Archive for January 21, 2024
Points dropped in drama
And after West Ham’s draw with Sheffield there was more drama later that Sunday when West Ham Women played Tottenham in east London. The claret and blue ladies lost the derby late in the second half though twice coming from behind in this game.
Wimbledon, it wasn’t to be
For the second time in little more than a year I tried to watch a game of AFC Wimbledon, only to get informed again shortly before the match that it was postponed…
Being a West Ham supporter I always would prefer to watch the Hammers when I am in London, but if they are not playing or playing away, I thought I still would be happy to watch a decent game of English league football played by other teams.
With West Ham playing at Sheffield this weekend, therefore I had a look at the plethora of other fixtures of the upcoming weekend and finally made up my mind to attend the game of QPR v Millwall.
But when I tried to book a ticket online it turned out that I was unable to book. Therefore, just having arrived at London some days prior to the game, I rang the box office of the west London club. They told me that in case I had not bought a QPR ticket before, it was impossible for me to get a ticket via the box office because of security restrictions applied for this derby game. However, I should write an email to the Club and try to get a ticket anyway.
I did so, but unfortunately the answer which arrived less than a quarter of an hour after my enquiry read:
Hi Wolfgang,
Many thanks for your email. Unfortunately we are unable to sell tickets to supporters who registered on our database after 12th December 2023. This is because Millwall is a derby match and this a restriction that has been put on by the police. Other games are available to purchase but it is just this one game that has the restriction.
Someone who has previous booking history at QPR can purchase a ticket on your behalf but sadly this is the only way we can get round the restriction.
We are sorry to give you a disappointing reply regarding this.
Many thanks
Khalim
Box Office
Queens Park Rangers Football Club
I did not know any QPR fans in London and didn’t want to search for someone with a previous booking history at QPR, therefore I was quick to scrap my plan to watch that game, and decided to move on and have another look at the fixtures played in London this weekend.
As I had already bought a ticket for a game of Wimbledon AFC some time ago, and the history of the south London club being founded in 2002 by former supporters of the original club which had relocated to Milton Keynes, miles away in Buckinghamshire, is quite interesting from a fan’s point of view, I lightheartedly swapped the Hoops for the Dons!
To buy a ticket online for Wimbledon’s League Two match against Crawley Town was no problem at all with their Plough Lane ground not having sold out on the Thursday before the game. And playing Crawley Town FC from West Sussex, there were obviously no security restrictions preventing me from buying a ticket. The email saying “Thank you for your order” was received immediately after having made my payment online.
Though with my history with Wimbledon I shouldn’t have been too complacent with this purchase! It was in December 2022 that I had already planned to watch a game of Wimbledon AFC. However, some hours before kick-off, I had received an email saying:
Dear ticket holder,
We are sorry to announce that today’s game has been postponed.
Everyone has done everything they could to make sure it went ahead, but the weather decided otherwise.
We will keep everyone posted on the updated fixture details as soon as possible.
Any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out.
We hope to see you in the new year!
With best wishes,
Sophia Axelsson, Women’s General Manager
But back then it had rained AND had been cold. This time the weather in London had been dry, though really unusually cold. There had been no rain or snow since our arrival on Wednesday evening, therefore I was not aware at all of possible problems with the pitch this time.
However, what did I see when I opened the BBC fixtures list on Saturday:
League Two
Wimbledon P-P Crawley
Match postponed – Frozen Pitch
Too bad! My second attempt to watch the Dons, and neither their Women’s team in 2022, nor their men’s squad in 2024 was willing to show their football skills in front of me!
I asked for a refund, and on Saturday evening the reply was in my inbox:
Hi Wolfgang,
Your refund has been issued; this usually takes 3-5 working days to show back onto your payment card.
Kind regards
Mandy Bynon
Club Office: 020 8547 3528
AFC Wimbledon
Thank you, Wimbledon! I had a nice walk on this Saturday afternoon instead, relishing the wonderful London view from Hampstead Heath.
But what have I learned from these unpleasant incidents with other football clubs?
They reply quite quickly to emails, but only to tell me that I cannot attend their respective fixtures.
Well, to be clear: football is not just entertainment, it’s much more than this. Football should only be watched when having “a history” with a club.
It seems the “gods of football” don’t want me to cheat on West Ham and have an affair with an other London club. Therefore I will be true claret and blue in the future, and stick with the Irons!
AFC Wimbledon might hold the record for the longest unbeaten run of league matches in English senior football according to Wikipedia (having played 78 consecutive league games without a defeat between February 2003 and December 2004) and they may have a peculiar history (having been founded by their fans). However, I will stick with that club being founded as “Thames Ironworks FC” by shipbuilding workers which never will be unbeaten for more than some games, and always are likely to suffer an upset like losing 0-5 at Fulham or going out of the Cup against minor opposition…
Come on you massive Irons, champions of Europe, that’s what you are! Get back to winning ways today against Sheffield Utd away!
Well, you could argue that I still could have watched West Ham’s women’s team on Sunday evening playing Tottenham, but other commitments prevent me from going. Therefore l just can keep my fingers crossed and have a close look on my iPhone this afternoon and evening to learn about West Ham’s fate this weekend!
Come on you Irons!
EXTRA TIME 
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