MOORS AIM FOR THE PIN
Ardley bids to make EFL cut
SOLIHULL MOORS’ ground was once a golf driving range – but they will be on the fairway to EFL heaven with victory today against Grimsby in the National League play-off final.
Neal Ardley’s side find themselves on the equivalent of the back nine, hoping their ambitions don’t end up in a bunker at West Ham’s London Stadium.
The Birmingham club – formed following a merger between Solihull Borough and Moor Green in 2007 – have raced up the football leaderboard since the days of being immersed in the lower reaches of the non-league pyramid.
Former Sunderland and Everton defender Ian Atkins lives locally and has helped out whenever he can, never forgetting the opportunity Moor Green gave him as a schoolboy.
“I played for the school on a Saturday morning and Moor Green in the afternoon at the age of 15 before joining Shrewsbury Town as an apprentice,” he said.
“It made sense for the two clubs to join together because neither had any money. Solihull Borough were playing in front of gates of 50, 60 people in the Midland Combination while Moor Green were always on the lookout for new owners to invest.
“But since the merger the new club has gone from strength to strength. “To think that the ground used to be a driving range. The infrastructure now is brilliant.
“They have an academy comprising loads of age groups. There’s an all-weather pitch behind the stadium that is a great earner. The stadium includes private boxes for hospitality.
“They’ve also got a fantastic training ground. The plan for the owner, Darryl Eales, and his partners when they took over was to get promoted to the EFL within five years.
“This, I believe, is the fifth year. There are some big clubs in the National League but it hasn’t stopped Solihull Moors kicking on.”
It’s also a club that has managed the impossible – to unite die-hard Aston Villa and Birmingham City fans.
Atkins (right) added: “There will be thousands of Villa and Birmingham supporters going down to the London Stadium, happily mixing together supporting Solihull Moors. The fan base in just a few years has gone from around 150 to 1,800. If they get into the Football League you’re talking about 2,500 or 3,000.”
Former AFC Wimbledon and Notts County manager Ardley is the man who is charged with making history by taking the club into League
Two.
Ardley, who has the former Birmingham and Blackpool striker James Quinn as his assistant, said: “In my first season at Wimbledon we were bottom of the league when I took over and we needed play-off form to stay up – and we managed to do that.
“I always said I wouldn’t beat that but taking Solihull Moors into the Football League will top it.
“The team spirit is incredible. There is no blame culture and that gives you a great chance.”