I purchased my Tickets for this game over 4 weeks ago. Because my Season ticket hadn't arrived (and still hasn't) I decided to call up and order them at the same time as I ordered my ticket to Leyton Orient away. Well after being cut off in the queue 3 times I finally got through and ordered my tickets. I was informed that due to the start time of the match being moved from 3pm to 2pm there would be "a slight delay" in despatching the tickets but they'd be posted "as soon as possible".
Well got to Monday last week and still no tickets,despite my One Hotspur account stating they'd been sent the same day as my Orient tickets, which I'd had for 3weeks. So I phoned the ticket office. After a couple of false starts (yep, kept getting kicked out of the queue) I finally got through. Well the long and the short of the conversation was (already not admitted in so many words) that my tickets had never actually been sent and they'd have to issue tickets that I could pick up "any time before the game".
On Friday I noticed that they were still on sale so I asked my girlfriend if she fancied coming too. In order to make sure the extra ticket I was going to buy was relatively close to where she and my friend Ross were going to be seated, and pick up their tickets from my original order, I decided to wander up to WHL in my lunch time on Friday. It meant taking along lunch but that'd be OK.
So off I went to the Paxton Road ticket office and queued up for about a half hour with the season ticket collectors and other people whose Torino tickets hadn't turned up. Bought my extra ticket then asked for the original two.
"Sorry sir, these are duplicate tickets that can only be issued on the day of the match." says the guy in the ticket office.
"But the original ones were never posted out. How can they be duplicates?" I replied.
"Sorry but that's the rules. They'll be available from 10am-11am from the ticket office, then after 11am from the ticket collection windows"
"Why was I told I could pick them up anytime before the game then? Why didn't I get told it was any time before kick off on the day of the game?"
"Sorry if there was any misunderstanding. NEXT"
That as that then. Well Saturday morning and the 3 of us meet up and get the tube from West London then the mainline from Liverpool Street up to Northumberland Park.
The walk down felt nice and familiar, almost like revisting a favourite aunt you'd not seen for too long. For my brothers girlfriend Ross this was her 1st visit to the Lane and she was really excited. She often goes to watch Wycombe play but this was her first trip to a premiership ground and her dad had been a Spurs fan all his life.She likes to say she's a Spurs supporter despite all the efforts of my brother to brain wash her into being a Gooner. As we walked up the sie of the East stand where I have my season ticket I was still amazed why people were queuing to go in at 12.30 for a 2pm kick off. I usually get into the round a maximum of 15 minute before kick off, prefering a trip up to the Coach & Horses for a Magners or 2 first. As we walked past the end of Paxton Road I thought I'd nip down and pick up the tickets. After a quick look and seeing the queue up to the other end of the Paxton Road an only seeing half the colletion windows open I decided that I'd come backafter a couple of drinks and the queue should have died down.
BIG BIG HUGE MISTAKE!
So we wandered down to the C&H for a couple and decided to leave about quarter of an hour before kick off. Nice to see the same old faces in the pub and catch up with what'd been happening during the off season and discuss the pre-season friendlies.
As we were about to leave someone told us that kick off had been delayed until 2.15 because there were still people queuing to collect tickets.Half hour I thought we'd have plenty of time to collect our tickets.
Well when we got within site of Paxton Road my heart sank. The queue was all the way from the Paxton collection windows, out to the High Road and as far as the we could see. So after checking that actually WAS the queue to collect prepaid tickets we walked along the High Road to find the back of the queue. Eventually it was found. Down by the OLD ticket office in the Park Lane.
A quick call to the club confirmed there was a major problem and that as the queue to collect the tickets so I thought sod it and went into The Bell and Hare for a drink. We hoped the kick off would be delayed further. Wishful thinking. From the beer garden we could here the cheers at 2.15 as the teams were announced. We could hear the oo's and ar's and finally, as we were leaving to rejoin the queue, there was the huge cheer as Keano scored.
So after telling the girls to wait for me outside gate 33 I wandered to the back of the queue, which was fortunately now in the Paxton Road, and finally got to the ticket window and collected the tickets. Got round to gate 33 so late that almost every turnstile was closed and finally got into the ground about 40 minutes after kick off.
Well that was just in time to queue for half time beers. So I did!
Second half was good. I thought Steed looked on the left and the midfield actally seemed to have some shape. Over all the girls had a great time joining in with the noise of the Park Lane and Ross thought it was a good game (well she's ued to watching Wycombe and this was the 1st game she'd ever been to where the team she was supporting actually WON!)
Headed back to the C&H afterwards and had a chat with a couple of people and ended up with one of my friends son getting my program signed by Martin Jol who they spotted sitting in the traffic on the High Road so Ross got a nice souvenir of her first trip to WHL to temper the annoyance and upset of missing half the match.
Had a kebab and a sing song session on the train back to Liverpool Street then headed home.
All in all this has just proven that everything the official site published on Friday about this new "better" Ticketmaster system is nothing but spin and hot air. I will be sending a letter of complaint to Paul Barber tomorrow asking for at least a half refun for the fact that we missed half he match.
Makes me glad that I've a season ticket for the rest of the season.
If it ever arrives!!