[4] The club was hampered by being in the shadow of the more established sides in the area, and Vale of Leven was able to "requisition" Wanderers players for more important matches.

The club was bolstered by a number of players from Vale of Leven,[10] and reached the final of the pre-season Dunbartonshire tournament, losing to Renton after goalkeeper M'Callum "bungled" a shot.

the most remarkable result was in the fifth round tie at Thistle of east Glasgow; the home side was expected to win,[12] but appalling weather had made the pitch resemble a "clay hole", and at half-time the Wanderers were 4–1 up.

[14] The club was still in the Dumbartonshire Cup, and in the semi-final, against Vale of Leven, led with 15 minutes remaining; the Vale equalized while the Wanderers were disputing a throw-in award, and then won the tie with the literal last kick of the game, the Wanderers' umpire asserting that time was up before the ball entered the goal, but the referee stating that 30 seconds remained in the match.

[16] The club fell off badly in 1888–89, the problem being that it lost its Balloch Road ground and had difficulty finding another, and, by the time it did so, it was too late to organize fixtures.

Dumbarton, Vale of Leven, and Renton were founder members, and, with most of the attention now given to League matches, and less opportunity for lucrative friendlies against top local sides, the Wanderers could no longer afford to run a second eleven,[23] and refused to play in the second round of the Scottish Cup against Adventurers because the Edinburgh side's Slateford Road ground was part of a public park[24] - which meant no gate money.

There were two final entries into the Scottish Cup preliminary rounds, in 1892–93 and 1893–94, in the name of Vale of Leven Wanderers, both resulting in the club scratching before its scheduled first ties.

[31] In January and February 1890 the club's ground was broken into by three schoolboys who stole footballs on the basis that they were "mad for a game" - they were sentenced to six stripes of the birch rod.