FOREST AWAY: Aston Villa, Saturday 3rd January – Fan Guide
The Everton result looks like it has set alarm bells ringing for many, and I’m no different. It was an atrocious performance and a really stupid one too. David Moyes probably opened a few nice gifts on Christmas Day last week, but I bet none were more welcome than Forest playing into his hands the following Tuesday with their pathetic attempt at breaking his team down.
About four minutes into the game, my brother offered up the suggestion that the Everton defence was going to welcome attempts to cross the ball in high. I subtly nodded but, in truth, didn’t think much of it. Only a short while later, my eyes were bleeding as I watched us unsuccessfully cross yet another ball to a red shirt. What for the love of all that is holy were we thinking? It wasn’t just a poor strategy, it was negligence. I’ve seen a lot of ridiculous Forest performances over the last couple of decades but that one was somewhere in the upper reaches. It was braindead, thick as mince football. I bet Moyes was laughing his head off all the way back to Merseyside.
The trouble is, while Everton may have been the peak of our footballing nonentity (it fucking better be), this wasn’t an isolated episode under Sean Dyche. When we are poor under him, we are soul sappingly bad. It’s fair to point out that there has been plenty of good moment under his short stewardship – Porto, Liverpool, Spurs are maybe the highlights – but I’ve been chewing on this theory throughout December that we only really have one plan. If a team can work us out and stop us early we seem totally lost and unable to get a foothold in the match. Our better results and performances have typically come against the bigger clubs where they perhaps don’t put as much emphasis on stopping us in our tracks.
Under Dyche, a lot of games feel almost identical. There isn’t really a lack of effort, but there is a lack of ability or plan to open a team up. Games against Bournemouth, Brighton, Everton, Fulham and Everton again were very, very similar. We didn’t score in any of these games and didn’t look like doing so for most of them. Brighton from memory was slightly better although I’m struggling to recall. All of these teams took control early and shut us out, leaving us helpless. The Everton game this week get a further black mark against it because they did the exact same thing against us at the start of the month. You’d hope we might have had something up our sleeve to combat it but we didn’t, we just rolled over for them for the second time in a month. Our team probably went into the dressing room afterwards to tidy up for them and wave them onto the bus, just to complete their royal visit to Nottingham.
We clearly need results, but we also need performances. I want to stop being at games knowing the result is beyond us mid-way through the first half, and I want to see some evidence that it looks like we have a plan to win football matches when the opposition is nullifying what we have originally set out to do. And chiefly, I want to see that the manager is capable of putting together a sequence of performances and results that can guide us to safety. I want him and the entire club to stop going on about fucking referees and find a way to make us hard to beat again. And while I’m at it, I want the owner to not be writing ridiculous new year greetings about togetherness when ticket prices continue to rise year on year, and take some culpability for the hell of a mess he has helped to create.
Villa is the start of what needs to be a more promising year, and then we have a huge game at West Ham next week. All is not lost, there has been enough promise under Dyche to cling to something and we have some unbelievable talent, even if our latest round of recruitment has still somehow left us woefully short in certain position. Yet much more of the same and we are going to find ourselves clutching crosses of a very different kind in 2026.
Happy fucking new year.
AWAY DAY No.14 – Aston Villa, Saturday 3rd January 2026, 12:30pm KO
Last Visit: A 2-1 defeat. Forest made a late effort to gain a point following a Jota Silva goal but it was a third consecutive loss at Villa Park since promotion. We could really do without making it a fourth.
Memorable Visit: The 5-5 in 2018 remains the greatest football match I’ve ever seen live. Having been two up it might ordinarily have been frustrating to win the match but it really didn’t matter in the end as everyone left the ground bewildered by what they had just witnessed. The celebrations that followed the Lewis Grabban equaliser to make it 5-5 are among the very best I’ve been part of.
Away End: Forest fans will, as usual, be in the Doug Ellis Stand split across both tiers at one end of the pitch. Having tried both upper & lower in our last two visits, it’s one of the few grounds where I prefer the lower tier. Mainly as the concourse is similar to the Brian Clough Stand in the upper section and it feels much tighter in the seats now they have added the safe standing rails.
Sunglasses / Hat Requirement: 7/10 (if lower tier). If the sun is out, it’s usually a pain for those based in the lower section.
TRAVEL
RAIL: The best options look like the 08:07 (arrives 09:24), the 08:41 (arrives 09:55) and the 09:06 (arrives 10:24). There are a few other services with a change too. I would recommend getting anything later than the 09:41 to allow enough time to make it over towards the ground.
It’s less than ten minutes on a train from Birmingham New Street to Witton which is right next to Villa Park, but be warned that services closer to kick-off will be busy.
A standard day return from Nottingham to Birmingham New Street is £26, but it is exactly the same price for a return from Nottingham to Witton so make sure you purchase the latter and save yourself a few quid.
After the game, Witton station will be very busy so expect the platform to be a bit of a scrum.
ROAD: A pretty straightforward trip compared to most. From Nottingham, use the A42 / M42 / M6 (leave at Jct 6) or the A50 / A38.
Parking is fairly plentiful, especially if you don’t mind a 20-minute or so walk to Villa Park. From the aforementioned routes, you’ll head down Brookvale Road to reach the stadium. If you are early enough you’ll find parking on this road, just make sure you turn round and point the right way for getting out afterwards. There are also a couple of streets off this which may have the odd spot although parking restrictions apply closer to the ground.
A recommended option is to avoid getting too close to the ground and instead park up near Brookvale Park / George Road. For ease, use B23 7RZ in your sat navs. There will be a fair bit of parking on this road, alongside the lake. If this is filled up there are still a few roads off this which should be okay.
PUBS
The old away pub, the Witton Arms, no longer welcomes away supporters. I believe the one reliable option is the Yew Tree on Brookvale Road although to the best of my knowledge this isn’t a designated away venue. It is handy to call in on the way from the suggested parking spot.
If drinking in Birmingham city centre, the early KO may have an impact but there should still be a few options. The usual recommendations in this guide – the Shakespeare and the Old Joint Stock are both stated as 11am opening, while the Sun on the Hill is noon.
Opening at 10am are the Wellington and the Trocadero, both in walking distance of New Street Station. There is also a Wetherspoons inside New Street Station and one further along Broad Street around a 10-minute-walk from the station.
Safe travels to all making the journey.
See you there.
Matt