Tims 92

Tamworth

The Lamb

Ground No. 191

Visited - Monday 31st August 2009
Result - Tamworth 2-1 Kidderminster Harriers
Competition - Blue Square Premier
Attendance - 1237

When listing the important and historic towns of England, one might be forgiven for omitting the Staffordshire settlement of Tamworth, yet unknown to many, at one time it played the role of one of the most important towns in the country. The Kingdom of Mercia was the largest of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy and when Creoda fortified Tamworth in the late sixth century he confirmed its status as the regions capital. What could have been after that is anyone’s guess. Sitting at a strategically import point in the transport network, then perhaps it could have grown to be the Midlands’ dominant city, but that title eventually fell to the smaller, nearby village of Brummagem which grew exponentially during the industrial revolution to its own position today. Tamworth, in comparison remained a small market town, unremarkable in its history except perhaps for the development of football within the area. Whilst most towns boast timelines dating back to the nineteenth century, the first record of the game being played in the borough appears to relate to Tamworth Castle FC, who entered the Birmingham League in 1921. They played for only two seasons, finishing bottom of the league in 1922/23 before resigning, with the next mention of them coming ten years later in 1933 when the club folded. This seemed to stir the townsfolk into action, and in the same year Tamworth FC were formed, moving into the Lamb Ground 12 months later. Most of their history has been spent in the Southern League, but the 2002/03 season saw them rise to the pinnacle of Non-League football for the first time, when current assistant manager, Darron Gee, took them to the title and only narrowly missed out on the double by losing the FA Trophy final 2-1 to Burscough at Villa Park. Since then, they’ve been down and back up again, more notable for their cup form which peaked in 2005/06 when they took Stoke to a third round replay which they only lost on penalties, and again reaching the same stage the following season, albeit where Norwich proved to be a sterner test, winning 4-1.

Less than an hours travel from home, this was the last ‘big’ ground in the Midlands for me to do, although I had been here in 2005 to take pictures, an adventure that nearly ended with the chairman stealing my driving licence (it’s a long story…!), so I was looking forward to going back to finally visit it for a match, eventually opting for the August Bank Holiday fixture with Kidderminster.

The day had started off well, the sun shining and trains running on time as I made my way across the West Midlands, changing in New Street for the short journey on to Tamworth. I hadn’t really know what to expect of the town, but having a quick look round then it appears a nice little market town, so that was good to see, before eventually meeting up with Duncan from the Football Ground Guide to tour the local hostelries. We made it through The Globe (a particular recommendation, serving Holdens Mild), the Sir Robert Peel and The Bole Bridge before making our way to the ground, stopping off in the club shop, which had been moved outside since my last visit, before going in.

Situated in the shadow of the nearby snow dome, The Lamb Ground was named after the Lamb Inn which once stood at the entrance to the car park. Presumably you would think it was a place where sheep were farmed at before heading off to market, yet the only mention on Wikipedia is of the site once being a pig farm. One would assume that ‘The Pig Ground’ wouldn’t quite have caught on in the same way as its current moniker, so ‘The Lamb’ it became, and their nickname as well, leaving Sheffielders to argue over who the real pigs are! From the outside there is little to see, the uninviting grey sheet metal exterior doing nothing for first impressions, but once inside it does open up a little more. The Castle End is where most home fans come in, which is a small, open terrace that feels a lot bigger than it actually is with only five steps of terracing. On the far side is The Shed, a small terrace with an unusual roof, which is mirrored at the Meadow Street End, where away fans are restricted to when segregation is in place. Finally is the Main Stand on the near side, which sits in the centre and provides the only seating at the ground. It’s flanked on the Castle End side by a small open terrace in between it and the turnstiles, whilst on the opposite side sits the clubhouse in the far corner between the Castle End and Shed. Also of note are the floodlights, unremarkable in themselves, but worthy of mentioning that they once saw action at Scarborough’s former Seamer Road ground before they were removed and transported to the Midlands (not as a souvenir of Wolves’ infamous trip before you ask…!!!)

After another pint in the clubhouse, then the game eventually got underway at 3 o’clock. The first half was mostly a blur, with few chances of note to mention. Kiddy started the brightest, but the home side eventually took control, and came closest to scoring with Neil McKenzie seeing his header narrowly tipped over halfway through. The most excitement had come from watching a persistent wasp wrestle with Duncan for a bite of his pie, but the second half started brighter when the hosts took the lead on 47 minutes. Nick Wright got on the end of a free-kick to tap home, which saw celebrations to the tune of Slade’s ‘Cum on Feel the Noize’, ingeniously reworded by the home fans to “Come on feel the noise, we’re the Tamworth boys, we go wild, wild, wild, when we score…”. They were going wild again 16 minutes later when Alex Rodman made it 2-0, and that seemed game over, the home side in control at this point, but the visitors pulled themselves together a little at this and got one back ten minutes later thanks to a slightly dodgy penalty which Chris McPhee converted, but neither side could find another goal, and the game eventually finished 2-1 to the hosts.

After leaving, then I made my way back home, via a quick look inside the snow dome and another pub, glad to have made the short trip over and finally tick a ground that with the photo trip, and seeing numerous times whilst passing on the train, I felt I knew far more than many others that I’d seen games at! Now, having seen a game under there, perhaps I can officially say that!