π° Season Preview β Part 3: Liskeard, Penzance, St Austell, St Dennis, Torpoint, Truro
The third of our four-part series of 2023/24 season previews features Truro City, Torpoint Athletic, Liskeard Athletic, St Austell, Penzance and St Dennis
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.
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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 third part is coming right upβ¦
You can check out Parts 1, 2 and 4 of our season previews here:
β¬οΈ In todayβs newsletter
π΅ Liskeard Athletic
βͺ Penzance
βͺ St Austell
π΅ St Dennis
π‘ Torpoint Athletic
βͺ Truro City
π΅ Liskeard Athletic
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Darren Gilbert & Lee Mann
π Lux Park (PL14 3HZ)
π South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
π₯ Harry Bell, Ryan Downing, Lyle Johnson, Mike Smith, Billy Westlake
π€ Sam Hill, James Lorenz, James Rowe
Last season in a nutshell:
3rd in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Cup extra preliminary round
FA Vase second qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup quarter-finals
Walter C Parson League Cup finalists
Liskeard Athletic mean business this year having been frustrated in their attempts to win SWPL Premier West last term, ultimately falling six points short of champions St Blazey.
Martin Hodge and Martin Chrimes have since resigned from the management team, with the recognisable duo of Lee Mann and Bobby Hopkinson stepping in to jointly lead the squad alongside Darren Gilbert in what is an ominous-looking move for the Bluesβ title challengers.
The loss of influential pair James Lorenz and James Rowe to Western League side Torpoint Athletic has been softened with the arrival of some Peninsula League superstars in the form of Ryan Downing, Harry Bell and Mike Smith as well as a mindset fine-tuned toward eradicating errors and securing some long overdue silverware.
Hereβs what Lee Mann had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On last season: βIn my opinion, Liskeard picked up too many yellow and red cards last season and that cost them in big games. They massively underachieved last year with the quality they had.β
On transfer business: βWe have made some fantastic signings who have all got off to a good start. Harry Bell is back from his time at Mousehole and is someone we missed last season when he left. Billy Westlake has signed from Dobwalls, Lyle Johnson is back from Bodmin Town, Ryan Downing has signed from Wadebridge and Mike Smith from Saltash United.β
On the season ahead: βThis season myself, Darren and Bobby have told the lads that it is time to step up and be counted. We need to make sure we look into every small detail and treat every game as if it is a cup final. We will work hard together and make sure we stay disciplined. Our goal is to make sure we win the league, the rest is a bonus.β
On the clubβs infrastructure: βThis season, off the pitch, we have had group of seven or eight people really work hard around the ground to give it a much needed face lift. This has been pushed by our new chairman, Jon Colenzo.β
βͺ Penzance
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Ashley Waters
π Penlee Park (TR18 4NE)
π South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
π₯ Oscar Massey
π€ Liam Andrew
Last season in a nutshell:
13th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
Cornwall Senior Cup quarter-finals
Walter C Parson League Cup third round
It has been a tough few years for Penzance, a grand old name when it comes to Cornish football, but last season offered some hope that the good times might not be a million miles from Penlee Park.
Under the stewardship of former managers Adrian Ferrell and John McCallum, the Magpies recorded their best season since their elevation to step six of the National League System in 2019, winning seven and drawing five of their 30 games.
Tasked with building on the work of his predecessors is new man at the helm Ashley Waters, who, whilst targeting stability first and foremost, believes the Magpies can improve on last seasonβs showing this time around.
Hereβs what Ashley Waters had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On taking the job: βPenzance is obviously a big club thatβs had misfortune over the past five to ten years, and we just want to make Penzance a nice place to come and watch games and improve the teams there.β
On last season: βLast season was OK. It was a good stepping stone but there is definitely room for improvement. For us, last season was a bit of a learning curve. We could have finished higher in the league, really, I think it was just inexperience [that cost us] in a lot of games. We could have finished a lot higher than 13th.β
On the summer recruitment: βA big loss last week was Liam Andrew, we lost him to Mousehole, but we were given a great opportunity to sign Oscar Massey who was released from Swindon Town, which is a massive signing for us and during the last couple of games heβs been playing and you can see what a quality signing he is. Heβs a youngster as well which is kind of what weβre trying to do, weβre trying to bring in the youth from the club itself β weβve got our under-18s and our reserves and Matt James, our coach, works at [Truro & Penwith] College, so weβre trying to recruit from there as well. Everything is really positive at the moment.β
Targets for the coming season: βIβd like Penzance to hold their own. Improvement from last season, obviously. Weβd like to compete against some of the top sides, there were opportunities last season where we had the chance to go on and get results in those games but Iβd like to see us maybe take one of those top sides and get three points this season. For me personally, the game is stability for the club, really.β
βͺ St Austell
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Chris Knight
π Poltair Park (PL25 4LR)
π South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
π₯ Olly Brokenshire, Liam Eddy, Jake Miller, Tom Whipp
π€ Brett Allen, Leo Best, Kieron Bishop, Josh Penrose
Last season in a nutshell:
8th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
FA Vase first qualifying round
Cornwall Senior Cup first round
Walter C Parson League Cup second round
After previous incumbent of the Poltair Park hot seat Mark Smith revealed he would step down at the end of last term, the Lillywhites have turned to Chris Knight, the man he replaced during the summer of 2020.
And Knight, in his third spell in charge of his hometown club, has wasted little time in bringing several household names back to Poltair Park.
Without a trophy since 2017, and now fierce local rivals St Blazey have cemented themselves as mid-Cornwallβs premier club due to their promotion to the Western League, Knight will be hoping that those familiar faces returning to the Town ranks can rekindle glory days again.
Hereβs what Chris Knight had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On his transfer business: βWe are delighted with the lads we have got in. We were determined to bring a bit more experience back to the club because we inherited a very young group. I am still on the lookout for a couple more (players) but pre-season is a weird time because you are almost waiting for someone to not get a game at a big team. We are monitoring the situation with Western League teams in terms of who might be in or out. We are a bit light up front and if Liam Eddy gets injured, we could do with some cover defensively but we have about 25 central midfielders. With that in mind, our business is not done.β
On going back to St Austell: βA lot of things have happened in my life outside of football that have made me want to come back.Β Iβve tried everything else to get away from football like golf and other sports but football is a drug. When youβre out of football, you miss it and nothing can replicate those minutes in a dressing room after a big game when youβve won. Although I am very proud of what Mark Smith did, under very, very difficult circumstances, he didnβt want to continue and I am happy to take it on.β
On what would constitute a good season: βWe have a new team so it is going to be difficult for me to make any kind of prediction. However, I wouldnβt have taken the job on if I didnβt think we could compete at the top end of the table. Every manager will tell you that there is no point taking the job if you donβt feel you can win every game and every cup competition you enter. Thatβs the aim, but I am realistic. What has shocked me this time round is how competitive teams in this division are in terms of budget. When I did the job the first time (in 2017) it was easy to attract players to this club on the back of our FA Vase run and the reputation of the club. There are now other options locally in the Western League which Iβm fine with and any player who wants to better themselves, goes with my best wishes. So this is a job thatβs harder than it was last time, but I still expect us to do well as we have brought winners into our dressing room.β
On the pressure to succeed: βThe only pressure on me is from myself and thatβs too much because I eat, sleep, drink and live football β much to the detriment of my wife and children. If I am going to do the job I am going to do it 100 per cent, but there is no pressure here at the club and we have nothing to prove. This job isnβt about me, itβs about making the club and team more successful than it has been previously.βΒ
π΅ St Dennis
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Jack Barbery
π Boscawen Park (PL26 8DW)
π South West Peninsula League Premier West
Transfer business:
π₯ Ryan Hayhurst, Jake Hughes, Matt Mazzino
π€ Josh Pope
Last season in a nutshell:
16th in South West Peninsula League Premier West
Cornwall Senior Cup second round
Walter C Parson League Cup second round
St Dennis will be hoping to avoid a hat-trick of SWPL Premier West wooden spoons when they start the 2023-24 campaign at Liskeard Athletic next Wednesday.
The Boscawen Park outfit have propped up the rest in both completed seasons since the covid-19 pandemic ended, but with Jack Barbery back in charge after he replaced Simon Minnett in February, there is genuine belief in the Clay Country village that the club are once again back on a firmer footing.
Barbery led his side to arguably their finest hour in 2019 when they defeated Illogan RBL 4-0 to lift the Cornwall Charity Cup but since that zenith moment, Saints have struggled at step six.
In contrast, off the field, significant improvements have been forthcoming with the club now boasting floodlights for the first time in its history. And for this coming term, St Dennis will field a womenβs team for the first time in their history also.
Hereβs what Jack Barbery had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On Saintsβ transfer business: βIt has been a bit mixed really. We got Chris Brown back but in our second pre-season game, he ruptured his Achilles and will be out for the season. In terms of who we have got in, Iβm happy but like everyone, Iβm still looking. I could do with the season not starting up at Liskeard next week because we still need a couple of weeksβ training and friendlies. As I said, we have lost Chris and there are another couple of lads who have picked up knocks. But that is the hand we have been dealt and we will just have to battle through the injuries.β
On last season: βThe club had a difficult time last year. Simon [Minnett] came in and he tried to bring in some new players and without me trying to have a dig because I genuinely am not, the clubβs identity disappeared.Β Things didnβt go that well and when Simon decided to pack in, because he was struggling with players, I came in with a few games to go and was left with hardly any players. I managed to get a few signings in and apart from one game, when we lost 5-0 at Liskeard after playing for 45 minutes with ten men, we competed in every other game. Hopefully we can take that into this season by getting players in who actually want to play for the club on a Saturday.β
On the season ahead: βIf we can get into the middle of the table then that is a really good season. Iβm aiming for getting out of the bottom five and anything higher than that is a bonus. We have only played teams at a lower level than us in pre-season so we can get a bit of confidence into the lads before we go to Liskeard.β
On the sad passing of Tracy Banfield: βWhen I first came to St Dennis she was the secretary and I knew straight away that she was one of the best secretaries around.Β Alesha [Banfield, Tracyβs daughter] has taken on that role now and she is the same sort of character as Tracy.Β Tracy spoke her mind and thatβs what everyone loved about her. She will be truly missed at St Dennis and across the wider Cornish football community too.β
π‘ Torpoint Athletic
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Dean Cardew
π The Mill (PL11 2RE)
π Western League Premier Division
Transfer business:
π₯ Jordan Duffey, Ethan Hunt, James Lorenz, Josh Pope, Jason Richards, Louis Rooney, James Rowe, Ryan Smith, Sean Thomson
π€ Curtis Damerell, Paul Heveran, Callum Thompson, Jason Peters, Jacob Smith
Last season in a nutshell:
12th in Western League Premier Division
FA Cup first qualifying round
FA Vase first round proper
Cornwall Senior Cup first round
Les Phillips Cup second round
After a shaky start to life as a Western League side last season β failing to win any of their first eight games β Torpoint Athletic eventually found their feet among their new surroundings, with a run of one defeat in their last nine matches helping The Point to a respectable 12th-place finish.
The loss of 32-goal top-scorer Curtis Damerell to Helston Athletic this summer was undoubtedly a blow, but replacements donβt get much better than Liskeard Athleticβs free-scoring James Lorenz and former Plymouth Argyle and Truro City man Louis Rooney.
Other shrewd signings, including Saltash United custodian Jordan Duffey and Lorenzβs former Liskeard team-mate James Rowe, all contribute to the sentiment that Cardew is quietly putting together a pretty handy side down at The Mill.
Hereβs what Dean Cardew had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On last season: βI think for a first season in the league it was respectable. Everyone said it was going to be tough, which you know, but I think for a first season you could probably call it respectable. But if you asked me if it was what I wanted, then I probably wanted a bit better. I think we struggled to adapt and it took us a long time to get going, but it was our first season. Weβd had tough cup draws and were out of the cups and didnβt have a lot to play for for a long period so to keep going was good, but we certainly want to improve on it this season.β
On the summer recruitment: βItβs been good. Weβve lost some big players, big characters as well β Curtis [Damerell] is one, Paul Heveran has retired from playing and Callum Thompson has moved up the line, so we did lose some big players. It was really important to not only replace them but replace them quickly as well because it can have a bit of a domino effect when that happens. But we did replace them quickly and I was really pleased because it was with players Iβd been after for a little while as well. It wasnβt just a case of βOh weβve lost these, we need to get anyone inβ, it was players that Iβve been trying to sign for a couple of seasons, so I was quite pleased with the players Iβve got.β
On the coming season: βInitially, [the target] is to do better than we did last season β we were out of all the cup competitions very early and were scrapping at the bottom of the league and at one point it was looking a relegation battle. We did manage to string some results together so we got clear of that quickly, but then it was just a case of mixing it around mid-table. It would be nice to have a cup run next season and maybe be flirting in the top half of the league rather than the bottom half.β
βͺ Truro City
Key info:
π¨βπΌ Paul Wotton
π Bolitho Park (PL5 3JG)
π National League South
Transfer business:
π₯ Ryan Law, James Melhado, Billy Palfrey, Dan Rooney, Sam Sanders, Obed Yeboah
π€ Yassine En-Neyah, Harvey Greenslade (loan ended), Oliver Haste (loan ended), Matt Wright
Last season in a nutshell:
3rd in Southern League Premier South (play-off winners)
FA Cup first qualifying round
FA Trophy first round proper
That fairytale play-off finale will live long in the memory of Truro City supporters, with Connor Riley-Lowe clinching victory over Bracknell Town with the final kick of last season to end Cityβs four-year exile from the National League South in unbelievable fashion.
Attention now turns to what will undoubtedly be a testing first campaign at step two since 2018/19, with the likes of Yeovil Town β a Championship side as recently as 2013 β and former landlords Torquay United β still managed by the vastly experienced Gary Johnson β acting as the big fish in this particular non-league pond.
A few familiar faces in Ryan Law, Dan Rooney and Billy Palfrey have come along for the ride to add further depth and experience to Paul Wottonβs squad, with the White Tigers chief also bringing in ex-Salford City defender James Melhado and former AFC Wimbledon forward Obed Yeboah, while defender Sam Sanders arrives on loan from newly-promoted National League Premier outfit York City.
Hereβs what Paul Wotton had to say ahead of the new seasonβ¦
On last season: βIt still feels like a little bit of a dream really. To score in the last kick or the game in a play-off final away from home was magical. It will stick with me forever and Iβll never forget it and itβs a fantastic memory, but thatβs all it is now, a memory. Weβve got a new challenge this season, which weβve earned through getting promotion, but itβs a huge challenge for us and one weβre very much looking forward to.β
On the season ahead: βLast season I would never have said promotion, but it was and we achieved that. Weβll see where we are after six or seven games, weβll see the lay of the land. Iβll be brutally honest, Iβve never managed or played at that level so Iβm not totally sure of what weβre going into, so I need to make sure that weβre as ready as we can be.β
On the new signings: βI like to do my business early so it gives the players a pre-season so they can settle in and get used to me and I can get used to them. Recruitmentβs been really tough this year, it feels like everyoneβs upped their game wage-wise and weβve got a wage structure that wonβt break, and quite rightly so, and weβre getting blown out of the water by teams in our league and some teams in the league below that weβve just come out of.β
On retaining most of last seasonβs squad: βItβs a show of faith and a show of belief. I believe theyβre good enough to make the step up and only time will tell with that, but what people forget is that lots of those players have played in that league before and been successful in that league as well. Weβre under no illusions that itβs going to be majorly tough, but weβll be as ready as we can be.β
Part 4 of our season preview is out tomorrow morning. See you then!
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