Northampton Town Ticket Price Rip-off

Previous to Coventry, I lived in Northampton for 3 years. Being a football fanatic and interested in nearly every football match in England I thought about going to a see some of Northampton Town’s (League 2) matches.

We have many football teams in the Midlands, and particularly Aston Villa and Birmingham City play at a much higher standard. Furthermore Coventry is playing a league above Northampton Town. The ticket prices however do not reflect this! A ticket to see Northampton Town is £20. There are no cheaper alternatives as they only open the West Stand for matches, as the stadium is more than half empty on every League 2 fixture. Another negative is that they DO NOT offer student discount. With Northampton University being of considerable size this is not understandable.

During my 3 years at the University I visited 3 games due to the high price for very “poor” standard football and would have gone more often had the price been a big more sensible. (Instead I went to see top class Rugby with the Northampton Saints for the same price)

If we compare this to Coventry City (League 1) there is a student discount and a match ticket would set you back £15, with the Adult price being the same to Northampton. Birmingham City (Championship) also has a price for students set at £16. I just hope Northampton Town target students in the near future, as I believe both sides would benefit. Currently I would not recommend going to a Cobblers game, visit Birmingham or Villa instead! 

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves first began life as a schoolboy team in 1877 when the headmaster of St. Luke’s school in Blakenhall, Harry Barcroft, presented a football to a group of pupils who had enjoyed an exceptional year’s schoolwork. The presentation of the football was instigated by the co-founders of the team, John Baynton and Jack Brodie.

Two years later, after merging with the local cricket and football club known as The Blakenhall Wanderers, they became known as Wolverhampton Wanderers. They first played at the Old Windmill Field in the Goldthorn Hill area and moved to nearby John Harper’s Field two years later. The club transferred to yet another field located just off Dudley Road opposite the Fighting Cocks in the summer of 1881. It could hardly have been called a proper ground since the only shelter for spectators was a shed. Whilst residing here Wolverhampton Wanderers staged some of their more prestigious encounters at the Molineux Grounds, a pleasure park similar to London’s Crystal Palace and the Aston Lower Grounds in nearby Birmingham.

In 1888 the club were invited to join the Football League in its inaugural season. Having by now become one of the leading clubs in the land, it was obvious that a more suitable ground had to be found. The Wanderers’ attention was drawn to Molineux and it has been their home ever since 1889.

When Blakenhall Wanderers and St.Lukes amalgamated they took on the red and white school colours of the latter. Reportedly they also turned out in blue and black and in a pink and white combination.

Wolves played for the first time in the famous gold and black in the 1891-92 season. Gold is a prominent colour in the borough’s arms and black seems an apt choice for a club from a principal town in the ‘Black Country’. The gold-and-black shirts were diagonally halved and even striped for a time and in the Wolves only season in the old 3rd Division North in 1923-24 the shirts were gold with a black “v” front and back.

The club then switched to the all-gold-and-black before reverting back to gold-and-black stripes when Major Buckley took over in 1927-28, although this was short-lived and they were back playing in their now traditional strip before the end of the 20′s. One other point worth of mention is that the old-gold became much lighter during the 60′s and has only returned once again to it’s familiar darker old-gold colour at the turn of the Millennium.

The wolf design the club is renowned for, also giving rise to the nickname, wasn’t the Wanderers’ first insignia. Wolverhampton was incorporated as a borough in 1848 and was granted arms in 1898 to celebrate fifty years as a borough. The Wolves identified theirselves with these arms by adopting its shield. The golden cross is intended to commemorate King Edgar’s sister Wulfrun, who founded Wolverhampton in 985.

Around the cross are arranged a woolpack recalling the old woollen trade, formerly the source of the town’s prosperity, and a representation of the town’s Saxon pillar stone, now in the churchyard of St Peter’s church. The open book signifies learning for the old grammar school and the padlock is a reminder of the fact that in the eighteenth century the manufacture of locks was an important local activity, the Wolverhampton locksmiths being accredited the most ingenious in England.

There’s was an old gate at Molineux behind what was once the biggest terrace in England with a reproduction of the full arms, including the crest with its black beacon alluding to the Black Country, together with the crossed keys of St Peter, patron saint of the town.

The wolf image appeared on shirts in the early Seventies, apparently jumping over the club’s initials. Official club blazers from the early Sixties and team pictures from the mid-Seventies also show three wolves on the run.  A wolf’s head soon became a single-minded theme from the beginning of the Eighties, from time to time slightly modified with either the addition of banners, the club’s full name and foundation year or the initials FC.

Coventry Bees

The Coventry Bees are a motorcycle speedway team based at Brandon near Coventry, England. A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the Southern League and then the National League in the pre-war era at Brandon stadium. There were also meetings at a stadium in Lythalls Lane. After the war, the club became The Bees and have been involved in every season since 1948.

Aston Villa F.C.

• Name:Aston Villa
• Nickname:The Villans
• Formed:1886
• Stadium:Villa Park
• Manager:Paul Lambert
• League Titles (7):1894, 1896, 1897, 1899, 1900, 1910, 1981
• FA Cups (7):1887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913, 1920, 1957
• League Cups (5):1961, 1975, 1977, 1994, 1996
• European Cups (1):1982
• European Super Cups (1)1983
• Biggest Signing:£18m, Darren Bent from Sunderland, January 2011
• Biggest Sale:£12.5m, Dwight Yorke to Manchester United, August 1998
• Leading Goalscorer:Harry Hampton, 215
• Leading Appearances:Charlie Aitken, 561
• Official Club Website:AVFC.co.uk
  
  
  HISTORY
  
  
  Villa are the fourth most successful English club with their 20 trophies placing them behind only Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.
  Under the management of George Ramsay, they won five league titles and three FA Cups in seven seasons from 1894 to 1900 including a Double in 1897 — the second English team to achieve that feat.
  A sixth league title followed in 1910 as well as three more FA Cup wins in 1905, 1913 and 1920.
  But Villa then struggled despite the presence of the club record goal scorer Billy Walker and were relegated for the first time in 1936.
  The Midlands outfit were back in the top flight after two seasons but it took them until 1957 to win their next trophy — the FA Cup against Manchester United.
  But relegation followed two seasons later and despite winning Division Two at the first attempt and victory in the first-ever League Cup final in 1961 they were sent back down to the second tier in 1967.
  Villa slumped even further in 1970 as they fell down to Division Three for the first time.
  They eventually clawed their way back up the football ladder and boss Ron Saunders guided the club back into the top flight and won the League Cup in his first season in charge in 1974.
  
  
  
  
  Under Saunders, Villa won the title in 1981 using just 14 players all season and having finished in the top five of Division One just once since the war.
  The following year Tony Barton took over as manager and guided the club to victory in the European Cup with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.
  But they were relegated for a fourth time in 1987 before new boss Graham Taylor won promotion at the first attempt.
  Villa are one of the seven clubs to have been in every Premier League season since its introduction.
  Ron Atkinson led them to second in the first season under the new format they and won the League Cup in 1994.
  Another League Cup win came in 1996 under Brian Little but the nearest John Gregory got to glory was an FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea in 2000.
  Doug Ellis sold his stake in the club to American Randy Lerner in 2006 after 23 years as chairman.
  Martin O’Neill then guided Villa to three successive sixth place finishes and a League Cup final but the club have struggled since his resignation in 2010.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Coventry Spartans

Full Name      :  Coventry Spartans

Founded         :2010 - 2011

The team was formed in 2010 - 2011. When the teams split in the Spartans and the Amateurs.
Midlands Combination became spartans and Stratford Alliance stayed with the amateurs

The Midland Football Combination (MFC) is an amateur football league based in the heart of England. The league is a member of the Football Association's (F.A.) National League System and as such is fully regulated by the Football Association.
The league was established in 1927 and from its modest roots in Worcestershire has grown today to be a leading exponent of amateur non-league football in Worcestershire, West Midlands, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire.

Join The Roar Membership!

COVENTRY BEARS

Full Name      :  Coventry Bears Rugby League

Founded         :  1998

Competition   :  National Conference League

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Coventry Bears are a semi-professional rugby club based in Coventry, England, founded in 1998. They have a proud history as pioneer for rugby league in the Midlands. They were the first team play in the National Conference League, with major honours to win the National League 3 title in 2004 (now called Rugby League Conference National Division) and the Rugby Conference in 2002. They were among nine clubs invited to join the National Conference League for the 2013 season and will be joining the semi-professional Championship 1 in 2014.

According to Coventry Bears Website, they have unveiled an exciting new scheme to enable supporters to get involved with the club and make valuable contribution to the club during the journey in National Conference League season 2013 towards becoming a professional Rugby League Club.

The Roar offers a range of membership option, such as "Free Membership" is available, which is offering a regular e-zine packed with inside information, including special offers and other exclusive news from the club. Standard Membership costs only £44, includes a season ticket for all Bears home league and cup games, plus other benefits.

So, guys what are you waiting for? really nice to have this opportunity and join them for free! For more info about the Memberships are available through their website, or by calling into the Butts Park Arena office, Coventry CV1 3GE during normal office hours.

World Class Tennis coming to Coventry

The Ricoh Arena will be hosting the Great Britain Davis Cup tie against Russia in April. This is a great opportunity to see some of the biggest stars in Tennis live in the Midlands, including Nikolay Davydenko, Mikhail Youzhny and Igor Andreev. 

Team GB has noted that this is possibly the strongest opponent in their group and the tournament director Gavin Fletcher is certain that the Ricoh Arena will provide great support. He is “delighted” to bring the Davis Cup back to the Midlands, after previously hosting ties in Scotland. Furthermore he states that the Midlands have provided “tremendous support” in the past and the area is known for “very vocal” support.

Andy Murray will not be competing, as he will prepare for the French Open at Roland Garros, which will take some of the prestige away from the event. Maybe that is also the reason for the relatively quite build up to the fixture. Without Murray, Team GB will definitely be outsiders for this fixture, with inferior single players to Russia. However with the home support anything is possible. 

Tickets are still available from http://www.theticketfactory and are priced from 17 pounds.

It is definitely a great chance to see top Tennis in the Midlands and puts one of the greatest sporting competitions on our doorstep to raise awareness of the Midlands for World Class Sport, building on the Olympic exposure.