FOREST AWAY: Manchester United, Saturday 7th December – Fan Guide

Two away games in week is thankfully a rarity these days and, as I discussed at length in the City away guide, going to the same city twice in four days is a tad extreme. Thankfully, Manchester is a great place and I’m sure many of us will be taking the opportunity to enjoy another visit this weekend.

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This week I have been asked for some thoughts around the upcoming trip to Brentford by PC Simon Travell, the Dedicated Football Officer for Nottinghamshire Police. Following our last couple of visits to the Gtech, supporters have raised concerns with Notts Police and Forza Garibaldi about the conduct and processes of stewards both inside and outside the stadium.

Issues have surrounded over-zealous searches which have even included wallets being rigorously checked, a general unhelpful and confrontational approach, and even one incident where a supporter was physically challenged by stewards for reasons that seemed excessive.

PC Travell has already advised of a number of ways that both Nottinghamshire Police and NFFC will be helping to mitigate these issues, and advice for away supporters will be addressed in the away guide for the specific game in a couple of weeks. If anyone has any specific concerns or feedback from previous visits beyond those already mentioned that they would like to be passed on as part of FG’s response, then please contact us via our social media direct messages or e-mail [email protected].

Finally – please be advised that there is apparently severe train disruption on the date of the Brentford game. I’ve not yet had a chance to explore this but do make sure you plan your journey in advance.

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A number of people have recently ordered a 2025 Our Glorious Banners calendar from our website. In the first instance, please contact OGB for any specific queries but we are informed the dates provided at point of order in the product description are still being worked to and orders should start to be shipped from next week. If you missed out on the sales period, message OGB to see if there any remaining.

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For the last couple of years I’ve been running a small historical social media account called the Forest Preservation Society (@ForestPresSoc on Twitter / X and it’s also more recently spread to Facebook and Instagram). It aims to document remarkable and curious episodes from the club’s remarkable past. I’m currently working through a #NFFC themed advent calendar up to Christmas Eve and, if you haven’t noticed it before, go and take a look.

 

GENERAL INFO – MANCHESTER UNITED

Last Visit: A 3-2 defeat having taken an early 2-0 lead in August 2023

Famous Visit: a 2-1 victory, thirty years ago this month. We have not won at Old Trafford since.

Something I know has caught a few out over the last couple of visits, is how the away end has a small slice of the Bobby Charlton (South) Stand. This may be block ‘STH’ on your ticket. This area is unreachable from the main away section and has its own concourse. While it won’t pose a problem for many, it can cause some confusion. The entrance to this section is to the left of the main away turnstiles.

 

TRAVEL

RAIL: There is a direct train to Manchester Piccadilly at quarter to the hour from Nottingham with East Midland Railways. This is supplemented by a service that changes at Stoke-on -Trent and departs Nottingham at around 17 minutes past every hour. The direct trains take approximately 1hr 50mins with the route via Stoke around 2hrs.

A ‘Super Off-Peak Day Return’ is £31.69, by my regular advice in this guide is to explore whether any Group Saver tickets apply; they usually do. This will save a third off the price if travelling in groups of 3 or 4.

It’s a fair old way to Old Trafford from the centre of Manchester. I’d say it’s at least twice as far as the Etihad from Piccadilly for anyone braved that walk in the pouring rain on Wednesday evening. The best advice is to use the tram network to reach Old Trafford which can be seen on the enclosed tram map. The Old Trafford stop is right next to the Old Trafford cricket ground. After the game, there is a queue system with barriers in operation although I’ve usually found it isn’t too bad to get away on a (very busy) tram.

Wharfside and Salford Quays are other nearby tram stops.

ROAD: Driving to Old Trafford isn’t straightforward and it’ll likely be busy getting close to the stadium. A bit like with the City Ground, it’s proximity to water (Salford Quays / Manchester Ship Canal) seems to create various bottlenecks.

I’ll run through a few different options, all of which have the usual pros and cons:

STREET PARKING – For the League Cup semi-final in 2023 we found some decent street parking on a housing estate about a mile south of the ground. Look at the areas around Seymour Grove (use Seymour Park School if you want to search for a local landmark) and there should be options around there. We used Brooks Road in 2023 (visible on the right of the map) and it was really good for getting away afterwards, although I am conscious that street parking near major stadiums usually gets swallowed up by permit parking eventually and it may prove much busier for a league match. This said, I did suggest this for the league game last August and received some good feedback from people who parked there without issue.

SALFORD QUAYS – There is usually parking in this area north of Old Trafford. I don’t know any specific street parking although I have heard it exists; but there are various paid parking which offers a reliable option. We used the Holiday Inn for the game just after Christmas in 2022. It’s now around £12.50 for a stay of several hours after a quick check, and did take an age to get away after, but it’s very handily placed. A bit further up is the Premier Inn which looks like it has parking for £8.

STATION PARKING – I suggested something similar to this for City on Wednesday. If the traffic and parking near the ground is a bit too much hassle, then take a look at a few options further out where you can hop on a train or tram into Manchester.  With regards to the train, Crewe is a fairly easy option which cuts right down on the driving and offers a fairly reasonably priced option. Stockport is much closer and is only a ten-minute journey into Piccadilly.

On the tram network, there is also the fairly straightforward option of dropping in somewhere down the line. I know a few have used Altrincham for this before and it has worked pretty well with it only being seven stops away from Old Trafford. I gather there is a car park here but be mindful of this filling up with football fans and Christmas shoppers.

Hopefully some of these options might provide you with something.

 

PUBS

There are not any away pubs near Old Trafford and official advice will be to drink around Piccadilly. There are certainly lots of fine options around here – The Piccadilly Tavern and the Waldorf are good choices very close to Piccadilly Station and a bit further down there is a Wetherspoons. I’d also recommend the Crafty Pig, tucked up a side street from the main square, but there is no shortage of options, especially if you have the time to wander a bit further. Just allow plenty of time to get a tram.

Closer to the ground, there are some options in Salford Quays which may serve away fans better. For the aforementioned cup game, we drank at the Quadrant which is handily placed for the street parking option above. Although I do rather suspect admission for away fans may be harder for a league game.

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We are currently trialling the omission of the opposition fan Q&A from the away guide. While they are certainly a good aspect to include, the process of chasing up supporters of other clubs and convincing them to answer questions is often a lot of hassle. So far, we’ve had one person bemoan its loss! If you think these guides are a lot worse off without them then let us know, but hopefully without the time spent chasing up the Q&A the guides can become more informative and detailed in the other areas.

As a final note, thanks for the nice comments with regards to the ‘Double Header’ piece in the Manchester City guide. While clearly not a serious proposal, it’s nice to occasionally drop in a bit of a wildcard opener to the guides.

See you in Manchester. Again.

Up the Reds.

Matt