23 Seasons watching Maidenhead
United
Part 14: 2007/08
Having made an immediate return to the Conference South, the first
target was to stay up on the pitch for the first time in this division.
Stability off the pitch was also the watchword as the club continued to recover
from the lasting effects of the three turbulent seasons that had just passed.
Johnson Hippolyte strengthened his squad over the summer to be
better equipped for the higher level, signing goalkeeper Louis Wells,
midfielder Wes Daly, and attacking pair Carl Wilson-Dennis and Manny Williams
(pictured right). It was the latter who despite his small stature had the
biggest impact, scoring thirty goals, a beacon of consistency in a season which
promised much but only just delivered the minimum requirement. This was reflected in microcosm in the opening match against Fisher Athletic. The chairman’s innovative approach to engaging the local community to support their team continued to develop with this match being deemed “pay what you want”. A season’s best league crowd of 691 flocked through the York Road turnstiles to see Williams score on his debut, but a classy Fisher outfit, replete with players bound for a bigger stage, won by the odd goal in five. This heralded an opening period of struggle for United with only one three point haul, at Sutton United on August Bank Holiday Monday, in the first eleven matches.
It was at this time that the club heard the news of the sad death
of former committee member Richard Jackson who had retired down to south Wales.
I had happily taken on many of Richard’s responsibilities since he stepped down
from his club duties a few years previously. In no particular order these
included the programme, the PA, the telephone hotline and having a stopwatch to
hand on the terraces, hoping he saw imitation as the greatest form of flattery!
As with the previous season, it was the Cup competitions which
brought light relief from league woe. The County Cup produced a first ever trip
to Stadium MK (Jason Stewart pictured above enjoying the room), which although
ending in a comprehensive defeat to MK Dons, gave the Magpies a taste of
playing in a modern arena which was at the time part of England’s World Cup
bid. Ironically the FA Trophy brought AFC Wimbledon to York Road, in front of
the only four figure crowd of the season, most of which cheered the Dons to a
comfortable 2-0 win.
For the second season in a row, the Magpies reached the FA Cup 1st
Round proper, following easy wins over minnows Brockenhurst and Shortwood,
before squeezing past Hayes & Yeading United at York Road thanks to the
ubiquitous Williams goal. The win came at the cost of a broken leg to Bobby
Behzadi which ended his season. Watching the 1st round draw in the clubhouse
afterwards, there were rapturous scenes (pictured top) when the Magpies were
drawn away to Isthmian League Horsham. This turned out to be a great display of
hubris as United yet again failed to make the second round, humbled 4-1 in
Sussex, with Match of the Day rubbing in the humiliation by using footage of
the Hornets first goal in their opening titles.
League form improved a little but only four games had been won by
the turn of the year as Drax continued to shuffle his squad in a bid to find
the right formula. The main problem was home form but a publicity stunt at the
end of January when a coach picked up the squad at York Road for a drive around
the town before the home match against Braintree (pictured left), failed to
increase the solitary home league win total.
This hadn’t changed by the end of February and the five
consecutive defeats that followed in March meant that the drop was once again a
likely prospect. Matters weren’t helped by disruption to crucial trips to
relegation rivals Dorchester Town and Weston-super-mare.
United were holding on for a vital point at their fellow Magpies
in Dorset when referee Antony Coggins abandoned the match with three minutes
remaining due to a waterlogged pitch. The match, rearranged for midweek on all
fools day became the sixth consecutive defeat.
The following weekend supporters travelled by train for the six
pointer at Weston. This meant they made it to Somerset unlike the team which
was stuck on the M4 after a lorry shed its load. The referee refused to wait a
minute past 3 pm to kick off, postponing the match despite others in the area
starting as late a 4:30 to accommodate the delay.
Everyone returned on a Thursday night for the rescheduled date and
in the meantime United had finally come good at York Road, thrashing Bishops
Stortford 5-0. Despite then going behind at Woodspring Park, Maidenhead came
back to beat Weston 2-1. A third successive win at Havant two days later all
but sealed safety, the season ending in an unbeaten run of five matches after
the final two games ended goalless.
This late run to
survival earned Drax (pictured right) the manager of the month award for
April, thanks in part to temporary signings goalkeeper Chris Tardif and striker
Richard Pacquette. Although small beer, there was some cause for celebration
for the Magpies at not only surviving on the pitch in the Conference South for
the first time in three attempts, but also avoiding a change of manager for the
first time in four season, something of a legacy for chairman Una Loughrey to
hand over to husband Peter Griffin in the close season. With thanks to Mark Smith’s book One For Sorrow Two For Joy for the statistical content of this series.
To read more about this season visit www.mufcheritage.com
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