Old Meads to Meet Local Rivals in Pre-season Fixtures

Civil Service and Polytechnic FC lined up for multi-team clashes

Old Meadonians Football Club of the Amateur Football Combination, one of the largest Grass Roots ‘Pay to Play’ leagues in the UK with 100 clubs running around 400 teams, have started pre-season training

It takes place every Tuesday evening at their Riverside Lands ground in Chiswick for what will be the club’s 88th season, the 40th in which their first team has been in the top flight of the London Old Boys League and its successor the A.F.C.

The retirement of Paul Rumley and Rory Vermeulen from managing Meads’ ones in 2015, with 17 trophies tucked under their belts, including 7 league titles on the trot during a twelve year rein, has moved Luke Graham and Ali McCombe into the hot seat.

In their first season the new boys were pipped at the post for the Premier Division title by one point, crucial penalty decisions in separate games tipping the balance in the run-in, both of which went against Meads with contradictory interpretations by the referees, being enough to divert the silverware elsewhere.

In a pre-season briefing of the press, Luke Graham suggested that this was now water under the bridge and they may start judging events afresh in September. Four years ago forward thinking Meads spiced up their pre-season programme of friendlies by instituting a multi-team clash with near neighbours Civil Service from the Southern Amateur League and on the 20th August ten teams from Meads and Service will clash with a similar skirmish taking place versus Polytechnic on the 3rd September.

In further preparation, a mixed Meads’ ones and twos team beat CB Hounslow from the Combined Counties League 3-1 with sharp shooter Craig Jones announcing his future plans with a hat-trick. Meanwhile Meads’ peripheral vision will be on their former top scorer Albert Adomah who will be gracing the Premier Division of the English Football League in the company of newly promoted Middlesborough.

August 16, 2016