Saints have one of their closest away trips of the season on Saturday when they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea, here is all the details that you need if you are one of the 3,000 Saints supporters making the trip.
The Ground
Stamford Bridge is a stadium relatively unchanged since its major redevelopment back in the late 90's early 00's, the East Stand though has been there for around 40 years and is the only surviving stand from that great game in 1976 when we beat Crystal Palace to reach the FA Cup Final.
If you have time go and see the statue of Saints legend and Saints FA Cup Final winner Peter Osgood, its situated behind the West Stand which is the other side from the away section, older Saints fans remember Ossie fondly and although he will always be first and foremost a Chelsea legend, he always loved Southampton and we were never far behind his beloved Blues in his affections.
Getting There
By Car
Take the M3 and follow it towards central London, you then have two options, just after Richmond take the South Circular A205 and follow signs to Putney, there turn over Putney Bridge and you will be within a 15 minute walk of the ground, or alternatively follow signs to Hammersmith, my advice would then to take the signs to Fulham and go down the Fulham Road, after passing Craven Cottage on your right head towards Chelsea on your left.
Parking
As you would expect there isn't much parking available however if you park down towards Fulham there should be plenty of street parking although you need to check for restrictions etc, with Tube journeys costing £4 for a single journey these days, gone are the days when it was cost effective to park a few tube stops up the line.
By Train
If you are going by train its probably cheaper to buy a ticket direct to either Clapham, Putney or West Brompton avoiding Waterloo if you are not planning on going into central London .
It can also work out cheaper if you split the ticket, a cheap day return with a third off using a railcard or groupsave to Putney will cost £31.90 £48.40 without) however if you go into central London you will need a travelcard for access to the tube etc that will add £8 with a railcard or groupsave of £12 without.
You can go into central london via Waterloo and then take the tube to Embankment and pick up a District line train bound for Wimbledon that takes you to Fulham Broadway which is the nearest tube station to Stamford Bridge, but the quickest way is to get off at Clapham Junction and pick an overground train to either Putney a 30 minute walk away or Imperial Wharf or West Brompton, both are about a ten minute walk to Stamford Bridge, from a logistical point of view you will probably get there quicker.
The Away Section
Its situated in the East corner of the Shed End and consists of two tiers, upper and lower, a few season's ago it was over £50 for the upper and £47 for the lower, but now due to the Twenty's Plenty campaign by the Football Supporters Federation that has seen all away tickets reduced to £30.
Given just how low to the action that lower tier is, its recommended to pay the extra and get an elevated view of proceedings. It has the full range of food etc, tv screens in the concourse and beer.
Eating Drinking Etc
There are quite a few pubs on Fulham Broadway which runs past the stadium, but most of these are quite partisan although as long as your not loud etc, some can be ok, but most don't let in away supporters and usually away supporters will have a drink around Earls Court and West Brompton where there are a few pubs and a little less hectic than around the ground as well as a plethora of take aways etc.
Putney is also an option, it is a little further away from Stamford Bridge, but there are many pubs en route which are a little quieter than those around Earls Court and West Brompton.
Alternatively just outside Clapham Junction station there are a few good pubs and its a short journey on the overground.
As usual if you have any good tips for going to Chelsea then pass them on to your fellow Saints fans in the comments section below
Capacity: 41,623 (all seated)
Address: Fulham Road, London, SW6 1HS
Telephone: 0207 958 2190
Fax: 020 7381 4831
Ticket Office: 0871 984 1905
Stadium Tours: 0871 984 1955
Pitch Size: 113 x 74 Yards
Club Nickname: The Blues
Year Ground Opened: 1905
Undersoil Heating: Yes