FOREST AWAY: West Ham United, Tuesday 6th January – Fan Guide
The most recent edition of this away guide for Saturday’s visit to Villa Park gathered a bit more traction than it usually would, perhaps due to the exasperation that was evident and an assortment of ‘F-bombs’ that were scattered throughout! The reaction to the recent run of games likely wouldn’t be as hostile were it not for the collective disenchantment with goings on at NFFC. And I’m not just judging that on the mood of social media; but in the stands, on the concourses and in the pubs. In fairness to Sean Dyche and the current playing squad, those wider matters are not only going to impact them but also lead to shorter fuses all round.
Everton was diabolical; Villa was perhaps a slightly more robust display but the same feeling of hopelessness persisted. Even without our goalkeeper thinking he was Lord Cardigan leading the the Charge of the Light Brigade up the pitch to gift Villa a third, we didn’t exactly inspire much hope that we would escape from Birmingham with anything. A 3-1 defeat at Villa Park is not disastrous or an embarrassing result but when recent performances have been largely poor, it’s hard to not want to see something more in response than we got. Yet in the wider context of the last several months, maybe we are getting exactly what we should be expecting.
Successful football teams, or even mildly decent ones, don’t tend to be fashioned from the type of incalculable mayhem we have seen unfold. The frustration, I think, for many isn’t because we have a lost a few games, I suspect it’s because we have created the turmoil that has made us much weaker on the pitch. That turmoil didn’t start at kick-off four games ago, or on the training ground, it was set in place much earlier. Maybe it was the summer of 2025 and the arrival of Edu as seems to be one common theory, and maybe it was much, much earlier. I don’t know, but it sure feels like we’ve been here before a fair few times already. And the thing is, we have progressed. Obviously we have. But much of the time it feels like a dash forwards only to trip up over the rug and clock our head on the table on the way down because we were too preoccupied looking out of the window and not at what was right in front of us. We want everything so quickly and it’s hard to be too critical of that desire to bring success, but it often feels like we can’t possibly keep up.
We all know how this goes. We win a few games, ease our relegation fears and this largely gets forgotten. Great stuff. Except, I’ve long since advocated for us not to ride the waves of joy and despair quite so reactively.
In July, we rejoiced at fending off Palace and Spurs in very different matters, and we spent an awful lot of money. It was undoubtedly exciting but maybe it all got a bit carried away. ‘We always win’ could one day soon become as infamous around these parts as ‘We’re serious about promotion, are you?’. The summer of 2025 was, in my opinion, a time to take stock, look at where to improve and move ourselves forward with a quiet satisfaction that the Reds were back challenging domestically and Europe. We couldn’t do it.
My continued frustration is that even in our most cherished moments we only ever feel a step or two from the next episode of drama and bewilderment. I am so grateful for the days that we have been experiencing at home and overseas recently, but there could have been a legacy to what we achieved last season, and I fear we are throwing that away. I strongly believe that you don’t build a strong football club from the roots of such frequent chaos and upheaval.
I’m still of the opinion we will stay up (although that might change depending on Tuesday evening!!) and I think the future can be promising and exciting but I really hope lessons are finally learned from all of this. A bit of patience, a bit of humility, and a bit of good fortune, combined with the ambition we clearly have, and it might just work out okay.
But there is a relegation battle we need to extract ourselves from first.
AWAY DAY No.15 – West Ham United, Tuesday 6th January, 8pm KO
Last Visit: A 2-1 win in our final away game of 2024/25, with goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Nikola Milenkovic.
Memorable Visit: Last season is really the only memorable trip to the London Stadium, the two prior games there since promotion both ended in defeat.
Away End: Forest fans will be housed at one end of the stadium. It’s among the worst away sections in the top fight due to the proximity from the pitch but also the huge gap between the lower and upper parts of the away end. Do also be advised that there are often lengthy security checks so arrive in good time if you can.
Sunglasses / hat requirement: 0/10. Although a wooly hat might not be a bad idea. And well done to all who went prepared to a very sunny lower tier on Saturday at Villa!
TRAVEL
RAIL: There are plenty of trains down from Nottingham across Tuesday afternoon. Coming back the final trains are at 22:35 (I think this will be very difficult to make) or the 23:35. Both these options are unfortunately restricted by a bus replacement service operating from East Midlands Parkway so bear this in mind when making your travel plans.
A standard return is £68.10.
To reach the stadium from St Pancras / Kings Cross, there are a number of rail services that connect to it.
Stratford International – overground line from St Pancras (takes approx. 7 mins). A 15–20-minute walk to the London Stadium.
Strafford High Street – DLR line from St Pancras (takes approx. 7 mins). There is also Pudding Mill Lane close to the London Stadium on the DLR line. A 10-minute-walk to the London Stadium.
Stratford – underground & overground. Take the Central Line east from Kings Cross. A 15-20-minute walk to the London Stadium.
Hackney Wick – overground. From Kings Cross, this is best reached by getting a tube northbound to Highbury & Islington (Victoria line) and then taking an overground service from there to Hackney Wick. A 15/20-minute-walk to the London Stadium, down the canal.
There are other stops a bit further out but the above are the closest options. However, it’s likely there will be big queues building up at full time, including road blocks at certain junctions which will temporarily stop access. If time is an issue you’ll want to be on the ball getting out of the stadium, or potentially looking heading to a stop a bit further out.
ROAD: The most direct to the stadium from Nottingham will be M1 / M25 and then picking up the A10, the A104 of the M11 to take you in. Personally I’d probably lean towards using the M11 and heading in from the north-east, but if the M25 is a pain then the other A-roads might prove better as you’ll reach them earlier.
If you aim is to park near the ground I’d suggest looking at this route but if there is no joy parking close to the London Stadium, double back on yourself and use a station like Woodgrange Park, Manor Park or Ilford to connect into stations close to the ground. Not all will have parking but a bit of research should identify the better options.
The West Ham stadium guide states, ‘London Stadium is a green stadium and a public transport destination, so public car parking is not available. Supporters are advised to use the many public transport options’. The guide does suggest paid parking may be available at the nearby Westfield shopping centre but to be aware of various road closures around the stadium.
Street parking isn’t something I have experience of, in truth. East of the stadium there are residential areas but I believe much of this will be controlled by permit zones, so be careful if driving in close to the ground.
There are the usual options across London like Edgware, Stanmore, Cockfosters that this guide regularly references for London away days, but these are all going to be much longer journeys on trains / tubes. Of those, Cockfosters is probably the best as you can drop down to Highbury & Islington via Finsbury and get across to Stratford fairly easily, but that’ll be a good 45-50 minute journey. We went on a coach last season, but the season prior we parked at Cheshunt (the same station this guide recommends for Spurs) which is a couple of junctions down the M25 after departing the M1 at Jct 6. The trick here is to get a train to Stratford Station (not Stratford International) on the Greater Anglia services. It’s a 27-minute journey on most services and after the game there are a few options, including a 21-minute train at 22:27 which should be about right given the game likely won’t finish close to 10pm.
The other feasible option is to head around the M25 clockwise from the M1 and try and pick up a line into Stratford etc, places like Harold Wood near Brentwood close to the M25 is a 25-minute journey into Stratford but if you are coming from Nottingham you’ll simply be driving further to get there.
Unfortunately, nobody will gave a damn that trips like this midweek are an absolute nightmare for match going fans. So best of luck with whatever you have planned. 
PUBS
Hackney Wick feels like the best destination for away fans having visited a few times now. We have drunk at Crate on the canal for the last two trips which is great, with a lot of outdoor space and really good pizza, but the queues at the bar do get a bit crazy.
Behind Crate there is a bit of an open area where we sat outside at Barbycue last season (probably not a good idea this time) and then headed over to a pretty curious place which I think was called HWK but I’m not certain.
Closer to Hackney Wick station is the Beer Merchants Tap which we tried on our visit in 2023/24 and it’s a decent option with good choices.
There are, of course, plenty of options to drink further afield further into London. We drank around Highbury & Islington a couple of season back too, but for a Tuesday night I’d imagine most will be looking to drink closer to the stadium.
Wishing you a safe journey, and here’s hoping we can get a result.
Up the Reds.
Matt