WEALDSTONE AWAY PROFILE 

Completed at the invitation of the Wealdstone 2021/22 programme editor for the match against Maidenhead United

Your name and age?

Steve Jinman, 49.

Do you live in Maidenhead?

No, I live in Hammersmith. I was born in Maidenhead and grew up there. I continued to live there, more or less, until 2001.

When was your first magpies game? 

16th April 1979

Berger Isthmian League Division One

Maidenhead United 3 Harwich & Parkestone 1

Who brought you along to that game or introduced you to the club?

I went with my father Dudley.

What can you remember of it?

We entered through the Bell Street turnstiles. The programme had sold out. It was a sunny Spring day. We stood on the Bell Street End. There was a small group of raucous Harwich fans to our left. One of them had a Phil Parkes style Zapata moustache and was wearing a 70s style leather coat. Odd how that last detail stayed with me. I can’t remember anything about the match itself apart from the score.

Have you ever supported another team?

Yes. I inherited my Dad’s love for Arsenal and now I live in London I like to go to midweek matches. I went to watch Reading regularly with a group of school friends in the late 80s/early 90s. When I was studying in Preston I would go to Deepdale to watch North End.

What is the best season you remember, and why?

The best season by a long stretch is 2016/17. We won the Conference South, leading all the way for most of the season but due to having Ebbsfleet in hot pursuit, only secured the title on the final day of the season. It was pretty much the perfect campaign and a dream to watch every week. The greatness of this season will only be amplified by the passing of time.

 

And what are your top three Maidenhead games of all time, and why?

Maidenhead United 5 Dartford 0, December 2016. The match that made Dave Tarpey a global scoring sensation. The essence of the title win was distilled into 90 minutes. Opposition in great form. A few rocky results beforehand for United. An early injury to a key player. An irresistible triumph over adversity often repeated that season. 

Kings Lynn 0 Maidenhead United 1. May 2007. A Southern League play off semi final win in a hostile atmosphere. Wonderfully tense. Superb late goal from Mark Nisbet. Speaking to local radio on the phone on a deserted train heading back to London. Promotion in the final a few days later.

Maidenhead United 1 Croydon 0. May 2000. The win that secured promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. A fixture pile up meant this was to be the third of four matches played in the final six days of the season. This match was played on a Thursday, 24 hours after a win over Romford. Croydon had already won the title but gave no quarter as Maidenhead took an early lead but then had to fight every inch of the way for the three points. The final whistle was the cue for wonderful scenes between players and supporters on the pitch.

Does following the magpies impinge on your working/family life?

I am a teacher so my free time is strictly structured (and plentiful!). 

My wife is Polish so conversations about away games tend to follow this pattern: 

Her: “where is the match this week?”

Me: “Altrincham” [or similar]

Short pause

Her: “Where is that actually….”

Before we were married she also made the sardonic observation “Why is it, when a match is postponed, you come back later, and more drunk?”!

Do you travel to away games with friends?

Depends where the game is (see below).

What is your usual away game routine?

I head to the relevant London terminus station. Depending on the destination I may meet up with friends if it's en route from Maidenhead, otherwise I will travel alone. I enjoy the opportunity to unwind whilst watching the world go by, listening to a podcast, preferably the latest broadcast from When Saturday Comes. On arrival, time permitting, I will seek out friends in a local pub which has been previously researched as offering local real ale. Hopefully some conversation with home supporters before heading for the match. Back to the pub afterwards then with some liquid refreshment for the journey acquired on the walk back to the station, a post mortem on the train home.

What have been the best away trips you can remember following Maidenhead?

Best would be Blyth Spartans in the FA Trophy in February 2001. We lost the game but it was an unforgettable weekend for many reasons. The way the home fans stood up and applauded us when we left the clubhouse after a post match drink will stay with me forever. Then we had a night out in Whitley Bay where Logic secured his place in Maidenhead Folklore in a pub hosting Miss G String 2000 (sic). You may hear a song about this later, if Murdo has it on his setlist.

My favourite away trip in recent years have been the ones to Halifax Town. The Three Pigeons, handily placed half way along the ten minute walk from the station to The Shay, is my ideal pub. Welcoming staff and locals, Ossett Ales, Homemade Pork Pies and an awesome internal design. The ground itself is in a beautiful setting and matches there tend to be exciting with a fair share ending in our favour.

Best days out which also featured a memorable result would be Hartlepool in December 2017, and Stafford in November 2006. The former saw us overturn a one goal deficit in the second half leading to a great journey home on the train. The latter was our first appearance in the FA Cup 1st round in my lifetime. A big Maidenhead support saw us earn a replay despite two red cards, thanks in the main to a penalty save by Chico Ramos.

Strangest ones were at Barton Rovers. A very odd place!

How many fans are you likely to bring to the vale on Boxing Day? Has the level of away support disappointed you this season?

I would say between 100-150. Maidenhead’s away support hasn’t grown in line with our boom in home attendances, and recent results may well deter people from travelling. We usually take about 50 to most games but given the short distance and date I would hope this at least doubles today. United fans are quite discerning in their trips, many, justifiably in my opinion, boycotting Barnet and Boreham Wood due to the unfriendly environment and poor value. I’m pleased to say the opposite is true of Wealdstone.

How did you take to watching matches on live stream last season? (Though the games v wealdstone were quite memorable). Given I’m not used to watching Maidenhead onscreen I didn’t watch that many matches. However I was often asked to provide (ahem) expert analysis on the commentary for our live stream. I enjoyed doing this with club secretary Neil Maskell. Our aim was to recreate the atmosphere of Test Match Special on the gantry so if the match was devoid of incident, and I’d run out of anecdotes about the opposition, I often resorted to talking about the trains running past the ground. We had some very mixed reviews from viewers!

Do you see the Stones as local or historic rivals?

I would say the Stones are fellow travellers rather than rivals. Our paths have crossed many times and I’m very happy they have joined us at this level. I think there is a lot of competition for players between us, given our similar financial status, therefore the familiarity on the pitch does tend towards a derby clash. I must know more fans at Wealdstone than any other team which is testament to the friendship between the two clubs. It all started in the White Hart after a match at Edgware, when we got into conversation with from memory; Sudhir, Grim, Beany and Dudley. I guess I would have been there with Murdo, Craig, Keith, Callum and Logic. In recent years both clubs have benefited from the dandelion effect when Cardiff’s 1927 club turned away from the Bluebirds following their rebrand so I’ll look forward to catching up with Sue this afternoon.

Have you been to the Vale before?

I first came to the Vale in the 90s when Ruislip Manor were in the same division as Maidenhead. I remember a highlight was being served tea in a china mug from the tea hut. I think I’ve been to every Maidenhead game here against Wealdstone. I really like the set up off the pitch and think you have made the best of developing the ground which was once so awful that Ruislip Manor were forcibly demoted.

 

Are Maidenhead equipped to move up the table to safety?

I firmly believe we will avoid relegation this season. We just need to get everyone in the squad fit to play. If consistency of selection is possible then we will earn enough points to stay up.

And finally… Where do you see the magpies in the next five years?

Our move to Braywick is continuing to move forward slowly and realistically we may be there within the next five years. Hopefully this will be as a National League club but assuming that promotion remains limited to two clubs, the division is only going to get more competitive. Next season, a full division of 24 clubs, with new blood from the divisions below, could be very tough indeed.

Does the programme constitute a large part of your football -going experience? 

It used to. I have a treasured collection of programmes. The issues from the 70s-90s are particularly valued for their quality and memories they preserve. However the spread of the internet saw them lose their cachet. No longer were they an indispensable source of statistics and news. Unfortunately the inevitable decline in popularity that ensued, was accompanied by a decline in quality with many issues seemingly tailored towards children with a distinct absence of insightful writing. This of course led to fewer sales and a further decline. Therefore I stopped buying them about five years ago and actually got rid of loads from more recent years.

Are you disappointed to see that some clubs have discontinued printed programmes?

No. For the reasons above. Although design and graphics have improved across the board, for a programme to have any value it needs to feature articulate, in-depth articles on football matters and sadly this does not seem to be the case anymore. The Wealdstone programme is of course the exception! I think the future is supporter generated content whether that be blogs, vlogs or podcasts. There is also plenty of excellent football writing available elsewhere. My favourite publications are When Saturday Comes and The Blizzard.