STU IS A PERFECT FIT FOR NOTTS!

Stu Maynard had managed 139 games, all with the same club. Since replacing the man he assisted, Dean Brennan, in 2019, Wealdstone recorded finishes of 19th, 16th and 13th in the National League. When Maynard joined Notts County last week, he left the Stones in the same position, 13th, after 25 games.

- ROBERTSON

Success is relative, of course. Wealdstone’s 16th-place finish in 2021-22 was the club’s highest in 35 years. They were, and still are, the last truly part-time team in Non-League’s top tier. They were punching well above their weight. But still, on the face of it, his appointment as head coach of a team chasing promotion to League One was pretty remarkable. Or at least it was. Not anymore.

If you are reading these pages, you will no doubt know, as well as me, the reason why County came calling for Maynard. Some of the football, and goals, Wealdstone have produced over the last couple of years have been breathtaking, befitting of a much grander stage.

The sweeping 23-pass move, finished off by Micah Obiero, in a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield in February. The wonderfully constructed and incisive goal at Aldershot, straight from kick-off, finished off by Sean Adarkwa, in August. The 21-pass sequence, finished by Tarryn Allarakhia, in a 2-1 win at Oldham in August 2022.

All bore familiar traits. Patient build-up play. Adventurous defenders. Rotations in midfield. Drawing out the opposition’s press. Overloads in wide areas. Bodies flooding the penalty box. So while Wealdstone’s achievements should not be diminished, it was the football, more than the results, that persuaded Notts owners to hand Maynard — who left a job of 19 years with BT — his first full-time role in football.