The Pitch

[HalesowenHarry]

They're really laying into us on their forum now....... apparently we all have delusions of grandeur and should be in the conference (which apparently we've never even come close to getting into......... could have sworn we finished 2 points behind Rushden in 1996) way before the shite that M**s*n plus friends put us through.
We're also all very grotty and didn't have a pot to p1ss into before Paddy Page. Oh and it's not 1985 anymore. And our natural level is the West Mids League.......... with them I presume.

Please let them get beat away at Bury or somewhere ultimately as unglamourous (unfortunately not at the home of dirty pitchless Halesowen).

We could offer them a decent ground to stage a home tie at though

NB Yes I'm bloody jealous of their cup run and set up, but that's all

[RobYeltz]

Love how one of them talks of them getting bigger crowds than us, wasn't ours higher last season? If not it was certainly very similar and not worthy of the 'bigger crowd' comment. There's is certainly higher than ours this season, I don't think having so many how games in October has helped us.

[Yeltz27]

Give us 150k from a decent FA Cup run or three and then we'll have a pitch like Wembley you feckin' smarmy nosed barsteward who's team plays on a 2 sided shitehole........ should be our well thought out response

Hmmmmm, they made the most of the FA Cup opportunity and we got knocked out. We had the same chance as them to make that 150k if that's what it is......can't blame them for that

[RaidenYeltz]

This ain't a dig at the current management etc...but it's frustrating how we can't attain a solid cup run yet our near neighbours who play at basically the same level have managed at least first round a number of times in a few years.


Again this is not a dig at anyone and I guess we're still in recovery mode from nearly going bump - but how long can we realistically use that as an excuse?

Are Stourbr*dge really that far ahead of us, is their budget really that much bigger than ours? - I don't believe that seeing as we have very similar - if not better - average attendances (in any case talk of money is irrelevant, really. We finished above them last year and are neck and neck thus far - so quality wise - there's seemingly not much between us).

I know we've had a couple of tough fixtures - Marske away (level bellow but tough trip) Guisely away last year, Nuneaton at home this year - tough, but not impossible to get through.

It's all very frustrating, it can't all be down to luck. Surely we should be asking 'where's our cup run'.

[piearce9]

It's all very frustrating, it can't all be down to luck. Surely we should be asking 'where's our cup run'.

I hate Stour like everyone else, but you've got to give them more credit. I think there are just three teams from Step 3 in the hat for the second round (and one from Step 4 with a replay), so it's not a case of luck- they've actually done incredibly well and are punching well above their weight.

If you're looking for rationale, well they've already been there twice in the previous four seasons, so there is a bit of course and distance, with the same manager at the helm. Hackett had one last throw of the dice in the summer. He got some big names from higher levels and, regardless of thoughts or knowledge around their budget, these wouldn't have come cheap. But he's got them playing well and they've deserved every win in the run by all accounts.

You can't use it as a stick to beat ourselves with. If anything, it should cut us some slack. I reckon we'd have been in for Pierpoint in the summer, and I'm sure he'd have only gone to Stour for bigger wages. Same with a few other players too.

Worse thing is that they've got a very reasonable chance of making round 3, so there could be more of the same to come.

[aled]

To be fair fellas we played second fiddle to you for pretty much 15 years. I doubt many tears were shed for us when we went down to the MFA with at that point, no prospect of a return (despite winning the league twice in succession) due to our 3 sides.

Whilst you were enjoying challenging Rushden (look where that got them) for a place in the Conference, we were playing at Knypersley, Oldbury and Cradley.

We're just enjoying ourselves at the minute, our recent FA Cup success is incredible, given it took us over a century to make it past the qualifying rounds.

Football goes in cycles, and whilst we are very well run these days, certainly compared to some of the clowns we had running us into the ground over the years, it's difficult to maintain improvement year on year.

We are in the same league, and you took 4 points off us last season, but I mean no disrespect when I say that I believe we are a long way ahead of yourselves in other areas at the moment, even if we only have 3 sides

[HalesowenHarry]

It was 20 years nearly, but Aled's right with everything else!! I just hope we're not playing Cradley et al like they had to...........

[The Reasonable Man]

Hackett had one last throw of the dice in the summer.

Interesting that you say this.

Nonsense, of course, but still interesting...

[RaidenYeltz]

Hackett had one last throw of the dice in the summer.

Interesting that you say this.

Nonsense, of course, but still interesting...

This. People think they're throwing £1,000's a week at it. They're not. They're budget, so I'm told - which I always take with a pinch of salt, is roughly the same as ours. Which I guess is backed up by similar league positions and the fact we share similar attendances.

I'd be very surprised if they were vastly different.

I'm also guessing with their cup run and our poor showing in both cups, they will be able to strengthen and attract players while we will start to see possible cuts to the wage bill (reasonable assumption) and won't be able to attract the same players.

Let's face it, if you're a free agent atm, who would you chose between us and Stour, surely Stour based on the FA Cup factor.

[piearce9]

Hackett had one last throw of the dice in the summer.

Interesting that you say this.

Nonsense, of course, but still interesting...

In hindsight, you might say it was nonsense, but Stour fans I spoke to had the knives out for Hackett in the second half of last season. The performance at our place was embarrassing- you didn't even get a sniff at goal when we beat you in April. He got a stay of execution based on his long service, and knew he had to get it right early doors this term. He has, which is why you're now on here giving him the thumbs up.