Ode to York Road

• 16th February 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the first football match at York Road. Maidenhead United are due to host Stockport County, later today, in a National League fixture. Below is my contribution to the commemorative match day programme (accompanied by some bonus photo collages):

Y is for YOUNGSTER; I was just a toddler when my maternal Grandfather - a Magpies supporter since 1946 - first took me to a Maidenhead United home game (photos suggest that the opponents were Walton & Hersham in August 1985)

O is for ODOUR; to this day, I can still remember the (not unpleasant) smell of the old Grandstand where we'd sit, and I'd play with the Matchbox toy cars that my Grandad had bought me, pre-match, from Woolworths. (The odour in the Gents' toilets, on the opposite side of the ground, is equally memorable ... albeit not in a good way!) 

R is for RAILWAY side; where I'd collect conkers with my younger cousin, during some of the less enthralling matches (long before the trees were fenced), and also where - after the Grandstand fell victim to an arson attack - I'd sit, gobbling sweets (bonbons; Fruit Salad and Black Jack chews) during half-time, with my Grandad and Ray 'not the ex-England captain' Wilkins (who'd often give us a lift to the ground and park his red Peugeot 309 outside the Advertiser building)

K is for KING (of York Road); we all had our favourite players, growing up, and Benny '123 in 232' Laryea cemented his status as mine with a magnificent strike - at the Canal End, if memory serves - vs Leyton Wingate in March 1992 (announced as our Goal of the Season vote winner, I discovered only recently, in Issue 3 of the Shagging Magpies fanzine)

[K is also for KITS; November 2004, specifically, when Newport County's Goldie Lookin Chain -sponsored shirt was afforded an extremely rare outing (one of two), at York Road, in what was the first league game after the sacking of John Dreyer as the Magpies' manager]

R is for RESERVES; my Grandad and I would also regularly watch our second string, at a near-deserted York Road in the early-to-mid-90s, when the first team had an away fixture, and it was always good to see the occasional player - notably Queen's Park cult hero Peter McNamee - make the step up

O is for ON the pitch (and OTT) celebrations, after the promotion clincher vs Croydon, in May 2000; my family (parents, brother, sister) and I are among those that can be spotted, in the video footage of the jubilant scenes, which precede a certain someone 'falling asleep' on the Shelf! (A-level History, at school the next morning, can't have been much fun ... one imagines! *ahem*)

A is for ALCOHOL (following on from the previous entry!); pre- and post-match beers in the Cricketers, the Anchor, and the Maiden's Head, over the years, and of course in Stripes - the venue for Hall of Fame induction nights (photos with the King!), MUSA quizzes (I'm a three-time champion, with the plastic medals to prove it!) and Football Focus (ft. Dion Dublin and Martin Keown, live on BBC One!)

D is for DON'T; as in (1.) these words don't even begin to cover it (so many memories, so many friendships forged), and (2.) "Please don't take my Bell End away"

• Top, left ~ vs Walton & Hersham, FA Trophy, August 1985 (possibly)
• Top, right ~ Chairman Roger Coombs presents my Grandad with a commemorative shield, to mark 50 years supporting MUFC, ahead of the FA Cup game with Havant Town in August 1996
• Bottom ~ A minute's silence for my Grandad - and others, connected with the club, who'd passed away in the off-season - before the opening home game of 2008/09 (vs Bath City)

• Top ~ The King and I, in the summer of 2007, at the inaugural Hall of Fame induction
• Bottom, left ~ Rob 'Rod Hull' Saunders vs the Chain, November 2004
• Bottom, right ~ Peter McNamee; 86 (first team) starts, 11 goals, one particularly memorable York Road red card - together with Molesey's Chris Vidal - in October 1992

• Top ~ My brother (yellow sleeve), sandwiched between my sister and me, celebrating promotion in May 2000 (with our parents out of shot)
• Bottom, left ~ My brother, in Stripes, alongside a framed photo of him (and others) celebrating - on the pitch at Twerton Park - our Southern League Play-Off Final win vs Team Bath in May 2007
• Bottom, right ~ My siblings, in Stripes, after the 4-1 National League win vs Chorley in August 2019 

• Top, left ~ Winners of the 2009 MUSA Quiz Night: Bob Popejoy, me, and my parents
• Bottom, left ~ Yours truly, stood between some of the Hall of Fame photos and the FA Cup, before the Rotherham game in November 2019 
• Right ~ Mr Logic with a BBC Sport microphone, when the Football Focus crew came to town

• Top, left ~ Twirling scarves, live on BT Sport, during the FA Cup Replay with Port Vale in November 2015; Alan Massey's opening goal had earlier sparked - perhaps the ultimate - #BellEndScenes
• Top, right ~ Smiles all around, after our 2-1 win vs East Thurrock in April 2017, as news filtered through that title rivals Ebbsfleet had dropped points at Truro
• Bottom, left ~ The KSG - or some of us ... and does Willie T count?! - during the FA Trophy match with Stockport in February 2018
• Bottom, right ~ Bell End, after loss to Ebbsfleet, in April 2017; our Conference South title celebrations would have to wait until the following Saturday