FOREST AWAY: Liverpool, Saturday 14th September – Fan Guide
I suspect that among the 3,000 Forest fans headed to Anfield this weekend there will be a good few who will be ticking off a new ground.
Promotion a couple of seasons back, as fantastic as it was, also proved useful to try and see Forest at a few new stadiums, having been entrenched in the second tier for so long. I’ve been able to now include Anfield, Old Trafford and Goodison, plus a few of the new stadia, in the last two years. Counting grounds is an interesting sub-plot to following your team across the country and it’s been a talking point among a few of us recently.
‘Doing the 92’ as it’s known involves attending a game at all of the existing Football league and Premier League grounds. It’s a task that takes some dedication and, in normal circumstances many years to complete. And even when all 92 are ticked off, newly promoted teams entering the league or a club moving grounds can lead to enthusiasts seeking a visit to maintain their standing.
As Forest fans, especially those of us old enough to have followed the team for the last two decades, our spin through three different tiers of the league structure did at least have the silver lining of allowing us to frequent some grounds we might not ordinarily have had the chance to visit. Plus there is the odd bonus of a new ground being drawn in the cup competition or, in the last couple of seasons, the EFL Cup has thrown up a few new opportunities. A few hundred of us took the chance last season to see our U21s play at Harrogate Town and I’m sure a fair few like me were at least partially motivated by a new ground being available. I’m already looking ahead to this season’s tie at Morecambe too in the hope I can make it and register another ground on my quest.
I’m currently sat on 76 of the current league grounds meaning I have 16 left to visit. Cup competitions aside, I don’t have any new grounds on the list this season having now seen Forest at every ground in the Premier League. A friend is a lot closer, needing eight grounds to tick off the list. And a debate has begun about the validity of his count and the intricacies about what constitutes a legitimate ground visit. Let’s just say we have some concerns about whether he really has eight left or not…!
There aren’t, I don’t think, any formal rules around the 92 mission although the92.net website does carry a ‘Rules’ section. Personally, I’ve always seen it as something that everyone is actually entitled to count as they see fit. But a few points that I adhere to on my count:
- A ground must be visited for an actual competitive game. Friendlies or exhibition games don’t count on my list, although I’m aware many will overlook this. I just think it takes away a bit of the occasion and makes the overall task a bit easier.
- One guideline I’ve heard about before is if a team is relegated from the EFL into non-league then their ground needs to be visited again if they return for it to count (ie Notts County, Stockport, Mansfield). This sounds like a particularly harsh rule in my opinion and isn’t something that I personally take into consideration.
- If a club move grounds, then the old ground does not count. In our own debate, somebody referred to Spurs who basically turned their stadium around and rebuilt. In my view, this is a new stadium and therefore I lost Tottenham off my list until we went to the new stadium in 2023.
- If a game is not completed for whatever reason and the result voided, the ground does not count.
As I say, you don’t need to follow these, these are just rules I follow. Although if you count, say, Coventry having been to Highfield Road but having not visited the Ricoh then I think you are quite frankly sailing past what should be allowed!!
Another little oddity that came up in this debate is whether there is any greater achievement if all / the vast majority are done following one team. This would be incredibly hard and take a long time with a lot of luck needed but in my own count 74 of my 76 grounds visited are with Forest. It’s taken me 25 years to get to that number and the question remains of how I’d ever get through the rest with one club. But the idea of needing one to complete the set and then we draw them in a cup would be a great moment for sure.
Other miscellaneous uncertainties also exist. Does a visit to a ground need to be with a valid match ticket? What about if you are in a hotel room at Leyton Orient or another of the grounds with built-in accommodation? Does that count? What if you stand on a hill and see 85% of the pitch? Do you need to see all or most of the game? What happens if you arrive really late and only see twenty minutes? Or if you happen to be passing a ground and see the gates open to let fans out with ten minutes left and you pop in? These all feel like dodgy ground to me.
All of these things have cropped up in our conversations recently and, for those who are interesting in counting the ground you’ve visited, make it an interesting debate. Hopefully I’ll get there one day; it’s certainly something I’d like to complete at some point but for now I’ll keep trying to tick a few more off in the years to come following the Reds.
Here’s hoping for Barrow away in the FA Cup!
LIVERPOOL GENERAL INFO
If there is the slightest prospect of any sun then take my very serious advice and have a pair of sunglasses in your pocket and / or a cap. The sun catches the away end at Anfield and makes viewing the game much harder.
You probably won’t welcome a reminder that we haven’t won at Anfield since 1969 but here it is anyway.
TRAVEL
TRAIN: There are few different options to get to Liverpool on the train. The most obvious is to go on a direct service but there are routes with a change via Manchester, Birmingham and Crewe.
The 08:45 from Nottingham is a direct service which takes 2hr 45 minutes and costs £48.19 if you use the SplitSave option or look at individual returns from Nottingham – Manchester and Manchester – Liverpool. Also remember that you can typically get group savers on the line up via Manchester so if travelling in a group of 3 or 4 enquire about this before booking.
The most cost-effective route I can find is to go via Crewe from Long Eaton. By travelling on the 08:31 service to Crewe and then the 19:10 or 20:10 service back to Long Eaton (or any East Midlands Trains service), the return fare is only £15.09. If doing this journey from Nottingham to Crewe then the prices goes up to £21.49. An off-peak day return from Crewe – Liverpool is the exact same price of £15.09. So it can be done for just over £30 without much hassle.
It’s a few miles from Liverpool Lime Street Station to Anfield so make sure to factor that into your plans.
ROAD: The easiest route is to drop into Liverpool a little further up the M57 to avoid the main build up of football and city centre traffic. The absolute best advice I can offer is to punch L4 9XP into your sat nav and find your way to Walton Hall Park. Any of the residential streets off here should be a good bet for parking and providing a walkable distance to Anfield (through Anfield Cemetery) and to get away after the game.
PUBS
Advice from Liverpool’s Dedicated Football Officer, Lee Lomax:
In Merseyside we don’t designate home and away pubs. However, the Arkles public house in always popular amongst visiting supporters.
Liverpool FC also have a new indoor fan zone on Anfield Road that welcomes both home and away supporters with a matchday ticket.
As advised, the Arkles pub is probably the best shout for Forest fans looking to congregate together. It’s very close to the away end, situated on the corner of Stanley Park on Arkles Lane.
As our Liverpool fan mentions below another good option is to drink around Goodison. On our last two visits we have been welcome at The Brick and the Royal Oak. Just down from these is the Thomas Frost Wetherspoons. It’s around a 15 minute walk to Anfield from Goodison Park.
Q&A with Peter Warburton, Liverpool season ticket holder
Before the Q&A, some info from Pete for Forest fans in attendance at Anfield:
This Saturday sees us remember the colossus Ron Yeats, the cornerstone of Bill Shankly’s team, who sadly passed after a long illness.
Also, on 11 minutes we would like to give a minutes applause for a young red who has sadly passed from MND. This is the disease that took Rob Burrow recently and is normally linked to adults, but Oliver Jones contracted the disease aged 8 and sadly passed aged 11. His brother Noah and his parents will be guests at Anfield, and it would be a brilliant way to show the family they are in everyone’s thoughts.
Understandably, much has been discussed about whether Liverpool might suffer a post-Klopp hangover. Results and performances so far suggests this isn’t happening – what have you made of the start under Arne Slot?
I don’t think any Liverpool wanted Klopp to go and there were some worries about how Arne Slot’s systems would work. It’s very early days yet, but we have got off to a great start, winning all three games without conceding.
The formation the current team plays, utilising Gravenberch and Mac Allister as fluid number sixes seems to be working well (as seen at Old Trafford). Time will tell over the course of the season whether this can be sustained, especially with European and domestic cups soon coming up. Although quite a few players have left, either on loan or permanently, we have two quality players for each position.
The style is slightly different from Klopp’s (a bit more pragmatic) more soft rock than heavy metal football!!
Is a title challenge on the cards do you think?
I always think we will be in with a shout of winning the league come kick off in August and have done every year (sometimes more in hope than expectation)!! I think whoever finishes above City this season will be champions, but I think we should have enough to finish top four again. Arsenal will be strong again and I think Spurs have the players to challenge if they become more consistent. As outsiders for top four, Brighton have made a good start too.
Last season we discussed the impact of tragedy chanting – Forest fans were applauded at Anfield in 2023 for displaying a banner against this in 2023. Have you noticed any improvements or a reduction in these occurrences at all?
Yes, I remember the flag going up, which was roundly applauded by the home fans. It’s a shame that we should be reminded that any derogatory chanting regarding tragedies, race or homophobia is unacceptable.
We can all be partisan fans for our respective teams, without resorting to mindless ‘banter’. Merseyside still gets the ‘sign on’ chants again from idiotic fans who need educating, but on the whole it does seem to be improving. There were the usual ‘murderers’ chants at OT last week, but the Brentford fans were great at Anfield when they came up earlier this season.
I recall on our last visit around a year ago the upper tier of the away end was still being completed. That work, I understand, is now done and the stand is fully occupied. Is Anfield redevelopment now complete or are there further phases planned?
The Anfield Road upper section is now fully operational, and we had a record 61,000 league attendance for the Brentford game. The extra seats really do add to the atmosphere and the fans can create some real noise.
It may be difficult to extend Anfield any further (especially the Kop, which has a main road alongside), but you never know with modern engineering, there may be scope to extend further.
Where would you point Forest fans to for a pre-match drink?
The Arkles pub just down from the Anfield Road stand and across from Stanley Park is the nearest for away fans, although there are many within the stadium locality. Some away fans also drink down by Goodison and walk across the park for the game. They are normally welcomed by Evertonians for some reason!!
And how about parking for those coming in the car? Any decent recommendations you can offer?
Below is the advice from Liverpool FC on the website. Visiting fans may also pre-book using Just park and Your parking space.
There is very little parking available near to the Stadium. We strongly advise where possible that attendees utilise public transport to travel to Anfield Stadium and use the bus services provided from Liverpool City Centre.
There are a number of City Centre pay and display car parks that operate 24/7. Express shuttle bus services are available from Lime Street Station/St Georges Plateau to the Stadium. Anfield Stadium is approximately a 40-minute walk from the City Centre and routes are clearly signposted to direct attendees to the Stadium safely.
Please be aware that Anfield Stadium is located in a residential area with a residents parking scheme in operation. Please DO NOT park on residential streets as parking enforcement will be in operation during concerts and major events. Any illegally parked cars will incur a fine.
Finally – I’ll ask for your predictions if that’s okay?
Scoreline on Saturday?
Where will Liverpool finish?
Where will Forest finish?
I’m going for a 3-1 win for Liverpool (at least Forest will score the first of the season against us!!).
As stated before, I think top four for Liverpool is achievable and with some luck we can challenge for the title.
I don’t see Forest going down, maybe mid table. I like your manager and his style of football, so I think Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester may be the bottom three.
Thanks to Pete for his help and insight.
For those travelling, we’ll see you there. That winless run back to 1969 has to end at some point, right?
You Reds
Matt