Solihull’s crest is a recent rebranding change, the griffin representing ‘strength courage & leadership’ (apparently).

Solihull is to the south-east of Birmingham, barely a mile away from Birmingham airport.  It’s a road journey of about 74 miles from Nailsworth with a journey time of around 1 hours 30 minutes.

By Supporters Club Coach.  For full details of Away Travel including pick up times: – look at FGR Away Travel – Forest Green Rovers Supporters Club (fgrsc.com)  For further information, including pickup point locations see Away travel arrangements 24/25 – Forest Green Rovers Supporters Club (fgrsc.com)

Book your coach ticket with your match ticket from FGR (a discount for FGR Supporters Club members) but note that you need to call FGR Reception to get the coach discount (phone 0333 123 1889 Monday to Friday, between 9am and 3pm).  Please try to book early.

By Car – The address is Damson Park (current sponsorship name ARMCO Arena), Damson Parkway, Solihull B92 9EJ for sat navs.  There is a car-park at the ground but it’s not that big and it fills up early.  Supporters can make use of the NCP Car Park at Birmingham Airport Cargo Term (B26 3QT). This is a 15-20 minute walk away from the ground.  The club have a deal with NCP which means supporters can park there for £6 for up to 5 hours on matchdays. You need to use the code S0L1HULL23 at the payment machines, NOT at the exit barrier.  The X12 bus runs to the ground every 15/20 minutes from  the NCP, Birmingham International & Solihull Town Centre.  There is some street parking to the south of the stadium – the club say don’t park on Damson Parkway (the main road leading to the ground) as you’re likely to be ticketed – however, the locals don’t seem bothered and regularly clamber their cars up the verges of this red route.  Generally, reports suggest that this isn’t the easiest ground to park near to.

There are 8 easy access spaces for those with disabilities.  Contact the club on 0121 7056770 or email info@solihullmoorsfc.co.uk to reserve.

By Train – Unusually, this is a journey you can make by train.  There is an hourly service from Stroud via Birmingham New Street to Birmingham International.  The station is about a mile and a half from the ground.  The return journey also has a regular service, with the last train back to Stroud leaving just after 8pm.  The journey time is 1 hour 50 minutes approximately and the cost of an adult return ticket around £37. The X12 bus runs to the ground every 15/20 minutes from Birmingham International.

Solihull’s ground is Damson Park (or the ARMCO Arena).  It has a capacity of 5,500 (just over 2,000 seated).  Away fans are in a covered terrace behind one of the goals.  The stadium is a bit stuck in the middle of nowhere, surrounded on 3 sides by the massive Land Rover factory site, Elmdon Nature Park, two golf courses, Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre complex.

There is a fan-zone and a clubhouse which visiting fans are usually welcome to use, as well as the standard type of food and drink stalls dotted around.  Other than this, the options close by aren’t that great.

Solihull’s ticket prices will depend on whether this is categorised as an ‘A’ game or a ‘B’ game (‘B’ game prices are in brackets).  Our guess is that we’ll be an ‘A’ game.

Adults – £21 (£17), Concessions 65+ & 18-24 – £16 (£12), u-18’s £11 (£7.50), u-12’s – free.

The average gate at Damson Park last season was 1,689.

The club had a great season last year, finishing 5th, and in the play-off places.  In the play-offs, they beat Halifax Town 4-2 at home, then Barnet 4-0 away.  They went to the final at Wembley to draw 2-2 with Bromley before eventually losing 4-3 on penalties.

Last season, they were the top performing side in the league away from home, amassing 40 points (compared with 36 points from their home games).

Solihull have brought in a number of new faces so far this season.  These include;

Sam Bowen (from Newport County)
Laurie Walker (Barnet)
Finley Holmes (Studley)
Olly Tipton (Wolves)
Bradley Stevenson (Billericay Town)
James Gale (Mansfield Town)

Solihull have started the season with a couple of defeats, a couple of wins, and a couple of draws.  Bradley Stevenson, with 2 goals, is their early leading scorer.  Their results so far are;

Fylde 3-2 Solihull

Solihull 2-1 Maidenhead

Eastleigh 2-1 Solihull

Solihull 1-1 Braintree

Halifax 0-1 Solihull

Solihull 1-1 Wealdstone

Solihull are currently 13th in the league.

Solihull are using the game against Rovers to raise awareness of blood cancer, with the game being dedicated to local charity Cure Leukemia.  Here’s a link to the club’s website with more detail https://www.solihullmoorsfc.co.uk/news/posts/solihull-moors-team-up-with-cure-leukaemia/.  Support it if you can, Rovers fans!

The story of Solihull Moors only goes back to 2007 when Southern Premier League side Solihull Borough merged with their tenants, Moor Green, then playing in the Conference North.  The 2 clubs were both Solihull based and, eventually, following two arson attacks at the home of Moor Green (The Moorlands), they both shared Solihull Borough’s ground at Damson Park.  A merger of the 2 clubs happened in 2007.  By 2016 they finally achieved promotion to the National League.

Solihull are no fans of play-offs.  They were beaten in the 2019 National League play-off semi-final by Fylde, then beaten again in the 2022 final by Grimsby (AET), and again in the 2024 play-off final by Bromley (4-3 on penalties).

Andy Whing has been Solihull’s manager since 2023.

27 year old Tahvon Campbell has had 15 clubs in his career, including a spell at Rovers in the 2018/19 season – 18 appearances, 3 goals in League 2.

We’ve corrected this post to omit Shawn McCoulskey, who we’d previously accused of being a Solihull player.  Shawn, who in fact is a striker with Maidenhead Utd, has scored 1 goal for Solihull Moors this season – sadly for Shawn, it was into his own net.

Solihull is definitely ‘posh’ Birmingham, though the locals would say it is entirely separate from its big-city neighbour.  It is widely accepted as one of the most prosperous areas in the UK.  It is set in the historic Forest of Arden, on the banks of the River Blythe, with the town, and most of the borough is within the West Midlands Green Belt.

The town is 8 miles southeast of Birmingham and 14 miles west of Coventry.  It is the original home to Land Rover and Triumph motor cycles.

The name Solihull name is commonly thought to have come from its arden stone parish church, St Alphege.  , The church was built on a hill of stiff red marl, which unfortunately turned to sticky mud in wet weather – hence ‘soily’ hill.

Solihull High St together with the church on the ‘soily’ hill.

The roll-call of famous names of people with a Solihull connections is enormous!  Here are a few;

• W. H. Auden (b. 1907), Anglo-American poet, lived on Homer Road in Solihull
• Jeremy Bates (b. 1962), former UK tennis number 1, born in Solihull
• Karren Brady (b. 1969), vice-chairman of West Ham United F.C., lived in Copt Heath, Solihull
• Michael Buerk (b. 1946), BBC News reader, born and brought up in Solihull, attending Solihull School
• Karen Carney (b. 1987), Birmingham, England and Great Britain women’s footballer, born in Solihull
• Nick Drake (b. 1948), musician/poet, brought up in Tanworth-in-Arden, in Solihull
• Jack Grealish (b. 1995), professional footballer, plays for Manchester City and the England national team, brought up in Solihull
• Richard Hammond (b. 1969), television presenter (Top Gear, The Grand Tour etc.), born in Solihull and attended Solihull School
• Dave Hill (b. 1946), Slade’s guitarist, lived in Solihull
• Tony Iommi (b. 1948), lead guitarist of Black Sabbath, lives in Solihull
• Martin Johnson (b. 1970), England rugby union player and captain, born in Shirley, Solihull
• Felicity Kendal (b. 1946), actress and TV star, born in Olton, Solihull
• Nigel Kennedy (b. 1956), violinist, brought up in Solihull
• Justin King (b. 1961), former CEO of J Sainsbury plc, educated in Solihull
• Nigel Mansell (b.1953), former British racing driver and Formula 1 Champion, attended Solihull College
• Simon Mayo (b. 1958), broadcaster, attended Solihull School
• Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet Peel of Drayton Manor and Bury (b. 1788) former British Prime Minister, founded modern English police force, Lord of the Manor in Hampton-in-Arden in Solihull
• Graham Potter (b. 1975), professional footballer and former Head Coach of Chelsea, born in Solihull
• Mandy Rice-Davies (b. 1944), famed for her role in the Profumo affair, attended Sharmans Cross Junior School in Solihull
• Andy Townsend (b. 1963), broadcaster and TV pundit, and former Aston Villa, Chelsea and Ireland footballer, lives in Solihull
• Johnnie Walker (b.1945), broadcaster, radio host and DJ, educated in Solihull
• William Wilberforce (b. 1759), Abolitionist, lived in Elmdon in Solihull
• John Wyndham (b. 1903), science fiction author born in Dorridge in Solihull