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Wealdstone |
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Stones |
| Address: |
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Northwood Park, Chestnut Avenue,
Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 1HR |
| Telephone: |
| 01923 827148 |
| Fax: |
| 02008 907 4421 |
| Website: |
| www.come-to-wealdstonefc.co.uk |
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| Map of area |
Directions |
Five Day Weather |
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| Club Notes |
Wealdstone Football Club was founded in 1899 and began life in the Willesden & District League, where they became league champions in the 1904/05 and 1912/13 seasons. The Club closed down for the duration of the First World War (1914-1918) and when football got under way again in 1919/20, Wealdstone entered the London League and the Middlesex Senior League. A new ground called Lower Mead, situated between Harrow and Wealdstone town centres was ready for the 1922/23 season, the Club having previously played at College Farm Ground, Locket Road, Wealdstone (1903-10) and Belmont Road, Wealdstone (1910-22). At the time of moving to Lower Mead the Club joined the Spartan League, spending six seasons in that league before joining the Athenian League for the 1928/29 season.
Wealdstone’s biggest ever win was achieved during an FA Amateur Cup tie on 13th October 1923 against The 12th London Regiment (The Rangers), the final score being 22-0. Claude Mason scored seven of the goals to establish a new goal scoring record for a Wealdstone player in one game. Three years later Bob Tansley equalled this record when he hit seven against Hertford Town in a Spartan League match on Christmas Day 1926. By winning this game 16-2 Wealdstone established what is still their biggest winning margin in a league match.
The 1929/30 season saw the Middlesex Senior Challenge Cup and Middlesex Senior Charity Cup won for the first time. Since then Wealdstone have won each of these trophies a further ten times, plus sharing the Charity Cup with Wembley FC on two other occasions.
In December 1944 Wealdstone suffered their heaviest defeat to date, going down 14-0 to Edgware Town in a London Senior Cup tie. In October 1946 the Club were involved in the first televised football match, the BBC showing part of their Athenian League match at Barnet. Wealdstone also took part in the first two “live” FA Cup ties ever to be seen by viewers when the whole of their victories over Edgware Town and Colchester United were televised by the BBC in November 1949. Later that month Wealdstone met a Football League side in the FA Cup for the first time when they were beaten 1-0 at Port Vale in the First Round Proper. In 1951/52 the Club won the Athenian League, the only time they were champions of that league since joining in 1928. In 1964 the Club left the Athenian League and joined the Isthmian League for the first time. Two years later they beat fellow Isthmian’s Hendon 3-1 in the FA Amateur Cup final at Wembley Stadium to bring the trophy to Lower Mead for the first and only time.
In 1971 Wealdstone left the ranks of amateur football and turned professional, joining the Southern League. Since then the Club has experienced many highs and lows in their fortunes. Four league championships have been won by the first team as well as four cup competitions, but against that they have also suffered three relegations. The first league championship won during this period was the Southern League (First Division South) in 1973/74, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division where they spent five seasons before becoming one of the founder members of what is now the Football Conference. During the 1977/78 season Wealdstone reached the Third Round Proper of the FA Cup for the only time to date. Two Football League clubs were beaten in the First and Second Rounds, Hereford United 3-2 at Edgar Street after a 0-0 draw at Lower Mead and Reading 2-1, also at Lower Mead. In the Third Round Wealdstone lost 4-0 at Loftus Road against Queens Park Rangers from the old First Division. Later that season Wealdstone entered Europe as one of the UK representatives in the Anglo-Italian Tournament. A 4-2 victory over Paganese was followed by a 1-0 defeat against Udinese, the eventual winners of the tournament, both these matches taking place at Lower Mead. The Club then visited Italy only to lose at Reggiana (1-0) and Arezzo (2-0).
Wealdstone were relegated for the first time in the Club’s history in 1980/81 but the following season they won all five trophies on offer in the Southern League to return to the Conference at the first attempt. The 1984/85 season was to be the Club’s most successful in recent times when they became the first of only three clubs so far to achieve the non-league “double”, winning the Football Conference and FA Trophy in the same season. Colchester United (1992) and Wycombe Wanderers (1993) are the other two, both now playing in the Coca-Cola Football League. To complete a “treble”, Wealdstone also won the 1984/85 Middlesex Senior Challenge Cup beating Enfield in the final at Hendon FC.
Since then the Club has been relegated on two further occasions, dropping from the Football Conference to the Southern League (Premier Division) in 1988 and down into the Southern League (Southern Division) in 1992. Unfortunately at the end of the 1990/91 season the Club had to sell their Lower Mead home in order to stay in existence and since then have not had a home to call their own. The company handling the sale of Lower Mead went into liquidation and, after lengthy court proceedings, the Club received only a fraction of the sum Tesco’s had paid for the ground. An agreement was entered into with Watford FC to share the lease on their Vicarage Road ground, but after just two seasons there (1991/92 & 1992/93), Wealdstone could no longer afford the ridiculously high costs and decided to move out. For the seasons 1993/94 & 1994/95 Wealdstone ground shared at Yeading FC.
The 1995/96 season began a new era for the Club as they left the Southern League and rejoined the Isthmian League which they had last played in in 1971. They also changed grounds once again, moving in with Edgware Town FC who had agreed to share facilities at their White Lion Ground. Wealdstone had to start at the bottom of the Isthmian League (effectively demoting themselves two divisions) but in their first season they just failed to gain promotion finishing fourth in Division Three. The following season (1996/97) Wealdstone won the Division Three championship and in 1997/98 they made it two promotions in successive seasons when finishing third in Division Two. The Club should have been promoted for a third season running in 1998/99 after finishing third in Division One. However, a couple of ground improvements required at Edgware to obtain the necessary “A” grading for promotion to the Premier Division were not completed until six days after the April 1st deadline, resulting in the League denying Wealdstone their deserved promotion. The Club eventually gained promotion to the Premier Division at the end of the 2003/04 season after meeting Dulwich Hamlet in a promotion play-off at their Champion Hill ground. With the scores level at 2-2 after extra time the match was decided on penalties with Wealdstone scoring five to their host’s four. Wealdstone have found life hard in the Premier Division and a final placing of 18th during the last two seasons has just saved the Club from another relegation.
Last season the Club had the satisfaction of knowing that the joint top scorers in the Isthmian League spent most of the season with Wealdstone. Jermaine Beckford, who had progressed to the first team from the Club’s youth set-up, hit 26 league goals during the season before being transferred to Leeds United in March 2006. His strike partner Richard Jolly, who left Wealdstone a month earlier to join Heybridge Swifts, had found the net 14 times for the Stones before adding another 12 at his new club.
Since the Club turned professional in 1971 no fewer than 22 players have made at least 200 appearances for Wealdstone in League and Cup matches. Neil Cordice with 493 in two spells between 1979 and 1994 has made most, failing by just 21 to equal Charlie Townsend’s all-time record of 514 during the period 1957-68 and 1970-71. George Duck (1972-79) established a new goal scoring record of 251 goals in all matches for Wealdstone to become the most prolific scorer in the Club’s history. Only one other player has ever scored 200 goals for the Club, Viv Evans who, during Wealdstone’s amateur days, notched 216 between 1954 and 1969.
Several well known names in non-league circles have managed the Club over the years, but the most successful have been Allen Batsford (1980-83), the late Brian Hall (1983-87 & 1990-92) and the present incumbent since 1995, Gordon Bartlett. There have been a number of players who have gone on to make the grade in the Football League, the two most famous being Stuart Pearce who joined Coventry City in 1983 and Vince (Vinny) Jones who joined Wimbledon three years later. Both players went on to represent England and Wales respectively in full internationals.
The Football Association’s restructuring of non-league football for this season has resulted in the Club being transferred from the Isthmian League back to the Southern League which they left in 1995. This brings to an end eleven successive seasons playing in the Isthmian League during which time Wealdstone have enjoyed three promotions, rising from Division Three to the Premier Division.
Apart from the first team Wealdstone also run a reserve side in the Suburban League and youth sides at Under 19 & Under 18 in the Football Conference Youth League and Allied Counties Youth League respectively. There is also a highly successful youth set-up for boys below those age groups.
This is now Wealdstone’s sixteenth successive season ground sharing with another club. Work started in 2003 on building the Club’s new ground at the nearby derelict Prince Edward Playing Fields but events largely outside of the Club’s control have delayed completion of the project. It is hoped work will recommence on the site in the spring of 2007, and whilst the site is unlikely to be ready for the start of next season, we continue to work for it to be completed as soon as possible thereafter. |
|
|
Venue
|
Matches
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
Goals
|
+ / -
|
|
Home |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
5 - 1 |
+4 |
|
Away |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
6 - 4 |
+2 |
|
Neutral |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 - 0 |
+0 |
|
Total
|
8
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
11 - 5
|
+6
|
|
Date
|
Comp.
|
Venue
|
Score
|
Stadium
|
Crowd
|
|
28.03.1992
|
Southern League / Premier Division |
Home
|
1 - 0 |
Victoria Ground
|
768
|
|
15.02.1992
|
Southern League / Premier Division |
Away
|
3 - 1 |
Vicarage Road
|
422
|
|
24.04.1991
|
Southern League / Premier Division |
Away
|
1 - 0 |
Lower Mead
|
347
|
|
17.11.1990
|
Southern League / Premier Division |
Home
|
1 - 0 |
Victoria Ground
|
832
|
|
24.04.1990
|
Southern League / Premier Division |
Away
|
0 - 0 |
Lower Mead
|
326
|
|
02.09.1989
|
Southern League / Premier Division |
Home
|
1 - 0 |
Victoria Ground
|
497
|
|
17.12.1988
|
Southern League / Premier Division |
Home
|
2 - 1 |
Victoria Ground
|
659
|
|
24.09.1988
|
Southern League / Premier Division |
Away
|
2 - 3 |
Lower Mead
|
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