FOREST AWAY: Ipswich, Saturday 15th March – Fan Guide

I’m going to use this edition of the away guide to discuss the recent season card renewal announcement and, specifically, my part in the Fan Advisory Board consultation that preceded it. If you are only here for the Ipswich information then please feel free to skip down to the away guide.

On Monday evening I, along with a small group of fellow supporters, were invited to the City Ground for a special Fan Advisory Board meeting. I’m currently sitting in as the Forza Garibaldi representative due to the other commitments of our usual rep, Harry.

The sole subject of the meeting was the decision on season card renewals. You will all have seen the announcement by now that was published the morning after our meeting.

I think it’s fair to say that there was some relief that last year’s price rise which approached up to 25% for certain season cards was not repeated, but also some disappointment that the increase once again outstripped inflation.

It isn’t my place here to discuss what the other FAB representatives proposed or discussed, but there was, I felt, alignment across the room that a considerable increase was unwelcome. On occasions the FAB referred to a survey conducted by the Nottingham Forest Supporters Trust which pointed to views from participants that were broadly split across the feedback that a rise was either not welcome or that a small increase of less than 5% was acceptable.

Of course, Forest’s current position in the Premier League and the announcement following on from last weekend’s stunning victory over Manchester City is a factor in the announcement being received relatively calmly. My view, as discussed at Monday’s meeting, was that there is a troubling trend of not insignificant rises now stretching back over a number of seasons. The club can quite rightly point to the progress over this time, but we should not readily forget that an average rise of 8.5% this season is on top of a dramatic rise last season that followed another hefty one when we were promoted. I saw data following this week’s announcement that an adult season card in the Trent End has increased from £345 in 2021 to £625 in 2025. Clearly there are factors behind this, but perhaps it is the trajectory of the pricing which is most concerning and the uncertainty of where it heads in the years to come. Keeping football affordable is key; while we might not worry too much about a £50-70 increase this year when we are having the best season for 30 years, we do need to keep an eye on where the price might head in, say, 5 years and at what point the City Ground starts being filled by those who can justify the expense. I look at stadia across the Premier League where this is unfolding already and I shudder.

The club’s main argument was that they were aiming to benchmark Forest’s position in a mid-range of the Premier League which certainly does not sound unrealistic. I did, however, find some of the data presented to be questionable and this was raised on the evening. For instance the top whack prices shown at certain other clubs were, to the best of my knowledge, premium seats that were not comparative to the most expensive seats at the City Ground (upper Clough central blocks). I also felt there was a lack of clarity around Forest being bunched into a mid-range category based on price that included, for instance, London based teams and also Liverpool. I further pointed out that Forest’s offering in terms of facilities did not match any of the other clubs were being compared with. I strongly suspect Anfield has hot water! In short, the data presented did not seem to align with the extensive research that Forza Garibaldi carried out last season on the pricing of other clubs and where Forest sat overall and I felt this contributed to a somewhat unreliable picture.

Another point made from the club was that the now announced aim to begin redevelopment work mid-season in 2025/26 meant that additional revenue was needed to fill the gap left by us losing the entire Peter Taylor Stand. Again, I felt this point made sense but I’m more worried that it’s easy enough to keep finding justifications every season to put more cost on fans.

Two key points that were pushed by the FAB were that the additional income generated by these increases was not a significant sum in comparison to the club’s overall turnover and that the club were letting younger fans down by still not reinstating the ‘Young Adult’ category of 18-21 years.

A point was made that the additional income earned via higher league placing this season and the potential for European competition, on top of the record TV revenue streams, could lead Forest to consider whether expecting fans to pay more might not necessary. The club have regularly praised the support for how vital they have been towards the recent success and while perhaps results could be seen as reward enough, it was proposed that fans could enjoy some direct benefits of this too in terms of pricing.

The ‘Young Adult’ proposal was lobbied for strongly. It is clearly a big issue for younger supporters and families. I pointed to how Forest need to preserve and protect this age group who will be the ones to back the club in the future when times might not be as good, and that we need to avoid us losing a generation of fans who will be needed to fill the redeveloped City Ground. While our feedback was disappointingly not considered, I welcome the response that they will look again at this in the future once the Peter Taylor Stand is complete.

Finally – I will return to previous comments I (and the wider FG group) have made about bonafide and meaningful fan engagement at NFFC. While the creation of the Fan Advisory Board and the opportunity to discuss the season card pricing ahead of announcement is a step forward, there is still a lack of tangible evidence that the wider consultation process is a tool for fans to influence change. On this specific matter, the meeting concluded at 6:30pm. By 8am the following morning FAB members were informed of the club’s decision to increase prices. None of the feedback raised by the FAB with regards to changing the direction of the pricing was taken on board, and I have to conclude that it was unlikely that it was going to be. The club will argue otherwise I am sure, but a one hour consultation that concluded approximately 14 hours before a decision was made and shortly announced publicly struggles to be anything beyond tick box engagement.

There are signs that fan engagement is improving; I’m aware of really good work that is continuing with the Disabled Supporters Association, and there has been renewed co-operation towards assisting ourselves at FG to restore banners and displays to the ground, but on these wider areas which impact a much bigger volume of the support it still feels like consultation is more of a process than an opportunity for supporters views to be heard and for them to influence decisions.

If any supporters wish to share any thoughts on the above, or other supporter matters, I’m happy to talk and try and help via our position on the FAB. I will add to finish that one closing point was that the home membership scheme was discussed and it was put to the club that this warranted its own specific meeting to discuss next season’s pricing and logistics around the stadium redevelopment.

 

Ipswich – General Information

Last Visit: March 2019. I can barely remember this game. Molla Wague scored apparently in a 1-1 draw under Martin O’Neill.

Famous Visit: There are a few to choose from here; Frank Clark’s goal after we had won the league in 1978 or Brian Clough’s last game in charge in 1993. But I’m going to go for my first ever Portman Road in April 2003. This is still among the best games I’ve ever seen; Forest were 2-0 down early on but stormed into a 3-2 lead with three goals seven minutes. Ipswich equalised in the second half only for Marlon Harewood to win it.

Away End: As it was on my first visit to Portman Road 23 years ago, away supporters are housed in one side across the Cobbold Stand. Forest will be in both tiers but the upper tier is bigger than the lower which I don’t recall ever being in. For those who might not have been before, it’s pretty similar to Everton.

 

TRAVEL

RAIL: It’s a relatively straightforward run to Ipswich on the train. A change at either Peterborough or Ely will get you there in under 3 hours. The SplitSave option on Trainline.com suggests the most economical route is to purchase a return from Nottingham to Ely and then Ely to Ipswich, bringing the price out at £68.59. But I have regularly suggested in the past that groups of 3 or 4 should enquire about getting a group saver ticket on the East Midlands Railway leg (Nottingham-Ely) which can save a third off the fare.

Ipswich offers the rare treat of being a hop, skip and a jump between the station and the ground. So the 17:16 which looks like the first service to which you back to Nottingham afterwards is definitely achievable.

ROAD: It isn’t the easiest route by car; and a couple of options to get into Ipswich. Depending on whereabouts you are setting off from, you can go down the M1to Jct 19 and cut across east at Rugby towards the A1(M) on the A14. Or you can get to the A1(M) at Grantham and head down that way.

Either way, The A14 past Cambridge will take you over towards Ipswich, although some might prefer cutting in earlier up towards Peterborough.

A couple of suggested options for parking (outside of the usual drive to the ground and find a car park or chance on some street parking). Either come off the A14 north-west of Ipswich onto the A1156 (Bury Road) and pop into the housing estate which you’ll pass on the way towards the ground. The Castle Hill area should be close enough to walk in from and hopefully there might be some street parking, but please note this is not something I’ve done before so not for certain.

The other option I’ve done in the past is to leave the car at Stowmarket and jump on a train. It’s £7.50 return for a 12-minute journey and cuts out any worries about finding parking in Ipswich. It also looks like there is a discount on group tickets, 4 adults works out at £20 return. Plus, although Ipswich is a really good away day for pubs as the next section explains, there are a couple of decent pubs in walking distance of Stowmarket station.

 

PUBS

The Station Hotel is directly across from the train station and serves as the main away pub. It’s a big venue with a sizeable outside area looking out onto the river.

I’m largely basing my other recommendations on visits that now go back several years, so apologies if anything is out of date. However, you won’t go wrong. Ipswich is a really good away day for hopping off the train and having the station / stadium / town centre all very close to each other.

The Black Horse is a really good but cramped pub; away fans were never typically welcome but there never seemed to be any issues. The Swan was another on the edge of town where we have drank in the past.

Over to the east of the town there is also a marina area where a decent number of Forest fans gathered on our last visit. I can’t quite pin the exact place we went to, but it may have been the Last Anchor which looks somewhat familiar.

Beyond this, I’d recommend a wander around the town centre. There is an abundance of decent pubs and you’ll never need to end up much more than 10-15 minutes’ walk from the away end.

 

See you there.

You Reds!

Matt