THE GROUND
The Lamex Stadium
Broadhall Way
Stevenage
Hertfordshire
SG2 8RH
Broadhall Way has been home to Stevenage, formerly Stevenage Borough, since 1980.
The ground was previously home to Stevenage Athletic but they went bankrupt in 1976.
The stadium was not deemed suitable for a Football League club when Stevenage won the Vauxhall Conference in 1996 and they were denied promotion.
The ground has since been upgraded and a new stand built behind one goal.
This 1,400 capacity all-seater stand, the South Stand, houses away supporters.
THE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
The Lamex Stadium is approximately 34 miles from Griffin Park by road.
The usual route involved taking the A1 (M) to junction seven and then taking the A602 towards Stevenage.
The A602 becomes Broadhall Way and leads to the ground.
There is a large car park opposite the stadium.
The nearest railway station is Stevenage, which is just over a mile from the stadium and involves a walk south through the town centre.
Stevenage is served by First Capital Connect as well as First Hull Trains and East Coast services, which depart from London King’s Cross.
The Supporters’ Association will be running coaches to every game this season – details of times and prices will be announced in due course.
THE RECENT HISTORY
Stevenage will be starting their only their fourth season as a Football League club having hit some difficulty for the first time last season.
The Boro, formerly called Stevenage Borough, were promoted to the Football League in 2010 and won the League Two Play-Off Final in 2011 to clinch a second successive promotion.
They became the League One’s surprise package in 2011/12, only dipping out of the top six after manager Graham Westley’s departure for Preston North End but ended the season strongly under new manager Gary Smith to finish sixth.
Sheffield United won 1-0 on aggregate in the Play-Off Semi-Final tie to deny them a third promotion.
Last season was less successful and there was a danger of relegation early in 2013.
After Christmas they won just five games and picked up just 17 points.
They took five of those in three games around Easter to give them the breathing space required to avoid the drop and they eventually finished 18th, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Smith was sacked in March and Westley brought back but there was no real change in form.
Stevenage were only founded in 1976, following the bankruptcy of Stevenage Athletic, and played on park pitches until moving in to Athletic’s former ground in 1980.
They climbed the non-league pyramid and won the Vauxhall Conference on 1996, only to be denied promotion because their ground wasn’t up to scratch.
They were regularly in the upper echelons of the Conference, reaching the play-off final in 2005 and semi-final in 2009, before they finally won a Football league place by winning the Blue Square Bet Premier Division, as it had become, in 2010.
Their first season in the league couldn’t have gone better.
It looked as if it would be a season of consolidation for much of the campaign – they sat 13th on March 8th and had been as low as 15th in mid-February – albeit with the success of an FA Cup win over Newcastle United.
But six straight wins in March and April catapulted them in to contention and they eventually finished sixth.
They beat Accrington Stanley in the semi-final and Torquay United in the final to win a League One spot.
THE MANAGER
Graham Westley’s is now in his third spell as Stevenage manager after a short and controversial reign as Preston North End.
Westley is no stranger to Griffin Park, having watched Brentford as a child, and he was born in Hounslow.
He owns a carpet cleaning business in Richmond-upon-Thames and juggled that with managing Stevenage from May 2008 until January 2012.
He guided them to back-to-back promotions into League One at his second spell at the club, having also managed them from 2003 to 2006.
Beginning his career at Gillingham as an apprentice, he made two appearances for Queens Park Rangers in the mid-1980s but was released and spent several years as a non-league footballer.
His managerial career started at Kingstonian at the age of 28 before spells at Enfield and Farnborough Town, where bought a controlling interest to become owner-manager in 1999.
He transferred his stake in the club in 2003, joining Stevenage Borough under Chairman Phil Wallace.
He returned two years after leaving the first time and took the Hertfordshire club in to the league and to the brink of The Championship before departing for Preston North End.
He lasted just over a year at Deepdale during which he tore up the squad and replaced dozens of players and managed to win just 16 of 62 competitive games.
He returned to Stevenage in March and will set about continuing his good work with The Boro.
THE TOP SCORER
Lucas Akins scored 10 npower League One goals for Stevenage last season.
Stevenage signed the attackers from Tranmere Rovers for an undisclosed fee last summer.
The 24-year-old came through the ranks at Huddersfield Town and played for Hamilton Academical before a move to Tranmere in 2010.
The Merseyside club wanted to keep him but he handed in a transfer request and joined Stevenage on a three-year deal.
THE KEY MEN
Graham Westley has set about making changes to the Stevenage squad ahead of the new season.
Defenders Bondz N’Gala, who played 25 League One games last season, Miguel Comminges, who played 21 times in the league, and Andy Iro have left while Patrick Agyemang has made a loan move to Portsmouth permanent.
Captain Mark Roberts, who played 44 times last season, has also left the Hertfordshire club after almost five years.
Striker Sam Hoskins has returned to Southampton after a loan spell while midfield players Gavin Mahon and Max Ehmer have returned to their parent clubs.
Only one team that avoided relegation scored fewer goals than Stevenage and only two of those that survived conceded more.
Steve Arnold and Chris Day shared the duties in goal while Ben Chorley arrived from Leyton orient in January to play in the heart of defence.
Defender David Gray, who started out at Manchester United, played 42 games last season while midfield player James Dunne scored four goals in 42 league games.
Greg Tansey played 37 league games last term while Anthony Grant played 31 and Luke Freeman 39 on the wing.
Striker Marcus Haber, who scored seven league goals in 42 games, has been made available for transfer.
The Boro have added striker Oumare Tounkara to their ranks and defender Luke Jones, who joined from Mansfield Town along with midfield players Sam Wedgbury and Simon Heslop.
Striker Jordan Burrow has joined Stevenage from Morecambe and midfield player Jimmy Smith has signed after leaving Leyton Orient.
THE FIRST MEETING
August 31 2010, Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Southern Section First Round – Stevenage 0 Brentford 1
Brentford line-up: Lee; Spillane, Osborne, Balkestein, Woodman; Adams (sub Cort), O’Connor, Diagouraga, Weston; Forster (sub Wood), Simpson
Subs (not used): Moore, Legge, Bean
Brentford goal scorer: Simpson
Brentford took the first step on the Road to Wembley thanks to a Robbie Simpson first half header.
THE LAST MEETING
March 5 2013, npower League One – Stevenage 1 Brentford 0
Brentford line-up: S. Moore; L. Moore, Dean, Craig, Bidwell (sub Logan); Douglas; Forshaw, Adeyemi (sub Dallas), Reeves (sub Forrester), Wright-Phillips; Donaldson
Subs (not used): Lee, Diagouraga, Hayes, Trotta
Brentford were handed only their third away defeat of the npower League One season as they lost 1-0 at Stevenage.
Click here for a full report.
THE MEMORABLE MEETING
April 21 2012, npower League One – Stevenage 2 Brentford 1
Brentford line-up: Moore; Thompson (sub Forrester), Osborne (sub Legge), Dean, Bidwell; Logan, Douglas, Diagouraga, Donaldson; Saunders; Morrison
Subs not used: Balkestein, Bean, McGinn.
Brentford goal scorer: Saunders.
Two missed penalties by Clayton Donaldson and Sam Saunders were key to deciding the outcome of this tense match as Stevenage gained a vital victory in their quest for the play-offs.
Click here for a full report.