This weekend, new manager Darren Manning could hardly have a more important first league fixture in charge, when Blues travel to Suffolk to take on fellow strugglers Stowmarket Town. Even at this relatively early stage of the season, the game has the look of a real “six pointer”.

The history of football in Stowmarket goes back to the late Victorian era, playing in local leagues with varying levels of success. The early 1930s proved amongst the best for the club, winning the county senior cup on two occasions. One notable feature of the club was that the changing rooms were in a local pub and visiting players were forced to run the gauntlet of those frequenting the hostelry - surely a chasteing experience after an away win ! However, by the immediate pre-war years, the club had fallen on hard times and was forced to disband.

Football returned to the town post-war in the Eastern Counties League, with a period where the team was professional, playing fixtures in front of huge crowds, approaching 10,000 on a very good day. Further success came in the county cup but again the club was forced to cut its cloth and return to amateur football. In 1983, the club assumed its current name of Stowmarket Town and moved into their current ground at Greens Meadow. The years prior to the pandemic built up real momentum on the pitch, resulting in a first ever promotion into the Isthmian League in 2021. These have again been successful years, reaching the promotion play-offs in 2021-22 and just missing out last season.

Our two clubs have only ever met since that promotion into the Isthmian League. In the four encounters since, Grays have yet to put the ball in the Stowmarket net, with three defeats and a 0-0 draw. Last season, we also met in the 1st Round of the FA Trophy - which again finished goalless, with Town winning the penalty shootout.

This season has though been a difficult one for Stowmarket, currently sitting at the foot of the table with just two draws to their name and early exits in both the FA Cup and Trophy. With both sides having struggled for wins this season, there will be plenty of pressure on all concerned to take the points. Nerves may be frayed.

Come on you Blues !!