United progress hangs in the balance

An early away goal was the dream start for the Reds in Munich tonight - but two second-half goals by the host leave United on the back foot going into next Wednesday's return leg.

That said, a goal in that game at Old Trafford would be enough to put United through to the semi final, where a two-legged tie with either Lyon or Bordeaux would await.

In the first leg in Lyon tonight, the home side won 3-1. The second leg of that match also takes in eight days.

If United did make it through, the away leg of the semi final would be played on Tuesday, April 27.

See highlights from both games here.

Munich ticket, travel and pub guide

Bayern Munich
UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg
Tuesday March 30, 2010, kick off 19:30 UK time and 20:30 German time
Allianz Arena, Munich

Tickets
United have got 3,048 tickets costing £46.50. About 800 of those will be priced at £91.50.

All tickets have been sold and have been sent out by special delivery.

All tickets in the home end are also sold out, making the match a 66,000 sell out.

Weather
According to the BBC forecast, those making the trip are in for a treat.

It's not quite t-shirt weather in the Bavarian capital, but it's not far off.

Those arriving on Monday will be welcomed by light rain broken by sunshine and temperatures of up to 13C/55F.

Match day itself will bring sunny internals and temperatures of up to 17C/63F, though it will probably drop down to 5C/41F for the match.

It will be a much colder 8C/46F as most reds make their way home on Wednesday in light rain.

TV
Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD will show the match live, with the show starting at 19:00 and ending at 21:45.

From Munich Airport to town
The airport is 17 miles north east of the city centre. You can take the train or the bus into town or hire a car from the airport or get a taxi.

By train, follow the airport signs to Munich Airport Station, which is in a tunnel beneath the central section of the airport, similar to the layout at London Stansted.

Take line S1 or S8 on the Suburban Railway service. It takes 45 minutes to reach the central Munich Train Station, called Hauptbahnhof and trains leave roughly every 10 minutes at peak hours and every 30 minutes off peak. It costs e8 one way.

Lufthansa provides an airport bus shuttle to town, but it costs e8 one way and takes longer than the train. It's not worth it.

By taxi, it will take you about 40 minutes and cost you about e55.

Of course, there's plenty to do away from the stadium.

Hotels
If you've not sorted a room out yet, we have options for all budgets in our guide which can be found here.

Things to do in town
First, get to grips with the Metro. It's as easy to navigate as any other city. Here is a map.

The restaurants are fantastic if a little pricey (a pint of lager will set you back about e.3.75, by the way) and there's plenty in the way or architecture, with many gems on show, like the New Town Hall and The Peterskirche church - both close to the central Marienplatz square.

Pubs
There two Irish pubs mainly which will be the meeting point of reds.

The main one is Killains at Frauenpltz 11 (pictured), just off the central Marianplatz (it can be a bit tricky to find through a maze of backstreets though).

And the other one is The Shamrock at Trautenwolfstrsse 6 – but we recommend Killains.
What other sites are there to see?

The Munich Memorial
It's in the quiet district of Trudering at the spot that marks where the plane came down on February 6, 1958.

From the central Munich Train Station, called Hauptbahnhof, take the red U7 service 11 stops east towards Messestadt-Ost and get off at Trudering.

Walk up the steps and, with the parkland on your right, walk about 500 yards straight and follow the road round to the right.

Walk for another few minutes and you should see a football pitch/park on your right and a pub on your left.

Turn left past the pub and you'll see the memorial right in front of you. There's also a shop and florists opposite the pub.

Getting to the ground
From Hauptbahnhof, take the U4 line two stops east toward s Arabellapark and get off at Odeonsplatz.

Then take the U6 line 10 stops north towards Garching-Forschungszentrum and get off at Frottmaning.

From there, follow the crowd. You can see the stadium when you leave the station. It's a 10-minute walk to the turnstiles.

Other useful information

Read the Foreign Office's travel advice for Munich here.
Read the Munich Tourist Association's webpages here.

Bolton ticket, travel and pub guide

Bolton Wanderers
Reebok Stadium
Premier League
Saturday March 27, kick off 17.30pm

Tickets
Executive members and season ticket holders who can find out now if they have them.

United have got 2,800 tickets in the South Stand lower tier.

They cost the same as they did last season £27 for adults, £21 for over 65s and £13 for under 16s.

When Liverpool played at the Reebok Stadium in August, they got 4,635 tickets.

Home-end tickets are now on sale to anyone with a booking history with Bolton.

TV
ESPN and ESPN will show the match live. The show starts at 16:45 and ends at 19:45.

Weather

Saturdays' game between Bolton and United will be played in light rain in temperatures of 9C48F, according to the BBC.

But despite the forecast, the Wanderers' stadium in Horwich is on high ground and it is renowned for a biting wind to whip around the stands.

Another plus is that heavy rain is predicted for Sunday and Monday, but only light rain is forecast for Saturday during the match.


Travel
Yes, it’s only up the road, so it won’t be a long guide, but some people may wish to know train times and where to park for free.

Car - £5.20
It’s very simple from Manchester. Take the M61 to junction 6, do a right at the roundabout and you’ll see the stadium in front of you.

Do a right at the next roundabout for Lostock Lane. For the Beehive, go straight on at that roundabout and you’ll see it right in front of you at the next roundabout.

If you’re using a satnav or a routeplanner, key in the postcode BL6 6JS. It’s 20 miles away and will cost £5.20 in petrol.

Parking
A space on the stadium car park costs £6 and there are a few industrial estates dotted nearby, like off Lostock Lane, with spaces for £3.

There’s an Asda supermarket adjacent to the ground. Non-customer parking is banned on matchdays, but there’s nothing to stop you going in to buy a newspaper before the game. Putting your receipt on the dashboard also helps.

Depending on how far you want to walk, there are free spaces further down Lostock Lane and past the Beehive Pub. You can park at the Beehive for £5.

Train - £3.30
Get an off-peak return ticket to Horwich Parkway, which is a two-minute walk to the stadium.

To the match
Direct trains leave Piccadilly at 10:46, 10:54 and then at 46 and 54 past each hour after that.

All those trains call at Oxford Road three minutes later and Deansgate three minutes after that.

The journey takes roughly 30 minutes from Piccadilly.

At 16 past each hour starting at 10:16, you can get a train from Piccadilly to Bolton and then change for Horwich Parkway. The whole journey takes 40 minutes.

All of these trains leave from Platform 14 at Piccadilly.

Don't leave Piccadilly after 16:54 else you'll miss kick off.

Direct trains leave Victoria at 10:22 and then at 22 minutes past the hour up to and including 15:22 and then the final one leaves at 16:20. They all leave from Platform 6. The journey takes 27 minutes.

There are trains every 15 minutes or so that take you to Salford Crescent where you can change for Horwich Parkway. The full journey takes 40 minutes.

Don't leave Victoria after 16:22 else you'll miss kick off.

From the match
Trains leave Horwich Parkway to Manchester at:

19:14V, 19:27P, 20:14V, 20:27P, 20:39P (change at Chorley), 20:39P, 21:14V, 21:27P, 22:14V, 22:27P, 23:14V, 23:27P, 23:56V. The journey takes roughly 30 minutes.

The first few trains after the game will probably run differently and more frequently to the timetable and will go to Victoria non stop.

Bus - £1.50
Bolton runs 13 bus services to and from the stadium on matchdays for £1 single and £1.50 return.

They start from Bury, Radcliffe, Swinton, Leigh, Farnworth, Bolton, Bromley Cross, Darcy Lever, Chorley, Wigan and Egerton. Timetable information is here.

You could, for example, catch the Metrolink to Radcliffe (on the Bury Line) and walk two minutes to Radcliffe bus station and catch the number 3 bus, listed above.

Coach - £13
United are running coaches to the game with places costing £14 per person.

The coaches leave the Old Trafford N2 car park at 15:30pm and are expected to return at 20:45. Call United on 0161 868 800 or go here to book.

The Betty Bus is running to this game. Details to follow shortly.

You can book by emailing your name, number of places needed and a contact number to redsaway@hotmail.co.uk

Red Army Travel is running a coach to this game with places costing £15 per person. Call 0161 998 4455 or 07545 39 1999 to book.

Pubs
Scotts, in between the train station and the ground, is only open to fans showing home end tickets on the door. There’s usually a fair bit of a room there on match days and you can get served quicker than you’d expect.

My favourite when visiting the Reebok is The Bromilow Arms in Lostock Lane. You can park there for £3 and they do brilliant food.

It can get quite packed pretty early and it can sometimes take 15/20 minutes to get served.

It’s technically a home fans’ pub but you won’t get any trouble from the locals, mainly because it’s popular with older fans who come for the real ales and with families who come for the decent food, especially the curry.

You can also park on the car park outside The Beehive (pictured) in Chorley New Road.

Believe it or not, it’s a Grade Two listed building. It’s much bigger than the Bromilow, has an outdoor seating area at the front and is pretty much the main away fans’ pub for this ground. It opens at 11am.

But because of that, you tend to get lots of police and the (albeit small) chance of trouble. But it’s only a five-minute walk to the ground, as is the Bromilow.

If you’re after something a bit quieter, you’ll have to venture a bit further from the stadium, but it’s worth it.

Head towards the motorway roundabout and turn left at the next roundabout onto Chorley Road. At number 480, you’ll find The Royal Oak, which is a great little place for a pre-match pint.

And further down that road, you’ll find The Wagon and Horses, which is a decent little boozer.

Time to stand up to Sunderland!

Yes, it's that time of year again!

United are playing Sunderland away, and those nice old councillors at Sunderland Town Hall are about to reduce the number of away-end tickets.

Last season United got 1,700 tickets and councillors will meet on Monday to discuss "the possibility of restricting the number of seats available to Manchester United as a sanction for persistent standing at the corresponding fixture in the 2008/09 season."

However, it's not too late to influence the decision.

Our view at Reds Away - as it is at Stretford End Flags - is that, rather than improving fans' safety, reducing the allocation would actually endanger it because thousands of United fans would, rightly or wrongly, try to get in the home end.

This is Sunderland AFC's view on the subject.

Responding to an email from Stretford End Flags, Sunderland's safety manager, Paul Weir, said: "We are duty bound to encourage people to sit in our all seater stadium in consideration of spectator safety and comfort.

"Your view regarding standing is exactly that, your view.

"I have complaints from other supporters complaining that they and their children could not see the game due to people standing for long periods."

And, quite provocatively, he added: "One way of ensuring an increased allocation is to comply with the ground regulations, and not to consider yourself above them."

But luckily for us, it's not Paul who makes the final decision.


Sunderland City Council's regulatory committee will meet on Monday afternoon.

Here is the report they will consider.

You can make your views known on the issue to the people making the decision.

Email the committee's chairman at cllr.amy.wilson@sunderland.gov.uk
and the other committee members can be contacted at:

cllr.peter.gibson@sunderland.gov.uk
cllr.paul.maddison@sunderland.gov.uk
cllr.sylvia.old@sunderland.gov.uk
cllr.ivan.richardson@sunderland.gov.uk
cllr.james.scott@sunderland.gov.uk
cllr.john.walton@sunderland.gov.uk
and
cllr.denis.whalen@sunderland.gov.uk

Here is some sample wording to inspire you.
Finaly, the councillors only have to consider the views of people who live in Sunderland, though, should someone email them and simply say they were from Sunderland, they would have no reason to suggest they were lying.

Blackburn ballot results expected today

Executive members and season ticket holders who applied for tickets to see United at Blackburn can find out today if they have them.

United have been given about 6,900 tickets in the upper and lower tiers of the Darwen End at Ewood Park.

They will cost £35 for adults, £25 for over 65s and £15 for under 16s.

A full travel and pub guide will appear here shortly.

United in the news

Rooney and Carrick tuck into junk food after training at United (Georgina Littlejohn, Daily Mail)

With a huge Champions League match on the horizon, is this really the kind of food we want our Premier League stars gorging on? More.

United fast-track Owen Hargreaves' return (Louise Taylor, The Guardian)

Sir Alex Ferguson summoned the midfielder to train with the first team this morning, raising hopes that he may have a part to play in the title race. More.

Bolton's Cahill could return against United (The Sports Network)

The 24-year-old former Aston Villa star has been sidelined since the end of January when it was revealed that he had a blood clot in his arm. More.

Mild conditions await United at the Reebok

Saturdays' game between Bolton and United will be played in light rain in temperatures of 9C48F, according to the BBC.

But despite the forecast, the Wanderers' stadium in Horwich is on high ground and it is renowned for a biting wind to whip around the stands.

Another plus is that heavy rain is predicted for Sunday and Monday, but only light rain is forecast for Saturday during the match.