Jason,
As your based in West Midlands you have a wealth of quality barbelling on your doorstep...Teme, Severn, Wye, Avon etc
Each of these rivers are quite different in character from one another, and all have a great variety of fishing conditions along their length (eg the middle Severn is quite a different river to the lower Severn and may require quite different tactics).
If you could give an idea of your likely venue i'm sure you will get spot on advice.