n O n-LEAGUE
2019-2086 Season Preview 2019-20 FourFourTwoThere’s former Premier League talent aplenty in the top
two tiers of non-league – and a sheepish Notts County...n O n - LEAGUE
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Gone are the well-backed Salford City
and the machine-like Leyton Orient,
brilliantly led by the inspirational and
sadly-missed Justin Edinburgh, but
what of the league they leave behind?
Yeovil and Notts County took the two
promoted clubs’ places and they’ll start
in wildly different circumstances. Yeovil- so long a feared name in non-league
- taste life below the Football League
for the first time since 2003, but seem
ready to challenge for an immediate
return to the 92. New manager Darren
Sarll has persuaded Andrew Crofts, Lee
Collins and Luke Wilkinson to drop down
a level and aid Yeovil’s promotion bid.
If only things were as simple at Notts
County, who teeter on the precipice. The
crisis-hit Magpies lost their status as the
Football League’s oldest club in May and
were in the High Court in July, facing
action over an unpaid tax bill. Attempts
to sell the club are yet to yield results,
and what state they’ll be in when the
season begins is shrouded in doubt.
Chesterfield are the bookies’ current
favourites to win the division, but they’ll
need to find the consistency they were
missing last season. John Sheridan has
added Liam Mandeville and Anthony
Gerrard to a squad not lacking in talent.
Dave Challinor at AFC Fylde has taken
similar steps, signing the experienced
Mark Yeates and the exciting Kurt
Willoughby, a highly-rated England C
international. Fylde’s quest to reach the
Football League by 2022 ended in tears
last season when they were well beaten
by Salford in the play-off final, although
their FA Trophy success (right) did add
a silver lining to that particular cloud.
Beaten by Fylde in the play-offs last
season were Solihull Moors, following
an outstanding campaign that saw the
unfancied side finish 2nd under Tim
Flowers, the former England goalkeeper
and Premier League champion with
Blackburn. Going one better in 2019-20
could prove difficult, even with quality
additions in MK Dons defender Mitch
Hancox and Eastleigh’s Paul McCallum,
runner-up in the National League’s
scoring charts last season. Eastleigh
themselves may struggle as a result.
Wrexham also impressed before
suffering play-off heartache. They could
go close again if JJ Hooper and Devonte
Redmond, signed from Grimsby and
Salford respectively, can hit the ground
running – and Mark Harris could be an
excellent loan signing from Cardiff.
Elsewhere, rapid risers Harrogate
Town have had a busy summer with
veteran striker Jon Stead among their
signings, and Craig Hignett’s Hartlepool
hope the permanent addition of loanee
striker Nicke Kabamba can help them
to improve on last term’s poor showing.
Stockport and Torquay – both Football
League clubs within the past decade –
will add further quality to non-league’s
top flight, having come up as champions
of the National League North and South
respectively. It wouldn’t be a surprise
to see either club in the top half of the
table; each have managers who’ve hadsuccess at a higher level, in Jim Gannon
(above) and Torquay’s Gary Johnson.
The National League is an unforgiving
environment. But, with six play-off spots
available, a whole host of clubs will be
scrambling for a place in League Two.NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH
The North East clubs have dominated
headlines ahead of the new season.
Lee Clark surprised many by taking the
reins at Blyth Spartans, three divisions
lower than he’s ever managed before.
He faces a tough task in replacing Alun
Armstrong – the ex-Ipswich striker who
once scored in both legs of a UEFA Cup
tie with Inter – after Armstrong joined
North East rivals Darlington and took
a host of players with him, plus former
Newcastle forward Adam Campbell.
Spennymoor Town, beaten by Chorley
in last season’s play-off final, could right
that wrong after bringing in academy
alumni from Newcastle (Dan Ward)
and Sunderland (Rees Greenwood).
And Gateshead were relegated into
step two of the non-league pyramid as
a punishment for financial irregularitiesunder previous ownership. The Heed
are run by a supporter-led consortium
now and another former top-flight
player, Mike Williamson, leads their bid
to recover in his first managerial role.
But it is a former Gateshead manager
whose squad looks best-equipped to go
up. Steve Watson has prepared for his
first full season in charge of York City by
signing England C striker Dan Maguire
from Blyth Spartans, talented midfielder
Andy Bond from Fylde, and promotion
specialist Steve McNulty from Tranmere.
Come May, it wouldn’t be a shock to see
McNulty adding to his five promotions.NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH
Relegated duo Maidstone United and
Havant & Waterlooville are tipped as
the early favourites in a competitive
division, but promotion candidates
also include Bath City and Essex trio
Chelmsford, Braintree and Billericay.
After last season’s play-off heartache,
both Chelmsford and Bath – as well as
Welling United and Wealdstone – have
made smart additions over the summer
ahead of another challenge at the top.
At Havant, former Sutton United boss
Paul Doswell has raided his old club for
some impressive additions, bringing
defender Dean Beckwith, midfielder
Nicky Bailey and winger Roarie Deacon
to the South Coast. Doswell’s nous and
knowledge will mean the Hawks have
to be taken very seriously in 2019-20.
And over in Kent, one-time Arsenal
academy graduate Gavin Hoyte and
ex-Wolves behemoth George Elokobi
have been signed by Maidstone head
coach Hakan Hayrettin. Yet it is having
wily old John Still as ‘Head of Football’
that could be key as they try to bounce
straight back into non-league’s top tier.
In 2018-19, Torquay romped to the
National League South title. With more
than half a dozen genuine contenders
this time around, it’s hard to see any
club having things so easy in 2019-20.