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"The Adders" |
A football
manager of international repute once visited Sheepy
Road, Atherstone, on a scouting mission. Asked how he
enjoyed his visit, he replied "The player was shit, the team
was shit, but the faggots were f***ing gorgeous!" Which
remains a pretty accurate (and nicely concise) description of the
place. (To avoid any confusion for our American cousins, it should
be pointed out that "faggots" refers to the wholesome English dish
traditionally made from minced beef).
A pleasant enough drive in late summer or early spring, this tranquil corner of rural Warwickshire is bleak and depressing in Winter, as a cold wind whips across the exposed terraces of the delapidated old ground. Atherstone is the place where they have that Shrove Tuesday football match where the townsfolk kick each other senseless in an attempt to get the ball from one side of town to the other. Of course, you won't be in any physical danger from the amiable Adders faithful, but your sensibilities may be offended by the kick and run style which has proved the scourge of some of the "bigger" clubs in the division over the years. Manager Ron Bradbury (the Barry Fry of the Dr. Marten's League) has managed to defy gravity and keep the Adders in the Premier League for the best part of a decade, on very limited resources. The club has just undergone re-organisation at board level, ground redevelopment is in progress, and ambitious Chairman Ku Akeredolu is determined to make the Adders a force to be reckonied with in non-league football. So maybe the future promises even more miracles at Sheepy Road.
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Stuff to do: |
Twycross Zoo is a few miles down the A444 towards Burton. Bosworth Battlefield is also nearby, a short distance from the A444 towards Nuneaton. | ||||||||||
Famous people? |
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| On the air: | Tune into BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on 94.8/103.7 FM for Adders match reports | ||||||||||
| On the net: | Atherstone United original site and the more recent one here | ||||||||||
| Directions: | The nearest motorway
is the M42. From here take the A444 until you come to the turning
for the B4116. Go through Sheepy Magna, past Smith’s Garage at
Pinwall until you arrive in Sheepy Road. Follow this road and the ground
is eventually on the right.
Alternatively, from Junction 10 of the M42 take the A5 south towards Nuneaton. After 3 miles turn left at the island adjacent to T.N.T. Go over the Railway Bridge, then the canal bridge, taking the right turn at the next island. The ground is 200 or so metres down that road. There is both ground and street parking.
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