Two weeks to go!
Some of you on here are seasoned veterans but I thought perhaps we could share suggestions based on the final for people like myself who have only done Wembley a handful of times, those who are going for the first time and those who haven't got a ticket, but might want to take part in some of the boozing and singing before/during and after the match
Add to this with your own suggestions and experiences.
I'll start with the basics from what I know anyway.
Pre Match Pubs Away From WembleyFor most semi finals and finals at Wembley, a pub that is always popular with match going fans and has been for many years is
The Globe at Baker Street, mainly because it's essentially a good hub to meet people coming in from all over London and have a few drinks before boarding the underground to
Wembley Park. Usually you get a mixture of both fans in there. Villa for instance was good natured, with fans singing competing songs in turn etc and only turned a little nasty once most of the (larger) Liverpool contingent had left for the game, and then some of the Villa fans started some of the less endearing chants we know they come out with when they don't fear reprisal as much. Police generally are ok with you bevvying on the street with cans around the outside of the pub, but the local Tesco's obviously sell out quick and just stick warm beer in the fridges to restock, so if you intend on bringing your own and would prefer it cool/cold, buy it before, or drink it warm
From memory - they sometimes close The Globe for a period when the game ends - presumably so fans can't mingle there again- when emotions might be running high.
Here is a a picture of Liverpool fans at the Globe. This looks like it might be before Cardiff game as the other fans all appear to be in blue. It's always manic and loads of tourist people on the buses drive past and have no fucking clue what is going on, which is often quite hilarious.
Also at Baker Street I know a lot of people go into the Wetherspoons called
The Metropolitan on the other side of the road, but I haven't been in there so couldn't tell you what it's like.
Pubs Near The GroundIn terms of pubs nearer to the ground, the police usually assign pubs to each team for segregation purposes and for some of them you may have to show them a valid match ticket for the appropriate end to gain entry. Liverpool have been situated on the East almost every time recently, but this time we'll be on the West side of the ground. Here is a list of the assigned pubs from 2015. It is likely that we'll be assigned the pubs in Blue which were the West side pubs assigned for Aston Villa last year.
http://content.spiritofshankly.com/system/documents/821/original/WembleyPubsEastWest2015.pdfThe oft mentioned pub on the West side of the ground that I have seen is
The Green Man - but again my experience with that pub is limited so hopefully others can fill everyone in on what that's like or if they prefer any of the other pubs on the West Side. The Green Man is roughly a 12 minute walk from
Wembley Central or a 13 minute walk from
Wembley Park The other pubs we may get if the segregation is the same:
Blue Room, Liquor Station, JJ Moons, Thirsty Eddie's, Masti, Flannery's, Station 31, The Corner House, Fusilier, The Copper Jug and Powerleague (addressed for all these pubs are in the Spirit of Shankly link). Anyone with any experience of these?
Pubs For Watching The MatchIn terms of watching the match, my only experience of this was in 2012 when my brother and I went to the Globe and then went onto
The Golden Egg to watch both games. The Golden Egg was brilliant, as it was run by a Liverpool supporter I believe and before the match there were loads of banners up. Obviously the banners came down as people disappeared to watch the match but loads stayed to watch it and it felt like the very next best thing to being in the ground as goals and penalty wins were celebrated with random hugs like you'd expect at the ground with the one bonus being that celebration beers (or commiseration ones in the case of the Chelsea game) weren't hard to get.
Unfortunately in looking towards a hopeful final in 2015 (I was at the Villa game but would probably miss out on the final) I discovered that this pub is now closed.Therefore, London reds.... Are there any other big pubs that you would recommend people could gather in before or after, or that could be a great meeting point to watch the final with like minded reds? Personally I couldn't watch a cup final in the comfort of my own house, or in a pub in my city and would have to make the trip somewhere. I drove all the way up to Anfield for the Chelsea 2007 match, just to watch it in the Sandon - which was fab. Bundling over everyone with beer flying everywhere when Kuyt scored wouldn't have been the same on my own or with a handful of mates elsewhere and if you're unsure about making the trip down without a ticket, trust me, if you find somewhere with a lot of reds, it's absolutely boss - songs, the lot.
Bit lengthy, but hopefully that's the ball rolling. Hopefully whatever happens everyone will have a great day and hopefully it'll be made even better with some trophy lifting