Babylons

Staines Town  2  Wimborne Town  4

Southern Football League – Premier Division South

Partly thanks to Ali G, the town of Staines took the decision in 2012 to change its name to Staines-upon-Thames.

It was argued, that in order to boost the local economy, and take advantage of the riverside location it holds, the name change was the sensible thing to do.  But also, certain negative publicity and perception, a consequence of the front man of the ‘Da West Staines Massif’, needed to be eradicated.

Ironically though, it seems one of the objectors to the name change was Staines Town Football Club, clearly they felt the young Staines Ghetto resident Alistair Graham was a positive figurehead for the town?

Anyway, I’m not going to make any more Ali G references or comment on the purported size of Madonna’s babylons, I’m going to focus on the football club that is Staines Town.

I must admit to being very surprised at seeing the Swans propping up the Southern League Premier Division South table, after suffering twelve consecutive defeats? They were only relegated from the Conference South in 2015, and having taken a couple of years to find their feet in the Isthmian League, last season they just missed out on qualification for the play offs.

I spoke to a mate of mine who is from the Surrey area and his cynical view was that Staines were actually quite happy to be relegated this season because they never wanted to be moved into the Southern League in the first place, especially given that the travelling will mean trips to Merthyr Town, Taunton Town and Tiverton Town. Relegation would almost certainly see them in the Central Division of the Isthmian League and with that, oodles of local derbies!

No one is ever going to admit that from the football club, but I did ask the chap in the club shop why they were struggling so much. The answer was relatively simple, they are under new ownership, there isn’t any money and as a result the players are all kids.

The truth, as is often the case, is probably somewhere in the middle.

Staines Town has a fine history though, an Isthmian League club since the mid-seventies, they jumped with some regularity between the First Division and the Premier Division. But then in the late noughties they finished runners up in the top flight for two successive seasons, beating Carshalton Athletic the second time in the play-off final, and with it earned promotion to the Conference South.

They remained in the second tier of non-league football for six seasons, recording a best ever finish of eighth. Otherwise, it was largely uneventful, and then of course came relegation.

They have got a reputation in the FA Cup though. They’ve twice reached the First Round Proper in recent seasons, losing away at Leyton Orient and Brentford, while in 2009-10 they beat Shrewsbury Town and after holding Millwall to a draw at Wheatsheaf Park in the Second Round, they lost the replay.

So, this is a big old non-league club, it was time to go down and have a look at them.

Staines is located just off the M25, South of Heathrow Airport. The town centre has to be navigated to get to the ground which lies to the South of the centre. It’s a busy place and takes a bit of getting through, but with plenty of time on my side, I was travelling down the banks of the Thames and turning into the ground well before 2pm.

Wheatsheaf Park has been the clubs home since 1951, but it went through something of a transformation in the early 2000’s and one side of the ground was redeveloped completely. It is via this side that you approach the ground, and the clubs offices, dressing rooms, clubhouse etc forms part of the Thames Club Leisure Centre, which in itself incorporates a pool and a gymnasium.

It’s a huge structure, and you then head down to the left end of it to gain access to the football ground. In front of the building is a steep rake of seats, the only seated accommodation in the ground, while opposite is a low roofed covered terrace that stretches virtually the full length of the pitch. Its open behind both goals, but on the East side is a very small terraced area offering elevation.

The pitch was in superb condition, but it appears it’s also used by Chelsea Ladies, and has the grading to be able to host Women’s UEFA competition football.

I made my way to the bar after a brief look in the club shop, lager was £4 a pint, Egham Town this is not, but to be fair, not unusual for this part of the Country.  A decent number of Wimborne fans had made the journey from deepest Dorset and were taking advantage of the hospitality. They made a good noise throughout the game, the price of the beer clearly not off putting!

The first half was not the most entertaining of spectacles. The young Staines side moved the ball around well and did take the lead in the thirty fifth minute when Luca Charles-Valentine finished well after a flowing move. Wimborne had plenty of the ball but they struggled to create premium chances.

The second half was an altogether different matter though, and what entertainment we had.

Ten minutes into the half and Billy Maybury equalised with a superb free kick, but within a minute of the kick off the hosts had regained the lead when skipper Gardi Milenge looped home a header from a cross.

It was Matt Oldring’s turn to then use his head as he equalised for a second time for Wimborne, and then within ten minutes it was 3-2 to the visitors thanks to Luke Burbidge’s quick reactions.

Staines fought back and with Thomas Gogo causing all kinds of problems with his close trickery, Wimborne had to dig deep, and their cause wasn’t helped when Maybury received a harsh second yellow card and was subsequently dismissed in the 82^nd minute.

But, with Staines pushing, Wimborne exploited the gaps and made it 4-2 in the closing moments when Toby Holmes broke down the right and placed the ball wide of the goalkeeper.

A deserved victory for Wimborne, buts Staines, for me, came out of the game with a lot of credit. That elusive victory can’t be too far away, but whether they have too much to do to save themselves is another matter indeed.

It’s one to watch closely, 197 did so today, probably wondering what the next chapter holds for Staines Town Football Club.

A name change and a rude boy from the West side are not the answer…….