all the big banks and financial institutions are based there - including the european Central bank. It's not particularly interesting to visit from a cultural or nightlife point of view.

From the opposite point of view lie Stuttgart and Munich. Stuttgart is a great city to visit - people often forget it's home to Volksfest, the second biggest beer festival in the world after Munich. The football stadium has recently been refurbished holds 60,000 (they average 50,000) and tickets can be picked up cheaply and are easily available other than for the really big game against Bayern.

Munich is Munich, does it need an explanation?! Go! However be warned, (face value) tickets are very difficult to come by from the club as almost all games sell out to members. Easiest way to get a ticket is via an (official?!) ticket agency like viagogo. But you're looking at paying around 3x face value.

If you're willing to look outside of those 4 cities I would look at getting Borussia Dortmund tickets. It's the best ground and the best atmosphere - particularly if you hunt around for a standing ticket on the infamous sudtribune (20,000 people standing behind one goal). However, a ticket anywhere is great and they're fairly cheap to get - certainly cheaper than a "normal" premier league game. One downside is that Dortmund is a boring city. However, what I'd recommend is staying in Düsseldorf for the weekend and getting the train on match day into Dortmund. It takes less than an hour and a return ticket is about £15.

My other recommendation would be Cologne. A great city to stay in for a weekend and you also have the choice of two football clubs - Cologne and Bayer Leverkusen. Again, tickets are easily got and cheap.

[mjsell]

Cheers TGT, class insight there. A trip to Germany is very high on my list, I think its second now behind Istanbul (not for football).

 

I still cant believe that I have never been to Germany, for that reason I think Berlin would be my first choice, but then a Dortmund game intrigues me the most, have heard great great things. I'm sure I heard a statistic that something like 10% of Dortmund's attendances is now British fans - and that it is cheaper to support (season ticket plus travel costs) Dortmund if you live in London than Arsenal.

[The Nal]

I've been to Berlin a few times in the last couple of years and am going again in a few weeks. Can't recommend it highly enough. Food, booze, history, people. All great and the public transport means you can basically be anywhere in the city in ten minutes.

 

And its pretty cheap too. Last time I was there we had a bit of a walk ahead of us to the next area of bars and I bought a pack of smokes and 3 x 500ml bottles of beer in a shop for 9 euro!

[philipsteak]

What got me about Berlin was how friendly and helpful everyone was. And I don't mean that as a dig at Germans generally, more the fact that it's a big city. I've travelled all over and never seen so many people who were willing and happy to help tourists  rather than see them as a nuisance (and I'm guilty of that myself, despite the fact my job relies on tourism. Pain in the arse when I'm not working though).