TOWARDS the end of last season I received an e-mail asking if I’d write the foreword to a book on the FA Cup, entitled The Road From Wembley.

It was from John Stoneman, a journalist who had decided to follow last year’s competition from Wembley FC’s extra preliminary round tie against Haringey Borough to the final at the rather better-known Wembley.

John’s idea was to go with the winning team from each tie through to the final, and we beat the Combined Counties side in the preliminary round before progressing to the first round proper, so John was a Ware ‘supporter’ for much of his 10-month odyssey.

John covered 19 matches, 2,000 miles and watched 1,700 minutes of football, “stretching”, as he puts it, “family relationships and his bank balance to the limit”.

It was the year of the underdog. Not only did we dispose of Thurrock and Tonbridge Angels from a higher division, but Havant & Waterlooville and Chasetown also upset the odds.

The book is a mix of John’s views on the famous competition, and what he experienced in rediscovering his love for football through “the barren terraces of grass-roots football, through the semi-professional leagues and upwards”.

This fascinating read gives an insight into the highs the likes of our little Ryman club experienced.

Copies can be ordered at www.roadfromwembley.com.