I was also in the Gods in 517 near the front on my first visit to the "New Wembley" (yes I know it's been open for 7 years!). Apart from the game, I have mixed feelings about the stadium itself. Although it is awesome and it was wonderful (at least before the kick-off) to see all the Horns fans, I found myself curiously detached from the proceedings when the game started. Although I could see the pitch, it was so far away that I couldn't see the expressions on the players' faces, no noise from the kicks of the ball or the tackles - none of the things that make watching live football so compelling. It was as if I was watching the match on TV with the sound muted. I suspect that was the case with many of the people around me in the Gods and may be a reason for the lack of cheering, chanting i.e. "atmosphere". It was as if people thought that because Wembley is so vast that any noise they made would simply be lost in the bowl. Of course, it may have been different in the 100 seats or if we had put on a performance and won, but I had much the same experience at the Millennium Stadium in 2006 (and at St James' Park the following season). Add to this the exhorbitant prices for programmes, food, drink etc., the clinical corporate feel of the whole place (including the surrounding new build hotels, conference centres etc.) and, around the complex, the unremitting squalor of Wembley High Street and Wembley Park and the awfulness of its drinking establishments, it not a place I hope to revisit any time soon. Auto promotion next year methinks......
The touts wanted £150 a ticket before the game so I didn't bother with it. Have to say i was a little dismayed to have been offered a £90 ticket in the Watford end the night before for £175.......
Indeedy BB... Wifey has her hair done in Inverness so may drop you a bottle next time. Strangely she was there whilst I was at wembley.. hair or hornets... no contest.
