This coming Saturday Basingstoke make its first of a few trips into Somerset this season to take on 19th placed Frome Town, who sit just one place above the relegation zone following a draw and two defeats this season.
Frome, known as the Robins, picked up it’s only point of the season with a late goal on the opening day of this season with a 1-1 draw at home to Hendon, then lost 3–1 at Tiverton and then were on the wrong end of two late goals at Hartley Wintney losing 2–1.
For those who have visited Frome’s Blindman’s Brewery Stadium, they will know we haven’t fared to well then in previous seasons losing 1 – 0 last season and drawing 1-1 the previous season. In fact, last season, Frome were one of only two teams to do the double over us last season (Kings Lynn being the other), when we lost 1-3 at the Camrose, on the opening day of last season.
Frome’s attendances like Stoke’s have being sharply dropping over the past few seasons, despite having an exclusive football market, with no real Premier or Championship team nearby.
Frome, managed by Danny Greaves, are clearly financially strapped and their squad contains no real known stars (that I’m aware of). With the recent dry weather, I’m hoping that they will have a decent surface and will have hopefully cut the grass to an acceptable level after last season, when their lawn mower had broken down during the week and there was at least 6 inches of grass on most of the pitch.
Frome, do sport a decent clubhouse, something that we would like to see when we move to Winklebury, and the nearby Vine Tree pub, in Berkeley Road, is a good place to visit before and after the game.
Let’s hope that we have sorted out our defensive woes, that the 3 Sam’s, Argent, Smart and Deadfield are on the top of their game. It would also be nice to have a referee that is upto standard for this game at Frome, where Stoke would love to like to change its fortunes and pick-up 3 much-needed points.
Sorry, I don’t do betting odds for games, so maybe Ian you can do the honours for me.
Hope to see as many of you down there on Saturday and let’s get behind our team.
Match Preview by Martin French
English 
Polish 