Chelsea v Arsenal

Fack me. Surely this entered thoughts when deciding on Baku for the final....obviously not. That's a disgrace.

comment by Eighties Glory Years (U22086)
posted 7 hours, 3 minutes ago
Europa League final: Arsenal & Chelsea fans face difficult trip to Baku

There are currently no direct scheduled flights between London and Baku in the week of the final.

If you want to fly to the game on the day then a lengthy wait in somewhere like Istanbul or Kiev would be needed.

The quickest journey by air on the day of the final takes six hours 55 minutes, with the majority lasting more than 10 hours.

The only way to fly direct to Baku for the game would be to leave London on the Saturday beforehand and return a week later, three days after the trophy has been lifted.

That's an eight-day trip for 90 minutes of football - and for a game which kicks of at 11pm local time (20:00 BST), so will not finish until around 1am!

So what about the train?

It takes more than four days to travel from London to Baku on public transport, passing through seven countries. Anyone who watched BBC Two's Race Across the World will know it might also involve some less-than-first-class rail conditions.

The whole journey would likely include 11 changes and a two-day train journey from Kharkiv in Ukraine to Baku.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48220247
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It would take a lot for someone like me to not be at an event like this, but they have actually managed to succeed in stopping me wanting to be there, even if it was possible to get a ticket with such a ridiculous allocation!!

Come on summer. Think about the journey. Sharing all those travelling hours together with Arsenal fans. Think of all the anti-Spurs songs you lot can sing whilst holding hands.

I think it is hilarious that both clubs are having to travel to the back of beyond to play in a competition, that not many supporters take seriously anyway.

Can you imagine that Arsenal supporter Tye walking around in Baku with his big earphones on. It will not reflect well on the British.

I would expect 2 English sides (if they can avoid each other) playing in the Europa final to become a regular thing. The teams who finish just outside the Prem top 4 will always be the strongest in the competition and now they've made it a back door way into the cl its being taken far more seriously.

Only when a top foreign team screw up in cl group stage like A. Madrid did last year will the English dominance be threatened.

comment by Flashy flibble (U10324)
posted 26 minutes ago
Come on summer. Think about the journey. Sharing all those travelling hours together with Arsenal fans. Think of all the anti-Spurs songs you lot can sing whilst holding hands.
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Yeah you've made me change my mind Flashy, I'm getting booked up straight away!!

comment by Flashy flibble (U10324)
posted 30 minutes ago
Come on summer. Think about the journey. Sharing all those travelling hours together with Arsenal fans. Think of all the anti-Spurs songs you lot can sing whilst holding hands.
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I fear for those nice middle class Arsenal fans.

Initally the Chelsea boys will appear friendly and they can enjoy a good old anti Spurs knees up but once the Chelsea lads have had a bit too much pop they will be looking for a punch up and their new friends will be right in the firing line.

Comment Deleted by Site Moderator

comment by Ace (U18814)
posted 20 minutes ago
comment by PawlBawron (U1055)
posted 39 minutes ago
I would expect 2 English sides (if they can avoid each other) playing in the Europa final to become a regular thing. The teams who finish just outside the Prem top 4 will always be the strongest in the competition and now they've made it a back door way into the cl its being taken far more seriously.

Only when a top foreign team screw up in cl group stage like A. Madrid did last year will the English dominance be threatened.
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It depends who drops out of the CL groups into the EL. Some years you get a really strong cohort of teams drop in, some years you get mostly dross like this year.

I’ve always said Europa should be streamlined so there’s no CL drop outs and no round of 32, it’s too bloated.
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I agree you shouldn't fail in one cup competition and drop into another. At least in that respect its a proper final.

I also agree with this. Even though we benefited from it one year it's a loophole that should be plugged.