FOREST AWAY: Wolves, Monday 6th January – Fan Guide

Headed back from Everton, the conversation inevitably turned to our lofty position in the Premier League. I know we football fans typically get a bit jittery about getting ahead of ourselves but it’s also lovely to dream about what lies in store. After all, we spent so long stuck in the quagmire of the divisions below that a bit of gazing at the starry sky is refreshing and rather wonderful thing to do.

There is certainly a dose of enjoying the moment, and our marvellous sequence of five wins in a row and just seeing how high we can reach, but it’s also starting to feel a bit real as we enjoy Chelsea or Arsenal dropping points against teams that we had probably expected to be competing with. Huge clubs like these; teams that have been praised for their brilliance this season and are talked about being in a title race can’t pull away from us. We break long standing unbeaten home runs, score on grounds where others couldn’t and took the only full set of points from Liverpool which nobody else in Europe has managed to do.

This is the real thing, blossoming in front of us. And if we take the odd knock, as will happen from time to time, I feel like we will just roll up somewhere else the week after and continue to amass points. We are a hard working, intelligent and delightful team to follow. Finally, we look like a team that has had some strategy and some new thinking inserted into how a collection of players are assembled, and we are harnessing the creativity and the thinking of a marvellous head coach and his incredible team. This has to be a fundamental reason that we are riding high, that we’re now starting to be taken seriously again, and why we we taking on all comers with our skill and determination, and a beaming smile.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION – WOLVES

Last Visit: A 1-1 draw in December 2023, Harry Toffolo scoring for the Reds.

Famous Visit: A fiery encounter in 2000 when Forest had two men sent off and Michael Branch duped Dave Beasant to kick the ball out of play for an injury, only to retrieve the ball before it went out of play and score. The Reds lost 3-0 and I can still remember the fury in the away end that day.

As usual, away supporters will be housed in the lower tier of the Steve Bull Stand. It’s not usually a great away section with fans spread thin down one side of the pitch.

We are advised that a pre-match light show will take place shortly before kick-off at 8pm. ‘Any supporters that might have any light sensitivity can use the concourse space until this is over.’

 

TRAVEL

RAIL: The official advice from CrossCountry trains is to avoid planning to travel home on the trains. The last service to Nottingham departs at 23:09 and given the 8pm kick-off there is concern that fans will not be able to make that last service. The advice from CrossCountry is as follows:

‘With it being a tight connection tio get back from Wolverhampton in time for this (service), I’d advise fans to travel by road or club coaches for this fixture, to ensure a safe and timely journey after the game.’

I find such scenarios disappointing – it has to be better thought through for fans to be able to get home. Not everybody has the option to drive and, while NFFC have circulated this news themselves, they suggested travelling by ‘road or club coaches’. According to the club’s website on the same day, the coaches were sold out. It would be better if they were more proactive with such matters – did this get considered when the game was moved for TV? Could more supporters coaches have been laid on earlier? Too often, it’s too simple for fans to get left to suffer through such poor planning.

The other thing I’d add here is that, although the advice from CrossCountry should not ignored, a quick check at the services post game suggest making the 23:09 should be pretty comfortable. There are trains from Wolverhampton at 22:12, 22:18 and 22:34 and 22:38. Even the latter gets back into Birmingham at 22:54, providing 15 minutes before the connection to Nottingham.

If train is your only option of getting home then it does seem very likely that you’d make this train. The CrossCountry communication does not mention any trains being cancelled or rescheduled, although they may be concerned about the number of carriages not being sufficient.

I realise I’m shouting into the wind with such things, but football fans are inconvenienced enough by fixture changes. It’s only fair that more is done by our football clubs, the authorities and the train companies to allow us to travel as we need to.

 

ROAD: In light of the above, it’s likely that many of us will instead look to head via road to Molineux. There are a couple of routes to take; either the A42/M42 or the A38. Both will get you to the M6 at Birmingham. It’s possible that normal routes and sat navs will try and take you into Wolverhampton off the M6 at either Junction 9 or 10. This will certainly take you in the most direct route but it may be busy, especially around rush hour, and you’l; have to get through or round the city centre to get closer to Molineux. So it may be better to try and leave the car before you reach the middle of town if you can walk from there.

Alternatively, stay on the M6 a little longer and shortly after Jct 10 the M6 will branch off into  M54. There are a couple of suggestions if coming in this way.

Leave the M54 at Featherstone (I think this is the first junction) on the A460. This road will take you pretty much directly to Molineux, but before you reach the stadium there is street parking availble at certain locations along the way. The closest spot will be to turn right onto Cross Street North where in 2023 we found street parking available on this industrial estate. You are very close to the stadium here so spots will fill up quickly.

The other option is to stay on the M54 for one more junction and use the A449 at Coven Heath to head in from the north towards Wolverhampton Racecourse. In between the Racecourse and Molineux is a housing estate that has previously served us well for parking. I will add that this isn’t the nicest looking area, although it always seems to be a popular place for home fans to park up too. It’s a 15-20 minute walk to the ground from here and also offers a fairly quick escape route back to the M54 after the game.

Hopefully one of these recommendations will work for you, but I’d suggest taking a look yourself before travelling.

PUBS

The Blue Brick pub, close by to Wolverhampton Station and traditionally the away pub, has closed and away supporters are now housed in the Price Albert.

From experience, it is very difficult to get a drink anywhere between here and Molineux. Ticket checks are in place at a lot of venues.

Linked to the parking recommendations above, the Emerald Social Club on Cross Street North was a great visit when we last played at Molineux, although it was fairly clear that it wasn’t really accepting of away fans. We kept out colours under wraps and had no issues.

North of the ground towards the racecourse parking suggestion, we did see a few pubs on the way to the ground but I’m expecting that these will be difficult to get in. In 2022, a friendly bouncer took pity on us at the Stile Inn, a really great and quirky pub, with a bowls green attached to the beer garden. Perhaps worth a try if you are this side of the stadium, but it is a home supporters only venue.

Of course, if travelling by train then the numerous pubs around Birmingham New Street will always be a good option.

 

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Safe travels for those of you travelling to Molineux.

Up the Reds.

Matt