Moor Green FC

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Fourteen years after an arson attack destroyed the home of Moor Green Football Club, a book has been published celebrating the once popular Midlands non-league club’s colourful 106 years of history.

At the age of 82 years young, former Moor Green press officer Peter Clynes has become a published author of ‘The Goal, The End: 106 Years of Moor Green Football Club.’

Aston Villa fan favourite Ian Taylor, who began his career as a combative midfielder with Moor Green, playing 235 matches and scoring 67 goals for the Moors, has written a foreword for the book.

“I had some really good years at Moor Green, played in some cracking games and got to a couple of cup finals,” said Taylor.  “There were some great characters among the loyal supporters who followed us home and away and all the lads in the team became good mates.  It was a really enjoyable few years for me.  It’s a memorable time of my life that I’ll never forget.”

The newly published book is a celebration of a proud club formed in 1901 that played at The Moorlands in Hall Green from 1930 until that fateful fire in January 2005.  The chronological chapters plot the growth of Moor Green from humble beginnings when formed by members of a cricket club eager to stay together during the winter months, to an improbable run to the First Round Proper of the FA Cup in 1979, and an eventual rise to the top levels of non-league football. The book sheds light on the cause of the fire, after which Moor Green ceased to exist, having merged with their local rivals to form Solihull Moors FC.

“I was a fan of the Moors for 30 years, with 22 years as press officer, and loved every minute,” said Peter Clynes, who these days watches Worthing FC near his south coast home.  “I believe the Moors were unique in attracting the affection of so many players and supporters and like many other people, I was saddened when Moor Green went out of existence.  I hope all football fans enjoy reading about a great club that attracted crowds in the thousands back in the glory days of amateur football.”

The original manuscript of The Goal, The End sat gathering dust in a draw in Peter Clynes’ home for many years after the club’s centenary in 2001. Last year, former Moors supporter Michael Preston, whose interest in journalism was encouraged by Peter Clynes in the early eighties, began editing and adding to the original text before publishing the book.

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