Montenegro - Wayne Rooney and the final chapter

Sleep deprived as usual I clawed my way across the bedroom floor, minutes before the alarm would sound and really awaken the senses, not something I wanted to do at 3 in the morning. But sometimes these sacrifices need to be made to follow the national team across the increasing expanses of Europe and provide the support they really need. I'm sure Wayne Rooney and company would be desperately upset if I wasn't there! OK, its not true but that's what I tell my wife every time I book another flight  to another unknown destination.

The last trip didn't excite the travel senses but Montenegro is a new country for all England fans, so we looked forward to this one with a little anticipation. If allowing new teams and countries into the UEFA finals has some benefits this has to be one of them. The 3 points were almost a given, so it wasn't for that reason that we parted with several hundred pounds, sweated over match ticket purchases and set off on the early morning trip to Luton airport last Thursday. We collected a couple of other YES friends along the way and joined the throngs heading south on the M1, by the way why are the motorways so crowded at that time of day, does nobody need any sleep? And why are the parking and drop off arrangements so bad at Luton airport, does anybody know how that's meant to work?

The check in queue was alive with fellow England fans, plenty of them old friends who we've met over the years and the miles. A quick cup of coffee in the departure lounge and hey presto we were being ushered onto our plane for the 2-3 hour flight to Tivat. Interestingly the plane had set off from Manchester airport earlier that day so it had about 50-60 England fans already on board but a further pit stop at Luton was required so that we could join them.

On arrival at Tivat we were put onto coaches for the 30 minute journey to our hotel at Budva further down the coast. Our Police escort ( we were to see a few of these) ensured a speedy trip and at all traffic lights and junctions we were given priority. Now that's how to treat England fans! Within minutes of the journey starting the phones were ringing with tales of tickets and the cost. I had mine but we were 3 short and now faced with additional costs of 50 to 100€, something to sleep on maybe? At the hotel we settled down to enjoy a beer or two and lap up the late summer sun and the facilities at the hotel.

A relaxing day was planned, a few beers, some lunch, a stroll on the beach, check out the local wildlife, you know the kind of thing! Later that day after a  quick taxi ride  we arrived at the Old Town of Budva, a fortified town of walls and narrow streets alongside a marina resplendent with expensive yachts all standing to attention in their measured rows. A quick win on the Lotto would find me back here pretty quickly!

The Old Town is really pretty, some interesting shops open quite late into the night, but our main focus would be the open air bars, it may be late in the summer but its still warm enough to enjoy the evening without sitting indoors. Doesn't beer always taste better when sat outside?


Several beers later we set off to explore the rest of Budva by the sea. It was clearly out of season, all the beach bars and restaurants had either closed or had virtually no customers at all. We walked for ages before deciding we'd seen enough and jumped a cab back to the hotel.

A nightcap or two later, some pleasant chit chat about how we planned match day and we hit the sack, about 24 hours after my head had left my own pillow.


The next day again proved warm and sunny. Up nice and early to take advantage of the enormous breakfast buffet put us all in the right mood. A couple of phone calls made sure we all had tickets waiting for us when we arrived in Podgorica and so we settled into a match day routine. Being based at a decent hotel on the outskirts of Budva does have its advantages, we were in place known as Becici, but when its out of season there doesn't appear to be a lot to do. Some England fans had braved the outdoor pool, but the water park adjacent to the hotel was closed, to be honest I'm glad it was! So, a stroll along the beach, a pleasant hour or two passed with a beer and a bit of lunch before heading back to the hotel to await transport to Podgorica.

The coaches filled up and set off with yet another Police escort. Being held back at a major intersection was a minor set back but the Police did want all coaches to travel together, and the delay was to await other coaches travelling from different parts, and countries to assemble before the trip into the mountains. The climb out of Budva and high into the surrounding mountains took a while but we were happy to be on our way. Again we had the VIP treatment as the coaches sped us into Podgorica affording us priority status at all road junctions. The locals seemed mightily impressed with the convoy and waved us into their city.

A quick stop off at the hotel to collect tickets and we were free to enjoy the city, the match day and the pre-match atmosphere. We settled for a nice open air bar on the banks of the river Moraca, nestled in the ravine with a view of the Hotel Podgorica on the opposite bank which housed the England team that day. The route we chose to access the bar wasn't the most picturesque though! Service was very slow, glasses were in short supply, but then again its not every day a few thousand England fans hit town intent on drinking the place dry. It was nice to see some friendly faces enjoying the same hospitality, some YES friends having made the trip down through Kosovo and Dubrovnik had some interesting travel stories to tell.

 The England players made a brief appearance on what must have been a terrace overlooking the river.  We meanwhile headed back to the England fans hotel juct to double check that more 'official' tickets had not become available later that day. Confusion reigned though, as it always does with Englandfans and the message that no tickets would be available did get lost in the translation. It would have been more easily understood though if the Englandfans manager, Jamie Craig, could have lifted his head when speaking to people, it does help a little to be polite at times, a concept seemingly lost on him.




So, a walk to the ground was in order. Plenty of bars and fast food joints lined the approach and it would have been a pity to waste the opportunity to sample one or two. So we did! The locals, who had turned out in relatively large numbers, seemed to be enjoying having the England fans in town, despite being fiercely nationalistic they did seem intent on letting us know how much they enjoyed English football and reeled off player after player and team after team in an attempt to prove that point. Not many seemed to be supporting Doncaster Rovers though, pity!!

 The normal security was in place for accessing the stadium, made a little more difficult this time because of the amount of tickets bought by England fans on the black market. The scare stories of no tickets being available and that the north end of the stadium being a dangerous no go area seemed way off the mark. In fairness the locals seemed a little in awe of the England fans and for the first time, I think, they applauded the national anthem belted out by the thousand or so official England fans. By way of thanks England fans showed the due respect to theirs which seemed a tad long but a great deal more uplifting than ours!

I don't do match reports, others are way more qualified than me to pontificate over the game plan but I will say this, we were rubbish! Yep, not very incisive but true none the less. It did rain, and heavily throughout the game, but no excuses, we went into a very nice 2 goal lead only to squander the whole thing with a poor performance and a sending off for the so-called English superstar Wayne Rooney. What a plonker! The final whistle brought the curtain down on another tepid performance against the newest footballing nation in the world. Cue celebrations that reflected the importance of such a win for the minnow of European, if not world, football. Meanwhile the rain continued to fall. By the time the stadium had emptied the rain had monsoon characteristics and the authorities had felt it necessary to leave the fans stranded, conditions worsened along with the mood. But not one of threat, a mood of typical English disappointment in our team, a team who continue to stumble their way to qualification and ignore the passion and willingness of fans who only want to see effort and application. Any sign that this England team care would be welcomed, but we may be waiting a long time.

The journey back was a sombre one, not helped by sitting in very wet clothes but we did arrive back at the hotel with a marvellous buffet waiting for us. Another drink and off to bed.

The following day was again bright and sunny. Breakfast, a walk along the beach and we were soon ready to check out of the hotel. The coaches arrived, filled up very quickly and yet again our Police escort ensured a short trip back to the airport. In fact it was probably too quick as the check in desks were not ready and the airport concourse got rather crowded. Everything sorted itself though, and before you could  really deliberate how long Wayne Rooney would be suspended for we were on the plane and ready for home. Luton airport was a pleasant sight, not sure if I could ever really say that, but our weary bones jumped in the car, we pointed it north and by about 10pm we were home. Another journey done, another miserable performance over, another escapade to discuss and now we await the draw for Euro 2012. Hopefully, just hopefully, we can look forward to football matches that meet our expectations.