π° Season Preview β Part 2: Dobwalls, Falmouth, Launceston, Mullion, Saltash, Wendron
The second of our four-part series of 2023/24 season previews features Saltash United, Falmouth Town, Wendron United, Dobwalls, Mullion and Launceston
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.
This week also marks the launch of our brand-new paid subscription service. For just Β£5 per month β or Β£50 per year β you will receive full access to an unrivalled and unprecedented level of coverage of football in Cornwall.
From next week, we will be publishing this newsletter four times a week, with posts out every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Free subscribers will receive our posts on Sunday and Thursday, while paid subscribers will have full access to our premium Tuesday and Friday editions.
We will always provide a certain amount of coverage for free, but we can only continue to publish this newsletter if enough people are willing to pay for it. Every subscription gets us closer to achieving that goal and make this a staple of independent local sports coverage.
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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 youβll 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 todayβs second part is coming right upβ¦
You can check out Parts 1, 3 and 4 of our season previews here:
β¬οΈ In todayβs newsletter
π΄ Dobwalls
π‘ Falmouth Town
π£ Launceston
π΄ Mullion
π΄ Saltash United
π£ Wendron United
π΄ Dobwalls
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Brad Gargett & Ben Washam
π Lantoom Park (PL14 4FL)
π South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
π₯ Callum Bleasdale, Kaycee Fidelis, James Morley, Cameron Patterson
π€ Jordan Hogan, Kirk Smith
Last season in a nutshell:
7th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Vase first qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup first round
Walter C Parson League Cup third round
Dobwalls may have been the surprise team for many last season, except those within Lantoom Park themselves that is. It wonβt have bothered their bullish manager Ben Washam though, whose side seem to thrive on going under the radar.
On a budget the modest end of shoestring, the Reds did more than just keep their heads above water following the departure of previous boss Simon Westlake, fielding a youthful side that are now a season more established and bedded in to step six football.
Washam remained in the management team, joined by Brad Gargett and Adam Castlehouse, providing stability to a side that have built quietly over the last few seasons but might now be on the verge of seriously changing people's perceptions.
Hereβs what Ben Washam had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On last season: βConsidering our budget, I thought we were absolutely amazing. Finishing above some of the so-called big teams, like your Bodmins and St Austells, finishing 22 points above them with our budget and a total rebuild after losing [previous manager] Simon Westlake. With our youngsters, some of them only 17 years old, I think we did fantastically.β
On transfer business: βWe have kept the majority of last seasonβs squad and added ex-Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper James Morley. He was training with the first team as their training βkeeper and is a great addition. We also have Kaycee Fidelis, the little striker from Callington, alongside Cameron Patterson and Callum Bleasdale, who was a big part of Saltashβs success. We are still on the hunt for a couple more.β
On his management style: βMy philosophy is that the club is more important than the playersβ wages. I have gone round looking at grounds and I think there are clubs paying big money for players when they havenβt even got tractors to pick up the grass. I am a massive believer that the players have got to want to play for you.β
On the season ahead: βWe are young but I am looking forward to the challenge. Everyone is writing us off like they always do. I donβt think we get the credit that we deserve. I looked at the [Cornwall Football] Forum and nobody has put us in their top six. I love it, I think that itβs great. I tell you what, it is a tough place to come. We have made it that way.β
π‘ Falmouth Town
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Andrew Westgarth
π Bickland Park (TR11 4PB)
π Western League Premier Division
Transfer business:
π₯ Morgan Coxhead, Jacob Grange, Bradley Leivers, Jared Sims, Alex Wharton
π€ Ryan Barnes, Kirk Davies, Scott Kellow, Tom Moxham, Tim Nixon
Last season in a nutshell:
7th in Western League Premier Division
FA Cup preliminary round
FA Vase second round proper
Cornwall Senior Cup second round
Les Phillips Cup second round
After completing a memorable treble in 2021/22, itβs fair to say Falmouth Town didnβt experience quite the same highs last term. The clubβs first Western League campaign since 1983 can be defined as a series of peaks and troughs, while their Senior Cup defence was one to forget.
It has been a summer of change in terms of the squad with several experienced players departing, while the loss of last seasonβs top scorer Tim Nixon to Mousehole will be a particularly big blow.
That being said, a series of shrewd incoming transfers, the continued support of the countyβs largest fanbase and a character-building season of Western League football under the clubβs belt means there is plenty of cause for optimism at Bickland Park once again.
Hereβs what Andrew Westgarth had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On last season: βThere were definitely ups and downs: lots of things we got right and lots of things we definitely need to improve on. We had a slow start, some really good and some really difficult periods and learning how to deal with away games was a massive challenge. Overall, if before the season started youβd offered me seventh place, Iβd have bitten your hand off. It blew my mind how much I learned last year because itβs really hard to plan for something when you donβt really know what youβre getting into. Going into the first year of the Western League, we were still heavily fixated on trying to win the treble that we never even thought about the Western League, but this year Iβve been planning for this season for four or five months.β
On the new signings: βWeβve lost a lot of senior players. Barnesyβs obviously not at the club anymore and I want to thank him for everything heβs done for us in eight seasons. Tim Nixon, itβs never nice losing your top goalscorer but we wish him every success at Mousehole, you can never stand in anyoneβs way or begrudge anybody for playing at a higher level. Moxey, Iβm disappointed to lose him but I totally understand his reasons, and Scotty Kellow is a big blow for us β theyβre all hard players to replace. But Iβm really pleased with the players weβve got in and I think thatβs showed already in pre-season, theyβve looked really good. The club is in a good place at the moment.β
On targets for the season ahead: βI think itβs the same as every year Iβve been manager: you target a cup and you want to finish higher than you did the season before. I think we were all really disappointed with how the Senior Cup panned out for us, thatβs a competition we hold in high regard. In the league, there were a few games that we can look back on and think, βWhat if?β but overall we had some great results β doing the double over Bridgwater and beating Saltash twice, no teams did that so there were lots of positives. The target [this season] has to be to better seventh and try to win a trophy.β
π£ Launceston
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Neil Price
π Pennygillam (PL15 7ED)
π South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
π₯ James Close, Ollie Miller, Joe Munday, Mike Steele, Andy Watkins
π€ None
Last season in a nutshell:
14th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Vase second qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup second round
Walter C Parson League Cup second round
Launceston found themselves in a rather unusual position this time last year. The Clarets were left with a threadbare squad following the departure of manager Dan Hart to Western League Buckland Athletic and looking around for the next direction in which to turn.
Enter stage right, former Plymouth Argyle and Watford defender Neil Price who took over without, in his own words, βhaving seen a game at this level, not knowing any players or anyoneβ. He went from losing nine of his first 11 games in charge, scraping together a team to fulfil fixtures, to improving markedly and losing just one of their last seven.
Much of the focus this summer has been on improving fitness with a set of tough pre-season games against the likes of Torpoint Athletic and a host of South West Peninsula League Premier East sides ahead of an upcoming fixture against Southern League newcomers Mousehole.
Price predicts another βup and down seasonβ but that is the nature of the beast in such a project, which is ultimately to build a sustainable and stable club on and off the pitch, not to spend beyond their means and to promote talented and local young players who can compete at step six and beyond.
Hereβs what Neil Price had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On last season: βWe want to get a reasonably local, youth based team that has got a lot of potential and to build a football club, not just a first team for a season. I didnβt know how hard that was going to be. I didnβt know anyone but, thankfully, due to my previous life people seemed to trust me and I have got some really good friends in Cornish football now.β
On transfer business: βThe majority of the players are still here. I have added [former Bath and Truro City striker] Andy Watkins. What a fabulous player Watto is. He is such an influence on that pitch. He does things the right way and, for us, it is all about having the right characters. Joe Munday has come in from Bodmin Town, too. He is a big centre-forward with loads of ability and isnβt even 18 until August.β
On the clubβs aspirations: βI admire what Wendron United are doing. They have done it the right way. They have taken an under-18s team through, not paying loads of money but investing money back into sustainability and what they need to do to push the club on. Our aim this year is to be in that middle group and to continue to grow.β
On the season ahead: βIf we can finish on a single number, I think that would be an outstanding season. If we finish tenth or 11th, I think that is still a big improvement. Then it is about the following season, can we keep the sausage machine going? I would like to think we are not a bottom three team this year. For us it is about progression and by the time next year comes, if some of our lads have improved and we are another year into it, who knows where we might be?β
π΄ Mullion
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Rob Carey
π Clifden Parc (TR12 7EQ)
π South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
π₯ Conor Bowman
π€ None
Last season in a nutshell:
11th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
Cornwall Senior Cup second round
Walter C Parson League Cup first round
It was very much a season of two halves for Mullion as the Clifden Parc outfit embarked on their maiden campaign in the SWPL last term.
A terrific start to life at step six saw the Seagulls fail to taste defeat in their first eight league games to the end of September with Rob Careyβs side sitting pretty in the top four.
However, things took a sharp nosedive from there with Mullion winning just three and drawing three of their remaining 21 games on their way to ultimately finishing 11th.
Those at the west Cornwall club will be hoping this season is a repeat of the first half of the last one, rather than the second half.
Hereβs what Rob Carey had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On last season: βWe got off to a very good start and we maybe even surprised ourselves a little bit and it mounted a lot more pressure on ourselves I think. We went eight league games unbeaten which did surprise a lot of people to a degree, but that made us a team with a target on our back and that resulted in not just getting beat but beat heavily. We had a patchy spell over Christmas and towards the end of the season the real lesson I learned was that we didnβt have a big enough squad.β
On summer recruitment: βTricky. In the five years Iβve been doing it, I think itβs definitely been the trickiest. Thereβs a lot going on elsewhere and Mullion is a hard sell unless youβre from the area. I couldnβt tell you that weβve got our best squad nailed on yet and weβre going to have to see what happens on that first weekend, but weβve got to have a squad of 18 players and we will have that.β
Targets for this season: βHad we not had the two Godolphin wins taken off us we would have finished the season with ten wins, so youβd like to improve on that. The games we lost where we lost them ourselves β 3-0 up at home to Newquay and we lose 4-3, 2-0 up at home to Bude and losing 4-2 β those are the games where this season we need to improve on those and get something from. I would like to improve on our league finish, but again we know there are some big hitters in the league. Youβd like to challenge, weβd like to give a good account of ourselves this season, so somewhere in that top six would be a great finish on the back of last season.β
π΄ Saltash United
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Mackenzie Brown
π Waterways Stadium (PL12 6DX)
π Western League Premier Division
Transfer business:
π₯ Josh Angel-Craven, Henry Bunning, Ashley Clelland, Rhys Connew, Alex Cooper, Sam Cox, Harry Croft, Noah Crump, Jordan Ewing, Jacob Foster, Ben Goulty, Hayden Greening, Ross Hamilton, Ben Harris, Tom Huyton, Josh Johnson, Dylan Jones, William Larsen, Tylor Love-Holmes, Jack Martin, Jake Mead-Crebbin, Laurence Murray, Finley Newman, Kieran OβMelia, Joe Preece, Joe Short, Will Sullivan, Deacon Thomson, Reece Thomson, Josh Toulson, Jack Wood.
π€ Dave Barker, Callum Bleasdale, Alex Cairo, Adam Carter, Harrison Davis, Jordan Duffey, Charlie Elkington, Sam Farrant, Carlo Garside, Sam Hughes, Sam Leary, Danny Lewis, Callum Martindale, Callum Merrin, Jake Miller, Callum OβBrien, Mike Smith, George Spencer, Callum Watson, Henry Wilson.
Last season in a nutshell:
2nd in Western League Premier Division
FA Cup extra preliminary round
FA Vase second qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup semi-finals
Les Phillips Cup first round
Thereβs a rebuilding job, and then thereβs what new Saltash United manager Mackenzie Brown has been faced with this summer.
A superb 2022/23 campaign ended in despair as the Ashes, then led by Danny Lewis, finished runners-up to Mousehole before losing a winner-takes-all promotion play-off to Bristol Manor Farm.
Lewis promptly exited Waterways Stadium, with almost the entire squad following the Ashes legend out of the door as the club sought to cut their cloth.
Former Millbrook boss Brown, who led the Jenkins Park outfit to the Senior Cup final last term, is the one tasked with picking up the pieces, and he is very much up for the challenge.
Hereβs what Mackenzie Brown had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On his new challenge at Saltash: βItβs a jump out of my comfort zone, without a shadow of a doubt. Itβs stepping into somebody elseβs environment and itβll take time to make that my own, but itβs a fantastic challenge that Iβm looking forward to.β
On last season: βItβs hard to say this because Mousehole won the league, but I feel like Saltash were almost the most complete team, they had a bit of everything about them. Whenever we faced Saltash [at Millbrook] we knew it was going to be a difficult team and they were a squad that had just approached the peak of their powers. I know theyβve won a few trophies in recent years but the best Saltash team that Iβve faced was the one we faced last season.β
On the summerβs recruitment: βItβs been a tough summer in that sense. I was aware that there was a little bit of unrest at the club. I wasnβt surprised that so many players were leaving so I knew it was going to be a big job, but Iβve got to be honest, I didnβt think every single player would leave, and other than Shaun Cleary who spent all of last season injured, thatβs whatβs happened. In some respects itβs a blow because it makes your life a bit more difficult, but it gave us a completely blank canvas to try and work from, and to be honest Iβm absolutely delighted with where we are right now considering all of that. Weβve got a lot of numbers, a lot of young players and there is a core of Saltash in the squad as well, and weβve got some nice experience in the squad.
On the season ahead: βFor me personally, I would like to think that we will fare better than what my team did last year at Millbrook. I know that obviously thereβs been a lot of change so I can probably categorically say weβre not going to finish second like Saltash did last year, Iβd be amazed if thatβs the case because everythingβs so new, but Iβd like to think that we are competing in the top eight, top ten of the league.β
π£ Wendron United
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Michael OβNeill
π Underlane (TR13 0EH)
π South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
π₯ Isaac Dryburgh, Max Roberts, Ryan Tetley, Rio Watson
π€ Kian Thomas
Last season in a nutshell:
2nd in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Vase second qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup semi-finals
Walter C Parson League Cup second round
Any thought as to whether Wendron Unitedβs excellent 2021/22 campaign was a flash in the pan was well and truly put to bed last season, as Michael OβNeillβs side proved they were very much here to stay among the countyβs elite outfits.
A third-place finish in the SWPL Premier West and a Senior Cup final appearance in 2022 provided a high bar of success, but second place and a worthy semi-final defeat 12 months later was a more than satisfactory follow-up.
OβNeillβs side have won the hearts of many in Cornish football over the last couple of years, but could they now go that extra step and win some silverware too?
Hereβs what Michael OβNeill had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On last season: βOn reflection, it was a decent season. There was obviously the disappointment of finishing three points behind the winners but on the whole it was progress again. Weβre always talking about making year-on-year progress and that was the main target and we finished a place higher with more points, more wins, a better goal difference, fewer goals conceded and more goals scored. I would have liked to have done a little bit better in the cups, I donβt think we did ourselves justice in the Senior Cup against Millbrook and we had early disappointments in the Walter C Parson Cup and the Vase as well, they were a little bit disappointing but on the whole I think we improved on the year before and it was a good season.β
Targets for this season: βYou canβt see what other teams are going to do so I think itβs difficult to put a specific target on it, but certainly weβll look at the points again and look at the goals we scored and our goal difference, theyβre all small margins that I think we can improve on each season. That will be our target: concede less, score more, win more games β itβs as simple as that!β
On this summerβs transfers: βWeβve managed to keep the squad together, weβve not lost anyone directly to other clubs that we didnβt understand the situation about before so largely weβve kept the squad together. Itβs been a case of making sure weβve got our nucleus still, thereβs been a few players of ours approached and Iβm happy to say that most, if not all, have agreed to stay. We went pretty much the whole of [last] season with two centre-backs and thatβs always a bit of a tightrope to navigate so that was an area we were looking to reinforce, and weβve had to mitigate a few players being away with work this year at various different points. Itβs been steady over the summer but I was definitely not looking to make any dramatic changes.β
Part 3 of our season preview is out tomorrow morning. See you then!
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