AN ALTOGETHER MORE SPLENDID KIND OF LIFE - 1999-2000

23 Seasons watching Maidenhead United

Part 6: 1999-2000

“There was something in the air that night, you scored, so right, Ferdinando”

Elation was coursing through my veins as I vaulted the fence at the Bell Street end at the final whistle of the promotion clinching match against champions Croydon. This turned to panic as I realised I was first on, only to be carried forward by the crowd and into the arms of Ferdy.

This season, where for the only time I witnessed every single Maidenhead United match, satisfied the cliche of marathon rather than sprint, as a feat of endurance equal to last season’s title. The sense of relief surrounding York Road was palpable. Alan Devonshire’s men had succeeded in reaching the promised land of the Isthmian Premier Division despite facing an even bigger fixture pile up than the near miss of two years previously, with one game spare to boot.

New signing Chris Ferdinand had marked his debut on the opening day of the season with a goal. That day it was in vain as Leyton Pennant responded by romping to a 3-1 win, but when Ferdy scored the final Maidenhead United goal of the season to win promotion he made it a night when Magpie men became Magpie gods.

Determined to take the club into the Premier Division for the first time, manager Alan Devonshire made a slew of other signings to upgrade the squad. Goalkeeper Garath Ormshaw was signed permanently, Joining Ferdinand in midfield was Rolls-Royce playmaker Barry Rake. Maidonian centre back Steve Croxford returned to his alma mater to create a formidable defensive bulwark with Tim Cook and Brian Connor, whilst upfront Chuk Agudosi would now be partnered by Boy’s Own Centre Forward Billy Cove. Youngster Craig Webster had impressed as a combative midfielder towards the end of the previous campaign, and would now be Obi Ulasi’s opposite wing back on the right flank. The promotion team was completed in October with the arrival of iron man midfielder Tom Hickey, with the remaining squad providing strength in depth.

United shrugged off the opening day defeat to go unbeaten until the leaves started to fall in October. A 3-1 win over eventual runners up Grays Athletic in August served notice that the Magpies were stepping up to the challenge of maintaining a promotion bid.

Early promise was shown in the FA Cup before United again exited in the 3rd Qualifying Round thanks to a fluke goal from opponents Salisbury. Significantly all the cup competitions were over by January bar the League Cup. The focus on the league was therefore sharper this time around and by the turn of the year there were only two addition to the “L” column of the table.

The first two matches of the new millennium demonstrated the team’s best aspect, it’s indefatigable spirit,  a deep well from which to be drawn when the pressure was on. A home match against Braintree saw the Magpies bogged down on very wet pitch, only for Croxford to literally dig his team out of the mire with two late goals to secure a win by the odd goal in seven. This was followed by the Battle of the Yeading, an away trip to the Warren which saw the home team finish the game with only four of the players who started it.

Agudosi had given United the lead in a game which Mick Creighton doubled midway into the second half. As United again attacked through Agudosi, the gangly striker found himself stopped in his tracks illegally by a defender. Agudosi reacted to this angrily and a confrontation ensued. Then as Brian Connor described to me years later “Ferdy did his Bruce Lee impression” and all hell broke loose as an unsightly melee broke out involving every single player and eventually both benches. It was the most extraordinary spectacle I have ever seen on a football pitch, and once the dust had settled the referee sent off five players: Agudosi, Ferdinand and three from Yeading.

Remarkably Yeading managed to halve the deficit but then found themselves down to seven players following another red card, causing the result to be threatened by an abandonment but it finally finished 2-1 to Maidenhead, and if ever a match summed up the all for one, one for all ethos of the Magpies that season, it was this one.

In the short term, four games without a win followed and on a Tuesday night in February at York Road United were trailing again. Once again though they turned it round in the latter stages of the match to beat Bromley 3-2, the first of six straight wins, the last of which at Wealdstone seeing Rake acting as a matador with the finest example of his keep the ball in the corner routine to wind down the clock.

This run included League Cup wins to set up a semi-final against Billericay Town. The first leg in Essex was drawn 1-1 thanks to a thumping strike from distance by Cove. A key figure in this performance was Reading loan signing defender Adam Lockwood. He went off injured in a goalless second leg which meant a penalty shoot out  where Ormshaw did his bit in goal before scoring the winning kick at the Bell Street End, my enduring memory being Lockwood waving his crutches at us as we celebrated another cup final appearance.

Off the pitch the Canal End was soon to be out of bounds as it was resurfaced and capped with a roof. To support the fundraising for the new structure, 28 supporters including Chairman Roger Coombs walked the fourteen miles to the match at Staines on April Fools’ Day, raising £2,000 for the British Heart Foundation at the same time.

As well as the League Cup run, wet weather had created a late season fixture pile up and with eighteen days of the season left, United still had to play seven league fixtures and the League Cup Final. This provided three games in hand of the Magpies’ closest rivals for promotion but the worry was that once again it would be a case of one game too many.

Eight points were taken from the four matches played in April, the last ending as a jittery draw at Whyteleafe when despite late season signing Adrian Allen’s goal looking to have given the Magpies the three points, a late equaliser led to panic in the United ranks.

This set up a tumultuous last week of the season with the final four matches to be played on the first six days of May, starting with the League Cup Final on the May Day Bank Holiday against Premier Division Farnborough at Basingstoke.

This ended in the worst of all circumstances. Ormshaw’s season ended following injury, whilst with his opposite number Stuart McKenzie in outstanding form, the match went to extra time, only for Keith Dublin to score the winning goal for the Hampshire side just two minutes into the additional period.

Now able to focus solely on the league the task was clear. Six points from the three matches, all to be played at York Road over four days. The first hurdle was easily negotiated as on Wednesday lowly Romford were thrashed 4-0, however 24 hours later champions Croydon were the opposition whilst on the final Saturday it could be a case of winner takes all against the only team able to pip the Magpies for the final promotion spot, Thame United.

A dank Thursday night began with the Maidenhead players forming a guard of honour as Croydon received the Division One Championship Trophy from League Chairman Alan Turvey.

From the kick off The Trams showed no sign that they would give the Magpies an easy ride, and almost took the lead with an early effort being cleared off the line by Ferdinand. They also made sure deputy keeper Kieron Drake was properly tested from the outset.

Then in the 25th minute, Maidenhead struck. A long ball forward from Croydon was intercepted by Connor. The loose ball was picked up Hickey who found Ferdinand in the centre of the pitch. A tackle saw the ball return to Hickey. This time he fed Agudosi on the right, who travelled cross pitch to deliver the ball to Ulasi on the left. He drove goalwards laying the ball off to Rake who tacked left again, sending a cross over to the far post from the edge of the box. Ferdinand met the ball with his chest and it rebounded into the back of the net in front of the empty Canal End, still being rebuilt. Rushing off to celebrate with the fans temporarily gathered in front of the railway embankment, the team now had something to hold onto.

As darkness descended the 300 crowd felt like 3,000 as they moved into the Bell Street End and roared the team on through the second half. With one last effort required, the Magpies managed the game perfectly, conserving energy to see the result through to full time and avoid the need to take anything from the final match.

Eventually the final whistle sounded, emotion took over. Elation at the achievement, relief at laying the ghost of 1998. Magpie men became Magpie gods. Later in Stripes Alan Devonshire quoted Churchill to me “this is not the end, this is the end of the beginning”. With hindsight, how right he was.  

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

AN ALTOGETHER MORE SPLENDID KIND OF LIFE - 1996-97

23 Seasons watching Maidenhead United

Part 3: 1996-97

The summer of 1996 echoed to the refrain of thirty years of hurt, an ailment that persists to this day after Terry Venables’ England team bowed out at the semi-final stage of Euro 96. At York Road the talk was of twenty seven years of pain, a trophyless span dating back to the 1970 County Cup win. The previous season’s run to the semi-final of that competition had like Baddiel & Skinner had done to the nation, raised Magpie hopes that the drought might be ended, with the appointment of a new management team only raising expectations.

The final shortlist for the post provided a good range of options. There was solid non league experience in ex Magpie Jim Kelman, an up and coming manager in Steve Roberts, and a duo of highly respected ex pros in Martyn Busby and Alan Devonshire.

Chairman Jim Parsons, in what was to be his final year at the helm, plumped for the duo of cultured midfielders despite their lack of managerial experience. Busby had been at Feltham whilst Devonshire was even lower down the pyramid at Osterley, although was appointed on the back of winning a Middlesex League treble.

Initially Busby was seen as closer to the number one role, although it was very much a joint enterprise, and both brought with them players who would have a lasting impact on the club’s fortunes.

Another new appointment was that of yours truly into the programme editor role, quite a different experience without an internet connection.

The season began with a bizarre draw with Canvey Island at York Road, Maidenhead scoring whilst Canvey goalkeeper John Keeley left the pitch to retrieve the ball. The referee signalled to the Magpies that they could use a replacement for the throw in, which led to the sight of Keeley standing hands on hips on the touchline as Garry Attrell walked the ball into an empty net.

New midfielder Steve Brown caught the eye from the opening day but most of the terrace talk was about new strike duo Chuk Agudosi and John Ruggins who had rewritten the Middlesex League record books the previous season. The latter, although not short of effort, was unable to make the step up, but Chuk marked his debut with a goal at Molesey on the second Saturday of the season, the first of six strikes in four consecutive league wins, to suggest a promotion bid might be in the making.

However as the autumn leaves fell, so did the league placing, as wins started to become scarce, the wheels well and truly coming off the promotion bandwagon when a 2-0 lead at home to Marlow turned into a 3-2 defeat.

Still the squad continued to improve, left wing back Obi Ulasi marking his arrival with a hat trick in an FA Trophy win against Corby. The defence was shored up by the signings of Francis Duku and Brian Connor, whilst Devonshire brought in ex Hammer team-mate Tony Gale to steady the midfield. By the turn of the year though the Magpies had exited all but one cup competition and had won only two of their last twelve league matches.

Salvation came in the form of the little regarded Isthmian Full Members Cup. Imitating the unlamented Football League version, it was a competition restricted to the top two divisions of the Isthmian League.

The first tie in the competition, at Molesey on the first Tuesday in January, provided a real “I was there” moment, mainly due to everybody being told the match was off due to a frozen pitch.

This was the message left on the main medium to get up to date information about the club, the hotline. This premium rate service was invaluable to pick up the score if you couldn’t get to the game although people didn’t tend to listen to the reports provided by the “voices of hotline” Jon Swan and Richard Jackson for fear of raised eyebrows when the phone bill arrived.

It was Swan who left the fateful message that the game was off but as luck would have it I worked with Richard’s son Keith who heard the news that in fact the game would go ahead. Thus I was one of only four Maidenhead supporters to go to Walton Road (official attendance 50) on that chilly evening to watch an instantly forgettable 2-0 win.

For the record the others were Keith, Richard and Mark Smith, and to this day I will respond to talk of arduous away trips from fellow Magpies with the words “ah yes but did you go to Molesey away in the Mickey Mouse Cup”?

In the next round in February a few more supporters travelled to Premier Division Walton & Hersham to see United cause a Cupset thanks to Steve Brown’s only goal of the game at Stompond Lane. This set up a plum quarterfinal tie at Huish Park, home of the eventual Isthmian League Champions Yeovil Town.

Despite losing their Conference status, Yeovil, then managed by Graham Roberts, were possibly the biggest non league club in the south of England at the time with a fine new stadium.

With supporters cars divided on Anglo-Scottish lines, an afternoon in a local pub was thought to be the limit of the day’s excitement but we were determined to make the most of the occasion, demanding that the Glovers open their away end for us. They did so escorting us the length of the pitch to get there so we could witness in splendid isolation a resolute Maidenhead performance.

Seventeen minutes into the second half Chuk Agudosi got on the end of Garry Attrell’s cross to score in front of us, and then United held on to win a famous victory and passage into the semi-final.

In the meantime league form improved enough to secure a mid table finish of thirteenth, the highlight of which was beating Hampton by the odd goal in seven at the Beveree. There were also two departures of note. Firstly winger Paul Dadson decided to try his luck elsewhere, personally saying goodbye to us on an emotional night on the York Road terraces. This was coupled with Martyn Busby’s decision to stand down, with fortunately Alan Devonshire electing to go it alone.

The Full Members Cup tie was played against Premier Division Sutton United at York Road in front of a bumper crowd of 438. In the early stages the Magpies struggled to keep up with the pace and went a goal behind, but from the moment Francis Duku headed home the equaliser United’s presence in the game grew, taking the lead before half time through Obi Ulasi with Tyrone Houston sealing a place in the final in the dying minutes. The final whistle sparked amazing scenes of celebration as we all ran on the pitch then surrounded the dressing room to cheer our heroes.

Events then took a fairytale turn as our opponents in the final were revealed as last season’s Nemesis Aylesbury United, with the game to be played at Marlow, ironically a club no longer qualified for the competition after their final day relegation which was greeted with glee at York Road when the news came over the PA.

Such was the confidence and power of support at Oak Tree Road that the result never seemed in doubt once Mick Creighton had given the Magpies the lead in the first half. Attrell doubled the score with fifteen minutes remaining and a Duku injury time strike prompted premature celebrations leading to Chairman Parsons being called to the PA to halt the race of young fans to the centre circle led by a thirty something Scot.

Smiles came no bigger than captain Trevor Roffey’s gap tooth grin as he lifted the cup that we would soon be drinking out of as we all celebrated long into the night, the end of the Chairman Jim era and the start of Manager Alan’s.        

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

CSI Maidenhead

A criminal investigation should have started at the final whistle yesterday after the Magpies were robbed of £4,500 and a place in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup by some mysterious officiating in stoppage time at the end of the game. A forensic team would be required to find the scraps of evidence necessary to legitimate two key decisions as their rationales were invisible to the naked eye.

Despite being down to ten men for over half the game Maidenhead were looking most likely to score a winner as the ninety minute mark was passed. The Magpies had stretched the Farnborough defence all afternoon with some penetrating long balls, quite apt as Glenn Hoddle was watching from the shelf, with Martel Powell in scintillating form. His pass deep into the right corner of the pitch was hared after by attacking dynamo Manny Williams and under pressure the defender chipped his diminutive keeper to score an exquisite own goal from a tight angle but the celebrations were cut short by the linesman who waited until the ball hit the back of the net and the players had long parted to raise his flag for a presumed foul in the build up. Who knows what this was but the big question was why didn't he flag the instant it happened? Did he take pity on the miserable sight of an embarrassed defender at his feet?

Within a minute the Powell/Williams double act worked again on the opposite flank. This time Williams had the ball at his feet and an arm around his chest as the defender tried to jostle him off the ball, Williams stayed on his feet and after the defender, having failed in his Machiavellian mission, collapsed in a heap leaving just the keeper to beat the referee awarded a free kick to Farnborough when surely he should have let play continue then dismiss the defender for a professional foul?

Then again this was par for the course in Maidenhead's encounters with Farnborough. I missed the win in August over the non league kings of financial doping, but was reminded of it just before the kick off when a Farnborough fan chose to scream abuse at the Maidenhead bench for being whingers that day when Chris Taylor was stretchered off having been crippled for the season by Ashley Winn. Its this sort of thing that put Farnborough on my games to avoid list, not quite eclipsing an incident in the 2000 Isthmian League Cup Final  in that other loathsome part of Hampshire, Basingstoke, when a woman standing behind me informed Chuk Agudosi that he should "go back to the jungle".

Anyway back to the football. This tumultuous FA Cup tie began in whizz bang fashion with both teams launching balls forward at every opportunity. One punt from Nevin Saroya found Williams whose shot hit the post whilst at the other end Reece Connolly went close for 'borough. Maidenhead suffered an early set back when Max Worsfold limped off injured having forced a great save from Sam Somerville. Then with half time in sight United went down to ten men when Sam Beasant was sent off. His onlooking dad Dave must have winced as for third time his son came out of his penalty area and failed to deal adequately with a long ball. The first two attempts saw long shots on an open goal go wide but this time Beasant got his hands to the ball to allow Andrew Fagan to tidy up behind him and a red card was inevitable.

Earlier Maidenhead had taken the lead with a glorious sweeping move which Ashan Holgate instigated with a deft back heel to Anthony Thomas who drove inside from the left wing, passing to Williams who helped the ball onto Powell on the right to score with a drilled shot inside the far post.

This proved to be a mixed blessing for both teams. After the break Farnborough used the extra man to briefly run Maidenhead ragged and it was no surprise when Adam Bygrave eluded a statuesque Magpie backline to convert Connolly's cross. Instead of going for the jugular they then sat back and Maidenhead slowly worked their way back into the game, an approach exemplified by the tireless Fagan who often doubled up on his defensive duties on the right side of midfield. Following the dismissal Drax had surprisingly opted to replace the hard working Thomas rather than the languid Holgate with Jordan Clement and the young Shots keeper pushed his claim for the number one spot in the replay with three good saves from Tony Garrod and Reece Connolly (twice). This enabled the fitter Magpies to press for the winner which was cruelly denied them in stoppage time by the men in black and so go into the replay without suspended talisman Williams and Bobby Behzadi. Time for Will Hendry to return and inspire a win at Cherrywood Road?

Post script: Seeing Dave Beasant at the game reminded me that Maidenhead fielded two sons of the 80s crazy gang yesterday both in goal!

Trams Crash

The Combined Counties League has had rather more publicity than usual this close season due to the innovative election of Guernsey to its ranks and also bucked the trend by starting their league programme a week earlier than the norm. The Channel Islanders are starting in Division One and are expected to progress to the Premier Division where, having seen a couple of good contests last season, I opted to take another look having no interest in pre season friendlies which I am sure carry much weight for coaching staff but denuded of the context of competition have little relevance for a layman like myself. So I left home and crossed the road into Hounslow where I traversed to the other the side of the borough to watch Hanworth Villa take on Croydon.

Hanworth was a West London suburb unknown to me until it became part of my route to see the Magpies play at Hampton and its sleepy nature was reflected by the Rectory Meadow ground being tucked away behind the Village Hall.

Free viewing/entry was seemingly available from the adjacent park but paying £5 not only gave you access to a neat well manicured ground but also provided the opportunity to purchase an excellent programme for a further pound.

Both clubs seem to have gone far in recent years, although in opposite directions. Hanworth are looking forward to their first FA Cup tie later this month, a five year target met by turning a park pitch into an enclosed ground. Two dugouts are the only construction on 3 sides with a woodland path behind one goal. On the clubhouse side there is a 100 seat portable stand (containing turnstiles which I'm sure are soon to be installed) and a small covered metal terrace. There is also a well populated beer garden between the clubhouse and the pitch.

Croydon on the other hand are a club in decline. My initial memory is of an ambitious outfit duking it out with Maidenhead for promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. Their nickname was taken from the new Tram system in the borough and the Surrey club seemed to have big spending plans of their own, snapping up Magpie star striker Chuk Agudosi after he sensationally walked out of York Road on the eve of the 1999 County Cup Final. However despite beating United to the Isthmian League Division One title in 2000 the Trams soon went into sharp decline which was hardly surprising given their woeful support.

Indeed the Trams only retained their current status due to an AGM cup reprieve the full details of which I read about prior to kick off in the programme to a soundtrack of the drone of the dual carriageway in the absence of a PA.

The editor quite rightly lamented the way the new Windsor club were given a place in the Premier Division pushing Bookham out. With Villa finishing strongly they must be worried by the threat that their hard work over many years in building a club ready for Senior football might be thwarted by the Royalists who have a reported budget which would make one or two Blue Square Bet South clubs a little envious. Furthermore the protestations in the media that this is a new club ring hollow when they have the same management team and many of the same players that won promotion to the Southern League Premier Division two years ago.

However if Hanworth can show the same purpose and vigour apparent in their opening day display they shouldn't have much to worry about. 

The game began with a contrasting clash of styles, the Villains opting for an up tempo direct approach whilst Croydon adopted a measured passing game. Villa's pressure paid off as early as the seventh minute when Ricky Harden capitalised on a defensive lapse to score from close range.

Croydon continued to sit too deep with early substitute Duane Antonio being a real thorn in their left flank. Lawrie Shennan then scored twice in a minute to put the result beyond doubt midway through the first half.
Although looking likely to be routed at this point Croydon worked hard to get back into the game after the break but a fourth goal in the 63rd minute by Antonio off the post after the keeper failed to collect a cross confirmed the Middlesex club as early season pace setters.


Post Script:
The Maidenhead Advertiser report of Windsor's opening game against South Park gave rise to another blast from the past with former Croydon Keeper James Wastell denying ex Magpie favourite Ryan Ashe a late winner.