AFC Totton
Please Note - this match kicks-off at 7:30pm
AFC Totton welcome Aldershot Town to the Snows Stadium on Tuesday night for a slightly earlier than usual kick-off in what will be the Stags' sixth match of the pre-season campaign.
The Shots have one of the more intriguing histories among England's lower league and non-league clubs. On 25 March 1992, Aldershot Football Club became the first Football League team to fold during an active season since Accrington Stanley in 1962. But, from the ashes of the former club, the phoenix club Aldershot Town FC ascended, competing originally in the Isthmian League Division 3.
Despite playing five tiers lower down the English Football Pyramid (before the introduction of the Conference North/South), the new club attracted many more supporters than the old, averaging attendances of around 2,000 per match at a level where clubs usually only bring about 100 through the turnstiles. The Shots stormed to the title with an 18-point winning margin, due in large part to a run of 10 consecutive wins under the guidance of former player, Steve Wignall.
Another promotion followed the season after, taking the club to the Isthmian League Division One. And they agonisingly missed out on a third successive promotion on goal difference in 1994/95, by which time the manager was Steve Wigley – 7 years before he would take the Southampton FC hot seat.
Aldershot were not to be denied, though. On the final day of the 1997/98 season, 4,289 fans packed into the Recreation Ground to see them, now under the management of George Borg, take on Berkhamsted Town to secure the title and a place in the Isthmian Premier League at Step 3, and the club went on to win the Isthmian Premier title in 2002/03.
FONDLY REMEMBERED: Jordan Ngalo made the switch from the Snows Stadium to Aldershot Town's Recreation Ground mid-way through the 2021/22 season.
Back in the Conference, the Shots missed out on promotion via the play-offs two years in a row, before a period of mid-table obscurity had them consolidating their position in the newly-reformed Conference Premier.
In May 2007, the former QPR and Republic of Ireland midfielder Gary Waddock was installed as the new boss and, with the previous manager Martin Kuhl, once of Pompey, as his assistant, they guided the Shots on an unbeaten run of 18 matches to round out the 2007/08 season as Conference Premier Champions with a record tally of 101 points. They also collected the Conference League Cup in the same season, with a penalty shoot-out victory over Rushden & Diamonds in the Final.
So, 16 years after the demise of Aldershot FC, the phoenix club Aldershot Town were promoted into EFL League Two, where they remained until 2013. One of the club’s biggest shareholders became gravely ill, plunging them into financial uncertainty and they ended up having to enter administration just five days after relegation had been confirmed.
A consortium led by former Chairman Shahid Azeem rescued the club, funded partly by a deal with Chelsea FC to host their Academy and Reserve team matches. The Shots were relegated from the National League in 2019 but were subsequently given a reprieve due to financial irregularities at Gateshead forcing the Tynesiders to go down, instead.
In 2020/21, the Shots finished 15th in the National League with 52 points. And last season, they were 20th with 43 points, which was enough to keep them safe of relegation.
The current Aldershot Town manager is Mark Molesley, who had three spells with the club as a midfielder. He enjoyed success managing Weymouth from 2017-2020 with a squad featuring several AFC Totton alumn, past and present – including Brett Williams and Jordan Ngalo.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
