FOREST AWAY: Crystal Palace, Monday 5th May – Fan Guide

It’s been a painful, damaging week. The Wembley pride was quickly replaced by despair after a bad defeat against Brentford. Picking ourselves up off the deck has been a calling card of the campaign and it’s the only choice now if we want to sustain a Champions League push.

Are we shattered? Have teams figured out a way to handle us (like Brentford’s ploy of stopping breaks with a foul)? Or have we just hit bad form at the wrong time?

Quite possibly, it’s a bit of everything. And we shouldn’t discount that we have often looked short of possessing a squad truly prepared for a challenge at the top of the Premier League.

Dare I say, and I can’t be the only one to have thought this as I trundled away into the Thursday night rain, that there was a distinct whiff of days of old when the ground emptied well before full time ruing our lack of punch and guile, while a small away following celebrates a straightforward victory. It brings a shudder, but we should also remind ourselves that we have done much to banish these kind of encounters from our minds.

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A quick note to thank everyone who so kindly responded to our recent push for donations. After the Everton ‘Magic’ display our coffers had well and truly run dry so it was great to quickly put a slice of the newly generate funds towards some of the bits around the Wembley display.

We raised a sum over £10k and we are particularly grateful to Ryan Yates for a really brilliant donation. We are waiting to see what type of game the Chelsea fixture will be; right now it’s hard to plan for something when the game could be vital or our league position could be fairly fixed by then. We also are very mindful that next season, with the prospect of European football and big occasions at the City Ground, we can’t be throwing all of our money at the run-in for this season. We know many would like tifos and banners to be more regular but funding and also our own free time will always be a factor.

We will have other fundraising initiatives to come in the coming months too no doubt.

 

Away Day 21: Crystal Palace, Monday 5^th May – Fan Guide

Last Visit: A 0-0 draw in 2023/24, perhaps best remembered for a Murillo gallop down field which so very nearly ended in a memorable game.

Famous Visit: Waka Waka, eh eh!!

Away End: Forest fans are housed down at one end of the Arthur Wait stand which is down the side of the pitch. It’d a decent section for noise but not always the best view further back, especially with the columns that run down the stand.

 

TRAVEL

TRAINS: There are plenty of options down to London on the mainline into St Pancras or on the East Coast Line via Grantham / Peterborough. Coming back there is a 22:35 from St Pancras but the match not likely to finish until close to 10pm, the last service at 23:35 looks like the realistic option.

Fares are around the £75 mark for a return but take the usual advice of trying to split your journey, typically via Kettering, and this can generate a decent saving.

Do allow a decent chunk of time to navigate your way to and from Selhurst Park. The conventional route would be to use the Northern Line (underground) from St Pancras / Kings Cross or using the Thameslink services to London Bridge. From here, there is a fairly swift overground service into Norwood Junction, but there are other stations that serve Selhurst and it would be worth taking some time to plan your journey.

From the main stations that serve Selhurst Park:

Norwood Junction – Approximately a 15-minute walk from Selhurst Park. Note that last season entry into the station was controlled so this could cause a further delay getting onto the platform.

Selhurst – A similar distance away from the ground as Norwood Junction.

Thornton Heath – This probably isn’t the best station to get you back north towards St Pancras / Kings Cross or to your car north of London but it might serve as an option.

All these stations are shown on the enclosed map. Note that the Crystal Palace station is in the general area of the stadium but is a bit further out and isn’t recommended for reaching the ground.

ROAD: Selhurst Park is a real pain to reach, especially in the car. I’m sure there are some parking options littered about; the best option might be to try and pre-book using one of the parking apps, and it should be a little easier getting in with it being a bank holiday.

I’ve listed a few options to consider if you want to cut down on the driving and get a train / turn through London.

Stanmore / Edgware/ Canons Park: All relatively easily reached from Jct 4 of the M1 but each have some issues with guaranteed parking. It could easily be over an hour to get back to your car from Norwood / Thornton Heath.

Cockfosters: Not brilliantly placed for Palace but a northern based tube stop which will get you in and out without too much fuss. Again, it’s a long journey round.

Cheshunt: A couple of junctions around the clockwise M25 although it’s a bit of a trek down to London Bridge from here; taking an hour with a change at Liverpool Street.

Watford Junction: Not a bad stop for a direct route into London Euston, but still takes a while overall to get down to around the ground.

Luton Parkway: This doesn’t look like a good option, being around an hour and a half travel time to and from stations around Selhurst Park, but considering it’s 1hr + to get back to the options above, this might not be a bad shout. The real drawback is that you’ll have to pay a train fare on top of your usual London Travelcard costs, but there are often group save options from here if travelling in groups of 3 or 4.

South London stops – If you are okay braving the M25 over the bank holiday then there are plenty of possible train / tube stops you could aim for without having to drive too close to Selhurst Park. I don’t have much experience using this route but it could be worth a look.

PUBS

As with the game at the end of last season we intend to gather at The George in London Bridge. This has a big courtyard and has a couple of bars either side. It’s also handily place right by London Bridge Station to get to Selhurst Park, but please don’t leave it too late as the trains usually get very, very busy.

There are plenty of other pubs in and around London Bridge too, some very close to The George and the nearby Borough Market. Last season we started at the Wheatsheaf inside the market. Another very good option given the promising forecast is the Old Thameside Inn which is through the market and sits right on the Thames.

For the previous game at Selhurst we were advised last season by P.C Rob Glozier, Dedicated Football Officer for Crystal Palace, that The Prince George near Selhurst Station will accept away fans – see the red mark on the enclosed map. The Atlantic Bar will also apparently although I’m not certain where this is.

 

 

Another long bank holiday trip down to London. Hopefully this one can be as rewarding as the last.

Up the Reds!

Matt