THIRTY years ago this week Lawrie Sanchez scored for Wimbledon to give them victory over Liverpool to cause arguably the biggest FA Cup final shock of all time.

And no doubt that memorable occasion will be in his thoughts when he returns to Wembley this Sunday for the FA Vase final between Thatcham Town and Stockton.

Lawrie played for the Kingfishers while attending Presentation College in Reading before going on to play for Reading FC between 1977 and 1984 and then Wimbledon.

Another with fond memories of playing for Thatcham in his younger days is Brendan Rodgers and the Celtic manager has sent a ‘good luck’ card to Danny Robinson and his team ahead of the game.

Rodgers, who also had a short time as Reading’s manager, will be hoping to lift a trophy himself this weekend when league champions Celtic face Motherwell in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park.

David Downs, the Reading FC historian, will be among those sitting proudly in the Royal Box at Wembley on Sunday, as he is the president of Thatcham.

Skipper Tom Melledew and team-mate Gareth Thomas received a bonus when they were interviewed at their work place by BBC South presenter Allen Sinclair as part of his Vase final preview.

Both are roof tilers and my former Reading Evening Post colleague was so impressed with what they were doing that he booked them to do a job at his house.

  • LOCAL non-league football fans will have a wider choice of games to attend next season than ever before.

Promoted trio Slough (National League South), Thatcham Town (Southern League East) and Bracknell Town (Isthmian League South Central) will all be playing in new leagues.

Maidenhead United, in their second season in the National League, can look forward to visits from the likes of Aldershot, Barnet, Chesterfield, Leyton Orient and Salford City.

And, of course, there will be the usual staple diet of Hellenic League fare at clubs dotted around Berkshire.

With Thatcham, Bracknell and Highworth – all clubs with healthy budgets – joining pastures new, the Hellenic League title race should be very open next year.