Moors the Merrier

A good value few days at Solihull Moors FC, starting this coming Saturday when born-again Morecambe are the visitors in the National League.

Ticket prices have been reduced to £12 for adults and over-65's with concessions available.

And for the National League Trophy visit of Burnley's U21s on Tuesday 16th (kick-off 7pm), tickets are completely free.

Molineux Nights

Last December marked the 70th anniversary of the famous floodlit game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Honved of Hungary, the culmination of a series of matches under lights from September 1953 onwards that marked the Wolves out as pioneers in the game and set events in tow for the introduction of European club competitions.

An article on the official club website from last year tells the story.

The club's Under-21 side get their chance to play under the Molineux lights on Wednesday 10th September and there can be no greater opposition than Real Madrid, the visitors for a Premier League International Cup tie.

Tickets are free for season-ticket holders and under-17's with regular adult tickets priced at £5.

Hawthorns History

Not a plug for an upcoming game but a nice touch all the same from West Bromwich Albion as they mark 125 years of The Hawthorns.

The doors of the famous old ground will be thrown open for a free event on Wednesday 3rd September, between 8am and 8pm, which includes the opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the East Stand and a gallery of 125 specially chosen Hawthorns images. 

If you want to catch a game at the stadium, Friday evening (29th August) sees the Baggies U21s take on Crystal Palace in Premier League 2, tickets for non-season ticket holders £5/£1.

And WBA Women host Leicester City PGA in the FAWNL Cup on Sunday 7th September, 2pm, tickets priced £2-£6.

A Villa Park Finale for £1

This season's FA Youth Cup final will take place at Villa Park on Bank Holiday Monday, 5 May, at 3pm with Aston Villa's youngsters taking on Manchester City.

All tickets for the game have been priced at just £1 so a great opportunity to catch a match at the famous old stadium, scene of some fantastic matches already this season.

A Good Friday?

A team in the promotion places on a terrible run of form and a side underneath the dreaded dotted line with two wins out of two and renewed hope.

That is the scenario in League Two this coming Friday as Walsall try to end a winless run that now stretches to ten games when they entertain Harrogate Town.

Tickets for the game are priced at £10 for over 18's, £4 for juniors (12-17) and £1 for under 12's with the same offer in place for the final home game against Accrington Stanley.

Back-to-back wins have kept alive survival hopes at Carlisle United and now a huge test awaits at home to league leaders Port Vale.

Brunton Park prices have been dropped to £10 adults, £5 for under 18's (free for under 7's).

Villa Park Double

Big games are coming thick and fast at Villa Park and the famous old ground was in good voice during Saturday's victory against Chelsea.

Those upcoming matches include two March cup ties for Villa's youngsters, against Barcelona in the UEFA Youth League round of 16, at 3pm on Tuesday 4th and in the FA Youth Cup on Friday 14th March when Plymouth Argyle are the visitors in the quarter-finals.

Tickets for the games are priced at £5 each, more info over on the Villa website.

Bouncing Bescot

Good times at Walsall as the Saddlers are racing clear at the top of League Two on the back of nine consecutive league victories.

The February game against Gillingham on the 11th has been designated as Tenner Tuesday with tickets priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £1 for under-12's.

Also at the Bescot Stadium next month, England Women's U23s take on Germany on Thursday 20th (7.30pm) for which tickets are £5/£3 and £1.

Red(ditch) Monday

This coming Monday, 20th January, is considered to be the 'bluest' day of the year, as Christmas recedes from memory, but if you fancy getting out to a game then there is football for a fiver at Redditch United when they host Leamington in the third round of the Birmingham Senior Cup with under 13's admission being free.

There are also a couple of Premier League International Cup matches at main stadiums next week.

Reading host Valencia on Tuesday 21st, tickets priced from £1-£4 and the following evening it is Sunderland versus Benfica at 7pm, tickets for non-season ticket holders costing £3/£1.

Thank You Very Much

To Cadbury Athletic FC, currently playing in Division Two of the Midland Football League, for following on X.

Not only a thriving community club in their own right but with the added bonus of their home matches being played against the backdrop of the Cadbury factory in Bournville, Birmingham.

The Chocolate Men have a busy month at first-team level with opportunities every Saturday to catch a home match for £5/£3 and easily accessible by public transport too. 

Keep up to date with the Midland Football League through MFL Matters, a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to the league.

Beat the Blues

The third Monday in January is seen as the most depressing day of the year, the holiday season now a few weeks behind us and quite a long way to go until the first signs of spring in the air.

But Redditch United of the Southern League are looking to get people out of the house and into the fresh air on Monday 15th with free admission for the visit of Hitchin Town.

Home for Christmas

Butlin Road, home of Rugby Town FC, last Saturday when the home side took on Quorn in the Midland Division of the Northern Premier League.

'The Valley' are my home town team and I spent many years as I was growing up coming to Butlin Road whenever Coventry City were not in action or away from home.

These were very much the glory years in the history of the club, then called VS Rugby but now back to the name that reflects their original formation.

Jimmy Know made sure that his name would forever be a part of football's rich folklore, the Scot who had spent most of his adult life around the footballing scene in Coventry and Warwickshire, took VS to Wembley glory in the 1983 FA Vase Final and to within a whisker of promotion to non-league's top tier.

With the Sky Blues having left Highfield Road in 2005, that comforting familiarity, of somewhere you were happy as a youngster and that largely remains as you remember it, comes from Butlin Road nowadays in footballing terms.

While the layout is mostly the same, it now boasts an excellent main stand, comfortable bar and all-weather pitches behind one goal, improvements that have allowed the club to become more of a part of the local community and insure themselves against some fallow years on the pitch and a wider apathy in the town itself.

Despite promotion last season, attendances still tend to hover around the 200 mark and there were less than that watching as Quorn overcame the loss of an early goal to run out comfortable 4-1 winners as the 40th anniversary year of that Vase triumph draws to a close.

On a day when the retail parks were busy (the town centre retains the layout I grew up with but, alas, has been hollowed out as shops have decamped further out) I sincerely hope that the current period of stable, secure ownership can last for many more milestones to come.

Football For A Fiver At Walsall

With the final international break of 2019 soon upon us Walsall FC are looking to get a healthy crowd through the turnstiles of the Banks's Stadium with all tickets for the League Two game at home to Cambridge on Saturday 16th priced at £5.

The lengthy reign of Jeff Bonser as owner of the club was ended in the summer when Leigh Pomlett completed a takeover and also assumed the chairman’s role.

With former Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke taking over after relegation that meant a new start for the Saddlers, one that hasn’t quite gone according to plan as yet as they currently sit in the bottom four of the table.

But the new chairman has been looking to build bridges with supporters, attending a recent fans forum and targeting an average attendance of 5,000.

Interestingly, fans on the UpTheSaddlers forum, when discussing the 5,000 figure, focused less on prices than on the matchday experience at the stadium and improving waiting times for food and drink in particular.

In the West Midlands, the old Sports Argus on a Saturday used to give a brief summary of the day’s games for the ‘Big Six’ on its front page with match reports and club news inside.

Walsall were one of the six (as were my own Sky Blues although we had our own Pink as well) and although always smaller than West Brom or Wolves they were part of the fabric of football in the area.

The landscape is changing fast as the bigger clubs take a bigger share of the money and attention while a plentiful local football scene offers cheap admission and beer on the terraces.

An ambitious outfit such as Solihull Moors have designs on getting into the Football League and competing further for floating fans.

But Walsall FC are still very much alive and kicking and, perhaps using a phrase we’ll hear a bit over the next six weeks, looking to get out their core vote.

Next Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Darlington has a £15 family ticket available and there is also an FA Youth Cup game at the stadium this Tuesday against Fleetwood for which entry is priced at £5/£2.

Still Soccer Saturday For Wolves Supporters

In the lottery of modern day club ownership it looks like Wolves held a winning ticket when they were brought by the Fosun group and the Molineux faithful have had plenty to enjoy since that takeover, including European football at the famous old ground this summer.

I'm writing this with confirmed news about the future of Bolton Wanderers and Bury still hard to come by and there are clearly winners and losers in the new football but few could blame Wolves supporters from simply enjoying the moment.

After all, those of a certain vintage will remember desperate times themselves in the early 1980's and growing up in the Midlands my earliest memories of the old gold were the snippets of action shown on Central News on a Monday evening, Steve Bull inevitably to the fore as he barrelled through opposition defences before celebrating in front of a raucous South Bank terrace as the recovery from relegation to the bottom tier of the Football League began in earnest.

So it is genuinely pleasing to see them back in the top-flight, at the same ground, and hopefully adding some more layers of history to the famous games against overseas opposition that did much to cement their place in the folklore of English football (and Torino v Wolves does sound like a throwback to an old UEFA Cup tie).

Being in the Europa League does mean plenty of blank Saturdays but there does seem to be a thriving local scene for Wolves supporters to get their football fix from.

AFC Wulfrunians (who regularly offer concession rates of entry to Wolves season ticket holders) ply their trade in the Midland Football League while Wolverhampton Casuals of the West Midlands (Regional) League have a big home game in the FA Vase this coming Saturday against Bilston Town where admission is priced at £5 Adults, £4 Concessions and £1 for Children.

I have also seen both Rushall Olympic and Dudley Town offer reduced prices to Molineux season ticket holders in the past week or so and there are a host of other clubs in the area well worth a visit.

Rovers Return With 3 Points As Rugby Hopes Fade

Butlin Road, home of Rugby Town FC and a place where I spent many Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings as a youngster watching VS Rugby as they were then known when the Sky Blues were either away or not in action.

Under the stewardship of Jimmy Knox in the 1980’s ‘The Valley’ won the FA Vase at Wembley and came within a whisker of reaching the Conference as well playing host to the likes of Northampton Town and Brentford in big FA Cup ties.

There has been a gradual decline since those heady days and the club currently ply their trade at Step 5 of the pyramid system in the United Counties League.

In terms of facilities the ground could pass for a much higher level with covered accommodation on all sides, a smart main stand and a very nice bar (which is open throughout the week and hosts a number of functions).

Only 177 watched a see-saw 4-3 defeat at the hands of Eynesbury Rovers, a reverse which probably ends Rugby’s hopes of winning the league, and it’s sad to see such apathy in a growing town in the face of the hard work of those in charge of the club and the volunteers who help out every week.

Much is made of Rugby's links to the oval ball game but you would be hard-pressed to find even a signpost directing you to Butlin Road. If you do make it there however you will get a warm welcome and a competitive game of football.

A free admission offer earlier in the year saw 450 through the turnstiles and the visit of Cogenhoe United on Saturday 6 April will also be free entry to all.

Rugby Town FC

If Highfield Road was my second home when I was growing up then Butlin Road was a close third as I would watch VS Rugby whenever the Sky Blues were away or not in action.

From the 1983 FA Vase triumph at Wembley onwards they were good times to watch the Valley as Jimmy Knox moulded a squad that rose through the Non-League ranks to within a whisker of reaching the Conference.

After a name change to Rugby United in 2000 the club became Rugby Town five years later but are still known as 'The Valley' to many and although fortunes have dipped sharply in recent years the Butlin Road ground has gradually been improved to the point where it wouldn't look out of place in the top-tier of the Non-League game.

This Saturday's United Counties League fixture against Kirby Muxloe has been announced as free admission for all.

Keep Right On To The End Of The Road

Wherever that may be for Birmingham City after another 'interesting' season at St Andrew's where Garry Monk is now tasked with keeping Blues in the Championship and with a big game at home to Hull City this coming Saturday.

All tickets have been reduced in price for the match, Adults £10, Senior/Student and 16-18's £5 and Under-16's £1.

The younger generation of City players have had a better campaign and are preparing to face perennial winners Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup.

St Andrew's hosts the first leg on Wednesday 4th April at 7pm and with the game taking place in the Easter holidays a good crowd is likely to be enticed by admission charges of just £1 for both Adults and Concessions.

The Coventry Derby This Weekend

Although Mark Robins is a popular figure among supporters and has put together a squad capable of challenging for promotion this season, thousands of Coventry City fans are simply out of the habit of going to home matches.

Last Friday, the Sky Blues played Wycombe Wanderers at the Ricoh Arena. Two teams in the play-off places with many people having finished work for the Christmas holidays.

Belatedly, the club put a ticket offer in place for groups of six or more (£15 each) or ten or more (£10 each) but only 7,234 watched an exciting game that ended 3-2 to the hosts.

Even promotion and a change of ownership is unlikely to change anything overnight and the issue has, in my opinion, been compounded in the past year by the abandonment of the £20 maximum ticket price that was introduced for the 2015/16 season and which, together with some exciting football on the pitch for the first half of the campaign, saw a steady increase in crowds.

Of course there are still many who need their football fix and back in the summer I wrote about local Non-League clubs Coventry Sphinx and Coventry United and their efforts to entice Sky Blues supporters with their season ticket prices.

Both sides are going along quite nicely in the Midland Football League at present and meet at Sphinx Drive this Saturday in an eagerly-awaited derby clash which should, with Coventry City away at Carlisle United, attract a very healthy attendance.

Admission is priced at £6 Adults, £4 Concessions and free for Under 16's.

Tividale to Wembley

The title comes from a book I read and re-read when I was younger, Brian James 'Journey To Wembley', an odyssey through the rounds of the FA Cup in the 1976/77 season.

He chose Tividale as his starting point with the Black Country club being located in the middle of the country and, as he admitted, because he hadn’t heard of them before.

The warmth with which he was received at The Beeches makes for an excellent start to the book. James travels on the team coach with the players and learns a lot about them as they progress towards a tie against a Telford side managed by Geoff Hurst, an old friend of the author.

From there the journey moves on to Matlock Town, Carlisle United and Liverpool, the eventual finalists in the competition where they were beaten by Manchester United at Wembley.

Encountering the Anfield men early in the competition was a situation the author wanted to avoid but the contrast with 40 years on is that he had almost as easy access to the Liverpool team and management as he had at Tividale.

Anyway, it’s pleasing to see that Tividale still play at The Beeches ground and that is where the road to Wembley begins this Saturday with an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie against Highgate United.

Admission is priced at £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and free for Under 16’s with a paying adult.

The tie is one of 185 taking place across the weekend with a full list on the FA Website.

Friendly Focus: The Midlands

Rugby Town (the main stand at Butlin Road is pictured above) have two home friendlies scheduled, against Banbury United on Tuesday 25th July and Nuneaton Town on Monday 31 July. Admission to these fixtures is priced at £5 Adults and £3 Concessions. Matches on the adjoining 3G pitch on Saturdays 8th, 15th and 22nd July are free to attend.

Two Northamptonshire derbies are pencilled in at Brackley Town with Kettering Town on Tuesday 18th July and AFC Rushden & Diamonds the following week both set to visit. Admission prices for these games and the one against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday 11th July (7pm) are £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and free for Under 16's.

Fixtures against Hereford (Saturday 22nd July) and a Wolves Under-23 side (Saturday 15th July) at AFC Telford United are priced at £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and £1 Under 16's.

A busy summer for Paget Rangers with admission to the home matches against Bromsgrove Sporting (Tuesday 11th July) and Alvechurch (Saturday 22nd July) priced at £3 Adults, £2 Concessions.

Paget are also involved in the Sutton Charity Cup with seven other sides from the Birmingham area. Admission to each match in the competition is by a suggested £2 donation which goes to help local good causes.

Meanwhile, Champions League qualifiers Hoffenheim provide attractive opposition for a friendly at Pride Park and, having seen a number of friendlies at league clubs priced at £15 this summer, fair play to Derby County for making tickets just £5 (£1 Under 12's).

Reduced Prices In The Scrap For Championship Survival

Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City face crucial home matches in the Championship this coming Saturday (29 April) as their battle for survival goes down to the wire.

The duo are currently separated by two points and, crucially for Birmingham, the dotted line that can define a season, as they head into this weekend's penultimate round of fixtures.

Rovers steady decline over the past few years mirrors that of my club Coventry City (Tony Mowbray is currently trying to keep Blackburn up after leaving the Ricoh Arena earlier in the season) and I understand why supporters may baulk at the message 'Your Town, Your Team' which accompanies the reduced prices that are in operation for the visit of Aston Villa this Saturday.

Adult tickets are £10, Concessions £5 and Juniors £2.

Bewilderment, rather than anger, is possibly the emotion currently being felt by Blues fans.

Going along quite steadily under a highly-rated manager in Gary Rowett, one who also seemed to have a real feel for what the club is all about, they have since witnessed a slide down the table under Gianfranco Zola and now the appointment of Harry Redknapp with a brief to keep them in the division.

Prices for Saturday’s visit of Huddersfield to St Andrew’s are £10 Adults, £5 Seniors, Students, 16-18’s and £1 for Under 16’s.