Post by otleybard on Jul 28, 2008 0:13:28 GMT 1
Our Unibond Premier Rivals...
No. 9 HEDNESFORD TOWN
The Facts:
Where they play:
Keys Park, Keys Park Road, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS12 2DZ
(123 miles from Nethermoor, our longest trip)
Admission 2008-09:
Website not updated, but last season’s were £8.00 (£9.50 Main Stand), Child/OAP £4.50 (£5.50 Main Stand). Car Parking costs £1.00, or you could do what we did for the Trophy game and turn up half way through the second half, when it appeared to be free.
When do we play them? Saturday December 6th at Keys Park, Saturday March 28th at Nethermoor.
Final league position last season:
After flirting with the Playoffs for a while they fell away and finished eighth, fifteen points behind Buxton. Going into April, they were the only team in the Division who could be reasonably certain of which level they’d be playing at this term.
Odds at Coral’s: 20/1
Home Kit: White Shirt with Black Front Panel, White Shorts
Change Kit: Presumably Blue again.
Manager: Dean Edwards
Highest home / away attendance last season: 621 / 642
Lowest home / away attendance last season: 322 / 153
Average home / away attendance last season: 409 / 312
Home gate v Guiseley last season: League game 332, Trophy 324
Results at Keys Park:
5-2 to Guiseley in the League, including a Lee Tuck hat-trick. One of our best away performances of the season and probably the most exciting, certainly for those of us following it via cjp’s Forum posts. 2-1 to GFC also in the FA Trophy, a game that kicked off with a fair few of the Guiseley support staring at nodding dogs on the M6.
Result at Guiseley: A somewhat frustrating 1-1.
Website: www.hednesfordtown.com
Webmaster Steve W works hard. The site includes an excellent feature on all HT’s previous opponents that’ll make our job a lot easier. A useful clock on the home page, as well.
Forum: www.hednesfordtown.com/forum
Tidy, and chugging along nicely with 594 members.
Last few games v Guiseley:
We’ve only ever lost to them once, back in January 1990 in the FA Cup Preliminary Round at their former home of The Cross Keys. Since then we’ve drawn with them three times and beaten them twice (see above) though we’ve yet to register a win at Nethermoor.
News from the close season:
Doesn’t seem to be a right lot going on team-wise, with the exception of the signing of Louis Briscoe from relegated Leek Town, who seems to be seen by their fans as the much-needed strike partner for Ross Dyer.
Who are we likely to recognize?
Former Leicester City bulwark Matt Elliott has been appointed as Dean Edwards’s Assistant, while they’ve also acquired the services of goalkeeper Stuart Brock, a veteran of AFC Telford’s ‘slumming it’ time in the Unibond Premier.
What we do think of them and/or how much do they annoy us?
The paucity of meetings between the two clubs and their geographical separation have meant there’ve been few opportunities for the fans to weigh each other up, though Keys Park was certainly hospitable last year. Having spent six seasons in the Conference and one in the Nationwide North - and possessing a nice new ground to match - on their arrival in the UPL they were seen in some quarters as Big Time Charlies, but two distinctly average seasons have eased any friction.
Likely prospects this season:
Hednesford Town’s place on the map means they are one of those clubs always at the mercy of other teams’ successes and failures. Formed in 1880, they moved gradually up the ladder, accessing the Conference via four years in the Southern League Premier, but ‘boundary changes’ meant that relegation when it came was into the Nationwide North and thence to the Unibond.
While such a change probably isn’t the culture shock it once was, transport considerations forced managers to recruit from up the M6 rather than down the M5. For a time this summer, the shadow boxing going on higher up the Pyramid created the distinct possibility of a shuffle back to the Southern League; while it didn’t happen, this time at least, it can’t have improved stability.
The bookies’ odds and the noises coming from their Forum point towards another middle-of-the-road season, but they look to have enough talent in their squad to cause a few upsets.
Our own Forum members’ views: add your own views, comments and predictions below...
Next: Yeadoner on Ilkeston Town
No. 9 HEDNESFORD TOWN
The Facts:
Where they play:
Keys Park, Keys Park Road, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS12 2DZ
(123 miles from Nethermoor, our longest trip)
Admission 2008-09:
Website not updated, but last season’s were £8.00 (£9.50 Main Stand), Child/OAP £4.50 (£5.50 Main Stand). Car Parking costs £1.00, or you could do what we did for the Trophy game and turn up half way through the second half, when it appeared to be free.
When do we play them? Saturday December 6th at Keys Park, Saturday March 28th at Nethermoor.
Final league position last season:
After flirting with the Playoffs for a while they fell away and finished eighth, fifteen points behind Buxton. Going into April, they were the only team in the Division who could be reasonably certain of which level they’d be playing at this term.
Odds at Coral’s: 20/1
Home Kit: White Shirt with Black Front Panel, White Shorts
Change Kit: Presumably Blue again.
Manager: Dean Edwards
Highest home / away attendance last season: 621 / 642
Lowest home / away attendance last season: 322 / 153
Average home / away attendance last season: 409 / 312
Home gate v Guiseley last season: League game 332, Trophy 324
Results at Keys Park:
5-2 to Guiseley in the League, including a Lee Tuck hat-trick. One of our best away performances of the season and probably the most exciting, certainly for those of us following it via cjp’s Forum posts. 2-1 to GFC also in the FA Trophy, a game that kicked off with a fair few of the Guiseley support staring at nodding dogs on the M6.
Result at Guiseley: A somewhat frustrating 1-1.
Website: www.hednesfordtown.com
Webmaster Steve W works hard. The site includes an excellent feature on all HT’s previous opponents that’ll make our job a lot easier. A useful clock on the home page, as well.
Forum: www.hednesfordtown.com/forum
Tidy, and chugging along nicely with 594 members.
Last few games v Guiseley:
We’ve only ever lost to them once, back in January 1990 in the FA Cup Preliminary Round at their former home of The Cross Keys. Since then we’ve drawn with them three times and beaten them twice (see above) though we’ve yet to register a win at Nethermoor.
News from the close season:
Doesn’t seem to be a right lot going on team-wise, with the exception of the signing of Louis Briscoe from relegated Leek Town, who seems to be seen by their fans as the much-needed strike partner for Ross Dyer.
Who are we likely to recognize?
Former Leicester City bulwark Matt Elliott has been appointed as Dean Edwards’s Assistant, while they’ve also acquired the services of goalkeeper Stuart Brock, a veteran of AFC Telford’s ‘slumming it’ time in the Unibond Premier.
What we do think of them and/or how much do they annoy us?
The paucity of meetings between the two clubs and their geographical separation have meant there’ve been few opportunities for the fans to weigh each other up, though Keys Park was certainly hospitable last year. Having spent six seasons in the Conference and one in the Nationwide North - and possessing a nice new ground to match - on their arrival in the UPL they were seen in some quarters as Big Time Charlies, but two distinctly average seasons have eased any friction.
Likely prospects this season:
Hednesford Town’s place on the map means they are one of those clubs always at the mercy of other teams’ successes and failures. Formed in 1880, they moved gradually up the ladder, accessing the Conference via four years in the Southern League Premier, but ‘boundary changes’ meant that relegation when it came was into the Nationwide North and thence to the Unibond.
While such a change probably isn’t the culture shock it once was, transport considerations forced managers to recruit from up the M6 rather than down the M5. For a time this summer, the shadow boxing going on higher up the Pyramid created the distinct possibility of a shuffle back to the Southern League; while it didn’t happen, this time at least, it can’t have improved stability.
The bookies’ odds and the noises coming from their Forum point towards another middle-of-the-road season, but they look to have enough talent in their squad to cause a few upsets.
Our own Forum members’ views: add your own views, comments and predictions below...
Next: Yeadoner on Ilkeston Town