Five things you might not know about Solihull Moors

Solihull Moors were officially formed in 2007 following the merger of Solihull Borough and Moor Green. Each team were founded in 1953 and 1901 respectively, but at this time they were struggling to maintain a good enough following to keep each side going. The decision was then made to merge both clubs and create Solihull Moors. The new club took the place of Moor Green in the then Blue Square Conference North. Moor Green manager Bob Faulkner became Solihull's first-ever boss.

Not long after forming, Solihull agreed to a partnership with Birmingham City so their reserve team can play all of their home games at Solihull's Damson Park. In return, one of Solihull's first-ever games was in a winning effort against Birmingham reserves. This partnership has continued through to today and since 2014 Birmingham City Women's team have joined the reserves in playing their home games at Solihull's stadium, along with each of Birmingham’s youth sides.

With Solihull performing really well in their third season in the Blue Square National North, they were shocked by the news of manager Bob Faulkner passing away of cancer aged 60. He was truly a credit to non-league football, putting in 25 years of service for Moor Green and Solihull Moors combined. You would have understood it if Solihull's form dipped after this tragic news. But it galvanised the team and they finished the season strongly, narrowly missing out on the Play-Offs in their best-performing season yet. If anything this goes to show how much Faulkner meant to everyone at the club and especially his players, as they were able to kick on and do him proud for the rest of the season. It is clear that Solihull would not be where they are today if it was for the years of work put in by club legend Bob Faulkner.

Solihull have not just gone far on the pitch since forming, but they have also progressed massively off the pitch. They started to become much more professional and structured behind the scenes, with the number of teams under their banner raising from just three to 27 in 2014 across all levels. More effort was also put into raising the profile of the club in the community, which saw attendance increases of 80%. At the same time there has been vast improvements on the pitch, and they now look ready-made for a move to into the football league.

After years of trying to make it into the National League, they finally did it in 2015/16. Solihull won the league comfortably in the end with three games to spare. They finished with 85 points to move up to the 5th tier for the first time. Since then they have gone from strength to strength, and last season they narrowly missed out on promotion to League Two. They have started this season very well and it feels like just a matter of time until they get promoted into the football league.

Source Credit - Solihull Moors History