Key Personnel: Manager John Coleman had a 20 year playing career mainly for a host of non-league clubs in the North West of England from 1979. A prolific striker who scored over 500 goals in that time, John was appointed Player-Manager at Ashton United before first joining Stanley in 1999. He was the club’s longest ever serving Manager until a move to Rochdale in 2012. Spells at Southport and Sligo Rovers followed before he came home again to Accy in September 2014.

Coach Travel: The Official Club Coach leaves The Hive at 8.00am. There are pick-up points en route. See full details here.

Brief Directions by Road: An early start required for this one everybody – M1 and M6 junction 29 and onto the M65 signposted Blackburn. Leave the M65 at Junction 7, taking the Clitheroe turn off the roundabout. Turn right at the first set of traffic lights opposite The Clayton Business Park, following the A678 (Blackburn Road). Follow the road over the Canal Bridge to the next set of traffic lights. Turn right again going over the motorway bridge and towards Accrington on the A680 (Whalley Road). After approximately half a mile turn left into Livingstone Road to find the ground, which is 50 yards past the Crown Hotel on the left. These directions are based on those provided by Accrington Stanley FC.

Car Parking: Over 300 free spaces in two car parks available at the ground, and unrestricted in the surrounding streets.  Bees fans will be probably be directed to their own parking area close to the away terrace turnstiles.

Directions by Train: A train from London Euston will take around 3 hours with a change at Preston. Accrington Station is a good 25 minutes’ walk away from the ground although the route passes numerous pubs! A bus from the station stops outside the Crown Pub, which virtually overlooks the ground and this runs every 15 minutes.

Eating and Drinking Locally: The place is inundated with pubs and many close to the ground on Whalley Road. The Crown literally overlooks the ground and is very friendly. My sources reveal that The Whittakers Arms at 322 Burnley Rd is a bit special and particularly happy to receive away fans. It is situated close to the old Peel Park ground from Stanley’s past. However there are many excellent pubs in the town centre too that come recommended, notably The Park Inn at 68 Manchester Road which is supposedly haunted by an ex-landlord called Edwin. It probably has a high fence surrounding it! The snack bars in the ground serve up excellent hot dogs, burgers and chips. Outside the ground is a Fish Bar which is very conveniently placed close to the ground in Whalley Road and opposite The Grey Horse pub. It comes highly recommended by my contacts and I can recommend the Steak Puddings (meat and gravy encased in suet) which were available at our last visit. The social club was out of bounds to away fans before our last game in 2013.

Ground Description: Accrington Stanley are a 1968 reincarnation of the old league club that played at the Peel Ground and folded in 1962. The existing ground stands and terracing have only been around since the 1990’s. The main stand is actually two separate stands, one either side of the half-way line and there is seating for around 1,200. The Whinney Hill stand opposite the main stands is covered seating although it is a little shallow. With segregation in force it is the open Coppice Terrace is given to the away contingent. The slightly larger newly covered home end, The Sophia Khan Terrace, with seating at the very front completes the picture.

Admission Prices: Adults £15, Concessions £10.

Rivals: Burnley, Blackburn and even further back in the black and white days with long shorts, wing wizards, halfbacks and magic sponges, Nelson, which is just outside Burnley.

Previous Meetings and Memories: Our last visit in March 2013 featured an Elliott Johnson goal, a superb overhead from Ross Jenkins for the Bees but unfortunately a Lee Molyneux hatrick for Accy and an Edgar Davids red card!

Our visit to Stanley in January 2012 was very profitable when Ricky Homes, Sam Deering and Mark Hughes all scored in a fine 3-0 win. Our meetings in The Conference in season 2004/05 produced two home wins. In the February a 4-1 Stanley victory certainly was a wakeup call to the table-topping Bees and Giuliano Grazioli’s last minute goal was purely a consolation. The previous November, a 3-0 Barnet win came courtesy of goals from Simon King, Richard Graham and an own goal from Mike Flynn – although Liam Hatch desperately claimed the goal and he may well have been awarded with it since.

Celebrity Watch: Musical talent is in abundance in Accrington as Monkees singer and original Day Dream Believer Davy Jones hailed from these parts – well his aunties do anyway. The lead vocalist with rock legends Yes, Jon Anderson and The 4 Pennies (who had a number one smash with ‘Juliet’ in 1964) come from the town. Reckless Wonder Fact: The lead singer of the 4 Pennies, Lionel Morton became a presenter on Play School. Accrington’s famous sons and daughters also include Morecambe FC President Jim Bowen, Cricketer David Lloyd (an avid fan) and numerous world renowned actors from Coronation Street and Emmerdale (Farm).

Reckless