G1983

Got an email today saying we have been randomly selected to collect, with details to follow. Certainly doesn't sound like 100% collection based on that!

Yeah, the plan on Wikipedia shows sections 10-12 in both the blue and yellow areas. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Paichadze_Dinamo_Arena I'd been assuming yellow but maybe they'll want to keep us further from the pitch?

According to the SSC email we're in sections 10-12 which I think is bottom tier behind the goals. However, the plan I looked at seemed to have two section 10s!!

Only marginally more than my flights cost me when I booked 10 months ago! Good effort.

Asked and answered! Cheers mate.

Now that we've secured our tickets the excitement can really start. We arrive into Tbilisi airport about 11pm the night before the game. The plan is then to get a taxi to the old town where we are staying - so maybe get there around midnight. Is Tbilisi one of these cities where there is always something going on, and so if we venture out we'll find a few bars/clubs to batter into? Or are we going to struggle if we head out at that point? And would we be ok hanging around the old town, or better heading towards the centre?

What points level did it get down to? We got ours with 3 points on Monday so presumably there will be some people with 1 point that are disappointed...?

Squeaky bum time for me - with only three points I can't get involved until Monday morning... 2000 tickets should surely be more than enough for everyone to get one. I just hope no-one does any "point harvesting".

Thanks guys. I appreciate the quick feedback. I've also had a look at the Boryspil website and it does seem to be well set up for international transfers. Should be plenty of time for a couple of beers as well. Excellent.

Anyone ever been there, and especially had to do a transfer through it? We've got a 2 hour 40 transfer on the way to Tbilisi (assuming the flight from Amsterdam is on schedule) which sounds like loads of time, but I just thought I'd see what other people's experiences are. On the way back we've only got a 1 hour 40 transfer, but if we miss that I'll not be too bothered!

The first time I went to Dublin I didn't realise Temple Bar area was a tourist trap, so we spent 3 days drinking there just thinking that was normal for Dublin. I spent as much in that trip as I did in a similar trip to Oslo. Brutal. This time round I plan to be more sensible and drink in the less touristy areas. However, I've not set a budget. Whatever will be, will be...

My mate struggled to find anything in Dublin and then had to pay a fortune. This was a couple of weeks ago.

If you are right, that could be because all the tickets for the section were bought by Scotland fans as part of the Duo Packages. That would be amazing.

Hmm. Shows what I know then!!

Is it not a UEFA rule that you can't sell alcohol at internationals? For example, in Germany, Belgium and (I think) Holland you can buy beer at league games but not at international matches.

Well, I did say "basically I think that defeat for either team will signal the end of their qualification hopes". However, I will admit that I could have worded my post better as well. A draw would obviously still leave us well in the mix as you say, but it would most likely result in a playoff, and that's basically just a lottery. Beating Poland at Hampden is hardly a given, nor is a victory in in Tbilisi. I'm not for one second saying I will write off the qualifiers if we don't win on Saturday. I won't write it off until it's mathematically impossible... and all the other teams have passed drugs tests! Ha ha. I suppose my post would have been better written as "in my opinion, we should be treating Saturday as a must win game"

The Ireland v England game was a strange one. I was expecting a bit of a local derby affair, but it fell completely flat. The two Scotland v England games in recent years have felt much more "competitive", but yes we did come away with a doing in both games, although we scored 3 times in the two matches. The Scotland v Qatar game was never going to be anything but a snooze-fest. Scotland didn't play particularly well, but completely controlled the game and never looked like losing it. I think that is something Strachan has brought to our team. Confidence to beat teams we are better than. So all in all, it doesn't really tell us anything about Saturday. I agree with the folk who have said anything less than a victory means points dropped. I don't think this because we have a right (or even expectation) to beat Ireland in Dublin, but basically I think that defeat for either team will signal the end of their qualification hopes. So it's more a case of "can't afford not to win" rather than expecting it. I must admit I have a bad feeling about the game and think it might be a bridge too far for us.

Brilliant. That Amy MacDonald song is even growing on me

I'd like to think kilts will be fine. For the Poland game at the Aviva there were thousand of Poland fans in the home end. Two worries for me though: 1) Maybe the FAI learned their lesson after so many Poland fans were in the home end? 2) If not, presumably there will be England fans in the home end this weekend, and if they are not on their best behaviour it could affect us. I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing the kilt regardless and if it doesn't work out I'll watch in a pub.

7 of us in my group sitting in 501 (Row J), and I believe (from reading this board) it's going to have a healthy number of Scots in there.

Absolutely buzzing about this. Booked months ago and then basically completely forgot about it until this week, and it's now all I can think about. My first trip with the TA was also the Germany game... but back in 2003. Can't believe I've been doing this for 12 years.

I ordered one of the "Scotland Invented" t-shirts on eBay yesterday and it appears as though it's already been dispatched. Just wanted to say a quick thank you to those involved for giving my t-shirt the best chance of arriving before I leave for Dublin!

That's where two of us are staying. Didn't know about the airport pick ups. Will need to investigate that!

...and I think that's a big "if"... ...but if it is a case of no fans allowed, will you still travel? Flights are paid for, and I've never been to Georgia, so I'll be going regardless and watching the game in a local boozer!

Ha ha. We played the game at Olympiakos's stadium and it's correct that they didn't allow any AEK fans to enter, only United fans. However, there was no hail of half bricks. Didn't see a single bit of bother (or a single AEK fan for that matter). Although we had half the Greek army escorting us so that might have been why...