FOREST AWAY: Wigan Athletic, Saturday 18th August – NFFC Fan Guide

We’re back on the road after three successive home games and headed to the North West to face newly promoted Wigan Athletic. Considering our own spell in the third tier some time back I have nothing but admiration for how the Latics made the most of relegation. None of this languishing or consolidation bollocks – straight back up with a hell of a cup run to boot. I seem to recall they had about six games in hand at one point and sat a point outside the top two. In the end they sauntered back into the Championship. Good on them.

We’ll be headed up in the car again it looks like – from memory it’s a bit of a jaunt off the M6 and you’ll skirt around the edge of the town centre on your way in. Latecomers might hit a few jams as a result. Parking is simple enough though – there are official car parks at the stadium but you’ll also find streets within 5 minutes’ walk of the stadium where you’ll park for free around the Robin Park Road area. We also ended up in the train station car park for a Tuesday night game a few years ago which didn’t cost much.. Being smack bang in town that has the added bonus too of giving you a few drinking options but please check the parking costs before, don’t take my word for it.

We played in Wigan on the opening day of the season in the early part of the millennium. Some might remember Des Walker casually popping out of retirement due to a chronic shortage of fit centre halves. We still rejoice to this day at finding a pub next to the station where a pint was just 95p. The result mattered little after that although I think it ended 1-1.

That was our first visit to the JJB / DW Stadium and it’s never got any better for us in terms of results. It’s certainly not been a happy hunting ground. But you’ll find plenty of pubs to keep you occupied before and after. We did return to the fabled 95p pub a few years later with high hopes but the place had turned into Chernobyl. We quickly scarpered.

Out of Wigan Wallgate station and left up the hill you will quickly find a ‘Spoons and a market square with a few options dotted about. As a bit of a left field choice there is a bar / restaurant  directly opposite the station which is also decent, albeit not really a typical football pub. The name of it escapes me.

The ground is around a 20 minute swift walk from town / station.

For those closer to the ground The Red Robin is a designated pub for away fans. It’s a big Harvester type place – alright if you’re out the car or off the bus and don’t have long but, if you have time, you’ll find better pubs in town.

Train Travel

Trains will go via Manchester but don”t fall into the trap of paying the standard Nottingham – Wigan return fare which is approximately £50. Instead purchase a return to Manchester and then a separate return from Manchester to Wigan Wallgate which is around £6.. You’ll end up paying less than £30 hopefully. Better still if travelling in a group of 3 or 4 you’ll be able to get a group saver for the Nottingham – Manchester leg which will save you a third off.

 

Hopefully see some of you up there.

 

To add to my very limited knowledge I spoke with Wigan fans Ben Packham and also Alan who runs the Pie at Night podcast. They answered our questions and gave us a few pointers ahead of the match…

 

1.After relegation in 2016/17 Wigan made it back up into the Championship after what looked like a fantastic season. What is the mood and expectation around the club at the moment now we’re a couple of games in?

Ben: Personally, I like the mood around the club at the minute. Obviously winning the title and going to the quarter finals of the FA Cup, beating Man City in the process, it’s all been going well. Since last season was our 5th consecutive season that we have been involved with a relegation or promotion, we are only looking to stay up but we couldn’t have asked for a harder first 4 games.

It’s giving us a test and we are fighting against it, picking up a victory against Sheffield Wednesday was massive for the start and losing out in the last minute away to Aston Villa, a game where we deserved at least a point, shows we do have the ability to stay up this time round.

Alan: The end of last season wasn’t quite the high that our last “bus stopping” promotion in 2016, I think because it was all a bit more expected and didn’t have the tidal wave of momentum in the final stages.  There was also a fair amount of trepidation because that promotion ended up in a bit of a mess the following season, so I suppose no one really knew how good our team might turn out to be.

So expectations aren’t particularly high, although the 3-2 win against Wednesday followed by a productive transfer deadline day did get the juices flowing for some.  I’m keeping a bit more pragmatic though and just as much as I didn’t get over excited by one win, am not going to plunge into depths of despair because we’ve lost at Villa Park and our reserves have got knocked out of the league cup.

Plenty are though and I’ll give it the first run of three league games without a win, before the first boos are heard ringing around the DW stadium.

 

2.Of the numerous times we’ve visited the DW Stadium I’m not sure we’ve ever won. A few draws and a fair few losses, plus an awful defeat in the FA Cup the season you went down. It’s not been a happy place for Forest to visit. How’s this one going to go do you think?

Ben: Yes, I remember that FA Cup game, awful on both ends and even the league fixture a month later was even worse. I’ve kept a slight eye on Forest as a friend of mine supports them and I’ve seen you have signed a couple quality lads from Benfica. It seems like your club Is back on track to what is was a couple season ago (A COUPLE?!). I think the streak of you not winning will carry on but if you do pick up the win from us, it will be very well deserved as we are not as bad as a lot of people are making us to be.

Alan: All the indications are that it will be a good game.  We’ve had ten goals in our first two games, been generous at the back whilst attacking with verve and vigour.  The only thing that can spoil it is if you turn up to try and grab something on the break, which with the money you’ve spent would be a shame.  I’m hoping for another toe-to-toe encounter with football (and Latics) being the winner.

 

3. It’s a decent walk from town / station but many will be arriving into Wigan off the train looking for a pub. Where would you recommend? Wigan Pier worth a visit?!

Alan: There’s nothing open at the pier anymore, so google it for some pictures of the lump in the canal bank and miniature statues and save yourself a 5-minute detour.  Pub recommendations?  You’ve got a couple of options really if you like your ale real or craft then Wigan Central is very convenient for the station but gives the risk of becoming too settled and missing kick off.

Ben: There are many pubs in the town centre and many allow away fans. If you’re looking for a pub near the ground there’s a pub called the Red Robin, it’s opposite the cinema and the bingo on the stadium grounds and that is dedicated to away fans.

 

4. What about for those looking for a drink in the vicinity of the stadium?

Alan: if you’re not that bothered and just want a pint with your mates near the ground then the Red Robin is still (I think) your designated away pub.

Ben: There is a lounge below the North stand (Away fans stand) where away fans can go. Drinks are a little more expensive in there but it’s easier to get a drink there. It is only open pre-game and opens around 1:30 PM I believe.

I’ve never been in the away fans lounge before so I’m not quite sure on this but in the home fans lounge, you can also buy food and soft drinks, this also might occur in your lounge but I’m not 100% sure. Then you obviously have the concourse in the away end.

 

5. Any suggestions on parking?

Ben: You have parking around the stadium for £5 but there is also Robin Park which is free and has a limit of 4 hours, on Robin Park, you have your food stores such as KFC and Burger King along with a few other shops. There is also a ASDA which might be helpful and McDonalds which is a 5 min walk away.

Alan: Unless someone is giving me a lift, I find the idea of driving to away games a bit bizarre, so I’m not an expert.  If you don’t want to pay then get there early and you should find something on the streets around the ground.  There are lots of actual car parks about, but most of them want payment or run fine schemes for people not using them for shopping, so I’d progress with caution.

The club as a fairly big car park of its own.  I’ve no idea how much they charge though.

 

6. What can Forest fans expect inside the ground? And what sort of crowd are you anticipating?

Ben: It’s a nice little ground. All one tier for away fans so it’s quite loud in your end.

I’m not expecting a sell-out but hopefully a couple thousand from Forest. I haven’t checked your ticket sales for our game yet but I know you get allocated 4.5k-5k tickets so if you sell out, you’ll make some noise!

For our end, I’m just expecting the 9k fans again. Being stuck between Manchester and Liverpool it’s very tough to attract fans in and when the majority of the town supports either of those clubs it’s not nice to see how empty is ground is when we have so many football fans in the town!

Alan: We’ve consistently won awards for our hospitality and were regularly voted the best away day when we were in the premier league so, I suppose, you should expect a good day in the ground.

If you think that there’ll be hordes of Latics fans there to greet you then you must live in a social media-less bubble, add 7-8k on to what you’re bringing and you’ll get a reasonable estimate of the crowd at the end of the day.  We can be quite passionate though, but we’re also capable of having 40 winks during the game.  It depends what the action is like and whether Galloways have run out of Meat and Potato pies at dinner time.

 

7. It’s perhaps further evidence of how bad our performances have been at your place that an abiding memory is that bloody annoying drum over to our left. Can deals be struck to avoid the torture this time? We’ll gladly do a whip around on the way up!

Ben: Unfortunately, the torture for you will still be there, the drum is our little atmosphere creator. It keeps it from being silent the entire time but if your fans are loud, you’ll be able to outsing it! So there’s no way the drum will be gone!

Alan: I’m sure a few home fans will chip in too.  No matter though, he’ll be drowned out by the goal music that we’ve brought back this season.  Much to my and a fair few others dismay.

 

8. It’s possible our team will include a bonafide Wigan hero: Ben Watson, scorer of the winning goal in the FA Cup final in 2013. It also spawned what I think is a brilliant chant: ‘We beat Man City with a Watson goal’ to Starship’s ‘We built this city on Rock ‘n’Roll’. Sublime.

Anyway, what sort of reception will Watson get?

Ben: Catchy little chant isnt it?!

But it now has a rival with Grigg’s song, especially with obviously the heroics from last season. But it’ll probably get chanted for ‘Sir Ben’ as we call him! Ben will get a good reception, him scoring the winning goal in 2013 is something that will never be forgotten across the town for generations to come.

A few fans have specifically said that they can’t wait to play Forest just to see Ben Watson again!

Alan: You know what sort of reception he should get, you don’t get more deserving of hero status than scoring a last minute FA Cup winning goals against the richest team in the country, but this is Wigan, and the rest of his time with us was mixed.  There will still be people who will treat him as a bit of a boo boy, but hopefully they’ll stay quiet on Saturday.

 

9. For those who haven’t been before where are away fans situated and what’s the away section like for travelling fans?

Alan: The away end is at the far end of the ground if you’re coming from the town centre.  If you’ve been to the Robin or parked at the soccer dome then it’ll be the end that you come to first.  What’s it like?  I’ve no idea, but as I said earlier, we’ve won plenty of awards so it must have something going for it.  Personally, I’d stay away from the pies and get some from Galloways in the town centre, but that’s all the advice I have, really.

Ben: The view is amazing! You get a decent amount of tickets so you get that chance to bring a massive crowd in. I sat directly opposite the away stand over the past couple years and I’d probably say I had the best seats in the ground but I moved for the atmosphere.

 

Thanks to Ben and Alan for taking the time to respond to our questions.