Manchester United

[Glenn]

Another great contibution by Colin

Old Trafford (sigh) The Theatre Of Dreams. The home of "The World's Greatest Football Club."

The home of "THAT night in Barcelona" - "Clive Tydsley"

The lovely RFW.

To be honest, it's a bit of an insult to the great club that yahoos such as ourselves should be informed about "an away guide." Let's face it, if the thousands of curtain-rod salesmen from Essex can get there every couple of weeks then it should be a doddle for a 30 mile trip from Blackburn.

Nevertheless, let's press on.

Old Trafford football ground is fairly easy to find. It's located close to Old Trafford Cricket Ground, the home of Lancashire Cricket Club. It's not actually located in the city of Manchester, but just across the border in Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. For some reason this seems to irritate the few Mancunians who follow them, so best not to mention it. No need to cause friction eh?

The ground is located about three miles west of the centre of Manchester and is actually just inside inside Trafford Park which was/is the largest industrial estate in Europe. Before it was turned over to produce aeroplanes, cars, pig iron, washing machines and other stuff it used to be Pomona Gardens and was where the Victorian gentry used to take the air. The Duke Of Bridgewater partially scuppered that rural haven by building the Bridgewater Canal in the mid 1700s to take coal from Worsley to the centre of Manchester and triggered the industrial revolution. About a hundred years ago the Manchester ship canal was built and that really messed up the rural idyll. It also buggered up Liverpool's monopoly as a port of the trans-Atlantic trade.

How To Get There

By Metrolink

Manchester's very own tram system runs from the city centre, & from Victoria and Piccadilly rail stations from the east and from Eccles and Altrincham from the west to very close to the football ground. You buy your ticket at the machines before you get on the tram. Remember to keep a few quid in change ready.

Here is a map.

metrolink map

A word of warning. On match days the Metro gets very busy on the way to the ground. On the way out of the ground after the match it can be frightening due to the number of people cramming onto the trams. If you have kids or get a bit claustrophobic, either wait a while or walk.

(If you decide to wait you might like to visit the Manchester United museum, the highlight being a continuous replay of Ludo Miklosko making save after save at Upton Park in May 1995. It's followed by an exclusive three hour presentation of RFW making excuses about the shirts, the pitch, the referee, the weather, the players being tired, the twenty minutes of injury time not being enough, the dawning of the age of Aquarious, not having enough money, the leaves on the line, ley lines at Old Trafford not being on the cusp, Giggs being Welsh & therefore too injured to play for Wales, Gog Magog, and the secret plan to put senna-pod in his chewing gum.)

A Baldrick-type "cunning plan" is to get the tram from either Altrincham or Eccles and travel from the west. It'll be less crowded. Plus, if we get the Altrincham line we can all go round to Scotty's house and drink all his beer. (If his Mum has given him permission and he has tidied up his bedroom)

By Train

It's a bit like getting to City really, so go and read that one. If you are coming from the North then you have the option of changing at either Bolton or Salford Crescent and then getting off at Manchester Deansgate, which will drop you off a few hundred metres closer to Old Trafford

By Coach

Again, the same as for City. The coaches terminate at Chorlton Street Coach Station. From there it is a short walk to Piccadilly Gardens to get either a bus or the Metrolink to Old Trafford. Or walk.

By Car

As the stadium is located in this enourmous industrial estate a lot of the businesses have realised that there is money to be made from opening up their premises to match day parking. There's a lot of space available, for a few quid per car. Don't forget that the demand is quite high, so the closer to the ground you get the more popular the car park.

Disabled

Now here's a turn up for the books. A football club that has it's own web site for disable supporters. An enormous round of applause for

Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association

and for the contact there who guided me to the web site. It seems to be really friendly.

Local Bus

info for EUFA champions league final 2003 should be still up to date

EUFA cup final details

With 60,000 people heading towards the place you should be able to locate a bus to take you there and back. If not you're probably too drunk to appreciate the game.

By Canal

Done that one. Adopted Scouser can kayak up the Manchester Ship canal. Up the Mersey to Eastham lock then off you go eastwards. You'll be back in Wallasey before your Missus has your supper on the table.

If you are walking from Manchester you can take the towpath of the Bridgewater canal from Castlefield to OT. Probably a bit more pleasant than trekking along the roads.

A Small Shandy Before The Match

As mentioned by Glenn on the Man City awayguide, a lot of Rovers' fans tend to go to "The Moon Under Water." This seems to be the best place for a swift half. It's a big place (it used to be a cinema,) serves half decent ale,

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/show....Water/Deansgate