South Normanton Athletic take voluntary relegation from Midland Football League

VOLUNTARY relegation seems set to take South Normanton Athletic back down two levels after being provisionally accepted back into the Central Midlands League.

The Shiners announced the decision to resign from the Midland Football League over the weekend despite being well placed for a best finish in club history.

Sat 11th in the Premier Division with games in hand on a cluster of clubs above them, Marc Strzyzewski's men had spent much of the season on the edge of the top six following two campaigns in the lower reaches of step five for the Derbyshire outfit.

Central Midlands League status would see a return to the level South Normanton, reformed in 2009, got promoted from in 2014. 

Chairman Phil Bailey said confirmation of step seven status for next season had been received on Tuesday (April 7 2020).

*To find out why the decision was taken and what direction Athletic hope to take from here, pick a copy of Sunday’s Non League Paper.

New website - Bashley FC

NEW WEBSITE: Bashley FC

BASHLEY FC have today launched their new website on the Pitchero network in conjunction with theonionsack. 


The new site can be found here: http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bashleyfc/


If your club or organisation would like any help with launching a new site or with press releases and taking care of current web material, please contact us for a chat about cost effective solutions to improving your web and social media profile. 

News: Bashley loan Pompey midfielder Colson for a month

BASHLEY BOUND:
George Colson

BASHLEY have secured the services of Portsmouth youngster George Colson on a month's loan ahead of this weekend's trip to Barwell. 


Colson, 19, made his Pompey debut in the League Cup against Plymouth Argyle before spending a a two month loan spell with Dorchester Town. 


The attacking midfielder goes straight into the Bash squad for tomorrow's trip to Barwell in the Southern Premier. The Canaries won the reverse fixture 5-0 in September.


*The story for the Bournemouth Echo can be found here, as well as a preview of tomorrow's match. 

Exclusive: Pompey star Paul Hall joins Romulus coaching staff

NEW ROMS COACH: Paul Hall

FORMER Portsmouth star and Jamaican international Paul Hall has joined the back room staff at Northern Premier League club Romulus theonionsack can exclusively reveal.

Hall, 40, will come in as First Team Coach as the Roms shake things up behind the scenes with current coach Dave Barnett stepping up to the role of joint manager alongside the long serving Richard Evans.

The former Pompey striker or winger returns to the game after a year out following a spell as assistant manager at Mansfield Town, who reached the FA Trophy final, and as coach at Tamworth who got to the 3rd Round proper of the FA Cup.

That came on the back of a successful Football League career, totalling more than 500 appearances and scoring over 100 goals for a succession of clubs including a successful five year stint at Fratton Park.

But he really made his name by receiving the call to represent the Reggae Boyz in the 1998 World Cup with his displays in France earning Hall a £300,000 move to the Premier League with Coventry City before helping another Midlands club Walsall to promotion.

His latest move may raise a few eyebrows, but despite the Roms sitting second bottom of the Northern Premier League Division One South, Hall is relishing the task ahead.

“This will be the biggest challenge of my life,” he said “people may look at that and think it is a strange thing to say with some of the highlights I have had in my career, but that has gone and it is all about now.

“The league position means the lads can’t be very happy at the moment, but that is a good thing, you don’t want people who are happy to be down there struggling.

“We need to create a good atmosphere because wherever I have had success there has always been that togetherness.”

Hall has already got to work, attending his first training session and meeting the players, and insists that the Roms’ young charges were not overawed by his arrival.

“Everyone was very welcoming and it was quite relaxed. I have always considered myself to be one of the lads and I respect these players in the same way I would respect the top players I have played with.

“There are some familiar faces in the squad that I have come across before and we are all in it together. We just need to try and improve what we have done already. We need to make ourselves hard to beat again.

“We’ll set our own targets amongst ourselves but you have to be realistic and remember that we are here for the long term, to build the team and get everyone doing the right things.”

Meanwhile, new joint-manager Barnett added: “The management team are united in achieving better results during the second half of the season.

“The players will get all the information they need and we will be well organised. It is now down to team spirit, hard work, raising confidence and individual standards, so that we become a more consistent, solid unit.”

UPDATED News: Redditch Utd budget cut denied by chairman

TIGHT LIPPED:
 Simon Redhead

REDDITCH United boss Simon Redhead refused to confirm or deny that his playing budget has been cut at the Valley Stadium following the departure of fans favourite Stuart Hendrie.

The former Morecambe frontrunner, who starred for the Reds last season before moving onto Stourbridge, returned to the Valley as recently as October, but the younger brother of ex-Aston Villa star Lee said on the social networking site today that his second spell had been cut short through cutbacks.

When asked about his departure by theonionsack, Hendrie tweeted: “I have left the club and want to say thanks to the fans they have been great as always.

“Was told the budget had been cut and couldn't afford to pay my wages. Gutted as I took a paycut to join them from Stourbridge.”

When asked about any adjustment, the manager of the Southern Premier strugglers politely declined to comment, a sentiment he repeated when asked whether the claims were false.

However, United’s manager did say: “Like all clubs, Redditch have found the winter difficult financially and there has been some pressure on the club. There have been so many games off, it has been a horrendous December.

“One thing I can say is to bring anyone in then players would have to go out as there is not much surplus in the budget at the moment.”

Meanwhile, on another possible departure, Redhead added that there has still been no movement with contract player Connor Deards.

The winger, a revelation on loan from Walsall last season, signed a deal with Reds in the summer but has struggled to command a place in the first XI and was made available for loan. 

On Deards, Redhead said: “There has been no movement yet. A couple of clubs came in for Connor but he and his agent felt it wasn’t right for him to go anywhere and they are pretty clear on their stance.

“He is a very good, talented player but he has struggled to adapt to the part time game and his confidence has suffered as a result. We felt it was in his best interests to go out on loan and that it might have done him good.

“After initially agreeing to go out he decided to stay put, so he will feature for us in the coming weeks and hopefully rediscover his form.”

UPDATE: 

theonionsack was unable to reach Redditch chairman Chris Swan, but the Valley Stadium supremo has since told the Redditch Advertiser that the speculation was wide of the mark in this article. 


However, in the same piece boss Redhead would not be drawn on the reasons behind Hendrie's departure. 

News: Exclusive - Leamington sign goalkeeper Niall Cooper from Redditch United

BRAKES SWITCH:
Niall Cooper

LEAMINGTON have finally secured the signature of goalkeeper Niall Cooper from Redditch United, theonionsack can exclusively reveal tonight.

The will-he-won’t-he debate ended with the former Kettering Town, Romulus and Sutton Coldfield Town stopper, 21, switching to the Southern Premier leaders from their struggling local rivals after watching Tuesday’s FA Trophy replay with Belper Town.

Last week’s speculation was fuelled further when Cooper did not feature for the Reds in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Nantwich Town and he revealed today that United boss Simon Redhead had decided against playing him in their Trophy clash.

Cooper told theonionsack: “I spoke to the gaffer and the chairman at Redditch and it is understandable. The manager asked if my head was on it and I said ‘Yes, of course’.

“Leamington wanted to push things forward but the move wasn’t going to go through until Tuesday and the gaffer felt it wasn’t the right thing to do (to play Cooper).

“Simon wanted me to stay and there was nothing pushing me away from Redditch, it was just a good offer from Leamington.”

Cooper admits that he suffered a poor start to pre-season after stepping up from Sutton, but his fine form since then has convinced the Brakes to move for the Northamptonshire based player.

“There were no personal reasons, it’s just Leamington is a lot closer to home for training with my work commitments. As a club, with the position they are in, it is a lot more attractive too.

“I told Simon Redhead during pre-season that if I had the opportunity to step forward then I would and I have done. I would like to thank Redditch for taking the chance on me and sticking by me after a bad pre-season.

“But I see this as a step forward in my career, as Redditch was in the summer, now I am starting to find my feet at this level.”

The move throws into doubt the future of current Brakes custodian Kevin Sawyer, who himself only joined the New Windmill club in the summer, as Cooper explained he expects to feature regularly.

“When I started talking to Paul Holleran I put the question across and said straight away that if I was going to move then I wanted to be playing games rather than watching from the bench.

“It is not down to me and I’m not here just to walk into the side, but my overall aim is to play regularly, get spotted and go higher.

“I wouldn’t move if I did not believe I was going to be first choice and I have signed on the understanding that I would be playing games – whether that is straight away or over the next couple of weeks, we will see.”

Meanwhile, Redditch have replaced Cooper with Tamworth loanee James Wren, 20. 

News: Table topping Killick wants Poole to play it again

PLAY IT AGAIN: Killick

TABLE topping Poole Town boss Tom Killick would wipe away the Dolphins’ strong start to the season to have another bite at the FA Cup cherry.

With his side leading the Southern League South and West table with four wins and a draw from their five games, Killick amazingly said this week that he would play all the games again in an effort to win the league match at Taunton and the FA Cup match at Yate Town which Poole lost 5-0.

The defeat left Killick’s charges kicking their heels this weekend prior to a trip to Beaconsfield SYCOB in the FA Trophy and the ultra-competitive Tatnam chief would turn back the clock if he could to seek a perfect record.

When asked if he would restart the season given the option, Killick told theonionsack: “Yeah, I think so, we’d have another good crack at the FA Cup and the points we dropped at Taunton.

“I would love to still be in the FA Cup, I know that’s a little bit picky but the Cup is so important financially and it gives us a weekend where we have no game, nothing to be involved in.

“The Cup for players and teams at our level is brilliant and going out was a huge disappointment and there is no point pretending otherwise but it is done now and our league form is very strong so that partially makes up for it at least.”

News: Nathan Blissett signs for Kidderminster Harriers

BLISSETT: Harriers bound

STRIKER Nathan Blissett has signed for Kidderminster Harriers on a one year contract from Evostik Northern Premier League club Romulus.

The 23-year-old shone with 13 goals in his first season at Coles Lane and has been snapped up by the full time Harriers after impressing boss Steve Burr in a week long trial. 


Blissett spoke to the Romulus website about the transfer this weekend following his Harriers debut in a 3-2 defeat to Mansfield Town. The full interview and details of the transfer can be found here. 

News: Romulus sign model Keenen Meakin-Richards

PRO MODEL TO MODEL PRO:
Keenan Meakin-Richards

EVOSTIK Northern Premier League club Romulus hope to have signed a model professional ahead of the big kick-off this week, by signing a professional model.

The Roms have snapped up central midfielder Keenen Meakin-Richards in the build-up to their opening game of the season against Leek Town.

Meakin-Richards talks exclusively to theonionsack's author Andy Mitchell for the Romulus website about his modelling, football coaching with youngsters and the Roms' prospects for the season here. 

News: Winton Cricket Club deducted 50 league points

PENALISED:
Winton CC

WINTON Cricket Club have been deducted a mammoth 50 league points by the Dorset Cricket Board, plunging the Dorset Premier League newcomers towards near certain relegation. 



The sanction was passed because the club do not have two youth sides playing competitive cricket in line with the board's interpretation of it's rules.

It leaves the newly promoted club stranded at the bottom of the table. Without the deduction their fate would be in their own hands with the bottom club going down and the second bottom side facing a play-off to stay up. 

Winton have appealed the decision, arguing that they have youth teams in place and that the rules do not stipulate that they have to play competitively.

The full story with views from Winton CC's Brian Dobson and DCB's John Ridout for the Bournemouth Echo can be found here.

News: National League System changes 2012-13 confirmed

The National League System will have another shake up this summer, affecting the promotion and relegation at Steps 3, 4 and 5. theonionsack spoke to the FA’s Leagues and Clubs Manager Mike Appleby last week to find out exactly what will be happening, how, when and why.

This diagram from the FA’s website shows how the different levels are divided up – there are 14 leagues at Step 5 feeding into the six Step 4 divisions.

What will happen

• All three Step 3 leagues (Northern Premier League Premier, Southern Premier, Isthmian Premier) will increase from 22 to 24 teams.

• The two Isthmian leagues at Step 4 (Division One North, Division One South) will increase from 22 to 24 teams.

• A third relegation place will be created in the Isthmian leagues at Step 4, creating 14 automatic promotion places from Step 5 from 2013-14.

• Teams finishing as low as third at Step 5 may be promoted, as long as they apply for promotion and meet the ground grading criteria. However, only one team from each Step 5 league will be promoted each season, the highest placed eligible club.

How it will affect 2012-13

To add the extra six teams required at Step 3, each league will relegate only two teams instead of the usual four. That means six teams will go down from Step 3 with 12 coming up from Step 4 via the usual method – champions plus play-off winners from each division.

This means Step 4 will need an extra ten teams – six to make up the shortfall from Step 3 and another four to increase the size of the two Isthmian divisions.


Therefore, each Step 4 league will only carry one relegation place this season, instead of the usual two.

The FA have decided to create a 16 up – 6 down system for this season only between Steps 4 and 5, enabling each Step 4 league to relegate its bottom club.

As a one off, the FA will promote a second club from two Step 5 leagues in the Isthmian League catchment area only. This covers five leagues – the Eastern Counties League, the Spartan South Midlands League, the Kent League, the Combined Counties League and the Essex Senior League.

The FA will take no more than two promoted clubs from these divisions and it will be decided on position and points per game basis. The FA will only take one promoted club from the other nine leagues.

The aim is to ensure that all bottom placed clubs at Step 4 are relegated, but if any teams drop out from Steps 1-4, the vacancy created will be filled by relegation reprieves. Extra teams from Step 5 will not be promoted.

How it will affect 2013-14 and beyond

Promotion and relegation will return to normal from 2013-14 other than one change.

As mentioned above, there will be three relegation places in the Isthmian leagues at Step 4, while the other four divisions of 22 teams will continue to relegate two.

This creates a 14 up – 14 down system where every league can promote a team each season – previously there had been only 12 places across the 14 leagues, though this rarely created a problem as clubs from some leagues frequently decline promotion, citing travelling and financial implications.

Any clubs dropping out of the system from Steps 1-4 will continue to be replaced by reprieving relegated clubs on a position and points per game basis.

This means that the first relegation reprieves will be offered to the two clubs finishing third bottom of the Isthmian League First Divisions, irrelevant of points per game achieved by clubs in other leagues.

Reasons, criticism and responses

Mike Appleby, the League and Clubs Manager at the FA told theonionsack that the increase in clubs at Step 3 is to make relegation fairer.

“They had 22 teams and were relegating four each season – no other competition does that, not even the Football League.

“It is a big turnaround of teams, losing six clubs overall from 22 year on year.”

Since the plans have been announced, supporters have voiced concerns over increasing the league schedule by four games at a time when so many teams face fixture backlogs already, but Appleby said that the leagues had been fully consulted throughout.

“Those are valid points and we did look at that, as well as seeking advice from the leagues themselves.

“The clubs were happy to go with it – it wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”

There has also been criticism of the decision to relegate only two teams from Step 3 this season, with people believing that the Step 4 leagues should have been granted an extra promotion place.

Appleby responded: “I think that’s something we need to look at going forward, but it’s in the rules, you reprieve in England. In Scotland, when Rangers went down to Division Three, they promoted Dundee, but we do it differently.

“Two years ago, of the five teams reprieved at Step 4, four got relegated last season – do you not just prolong the agony? You have other clubs who have just spent the whole season buoyant, so why shouldn’t they be given the chance? I can see the benefit of that.

“But the rules always help the teams at a higher level and the leagues were happy to offer it that way. We can’t just amend the rules, the clubs need to come forward.”

The FA hope that by accepting teams finishing as low as third, promotion and natural movement between the leagues will be stimulated.

The plan had initially been to reduce the number of leagues at Step 5 from 14 to 12, resulting in a straight 12 up – 12 down without changing the Step 4 leagues, but the Step 5 leagues couldn’t agree on changes.

“We were asked by the leagues to look at it,” said Appleby “and we had a mandate to do that, but when the leagues saw the actual proposals some were very vociferous.

“It would have been a major upheaval and it was decided it would cause the least disruption to keep 14 leagues at Step 5. Demographics would say with the density of the population in the Isthmian area that the increase [at Step 4] happens there.”

In addition the FA aims to ensure that any club finishing bottom of a Step 4 league is relegated, even in 2012-13 when only the bottom sides go down, but Appleby conceded it wouldn’t be easy to implement.

“We’re planning to try and relegate the bottom teams where possible and going forward we’re talking to the leagues to enforce this regardless of what happens [in terms of drop outs].

“I think this season, though, we would have to reprieve. Step 5 leagues don’t like us taking too many teams in one year. They are very, very reluctant, and I understand their position. It is the leagues, not the clubs, though we have to apply the rules in place as well.”


All information correct at the time of publication, Monday 30th July 2012. 

News: Gardiner happy as Worcester City take shape

HAPPY: Matt Gardiner

WORCESTER’S assistant manager Matt Gardiner hailed the performance of his front men following a 3-1 win at Southern League Bashley with City’s squad beginning to take shape.

Gardiner said that he and manager Carl Heeley are getting closer to their starting XI for the opener at newly promoted Bradford Park Avenue in three weeks time, but insisted there are still places “up for grabs”.

City’s number two said: “I thought it was a really good game, Bashley gave us the workout we were looking for at this stage of pre-season.

“We played the lads for a little bit longer, and the message we try to give them in every game in terms of progression has come through – the way we moved the ball around looked good.”

“We’ve probably got seven or eight in place now, but there are still places up for grabs. The lads have done well but we’ve still got three more friendlies, and to be fair, I couldn’t name the starting XI for Bradford now, so everyone still has an opportunity.”

Danny Glover grabbed a quick-fire double to put the visitors on course for their victory at Bashley Road, and Gardiner was particularly happy with the performance of his strikers.

“We’re really happy with Danny, and our front four really, they all did very well.

“Danny’s partnership with Mike Symons’ looks like it is getting better with every game and that’s what we want at this stage of the season. I’m really pleased for both of them.

“Greg Mills has come back and done really well – he’s made a real impact and he’ll be a good addition if we can get him in.”

The final places in City’s squad seem set to go to current players or trialists though, as Gardiner said he wasn’t looking to add more new faces.

“Not at this stage” he said. “We’re happy with where we are at the moment, but we’ll see how it goes.”

News: Abdul Osman signs for Crewe Alexandra

CREWE: Osman's new club

ABDUL Osman finally completed his long awaited move to Crewe Alexandra this week after a week of on-off negotiations.


The 25 year-old former Northampton Town midfielder returns from a spell in Greece to sign a two year contract with the League One newcomers.


The full story for The Sentinel, with reaction from both Osman and Crewe boss Steve Davis, as well as details of the Alex's 2-0 win at Southern League club Bashley can be found here.

News: Charlie Knight re-signs for Bashley from Salisbury City

WING WIZARD: Knight returns to Bashley

BASHLEY  have re-signed former winger Charlie Knight from Salisbury City on a one year contract.


The news came as Bash played out a 2-0 defeat at home to full strength League One side Crewe Alexandra.


The full story for the Bournemouth Echo and news on the current trailists at Bashley Road can be found here. 

News: Four new faces, but Poole boss Killick is fuming

FOUR SIGN: But Killick wasn't happy.

Poole Town boss Tom Killick revealed four new signings after his side’s 4-3 friendly win over Christchurch this weekend, but blasted his players for a lack of focus in the game itself.

Diminutive forward Alex Baldacchino joins on dual registration terms, while Luke Burbidge joins from Hamworthy United and 18-year old right back Jordan O’Donnell joins from Salisbury City. The re-signing of Karim Lamalli completes the quartet.

Baldacchino spent the closing months of last season at Tatnam Road after notching 28 league goals in 35 games for Wessex League strugglers New Milton Town while also being signed for Havant and Waterlooville in the Conference South.

Killick said: “Alex joins us on the basis that if Havant & Waterlooville require him, then that’s Conference South football and he would have to give that priority, and I understand that.

BALDACCHINO: Dual registered

“Effectively it will be the same arrangement he had for most of last year with New Milton, but hopefully he will feature regularly for us until such time he is called on by Havant.”

Burbidge signs after a 22 goal Wessex League haul with Hamworthy United last season while O’Donnell has featured for youth teams at Portsmouth and Eastleigh as well as Salisbury.

Other trailists include Lee Chudy – the striker scored twice in the second 45 minutes on Saturday after netting 11 times in 15 leagueappearances for Hamworthy last season. Goalkeeper Michael Weatherall, who comes from the same youth side as O’Donnell, featured, as well as Bournemouth Poppies wing wizard Fawzi Saadi.

Though even after the influx of players, Killick admitted he was still looking to strengthen his frontline before the season starts with Clevedon Town at home on August 18^th.

“We were a little bit low on numbers but we’re gradually building it up – we are still short in a couple of areas but a one or two things might be happening this week.”

“We have got some good options up front. Alex Baldacchino is a very good player, Karim has got huge ability, Lee Chudy has shown up very well – I’ve got to have a word with Lee but I’m hopeful we’ll sort something out.

“We’ve got Luke Burbidge who can play out wide as well, but I probably want to bring someone in who has played at a higher level to give us a real focal point.

“It’s difficult because those types of players are in very short supply, which we’ve already found to our cost over the summer, but we’ll endeavour to bring someone of that calibre in over the next few weeks if we can.”

As for the game, Killick was less than impressed as Graham Kemp’s plucky Christchurch side took the lead three times. Chudy’s brace eventually sealed victory for the hosts, but couldn’t prevent the side receiving a tongue lashing from their boss.

“It was a disappointing day for us, we were awful, it’s the worst we’ve been. We were sloppy, lazy and careless, just a really below par performance – the goals we let in were laughable really.

“Our attitude was all wrong today – we had Yeovil Tuesday, Eastleigh Thursday and then Christchurch, and the players approached it in completely the wrong manner, you could see that in the performance. It was unacceptable.

“The difficulty is I know we’ll be better in our next game against AFC Bournemouth because the players will like playing in that game, but your attitude has to be right week in week out, you can’t just pick and choose and perform in the big games.

“All of them disappointed me, and apart from two or three of the younger lads, none of them came out with any credit.

“It was a disastrous performance from our point of view – with all due respect to Christchurch we should be controlling the game from start to finish and winning it convincingly, so we’re upset about that and I hope the players are upset – we’ve got to knuckle down with our training this week.

“We have Bournemouth and Salisbury next, but for me Parley is our next test because I want to see what our attitude is like in that game.

“Are we just going to turn up and stroll about like we did against Christchurch? We won’t accept that again, so Parley is a game I’m looking forward to see how the players react and see what we’re made of that day. Attitude is the be all and end all and that’s what we’re going to look at.”

News: Kidderminster Harriers boss Burr pleased with start

PLEASED: Harriers boss Steve Burr

KIDDERMINSTER Harriers boss Steve Burr was pleased with his squad’s double workout on Saturday, but remained tight lipped on which trialists have a future at Aggborough.

With much of the first team squad having a run-out at West Bromwich Albion’s training ground on Saturday morning – the Harriers beating the Baggies 3-2 [see below] – a mixed side lost 2-1 at Evostik League club Romulus on the afternoon.

Among the trialists at Coles Lane were former England Schools goalkeeper Ed Baldy and ex-Halesowen Town striker Justin Nisbett, both of whom impressed, while more familiar names on show included midfielders Jack Byrne and Marvin Johnson along with defender Mickey Demetriou.

Burr, who came close to leading Harriers into the play-offs in the last two seasons, admitted he had been impressed by some of the performances, but insisted no decisions would be taken yet as he looks to go one better and gate crash the top five this season.

“It’s difficult to judge because this is the first game we’ve had  – a lot of the lads who have already signed played at West Brom and had a good workout, and there’s one or two played again against Romulus.

“We’ll have another look at one or two trialists, but these are the types of games where we can see if anyone is going to make the step up and give us something better than we’ve already got.

“I thought Justin Nisbett looked quite lively today, but we’ll keep our eye on things, it’s early yet. A lot of the first team squad have got a game on Tuesday night [at AFC Wulfrunians] and we’ve got another game over at Stourport on Thursday where we’ll take another look at some of these lads [trialists].”

On the friendly at Albion, Burr was equally pleased with the run out, especially for returning goalkeeper Danny Lewis.

Lewis will be vying for the ‘Number One’ shirt again this season after an anterior cruciate ligament injury required surgery and kept him on the sidelines for nine months.

Burr added: “The one good thing is there were no injuries and we were very pleased with the game.

“The result is not important but it does give the lads a bit of confidence and I thought some of our play was excellent. It was a great experience for our lads to be playing against Premier League players.

“Danny [Lewis] played the full 90 minutes and that’s his first game back after being injured for a while – he looked very good, as a lot of them did, they’ve come back, look in good shape and look fit.

“It has been a long road for Danny, nobody has worked harder than him to get back on the football pitch and it was nice to see him playing a part again. He played the whole 90 minutes and got through it OK, but I’m sure he’ll be feeling a bit stiff after that!”

News: Hamworthy United boss Simon Browne faces rebuild

HAMMERED: Five players leave United

HAMWORTHY United boss Simon Browne insists the door remains open for players trialling with higher ranked clubs this summer, but the Hammers chief is bracing himself for a rebuilding job at the County Ground.

Defender Greg Horlock and goalscoring midfielder Sam Lanahan will attempt to make a three division jump to Dorchester Town in the Conference South, while last season’s 22 goal top scorer Luke Burbidge trials with Southern League rivals Poole Town and Will Robinson seems set for Wimborne Town.

It leaves Browne with the daunting prospect of reconstructing a side that challenged towards the top end of the Wessex League last season, finishing 7^th despite a run of poor results in the middle of the campaign.

Browne told theonionsack: “There are players who have gone to higher clubs and I always said to the players that I would never have a problem with them going and trying to better themselves.

“What I have said to them all is if things don’t work out where they’re intending to go this season, they can come back and hopefully enjoy their football here again.

“There is an opportunity for some new faces this season though – I’ve been busy on the phone talking to lots of people and if the guys don’t come back or are looking elsewhere then there are some opportunities for people to come and play for Hamworthy.”

The Hammers kicked their pre-season schedule off with a 1-1 draw against a youthful Salisbury City side last week before losing 2-0 to Wimborne Town on Saturday, and Browne said that there were encouraging signs from his new look side.

“There were a couple of good performances there but I don’t want to say too much about players yet – I want to look at them over the next two or three games and from there I’ll start making a list of lads who are capable of playing at our level.

“There were a couple of players that showed up quite well and I’ll keep an eye on the training and hopefully they’ll step up for us.”

Browne confirmed that Steve Whitcher had left the club, joining league rivals New Milton Town, but experienced Hammer Mike White, who will also help Wareham out in the Dorset League, has also re-signed with United.