by George Elokobi’s Maidstone United side are on the verge of making history but he is not a happy man. “We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and, as a manager, I start with myself,” says Elokobi, usually light-hearted, after a costly 2-0 defeat at Aveley on Monday in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. “Did I pick the right team? Did I choose the right personnel? Was I too loyal? I have to look at that.”
This Monday Maidstone will become the first team outside the top five since Blyth Spartans in 1978 to play in the fifth round of the FA Cup. They have never gone this far and a trip to Coventry, who have Irish Championship aspirations, awaits. At Aveley a healthy percentage of the 709 spectators were Maidstone fans but at Coventry there will be 5,000 of them. For the club that went bankrupt in 1992 and was forced to start over in the fourth division of the Kent County League, the tie will be another proud moment in a long journey back from oblivion. In the words of some of those who have succeeded, this is their amazing story.
Bill Williams: former player and manager, now chief executive and director of football I have been involved with Maidstone since 1972 when I started at the end of my playing career. I was there at the first game in the fourth division of the Kent County League in 1992 – we used to play our games at all the local games in front of one man and his dog. But that’s what we had to do after being knocked down 12 leagues. It has been a very hard struggle but the last 12 years have been great. We’re back in town and it’s been a great journey ever since. We are getting better every year and this FA cup is the icing on the cake.
Everyone is excited. The game itself is a bit scary – but nobody gave us a chance when we went to Ipswich and the way we played and the amount of energy the players put in was incredible. Now it has come to the real crunch. We are so close to being in the quarter finals, just one step away from Wembley!
George is not only an excellent football manager but an exceptional man. I just hope we can give a good account of ourselves. Our ambition is to return to the Championship one day – we have a very good business model and are very well supported by a huge community of around 170,000 people. What we need now is a little investment.
Steve Butler: former striker at Maidstone original and second incarnation. He also had a spell as an assistant coach Maidstone has always been very close to my heart. I can walk to the ground in about 15 minutes and I have lived in the town since 1986. I will always remember the FA cup run in 1987 and 1988 when we reached the third round. We played Graham Taylor’s Watford team who had John Barnes and gave a good account of themselves in a 3-1 win in 1987. Then a year later we only lost 1-0 to Sheffield United, who were in the Second Division. . But the most important thing for us was to try to get into the League and we finally achieved it in 1989.
I moved to Watford about six months before things started to go wrong. I remember coming to watch a game on an off day and it was clear that something was up. I went to the council meeting when they voted not to give the club permission to build a new ground – it was a very sad day. I was in my early 40s when I went back to play for the club as they worked their way back up.
In the last round of the FA Cup I thought they were going to lose against Ipswich but my wife told me they were winning 1-0 so I switched the TV on and I couldn’t believe it when they went 2 -1 up. Then the old vowels were disappearing as if I was still involved! Coventry are not as good as Ipswich but it will be very difficult for them to do it again. The experience and attention they are getting the players is great – they can just go and enjoy it. I’m sure they will do Maidstone proud. I’ll be glued to the TV, that’s for sure.
Ian Tucker: club secretary for 11 full time years after 10 as a volunteer I went to my first Maidstone game when I was four or five in the 1980s and we were in the Conference. I remember going to watch them play Burnley in the Old Division Four and it was a very difficult time for everyone when the club went out of business. The club went off my radar for a few years and it was only when I was working for Maidstone hospital radio that I started coming down to cover the games. That’s how it all started when I was about 17. I volunteered to do the match day program and the rest is history.
We lost a generation of supporters but when we came back to town in 2012 the younger fans really embraced the club. It’s been pretty full since we hit Barrow [in the FA Cup second round] in December and we’re just trying to ride the wave. We could have sold at least another 500 tickets for the Coventry game. We sold out in a few hours when they went on general sale. I arrived at the club at 9am and several fans had been queuing since 6am waiting for the ticket office to open. It is incredible. We are taking nine or 10 coaches to Coventry. We’re not expecting another Ipswich-like miracle to happen but you never know.
Tony Gilbert: Maidstone supporter since 1970 I remember in 1979 when we traveled to Charlton in the third round of the FA Cup and drew 1-1. Mike Flanagan and Derek Hales had a fight on the pitch and were both sent off – they were both playing for Charlton! Then the floodlights failed in the replay and we lost 2-1. The mid to late 1980s were the boom years when we had Warren Barton as our defense and Steve Butler hitting the bullpen. We had a very good team. But in 1992, we were supposed to play Scunthorpe away on the first day of the season and the game never happened. We had no players and nowhere to play – it was heartbreaking.
The club became the new Maidstone United in 1995 but I didn’t go to watch for years. Then one of my friends took me to a game in 2005 and I was hooked again. I’ve seen 700 games since then, home and away. I only missed one game during the season and that was late because it was my aunt’s 90th birthday.
The noise at Ipswich was fantastic when we scored. I expect us to lose against Coventry but if we can score and have something to do we will be very happy. The owners did admirably and cut their cloth accordingly rather than spending beyond their means like many teams at this level.
George Elokobi: manager We performed so well in the FA Cup and attracted so much publicity that we are a target in the league. Every team raises their game against you and if your attitude is not right, it is our victory as a result [at Aveley] can happen. The secret to our success this season is that we are together.
Coming from a diverse background, it is important that we have representation in league and non-league. It’s about making sure you do your thing at the training ground and then trying to do well for your club. Stay respectful and humble. I am very proud if I can inspire the next generation of managers.
Craig Fagan: assistant manager I have known George for a long time. We played together at Colchester when he was only 18 and I was a few years older but we always kept in touch. We have both had similar careers as we both understand the amount of hard work it takes to make it to the top. George had played here before and was given the manager’s job. He needed someone on the coaching staff and I knew I was available. We have our differences but you have to question each other to get better as a coaching staff.
I said in the dressing room that the players will have to go and leave it all out there on Monday. They are not intimidated by the occasion – as we showed we weren’t against Ipswich. Basically we have to do the opposite of what we did against Aveley – stay calm on the ball and take our chances when they come. We scored two quality goals against Ipswich and we need to show that again against Coventry.
