Magpie Miscellany Part 21

Vigilantes

As the start of the  1993/94 season approached, Maidenhead United was very much a club on the up. Following the nadir of the 1986/87 season when the chairman was voted out, the stand burned down, and the club was relegated, several years of hard work from a small but dedicated group of people, had seen the club rise from the ashes. Promotion was achieved in 1991, and attention now turned to improving the ground to ‘A’ grade standard, ready for another step up.

The improvement works were completed by a group of volunteers at the club, and with money tight, stadium closures at Watford and Millwall provided second hand equipment in the form of turnstiles and seats. An artistic flourish was added by two local art students who painted a mural at the Bell Street End.

Thus it was with dismay that on the eve of the season, persons unknown broke into the club and defaced the artwork. Sadly this was just one of a series of incidents of vandalism that had taken place since the previous Christmas.

Chairman Jim Parsons offered a reward of £1,000 for any information leading to the attacks which had included goal nets being cut and even malicious phone calls. Manager John Watt struck a note of defiance saying that this had only brought the club closer together. This was demonstrated when a group of supporters and officials decided to camp out at the club the following Friday to try and catch the perpetrators in the act.

The stakeout proved to be successful as the vigilantes discovered three men, one carrying a screwdriver. They were cornered whilst a local police patrol was contacted. Arrests were subsequently made and the three were later released on bail after being questioned by detectives.

Just over a year later York Road received its ‘A’ Grade and after a near miss in 1998, promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division was achieved at the turn of the millennium.

Sources:

One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, Mark Smith, 2011

Maidenhead Advertiser