Magpies could be dark horse in promotion race
Maidenhead United FC: United gallop back into play-off contention after wins over Chesterfield and Torquay
Many punters will have had a flutter on the races at Cheltenham Festival this week, but in the National League another dark horse is galloping into contention for promotion to the Football League.
As unlikely as it sounds, given their scrapes with relegation in previous seasons, Maidenhead United are finding form at the right stage of the season and are one of several teams in contention for at least a top seven finish.
Manager Alan Devonshire has told his players ‘the sky is the limit’ and, while chairman Peter Griffin admitted this week he already feels like the club is a small fish in a big pond playing in the National League, he sees no reason why the Magpies can’t challenge the established order for a play-off finish.
After a frustrating period of postponements and missed opportunities, the Magpies sprung into life at York Road this week, dismantling Chesterfield 2-0 with an excellent team display on Saturday before eclipsing that with a 4-1 success over third placed Torquay United. They were the performances of a tight-knit, in-form side and, with matches in hand on almost all the clubs above them in the table, they’re much closer to the play-offs than their 10th placed position suggests.
Reflecting on their chances after watching the Magpies excellent display on Saturday, Griffin said: “We’re not looking over our shoulder at all this year. Our main goal now is to push on as hard as we can this year because there will be players who we will want to keep hold of for next season.
“We’ve got to use these next 18-20 games to make sure we’re in the best possible position, because that will also help with supporters coming back to watch us next season.
“With regards to the play-offs, we’re a few points off but we have games in hand. And with the FA having now ratified the decision to null and void the North and South divisions, I’m sure the league will now deal with Dover.
“Regardless of what punishment they’re given for next season, and that’s the subject of some debate, their record is likely to be expunged.
“I don’t know the full details but there will be nine or 10 teams that are going to be losing three points, because Dover have lost so many times.
“A lot of those sides like Aldershot, Altrincham, Chesterfield, in fact most of the sides between us and the play-off zone are going to be dropping three points, but we haven’t played Dover so we’re going to gain. So, I think we’re a little bit closer than it looks at the moment, without doing the exact maths. So, why don’t we just go for it.”
Griffin expects the likes of Notts County and Stockport County – his two pre-season favourites for the title – to be up their challenging for a place in League 2, but those clubs aside, he feels there’s an opportunity this season for a club like Maidenhead to gate crash the promotion party.
Before Saturday, United hadn’t won in the league since their 3-2 success at Halifax Town at the end of January, but they’ve remained within touching distance over the past six weeks and now they’ve found a bit of form with players returning from injury, Griffin reckons they stand as good a chance as anyone.
“We’ve been in a similar position all year really,” he said. “One of the reasons we’re not as high up as we have been is because we went quite a while without winning, but we also had a big break as well.
“We’re remarkably close given what’s happened and if we hit a bit of form at the right time then who knows.
“I think some of the bigger teams like Notts County and Stockport, and Sutton have been on a huge run to get up there as well, will be up there come the end of the season. But there are going to be a lot of other teams like us who I think are going to be in and around those four or five play-off spots which are up for grabs.”
United have the necessary ground grading requirements to accept promotion should they earn it, but Griffin admits that further work would have to be carried out around the ground over the coming months and years to gain a football league standard grading.
“You have to have an FA ground grading to be in the National League, but you also have to agree that you could take up a position in the Football League if you were to get promoted or go up via the play-offs,” said Griffin.
“It’s not any different this year because we’re nearer the play-offs, it’s just something you have to do every season.
“We know what we’d have to do if we went up, either in the close season or the first few months of the season.
“We’d also have to do some work within 12 months and again within three years, and there’s a very defined plan for that.
“There’s nothing to stop us going up, and it gets harder to go through all those hurdles, but the first one, and possibly the second one are achievable, and the third one would be longer term, but you also have more time to deal with it.
“Initially, we’d have to have electronic turnstiles, a police control box, you have to have various things like that. These are things that we don’t have but would need, and then your 12month target would be an increase in capacity and seats, and the third and final target would be to have an EFL standard ground.
“So, it’s achievable. There’s nothing off the pitch to stop us doing it.
“We feel like a small club at this level, so who knows what it would be like if we did go up, but we’d treat it the same way, which is to try our best no matter what.”