What are we looking forward to next season?

There's the obvious stuff, like the derby and FCUM, of course, but what else.

For me...

Of the 23 grounds:

Already seen Stour play at - Barwell, Blyth Spartans, Buxton, Grantham Town, Halesowen Town, Ilkeston, King's Lynn Town, Rushall Olympic, Workington (9 + Stamford's current ground)

Been to but not for a Stour game - Belper Town, Marine, Matlock Town, Witton Albion (4)

Virgin territory - Ashton United, Curzon Ashton, FCUM (either their new ground or Stalybridge), Frickley Athletic, Nantwich Town, Ramsbottom United, Skelmsersdale United, Stamford (new ground), Trafford, Whitby Town (10)

Pleased for my Uncle, a long-time Stour supporter and former Supporters Club official, that we are going to Nantwich as he lives two miles from there.

Might take Mrs TRM for a weekend in Whitby depending on the time of year - never been and it's supposed to be a lovely part of the World.

Mixed feelings on FCUM in that I'd like to go to Stalybridge one day too, so wouldn't mind if we're away there very early on before they move to Moston - Stalybridge is supposed to be a good ground and the station buffet bar is a real ale paradise! Mind you, it's not a million miles away from Ashton, Curzon, FCUM and Ramsbottom anyway.

Could do Ramsbottom by train to Manchester, tram to Bury and steam railway the last leg. I can think of worse ways to spend a day.

Not looking forward to?

Grantham.

Can only think of Rushall, Barwell & Grantham that I'm not exactly desperate to get to, although the latter two will be new grounds.

Done Buxton, but would go again.

Done Stamford and Belper when I was at Loughborough, and both come highly recommended. Belper's ground is in a lovely setting, and Stamford is an old fashioned ground but good, but the best thing is the outstanding town - so many good pubs, they have a tube map of the town's pubs!

Jack and TRM make a great point about the trains - much better than the SL to get to by public transport. Wolvo to Man Picc is such an easy journey. And Birmingham to Belper via Derby and Stamford via Leicester.

stour_boy wrote:Can only think of Rushall, Barwell & Grantham that I'm not exactly desperate to get to, although the latter two will be new grounds.

Done Buxton, but would go again.

Done Stamford and Belper when I was at Loughborough, and both come highly recommended. Belper's ground is in a lovely setting, and Stamford is an old fashioned ground but good, but the best thing is the outstanding town - so many good pubs, they have a tube map of the town's pubs!

Jack and TRM make a great point about the trains - much better than the SL to get to by public transport. Wolvo to Man Picc is such an easy journey. And Birmingham to Belper via Derby and Stamford via Leicester.

Agree completely about Stamford's ground, but their new ground is supposed to be ready by 1st September so the odds are against another trip there. The town is a great place to have a walk around though.

Oh, and Stourboy has inadvertantly reminded me that I forgot to add Barwell to my "not looking forward to" list!

I'd quite forgotten that - hopefully get to go to the new ground then!

For me there are 10 away games under 20 quid on train. 4 of which involve Piccadilly. That compared to only a handful last year.

Just new clubs in general, and of course Halesowen. Shan't be going to Barwell I don't think! Be nice to go back to Buxton as well.

Really looking forward to this season on a whole. Can't wait now!

We've won our last 10 competitive games at Rushall, so looking forward to that one!

Yup can't wait already. The more I mull it over the more excited I get for the start of the season!

By the way can we opt out of their league cup does anyone know?

Forget how easier the transport is. Forget the nice pubs but that is a good reason.

It all about a Stourbridge victory that makes sure we get promotion. Surely that's what Gary is after.

You're right Si. But a little fun along the way is good.  

Jack wrote:You're right Si. But a little fun along the way is good.  

Precisely, Jack. If winning was everything then we'd all have given up watching Stour at some time, and most football fans would say the same about their clubs. You can't always win, or be promoted, and as fans there's very, very little you can do about that, so you might as well make the most of whatever the game throws at you and enjoy yourselves along the way.

I think we all want to be here in 12 months time celebrating promotion. However as much as we would llike to be, we have no say or power. Moreover, this is probably going to be the last season in a while I will be able to attend most games. So frankly, the fact there are a lot of cheaper days out is great. If we win, excellent. If we lose, sure it'll be a pain, but its still ultimately about enjoyment. At Stour with the tight knit away support we have, we have enjoyment whether we win or lose. That won't change. Whether we are north or south.

stour_boy wrote:By the way can we opt out of their league cup does anyone know?

Hopefully not.

I know the NPL League Cup was still compulsory last season. Whether they'll follow the SL's lead next season probably depends on the will of the clubs. The SL made it optional after we proposed it at last year's AGM and the clubs voted on it.

I must be the odd one out on here, as Barwell is one of the places I am looking forward visiting. Mainly because it is easy to get there by train & bus, as proven when we went there in our Alliance days.

Plus if your going by train then you need a ticket from Stourbridge to Leicester, but make sure you split the journey at old Hill. Not sure why, but if you do that it was always cheaper  

As for the rest of the league, the only positive thing is that teams like FCUM might bring more supporters with them. The other obvious question to ask is will moving North affect the admission prices for next season  

Split ticketing is definitely worth it. I usually split tickets to Leicester at Birmingham but didn't know about the Old Hill one!

For any Manchester based trips it's usually best to split at Stoke on Trent and possibly Wolverhampton as well, as you can get a cheap Stour - Wolvo ticket that isn't valid via Birmingham.

Hoping that the £10 admission won't move, and as a consequence that season ticket prices won't either.

I'm looking forward to being able to get to more than a couple of matches for the first time in years. A load of new, easy to get to away grounds is a bonus.

I just can't wait for the season start in general, a lot of new teams for me. Also the first game is the day after my birthday so wherever it is I should be able to swindle a pass to go see it   

stour_boy wrote:Split ticketing is definitely worth it. I usually split tickets to Leicester at Birmingham but didn't know about the Old Hill one!

For any Manchester based trips it's usually best to split at Stoke on Trent and possibly Wolverhampton as well, as you can get a cheap Stour - Wolvo ticket that isn't valid via Birmingham.

Hoping that the £10 admission won't move, and as a consequence that season ticket prices won't either.

Just a quick word of advice when splitting rail tickets.

The train you are on must stop at the station where you split the journey otherwise the ticket is not valid.

Be careful if splitting at Old Hill as not all trains stop there. A split at Rowley Regis will more than likely result in the journey being the same price & all trains (apart from one) stop there.

Nortonglassboy wrote:

stour_boy wrote:Split ticketing is definitely worth it. I usually split tickets to Leicester at Birmingham but didn't know about the Old Hill one!

For any Manchester based trips it's usually best to split at Stoke on Trent and possibly Wolverhampton as well, as you can get a cheap Stour - Wolvo ticket that isn't valid via Birmingham.

Hoping that the £10 admission won't move, and as a consequence that season ticket prices won't either.

Just a quick word of advice when splitting rail tickets.

The train you are on must stop at the station where you split the journey otherwise the ticket is not valid.

Be careful if splitting at Old Hill as not all trains stop there. A split at Rowley Regis will more than likely result in the journey being the same price & all trains (apart from one) stop there.

Thanks for that Nortonglassboy, and welcome to the forum.

On my commute into Birmingham, the trains that stop at Lye, Old Hill & Langley Green always seem to take so much longer than the ones that don't, even though it's timetabled for just 5 or 6 minutes difference in journey time!

Who cares????!!!!

Why pay over the odds for train tickets when you could get them for less?

I was on about your boring fact of how much longer the train took.

Tricky Tree wrote:Who cares????!!!!

Who got out of bed the wrong side this morning lol.

UlsterJim wrote:

Tricky Tree wrote:Who cares????!!!!

Who got out of bed the wrong side this morning lol.

Every bloody morning the last few wks sweetcheeks.

In my defence.... how bloody boring was Stour boys post???!!!