Yank Coming to the MadStad

[MarylandRoyal]

Hi All,

I've been a Royals fan since following Bobby Convey from my local side (DC Utd) to Reading and have since followed the Royals.

Me and some friends are planning a vacation to London for a bit, then Spain. I am determined to get to the MadStad for a game in March/April. Looks like my choices are Ipswich, Sheff Utd and Barnsley ... opinions on which of those I should get to? I'm doing most of the planning for our vacation so I'll be planning the whole thing around which game I can get too.

A few questions...
How easy is it to get tickets for a game (we'll need 3)?
We'll be training from London, is it easy to get the stadium from the train station?
Places to drink?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

-Maryland Royal

[Royalshow]

Hi there MarylandRoyal.

Although we don't know what the seasons holds for us at this point,looking ahead i would recommend coming to the Sheffield United game.In the past these have always been eventful though sadly Colin oxf*rd has moved on .From London it's pretty easy.There are direct trains to Reading that run non stop and take about half an hour.Once in the town centre you can hop on a football special bus to the ground,take a cab or theoretically change trains to Basingstoke and get off at Reading Greenpark (not open yet) with a only a 15 minute walk to the ground.

[Roger the Rabbit]

Tickets may or may no tbe an issue - depends how well we are doing.
I'd advise you make contact with the US branch of STAR though as they have a process for getting hold of tickets.

In terms of which game I'd forget Barnsley and go for one of the others. Sheff Utd is always a good, hard fought game with a bit of edge to it (maybe les so now Colin has gone). Ipswich play good football and may be more of a 'purist' game. Of course much will depend on what sort of team we end up with.

Travel shoul dbe fine - 25 mins on the train out of London then buses to the stadium from right outside the station. Others will advise on drinking options but definitely have a couple of beers in town rather than head staright out to the ground ! May be worth checking out th epubs that run buses to the ground, you'll probably get to meet up with some locals for a beer.

Enjoy the trip, I hope you get to see a game of relevance to the promotion race !!

[Dirk Gently]

E-mail exiles@star-reading.org for advice on this - I'm sure he'll be able to help you out.

[MarylandRoyal]

Thanks for all the help! I'll definitely get in touch with the exiles.

[rfcjoe]

You sound plastic to me tbh. One game!

[MarylandRoyal]

Haha, wish I could afford to fly across the pond for everygame! Now if your willing to sponsor that...

[ayjaydee]

Don't forget to keep an eye on the tv schedules. Would be a real bummer if you made all the arrangements only for Sky to decide to move the game.

[eddiegrundy]

Well done DC on stuffing the Galaxy on Sunday, Becks et al

When my colleagues say the train takes only 25 minutes to Reading, they mean the one from London Paddington, not the one from London Waterloo which takes more like an hour. The shuttle buses to the stadium leave from right outside Reading Station.

[Geekins]

Ole Ole Ole Ole, Bobby Convey! Sorry no elp just haven't sung that in a while! Wish i had though

Also a USA USA USA for Marcus!

[Ian Royal]

There's a pub at the station, but thats really for away fans so I wouldn't recommend drinking there.

Not sure where the watering holes before matches are these days I normally turn up in time for a quick one in the ground and thats it.

Barnsley will be easy to get tickets for, Ipswich less so. Sheff Utd will be the hardest but probably the most worth seeing. Mind you, with help from STARexiles you should be able to get a ticket for any of the games unless we're flying.

I recommend East or North stands as well.

[Big Foot]

If you want a pre-game pint then might I suggest The Bugle in Friar Street.

You'll have some stories to tell when you get home at the least.

[catfork]

Reading is a bit of a dump all things considered

[Gordons Cumming]

Reading is a bit of a dump all things considered

[Forbury Lion]

How easy is it to get tickets for a game (we'll need 3)? - Depends how we're doing, A letter to Bobby Convey may help as I'm sure he will be able to sort you out with some (not free mind you)
We'll be training from London, is it easy to get the stadium from the train station? - Yes, 30 mins train and buses run direct to the stadium
Places to drink? Not really