No Probably About It!

Old Meads ‘most successful pay to play club in London’

Old Meadonians Football Club can arguably claim to be the most successful ‘pay to play’ club in London, and, possibly, for a distance out of the capital over the past ten years, with a total of just under forty trophies garnered in that purple period. That eighteen of these awards, including four Amateur Football Alliance Senior Cups, were won by Meads’ flagship first team is a tribute to retiring first team joint managers Paul Rumley and Rory Vermeulen who, during their illustrious six year tenure, picked up no fewer than fourteen pieces of silverware.

At the end of last season a compliment of the first order was paid to the club by Hounslow Borough Council in recognition of the input Meads make to the local community in providing football facilities to over two hundred members of the club: Club Chairman, Derek Barnett, and retiring first team managers, Paul Rumley and Rory Vermeulen were presented to the Mayor of Hounslow Councillor Dr Genevieve Hibbs and Members of the Council by local Member Paul Lynch.

Meads continue to successfully manage the pitches at Riverside Lands where a team of groundsmen is to be seen in mid-week beavering away under the hands on tutelage of former chairman David Tyler whose aim is to bring playing surfaces up to a standard capable of hosting A.F.C. and Amateur Football Alliance representative matches on a regular basis. In their eerie overlooking the Thames, The Boathouse, a joint venture with the Thames Tradesmen Rowing Club, Meads regularly served over seventy meals each Saturday during last season to visiting opponents and officials and aim to improve their culinary standards in years to come.

A new era began at the club A.G.M. earlier this month, with the appointment of iconic first team skipper Jack Costello and first team stalwart Ed Glover as joint first team managers. Not that Paul Rumley and Rory Vermeulen will be out of work next season as they will continue to run the Amateur Football Combination representative side and Meads have appointed Rumley club Development Officer and Vermeulen was elected club Vice-Chairman.

Voted most successful team of the twelve (including two vets sides) Meads run was the second team who belied their youth (average age twenty two) to maintain a superlative playing standard throughout a long and tiring season. At one point they looked an even bet to win all four competitions they had entered and were only pipped at the post, being beaten finalists in one cup and finishing second in the league, in the division below the first team, after winning two other cups. They will be managed this season by Ray Byrnes on promotion from looking after the third team.

Meads start training at 7pm on Wednesday 23 rd July on Riverside Lands and will have the luxury of six experienced coaches to deal with the expected rush by players eager to get fit for the coming season. Anyone wishing to play for this friendly football club where comradeship is prized above all should acquaint themselves with the Old Meadonians’ web site www.omfc.co.uk

July 15, 2008