Bloxwich United

Date: Tuesday 21st August 2012 Ground: Red Lion Ground
Comp: Midland Combination
Match: Bloxwich United 1 Stafford Town 0 HT: 1-0

ATT: Additional: Entrance £5, Programme £1.00

Old Red Lion Ground in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40) Character 7, Structures/Terracing 6, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 5
Total 25

I’m glad I got Bloxwich in when I did, in August this year, as they have now sadly resigned from the Midland Combination. They only started out in 2006 as Birchills United and were playing in the other Birmingham-centric step six league – the West Midlands Premier League – until switching sideways to the Midland Combination for this season.

Despite being a new team Bloxwich has a long history of football clubs, and unfortunately, a long history of football clubs folding. The Red Lion Ground is actually very old dating back to 1910, first used by Bloxwich Strollers, who go back to 1893. More recently Blakenhall FC used the ground before merging with Bloxwich Town to form the first incarnation of Bloxwich United who went bust in 2001-02.

Hopefully, before long, they will rise yet again like Dracula in the Hammer movies and inhabit the charismatic Old Red Lion Ground. They have a cosy clubhouse in the Red Lion Pub, which sits just off the main A34 Somerfield Road through the middle of Bloxwich.

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Hereford United

Date: Friday Dec 30 2011
Ground: Edgar Street
Comp: League Two
Match: Hereford United 1 Accrington Stanley 1 HT: 1-0
Arquin 5: Evans 72
ATT: 2,057
Additional: Entrance £14.00, Programme £2.50

Edgar Street in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 8, Structures/Terracing 8, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 7
Total 30

Eastwood Town

Date: Saturday Dec 17 2011
Ground: Coronation Park
Comp: Conference North (step two)
Match: Eastwood Town 0 Workington 3 HT: 0-2
Caines 36 og, McNiven 41, Amison 50
ATT: 209
Additional: Entrance £10.00, Programme £2.00

Coronation Park in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 7, Structures/Terracing 7, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 6
Total 27

 

 

 

Stafford Town

Date: Saturday Aug 27 2011
Ground: Evans Park
Comp: West Midlands Regional League (step six)
Match: Stafford Town 4 Dudley Town 1 HT: 3-0
Sequence: 1-0,2-0, 3-0, 3-1, 4-1
ATT: 35 (headcount)
Additional: Entrance £4.00, Programme £1.00

Evans Park in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 7, Structures/Terracing 7, Hospitality 8, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 7
Total 29

Stafford Town, founded 1976, are in only their second season back in the pyramid at step six or above. They have been there before, but had to share with Stafford Rangers’ Marston Road ground, in order to be eligible. The turn of the century was their highest elevation when they played in the step five Midland Alliance. In the 2000s they opted to go back to the West Midlands League Division One (step seven), playing at the Rowley Park Stadium, a municipal sports facility. In 2009-10 they had a new stadium built, named after their founder and still chairman Gordon Evans. They played their first game there near the end of their season and, coincidentally, also got promoted to the Premier step six division, and obviously had no problem meeting the grading requirements this time.