Skip to main content

More about the Moors

Solihull is one of the most prosperous and sought after boroughs in England, although it also contains areas of social deprivation.

More than a decade and a half since Moor Green merged with their fierce West Midlands rivals Solihull Borough, most of those affected have put the acrimony behind them.

Those who set aside historic rivalries to back the merger are now long-standing Solihull Moors supporters and looking forward to a scarcely believable two trips to Wembley in six days, with tomorrow’s huge play-off final against Bromley, based in south-east London, followed next Saturday by the final of the FA Trophy, non-League football’s showpiece knockout competition, against Gateshead.

From its controversial birth in 2007, a merger that followed two seasons of Moor Green playing home games at Borough’s ground, Solihull Moors has become one of non-League’s success stories.

Promotion to the National League in 2016 was followed by a switch from the semi-professional roots of Moor Green and Solihull Borough to full-time players, while attendances have grown from an average of around 250 in the first post-merger season to routinely more than 1,000 home fans at their Damson Park ground.

And the arrival in 2018 of Darryl Eales, the former Oxford United chairman, as Moors’ new owner gave the club added impetus.

Having made his fortune in private equity, Eales briefly attempted to buy Birmingham from disgraced owner Carson Yeung in 2012. The talks ended quickly, with Eales unable to untangle the mess his boyhood club were in.

Irrespective of tomorrow’s result, they have come a long way from the early post-merger days when their main sources of income included renting spaces in their car park to long-distance lorry drivers for overnight stays and opening the clubhouse as a breakfast venue for night workers at the sprawling Jaguar Land Rover car plant that still surrounds their stadium.

That location — sandwiched between the two sections of JLR with a bridge connecting the site traversing part of Moors’ land — is one of the reasons Eales is eyeing sites for a new stadium, with the aim of moving within five years.    Depending on the flight path, planes landing at Birmingham Airport fly low overhead.

Yet, regardless of Sunday’s result, the off-field mission will continue: to make Solihull Moors more than a popular second club for fans of the giants that surround them, including Birmingham City, Coventry City and Aston Villa.

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

Spurs to sell minority stake

Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale. Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium. The financier Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be among the parties to have expressed an interest in Tottenham. Staveley’s fund, PCP Capital Partners, has raised about £500 million to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Millwall punch above their weight

Millwall’s season was overshadowed by the tragic death of owner John Berylson following a car accident. The American had been an exemplary owner, beloved by the fans for his leadership, passion and generosity. Millwall’s finances had been pretty good during his tenure, which we shall explore by looking at the most recent accounts from the 2022/23 season, when the club narrowly missed out on a place in the play-offs after finishing 8th. Millwall’s pre-tax loss slightly reduced from £12.6m to £12.2m, as revenue rose £0.8m (4%) from £18.6m to a club record £19.4m and player sales improved from a £0.1m loss to £2.5m profit. However, other operating income dropped from by £1.1m from £1.3m to £0.2m, while operating expenses increased £1.7m (5%) from £31.6m to £33.3m. The main driver of the revenue increase was broadcasting, which rose £1.1m (12%) from £9.1m to £10.2m, though match day was also up £0.4m (7%) from £5.8m to £6.2m. In contrast, commercial fell £0.7m (19%) from £3.7m to £3....
Post a Comment
Read more