July 31, 2003
"You don't go away!!"
RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds for the travelling red and white hoardes.
THE OPPO – Nottingham Forest
DATE – Saturday 9th August
KO TIME – 5.35pm (to facilitate Sky TV coverage)
THE GROUND – The City Ground, Nottingham, NG2 5FJ, click here for a map of the area, the arrow in the middle points to the City Ground.
The City Ground is just south of Nottingham city centre, just off the A60 London Road and opposite the famous Trent Bridge Cricket Ground.
Visitors’ turnstiles are accessible through the Brian Clough Stand carpark via Scarrington Road off Lady Bay Bridge. Away supporters are allocated seats in the lower Bridgeford End, disabled visitors have spaces at the front of lower Bridgeford.
GOING BY CAR?
Follow the signs to the ground along the A6011 approach road – both Forest’s AND County’s grounds are signposted. As you might expect, parking restrictions operate on matchdays and you’ll need to get there early to find on-street parking (but don’t block anybody’s driveway and upset the locals!!) Or you could try crossing the Trent Bridge and parking on the other side of the river, which is apparently relatively quiet on Forest (as opposed to County) matchdays.
GOING BY TRAIN?
You can get a direct train to Nottingham from London St Pancras, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool. Travelling from Sunderland you’ll have to change at Newcastle, then from Newcastle you’ll then have to change at Grantham, Derby or Chesterfield depending on which train you get from Newcastle (go to the National Rail website to see what trains are available for that day.
Nottingham Midland station is in the city centre, and less than a mile from the City Ground. Leave by the main entrance/exit and turn left. At the corner of the station turn left again, then go along till you reach the T-junction with London Road. If you turn right here and follow the road along, you’ll see the City Ground across the river to your left. The away end is furthest from the river.
SCRAN AND BOOZE
Nottingham Forest’s official website says that the Larwood and Voce pub – adjoining Trent Bridge cricket ground - is the ‘unofficial’ pub for visiting supporters. You need to avoid the Trent Bridge Inn, though – they don’t allow opposition supporters in. But there are loads of pubs, clubs and restaurants in Nottingham city centre if you’re peckish and/or thirsty either side of the match.
IN THE NEWS
They’ve recently signed Michael Stewart on a season-long loan from Man Utd – a player Sunderland were linked with fairly recently.
There was speculation recently that Forest would try to hijack Walsall’s signing of Paul Merson – but it never happened.
Former Forest player Pierre Van Hooijdonk is suing them, claiming he is owed money from his transfer to Vitesse Arnhem in 1999.
LAST SEASON
Final league position – 6th
P 46 W20 D14 L12 F82 A50 Pts 74
HEAD TO HEAD
Forest and Sunderland have met 82 times in league matches and we’ve just got the edge, having won 33 to Forest’s 27, with 22 draws.
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
04/03/98: Forest 0, Lads 3 (Rae, Johnston, Phillips)
08/11/97: Lads 1, Forest 1 (Phillips)
22/03/97: Lads 1, Forest 1 (Ball)
21/08/96: Forest 1, Lads 4 (Gray, Quinn (2), Ord)
08/05/94: Forest 2, Lads 2 (Goodman, Russell)
TRIVIA
- Best league win: 12-0 vs Leicester back in April 1909
- Worst league defeat: 1-9 vs Blackburn Rovers in April 1937.
- Record transfer fee paid: £4.5m to Celtic for Pierre Van Hooijdonk (March 97)
- Record transfer fee received: £8.5m from Liverpool, for Stan Collymore (June 95)
- The derby match against local oppo Notts County is the oldest derby match in the world.
- Forest made the first million pound transfer deal between British clubs
- They were in the first league game ever to be shown live on British telly
- James Dean Bradfield, frontman of the Manic Street Preachers is a lifelong Forest supporter.
And it seems almost an insult to put this in with ‘trivia’ but there’s the very obvious Cloughie Connection – the Brian Howard Clough left his local club Boro for Sunderland in 1961 for the princely transfer sum of £45,000, staying for three years and netting 54 goals in 61 games for the Lads. After management spells at Hartlepool, Derby, Brighton and 44 days in charge of Leeds, he took over at the helm of Forest in January 1975 where he stayed for 18 years, cementing his status as one of football’s true legends.
Credits: Nottingham Forest official website, Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, www.brianclough.com, www.streetmap.co.uk, National Rail.
Craddock completes Wolves move
Press release from Sunderland AFC
Sunderland defender Jody Craddock has completed a £1.75 million move to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The 28-year old defender travelled to Wolves yesterday to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical and following the successful completion of both has signed to the Molineux club.
Chairman Bob Murray commented: " I have spoken to Jody personally as this was a very tough decision to make. He is an impeccable professional who has always done his best for the club.
" Jody has been with us for 6 years and has given his all during that time but is moving closer to his home town, which will give him and his family a fresh start.
" Everyone at the club is very sorry to see Jody go but wishes him and his wife every happiness and success in the future."
Craddock moved to Sunderland from Cambridge United in July 1997, on the same day as the Stadium of Light opened, for a fee of £350,000.
JODY CRADDOCK
DOB: 25 July 1975
CAREER:
Christchurch 1.8.92 to 13.8.93
Cambridge Utd 13.8.93 to 1.8.97: 156 apps, 5 goals
Sunderland 1.8.97 to 31.7.03: 158 apps, 2 goals
(loan: Sheff Utd 27.8.99 to 26.10.99: 10 apps, 0 goals)
Mick - I didn't want to sell Craddock
Mick McCarthy today admitted what many of us have suspected for quite a while - that he feels he's got the hardest job in British football!
Speaking to the Shields Gazette after last night's 2-2 draw against Hearts, when the lads had earlier been looking at a 2-0 loss until the introduction of Sean Thornton, Mick said "It's not an easy situation to be in, managing Sunderland at the moment. This is by far and away the most difficult situation I've found myself in as a manager.
"In an ideal world, players like Kevin Phillips and Thomas Sorensen would have gone and their moves would have eased our position financially.
"But when deals for those sort of players haven't been done, you have to accept that moves for players like Jody Craddock will be accepted, because something has to happen. It's not perfect and Jody is someone I didn't want to lose but you have to get on with it.
"The simple fact is that the club is looking to sell players to balance the books and I don't really know who I'll be dealing with day by day. The only thing I can affect is what happens on the training ground."
Thornton: I let my football do the talking
Sunderland rising star Sean Thornton said he was disappointed to be left on the bench at first for last night's penultimate pre-season friendly - but hopes his football has given Mick McCarthy a reminder of the job he's more than capable of doing.
Thornton, 20, told Sunderland's official website: "I'm always confident that I can score in that situation. I let my football do the talking.
"The gaffer has given no indication as to who will be in the starting line up at Forest a week on Saturday but it goes without saying that I want to be there.
"There will be high expectations next season but I am looking forward to the challenge of meeting them and if I can play like I did when I came on last night then I will be quite happy."
And he admitted he was pleased with his stunning 25 yard free kick only two minutes after taking to the field. "Yes, it was one of my better goals - it was a free-kick that I have worked on on the training ground and it was pleasing to see it come off. I don't think there was any luck involved really.
And McCarthy has singled Thornton out for praise after his morale-raising performance, saying "Sean's certainly got that ability to nick a goal. He delivers good free-kicks and crosses and has that ability to beat the keeper from 25 yards,which is something he has shown today."
Hearts 2, SAFC 2
Irish U21 star Sean Thornton made a name for himself tonight as a bit of a hero, rescuing Sunderland from what looked like a 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle tonight.
Hearts were 2-0 up at the half-time and cruising, thanks to goals from Phil Stamp and Mark De Vries but inspired substitutions from Mick McCarthy in the second half turned things around.
Hearts fielded a strong team, and Sunderland fielded a side minus the big names, instead concentrating on the players who might well become ever-presents in the coming season; the travelling contingent of Sunderland supporters were vociferous throughout.
Middlesbrough-born Phil Stamp, who transferred to Tynecastle from Boro last summer, scored Hearts' first goal on 26 minutes, smashing a volley home from 25 yards. Only 11 minutes later the home side doubled their advantage courtesy of a Mark De Vries header from a Joe Hammill cross. It should have been 3-0 in the 40th minute and it would have been had Poom not made a point-blank save from Dennis Wyness.
Sunderland did have chances, but as was so often the case last season, failed to capitalise on them, the main talking point for Sunderland supporters in the first half being Jeff Whitley hopelessly and embarrassingly outrun by Stamp.
Only 13 minutes into the second half, McCarthy withdrew Stewart and put Michael Proctor on the field, following up 7 minutes later by taking the hapless Whitley off the field for Paul Thirlwell. But it wasn't until the 71st minute substitution of Sean Thornton for Kevin Kilbane that the game really turned in Sunderland's favour; only two minutes after running on, Thornton scored from a 25 yard free kick - and literally only minutes later, scored the equaliser with his very next touch - heading Oster's cross past Gordon after good work by Kyle. Proctor almost sealed a 3-2 victory 5 minutes from time, but his shot went narrowly wide.
The lads now face Kilmarnock at 3pm on Saturday for their final pre-season friendly, with the season proper commencing a week later on August 9th at Nottingham Forest.
Sunderland: Poom; Wright, Williams, Bjorklund, McCartney; Oster, Whitley (Thirlwell 63), McAteer, Kilbane (Thornton 71); Stewart (Proctor 57), Kyle. Subs not used: Clark, Butler.
