Upcoming Opposition Details [2022-12-26] - Solihull Moors F.C. (H) [NL 22/23]

[Virtual-Dragon]

Merry Christmas... ya filthy animals!

- Solihull Moors F.C. -

Club Details (General)
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The Ground
The ARMCO Arena (5 years sponsorship)
Damson Park,
Damson Parkway,
Solihull
B92 9EJ

Damson Park is an association football stadium in Damson Parkway, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It was the new home of Solihull Borough following their departure from their original Widney Lane Ground. It is now the home of Solihull Moors, the club formed when Solihull Borough and Moor Green merged in 2007. They previously shared Damson Park with Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C. (who moved to Portway in 2012) and also used to have an agreement that allows Birmingham City Reserves the use of the ground for their reserve games. The capacity of the stadium is 5,500.

Birmingham City W.F.C. of the FA WSL have used Damson Park for home games since 2014.

In December 2022 it was announced that former premiership rugby club Wasps would be sharing the ground for their return to competitive rugby in the RFU Championship in 2023 following a period in administration.

Capacity: 5,500

Year Opened: 1999

Construction Cost: Unknown

Club Founded: 10 July 2007

The club was founded in 2007 by the merger of Moor Green (founded in 1901) and Solihull Borough (founded in 1953). The Moors entered the Conference North, the sixth tier of English football in 2007 where they remained until their promotion in 2016 under Marcus Bignot.

Nickname: The Moors

Club Colours: Blue and Yellow

Rivals: Nuneaton Borough; Leamington FC; Tamworth; Hednesford Town.

Mascot: Soli the Moorcat

Manager: Neil Ardley

--Senior Career
1991–2002   Wimbledon [245 (18)]
2002–2005   Watford [111 (7)]
2005–2006   Cardiff City [38 (1)]
2006–2007   Millwall [21 (0)]

--Managerial Career
2007–2012   Cardiff City Academy
2012–2018   AFC Wimbledon
2018–2021   Notts County
2021– Solihull Moors

On 14 June 2021, Ardley was appointed manager of National League side Solihull Moors. After an impressive October that saw his side get four wins and two draws from six matches, Ardley was awarded the league's Manager of the Month award with his goalkeeper Ryan Boot getting the Player of the Month award, conceding only one goal in these matches.

Official Website: https://www.solihullmoorsfc.co.uk/

Unofficial Website: On Faceache

Supporters Club Site: None

Directions & Parking: https://www.solihullmoorsfc.co.uk/cl...y-information/

Fan Forum: Solihull Moors | Runboard [Prepare your eyes!!!]

Forum Highlights

"Bigdavey has over-eggnogged it!" - https://bsolihullmoors.runboard.com/t6440
"Statto to the rescue!" - https://bsolihullmoors.runboard.com/t6436
"Potential Infestation!" - https://bsolihullmoors.runboard.com/t6435
"Praise you like I should!" - https://bsolihullmoors.runboard.com/t6419,offset=30

Stats Sites
https://fbref.com/en/squads/9e85547f...ll-Moors-Stats
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/soli...n/verein/12335

Last Match Details Site (NL): Solihull Moors 2 - 1 Oldham Athletic [03/12/22] (https://www.sofascore.com/solihull-m...thletic/pbsRid)

Last Match Details Site (FA Cup): Hartlepool United 1 - 1 Solihull Moors (4-3 on pens) [15/11/22 - First Round Replay] (https://www.sofascore.com/solihull-m...-united/bcsRid)

Last Match Details Site (FA Trophy): Solihull Moors 2 - 0 AFC Telford United [20/12/22 - Third Round] (https://livescore.football365.com/en...96425/overview)

Match-day Programme Cost:£1.50

Main Club Sponsor: TaxBuddi (Forget "Football Friend!" - The Inbetweeners - Football Friend (Explicit Language!))

Largest Home Attendance: 4,026 v Chesterfield - 29 May 2022
Largest Home Attendance (NL 22/23): 2,005 v Oldham Athletic - 3 Dec 2022

Key Stats and Details (Recent and 22/23 where stated)
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H2H Details (2016-) [NL]
Played: 12
Wrexham Win: 6
Draw: 3
Wrexham Lost: 3

Last 7 H2H WxM Form: WLWLWDD

Solihull Moors F.C. Stats (NL 22/23)
Games Played: 21
Won: 9
Drawn: 6
Lost: 6
Goals Scored: 35
Goals Conceded: 24
Yellow Cards: 35
Red Cards: 3

Top Scorers (Games Played) (NL 22/23)
Andrew Dallas: 9 (20)
Alex Reid: 7 (17)
Joe Sbarra: 5 (19)
Josh Kelly: 3 (21)
Callum Maycock: 2 (18)
Callum Howe: 2 (12)
Alex Gudger: 2 (8)

Recent Moors Fan Team Prediction (Off their forum): 'Alexs Dad' seems pretty switched on! - Wrexham 3 v 1 Moors Att: 10,012 (https://bsolihullmoors.runboard.com/t6440)

Latest 6 match form (NL 22/23)

2-1 HW 03/12 - Oldham Athletic
2-0 AL 19/11 - Jesterfield
0-3 HL 12/11 - Dagenham & Redbridge
0-1 HL 08/11 - FC Halifax Town
0-0 AD 01/11 - Maidstone United
1-1 AD 29/10 - Gateshead United

Trivia (Club)

"Turfed Out!" - https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/spo...rover-22843275

--Formation & early years
On 10 July 2007, the club was formally announced as being merged and details of the new club logo and kits for the forthcoming season were released. In one of their first games Solihull Moors beat Birmingham City reserves. This fixture happened annually as part of an agreement which allowed Birmingham to play their reserve games at Solihull's ground. With the overhaul of reserve football in England, Birmingham City's development squads now play their fixtures at their club's training facilities rather than at Solihull Moors. The Birmingham City Women's team of the FA Women's Super League have played at the ground since 2014.

In November 2007, the club announced a partnership with National Division One rugby union club Pertemps Bees. The deal was intended to see the two clubs share the Damson Park facilities as well as the formation of community and coaching projects for Solihull. This was finally made official in 2010. The groundsharing arrangement came to an end in 2012, as Bees dropped into the fourth tier of English Rugby Union. As a relic of that short-lived groundsharing deal, one of the seated stands at Solihull Moors' Damson Park is part of the Bees' main stand from their former Sharmans Cross Road home.

Throughout the 2007–08 Conference North campaign, then-manager Bob Faulkner kept much of the same squad that had represented Moor Green the previous season, with some summer additions from elsewhere. No Solihull Borough players were retained. Solihull Moors' first ever league goal was an equaliser scored from range by Darren Middleton, in a game that also saw Moors score their first ever league point, a 1–1 home draw with Barrow in their first ever competitive game. Moors had to wait two further weeks for a first ever competitive win, beating Gainsborough Trinity 3–1 at home. The club finished their first ever season in seventeenth position in the Conference North, securing survival with a win away at Blyth Spartans in April 2008. In their first FA Cup campaign, Solihull Moors reached the Fourth Qualifying Round before being dispatched 5–0 by Rushden & Diamonds, then of the Football Conference.

A number of changes were made to the Solihull Moors squad ahead of the 2008–09 season, with 8 summer signings made. Progress for the first team was slight, however, with the Moors managing sixteenth place in the league. The youth side, in contrast, made enormous strides, finishing as Midland Floodlit Youth League champions, and reaching the second round of the FA Youth Cup, before losing a close tie 2–0 to the academy side of professional club Tranmere Rovers. The cup run saw Solihull beat Wellington 18–0 during qualification. Five of that season's impressive youth crop signed for the senior squad during the close season.

A topsy-turvy 2009–10 season saw Moors go from relegation candidates in mid-September to mid-table by the new year, before slipping to a more customary seventeenth position by the end of the season. A seemingly revolving-door transfer policy reflected the difficulty of the season for Solihull Moors on the pitch.

On 7 February 2011, Moors manager Bob Faulkner died of cancer aged 60, after almost 25 years of managing Moor Green and Solihull Moors combined. Micky Moore, his assistant and also former Solihull Borough manager, was the initial replacement, however he resigned on 21 June 2011 to take up the full-time position of assistant manager at Mansfield Town. Moors finished seventh in the Conference North that season, then their best finish since the formation of the club. Under Faulkner and Moore's leadership, a squad that boasted the attacking prowess of Adam Cunnington and Matt Smith only narrowly missed out on the playoffs, following a late season collapse as momentum faded. At this point, extra seating was installed at Damson Park in anticipation of promotion challenges to come. The club also reached the final of the Birmingham Senior Cup for the first time during this season, losing 2–0 to West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

--Marcus Bignot (2011–16)
Marcus Bignot was announced as the new manager of Solihull Moors on 27 June 2011. The ex-Crewe, Bristol Rovers, QPR and Millwall defender arrived at the club a week after the departure of Moore. With some players integral to the strong performance in the previous season having moved on, he inherited a youthful squad that lacked experience, which won none of its pre-season friendlies. The first seven games of the season ended in defeat. Using his connections in the game, Marcus brought in several new players and immediately results started to improve, so much so that by January the possibility of the playoffs seemed achievable. However, it proved impossible to maintain the momentum and by the end of the season the club finished just above the drop zone, in nineteenth place.

After a difficult first season under Marcus Bignot, the Moors continued their progress on the pitch towards challenging for promotion from the Conference North. The club finished ninth in 2013, followed by an eighth-place finish in 2014. 2014 also saw the introduction of a more robust club infrastructure at Solihull Moors, with the number of teams within the club's youth and junior structure rising from 3 to 27. Efforts to promote the club within the local community and increase attendances also slowly began to pay off at this point, with attendances up 80% on previous years. Moors had a more difficult 2014–15 season, managing only twelfth in the Conference North. However, 2014–15 also brought new opportunities for the club, with Birmingham City Ladies joining the Moors at Damson Park.

The Moors reached new heights under Bignot in 2015–16, winning the National League North title and securing promotion for the first time to the National League. The team finished the season with 85 points, winning the league comfortably with three games to spare. Promotion was secured on a night that Solihull were not even playing, as a defeat for North Ferriby United at Stalybridge Celtic mathematically confirmed their championship. Solihull also lifted the Birmingham Senior Cup for the first time – at the second time of asking – defeating Birmingham City 2–1 at St Andrew's.

Solihull Moors began their first National League campaign away at Sutton United on 6 August 2016, winning their first match at national level 3–1. Moors have since had their first ever televised game, winning 4–0 at home to Southport in front of the cameras on 4 October 2016. Solihull also booked their place in the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, after beating Kettering Town at home in the Fourth Qualifying Round. In the first round the team defeated Yeovil Town of League Two. In November, Bignot left to take the manager's job at Grimsby Town.

--Relegation struggles (2016–18)
Moors appointed former Hednesford Town and Redditch United manager Liam McDonald, who guided the team to 16th in their maiden campaign in the fifth tier. The Moors were knocked out of the FA Cup in the second round by League Two side Luton Town, losing 6–2 having led 2–0 at half time. The Moors had a poor start to the 2017–18 season, resulting in McDonald leaving the club by mutual consent in October 2017. McDonald was replaced by Richard Money, who himself left the club later that month and was replaced by Mark Yates and his assistant Tim Flowers in November. Yates and Flowers pulled off the "great escape" with a run of 12 wins in 29 matches, resulting in the club rising from bottom of the league at Christmas, to 18th place by the end of the season, securing safety by 6 points. This achievement led to newly promoted League Two Macclesfield Town appointing Yates as their new manager, with Flowers taking the top job at Moors.

--Established National League side (2018–)
In the 2018–19 National League season Solihull achieved their best ever league finish, coming 2nd with a total of 86 points. Under Flowers, the Moors spent the entire season at or around the top of the league. They ultimately had to settle for second place and a place in the play-offs as they missed out on the title by three points. The Moors were knocked out of the play-offs by AFC Fylde in their semi-final at Damson Park, a 2nd-minute goal from Danny Philliskirk proving the difference. The club also reached the second round of the FA Cup where they held Blackpool to a 0–0 draw in the televised home leg in front of a record crowd but lost the replay at Bloomfield Road 3–2, conceding an extra time penalty. In the following FA Cup campaign, the Moors were eliminated by League One side Rotherham United in the second round despite leading 3–0 in the 76th minute before conceding four late goals. Following disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019–20 season was halted in March 2020 with Solihull finishing in 9th place. In 2021–22 Solihull finished third and went on to win their play-off semifinal, but lost the final after extra-time, having scored the first goal of the match .

Trivia (Town)

Solihull is a large market town that is the administrative centre and seat of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the south of the West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 123,187 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Warwickshire, Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Forest of Arden area. It is the largest town in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull which has a population of 214,909.

Solihull is the most affluent town in the West Midlands region of England, and one of the most affluent areas in the UK outside London. The original town is largely urban, while the rest of the modern borough is largely rural with the exception of a few other urban market towns and villages, with three quarters of the borough designated green belt. The town has roots dating back to the 1st century BC, and was further formally established during the medieval era of British history. Today the town is famed as, amongst other things, the birthplace of the Land Rover car marque, and home of the British equestrian eventing team.

Solihull in TV and Film
The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
The Fourth Protocol (1987)
Black Sabbath: The End (2017)
Iron Maiden: Maiden England (1989 Video)
Alice Cooper Trashes the World (1990 Video)
Genesis: The Mama Tour (1984 Video)
Rush: A Show of Hands (1989 Video)

Notable People from Solihull
Michael Buerk (Journalist)
Ritchie Neville ("Everybody get up!")
John Taylor (Wild Boy)
Elizabeth Bower (Actress)
Alan Cox (Penguin Lover)

Anagrams of Solihull Moors: Shrooms (7)

Famous Fans: None Found

Things to do: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attrac...s_England.html

Away Fans Pubs

There is a clubhouse just outside the ground which welcomes away supporters. This has a staggering four bars inside, three downstairs and one upstairs. The number of bars that are open on a matchday depends on what attendance is expected. If the game is segregated then normally one of these bars is specifically allocated to visiting supporters. The clubhouse also has a small external seated area situated out front. If the game is not segregated then the Club kindly allows away fans to leave the ground at half time to access the Club bars. Inside the ground near the corner of the away sections is a small indoor area called the 'Sadlers Bar' that amongst other alcoholic drinks serves Sadlers Peaky Blinders Ale.

World Famous Local Lager: None (If anyone is struggling what to buy me for Xmas! - https://www.walesales.com/product-pa...s-of-christmas)

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damson_Park
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solihull_Moors_F.C.
https://www.solihullmoorsfc.co.uk/ne...naming-rights/
https://footballgroundguide.com/leag...mson-park.html
https://www.solihullmoorsfc.co.uk/cl...y-information/
https://www.searchsolihull.co.uk/fam...west-midlands/
https://kids.kiddle.co/Solihull