Travel

[Otis62 6]

I’ve always wondered about team travel to away fixtures. Obviously if it’s miles away it would be the day before, but what about games such as tomorrow ?

 

[ec-p 90]

I think they take a flight sometimes.

Edited January 11, 2019 by ec-p

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

Teams will pretty much always travel the day before a game. 

[Woodman 92]

I'd imagine for most of the longer journeys, they'd take a flight - Bristol, Preston, Swansea, Stoke, Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Leeds(?); whereas Birmingham & the London teams it'd be a coach.  I used to work near the airport and would often see the team arrive on a Friday lunchtime to take a flight to away games.

Of course, the coach should have left much earlier for the Sheff Utd game last season...!

There was the terrible waste a few years ago of the Arsenal team who flew up to Norwich for a game.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

I think Norwich have pretty much stopped flying now due to the cost. But Premier League teams will fly on most weekends. 

I remember Chelsea once travelled the day before and away game at West Ham and stayed in a hotel over night. 

There are team building benefits to staying overnight etc. Also some managers used to be pretty keen on their players not spending the night with wives/girlfriends the day before a game. 

Big premier league teams often have sleep coaches now that work with the players, as there is some pretty clear evidence about how a player sleeps and how well they play. 

[Branston Pickle 3,635]

It’s Not like the ‘good old days’ with some players playing still half-pi$$ed from the night before, and/or stopping off at the chippy on the way home!

It does look like most teams we’re playing use Ellisons coaches for team travel, they are usually parked up outside the Barclay (their website says they are used by over half PL sides).  We often pass them on the A11 on the way home when in the car, suggesting that in the Champs sides still coach it.  For London sides to fly up to Norwich seems horrendously wasteful on so many levels.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

Arsenal flew a couple of times but stopped once the A11 was dueled I think. 

They once got stuck in a traffic jam and arrived at their hotel after midnight and Wenger demanded that never happened again.