Forest owner hails Championship-leading away fans as 'BEST in England'

Nottingham Forest ownership hails fans as ‘the BEST in England’ with fallen giants recording leading away-day attendances in the Championship

  • Nottingham Forest had a rough start to the season but fans aren’t perturbed 
  • The historic club are down in 18th but have the top Championship away support 
  • Their home attendances are only beaten by Sheffield United’s numbers 
  • Forest chief Miltiadis Marinakis put out a message praising Forest fans  

Nottingham Forest have the strongest away support in the Championship and made a case for the loudest at Loftus Road – with their owners blown-away by the noise.

The 2,285 visiting fans never stopped singing as QPR led for almost the entire second-half on Friday, and their roars finally paid when Jack Colback fired an injury-time equaliser. 

Forest might be stuck down in 18th after a miserable start under Chris Houghton but with a Championship-leading average of 2,779 fans travelling with them, they’re thriving on the road. 

Nottingham Forest fans have recorded the highest away gates in the Championship season  

Forest chief Miltiadis Marinakis (right) has been buoyed by the fans’ support this season 

The double European Cup winners are unbeaten in five away from home, winning four. Miltiadis Marinakis, a key decision-maker at Forest and the son of owner Evangelos, sent a message of appreciation to the fans.   

‘Can we get another full capacity crowd tomorrow? The best fans in England,’ the Greek businessman tweeted ahead of Sheffield United’s visit to the City Ground on Tuesday. 

The Blades are the only side boasting a larger home attendances than Forest with Bramall Lane welcoming an average of 27,475 this season, according to EFL Stats. 

The City Ground’s 24,246 is good enough for a clear second-place, but Forest’s fans will back themselves to drown out the Blades’ away support, ranked seventh.       

Jack Colback scored a last-gasp equaliser in front of the loyal Forest fans at QPR on Friday 

Forest manager Steve Cooper is leading a revival at the City Ground after a dreadful start 

Birmingham and West Brom are the only other clubs to break the 2,000 mark on average when they travel this season, while Hull, Barnsley and Preston are at the foot of the rankings – all attracting less than 850 supporters. 

Forest’s loyal backing demonstrates the great club’s history, as they continue scrapping for a return to the English top-flight after 22 years away.    

Having sat bottom of the Championship and still without a victory seven games into the season, Forest sacked Houghton and appointed former Swansea coach Steve Cooper. 

Since, they’ve been revived. A haul of 17 points from eight games has lifted a talented squad out of the bottom-three and within six points of the play-offs, which Cooper qualified for in back-to-back campaigns in Wales. 

That’s the target for Marinakis, whose father bought the club in 2017 with eyes on reaching the Premier League and being ‘there to stay.’

The Greek is also heavily involved with his family’s shipping company, and was able to celebrate the late equaliser in the ground at Loftus Road. 




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