COLIN STONE worked in the club office in the early years of Wimbledon’s Football League life at the old Plough Lane before emigrating to New Zealand. In this WDSA interview he has some fascinating insights and amusing yarns of the times back then and the Dons link with Napier City Rovers in New Zealand.
i) So how did you get your start working for Wimbledon Football Club? What were the working conditions like at Plough Lane back in those days, any particular memories of that time stand out for you?

Colin: It was 1979. I was part of the management team at Wimbledon Stadium. I worked on a greyhound racing night. We often had sponsored or benefit nights and one of my roles was sponsor hosting. One evening we had a benefit night for former Arsenal manager George Graham and I think the hospitality manager for the Dons must have been one of the guests. He saw me ‘in action’ and that week I got a phone call to come and meet Ron Noades. I had been a Wimbledon supporter for most of my life. My dad used to take me to their games as a kid, and at the time I was a season ticket holder, so the opportunity to join WFC was massive. I met Ron and he offered me the job of Promotions Executive for Golddigger Promotions, WFC’s promotions company. I think I must have accepted the offer on the spot!
(ii) It was a time when the Dons had entered the Football League for the first time under chairman Ron Noades. What was it like working for him and with the wonderful Eric Willcocks in the commercial side of things? Any special memories of Eric, who was a guiding light in getting WDSA started back in 1985? Did you ever come across Sam Hammam back then?

Colin: Yep, memories of them all to a greater or lesser extent. Everyone was a little scared of Ron. When we saw his Jaguar pull up in the car park at Plough Lane, the level of tension rose in the office. I recall when Ron was buying Crystal Palace it created an even higher level of tension! I can remember him being downstairs in the main office, his feet up on the table, talking to someone on the phone, making sure we could all hear that he was buying Palace. Once the ‘split’ began tensions became acute and I can recall there was uncertainty amongst the staff about who would go with him to Selhurst Park. The hospitality manager went with him and because I was hired directly by Ron, it was thought I might go too, but I was a Dons lad through and through. That said, Ron seemed to like me and I remember the Jag pulling into the car park, everyone on tenterhooks as Ron flew in and proceeded to identify furniture that was his. “That’s my desk, that’s my cabinet’ etc. Everyone put their heads down. Ron got to my desk, stopped and said, ‘Hi Colin, how are you?’ then flew upstairs to continue his manic furniture identification process. Eric was Mr Wimbledon. He was a lovely guy but could get fired up when things went wrong or he became frustrated. I got to know him and his lovely wife, Ruth, pretty well and often on a Friday evening I would join them at the adjoining Sportsman Pub in Durnsford Road. They were a lovely couple! I was already in New Zealand when I heard the sad news that Eric had passed away but I stayed in touch with Ruth for several years. I did not have much to do with Sam Hammam. He was quiet and relatively unassuming! I do remember the club director Peter Cork who was Mr. Positive, with a mantra of GBTA= Great To Be Alive!
(iii) You would have seen first-hand the work of Dario Gradi as manager replacing Allen Batsford. What was Gradi like to deal with and any of the Crazy Gang players you particularly remember from that time – any memorable tales?

Colin: My era at Plough lane was post-Allen Batsford and I didn’t really have much to do with Dario. He left for Palace soon after the split, so I had more to do with Dave Bassett. The Crazy Gang was not really a thing in those days and I think Wally Downes was only just out from being our first club apprentice, but I found out several years later from the returning Napier players, about some of Wally’s antics on away trips or when playing for the Reserves. I was 22-24 years old when at Wimbledon, the same age as some of the players, so I had a few good friendships. I used to hang around quite a lot with Steve Galliers and Dean Thomas. We’d go for runs around Wimbledon Common, play some football at the Richardson Evans raining ground, play tennis and then end up back at my house for tea and toast served by my mum. We used to have nights out together and also usually after a game. I still keep in touch with Dean and when he was playing for Fortuna Dusseldorf, my wife and I went over to Germany to see him. When at the club I also hung around with Gary Armstrong. His best mate was Paul Denny and when Paul went off to play in the USA I filled the void in Gary Armstrong’s social life!
(iv) Dave Bassett took over as manager in January 1981. What do you remember about Harry back then, what stood out, anything in particular? Bassett also made the decision to send young players Mark Morris and Paul Fishenden to play on loan in New Zealand with Napier City Rovers, and followed later by other young Dons Brian Gayle and Brian McAllister. What was the background to the Napier City Rovers connection, how did the move come about?

Colin: Harry was just Harry. He’d come into the office every afternoon after training with a ‘afternoon, men’ and then head upstairs to his office. At one stage he was made General Manager so he was also my boss. Not the best of outcomes! The relationship between Wimbledon and Napier City Rovers began several years before Dave Bassett between Dario and Napier’s coach at the time. The first ‘Wimbledon import’ we had was Peter Brown in 1980, followed by Paul Fishenden and Mark Morris in 1981. Thanks in part to Fish and Guppy Napier got promoted to the National League for the first time, the top league in the country and a need to set themselves up on a strong commercial footing. I was a by-product of the relationship as I got talking to one of the Napier players at the end of the NZ season, who was at Wimbledon and he ‘sold me’ the idea of going to NZ. I talked with Fish and Guppy, who I also I used to hang around with a bit with and they reinforced the concept even further. From memory Brian Gayle came out to Napier with Sean Priddle in 1983, with Brian McAllister and Jonathan Gould coming out in 1989 in a year when Napier became national champions for the first time. Brian McAllister was just a class above! He ended up with a girlfriend in Napier. The two have been married for many years and they now live in Brisbane.
(v) You went to Napier in 1982. What made you decide to leave your homeland to live and work in New Zealand and what would become a long and fruitful time firstly as Commercial Manager and then the club’s General Manager?
Colin: I had two ambitions as a young man, one to be involved with professional football and the other to spend time living in New Zealand, so I was able to fulfil my dreams!
(vi) You must have many special memories of your time at Napier City Rovers and watching their matches. Which memories stand out and you even married Alyson under the goalposts at the club’s Bluewater Stadium in 2018. Tell us about that day.

Colin: So many memories!! During my time at Napier we won several national titles and FA Cups (Chatham Cup) and are only one of two clubs to have done the league and cup ‘double’ twice. (1993 and 2000). Probably winning the league title for the first time in 1989 (with Jonny and Brian). We were a small, provincial club, but with massive community support and it was a joy. We partied long into the night at our clubrooms. Then winning the double in 1993. In the Chatham Cup Final it was 0-0 at half-time but in the second half we just went berserk. Final score 6-0. Yep, Alison (my second wife) and I got married under the goalposts before a first team game. When I left the club in 1998 to become CEO of Sport Hawke’s Bay, the regional sport leadership organisation, the club made me a Life Member and I also became Club President, so I am still very closely associated with the club, even though I have lived in the capital, Wellington, for almost 10 years. (I am not the President now, BTW)
(vii) Another Wimbledon connection was Shane Smeltz, who played for Rovers before he went to play in England and with AFC Wimbledon. Tell us about Smeltz’s time with the club and in the 2002 season when he was the National League top scorer with 20 goals?

Colin: Smeltzy was a little hard to get to know. I think he was a little uncomfortable with people that he thought were ‘in authority’. He joined Napier after missing out on a professional contract with Brisbane. I think he only played one season for Napier but he was extraordinary. I later became the team manager (our terminology for the Head of Delegation) for the NZ National Team, the All Whites, where I toured with Shane, but I still didn’t really click with him.
(viii) You left Rovers to take up the CEO role at Sport Hawke’s Bay, where you spent 17 years before you subsequently took up a role as the Regional Partnerships Manager at Sport New Zealand. What work does that role entail?
Colin: Sport NZ is the government agency for Play, Active Recreation and Sport. We don’t have branch offices so we invest into National Sports Organisations, National Recreation Organisations, National Disability Organisations and Regional Sports Trusts (like Sport Hawke’s Bay) to deliver on their own strategies that align to our national outcomes. My role is to provide advice and support to those organisations, particularly the CEOs and the board chairs and to continue a performance management function.
(ix) You are good friends with Wimbledon’s FA Cup winning manager Bobby Gould. How did that all come about and do you keep in regular touch with Gouldy?

Colin: I’ve said that in 1989 we bought Jonathan Gould out with Brian McAllister. Bobby was the manager of Wimbledon by then and we got talking about players for our exchange program. Napier used to send their better players to Wimbledon to ‘live the life of a professional footballer for three months. Jonny totally fell in love with Hawke’s Bay and vowed he would come back. As you might recall he went on to play for Coventry City, Celtic and Scotland (in the World Cup) and one evening I got a phone call from Jonny (many years later) saying “I am coming home”. So Jonny returned to Napier. Around this time NZ Football moved to a franchise League so Hawke’s Bay United was created by NCR and became the regional team of which Napier were the original owner. Long story short, Jonny became the head coach of HB United, his dad came out periodically to help with the coaching (Busman’s holiday) and eventually Jonny brought out his Dad to be his assistant coach. I was the Chairman of HB United. Bobby and Marge Gould come out to Hawke’s Bay for four months every year and we often catch up for a BBQ and to swap stories. Bobby has reeled off many a yarn about his relationship with Sam Hammam, the things the Crazy Gang got up to, etc. and some of the ‘ intimidatory tactics’ they put in place, usually involving Fash and Vinnie, but I am unsure if I can reveal those! Although they may be in Bobby’s memoir. I know he gives a chapter to his time in NZ. I even get a mention!
(x) You recently made the trip back to England and had a tour of Plough Lane Stadium. What stood out for you that day, looking around and reflecting on what AFC Wimbledon had become? The wheel had turned on your life, over 40 years from when you working in less salubrious surroundings just down the road?

Colin: ‘In my day’ a good crowd at Plough Lane was around 3,500 so seeing the new facility and knowing the crowds the Dons get now is fantastic. I love the way the new stadium pays homage to its past. It’s a living museum to the people who have followed and loyally supported the club through its incredible history. I love the way the ground pays homage to the Wimbledon Stadium site re ‘Mick the Miller’ Greyhound and the Speedway references. Unfortunately, I was back before the latest league season had got underway, but I would love to be there for a really ‘big game!’ The old Plough Lane was very tatty but it was all we knew and I have many, many great memories of that ground, like sitting with Deano and Midget (Galliers) watching the ‘stiffs’ play on a cold, frosty Tuesday evening! Great stuff! Great memories.
“I’m sending you to New Zealand … you’ll love it”
Paul Fishenden
I have nothing but fond memories of my time in Napier, quiet ground-breaking at the time with three 17 year olds (Mark Morris, Terry Emms and me) going to the other side of the world to play football. I remember when Dave Bassett told us rather than asked “I’m sending you to New Zealand… you’ll love it” and upon arriving being taken to someone’s house and introduced to Roger and Simmo and being given a choice of jobs for day-time work .We pulled straws and I pulled working on a pig/chicken farm owned by the then club chairman Terry O’Neill. He was a funny wonderful man whose team made us so welcome.We were also allocated to a family to take us in for the duration of our stay. Again I couldn’t have been better looked after with Roy and Christine Stanger treating me like one of their own, an amazing couple who I’ll always be forever grateful. Roy was club captain and everyone looked up to him .The football itself was great and helped us grow as players. Roger Wilkinson was a fantastic coach and we had a good blend of youth and experience. We got on so well with the other team-mates who all went out of their way to look after us. I actually feel now looking back on it as helping me develop as a person as well as a player. I scored a few goals and we had a decent season. Flying to an away game, possibly in Nelson, was again something I’ll never forget.
{Fish went on to play 75 games for Wimbledon scoring 25 goals in a playing career spanning 166 games/50 goals.]
[The Colin Stone Interview was first published in the December-January 2024/25 issue of the Wombles Downunder fanzine. Details on how you can subscribe to Wombles Downunder.]