The Road From Wembley

HOW HARD would it be to follow every round of the FA Cup? All fourteen of them. From the lowly Extra Preliminary Round in August, through to the glamorous FA Cup Final at the National Stadium in May.
Little did he realise at the time of its creation that this passing fancy would lead John Stoneman on a season-long footballing odyssey, travelling the length and breadth of the country. An eleven-month pilgrimage covering two thousand miles, nineteen matches and seventeen hundred minutes of football, stretching family relationships and his bank balance to the limit.

As his incredible journey progressed from the barren terraces of grass roots football, through the semi-professional leagues and upwards, a strange thing happened. John rediscovered his love for football. That magical, wonderful game. A game for which he had lived and breathed as boy, but which with the advent of blanket media coverage, and the monotonous recent dominance of the 'big four', he had later, with disillusionment discarded.

Meanwhile, out on the grassy-green pitches, some other strange things were happening. The FA Cup was producing some of its old magic. Giant-killings were the order of the day as the famous names and wealthy superstars were scythed down with every passing round. This is the story of that memorable season, of that memorable competition. And it starts at Wembley.

Wembley FC that is.

This is The Road From Wembley…

John Stoneman spent his first working years training as a journalist in east London. After working for local and national newspapers, he rode the early waves of the dotcom boom working for Microsoft and now works within mobile advertising for Nokia. He is married to Vanessa and has three children Eden, Evie and Jonathan.