If you had a UK getaway in your travel plans for this month (or next), my heart breaks for you. Travel is amazing — and while we’re all staying put for good reason — it’s always a bummer to have to abandon the plan, especially if you happened to have tickets to a match.
If you’re planning ahead though, from this moment forward, and thinking about great times to visit in the future — March and April aren’t super awesome at all, in most any year..
You can see it in the fixture list of matches awaiting a new date. Double game weeks are amazing for Fantasy Futbol, not so much when you are trying to juggle vacation time and see a Premier League match..
The fixture flux of the FA Cup
The big reason for a bummer March is the quarterfinal rounds of the FA Cup. Those playing fantasy fútbol know that in the scheduled game week 32, there were only 4 fixtures on offer. The rest were pushed to the waiting bin while awaiting the quarterfinal progress,
Add in the possibility that two top-flight clubs will play in the finals of the Carabao Cup (like City and Villa did this year) — and even more fixtures are in flux.
What makes this extra unfortunate is that plenty of folks have the personal schedule ability to squeeze in a vacation trip during these two months. College kids are on spring break. In the K-12 sector, there’s usually a week or two for a break, often around Easter. Here in Massachusetts, we’re always off for Patriots Day — which celebrates our state, the Boston Marathon and starts the rest of a week away.
Maybe you can catch the knockout rounds?
If you are lucky enough to follow a team in the CL or EL, those dates are fixed — which makes them easier to plan around…
And once tickets are on sale — fixture congestion and a club’s current form might play a factor with regular supporters who might choose to skip the match. If things aren’t looking good — few people want to pop a mid-week depressant.
A club’s form, good or bad, still doesn’t mitigate the disruption of trying to schlep to soccer on a weeknight when you have to work. With the European matches on TV in every pub around, it’s easy enough to have a great experience without setting foot in the stadium. Which leaves more tickets available to intrepid travelers.
Plus, tickets for these events are in addition to the regular home and away travel in a season ticket package. And local diehards might choose to take their own road trip away — vs. taking in the local match, leaving a little extra inventory.
More Movement: FA Cup Semis + TV changes + CL/EL semis
Unfortunately, the FA cup matches can cause a ripple effect on the rest of the schedule for a given weekend from a TV perspective. Even though regular matches for March and April get picked a month in advance, there’s always a chance that matches will move to fill extreme gaps in the schedule.
And, we’re not even considering the prospect of match movement for biggest clubs still in the Champions and Europa League into the Round of 16, Quarterfinals and Semis — all of which have an impact on EPL match days leading up until the very last one on the schedule.
Adjusting for the possible movement in fixtures is not for the faint of heart, and requires plenty of flexibility.
Finding your way into rescheduled matches
In the past two years, PL clubs have done a better job of allowing club members access to the ticket exchange, where season ticket holders can return what they aren’t going to use (remember: scalping isn’t a thing)..
If your options are limited and this is a prime time you can travel, one big step is to make sure you’re a member of the club in question — so you can have a look at ticket inventory and snag a seat.
Seats will still rarely go on general sale, and many ticket exchange sites are staying available up until 3 hours before a match (Arsenal is among the clubs who made that change this year).
If it’s a week-long stay, make sure your traveling companions stay open to the possibility that you might end up with a rescheduled match on a weeknight. If that’s the case, plan the day to make sure you catch early trains to and from the grounds in question — to stay away from the after-work rush.
And, consider making sure you have a place to crash somewhere near the grounds for after the match to maximize your enjoyment — even if that means double-booking your hotel for the night (vs. checking out and back in at your current spot). On a trip to see Spurs while at Wembley, we booked into a very reasonable rate at the Hilton right next to the stadium, as a place we could crash before and after the match, before figuring out how to return to Central London. (Plus, we ran into the entire Burnley squad in the lobby. Sean Dyche is more ginger in person.)
In some places, you might always find a seat
When all else fails, and you really really need to see a match in the March/April window — check in with the current situation at Manchester City.
Right now, they have three matches in the to-be-played bin. And the sheer size of their stadium and the relative success of their team in recent years breeds a little bit of fixture fatigue. If you can find your way to Manchester on a weeknight, your chances of getting into the building are much better.
Getting to the grounds no matter what …
As you can see, there are tons of reasons that planning a springtime trip is a wildcard. There are so many factors to consider — and it’s a major stretch to think you’d get to fit in more than one match (which is always a goal of my travels).
That said, if you are traveling with the family on a holiday, or happen to take a work trip, or find yourself with some extra flexibility on a last-minute trip — getting into that match will certainly be worth the time and effort. Organize yourself in advance and get prepared. You can read up on all the best tips here.