Playoff dates

[Newbury Blade]

Good to see they have chosen a date for the first leg of the playoffs (Thursday 7 May) when not much else will be happening. Apart from a general election.

As for the final, a very convenient kickoff time of 5.30pm on a Sunday. Good luck with getting home by public transport if you live in Sheffield. On the other hand if we win everyone will be in the pub all night anyway.

It's on Sunday 24 May and it's already in my diary!

 

[Chezzy Blades]

The final's kicking off late because it's the last day of the Premiership season that day. London will be absolutely heaving depending on which London sides are at home.

They probably haven't realised moving the late KO just gives the Blades an extra 2 and a half hours to enjoy the day before the game itself ruins it.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

You forgot to mention it's a bank holiday weekend

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Are you all deliberately trying to tempt fate? Stop this talk immediately, and set fire to the thread.

 

[Echo Blade]

second leg; sunday 10th (1215ko) or monday 11th (1945ko)

 

[grafikhaus]

Just checked The Trainline for trains back from the final on May 24. There's a train leaves St. Pancs. Int. at 20.19 (won't make it). The next is 22.19, arr. back in Sheff. at 06.08 - a mere 7hrs. 49 mins. later. (and a bargain £73 one-way...)

This country's a fucking joke. Bank Holiday, 'engineering works' etc. etc. Could (easily) fly to New York quicker.

 

[drinksmat]

Everyone is kipping at Newbury Blade 's gaff for the promotion party. Travel problems solved.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Could (easily) fly to New York quicker.

Or Canada..............

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

The FGs have already noted this thread, say thanks for the reminder, and have fired up the furnaces and are lining up the iron pokers to get them white hot, just in time to give us our annual ring insertion.

 

[Northyorksblade]

If, if and if! I've really cocked up. Not only do we miss the last game of the season, also miss the two semis. That'll teach me. Mind you if we drop out of the play offs, I'm not around for the misery!

 

[Caveblade]

Doing the way of the roses bike ride over Bank Holiday weekend so will inadvertantly be following through on the promise I made last time i walked out of a play off final, "that I ain't going to go to another one".

Maybe I will just arrive in Brid and find out the result, if we have won I can watch the Football league highlights, crack open a bottle and know that I was the jinx all the time, but the hoodoo will be broken! If we have lost I can get the golf clubs out and plan next seasons trips to the familiar places like Accrington, Crawley, etc etc etc and spend the summer trying to rediscover my Blades mojo.

 

[Worksop II]

Could (easily) fly to New York quicker.

Surely the Bus to Rotherham would be a better bet

 

[davidpinder]

Good to see they have chosen a date for the first leg of the playoffs (Thursday 7 May) when not much else will be happening. Apart from a general election.

As for the final, a very convenient kickoff time of 5.30pm on a Sunday. Good luck with getting home by public transport if you live in Sheffield. On the other hand if we win everyone will be in the pub all night anyway.

It's on Sunday 24 May and it's already in my diary!

It could work out well for me, off to Disneyland Paris on the Monday and have a hotel booked at Folkestone that night. Go to wembley then carry on down to there, everyone's a winner.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

There was a thread about travel a while ago which, I think, said that there wouldn't be any trains(!) - or at the very least they would be seriously disrupted bc the trains companies have scheduled engineering works for this quiet weekend.

 

[chesblade]

Hotel and train booked for the weekend. If we get to final fantastic all sorted and means I won't have to
travel on coach with drunken idiots before match even started. If we don't will just enjoy a weekend in London

 

[grafikhaus]

There was a thread about travel a while ago which, I think, said that there wouldn't be any trains(!) - or at the very least they would be seriously disrupted bc the trains companies have scheduled engineering works for this quiet weekend.

This is obviously orchestrated by the train companies. Every single fucking Bank Holiday there's this rumoured 'engineering work' going on somewhere. Targetting the 'play-off final' weekend' is a cynical ploy worthy of Arthur Scargill, designed purely to cause hardship and pay over-the-top fares.

The football 'authorities' have played their part with ludicrous kick-off times. Why 5.30? Would it have clashed with repeats of fucking 'Bonanza'? If it's Blades v Chezzie, expect 30-35k and how will that look on TV? Still give the pigs (another) chance to take the piss. Obviously they'd have took 150k. Even though they haven't a fucking clue where the 'new' Wembley is.

 

[BushBlade]

TV again surely? If its the last day of the PL, all games will kick off at 3.00. Then staight to Wembley for the POF. Super Sunday and all that. Fuck the real supporters.

 

[upton blade]

Early days to be worrying about po final.. we need to get there first lol..but IF we get there im confident we would win this time. .The experience of last year's cup semi will be fresh in the minds. .We are due some luck surely?

 

[Guesty]

This is obviously orchestrated by the train companies. Every single fucking Bank Holiday there's this rumoured 'engineering work' going on somewhere. Targetting the 'play-off final' weekend' is a cynical ploy worthy of Arthur Scargill, designed purely to cause hardship and pay over-the-top fares.

The football 'authorities' have played their part with ludicrous kick-off times. Why 5.30? Would it have clashed with repeats of fucking 'Bonanza'? If it's Blades v Chezzie, expect 30-35k and how will that look on TV? Still give the pigs (another) chance to take the piss. Obviously they'd have took 150k. Even though they haven't a fucking clue where the 'new' Wembley is.

I know you're upset mate but there's no need to lash out at Bonanza!

 

[HillmortonBlade]

I know you're upset mate but there's no need to lash out at Bonanza!

I'm planning on catching up on Bonanza on catch-up, if I get home, if I actually get to f**king Wembley.

 

[grafikhaus]

Which one's you?

 

[grafikhaus]

We're going to Canada end May / early June, thought I'd just check with 'er indoors as she's sorted everything and I'd not really thought about the dates.

It could work out well for me, off to Disneyland Paris on the Monday and have a hotel booked at Folkestone that night. Go to wembley then carry on down to there, everyone's a winner.

It's all about 'me, me, me!' isn't it. Bastards!

 

[Guesty]

Which one's you?

I like to think I'm Adam.

Hoss is the one I'd like to go drinking with though.

 

[zablade]

There are no direct trains between London and Sheffield all that Bank Holliday weekend due to engineering works, those travelling by train will have to go via Donny to Kings Cross.

 

[Dkc]

There seems to be more trains than usual via Donny. There's a train every half an hour from Kings Cross to Donny between 7.30 and 10.30pm. If you're lucky enough to get a fast connection between Donny and Sheffield the travel time is about the same.

 

[metalblade]

There seems to be more trains than usual via Donny. There's a train every half an hour from Kings Cross to Donny between 7.30 and 10.30pm. If you're lucky enough to get a fast connection between Donny and Sheffield the travel time is about the same.

No fast trains back and the last train from Donny to Sheffield is 10:40 you would have to get a train at around 8:30 from Kings Cross the one after that is 9:36 which wouldn't get you to Donny in time to get the last train home.

 

[Dkc]

Hm, yes I didn't check the connections.

So presuming we get there, you'd have to alllow for extra time and possibly pens, which would take it to almost 8.00. So definitely not enough time to make the final train with a connection to Sheffield. The only option would be to park at Donny or get a cab.

As many people will have Monday off for the bank holiday, spending the night in London may be the best option.

 

[grafikhaus]

As many people will have Monday off for the bank holiday, spending the night in London may be the best option.

Or maybe not. I did a perfunctory sniff around yesterday and found that:

Getting a train back after the game is not an option, even via Donny. The only feasible train back is Kings X to Donny leaving at 22.35 and arriving back (in Sheffield) at 06.08 - 7hrs. 33 mins and only £82.10 for the return journey.

Yesterday morning, I found a Travelodge at Wembley - £26 for the room. By early afternoon it was £56 and has now 'come down' to £50.

And all this is weeks before we know who will be at Wembley. All shaping up for a monumental fuck-up.

 

[wizadry]

Once upon a time they invented coaches and minibuses to travel to games

 

[grafikhaus]

Once upon a time they invented coaches and minibuses to travel to games

I went by coach to the 2009 (Burnley) game. Never, ever again. Nothing wrong with the actual coaches (quite modern, four wheels, good driver etc.). It's the fucking morons you have to share space with that make it all bad.

Despite rooks specifically stating that we'd leave a 6 sharp from Bramall Lane, there's always one cunt (never their fault...) who was late. I'd have left the twat behind. On the road, and the first piss-a-bed wanted to stop. At Tibshelf Services. Honestly, you could piss from Bramall Lane to Tibshelf but, as usual, there's always one.

Arrived at Wembley at around 11.30. Kick-off at 3.00. Doors to stadium not open till 1.30. Fuck all to do around Wembley. Nightmare.

After the game and the nightmare that is getting out of the coach car park. But wait! The traffic opened up and we could have got straight out. But no. The same useless twat who was late turning up in Sheffield is the one who has failed to turn up again. After half an hour, he shows up (Naturally, not his fault). In Sheffield, I'd have left the twat behind. Now I wanted to punch his fucking lights out.

Numerous stops later we approached Sheffield at the end of a long and disappointing day. I say 'approached' because the usual suspects started sidling up to the driver. 'Can you 'just' drop me off at Waterthorpe/Southey Green/Brinsworth/any far-flung shithole. Me? I'm 'normal'. By the time we got back to BDTBL, I'll swear there was only me and the driver left on the coach. While the other selfish cunts were probably tucked up in bed, 'normal' me had arranged a lift back to civilisation. From Bramall Lane. Silly me!

That's not including the coach that was hijacked and ransacked on the way down.

So coach to Wembley? No thanks. But if you're reading this, rooks, make it a condition that the coaches will leave at the stated time - no ifs, no buts. The coaches' departure time will reflect the kick-off time (not leaving four hours to waste and no half-arsed excuses about 'in case of break down...') and the journey will terminate at - and only at - Bramall Lane. Imagine these cunts coming back on the train and asking the train driver if he could 'drop them off at Dronfield'. Fuck everybody else, awkward cunt wants to get home.

Grrr.