FOREST AWAY: West Ham United, Sunday 18th May – Fan Guide

Here we are. Another long season comes to a close and the Reds, quite remarkably, are going to finish in the European places. Securing that goal was certainly an anti-climax given Leicester’s late equaliser and the worrying injury to Taiwo, plus we have that anxiety about claiming a Champions League spot to contend with, but at some point I think we’ll all come to realise that this is a wonderful achievement.

Sadly, the days that have followed have been soaked in debate about the owner being briefly on the pitch at the end of last Sunday’s match rather than the joy of Forest being back in Europe next season.

Personally, I wish we wouldn’t get drawn into the Manc buffoonery of Gary Neville. He benefits from getting traction from his views and I dare say he probably doesn’t care too much about the whole thing; it’s just reactionary fluff and not something worth getting worked up about in my view.

The subsequent club statement was… erm, peculiar I thought, but I’ve decided against going in feet first on this occasion, in a week where there is much to celebrate and Taiwo’s health to consider.

Our owner isn’t a typical corporate type who sits at the helm of most Premier League clubs; he’s probably closer to the passion and the mindset of you or I, and in the modern game that is very refreshing and welcome, but it can’t also be an automatic override switch for every action he makes. And equally this shouldn’t be something that is used against him by jumping to dramatic conclusions.

The matter around the offside flag that didn’t come is another recent example of the club highlighting issues around the game that can be improved, and it’s perhaps a shame that this wasn’t a stronger part of our communications. We could point to our stance on the Everton VAR saga, the appeal against the points deduction when we cited the ridiculousness of the rules in having to sell Brennan Johnson for far less money to stay compliant with PSR, and now this with Taiwo’s injury. All of these are rooted in valid points that identified a possible flaw in the game and I find it encouraging that we are a club that is bringing these matters to the fore. However, Forest need to consider how best we can make these ideas the focus rather than our actions becoming the narrative. We have been brilliant at proverbially ripping up the rule book in the last few seasons, we have been written off and proved the doubters wrong time after time. This should be our inspiration; pushing for positive change and continuing to disrupt the established order rather than keep letting controversy and frustration cloud the view.

At the centre of all this, Taiwo has been very ill in hospital. That will naturally be everyone’s main concern and I’m sure the away end on Sunday will loudly send him our support and love. A note of appreciation too for our medical staff who won’t have had the easiest of weeks and unfortunately found themselves thrust into the spotlight. Our success this season has certainly been helped by a minimal amount of injuries and it feels right to recognise this if we are also putting focus on their input in Sunday’s episode.

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I haven’t yet seen anything from the club on the player of the season awards. We know that Wood, Milenkovic, Sels etc will be much deserved contenders but I’d just like to use my final words of 2024/25 to push the merits of Neco Williams. He has had a fabulous season and I can’t help but feel he goes under the radar.

One reason I am particularly fond of him is because he could quite easily have become part of that 2022 player churn but he has overcome that to win a place in the side and been an instrumental part of our defensive class this campaign.

Neco is my player of the season, in a year where so many would be worthwhile winners.

 

Away Day 22: West Ham United – Sunday 18^th May 2025

Last Visit: A 3-2 defeat in November 2023, Awoniyi and Elanga on the scoresheet for the Reds

Famous Visit: Another 3-2 defeat, this time at the old Upton Park in a thrilling FA Cup third round game in January 2003. Andy Reid and Marlon Harewood scoring as the Reds nearly caused a cup upset.

Away End: Forest supporters are house behind one of the goals, a carved-out area towards the corner. It’s not a great experience, especially as the gap between the lower and upper sections creates a considerable disconnect between supporters in different sections. Towards the back of the away end you are an awfully long way from the pitch.

On our two prior visits, security and checks are pretty thorough and fans are forced to queue through different sections. Don’t leave it late to arrive.

TRAVEL

RAIL: There are issues on the East Coast Line caused by engineering works so East Midlands Railway are advising that their direct services to London are likely to be busier. A search online shows many services sold out; this doesn’t mean you can’t travel on them but can’t buy a (potentially cheaper) ticket in advance and this is going to mean trains are packed.

As a result, it’s quite hard to advise on trains as there are so little available to buy from Nottingham. My best advice if planning to travel by train is to look at the options and don’t rely on just turning up at Nottingham Station without a ticket to travel.

You can try and get across to Grantham but buses are in operation from Peterborough (both there and back) and this makes the journey much longer and arduous.

To reach the stadium there are a number of rail services that connect to it.

Stratford International – overground line from St Pancras (takes approx. 7 mins)

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.

Stratford – underground & overground. Take the Central Line east from Kings Cross.

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.

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: Unless you are planning to drive in close to the stadium, I think the best option is to use Cheshunt station just off the M25. Parking is around £5 and there are plenty of services on the Greater Anglia trains to Stratford which takes around 25 minutes. We parked here for the recent game down at Spurs and even had a drink at the Malsters pub you’ll pass on the way in.

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.

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.

So my very specific recommendation, just to be nice and clear, is to use Cheshunt. It’s served us well for numerous games now, including the game here last season.

This season we are taking a bus from the Trent Navigation. There are no places left but if you are booked on you should have received some information from us by now.

PUBS

Closer to the ground there are not too many options I’m aware of, especially for away fans. The best bet is to frequent some really good pubs around Hackney Wick. Close to the station we briefly visited the Beer Merchants Tap that was pretty good and then on the River Lee nearby there is a terrific place called Crate Brewery. The downside to this was it quickly got extremely busy and really difficult to get a drink.

There are a few other pubs dotted around too but keep in mind many won’t open until noon with it being a Sunday.

Further out, in 2022/23 we did a few pubs around Highbury & Islington which is a bit quieter and a straightforward hop over towards the stadium. Plus there is a Wetherspoons right next to the station which is likely to be open earlier than most other places.

 

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Wishing you all an enjoyable summer. It’s been a fantastic season to follow Forest away from home and I hope that these away guides have proven interesting and enjoyable accompanying pieces prior to each trip. They have been running now for several years and are regularly read by a huge amount of people so hopefully they are doing something right!

And for the first time next season, there will be special European editions to look forward to!

Thanks for reading. See you on the other side.

Up the Reds.

Matt