A couple of things to note from my recent trip:
- Always check the team's website before a reserves match. With generally crappy weather all week, QPR postponed it's reserves match on Thursday so the pitch didn't get beaten up for the first team match on Sunday. Which I didn't find out until I got to Loftus Road on Thursday night. It would have been anyone's last chance to see former Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens, who was not re-signed, presumably right after the rescheduled match today.
- English stadiums have nothing on our concessions. The food at the Emirates sucks. Really badly. Should have gotten something from one of the little stands on the walk from the Underground station. And the concourse is pretty sparse, considering it's a brand new building. They don't care too much about the non-soccer aspects.
- Speaking of the concourse, the continuous football news feed at halftime did include news of David Beckham's two goals for the Galaxy, also noted in the one newspaper I picked up on Monday.
- I didn't quite grok the gambling culture at the games, but I wish I had, because I definitely would have bet on McBride getting the first goal for Fulham, and I like Nicklas Bendtner enough to have taken a flyer on him in the Arsenal match. Although I was leaning toward Everton in that one overall, since they had (slightly) more to gain from a win.
- The Fulham-Birmingham City match deserves its own post. What a wonderful experience, and contrast between that match and Arsenal-Everton the next day was night and day.
- I got a kick out of the fans in the mens room at halftime of the Arsenal match looking to take up a collection in order to buy Emmanuel Eboue's contract and "make him do the shopping." The displeasure of the fans with Arsenal's efforts going forward was probably the most interesting part of that match.