Our annual trip to the North London Soccer Chickens and another early Sunday afternoon kick off meaning that those going by train need to go extra early because of rail disruptions.

White Hart Lane which for trivia lovers isn't actually in White Hart Lane itself but about 100 metres up the road from the actual lane and station of the same name, is one of those grounds that has been redeveloped over the years so much so that it is a totally different ground than one Saints fans would have gone to in the early 1980's. However it has been in its current form since the mid 90's so will be familiar to Saints supporters who have visited it since.

The Club are building a new state of the art Stadium adjacent to their current ground and are in the process of drawing up plans for supermarkets and other developments that will be attached and will help pay for it, however you have to question why they would want to do it in this location, the area around White Hart Lane is very run down and very few of the people who watch Spurs these days actually live in the area anymore, with most coming from North of the stadium in the suburbs of London and satellite towns of Hertfordshire etc, aligned with the poor transport links to the area, surely they would have been better looking at something a bit nearer the M25.

The Away Section

Its still where it has been for a great number of years, even before the ground was developed, in the corner of the Park Lane End where away teams have a maximum of 2,900 allocated in an upper and lower tier, we have both tiers for this game, the view from the upper tier is superb, whilst that from the lower less so.

There is little segregation between home and away fans with no netting etc, but there seems to have been little problems from this even in high profile fixtures.

The concourses sell the usual fare including alcohol, although for some reason they dont sell it to away fans at half time, only before the match.

Getting There.

By Car

Although a fairly near game as the crow flies, its quicker and easier to get to Villa Park than White Hart Lane by car, the most direct route would be through London itself around the North Circular Road, however this is notoriously slow, so using the M25 is quicker although it can add 30 miles or so to the journey, if you take this route, head North on the M25 from the M3 (towards Heathrow) and then stay on the motorway until junction 25 and then take the A10 towards Enfield which will take you close to the ground.

Parking

Parking is non existent on the streets and no parking zones are strictly enforced for around a mile radius, there are some private car parks but these will charge up to £15 for the privledge, one trick may be to park in Enfield from where you can get a train to White Hart Lane station.

By Train

There are two things that Saints fans should be aware of ahead of the weekend.

The first is that South West Trains have changed their pricing structure, that means that their Super Off Peak fare is no longer available on trains arriving into London before noon at weekends, this effectively means that you have to pay about £10 more with a mere off peak ticket if you want to get there before midday (£7 with network card)

The second is that there are no trains between Southampton Central and Winchester on Sunday, it is a replacement bus service, meaning that the journey time form Central to Waterloo is around two hours, around 30 minutes longer.

There are several options to get to the ground if you take the train to Waterloo, one is to take the Northern line to Warren Street and then the Victoria Line to Seven Sisters, from there its about a 20 minute walk to the ground down Tottenham High Road, although you can use a one day travelcard to get a bus down there, coming back it will be quicker to walk.

Another option is to go to Liverpool Street station and take the overground, you can either get a train to White Hart Lane Station which is around 5 minutes from the ground or another line to Northumberland park which is around 10 minutes from the other side of the ground.

Drinking Eating Etc

There are many options in the vicinity with the High Road having plenty of pubs and takeaways, however right by the ground its likely to be home fans only and whether you are close or further out its not the most salubrious of areas and this is one of the grounds where caution is advised if you are wearing colours.

However if you get off the tube at Seven Sisters there are a few pubs within a five minute walk to the ground just off Tottenham High Road as you head towards WHL and these are usually less hectic and more friendly than the ones closer

Some supporters prefer to drink around Liverpool Street Station before getting a train to either WHL station or Northumberland Park.

Ground Name: White Hart Lane

Capacity: 36,274 (all seated)

Address:

Bill Nicholson Way, 748 High Rd, Tottenham, London, N17 0AP

Main Telephone No: 0844 499 5000

Main Fax No: 020 8365 5005

Ticket Office: 0844 844 0102

(If calling from overseas: 00 44 208 365 5161)

Team Nickname: Spurs

Year Ground Opened: 1900

Pitch Size: 110 x 73 yards

Home Kit Colours: White & Navy

Kit Manufacturers: Under Armour

Official Web Site: www.tottenhamhotspur.com

Photo: Action Images

DanMac added 14:15 - Mar 13 I had to register just to ask what the hell the point is of you doing this? The stadium changed since the 80's so if you've not been since then it will be different, those that have been since it last changed, it won't be different - well yeah, thanks for that! The supermarket etc are already built, The technical college is already built, the stadium will be the last thing to be finished. The College and the Sainsbury's aren't to fund the stadium (mental you think a single shop would generate enough rent to even dent the £800m project). they are to fulfill obligations to create jobs and education in the community as part of the project. Hertfordshire isn't a town outside London, it's a county made up of lots of towns. As for moving, I don't even know where to start. Firstly, there was the much publicised attempt to do just that when we applied for the now failing London Stadium. The Supporter backlash was, rightfully, huge, so the decision in the end was to keep Tonttenham in Tottenham. It's nice that you're open to the franchise model of MK Dons for example but most people aren't into that. The transport links - part of the project is improved transport links, new and redeveloped stations etc. As for the area, it's a shared project with the government to redevelop the area and as a huge part of the community it is important we give back - I'm sure it's forced and contractual, I'm not saying we are doing this out of the kindness of our hearts, however, it's important to do that, rather than just bugger off elsewhere. That's just from your first 2 paragraphs. Surely the point of you writing this is to inform your supporters of information about the team your playing. In which case shouldn't you read up a bit to make sure you're a) telling them something they don't know and b) getting it right? This isn't coming from a bitter fan that thinks you've badmouthed Spurs, I honestly don't care what you think. I'm more frustrated with more lazy writing. Usually blogs are better as tyhey don't rush to beat others to the story and they write from a place of passion so they tend to care more - I have no idea why you've written this without checking any of it.

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SanMarco added 15:19 - Mar 13 I am a life-long Saints fan who happens to have lived in Tottenham for years (400 yards from the ground) and I don't like the Spuds but I do still agree with DanMac's sentiments. Tottenham is still a relatively poor area and the Council, in this day and age of Tory cuts, is basically beholden to Daniel Levy. The reason the stadium area is so run-down is because Spuds own all the land and this new stadium lark has been going on for years - it put all other development on hold. God knows what it will look like once it is finished but it will still be in Tottenham. For anyone who finds that odd just look at the word that comes before Hotspur in the club name. Dismissing the Tottenham area as an urban wasteland is the equivalent to writing-off the citizens of Southampton as a bunch of yokels. Football is middle class now due to Murdoch and the money/branding men but it is still played in urban, often inner-city, areas - and is the location of St Mary's really such an arcadia anyway???

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Mal added 15:59 - Mar 13 The 'Soccer Chickens'. Blimey how old are you? Had to register just to say 'what an awful article'. Clearly you are someone who doesn't get football at all. You ask the most ridiculous question about the new stadium 'why they would want to build it in this location?'. Err, because it's Tottenham and we're called Tottenham Hotspur and we play in Tottenham. Why do you think there were protests when the board 'threatened' to move to the Olympic Stadium? Where would you like Southampton's ground to be? How about Brockenhurst? It's lovely and affluent there. Tottenham are also building the ground to regenerate the area. The supermarket has been built; there will be a hotel and flats; a new station at WHL etc. Islington used to be a complete dive until it was gentrified. Tottenham is going through a much needed face lift and the club are helping to drive that. For your information, it is incredibly easy to get to WHL if you use the overground, tube and buses. Yep we have them in Tottenham would you believe. You will struggle to find a pub near the ground as you claim - clearly you haven't been to WHL recently (I very much doubt if you have ever been). Oh and the capacity is no longer 36,000 as you state. If you had watched one second of a Tottenham game on TV you would have noticed a huge gap in the NE corner and the commentator talking about the reduced capacity. Keep up the good work.

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Chesham_Saint added 17:46 - Mar 13 Sensitive fvckers these north London yobbos, aren't they? 😇
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Mal added 18:18 - Mar 13 Well Chesham Saint maybe we are or maybe we are just responding to a ridiculous article. Should we keep our thoughts to ourselves or respond - surely the latter is what the author would want. Your comment? Utterly pointless and demonstrating that you are either at primary school or very sad. Why not have a think (I'm guessing that might be tough for you) and write a sensible comment. Go on, I dare you. See you at the Lane on Sunday.

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SaintBrock added 18:20 - Mar 13 Crikey DanMac why bother to register on here just to tell us you've got the hump over something Nick has written about your club. What makes you think we should be interested in your opinion especially as most of us would never go near the place in any case?
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SaintBrock added 18:27 - Mar 13 For the record and to inform all our friends from North London, we already have a Sainsbury's In Brockenhurst and there is plenty of room in my back garden to build a new stadium.
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redwight added 19:24 - Mar 13 The satellite towns of Hertfordshire means exactly what it says, DanMac. Perhaps you decided to give grammar a miss at school. Anyway, whatever your problem is today, I hope you feel better tomorrow.
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Chesham_Saint added 19:30 - Mar 13 Mal - you must have mistaken me for someone who gives a fvck about you or your club. Nick's articles was clearly tongue in cheek - get over yourself.
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the_saint added 20:52 - Mar 13 Well well you seemed to have rattled a few Spuds nick. This board is for saints fans and if you don't like what you read then do one. There's a lot more bad things happening ithan a incorrect article. Get a life
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SalisburySaint added 13:42 - Mar 14 if you split train ticket by going Southampton to Basingstoke then Basingstoke to London including travelcard this works out over £6 cheaper than return fare if you are aiming to get up to London before midday at weekends
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Mal added 17:46 - Mar 14 Chesham Saint - unfortunately I mistook you for an intelligent person when in fact you have clearly demonstrated you are a moron. If you want to call me a fvcker feel free but as stated write something sensible or act your age. Oh hold on you already have. Tragic
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Chesham_Saint added 08:05 - Mar 15 Mal - you are just so precious. Anyone who gets on their high horse and lectures someone about childishness and then starts calling them names is unfamiliar with the concept of irony. In any event this is a football mong board, what should we expect. Chesham xx PS Is it too much to hope that you were the spurs fan punched in the mouth after the Millwall game? If so, lets hope it knocked some of the excessive pomposity out of you...

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SaintNick added 13:02 - Mar 15 Oooohhhh Spurs fans getting shirty, pity they didnt bother to read what i said, did I say Hertfordshire was a town No, did I say it was difficult to get to WHL ? No, Did I say there were not any pubs ? No only that right by the stadium they tended to be home fans only lol Im amazed that these people have taken so much time in something they aren't interested in
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Number_58 added 18:22 - Mar 17 Have we sent them the bill yet for the fence they kicked down in 1978? Bloody hooligans.
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