FOREST AWAY: Ipswich Town, Friday 23rd October – Fan Guide
Our home form so far this season is about as close to miserable as you can get. We haven’t really deserved to win any of them, and while some unfortunate disallowed goals have cost us, we are where we deserve to be right now. The chances are coming but remaining goalless after four Premier League games at the City Ground and one cup fixture is pretty absurd. It’s also undoubtedly dire.
Arsenal was largely good I thought, and we looked more comfortable without the expectation that our opponent could be vanquished quite so easily. There were moments when the fans were being revived by some strong passages of play or the odd thunderous episode, and again you could sense the crowd ready to burst. But our home record over the last year and more has left apprehension and nerves. It’s inevitable.
The task at hand is to keep our heads now. While results have been bad, it feels a long way from hopeless. The danger is last season made pretty instantaneous managerial removals the normality again, but in the majority of cases the appointment was wrong in the first place. With Glasner, there are clear as day reasons why this is an appointment we must stand by and have faith it will eventually translate into success. Thankfully, despite the occasional premature heating up of the boiling pot on social media, the vast majority seem so far a long way from desiring yet more turnover. To even debate another change seems ludicrous, but the mayhem of 2025/26 unfortunately makes it a more tangible idea than it otherwise would.
What I think always helps a lot is when supporters can form a bond with a manager. Sometimes it happens very quickly, sometimes it takes a while. The obvious example is how a chord was struck between the fans and Vitor last season. What worked in his favour immediately was that he wasn’t his predecessor(s) but every time I heard him speak I felt a genuine connection. Like when Colin Fray interviewed him after the Burnley game and asked about the support that day. Vitor just started clapping on the radio. It was peculiar but also lovely way to demonstrate how he felt. Again, we fell head over heels and before long Vitor was gone. Glasner we know is more studious, more considered maybe. We know he has won silverware, we know he is an elite manager but that isn’t everything. Nor does winning football matches equate to automatic adoration, although it certainly helps! If supporters and managers can find a way to connect it will be a big help in our mission.
A trip to Portman Road offers a chance to quickly climb back into the saddle. After the disaster at Palace we are now on a perilous sequence of games and we urgently need to start converting chances. Let’s hope this new era can finally make it off the launchpad at some point soon.
AWAY DAY NO.4: Ipswich Town, Friday 23rd October, 8pm KO
Last Visit: A hectic 4-2 victory as we pushed for the European spots towards the end of the 2024-25 season.
Famous Visit: In January 2012, Forest had gone 10 hours without scoring a goal under Steve Cotterill, a total of seven games. An early Marcus Tudgay goal at Portman Road finally brough the run to an end. Garath McCleary scored a second and another from Tudgay handed the Reds a 3-1 victory.
Away End: Forest fans will be split across both tiers of the Cobbold Road Stand down one side of the pitch. The majority will be housed in the upper section which runs across about half the length of the stand. The lower section is a little bit shorter. The views are good, but towards the very back of the stand there are some hefty pillars which will impede the views of a very small number of supporters.
The concourse area is very tight and it’s a real squeeze getting around.
Sunglasses / Hat Requirement: 1/10. A waterproof jacket sounds much more appropriate for this one.
TRAVEL
RAIL: As you would expect, there is no feasible route home on a Friday night to Nottingham. If you are arriving on train then Ipswich Station is very close to both Portman Road and the town centre.
ROAD: An arduous journey on a dark and stormy Friday evening. There are a couple of key routes you could take. The first is down the M1 and then cut across at Jct 19 (Rugby) onto the A14 which pleasingly takes you virtually all the way to Ipswich. The alternative to this to take the A52 east out of Nottingham and pick up the A1 at Grantham. Eventually you will intercept the same A14. It’ll possibly be a bit busy on certain parts, especially as you skirt around the top of Cambridge, but should hopefully be okay.
Do keep in mind that the A52 near Gamston closes at 8pm Friday so if you plan on taking that way home your route home will be disrupted.
You will likely be aware already but the forecast is not good, and there are alerts in place due to adverse weather conditions, so travel prepared and try and set off in good time so you can take your time.
The official NFFC guide offers some pointers on some paid parking around the stadium. There is a sizeable car park right next to Portman Road which is useful but a pain to get away from afterwards, obviously. The close proximity to town also offers some paid parking. My preference, if you don’t mind a bit more walking, is to avoid getting too close to the ground.
Coming in off the A14 we found it best last time to head into Ipswich from the earlier junction (Bury Road) which leads onto Norwich Road. This will eventually take you right into town and very close to Portman Road. On ether side there was pockets of street parking although not loads. The most availability seemed to be on the residential streets – All Saints Road, Brooks Hall Road and Blenheim Road – which are all adjacent to each other off the aforementioned Norwich Road. It was around 20/25 mins walk to the ground from here.
Alternatively, you could come off the A14 at the next junction and use Sproughton Road / Bramford Road and there may be some spots off here that are also a bit closer to the ground.
For those heading on a coach I have include below the guidance from Suffolk Police:
Leave the A12/A14 at junction 55 Copdock Interchange.
Follow London Road passing the Holiday Inn on the left.
Continue to follow London Road down Crane Hill and passed the Sainsburys petrol station on the
left.
At the 4 – way junction of London Road and West End Road take the right – hand lane and turn into
West End Road.
Travel along West End Road and the entrance to the coach park is on the right after around 800
metres.
The coaches should enter and turn into the unmade area on the right – hand side. There will be a
sign saying, “COACHES ONLY”. Disregard the information about capacity for 8 coaches (there is
space on the unmade area for around 35 coaches).
The charge is £15.00 and can be paid at the machine in the main car park.
The stadium is a 5 – minute walk away along Grafton Way, into Princes Street and then into Portman
Road.
Visiting supporter’s coaches can’t drop – off or pick up in Portman Road as the road closure will be in
place. The closure goes in 90 minutes before kick – off and will not be lifted until around 30 minutes
after the game finishes.
Visiting supporter’s coaches will not be able to wait at the end of Portman Road to pick up when the
match concludes. The area is heavily congested and there is nowhere for coaches to wait.
PUBS
The main away pub is the Station Hotel which is directly across from the train station. It holds – according to information provided by Suffolk Constabulary – up to 800 fans. It also has a large outdoor area overlooking the river. It’s a decent enough stop but there are better options.
The other designated away spot is Isaacs on the dockside, about 15 minutes from the stadium. This area was popular during our last visit in 2025 and there are a few other decent bars around here too. One quick stop we had near the dockside was at the Briarbank Brewing Company which was very good and worth a visit.
Further into town there are a few good stops too; a few closer to the ground will be home fans only including the Black Horse but there will be plenty of choice.
Safe travels.
You Reds!
Matt