AFC Totton
TOTTON TEAMS WORKING TOGETHER – AND THE SAINTS ARE COMING, TOO
As already announced on this website – and as promised by AFC Totton CEO Steve Brookwell during the Fans’ Forum meeting in January – AFC Totton and Totton & Eling have agreed to combine forces as of the 2022/23 season to work together on developing young players for both clubs, while simultaneously achieving greater operating efficiencies and delivering a better-quality product and service to the local community.
After the disappointment of missing out on a promotion play-off spot last season, Jimmy Ball’s Stags are gearing up for an assault on the Southern League Div.1 South title with a squad that has been significantly strengthened by the addition of several experienced players from higher up the English football pyramid and some fresh, hungry younger faces who are still eager to establish themselves in the professional game.
UP FOR THE CUP: The Stags celebrate winning the Southampton Saturday Senior Cup against Folland Sports at St. Mary's Stadium in May.
Lifting the Southampton Saturday Senior Cup for the first time in 40 years softened the blow of missing out on promotion to the Southern League Premier Division a little, but having led the Division One South league table for much of the first half of the season, there is a strong sense around the Snows Stadium that the Stags dropped the ball last term and the new manager is determined that his team will not make the same mistake again.
An extensive pre-season campaign is already underway, with the majority of the players having reported back for weighing and sprint-testing on Monday 20 June. The programme will be stepped up on Friday 08 July when the squad travels to Bristol for a training camp, which will include the first of eight planned pre-season friendlies with the visit to Western League Division One side Tytherington Rocks on Saturday.
By teaming up with Totton & Eling for the upcoming season, Ball will have the option to dual-register non-contracted players so those who are fit to play but not selected to represent the Stags on any given matchday can be included in Craig Stanley’s squad, as the Millers look to improve upon last season’s poor showing in the Wessex League Division One. Totton & Eling would have been relegated but for an administrative reshuffle caused by the enforced demotion of Infinity FC, following the early termination of their ground-sharing agreement with Hythe & Dibden midway through the last campaign.
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: New Totton & Eling manager Craig Stanley (middle), flanked by his assistant managers Bill Hillman (left) and Mark Lilley (right).
In his role overseeing all of AFC Totton’s football operations, Ball will also work with Brett Williams and new Stags signing Scott Rendell to lead the PRO:Direct Academy’s defence of the Tactics League T1 South title, while Marc Watts takes over as manager of the league and cup double-winning AFC Totton Sunday team, with Sam Conway stepping back to enjoy some time with his young family and to study for his FA coaching badges.
In addition, the Snows Stadium will continue to host home matches for Marianne Spacey-Cale’s successful Southampton FC Women, who achieved an impressive trophy-laden treble last season. Sophia Pharoah’s goal in the Promotion Play-Off at Stockport County’s Edgeley Park ground was enough to secure a 1-0 win over a highly-fancied Wolverhampton Wanderers side and a place in the FA Women’s Championship for next season at the second tier of the English women’s game. They will replace Watford Women, who were relegated after managing just two wins from 22 matches.
Saints Women also won the FA Women’s National League Cup with a handsome 3-0 triumph over Huddersfield Town at Damson Park in Solihull, in April. A goal from Alisha Ware on the stroke of half-time and a second-half brace from Lucia Kendall were enough to defeat the Terriers and claim the trophy. The women’s version of the Southampton Senior Cup was also added to the haul of silverware, with a victory over almost namesakes Southampton Women’s FC (a standalone club, not affiliated with the Saints).
HERE COME THE GIRLS: Four of the players from the new AFC Totton Women's team strike a pose on the Snows Stadium pitch ahead of the 2022/23 season.
AFC Totton is launching its own women’s team, taking on the side that competed as Pace Women last season in Division 5 of the Hampshire County Women’s League. Joint managers Mark Kerr and Ben Macaulay will be working with the same squad of players that achieved a 6th-place finish in that division last season, with the aim of taking AFC Totton Women to the league title and promotion this time around.
Long-term player development on the women’s side will be aided by the introduction of a Girls’ U10s team, with more age groups likely to be added in the next few seasons, as both AFC Totton and Totton & Eling look to increase female participation in the sport through its community outreach activities.
All of the above means there will be a season-long feast of football at the Snows Stadium and Miller Park this season. By permission of the Wessex League, Totton & Eling’s midweek home matches will take place on Monday evenings, leaving Tuesdays clear for AFC Totton home games in league and cup competitions. Southampton FC Women will have the use of the Snows Stadium on Wednesday nights, when the fixture list demands it, while Thursdays will see the Stags First Team training on the Miller Park pitch or at Southampton’s Staplewood complex in Marchwood. Totton & Eling’s weekend home matches will take place on Friday nights, meaning that Saturday afternoons will be clear for the Stags to host their home games at 3:00pm, with Southampton FC Women continuing to provide more footballing entertainment on Sunday afternoons.
EVERYBODY NEEDS GOOD NEIGHBOURS: An aerial view of the Snows Stadium and Miller Park complex, off Salisbury Road in Totton.
Southampton’s B team and their U18s will also make use of the Snows Stadium, while Southampton RTC (Regional Talent Club) – who are effectively a reserve team to Southampton FC Women – AFC Totton Sunday and the AFC Totton Women’s team will all make use of Miller Park, as much as possible.
The PRO:Direct Academy team play their matches on Wednesdays and Fridays, mostly during the afternoons. Their home matches usually take place on the Miller Park pitch, with the occasional outing at the Snows Stadium.
Work on re-laying the Snows Stadium pitch is on schedule, with the pre-season visit of Havant & Waterlooville on Tuesday 19 July currently set to be the first outing on the new surface. Planned work on the Miller Park pitch, however, was delayed due to reasons beyond the club’s control, resulting in the installation of a 3G surface having to be postponed until next summer. While their pitch is being prepared for the new season, the Millers are using the Hatches Farm pitch in West Wellow as their home venue and kicked-off their pre-season campaign with a creditable 1-1 draw against Southern Combination Div.1 team Wick FC, who travelled from the Littlehampton area.
Bashley, newly-promoted to the Southern League Div.1 South, will be the next visitors to take on Totton & Eling at Hatches Farm on Tuesday 05 July, kicking-off at 7:00pm. Meanwhile, the Linden Cup meeting between Totton & Eling and AFC Totton on Saturday 16 July has been switched to the Snows Stadium.
This increased activity at the site will mean the Straker’s Bar will be open for all home matchdays, whether for AFC Totton, Totton & Eling or Southampton, and – with Premier League, European and domestic cup football available to watch on the big screens, as well as coverage of the World Cup from Qatar in November and December – there will be football to watch throughout the week, all season-long at the Snows Stadium and Miller Park complex in 2022/23. And in addition to the Straker’s Bar – and the Monarch Suite, on occasions – being open late on those evenings, the staff of The 1886 restaurant will also be on-hand to serve a delicious range of meals and snacks.
There is Bingo in the Straker’s Bar on Monday nights, while in the Monarch Suite the AFC Totton Darts team competes in the Southampton & District Darts League. On Tuesday and Friday mornings, we host Walking Football on the Muga Pitch, with Pan Disability Football on Wednesday mornings. We also hold regular Half-Term and Summer Holiday Camps where boys and girls can benefit from dedicated training with the club’s qualified coaches.
The 1886 is open for hearty breakfasts on Monday to Saturday mornings, and why not drop in on Sundays to enjoy a delicious Sunday roast dinner while taking in a match, whether on the pitch or on-screen? We will also be running the Marcus Rashford School Meals scheme during the school holidays. We are determined that every child in the local area should have access to a healthy, wholesome meal every day.
Hopefully, there is plenty detailed above that will take your fancy during the new season – we’d love to see you, whichever team you support and whether you come every day or once a fortnight. We’re building something big here and we hope that you will engage and support us as we look to take AFC Totton, Totton & Eling and all the teams associated with us onwards and upwards into the future, while always striving to rise to the challenge of playing our part in the local community.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
