AFC Totton
FORMER SOUTHAMPTON AND QPR striker Charlie Austin has agreed to join last season’s Southern League Premier Division South runners-up AFC Totton on the eve of the 2024/25 season.
The Berkshire-born hitman was out of contract after leaving Swindon Town in May and finally put pen to paper on a deal with The Stags on Tuesday afternoon, shortly before his new teammates defeated National League South side Eastbourne Borough by a single goal in their penultimate pre-season friendly at the Snows Stadium.
Austin is no stranger to non-league football, having spent time at Kintbury Rangers in West Berkshire, Hungerford Town and Thatcham Town, before attracting the eye of Football League scouts with his 48-league goal haul for Poole Town in the 2008/09 season. That led to a move to Swindon Town, where he scored 31 league goals in 54 appearances, before a mid-season move to Championship side Burnley in January 2011.
His prowess in front of goal continued unabated, with a strike rate of a goal every other game for The Clarets, which he actually managed to improve upon during his time in West London at Queens Park Rangers, helping them to gain promotion to the Premier League in 2013/14.
Although QPR were subsequently relegated, Austin soon returned to the Premier League by signing for Southampton in January 2016. A week after joining the club, he made his debut as a second-half substitute against Manchester United at Old Trafford and he scored a late winner. He racked up 16 league goals in 71 games for The Saints.
Spells at West Bromwich Albion and in Australia with Brisbane Roar came either side of a return to QPR. At the end of 2022, he made a return to Swindon Town in League Two, where his strike rate was just shy of one-in-three over the course of 66 league appearances before leaving the club upon completion of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Stags new star signing Charlie Austin (right) poses with AFC Totton Chairman Stephen Snow.
The 35-year-old forward told AFC Totton TV:
“James Beattie got in touch with me in May and asked me the situation, and I said I still wanted to play in the Football League – but let’s stay in touch. And that was it for the first four or five weeks. We stayed in contact and he invited me to come and train with the club. I wasn’t too sure at first but then, while I was on holiday with the kids, the penny sort of dropped and I rang him and said look, let’s do the deal.
“I know I can bring a lot of experience, having played in all four divisions of the professional league, as well as at this sort of level at the beginning of my career. if my game can fit in with the team and can help the team to get over that final hurdle, then that’s what it’s all about – the goal is for us to get promoted.
“Non-league in general over the last 15 years has got better. There are so many more players who have been involved in the professional game but then don’t get contracts and come back through into non-league, and the only beneficial point of that is that non-league gets a lot better and a lot stronger.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge. If I was coming here half-hearted then I might as well have retired and just knocked it on the head then, but I’m coming here ready to play.”
Charlie Austin with his new AFC Totton Manager Jimmy Ball (right).
Stags boss Jimmy Ball said:
“This deal has been a long time in the making. Myself and James Beattie [AFC Totton’s Director of Football] spoke to Charlie when he was out of contract at Swindon. We had to make sure it was right for him, and what he wanted to do in his life, and right for the club, as well. It’s all been well thought out and we’re delighted to get it done.
“His qualities are obvious. His knowhow is exceptional. He’s in great nick, incredible condition. He’s still very hungry and loves the game of football, so he fits all the things that we want. So, regardless of anything he’s done, he wants to come here and play football for AFC Totton, which is fantastic, and he’s doing it for all the right reasons.”
On the potential selection headache of picking between Charlie Austin, Scott Rendell and Tony Lee to play up front, Ball’s response was bullish:
“I see it working fantastically well. I can see me playing all three of them, and I can see them all challenging each other to be better. That’s football. You’ve got to be a competitor with yourself, with your teammates and with the opposition. So, that’s what this creates and no one will be happier if they all fight tooth and nail to be picked and to score, and to bring success to this club.”
Watch CHARLIE AUSTIN Speaking to AFC Totton TV
Watch JIMMY BALL Talking to AFC Totton TV About His Latest Signing
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Sayers Sports Photography
