📰 Season Preview – Part 1: Camelford, Helston, Newquay, St Blazey, Truro reserves, Wadebridge
The first of our four-part series of 2023/24 season previews features St Blazey, Helston Athletic, Camelford, Newquay, Wadebridge Town and Truro City reserves
Good morning, readers!
The 2023/24 season gets under way this weekend with the Western League kicking things off on Saturday.
To herald the arrival of the new season, we have spoken to the 24 Cornish teams competing in the National League System in the upcoming campaign to produce a series of season previews, which will be released in four instalments throughout this week.
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To mark this launch, our four-part series of season previews this week will be completely free-to-read to give you a taste of the exclusive and unrivalled coverage you’ll only get from us this season.
The series will cover all 24 Cornish teams in the National League System (Step 6 and above) this season and today’s first part is coming right up…
You can check out Parts 2, 3 and 4 of our season previews here:
⬇️ In today’s newsletter
🔵 Camelford
🔵 Helston Athletic
🔴 Newquay
🟢 St Blazey
⚪ Truro City reserves
🔴 Wadebridge Town
🔵 Camelford
Key info:
👨💼 Reg Hambly
🏟 Trefrew Park (PL32 9TS)
🏆 South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
📥 Leo Best, Shae Cardiff, Danny Sprake, Connor Sturdy, Sam Wade
📤 Alex Wharton
Last season in a nutshell:
9th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Vase second qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup first round
Walter C Parson League Cup second round
Experienced campaigner Reg Hambly guided Camelford through choppy waters last term to a respectable top ten finish in South West Peninsula League Premier West.
Eleven league defeats within the first three months of the 2022-23 campaign was followed by just eight in the next six, as the Camels adapted to life without some key players who had departed for pastures new in the off-season.
Ahead of his 33rd year at the helm, Hambly has done well to keep the group together, bar the loss of Alex Wharton to Western League side Falmouth Town, and is boosted by the return of two familiar faces synonymous with Trefrew Park.
Here’s what Reg Hambly had to say ahead of the new season…
On their transfer business: “Sam Wade and Shae Cardiff have joined from Altarnun. Leo Best has signed from St Austell, Connor Sturdy and Danny Sprake from Lanivet Inn. Alex Wharton has left to rejoin Falmouth Town.”
On last season: “I was pleased with the lads last year. We lost quite a few players to higher league clubs but we had a decent second half to the season and I thought we did very well to finish in ninth spot.”
On the season ahead: “We are looking to improve on that this year but need to convert our possession into goals. We have had a mixed pre-season, playing some great football from box-to-box but we need to improve at both ends of the pitch. Hopefully that will come when we get a settled side.”
On squad mentality: “Aside from Alex Wharton, I am pleased to have retained the remainder of last year's squad and to welcome back Dan Metherell, who returns after a long injury, as well as Mark Gusterson who has come out of retirement. We have two more very attractive friendlies, the first at home to Okehampton on Tuesday, July 25 and then at home to Southern League Tavistock on Tuesday, August 1.”
🔵 Helston Athletic
Key info:
👨💼 Matt Cusack
🏟 Kellaway Park (TR13 8PJ)
🏆 Western League Premier Division
Transfer business:
📥 Dave Barker, Curtis Damerell, Tom Moxham, Callum O’Brien, Jacob Smith
📤 Isaac Burdon, Teigan Rosenquest, Reece Shanley, Josh Storey
Last season in a nutshell:
6th in Western League Premier Division
FA Cup third qualifying round
FA Vase first round proper
Cornwall Senior Cup winners
Les Phillips Cup winners
Helston Athletic will have fond memories of a 2022/23 campaign that will go down as one of the best — if not the best — in the club’s history.
A highest-ever finish of sixth at Step 5 was, remarkably, one of the poorer aspects of their campaign, with Matt Cusack’s side achieving an unprecedented Cornwall Senior Cup and Les Phillips Cup double alongside a club-record run to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup.
Despite the loss of skipper Josh Storey to Mousehole, an already strong squad has got even stronger, with the capture of last season’s 32-goal top-scorer Curtis Damerell headlining an impressive set of signings to boost Helston’s bid for promotion to the Southern League.
Here’s what Matt Cusack had to say ahead of the new season…
On their transfer business: “We’ve moved some on which is what you’ve got to do. They’re never nice conversations but we’ve thanked them for their service to the club. There were others that opted to leave and you can’t do anything about that. We’ve retained everybody else that we wanted to and we’ve made some really good recruitment because our ambition this year is to try and attack the league title. We’ve assembled a squad now that, once everybody’s fit, we believe can compete across the range of competitions we’re going to be involved in.”
On last season: “I’m obviously delighted. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t achieve what we wanted to — we secured the first silverware for the [first team] in 86 years, so we’re absolutely delighted with that. You can’t have everything, and you appreciate that, but we didn’t do as well in the league because we took too long to get going and there were too many draws in there which was an indicator that we weren’t scoring enough goals which is why Curtis [Damerell] has been signed. Rik [Shepherd] and Rubes [Rubin Wilson] did terrifically well and scored about 50 goals between them and Tom Payne chipped in with 15 from midfield, but beyond those three we didn’t have enough goalscorers around the team.”
On the season ahead: “Promotion is the target. It’s easier said than done and we’ve certainly got to be a lot better than last year, but that is the target, we’ll make no secret of that, and it’s up to us to try and do what we can to achieve that aim. I would still like to do well in those other competitions because the cup successes are always great as well.”
🔴 Newquay
Key info:
👨💼 Shaun Middleton
🏟 Mount Wise (TR7 2BU)
🏆 South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
📥 Ryan Beer, Coen Briggs, Harry Downing, Ross Fallens, Phil Lowry, James Peters, Louis Price, Adam Robathan
📤 Harry Ashton, Rhys Hooper, Bradley Leivers, Jake Shaw, Jared Sims, Noah Teagle, Tom Whipp
Last season in a nutshell:
6th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Vase first qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup second round
Walter C Parson League Cup second round
It came as a shock to many when Craig Ainslie left his role as manager of Newquay AFC at the end of the 2022-23 campaign on the back of a great deal of work that had led to the club's highest league placing for some time.
However, 'a difference of opinion' has since seen Ainslie and many of last season's squad depart for AFC St Austell, with the Peppermints' committee calling upon club legend Shaun Middleton to come in and steady the ship.
The former club captain and coach has approached the rebuilding job head on, securing the services of strong local talent in the form of Harry Downing, Louis Price and Ross Fallens to name but a few.
The experience of all three will be relied upon to help guide Newquay and their burgoning young squad through what will no doubt be a challenging transition but one that, typically, Middleton is far from shirking.
Here’s what Shaun Middleton had to say ahead of the new season…
On pre-season so far: "We have had Ross Maynard in as coach and he has been amazing. The lads have said it is the best pre-season they have ever done which is brilliant. That is coming from experienced players, so it is a case of so far, so good. We have had four really competitive games and are in a perfect situation. The attitude has been spot on, the environment has been good and everyone has been buzzing."
On his new role: "I am not here to make up the numbers. I am not here to waste my time, the players' time or the club's time. We have got a good group and I will push them on to see just how far it is that they can go. I want to get the best out of the season, that is for sure. The club have been brilliant, the committee have been amazing and everyone is pulling in the same direction."
On the season ahead: "We are trying to do things in a sustainable fashion to help keep the club alive. I don't really want to put a position on it. We have got a good group of players, a great atmosphere in the changing room and they are all competitive lads. They have said that they want to give it a proper good crack this year.”
🟢 St Blazey
Key info:
👨💼 Andrew Moon & Brad Richardson
🏟 Blaise Park (PL24 2ND)
🏆 Western League Premier Division
Transfer business:
📥 Kieron Bishop, Jacob Bowker, Aaron Dilley, Jordan Dingle, Matty Edwards, Matt Lloyd, Callum Merrin, CJ Pritchard, Jacob Smale, Tom Strike.
📤 River Allen, Olly Brokenshire, Sam Buckley, Sam Clifton, Liam Eddy, Martin Giles, Kyle Marks, Andy Watkins.
Last season in a nutshell:
1st in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Vase first round proper
Cornwall Senior Cup second round
Walter C Parson League Cup third round
Another exciting season beckons for St Blazey after a campaign to remember last term, with the Green and Blacks edging out Wendron United to clinch the South West Peninsula League Premier West title.
With it comes promotion to the Western League for the first time in the club’s history, as well as a return to the FA Cup after a ten-year absence from the coveted knockout competition.
A very busy summer has seen several faces pass through the revolving door at Blaise Park already, but bosses Andrew Moon and Brad Richardson are looking forward to getting the best out of their new-look squad as they embark on their Western League adventure.
Here’s what Andrew Moon and Brad Richardson had to say ahead of the new season…
On last season: AM: “It couldn’t have gone any better, really. We had an amazing start to the season with nine wins a row and were top of the league after 20 games. We knew we’d be in with a chance [of the title] then, and because we had such big characters — leaders — in the dressing room but with a massive team spirit, that got us over the line.”
On the club’s Western League bow: BR: “The club is on the up. The club is playing in a league it’s never been in before — it’s never been at this step of football. We want the best for the club, we’ve really enjoyed our time here, I love it. We’ve had to rebuild again after losing seven or eight players, which is the same turnover as it was last year. We found a way to mould them together last year and this is what we’ve got to do again this year.”
On the season ahead: AM: “Last year, if you look at [newly-promoted] Falmouth coming seventh and Torpoint coming 12th, realistically if you could say somewhere between that [we’d be happy], but you aim as high as you possibly can. I don’t want to be one of those guys who says we’d just hope to stay up, we want to have a go and we’ve got players that I think are going to be chomping at the bit to try and prove themselves at this level. You’ll find so many players playing at an easy level because they can win most weeks and have five tough games a season. In this Step 5, I think every game, if you don’t turn up you’re going to get found out.”
On their transfer business: BR: “We’ve worked hard, we’ve identified what we’ve needed. You aren’t going to get everyone in one go in a short space of time over one summer. I think the travelling is going to come into it — we need people with the right mentality. We’ll have to try and change the way we play a little bit because we were a side last year where if we went in front we would always shut up shop and grind out results. This year I want more pace in the side and to be more direct and go after teams a little bit.”
⚪ Truro City reserves
Key info:
👨💼 John Fabby & Jim Hilton
🏟 Tregye Fields (TR3 6JH)
🏆 South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
📥 Regan Hull, Morgan Jones
📤 Morgan Coxhead, Jacob Grange, Phil Lowry, George Newton
Last season in a nutshell:
1st in St Piran League West
Cornwall Intermediate Cup third round
St Piran League Cup second round
Much like St Blazey, this season is going to be a bit of an unknown quantity for Truro City reserves following the White Tigers’ promotion to the South West Peninsula League.
John Fabby and Jim Hilton’s band of exciting youngsters and experienced campaigners built on their fourth-place finish in their debut St Piran League West campaign in 2022 by clinching the title last time around — and with it promotion into the National League System.
The departures of a few of their star performers was always to be expected, with Morgan Coxhead and Jacob Grange set to play Western League football at Falmouth Town while George Newton has joined Southern League outfit Tavistock, but a sense of cautious optimism remains with the bulk of the title-winning squad still largely intact.
Here’s what Jim Hilton had to say ahead of the new season…
On last season: “I just think it was an outstanding season. We were pretty consistent all the way through but when we had six games remaining we won the first five of those which meant that we got promoted. The boys were consistent, they worked and they listened and that is a real joy and benefit of coaching younger people.”
On the season ahead: “Personally, I would like to think that we will have a bit of a consolidation this season to establish ourselves at that level, to be comfortable at the end of the season which may be a mid-table place, maybe a bit higher depending on how the season is going. What I would want to avoid is a season where we struggle, where the players aren’t enjoying it. If we can establish ourselves and have a season where we consolidate and do well, and then maybe push on next year because we’ll all be a little bit more experienced.”
On the summer transfer business: “We’re quite early in our pre-season training and practice matches so that is still early in its formation. Other clubs are far more advanced in [recruitment] than we are, but I’m sure we’ll have a very competitive team. We’ll probably have a mixture of good, experienced players and also some good youngsters. That formula worked last year and will hopefully put us in good stead this year as well.”
🔴 Wadebridge Town
Key info:
👨💼 Paul Rowe
🏟 Bodieve Park (PL27 6EA)
🏆 South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
📥 Greg Eastman, Sam Hepworth, Rhys Hooper, Dan Tate, Lewis Webber, Sam Wickins
📤 Ryan Downing, Ross Fallens, Matt Lloyd, Jacob Smale, Tom Strike
Last season in a nutshell:
4th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Vase first qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup quarter-finals
Walter C Parson League Cup second round
It was all going so well for Wadebridge Town last season, with the Bridgers flying high in the top three of the SWPL Premier West and seemingly on course to snap up one of the four promotion spots to the proposed brand-new division at Step 5.
That was until a spectacular fallout between the SWPL and the Western League caused the merger of the two leagues to collapse, sending the plans for the new division — and the aforementioned promotion spots into it — up in smoke.
Bridgers boss Paul Rowe and everyone else at Bodieve Park have worked hard to brush off that disappointment over the summer, with the club assembling a squad Rowe believes is up there with the strongest he has ever had.
Here’s what Paul Rowe had to say ahead of the new season…
On last season: “We can look back on it now with a certain amount of achievement — we set a goal at the beginning of the season and we achieved that. Obviously, it was horrible not to go up and that really knocked the players, the staff and everyone around the club for six, but in time you dust yourself down and you move on, re-evaluate things and go again. Normally in sport it’s a case of you’re good enough or you’re not; this time we were good enough but we didn’t get the reward, but we’ve just got to dust ourselves down and go again. There’s been impacts of not going up, but we’re looking forward to this season and moving onwards now rather than looking backwards.”
On the season ahead: “I’d be disappointed if we weren’t going into the last few games with a chance of winning the league with what we’ve got. We’ve got some really good players right throughout the side prior to bringing in the lads that we’ve looked to bring in. I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve got more depth than we’ve ever had going into this part of the season. There’s some good sides in the league and probably half a dozen will think they can win it and I certainly think we’re one of those.”
On their transfer business: “There have been a few outs and fair play to them, good luck if some of the lads want to go and play at Step 5. That’s what we were aiming to do as a group last season, so if any of the lads want to go and do that they go with my best wishes. I’m delighted to be able to bring in the lads we have, it’s definitely the strongest group we’ve had going into a season since I’ve been at the club. We’re still looking for one or two more… but other than that I think we’re really strong and should be towards the top end of the table.”
Part 2 of our season preview is out tomorrow morning. See you then!
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