Return of Supporters

[Eccles Blue]

I kid you not, there was a woman over here in the States who cut a hole in her mask so she could breathe easier!

Oh my goodness! I wouldn’t dream of doing something like that. I just carry my glasses wipe cloth in my pocket and clear them now and again. It’s when I’m trying to see prices in the shops I get frustrated!

 

[ExWythenshaweBlue]

Thanks all for the replies! We are still waiting to see how the selling arrangements will be but im hopeful for a ticket.

Was it just a case of showing a matchday steward your ticket / ID / test before making your way into the turnstile or was there multiple checks / a COVID checking area?

Just one check by a steward. Much easier than I expected.

 

[RegMuffin]

Thanks all for the replies! We are still waiting to see how the selling arrangements will be but im hopeful for a ticket.

Was it just a case of showing a matchday steward your ticket / ID / test before making your way into the turnstile or was there multiple checks / a COVID checking area?

The FA Cup final will be rh same as yesterday, all part of research which included observing level of mask wearing along with behaviour on the concourse etc. There were a lot of people watching / observing / asking people who comply.

What was bizarre is how stewards reminded people about masks in the open areas but did not in the concourse area which is more enclosed. Same getting back on the tube, where social distancing disappeared and fans were expected to then board covid secure trains.

The whole day was riddled with these inconsistencies and felt more like going on holiday with the number and level of demands for photo ID, test result and the like.

Personally I was glad to see a game after 14 months (and a win) but if these measures stay, it'll be the tip over the edge for me.

 

[Whether or not]

Obviously another important part of the research for Wembley yesterday was whether people would pay £6 for a warm can of lager, and whether the sales staff could keep a straight face whilst committing robbery. A yes on both counts.

 

[Zubrman]

Very strange singing and shouting with a mask on, but I'm told we Blues sounded really good on the tele.

Bit of a kerfuffle having to traipse round to the one 'Covid' access point, but the screening process was quick and easy.

If the FA Cup Final is to allow more attendees, then they need more stewards on more entrances. Quite simple.

 

[Zubrman]

Obviously another important part of the research for Wembley yesterday was whether people would pay £6 for a warm can of lager, and whether the sales staff could keep a straight face whilst committing robbery. A yes on both counts.

I saw the price when I first went in and thought, "Fuck that, I'll wait till half-time."
When half-time came and I'd been standing for forty-five minutes for the first time in over a year, I needed a sit-down far more than a £6 flat Budsheiser.

 

[Manchester Fox]

Was the COVID access point just a show of your ticket, ID, negative COVID test and then straight through into the turnstile?

 

[Whether or not]

I saw the price when I first went in and thought, "Fuck that, I'll wait till half-time."
When half-time came and I'd been standing for forty-five minutes for the first time in over a year, I needed a sit-down far more than a £6 flat Budsheiser.

Unfortunately for me it was my round and you look like a tosser if you bale out on price grounds, so I bought three of them for £18. I need to get back to match sharpness and ensure it’s not my round in the ground.

 

[Zubrman]

Was the COVID access point just a show of your ticket, ID, negative COVID test and then straight through into the turnstile?

Yes, and a check that you had a mask on. If you had none, or were wearing a bandanna-type face covering as the guy in front of me had, you were issued with a free mask.

 

[Eccles Blue]

more importantly, what the heckle meckle is a heckle meckel :)

It’s a saying my gran used to use. :-) Basically I’ve no idea! :-)

 

[blue44]

 

[bluemc1]

Drive down on my own, sat outside Wembley in the sun having a few beers on my own and went to the game on my own, absolutely loved it, I was looking at the crowd of blues in the stadium and it was like riding a bike, you never forget how to support your team during a game
The songs, the chants, the banter mocking Spurs for celebrating a corner, it just felt so good to be back in a stadium watching, nothing comes close

 

[bluemc1]

Was the COVID access point just a show of your ticket, ID, negative COVID test and then straight through into the turnstile?

Yes, there was stewards at the bottom of the stairs at Wembley way with barriers and you just showed your test result on your phone and flash your driving license as photo ID, then up the stairs and straight in turnstile

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

I saw the price when I first went in and thought, "Fuck that, I'll wait till half-time."
When half-time came and I'd been standing for forty-five minutes for the first time in over a year, I needed a sit-down far more than a £6 flat Budsheiser.

The mark up they must be making on those cans is an utter joke. £6 for a can of Budweiser they don't know how to even pour. Fucking laughable really, compete and utter piss take. The mark up they must be making on those cans, well over x10. Suppose they lose it on the staff working at a snail's pace anyway.

If there's one thing Spurs have going for them it's a proper bar on the concourse.

 

[Phil Mitchell Foden]

Hi Guys, Leicester fan here, congratulations on the victory yesterday! I am hopeful to be travelling down to the FA Cup Final in a few weeks.

For you guys lucky enough to get a ticket, how was the new 'COVID' matchday experience?

How was the process of actually getting in? Where stewards pretty hot on checking COVID tests matching the names on the tickets etc?

Yeah they were pretty on top with it tbh mate. Checking ID and tickets matching the name on the ID etc, and the Covid negative email.

That was on the steps up to wembley down from Wembley Park way. Once you got past them there you're pretty much sweet.

Good luck against Chelsea btw.

 

[Blue Theatre]

Went down with my son & the whole process was surprisingly easy.

Seemed to be a few (perhaps unavoidable) inconsistencies ... like "masks must be worn in the stadium ... but we're selling beer" ... and you can't drink with a mask on, which meant 90% of the people I passed on the concourse had their masks off.

Also "strictly no standing ... persistent standing will result in expulsion from the ground" ... but other than one guy who came out briefly and shouted at us to sit down, the rest of the game was spent with almost everyone standing & the stewards just watching.

Not saying I wanted it any different - I had a drink & I prefer to stand ... just saying that after all the strict rules about getting to Wembley, inside the stadium it was pretty lax.

Great day, though - reminded us just how much we've missed (live) football !

 

[RegMuffin]

Was the COVID access point just a show of your ticket, ID, negative COVID test and then straight through into the turnstile?

First queue at the bottom of the ramp was a covid test result, photo ID and ticket check. Sniffer dogs looking for drugs too. Then up to the turnstiles, variable queue (level 5 queues massive) and just ticket check against photo ID this time.

Basically it's everything they promised - cast iron proof of a test, named tickets and photo ID to match. They will need significantly more staff for this to be done at a larger scale of more than 8k and given the dreadful arrangements at the Etihad on a regular match day, I simply cannot see how it is sustainable.

 

[kingswoodblue]

Brilliant day from start to finish - at first wasn’t to bothered if I missed out on a ticket. How wrong could you be. It was fantastic to see live sport, despite being 90% empty there was an atmosphere and as much as being able to watch City‘s game‘a from the comfort of your armchair is convenient, it doesn’t come anywhere close to being at the match and fully appreciating how gifted and brilliant our players and team are.

Would I go through the testing, travel conditions and expense again - too right I would, in an instant. Brought in to sharp focus - how much I missed going to the game in the last 12 months and how there’s no substitute for being there.

 

[Gundog’s Gundog]

Brilliant day from start to finish - at first wasn’t to bothered if I missed out on a ticket. How wrong could you be. It was fantastic to see live sport, despite being 90% empty there was an atmosphere and as much as being able to watch City‘s game‘a from the comfort of your armchair is convenient, it doesn’t come anywhere close to being at the match and fully appreciating how gifted and brilliant our players and team are.

Would I go through the testing, travel conditions and expense again - too right I would, in an instant. Brought in to sharp focus - how much I missed going to the game in the last 12 months and how there’s no substitute for being there.

My retrospective fomo just hit record levels!
To the victor the spoils - glad you had a great day. I weighed up the pros and cons and decided to give it a miss - big mistake.

 

[dawlishdave]

Hoping to be allowed to ask if in the event of fans being allowed to attend the Everton game what will you have to do to enter the Etihad.