FOREST AWAY: Brentford, Sunday 25th January – Fan Guide
The reaction from the away end at full-time was as inevitable as it was understandable. ‘What the fucking hell was that?’ is the current song of choice to surmise the ghastly performances in the first half at the Wrexham and the entire showing in Braga. Walking back into the city on Thursday night I kicked myself for not thinking of, ‘It’s raining, it’s pouring, the football is boring’ earlier on.
At kick-off the away end, fuelled almost exclusively by Super Bok and excited for an important away match in our Europa League campaign, gradually had the life sucked out of them by another terrible showing. These are special days; occasions we have longed for, but I have this horrible feeling we are going to let them slip away without much of a fight if we aren’t careful. I think it’s why many ended up so dismayed and even angry, because these days on the continent aren’t something we are entitled to expect again anytime soon. Once this adventure is over, we don’t know when we will return.
On a huge night for the football club when we could have taken a giant step towards direct qualification to the knockout rounds in Europe, we produced a performance so torrid that they managed to transform a euphoric away end into a baying mob by the end. I hope the players, the coaching team and even the club hierarchy recognise why the supporters were livid at the end. Do they realise how important these matches are to us? It is regrettable that the danger we face to our Premier League status is making the Europa League play second fiddle, and yet I think many of us can understand that. But I do think the nature of Thursday’s performance, coupled with the bewilderment of how we had ended up without a striker on the pitch having spent millions and millions last summer, was too much to bare for many in attendance.
We now face another huge game at Brentford, heightened even further by West Ham’s victory, and we have to be much better. The tide has turned now on Dyche; soundbites on how he has navigated us out of the relegation zone once held some weight, but what we are seeing right now with our own eyes is what matters. Most games we look lost, unable to find a way to win and I’m afraid the argument that we are hoping to be slightly less incompetent than three other sides is not enough in the long run.
There is resentment and anger now becoming the overriding feeling. Caused by woeful decisions from the very top, and allowed to fester by the frequent number of woeful performances we are having to endure. It has been a tragic season so far, so much of the goodwill has been eradicated, and now its time they won back our faith.
AWAY DAY No.18 – Brentford, Sunday 25th January, 2pm KO
Last Visit: A really strong performance in December 2024 and a 2-0 victory, with the goals coming from Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga.
Memorable Visit: The above being our only win at the new Brentford ground does leave it as the only real match in contention, but the April 2023 encounter with the late Brentford comeback and Ivan Toney’s ball moving are remembered for very different reasons.
Sunglasses / Hat Requirement: 5/10
Away End: We will be housed in one corner of the stadium as per our previous visits. It’s a really good section with excellent views and allows a lot of noise to be kicked up.
Forest supporters are again advised to be cautious when approaching the stadium due to excessive and wholly inappropriate searches which have been conducted by Brentford stewards on previous visits. Not only do these take a lot of time and can lead to queues building up closer to kick-off, they are also rather intrusive with stewards insisting on searching wallets and other personal items. There was also reports of fans being intimidated by the behaviour of stewards, with many having their faces almost fully covered.
Things did improve last season after fan complaints, and with Nottinghamshire Police and staff from NFFC in attendance but issued did remain. I would recommend trying to arrive early and if you have any concerns then please seek out one of the Notts Police or NFFC officials who will again be on hand near the search areas.
TRAVEL
RAIL: The first train out of Nottingham departs at 08:15 but this includes a change at Grantham, so the quickest route is to wait for the 08:21 which arrives at St Pancras at 10:19. The other direct services through the morning are the 09:27 (arrives 11:24) and the 10:15 (arrives 12:07).
For the return leg, direct services are as follows:
16:35 (arrives Nottingham 18:15)
17:05 (arrives Nottingham 18:51)
17:35 (arrives Nottingham 19:12)
18:05 (arrives Nottingham 19:51)
The final service departs at 22:32 and arrives into Nottingham at 00:29.
A standard return is currently £66 on the Trainline app.
The Gtech is served by a few different stations so plan your journey to work out which one suits you best.
The closest overground station is Kew Bridge, which is pretty much next door, but I recall this being closed after one game. The other overground stations close by are Gunnersbury, Kew Gardens and South Acton. There is also Brentford which is in the area of the old Griffin Park and is around 25 mins walk away. Linking to pub recommendations below, Chiswick overground is also a good option for a slow pub crawl down the river before the game.
Gunnersbury, Acton Town and Kew Gardens are both also on the underground, with Chiswick Park and South Ealing other options further afield. For one of our previous trips Acton Town was closed after the game for a short while so keep this in mind and check before you make plans. I’ve looked further into this but can’t see any reference to it, so may have been a one-off.
For those coming down from St Pancras, the best route is probably to use the Piccadilly line direct to Acton Town.
ROAD: The M4 heading pretty past the stadium does make it easier than most London clubs to get in close to the ground. I’m aware some parking is available around Ealing but this is likely to be paid street parking or in car parks with a fee.
You could also look at stopping short of the junction close to the stadium and find a nearby rail or tube stop which will take you in towards the ground. A quick look doesn’t show many options handily placed near the M4 but I have previously suggested Staines which is not far off the M25 the junction after the M4 interchange. It’s only 21 minutes from Staines to Brentford using South Western Railways services.
Alternatively, you can avoid the M25 and try and park up at one of the north London stops like Edgware, Stanmore or potentially Watford Junction. I’ve also had it recommended to use Rayners Lane which, like Stanmore / Edgware, is also reachable from Junction 4 of the M1 and is a 28-minute ride on the underground to Acton Town.
PUBS
Within walking distance of the Gtech are numerous excellent bar choices, many of which don’t appear to have issues with welcoming away supporters. Sadly, we have once again been scheduled for a visit in the colder months as a bar crawl down the Thames beforehand, although still very much possible, is particularly enjoyable on a warm day.
The enclosed pub guide kindly provided by the Met Police shows many of the options, and as shown drinking around the old Griffin Park is still very much an option which may work well if coming in from that direction at Brentford Station or South Ealing. I particularly like the the Globe and the Kings Arms in this area.
Not shown on the map are the pubs that we have found ourselves frequenting for the last 2-3 visits down on the Thames. There are a few down on the stretch towards Chiswick, but the Bulls Head and the City Barge are particularly good. These are in the area on the right of the map close to Oliver’s Island.
Safe travels down to London.
You Reds
Matt