Bosses ready for Non-League Day derby
Phil Babb and Gordon Bartlett hope the Non-League Day campaign will boost the crowd for the west London derby between Hayes & Yeading and Wealdstone on Saturday.
Fans with season tickets for professional clubs will get cheaper entry to the Conference South match at Maidenhead’s York Road ground, while under-16s will get in free with a paying adult.
These are among a number of incentives at games up and down the country this weekend, all designed to attract more people to grassroots football while the Premier League and Championship takes a break.
Non-League Day was the brainchild of QPR fan James Doe, inspired by a pre-season trip to Tavistock, and since 2010 has become an annual part of the football calendar, backed by Premier League and Football League clubs and high-profile figures in the game.
Despite their contrasting backgrounds – United boss Babb was playing for Liverpool when Bartlett first took charge of Wealdstone in 1995 – both managers are passionate advocates of non-League football.
Babb told West London Sport: “There’s nothing to stop someone supporting a second team and when there’s internationals or fixtures postponed you can come along and support them.
“When you think about Hayes, with Les Ferdinand, and Wealdstone, with Stuart Pearce and Vinny Jones, there’s always a feelgood story about local players going to the top so it’s important that football fans come along and support the non-League structure.”
Bartlett added: “Given the price of professional matches these days, people are starting to realise there’s a good product in non-League.
“We would certainly liked to have been at home because we feel it’d be a great chance to attract a big crowd.”
Non-League Day is an apt occasion for what will be the first league meeting between the two clubs since the merger between Hayes and Yeading in 2007.
Bartlett, who has plenty of history with the opposition having played for Hayes and managed Yeading, is looking forward to the clash.
The Wealdstone boss is also targeting a first victory since promotion to the Conference South, after drawing four of their first six games.
He said: “I know Tristan [Lewis, Hayes and Yeading assistant manager] very well and some of their players well.
“We’re going to give it our best shot and hope that come 4.45pm we will have picked up our first win. We need to be more creative but the players really don’t think it’s far away.”
Babb admitted Wealdstone would present a tough challenge for his Hayes and Yeading side in spite of their lowly league position.
He said: “Gordon is a good manager and they are hard to beat that’s for sure. I’ve no doubt the form [as it is now] will not be the same in five or six games’ time.”
For a full list of local matches to attend this weekend, and special offers on entrance prices, see the West London Sport non-League preview.
For more information on Non-League Day, including an interactive map, visit www.nonleagueday.co.uk.
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