Stourbridge

Stourbridge FC

Ground: War Memorial Athletic Ground, Amblecote

Capacity: 2,035

Club Founded: 1876

League: Southern League Premier Division Central - Step 3/7th Tier (current level)

Stourbridge FC, from the former glass-making town in the West Midlands, is one of the few at their level who still share a facility with the local cricket club.

Club History

Early Years

The club was formed in 1876 as Stourbridge Standard, soon dropping the Standard suffix and joining the Birmingham & District League. In 1923-24, the 'Glassboys’ were crowned champions. A move to the Birmingham Combination came after World War II, and with it came success, winning the title in the early 50s.

A move to the competition that would become the West Midlands (Regional) League came a decade later. The team would lift more county cup honours before they were admitted to the Southern League Division One North in 1971.

70s to the Millennium

In 1973-74, manager Alan Grunby led his side to promotion as champions, and also reached the Welsh Cup final. Strikers Ray Haywood and Chic Bates ran amok, each scoring fifty goals before moving on to Shrewsbury Town. Future top-flight striker Tony Cunningham starred with the side before being sold to Lincoln City a few years later.

In the early 80s, the Glassboys found themselves in the Southern League Premier Division. After being relegated, Stourbridge won the Midland Division but were denied promotion as Amblecote was shared with Stourbridge Cricket Club. Stourbridge were relegated to the Midland Alliance in 2001 despite the appointment of experienced coaches.

The Glory Years

Within three seasons, the club lifted the League Cup and two league titles under Mark Harrison and then Joe Jackson. The club was denied promotion after failing to meet the required ground-grading regulations. Gary Hackett took over as manager after initially sharing the role with Jon Ford. 

He led the side to promotion following a restructuring of non-league football and a relaxation of ground-grading requirements. Stourbridge became members of the Southern League Midland Division for the 2006-07 campaign, winning promotion through the playoffs after defeating Leamington in the final.

The Gary Hackett Era

After gradually consolidating their place in the division, the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history in the 2009-10 season. Walsall ended the run at Amblecote with a 1-0 win, with a crowd of 2,014 attending the tie. A couple of seasons later, the Glassboys reached the same stage against Plymouth Argyle.

The game at Home Park ended 3-3, with ESPN showing live coverage of the replay at The War Memorial Ground. Stourbridge won the match 2-0. Two temporary stands were erected on the cricket field to accommodate the crowd of 2,519. Stevenage came visiting in round two and left with a 3-0 victory. A third temporary stand was erected for the 3,067 attendees. 

Playoff Disappointment

In 2012-13, Stourbridge ended as league runners-up but lost out in the playoffs to Gosport Borough. The playoffs were reached once more the following campaign. This time, it was Chesham United who denied the club at the semi-final stage. 

In the summer of 2014, Stourbridge were transferred to the Northern Premier League to balance the non-league pyramid geographically. The 2016-17 campaign saw any hopes of promotion dashed against Workington in the playoffs.

Recent Seasons

Earlier in the season, Northampton Town were defeated in the FA Cup before the Glassboys went out in the third round at Adams Park to Wycombe Wanderers. 2018-19 saw Stourbridge transferred back to the Southern League, playing in the Premier Division Central. 

After Alvechurch beat Stourbridge in the playoff semi-final, manager Hackett departed after sixteen years at the helm in May 2019. Over the following few seasons, managers came and went regularly. Darryl Knights was in charge of the team when the club faced severe issues at their Amblecote home.

 

A cash investment was required to deal with a subsidence issue. Scott Adey-Linforth was announced as the new team manager in December 2025, with Knights stepping down to take the assistant's role.

My visits

Monday 4th August 2014

It was the final day of my monthly long weekend off work. I had booked tickets in advance to Birmingham to visit some new clubs, enjoying a relaxing ale or two, and to conclude the day at the Halesowen Town v Hednesford Town Pre-Season Friendly.

Indeed, I found the beers in The Wellington on Bennetts Hill in the city centre most therapeutic before I boarded the train west from Snow Hill. Getting to Stourbridge Town station meant catching the service stopping at Stourbridge Junction and changing. I wasn’t ready for what came next.

Our train awaited, as I caught what transpired to be the smallest branch line in the UK. A small single-car train, about the size of a town centre ‘hopper’ bus, was to take us the rest of the way. It had a driver and a conductor. How clever. Surely that was the way forward rather than shutting branch lines?

The Interchange bus station was just next door. I thought I’d take advantage of my travelcard and catch a bus to the ground. Somehow, I got on a service that didn’t go anywhere near my intended target and required a good fifteen-minute hike to get back on track. Eventually, I found myself entering the brick arch at the entrance to The War Memorial Ground at Amblecote.

The ground had been left to the town in memory of those who had lost their lives in conflict and was home to both The Glassboys and Stourbridge Cricket Club, which had its own magnificent old pavilion in the far corner.

The clubhouse was on the left on entering the ground, containing changing rooms and facilities of the football club. The far touchline had two sections of open terracing, with a stand in the centre section, containing seating in the middle section and terracing on either side. A large roofed terrace was behind the far goal.

I continued and did a full lap of the arena. It was well worth a look as I love both sports. I imagined a time when many clubs shared facilities in the same way. I thought about the ridiculous nature of some of the ground-grading stipulations, especially bearing in mind some fine stadiums I’d visited around the world, which would fail under the FA’s jurisdiction.

I headed back down the hill to the town centre where the bus station is located to take the number 9 service to Lye for my next destination.

Stourbridge 0 Sutton Coldfield Town 1

Northern Premier League Premier Division - Monday 10th October 2016
👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 529 🎟️ £10

Amblecote had impressed me when I passed through a couple of years earlier, and with a day off from work, I decided to head to the West Midlands. The fixtures had been kind to me, as I’d already been to the under-23s match at the Ricoh Arena earlier in the afternoon between Coventry City and Crewe Alexandra.

A couple of good beers at the excellent Craven Arms in Birmingham had helped my good mood even further before I caught the train from Snow Hill to Stourbridge Junction, changing onto the Town station on the lovely dinky service.

It was certainly easier on this occasion to find my way to the ground. The town centre looked really good with lots of decent pubs and individual shops rather than too many chains. The floodlights on the hill proved to be an excellent guide.

Admission was £10, a decent programme £2.50, and a ticket for the half-time draw a further quid. I headed to the clubhouse, which served a good pint of Banks Sunbeam for £2.50. I waited for the queue to go near the tea hut before going to get my food.

My heart was set on faggots, a local meatball delicacy. They’d sold out, which was obviously a sign that they were good. Instead, I plumped for a fine portion of cheeseburger and chips for £4.

I fancied a home win before kick-off. Stour were already embarking on a decent FA Cup run and had sound form in the league, while the visitors were struggling at the wrong end of the table. 

The first half was a very tight affair with hardly any goal-scoring chances of any note. It would be the Royals who went in ahead at the break following a poor free kick that was spilt by Glassboys keeper Matt Gould, for Danny O’Callaghan to slot the ball home.

At half-time, we were entertained by the music of a local West Midlands radio channel. I decided against another pint and went for a cup of tea as the weather began to chill. The second half was one of frustration for the home fans as their favourites couldn’t break through a resolute visiting defence. 

The Sutton fans congregated under the roof at the far end, and amongst their numbers was a fantastic band. I really am not much of a fan of modern fan culture, but they were brilliant and light-years ahead talent-wise of the self-important wannabes who followed England around and played the same tunes over and over again, very badly.

A clip of the Sutton Coldfield Band

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With the match nearing its conclusion, I made a move to ensure that I caught the last train back to Birmingham, where I had forty minutes to kill before my service back down south. Previous experience of being careful about watching the time allowed me to alight at Watford Junction. 

This left just enough time to take the final 142 bus of the evening to Stanmore before a night bus deposited me home, saving the time and hassle of going into central London and back out again.