Suggested letter

Dear Councillor,

it has come to my attention that, when the Regulatory Committee meets on March 29, the decision you make related to item 4 could have serious safety implications to Sunderland AFC supporters.

I, like others, oppose any attempt to breach stadium regulations without exception.

However, my concern is that, unless Manchester United get a reasonable allocation (upwards of 5,000) there will be a strong possibility of thousands of away supporters trying to gain access to the home end.

Last season, 45,408 people attended the same match, leaving 3,592 empty seats - all in the home end.

It is reasonable to assume there could be even more empty seats at this season's match as there is likely to be nothing riding on the game for Sunderland.

In comparison, the match could be of huge importance to United as it could be a title decider.

If that is the case, thousands of United fans would try to buy home-end tickets, whether through Sunderland, through ticket touts or Sunderland fans and some might even try to force entry into the stadium without a ticket.

Two seasons ago when the title was decided on the final day in a match at Wigan, United had an allocation of 6,000 tickets and even then there were about a thousand United fans in the Wigan end.

This provoked multiple flashpoints in the stadium with home fans attacking United fans.

And, as the home-end gates opened with five minutes to go, the stewards were overpowered and, again, about 800 United fans entered the stadium to see the trophy presentation - causing more flashpoints with home fans.

While I, of course, would class that as intolerable behaviour, I cannot ignore that it happened and would be likely to happen again unless necessary steps were taken.

If 'safety' measures are to be taken in the truest sense of the word, then the safety of all fans on the day must be taken into account.

I believe the only way of doing so is to increase the size of the allocation and to impose a strict procedure for purchasing home-end tickets for this match.

Finally, it has previously been recorded that Liverpool fans have repeated contravened stadium regulations with persistant standing at Sunderland.

As a result they got a reduced allocation of 2,361 for this seasons game - more than 600 than the committee proposes to pass on March 29.

I would urge you to either defer any decision until police and Sunderland AFC's safety officer has had chance to consider alternative options for allocation arrangements or to reject the recommendations put before you in point 4.1

thanks,
xx xxx, Sunderland

Alternative trains from Wembley

Option 1 – journey time 2:56
Leave North Wembley: 17:13
Arrive London Euston: 17:40
Leave: 17:55
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 20:09

Option 2 – journey time 2:46
Leave Wembley Central: 17:44
Arrive Milton Keynes Central: 18:32
Leave: 18:48
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 20:30

Option 3 – journey time 2:56
Leave North Wembley: 18:13
Arrive London Euston: 18:40
Leave: 18:55
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 21:09

Option 4 – journey time 2:46
Leave Wembley Central: 18:44
Arrive Milton Keynes Central: 19:31
Leave: 19:48
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 21:30

Option 5 – journey time 2:56
Leave North Wembley: 19:13
Arrive London Euston: 19:40
Leave: 19:55
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 22:09

Option 6 - journey time 2:46
Leave Wembley Central: 19:44
Arrive Milton Keynes Central: 20:32
Leave: 20:48
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 22:30

Option 7 – journey time 3:48
Leave Wembley Central: 19:53
Arrive Harrow and Wealdstone 20:01
Leave: 20:06
Arrive Watford Junction 20:13
Leave: 20:32
Arrive Birmingham New Street: 21:44
Leave: 22:01
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 23:41

Option 8 – journey time 3:30
Leave North Wembley: 20:43
Arrive London Euston: 21:08
Leave: 21:24
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 00:13

Option 9 - journey time 3:28
Leave Wembley Central: 21:25
Arrive Harrow and Wealstone: 21:33
Leave: 21:40
Arrive Milton Keynes Central: 22:32
Leave: 22:48
Arrive Manchester Piccadilly: 00:53

Alternative trains to Wembley

Option 1 – journey time 2:55
Leave Manchester Piccadilly: 08:20
Arrive Watford Junction: 10:39
Leave: 10.51
Arrive Wembley Central: 11:15

Option 2 – journey time 3:18
Leave Manchester Piccadilly : 08:27
Arrive Crewe: 09:00
Leave: 09:13
Arrive Watford Junction: 11:13
Leave: 11:21
Arrive Wembley Central: 11.45

Option 3 – journey time 3:11
Leave Manchester Piccadilly: 09:20
Arrive Milton Keynes Central: 11:12
Leave: 11:25
Arrive Harrow and Wealdstone: 12:13
Leave: 12:22
Arrive Wembley Central: 12:31

Option 4 – journey time 3:38
Leave Manchester Piccadilly: 09:27
Arrive Birmingham New Street: 10:58
Leave: 11:10
Arrive Wembley Central: 13:03

Option 5 – journey time 2:55
Leave Manchester Piccadilly: 10:20
Arrive Watford Junction: 12:34
Leave: 12:52
Arrive Harrow and Wealdstone: 12:58
Leave: 13:07
Arrive Wembley Central: 13:15

Option 6 – journey time 2:52
Leave Manchester Piccadilly: 10:35
Arrive Milton Keynes Central: 12:18
Leave: 12:41
Arrive North Wembley: 13:27

Option 7 – journey time 2:47
Leave Manchester Piccadilly: 11:15
Arrive Milton Keynes Central: 12:50
Leave: 13:11
Arrive Wembley Central: 14:02

Option 8 – journey time 3:05
Leave Manchester Piccadilly: 11:35
Arrive London Euston: 13:49
Leave: 14:17
Arrive North Wembley: 13:40

To the stadium from Wembley Central station

Turn right and walk along High Road past McDonalds and Burger King to the Wembley Triangle Junction and Clock Tower Island.

Turn Left into Wembley Hill Road, cross the road and follow the pedestrian route across the White Horse Bridge. It takes 15 minutes.

You can also reach Wembley from London Euston and Harrow and Wealdstone via the Tube.
The price is included in your train ticket and your train ticket will work on the Tube turnstiles.

To the stadium from North Wembley station

Follow the pedestrian route under Empire Way and over Olympic Way to the front of the stadium. It takes 10 minutes.