ARBOUR PARK had a special guest on Saturday when John Elderfield travelled from Australia to watch Slough Town take on Wycombe Wanderers.

Elderfield was born in Slough and lived in the town before his family relocated to Sydney in 1969. The 63-year-old has since moved to Perth and last watched The Rebels in an FA Trophy win over Stevenage in the late 1990s.

He has largely relied on the internet for information since and, in his first-ever visit to Arbour Park, praised his hometown club on their recent success.

“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to talk with Neil Baker and Jon Underwood [joint-managers] and my first words were to congratulate them on what they had done for the club,” Elderfield told the Observer.

Slough Town fans have been long-suffering over the last 20 years so it’s nice to see the club back in the town.

“It is a great stadium, there’s room for growth, and it’s a lovely pitch. We’ve now got the opportunity to consolidate and move forward.

“The chairman, management, team and support staff should be congratulated for getting the club back into the Premier Division, and then back into the town with the ground. That’s two big achievements which is what you want to see.

“Whenever you get promoted you’ve got to settle and it quite often takes a few years to do that. We came very close last season and that was unfortunate but maybe this is the year.

Slough Observer:

PHOTO: John Elderfield travelled from Perth in Australia to watch Slough against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.

“I don’t think anyone would be disappointed if we do not get there, but from my personal point of view, I would be delighted to see us get back into the Conference and take it from there.”

Commenting on the now complete Arbour Park Community Sports Stadium, he said: “It’s a really nice facility. I guess my one disappointment is there’s not Slough Town Football Club outside but I’m sure that will change in time.

“It’s a tidy little ground, very comfortable. It has all the facilities you could want and I’ve heard nothing but positives about these pitches.

“We have not got a lot of these pitches in Australia, they still tend to play a lot on grass, and it was interesting to see the style of play. From what I understand you can really display your skills on these pitches.”

Elderfield predicted a draw and was correct as the friendly ended goalless thanks to a fine display from debutant Jack Turner, who the Slough-come-Aussie named as the official man-of-the-match.

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