In advance of Tuesday night's Ryman League 3rd Round Cup tie against Metropolitan Police, Supporters Club Shop Manager, Adam Edwards gives his thoughts on last Saturday's defeat in the FA Trophy at Farnborough together with the latest news from the Supporters Club "Megastore". His article will appear in Tuesday's matchday programme.


Good evening one and all and welcome to The Vale for tonight's League Cup game against Met Police. We trust you have a pleasant stay here with us here in Middlesex and have time to share a drink with fellow supporters in the clubhouse after the game.

Well I sit here in front of the computer writing these notes after the first away defeat of the season to Farnborough in the FA Trophy. Whilst I cannot deny we were beaten by the better team, I have to ask myself would I follow a team like Farnborough if they were my local team. You cannot deny that the finances there in comparison to us are massive; they seem to have good support and the facilities are excellent for the level of football they play at. Despite all this I know for a fact that I would not change my football club for that. When you look at the local area around Farnborough it is obvious to see they are located close to football league club Aldershot Town. Both clubs have died and been resurrected in years gone by and it looked clear to me that Farnborough have ambitions to follow their local rivals into the league. Will they achieve it, God only knows but no doubt they will sell the family jewels in trying to achieve it. I watch Wealdstone due to it being my local Non-League club and that it has been ingrained in my family for 60 years. If I wanted to watch league football where they have nice heated seats, cardboard pies and no one knows the person sitting next to them why would I settle for Farnborough. I love my club and I am proud what the supporters have achieved without taking the easy option and starting again from scratch whipping out the debts and starting the whole boom and bust scenario again. Likewise the ‘Team GB’ squad plays for the enjoyment not the huge cash rewards. Wealdstone is a non-league club and knows that. It is not trying to be something it is not.

Megastore News – Well it has been almost (not quite) a year since Mark R, Mark B and myself decided to get involved in the supporters club, and with that the creation of the Megastore. I have to say when I twisted Mark R’s arm and said we should get involved we knew it would take up a bit of time, without knowing quite how time consuming it could become. Despite that I know I can speak for the two Mark’s and myself in saying that we thoroughly enjoy it. We can’t believe quite how well it has been supported by Wealdstone Fans and to be honest I never though we would say we have past the three quarter mark for our season’s targeted total by the end of November. So thank you… but just keep buying

There is no doubt that the FA Cup has brought a lot of attention on the football club. With that there has also been a sizeable increase in interest in Wealdstone related merchandise. So if you do email me (edwards_adam@sky.com) for old programmes or kit then please be aware there is a backlog of orders we are trying to get through.

With chrimbo fast approaching now is your ideal time to get those Wealdstone items before they run out. It is unlikely we will get anymore kits in before xmas, so once its gone there won’t be anymore until the new year. So come and have a look or let us know what you are after and we can put it to one side.

With regard to the online Clubshop that is something I hope to get sorted before xmas, but many of my ideas never go to plan so fingers cross this is one promise I can keep.

Just a quick note to say there won’t be any golden goals on sale tonight as we don’t expect it to be the largest of attendances, but rest assure Golden Girl Mim will be back in action next home game

A Big Thank You - I also need to thank George Barton, Darren B, and Matt Snell for being loyal helpers throughout the season so far. Also I need to thank David Albert and the other committee members for giving us a free hand in stocking the Clubshop and offering great advice and guidance over the last year.

Programme Hunters - For all you avid Programme collectors out there on the terraces we have finished cataloguing all of the 6,746 home and away programmes we were given. They stretch back as far as the early 1940’s right up to present day. Thank you for everyone who has donated programmes. If you would like to purchase some highly valuable programmes then pop in and pick up a new catalogue that lists all the games or drop me an email. We will be taking orders but it will be based on a first come first served basis so get in there early. Details of price etc will be detailed on the catalogue. So do me a favour and get cracking and buy buy buy…

Suggestions – Finally if there is anything out there that you think might be a great idea or you simply want to help out with supporters club, or Megastore stuff then please let us know. We are always happy to listen to your ideas of things you would like to see us stock.

Goodbye & goodnight - That brings to an end my 3rd set of programme notes. Remember the shop will be open all Home games and some away games. Up the Mighty Stones and don’t forget to bring your wallets

Adam E (aka Stones Throw)
On behalf of the Megastore Team