Winchester City V Chesham United 15/10/2022

THE CHARTERS COMMUNITY STADIUM

WINCHESTER CITY Football Club The Citizens Post Saturday October 15th 2022

Chesham United 3.00pm

Southern League Premier South

£2

The Citizens Post Spotlight: on – JONNY BENNET We are fortunate to have strong links with Barton Peveril College through a number of our Managers, coaches and players. This has enabled us to source some up and coming talent from their students who have shown an interest in coaching and managing our junior teams.

On his 18th birthday, we’ve taken the opportunity to find out more about Jonny Bennett, Manager of our U9 Black Team. An avid Saints fan, Jonny is the font of all knowledge when it comes to fixtures and run of form, and as a season ticket holder rarely misses a game. His interest in football started from a very young age, where he played as a striker and winger for Warsash and Locks Heath respectively, scoring over 70 goals in five seasons.

Jonny studies the CTEC Extended Diploma in Sport at Barton Peveril College and coaches the Year 9 Boys Football Team at Brookfield Community School. He’s also been asked to be an assistant coach for the Hampshire U14 Girls team from the new year. Jonny plans to study Football Coaching and Performance at University. Having taken his Level 1 coaching badge last year at college he approached Winchester City about coaching opportunities. At the time we had several U8s that were without a team, thanks to Jonny they trained for the rest of last season and formed a team this season playing in the EDMSL league. The team have had a fantastic start to the season under Jonny’s watchful eye.

Having himself played football for eight years, when asked how his playing experience has helped with managing on match day he stated “it’s important to keep everyone focused and not get involved with refereeing decisions“.

Everyone knows that it’s never straightforward when working with pets or children, when asked what the main challenges of coaching junior players was, he responded “keeping the children’s concentration for the duration of the game and giving each player a different role to fulfil”, he goes on to say “I’ve received endless support since joining the Junior Managers, the Club has a real “family feel” which doesn’t go unnoticed and is always appreciated”.

Just incase you are not already as impressed as we are with this young man, recently Jonny was awarded the Freedom of the City of Portsmouth due to his services and efforts given to the Portsmouth Mass Vaccination Centre at St James Hospital for the past two years.

We are incredibly grateful to Jonny for his diligence and commitment to the team, and his enthusiasm and dedication to our Club. A real credit to his family and college, we hope that he continues to learn and gain lifelong skills from coaching our junior players. Finally, best wishes and a very happy 18th birthday Jonny from everyone at Winchester City FC.

joma-sport.com

The Citizens Post malcolms musings We welcome Chesham United to Winchester for today’s game. This will be only the second season that the clubs have been in the same division, with the other being in 2006/07 when Winchester won the corresponding match 4-0, and Chesham won the match on their own pitch 2-1. Both teams had in fact joined the Southern League that season, with Chesham joining from the Isthmian League having previously been members of the Corinthian and Athenian Leagues and Winchester joining from the Wessex League. However after one season Chesham transferred to the Midland Division of this League.

I think it is fair to say that Chesham first came to National prominence in the late 1960’s. In 1996/67 they reached the F A Cup 1st round proper, but were beaten by Enfield. The following season they reached the final of the F A Amateur Cup but lost to Leytonstone in the final.

Ken Gaunt who has gone on to become a National sports reporter was just starting of his career at the time with a local Buckinghamshire paper was at that Wembley final and remembers the team being cheered by 3000 supporters on their arrival home Leytonstone who beat Chesham in the final that year merged with Ilford in 1975 to form Leytonstone and Ilford and absorbed Walthamstow Avenue in 1989 to became Redbridge Forest.

In the year that Chesham reached the F A Amateur Cup final they finished in the lower half of the Athenian League Division 1 which was not even the top flight of that league and only five years prior to that they were playing in the disbanded Corinthian League. Similarly when Winchester first began to make an impression in the F A Vase by reaching the quarter finals in 2002/03 we were playing in the Hampshire League, which is one level below the Wessex League, which at that time had only one division. However when we won the F A Vase the following year we had been promoted to the Wessex League and had won the championship with 35 wins and 151 goals scored from our 42 league games.

Chesham in fact were still playing in the second tier of Athenian League football when in 1973 a second division of the Isthmian League was formed and they became members of it. When a third division was formed four years later Chesham played in the second tier and they remained there before being relegated in 1985/86. However they bounced back as champions the following season and four years later they were promoted to the Premier Division for the first time.

In fact 24 of the last 31 seasons have been spent in either the Premier Division of the Isthmian or Southern Leagues, with Chesham as mentioned in the first paragraph joining the Southern League at the start of the 2006/07 season.

Three promotions and three relegations have featured in this period, with 15th position in the Southern League South and West Division in 2006/07 which was the season they played us being their lowest position in this period.

Chesham have in fact enjoyed some good F A Cup runs reaching the 3rd round proper in 1979/80 when they lost to Cambridge United, and the 2nd round proper in 2015/16 when on the way they achieved a victory against a football league club for the first time, with Ryan Blake scoring the only goal in a 1-0 away victory against Bristol Rovers. Blake in fact last season played for Thame United against us in the F A Trophy.

Chesham’s best season in the F A Trophy was 1998/99 when they beat Yeading and Crawley Town before losing to Hendon in the 4th round proper. They have been champions of both the Spartan and Isthmian Leagues and amongst their former players is Mark Lawrenson, Bruce Grobbelaar. Graham Roberts and former Watford and Sheffield United winger Stewart Scullion, with Roberts and another former England international Luther Blissett amongst their previous managers.

Today is F A Cup 4th qualifying round day and good luck to teams from our league who are involved in today’s ties know that if they win through they could potentially plat a football league club in the next round. Both Chesham and ourselves were eliminated from this competition in the 2nd qualifying round, with Chesham losing to Bracknell from our own division after a replay.

On Tuesday we travel to Yate for a rearranged league match and this is the second of four consecutive weeks in which we have a midweek match. In fact following the Yate match we have two other away league matches against Swindon Supermariine and Beaconsfield. Town.

It has been good to see Paul Murray and Dave Malone at recent matches, Both Paul and Dave played an important part in restoring the fortunes of the club when its’ future was in doubt, let alone any thoughts of reaching the Southern Premier League.

Todays Visitors chesham united Chesham United Football Club was formed in 1917 following the merger of Chesham Town FC (who were founder members of the Southern League in 1894 when still known as just Chesham FC) and Chesham Generals (who took their name from the General Baptist Church in Chesham Broadway).

Relative success in the following years paled into insignificance following the FA Amateur Cup run of 1967/68 when, against all the odds, little Chesham United went all the way from the Preliminary round to the final of the FA Amateur Cup, finally losing 1-0 to Leytonstone in front of a 54,000 Wembley crowd. At a time when the population of the town was just 18,000 people, the club sold 22,000 tickets for this game.

The club went into turmoil on May 3rd 1983 when the main stand burned down. A new stand was officially opened with the visit of a Watford side, managed by the late Graham Taylor, containing future Chesham United manager Luther Blissett in 1984.

The 1987/88 season marked the centenary of non-league football in Chesham, an achievement commemorated with a match against a full-strength Arsenal side on 18th August 1987.

In 1991 the club won the Isthmian League Division One title and also reached the final of the inaugural Loctite Cup but lost to Bishops Stortford on penalties. In October 1992 the club went to the very top of the Isthmian League after a famous win at Enfield and stayed ahead of the pack until the end of the season, being crowned Champions on the last day after a 4-0 win over Dulwich Hamlet.

That season the average gate was just short of 1,000. The season also saw the arrival of ex-Liverpool star Mark Lawrenson. However the season ended in disappointment when promotion to the Conference National was denied because the club could not afford the necessary ground improvements.

Since those days the club has been through many managers, including ex-England internationals Graham Roberts and Luther Blissett and literally hundreds of players, including a stint with Bruce Grobbelaar between the sticks.

In the early 2000s the club again had an eye on promotion to the Conference as Bob Dowie led a strong Chesham side to 6th in the Ryman Premier, possibly an under-achievement when considering the resources at his disposal.

The team that year included Wayne Andrews and Fitz Hall, both of whom went on to enjoy professional careers in the higher echelons of football. Two years later and the club were once again relegated back to Division One.

Todays Visitors chesham united With re-structuring on the horizon, the 2003/04 season was all about finishing in the top six. After an indifferent start the team climbed up the table to eventually take 4th spot in the Ryman Division One (North) and earn a place in the Southern League Premier Division. United’s first year in the Southern League was certainly adventurous.

At times they looked title contenders, then flirted with relegation and in the end were happy to finish in mid-table.

The following year the true price of years of over-achieving came to light. Nearly two decades of wealthy chairmen helping to fund the club was over and it was time for the Generals to stand on their own feet, a task that proved too much.

By February 2006 the club was truly on its knees. The front pages of local papers were highlighting the sorry plight of the club that had seen so much. A public meeting was called at the Town Hall to “Save Chesham United” – it was a last desperate throw of the dice. Fortunately the sorry tale had a happy ending. A local businessman, Charles Manchester, read the stories, visited the Meadow, showed an interest and helped get the club back on its feet.

His intention was always to hand over the club to its supporters and he gradually brought more members of the Chesham United Supporters’ Trust onto the main club board whilst other Trust members took on many of the day to day tasks of running the club.Fittingly, after for years at the helm, he was able to stand down at the end of the 2009/10 season with promotion back to the Southern League Premier Division secured and the club back on a stable footing.

After good work by the Supporters’ Trust, the club’s financial position was improved following a takeover of the club by businessman Roger Payne in 2012. This takeover allowed Chesham to consistently challenge for promotion to Conference South in the following seasons. Following relegation to the Sothern League South & West Division in 2006, Chesham were transferred to the Midland Division after a single season.

In 2007/08 United finished 6th and missed out on the play-offs on goal difference, but in 2009 finished 5th, but lost in the play-off semi-finals to two late goals at Nuneaton Town having led 1-0 for much of the game.

In 2009/10 a fourth-place finish was enough to reach the play-offs again. A 1-0 victory away at Burnham set up a final against Slough Town with a crowd of 1,115 witnessing a 4-0 victory at the Meadow to secure promotion.

Todays Visitors chesham united Consolidation in the Southern League Premier was the main aim for 2010/11, but Chesham United finished 6th in the league having been in the play-off race for much of the campaign. They achieved a 4th place finish in the 2011/12 season, losingin the play-off semi-finals to AFC Totton.

In the 2012/13 season Chesham reached the FA Trophy Second Round, whilst in the league were unbeaten in their last 17 games to finish 3rd, before losing to Hemel Hempstead Town in the play-offs.

Chesham were able to build on this in the 2013/14 season, pushing eventual champions Hemel Hempstead Town all the way in the title race, but eventually had to settle for a place in the play-offs.

After beating Stourbridge 2-1 at the Meadow in the play-off semi-final, Chesham lost 3-1 to St Albans City in front of a crowd of 2,960, the largest seen at the Meadow for many years. However a number of players left the club in the following close season and a revamped squad finished in 11th position. The 2015/16 season saw history made as Chesham knocked a Football League team out of the FA Cup for the first time.

They defeated Bristol Rovers 1-0 on their own ground in the First Round proper. This led to a trip to Bradford City’s Valley Parade ground in the Second Round, when two late goals gave the home team a flattering 4-0 win.

In 2016/17 Chesham again reached the FA Cup First Round proper, losing 2-1 to Peterborough United at London Road. This resulted in a fixture backlog which led to the club finishing 11th in the league for the third season running.

The 2017/18 season saw Jon Meakes take charge of the team after a decade as assistant to Andy Leese. A new-look squad took time to settle, but a strong run saw the team briefly threaten the play-off places before finishing a creditable eighth. However Meakes left the club in September 2018 after the club’s first eight games yielded just one point. He was replaced by joint managers James Duncan and Michael Murray, who turned the team’s fortunes around to such an extent that the club finished in a comfortable tenth position in 2019. The club continued to progress and were second in the table when the league season was cancelled in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021/22 the club finished sixth, just missing out on a play-off place.

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Fixtures Southern Premier League Saturday 15th October Dorchester Town v Hanwell Town v Harrow Borough v North Leigh v Poole Town v Tiverton Town v Winchester City v Yate Town v

Hayes & Yeading Gosport Borough Plymouth Parkwa Salisbury Hartley Wintney Swindon Superm Chesham United Beaconsfield Tow

Tuesday 18th October 2022 Bracknell Town v Hayes & Yeading Hartley Wintney v North Leigh Metropolitan Police v Poole Town Weston-super-Mare v Chesham United Yate Town v Winchester City Wednesday 19th October 2022 Swindon Supermari v Harrow Borough

Fixtures Isuzu FA Trophy - First Round Proper Winners receive £3,000, losers £775 Saturday 29th October Basford United v Marine Carshalton Athletic v Kings Langley Chasetown v Marske United Chesham United v Lewes Colne v Warrington Rylands Dunston v Coalville Town Folkestone Invicta v Horsham Grays Athletic v Stowmarket Town Haringey Borough v Billericay Town Harlow Town v Bishop's Stortford Hastings United v Burgess Hill Town

Lancaster City Leek Town Leiston Liversedge Macclesfield Matlock Town Royston Town Runcorn Linnets Tavistock Uxbridge Warrington Town Weston-super-Mare

v Gainsborough Trinity v Worksop Town v Wroxham v Tamworth v Guiseley v Stafford Rangers v Heybridge Swifts v Belper Town v Binfield v Wingate & Finchley v South Shields v Bognor Regis Town

The Citizens Post

DAVOs diary Good afternoon and a warm welcome to everyone for this afternoons league match against Chesham United FC. I wish their players, staff and supporters a pleasant afternoon and a safe trip home afterwards.

Chesham are flying high near the top of the league and so we know today will be tough, however last weekend victory against Poole and backed up in midweek showed that we can compete, this will be a very hard game and will need our very best to get a positive outcome, however we will give it everything as always and see where it takes us!!

As I said we had a great week, playing against a Poole side who were flying in the league and we came away with a 2-0 win which we fully deserved. We followed that up with what everyone was billing as a 6 pointer against Hartley, we pulled off a 2-1 win, a game in which we played very well in the first half but second half they controlled the ball for a lot of it but we held them at bay and no shots on target, so that was great, as I said a brilliant week for us and takes us into today with lots of confidence!

Player news, we have still got a lot of injuries that we are nursing however not a million miles away, IK Hill, Torns not far away, Luke king broken wrist is a few weeks away, Callum Chugg got a knock on Tuesday but hopefully will be ok, Griggsy is away for 2 weeks now which we knew about but we look forward to his return. Other than that the lads will be ready to go and raring to get out there against a very good Chesham side!

Get behind the lads, the support behind the goal was incredible, loved it, let’s hear more of it as it really makes a difference!

Up the winch!

Davo=

Results Tuesday 11th October Dorchester Town 0-3 Weston-Super-Mare Hanwell Town 3-2 Hayes & Yeading Utd Harrow Borough 2-1 Chesham Utd Met Police 2-1 Gosport Borough North Leigh 0-2 Merthyr Town Poole Town 2-2 Bracknell Town

WCFC Yate Town

2-1 Hartley Wintney 4-0 Plymouth Parkway

Wednesday 12th October Tiverton Town 2-4 Salisbury Truro City 4-0 Swindon Supermarine

Southern Premier League

Match Report

By Malcolm Clarke

WINCHESTER CITY 2 - 0 POOLE TOWN Winchester won their first match in the F A Trophy for six years and their first home game in the competition since beating Taunton Town2008/09 as they avenged a 3-0 defeat on the opening day of the season.

Poole went into this match having won their last three league games and been unbeaten away from home all season. This is Poole's 39th season in the F A Trophy and two seasons ago they reached the 2nd round proper of the competition for the first time. Since the game between the two clubs earlier in the season Tony Lee who has an excellent scoring record for the club has returned from a loan spell at Farnborough and took his place in the Poole starting line-up.

In midweek Winchester announced the return t the club of defender Callum Chugg and midfielder Ollie Griggs and they were both in Winchester's starting line-up as were goalkeeper Jordi Valero who played in the Hampshire Senior Cup match against Fareham. Bringing in Chugg, Griggs and Valero represented the three changes o the starting line-up from the match at Merthyr with Charlie Philpott ill and Mark Jamison and Alex MacAllister on the substitutes bench.

The early stages of the match saw both teams mount attacks, but with virtually no on target efforts. For Poole Jack Dickson put in a dangerous cross that no-one could on the end of. Henry Brooks whose pace on th4e right hand side was always a threat had one shot that went wide, while Archie Willcox was just off target following a Jamie Barron free kick. Winchester took the lead in the 39th minute when the ball was played into the box and remained there a while before Simba Mlambo put the ball away. Having conceded the first goal of the game in all eight league games it was a welcome sight to see Winchester draw first blood.

Winchester went into half time with a 1-0 lead, but early in the second half Jordi Valero made an excellent save from a Will Fletcher header tipping the ball over the bar. Poole were enjoying a lot of possession and it required some determined defending by Winchester with some important blocks to restrict them to half chances. Luke Holmes's cross just eluded Will Fletcher, but Winchester were looking dangerous on the break, and a cross from the right from Warren Bentley just eluded Winchester players who had moved into the box.

Winchester though score their all-important second goal in the 78th minute when Warren Bentley again broke clear on the right and this time the effort went in off the post to give Bentley a goal against his former club.

Poole had some attacks after the second goal went in, but any shots they had were comfortably dealt with. The end of the game was fairly feisty with Poole's Tony Lee being sent off. Right at the death Poole were awarded a penalty, but Toby Holmes's spot kick hit the woodwork and Jordi Valero made an excellent save from the follow up to complete Winchester's victory. In the second half Winchester introduced Dan Neild, Silvano Obeng and Mark Jamison as substitutes and they respectively replaced Jamie Barron, Henry Brooks and Warren Bentley.

Winchester are now in the 1st round of the competition for the first time in their history where they will join 63 other clubs who were victorious in the weekend's ties. After the match Craig Davis acknowledged the spirit, his players had shown against a team he rates as one of the best in the division.

Winchester are at home to Chesham on Saturday and away to Yate on the following Tuesday.

The Winchester under 23 team containing several first team fringe players beat their Andover Town counterparts 6-1 with six different goalscorers despite conceding the first goal of the game.

Match Report

By Malcolm Clarke

WINCHESTER CITY 2 - 1 HARTLEY WINTNEY With the two most recent encounters between Winchester and Hartley Wintney being cup ties that respectively finished 0-0 and 1-1 and were settled by a penalty shoot-out it was perhaps appropriate that two of the three goals in Winchester's 2-1 win which provided their first home league win as a Southern League Premier Division club should come from the penalty spot.

Hartley Wintney only became a Southern League club in 2017 having for many years been members of the Combined Counties League and achieved promotion to the Premier Division in their first season. Amongst their former players are striker Steve Finnieston who played for Chelsea, midfielder David Howells who played for Toittenham Hotspur and Rowan Vine who has over 200 football league appearance to his name. This season Hartley Wintney went into this match just below them in thew table having had an away win against Salisbury to their credit this season.

Winchester made two changes to the starting line-up from Saturday with Charlie Philpott returning in goal and Josh Bertie replacing the injured Danny King.

In the early stages both teams forced saves from the opposing goalkeeper, with Hartley Wintney's Imaan Kayani twice bringing Philpott into action. and Henry Brooks forcing a save from Adam Desbois at the other end, with Warren Bentley being just off target with the follow up. However, Winchester took the lead in the 23rd minute, when Bertie was fouled, and Warren Bentley converted the resulting penalty. This was the first league match this season that Winchester had scored the first goal in. It became 2-0 in the 29th minute when Bentley headed hone a cross from the right by Jamie Barron. Five minutes before half time Hartley Wintney pulled a goal back when Balai Dembele was fouled, and captain Matthew Drage converted the resulting penalty.

Early in the second half Paul Hodges forced a further save from Philpott and the visitors applied a lot of pressure, although Winchester who in the second half introduced Mark Jamison, Dan Neild and Silvano Obeng as second half substitutes replacing Callum Chugg, Jamie Barron and Henry Brooks, did enough to keep them out, with Charlie Philpott not having more than routine saves to make, and at times Winchester looked dangerous on the break, without really testing the Hartley Wintney goalkeeper.. Towards the end the Hartley Wintney goalkeeper came up for set pieces, but it was a much needed three points for Winchester, who carried on the good work from Saturday and gave another hard working In the F A Trophy Winchester have been drawn to play at home to Swindon Supermarine, meaning for the sixth successive season they will have played former champions of the Hellenic League.

By Matthew Badcock A FEW years ago, I took on the running of my son’s youth football team to save it from potentially folding. For three seasons, from Under 14s through to Under 16s, the team’s coach and I gave the boys a platform to enjoy their football safe, controlled and friendly environment. They were by no means world beaters but, win, lose or draw, they loved it, as did I, and we all look back on those years fondly with plenty of life skills, both on and off the field, learned.

Without doubt, the most difficult and time-consuming job I had in that time was booking referees. Even though I had a list of qualified referees locally as long as your arm, finding one to officiate our game on a Saturday morning was nigh-on impossible. I’m talking in excess of 50-100 emails per week sometimes until I could find someone available. At the time, I remember questioning why it was so difficult.

Especially for a teen, it kept them involved in the game, it was good exercise and the pay wasn’t bad either. I didn’t get it.. Until kick-off that was.

Now, individually, and collectively as a team, we prided ourselves on our discipline and I can honestly say, hand on heart, I have never seen, first-hand, any incidents of abuse towards a referee. But, I have heard horrible reports of it happening and I can understand how it does happen. It has to stop. A shortage of referees leads to a shortage of grass-roots football and, ultimately, in the Non-League game. In short, these young referees learning to officiate at grass-roots level are often promoted up the pyramid into the National League System.

Without them, it would not exist. I mean, would you take verbal, and occasionally physical abuse from players, coaches or spectators for a measly £30? No, neither would I. With that in mind, I had mixed emotions I read proposals for referees to trial wear body cameras in the adult grassroots game in the first half of next year. It came following reports that a referee in Lancashire was left with a broken nose, four broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a broken collarbone, concussion and whiplash during an alleged attack during a game. In fact, according to Football Association data, there were 1.1 ‘serious cases’ reported per 1,000 matches, covering assaults, physical contact or attempted physical contact with match officials and discrimination cases.

Last month, the FA have launched its ‘Enough Is Enough’ campaign to address behaviour within grassroots football, setting out that any unacceptable conduct will result in action being taken. “The aim of the trial, the first globally of this nature, would be to explore whether the use of bodycams improves participant behaviour, while providing additional safety for match officials in the adult grassroots game,” an FA spokesman said. “We will be tracking the impact of the trial on behaviour and, if it’s successful, will look to roll it out nationally and internationally.”

Personally, I think it’s very sad that football at grass-roots level has to go down this route but if a referee wearing body camera is to act as a deterrent and a means of their protection then the game owes it our whole-hearted support. The FA’s hands have been tied.

It is understood, that even if the trial proves a success in improving behaviour and enhancing safety, the International Football Association Board [IFAB] will be determined to ensure that it is not deployed senior football.But with reports of verbal abuse towards officials to us at NLP Towers still as rife as ever it’s left the lawmakers with a decision to make.

No-one wants to see Big Brother watching Non-League football’s every move and taking away its purity but unless we clean up our act from the bottom of our game up, then he may well have to.

Respect our refs, weekends would be very boring without them.

WINCHESTER CITY FC PLAYER PROFILES

2022/- 2023

CHARLIE PHILPOTT – Young Goalkeeper who has made the number one berth his own in his third season at the club, on loan from National League side, Eastleigh. A Wales Futsal International with a bright future ahead of him.

JORDI VALERO - Jordi is a Young Goalkeeper who is also dual-registered with Blackfield and Langley. Jordi has featured heavily for our Under 23s and also played at Romsey Town last season. A good, young goalkeeper with a bright future ahead of him.

DANNY KING - Left sided defender, the clubs longest-serving player currently and a real fans favourite. A teacher by trade, he has played for Chelsea and Southampton in his youth. Danny reached his testimonial year last season and had his testimonial at the end of the 2017-18 campaign. ‘Kinger’ also skippers the side in the absence of Jamie Barron.

JAMIE BARRON – Re-signed from Gosport Borough Jamie has played for Salisbury, Andover, Sholing and Folland Sports. A winner of a Schools National Cup medal. Appointed Captain for another season and a really important player for us. ‘Baz’ has remained loyal to City despite interest from elsewhere and was integral in the club securing promotion last season.

SIMBA MLAMBO – Also signed from Davis’ former club, Fleet Town. Mlambo has spent some time in North Hampshire and was an Alton Town player before this. Can play wide or up front and a player with immense speed and power in the air. Another playing starting his sixth season with City. Simba works tirelessly for the cause and scores important goals as well.

MAX SMITH - Max Smith - Max has previous experience at Moneyfields and most recently and, Alton Town, before joining City ahead of the 2019-20 season. He started his career at the Portsmouth FC academy. Max scored some vital goals last season, including the fourth and final goal in the play-off final against Bristol Manor Farm. A dynamic Midfielder that we have high hopes for in the season ahead.

WARREN BENTLEY - 'Wazza' returned 'home' last season, after scoring over 100 goals during his last spell at The City Ground. Bentley left in 2016 to join Gosport Borough and has since played for Hungerford, Poole Town, Weymouth, Salisbury and most recently has a second spell at National League South side, Hungerford Town. A prolific striker and a firm fans favourite.

Bentley netted a penalty in a pre-season victory at neighbours and rivals, AFC Totton.

HENRY BROOKS – Young midfielder that made his senior debut for the club away at Mangotsfield United in December 2021. Brooks came off the bench that day, got an assist and a goal and has never looked back. At the end of his breakthrough season, Brooks signed a contract and has once again impressed throughout season as he gears up for his first full season at in the first-team.

PAT COX - Cox has returned for a third-spell at the Charters Community Stadium having previously been registered with Camberley Town this season. 'Coxy', a target man, is a popular character amongst the City supporters. He lists Fleet Town, Farnborough, Staines Town, Basingstoke, Salisbury and Hayes and Yeading United amongst his former sides after starting out at Reading U18s.

WINCHESTER CITY FC PLAYER PROFILES

2022/- 2023

RYAN PRYCE – The former AFC Bournemouth Goalkeeper has registered once again for another season. ‘Prycey’ who also lists Fleet Town amongst his former sides, along with the Cherries, has spent many seasons at City now and is a First-Team Coach as well as being Manager of the U23s and he is back-up goalkeeper for Philpott.

CONNALL BARK – Connall joined the club several seasons ago having previously played at Alresford Town. He has been a key part of the squad and started the final game of the league season at Bristol Manor Farm last campaign and has once again featured throughout pre-season.

JACK TORNIAINEN – Jack joined the club this summer having left Eastleigh, where he had been part of the Development Squad. He started out as a youngster at AFC Bournemouth, where he served Dorchester Town on loan before switching permanently to Eastleigh. 20-year-old right back with a bright future ahead of him.

ARCHIE WILLCOX – Archie joined City this summer from Wessex Premier League side, Fareham Town. Willcox has also had brief spells with AFC Portchester and Gosport Borough last summer before returning for Fareham for a second spell, where he had a successful campaign, scoring lots of goals from central defence. Another young player with a bright future expected in the game.

CLAUDIO HERBERT – A tricky, pacy, wide player that excites and entertains. Herbert joins City from National League South side, Hungerford Town. Claudio’s career has seen him turn out for Salisbury, Poole Town, Fleet Town, Frome Town, Andover Town, Hartley Wintney, Basingstoke and Sholing.

DAN NEILD – Young midfielder that has joined the club this summer having receiving several accolades last campaign whilst playing for Weymouth U23s. Exciting prospect that has looked lively during pre-season.

JOSH BERTIE – Josh is a highly-sought after talent that joined City this summer from Andover Town. He did sign for Dorchester Town last season, but his campaign was hampered by injury. A versatile player that can play in several different positions and is a powerful presence. Hails from the British Virgin Islands.

ALEX MACALLISTER – Alex has signed for City on loan from Aldershot Town. MacAllister had an impressive campaign previously for the Shots U23s and is highly regarded at the North Hampshire club. Scored an impressive goal at Corsham Town in pre-season and set up two goals in a pre-season victory at Baffins Milton Rovers.

SILVANO OBENG – Silvano is a powerful centre forward that joined City in the summer from Brockenhurst. Formerly at AFC Totton and Kettering Town, Obeng has impressed in pre-season and scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win at Baffins Milton Rovers. Another player with an exciting future.

IK HILL – IK is a fans’ favourite that has returned to the club following a spell away at Westfield FC. IK is a pacy, skilful wide player that excites supporters and scored an impressive solo effort at AFC Totton in pre-season.

WINCHESTER CITY FC PLAYER PROFILES

2022/- 2023

OLLIE GRIGGS - Combative Midfielder who we are pleased have re-signed. Griggsy has played for both City and Dorchester in recent years and has now signed for City once again for the remainder of the 2022-23 season having started the season, once again, at the Avenue Stadium. Integral in City’s promotion winning campaign last season.

CALLUM CHUGG - ‘Chuggy’ re-signed for City in October 2022 from Wessex Premier League side, Hythe & Dibden. Callum is a local lad who played an integral role in City’s promotion winning campaign, in central defence. Lists Wimborne Town & AFC Totton amongst former sides. Aged 24.

DAN WALSTER - Central defender who also returned to the club recently, in late September 2022, from Gosport Borough. Dan was involved in City’s promotion winning squad last season, dual-registering from Aldershot Town U23s. A former AFC Bournemouth Academy defender.

STAFF PROFILES CRAIG DAVIS – Player-Manager who came to City from Fleet Town after relinquishing his position as Manager. Took over as Interim Manager until the end of the 2016-17 season before taking over the reins permanently. His playing career started off as a pro at Cardiff City before spells at Bashley, Salisbury, Gosport Borough and AFC Totton. Has won both the Southern League South and West and Premier as a player. ‘Davo’ has had several opportunities to move on from City, including an opportunity at a higher level, but he has shown his commitment and loyalty to City and we are delighted to have him at the helm.

LUKE MIDDLEWICK – Luke joined the club this summer, with Sean Birchnall moving on to take charge at Farnham Town. Luke was Assistant Manager at Wessex Premier League side, Brockenhurst, and is a knowledgeable coach that will be a valuable asset and a key part of Craig’s coaching staff.

CRAIG MARTIN – First Team Coach. Craig has been at the club for several seasons now. He played with Davo at Fleet Town and is based locally.

MARC COLE – Goalkeeping Coach. ‘Coler’ has been an ever-present on matchdays for the First Team since his arrival at the club from Alresford Town.

JO BROCKSOM - Jo is in her 7th season now at Winchester as Sports therapist, this is her 3rd season taking a leading role though, has been integral in keeping our players on the pitch and delighted to have her with the club again this season.

MIKE CARTER – Mike was formerly Club Secretary and is now part of Craig’s First-Team staff and he is also Assistant Manager of the clubs’ U23s.

Ground Regulations Welcome to the Charters City Ground.

Please respect the staff and the facilities: ◊

Please do not enter the field of play before, during or after the game.

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Ball games are not permitted around the ground whilst matches are in progress

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Please do not use rude, obscene, racial or abusive language or gestures that are likely to cause offence.

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Please do not take glasses outside. Alcohol may now be consumed outside, but in plastic glasses only (in accordance with new Hampshire FA ruling).

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Please do not climb floodlights, pylons, fences, stands and other club structures.

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Please do not stand in the hatched areas around the pitch.

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No offensive objects are permitted (including bottles, cans, glasses, smoke bombs, flares etc.) or throwing any objects on the field of play.

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Please note that all vehicles parked on the club premises are at owners/driver's risk.

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The club accepts no responsibility for any damage to vehicles.

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Any supporter who encroached on to the playing area will be arrested.

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Comments or items in the programme do not necessarily represent those of Winchester City FC.

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The club reserves the right to refuse admission, eject from the ground, or prosecute any person in breach of the rules

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WCFC STAFF BEHIND THE SCENES CHAIRMAN – KEN RAISBECK JUNIOR CHAIRMAN - STEVE CARTER DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL – ELLIOTT TRODD CLUB SECRETARY – JOHN MCLAREN TREASURER – PHIL GOUGH PRESIDENT – JOHN MOODY

CONTACT AND SOCIAL MEDIA

@wincityfc

Winchester City is a member's owned club.

The Board of Directors are the members

Winchester City FC

DIRECTORS KEN RAISBECK ELLIOTT TRODD JOHN MCLAREN ALI HENDERSON STEVE RAINBIRD PHIL GOUGH SIMON HARMER

winchestercityfc Winchester City Football Club on YouTube for Interviews The Charters City Ground, Hillier Way, Abbots Barton, Winchester, 07825 828918

ON THE PITCH FIRST TEAM MANAGER – CRAIG DAVIS ASSISTANT MANAGER FIRST TEAM COACHES – RYAN PRYCE, CRAIG MARTIN SCOUT – PETE MILLARD BACKROOM STAFF – MIKE CARTER, JAMIE GOUGH SPORTS THERAPIST – JO BROCKSOM BSC (HONS) U23S MANAGER – RYAN PRYCE U23S ASSISTANT MANAGER – MIKE CARTER HEAD OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT – JAMIE RICKETTS CLUB WELFARE OFFICER - ALI HENDERSON PROGRAMME/SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR MATT RICHBELL MATCHDAY STAFF WAYNE ELKINS, SALLY STATHAM, GEMMA PERCIVAL, JUDY MALONE, STEVE RAINBIRD, MARGARET MOODY, DAVE GREEN.

ticket prices Adult

£11

Concessions (65+ & Armed Forces–with id) £8 Students and U18 (Yr 12 and 13)

£5

U16 (Yr 8-11)

£3

U12 (Yr 7 and below)

Free

PITCH PARTNERS

SPECIALIST CONTRACTOR: SYNTHETIC SPORTS SURFACES

WWW.PSTSPORT.COM

Ever thought of volunteering to help your local football club?

There are many di erent volunteer roles in non-league football and Southern League football clubs need your help with them.

The Trident Leagues and Pitching In have recently launched a new online Volunteer Hub where you can nd opportunities and contact your local football club.

Please visit Pitchinginvolunteers.co.uk to nd out more

TODAYS SQUADS

Charlie Philpott Callum Baughan Danny King Ollie Griggs Archie Willcox Callum Chugg Henry Brooks Jamie Barron (c) Warren Bentley Max Smith Simba Mlambo Alex MacAllister Silvano Obeng Dan Neild Jordi Valero Josh Bertie IK Hill Dan Jones

Sam Beasant Jeanmal Prosper Frankie Sutherland Matt Ridley Steve Brown (captain) T’Sharne Gallimore Jordan Edwards Jordan Gibbons Francis Jno-Baptiste Bradley Clayton Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick Eoin Casey Ronny Mfinda Jack Connors Karl Oliyide Zak Joseph

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