From Villa Park to the Village Green

Dear readers — today’s piece is about the plucky upstart institutions in Birmingham and the West Midlands to whom people are turning as they grow weary of the tired and the old. Lest we stand accused of navel-gazing, I promptly inform you it’s about lower league football, in particular Sutton Coldfield Town; where the players earn a few hundred quid a week and where you won’t have to sell the car in order to buy your kid a replica kit for Christmas. So grab your brolly and whatever you fancy from the burger van and join Shaun Hand (plus the other eight away fans) for a footballing experience frozen in time. 

Before you do, though, and because you’ve now saved £800 on a season ticket, let me make a quick appeal to the non-paying members among you. (Members can move swiftly through the turnstiles and onto the Brum in Brief). At my last check, The Dispatch stands at 1,892 paying members. We’d love to move beyond 1,900 this week, and begin our march for promotion (to the 2000 Division), so if you’ve been umm-ing and err-ing about signing up now would be a great time to do so. Not only will it allow you to read this wonderful piece in full, we’ll also throw in a programme. 

Brum in Brief

🧑‍⚖️ A founding member of the upstart flag-raising group Raise the Colours, Billy Allison, has pleaded not guilty to murdering a businessman outside a bar in Lichfield. The 36-year old from Solihull was charged with murder after reportedly assaulting two people at the Ricco and Loren cocktail bar in Lichfield in May. Matthew O’Gara, a director of The Plough pub in Huddlesford, later died in hospital, while the other victim was discharged.The Judge has adjourned his case for trial to the 28th of October and says it will last for about ten days. (The Guardian)

🌊Birmingham City council are reviewing complaints from residents who have been left to unblock street drains themselves in neighbourhoods across Birmingham. The recent flash floods, according to Labour Councillor Shuranjeet Singh, have exposed long‑standing problems with drainage in the city created by debris from the bin strikes, litter and leaves that block the drains. The issue, Singh told the BBC, lies in the way drain clearance is prioritised in Birmingham. "We need to make sure these drains are cleared as we get into autumn because we'll be seeing flooding left, right and centre." (BBC)

⛈️And it's not only the streets suffering. Sunday's torrential downpour showed no mercy for customers at Digbeth's new, trendy food hall, Alfred Works, as rain cascaded into the venue's booths. The venue's roofs – it appears – were not designed with flash floods in mind. Olivia, who happened to be enjoying a jerk wrap three metres away from the drama joined the masses to capture staff rescuing the belongings and food of customers who bolted from the scene in seconds. 

From Villa Park to the Village Green

Tuesday evening, I’m sailing up the A38 in late-summer twilight, listening to one of my favourite shows: Radio WM’s football phone-in. Among the calls from disgruntled Villa fans and upbeat Baggies supporters comes team news ahead of tonight’s games — Blues, Wolves and Walsall are all playing in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

But one game that doesn’t get mentioned is the one I’m heading to: Sutton Coldfield Town away at Belper Town in the (deep breath) Pitching In Northern Premier League (NPL) Midlands Division, part of the subterranean eighth tier of English football.

Other local non-league teams are available (Solihull Moors and Tamworth being the most successful), but The Royals are my one. I grew up a two-minute amble from their Coles Lane home ground (now the Domino’s Arena) and went as a kid with my grandad. As a teenager me and some mates bunked over a wall one school-night and dodged the stewards to watch Sutton win what the comprehensive ‘Look at Today’s Opposition’ section in tonight’s match programme will remind me was the 1999 Doctor Martens League Cup Final.