Tims 92

Stratford Town

Masons Road

Ground No. 110

Visited - Saturday 2nd December 2006
Result - Stratford Town 1-0 Cradley Town
Competition - Midland Football Alliance
Attendance - 143

Stratford had originally been due to leave Masons Road at the end of the 2005/06 season, however after a stay of execution, they had stayed at their traditional home for 2006/07, but with the threat of demolition imminent, their time left at the ground was uncertain, with the possibility of being kicked out before Christmas a reality. With this in mind, I decided to make the short trip down to Warwickshire to take the opportunity to see it at least once.

As usual, I decided to take the train down there and after changing in Smethwick, the journey went fairly well, taking a little over an hour in all. Of course Stratford is more famous for its Shakespearean connections, not to mention the historic architecture, so after arriving in the town at about midday, I took the time out to have a look around, before walking down to the ground at about 2pm.

Situated in the middle of an industrial estate, it’s fair to say that Masons Road isn’t the prettiest of venues. From the outside, all of the buildings and stands are squeezed in around two sides of a small car park, with the adjacent factories and warehouses dominating the immediate surrounding area.

Once inside, it’s a similar story, with the ground only being developed along one side of the pitch, where the Main Stand sits. Running for a quarter of the length of the pitch, it sits on the halfway line and features 6 rows of seats (which originally came from the John Ireland Stand at Molineux). Adjacent to this is the clubhouse and boardroom, with catering and toilet facilities also situated on this side. Hard standing runs around the other three sides of the pitch, with a small grass bank at one end. One thing that really lets the ground down is at the Southern end, where there is a only a chain-link fence, which lets you look right through onto a warehouse yard, revealing an industrial scene, that does the ground no favours.

Despite neither side doing particularly well in the league, Stratford were favourites for the 3 points, but it was Cradley who got off to the brighter start, doing most of the early running, forcing several corners for the home side to defend. Having woken up from this, the hosts eventually started to take control of the game, and ended the half unlucky not to be ahead after forcing a goal line clearance, plus several good saves from the Cradley ‘keeper.

They were soon celebrating after the break though, when David Foy played a short free-kick into Tony Robinson, who turned inside the box and was able to poke the ball home to make it 1-0. The rest of the half was dominated by Stratford, but poor finishing meant they couldn’t increase their lead (despite plenty of chances to do so), and so the game ended with just the solitary goal.

After leaving the ground, I made the short walk back to the station to get the train home, arriving back in good time, after another change in Smethwick.

Overall, whilst I was glad to visit the ground prior to demolition, once it eventually does go, then it will probably be a move for the better. Other than the Main Stand, then the ground isn’t really one of the more attractive (or interesting) that I’ve visited, with the industrial location making it quite scruffy in parts, so hopefully their new Knights Lane ground will provide a better impression of the club.

Welcome to Stratford!

The Players Entrance

The Clubhouse

Rear of the Main Stand

The Turnstiles

The Main Stand

The Far End

The Far Side

The Near End

August 2008

Following my visit to Masons Road, Stratford eventually left the ground at the end of the 2006/07 season to begin a temporary stay at Solihull's Damson Park, before returning 'home' to their new purpose built facility at Knights Lane a few miles away. Whilst visiting their new ground, I couldn't resist the opportunity to pop in and see what remained of the old one, which as it turned out, wasn't much! The Main Stand and adjacent buildings had been demolished, with only the dugouts on the far side remaining. The outline of the pitch is still there, thanks to the pillars for the surrounding barrier, although the handrail seems to be long gone as well. Below are a few pictures, including then and now for comparison (click to enlarge them to full size).