From Arizona to Nottingham to see the Derby game, some questions.....

[TucsonHooligan]

Hello,

I'm an American Forest fan and plan on making the trek from the southwest U.S. all the way to your neck of the woods to see a game or two. I hope to make it there for the December 29th match against Derby. What better game, am I right? I will be travelling with my younger brother who is a Spurs fan (sorry, couldn't be helped) and was wondering if I could get any tips on how to make this as cheap and easy as possible. We will fly into Heathrow on the 27th, watch Spurs play Newcastle on on the 28th, then head to the City Ground to watch Forest-Derby on the 29th. We plan on making London home-base, and driving or riding the train around the country. Anybody have any suggestions on where to stay or what pubs to visit? Which ones to avoid? Cheap ways to travel? Any suggestions would help. We plan on doing the touristy thing on the days there are no games as well, so ideas on what to see would be nice. This is our first trip out of the country (besides Mexico, which is just like Tucson anyway) so we're new to this. Please avoid the temptation to send me to a Derby pub in a Forest Jersey or recommending hotels in questionable neighborhoods. I know its funny, and I'd probably do it too, but I'm trying to make this a trip to remember! I'm an American, but also a true fan for sure! Thanks in advance for the help.

James

 

[It's Baggio]

I would imagine you'd find it difficult to get tickets if you're not a member.

Christmas games are always well attended and with it being a big derby game I can see it selling out before match day.

 

[Eddie]

Hi there. The biggest piece of advice i can give you (as i do to all American tourists) is to avoid London completely, its not the place they make it out to be in the movies - its just a place that we Brits embarrassingly call our Capital City. If you want value for your money then Europe has hundreds of better locations to head than London.

But seeing as you seem set to head there i can only offer the following advice i'm affraid. Eastmidlands Trains offer regular and sometimes well priced trains from London to Nottingham - i'd use these for your train journey up here. It can be done for £30 return if booked far enough in advance (sorry i dont know how many dollars that converts to right now!). The trains depart from London St Pancras on an hourly basis. linky here http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/EMTrains

As for pubs to drink in, well Nottingham has s**t loads of them, including the only Hooters in the UK :hey:

 

[TucsonHooligan]

Thanks for the tip!

There are 3 Hooters in Tucson alone, so I'll go for something more local probably! Dont know if its the same there, but the waitresses here are haggard. I MUST HAVE TICKETS TO THIS GAME!!!!! How do I score them? They don't go on sale till the 8th, then only to a select few. It's the 15th for the rest of us. I'm flying around the world to see Derby get whats comin to 'em, and I dont want to miss this game. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for my brother and me, and that match would be the ultimate one to see. As far as London goes, its not a matter of seeing it as the best city in England, just convenient since the airport is there and we can get a package deal on hotel and flight. I'll check the trains out and see what we can sort. Any suggestions on how to secure 2 tickets so I dont end up outside the stadium crying?

 

[Flaggers]

Will post more when I have time tomorrow (I think I've been to Tucson AZ by the way, same day as we stopped at Quartzsite - it was staggeringly hot as I recall, but I did get my photo taken next to a saguaro cactus!).

Haven't played with the NFFC Ticket system this season yet, but last season it helped to get a Client Reference Number with Forest by some means (last year you could buy a pair of socks from the Club shop and that'd do the trick). It elevates you above the rest of the world who do not have a reference number when it came to high demand tickets.
)

With the franchising of the club shop I'm not sure how that will play out this year but I'll have a ferret round and make some enquiries.

Hi-Jolly! Brilliant!

 

[TucsonHooligan]

Yup, thats Tucson! 110 degrees in the summer. Damn wasteland out here. If you got your pic with a saguaro and it had arms, its at least 75 years old. Takes that long to grow the first one. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll buy a pair of socks if that'll secure me a spot in the front of the ticket line. Whats the routine over there? Pub prior to game, couple pints, head to the match, then back to the pub to celebrate? In the states you can buy booze at the games, but here for baseball, football (American) and basketball, etc., the games are long so they have to sell beer there to keep the fans happy. Although 8 bucks for 12 ounces is a bit stupid. And its Budweiser, which is like having sex in a canoe........

 

[Marshall.]

Yeah I remember last year loads of people were having trouble with buying tickets for the game because the club said that they needed a client reference number, so if I were you mate I'd get that sorted asap really. As for pubs/bars, the most popular one is Southbank (right next to the City Ground, just off the Trent Bridge). Also Globe is kinda the official pub of this forum too lol

 

[TucsonHooligan]

So how do I get a client reference number? Just buy something from the official site shop? Or is there something else I need to do?

 

[Marshall.]

If Flagman's theory about buying from the official club shop site is true then that's your best bet. But IIRC, last year people who needed a client reference number bought an NFFC membership which is a one off fee at £20 ($30.84).

Info on the membership

 

[TucsonHooligan]

Excellent! Thats what I'll have to do then, although it mentions you can buy two tickets sometimes for friends and family, but not on premium games. I'm guessing that Derby would be one of those. Is England like the states? Do you get a week or two off around Christmas/New years time? I figure that will factor in to ticket sales if everyone has the time off from work.

 

[fil]

it might be worth you dropping an e-mail to the club and telling them when you are planning to come over, they are usually very welcoming to overseas guests.
failing that you could ask someone who has a season ticket to get you a couple of tickets and them meet them before the game, i'm sure some kind person would do that for you.

 

[Maverick]

Yup, thats Tucson! 110 degrees in the summer. Damn wasteland out here. If you got your pic with a saguaro and it had arms, its at least 75 years old. Takes that long to grow the first one. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll buy a pair of socks if that'll secure me a spot in the front of the ticket line. Whats the routine over there? Pub prior to game, couple pints, head to the match, then back to the pub to celebrate? In the states you can buy booze at the games, but here for baseball, football (American) and basketball, etc., the games are long so they have to sell beer there to keep the fans happy. Although 8 bucks for 12 ounces is a bit stupid. And its Budweiser, which is like having sex in a canoe........

Love it!! lol

 

[Gary]

Oh and just so you know, don't go branding yourself as a 'hooligan' when attending football games over here. :nowink:

I really really apologise also, but this thread makes me think of the pub scene in Eurotrip:

 

[FBS]

I echo what Eddie says about trains. Get your tickets booked early on east midland trains and you can get returns from London St. Pancras to Nottingham for £20 (possibly), they normally put the cheap tickets on sale about 6/8 weeks before the actual week.
However, be careful as it's chrimbo holidays there might be some engineering works on the lines and as such you may have to get a train half way and then a bus the rest of the way.

Southbank is probably gonna be your best place to drink, but get there early as it does fill up pretty quickly. Or you could try the TBI, it's not bad in there.

 

[winnits]

Worth pointing out some of Nottingham's finer drinkeries in a non-football context too.

There's Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem and The Bell - both of which have probably spurious claims to being the oldest pubs in England - but both excellent places for a nice pint!

I think it's definitely worth emailing the club initially with your plans to see if they can take the stress out of getting tickets for you...

 

[Red Duster]

There are plenty of decent pubs and bars around the ground and even more in the city (about one and a half english miles away). You wont need to bring your guns unless you plan to go to Saint Anns or the Meadows after dark.

There's a tube train from Heathrow to London.

Trains for Nottingham leave Saint Pancras station in north London, if you want to save money its essential you book your tickets many weeks in advance - i use www.nationalrail.co.uk but others have posted a link to the company that run on that particular line (this link may be of use if you plan to use trains to travel to other parts of the country (wiki says the UK is about twice that of Arizona so dont plan to see it all in a day).

Enjoy your stay but, when packing, remember our weather is cold or wet or ****.

 

[Strummer]

To the OP; you can also get an NFFC Client Reference number by simply signing up at www.nffcretail.com - just click on "Register" at the top-right of the screen and fill in your details.

This gets you a reference number which you can then use to purchase tickets online (you always then have the option of collecting your tickets from the Ticket Office).

Be warned though the ticket office gets very busy on Match Days!

 

[Maverick]

Enjoy your stay but, when packing, remember our weather is cold or wet or ****.

....and often, all of the above!

 

[zigga-zagga]

A cheaper way to travel would be by National Express coaches. They run regular services out of London to all parts of the country
www.nationalexpress.com/ this should give you all the info.

 

[Eamonn]

Welcome.

Ive been in Tuscon a few times, i was at the air and space museum and i was at the Monthan Davis AFB.

Do Charlton Athletic still have an accedemy out there?

 

[Eamonn]

Welcome.

Ive been in Tuscon a few times, i was at the air and space museum and i was at the Monthan Davis AFB.

Do Charlton Athletic still have an accedemy out there?

 

[RICH1977]

might sound daft but why not contact the club explaining what you are doing and hopefully (I aint holding my breath) they might aid you in purchasing the tickets as you are coming from the states to see the game. I am not sure if you could purchase a nffc membership which would give you the earlier window to purchase tickets (MA needs one of these for our transfers). another option is stick around on the forrum and get to know everyone and then appeal to our many season ticket holders to use there client ref to purchase tickets for you.

 

[Davie]

To repeat about 5 people, emailing the club is a very decent idea. You have chosen the wrong games to attend, every game against Derby ages you 10 years.

However, to wet everyones whistles (with some brilliant commentating):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWBIS56fBh4

 

[GOBIAS]

Hi there. The biggest piece of advice i can give you (as i do to all American tourists) is to avoid London completely, its not the place they make it out to be in the movies - its just a place that we Brits embarrassingly call our Capital City. If you want value for your money then Europe has hundreds of better locations to head than London.

I agree with Alan Partr... sorry I mean Eddie. If you go to London you'll either get mugged or not appreciated!

 

[simonlp]

London's cool by the way. Its one of the great, historic cities of the world and there's something for everyone going on virtually 24 hours a day. Base yourself here - you'll regret it if you don't.