FOCUS ON NEWENT TOWN FROM THE HELLENIC LEAGUE DIVISION 1 WEST: AN INTERVIEW WITH BEN STRINGER...

NEWENT TOWN FC

Newent Town, The Daffs, began life in 1920 it appears but most of the club's football has been played in the Gloucestershire County League, or the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League. Switches were made between those leagues until 2017-18 when Newent joined the Hellenic League Division 2 West division, albeit still being members of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League from which they were expelled for playing weaker teams when fixtures clashed!

The club won the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division 2 in the 1972-73 season and more recently the Reg Davis Trophy was claimed in both 2015 and 2016 but with the new challenge of the Hellenic League ahead at Wildsmith Meadow, Town couldn't have hoped for a better start, winning the division at the first attempt. 14 victories, 4 draws and only 2 defeats saw them amass 46 points with a goal difference of +51.

Last term, The Daffs finished 9th from 12 in the Hellenic League Division 1 West, with 6 wins, 4 draws and 12 defeats. Their goal difference was -24 and 22 points were gathered.

Manager Ben Stringer has kindly answered some interview questions and his comments are featured below...

Why was the decision made to move to the Hellenic League?

"We made the decision because after many conversations with different personnel within the Hellenic set-up, it was obvious that they like to see clubs progress and the league supports them in doing so. We have seen many examples of it, with Forest Green being one. However, we felt that the Northern Senior League was holding us back with little opportunity for advancement.” 

What were the clubs aspirations at the time?

“Newent has always had the dream of playing in the FA Vase and the FA Cup’s preliminary rounds. When we first started talking about it many years ago though, it was all just a bit of a far-fetched dream but now we are on the verge of making these dreams become a reality.” 

Did you expect promotion at the first attempt? 

“I don’t think we actually knew what to expect coming into the Hellenic 2 West division. We knew we had built a good side but the belief came after beating the previous year’s champions in our first game, winning 2-0 at home against Bourton Rovers. Momentum was with us from then on.” 

I saw the draw at Moreton. How important was that result to the club would you say? 

“We knew before coming into the game that we had to get some kind of a result away against a resilient Moreton side. We always played to win but found it difficult breaking them down, then a late equaliser put us firmly in the driving seat for the league title and if you had heard some of our celebrations afterwards, you would have realised how much it meant to all involved! That said, we still had a job to do in our last couple of games.”

THOMAS HAS DIVED IN TO HEAD THE ALL IMPORTANT EQUALISER AT MORETON TO VIRTUALLY CONFIRM PROMOTION TO HELLENIC 1 WEST...

What expectations did you have at the start of the 2018-19 season? Consolidation or something better? 

“If I’m being honest I felt we could find ourselves among the top 6 sides in the league; we had knocked Saracens out of the Cup in our Hellenic 2 season and we only lost to Easington because of a couple of penalties in the next round. So with those experiences under our belt we felt confident that we could compete.” 

We’re you satisfied with your 9th position in the league? 

“Having lost some key players from the previous season and finding it hard to replace them at short notice, our season wasn’t going quite as planned. We struggled to score goals having lost John Thomas to Fairford and also we lost our main centre-back at the time, Shaun Stanley which saw us suffer, especially through the early part of the season. I think we grew stronger as the season wore on though and proved ourselves against the top end of the table teams again. So I’m happy with the way we progressed of course but satisfied with 9th, I will never be.” 

JOHN THOMAS,9, A LOSS...

What difficulties did the lads have at the higher level would you say?

“We are one of the youngest sides in the league I think, so we did struggle a little with the physical side of the game at times, but more than that we needed to learn to use our heads more. There are some experienced sides in our league with some very clever players, so our lads had to learn and to learn quickly.” 

Has the club always played at Wildsmith Meadow? 

“No we haven’t always been here. One of the oldest records we have is an old picture from 1920 when we used to play on the Newent Recreation Ground in the middle of the town. We didn’t move here until around 1977 when a member of the Wildsmith family donated the ground to us.” 

LOOKING SMART AT THE GAME v CHELTENHAM SARACENS RECENTLY...

Was it always an intention to work on ground improvements during the 2018-19 season or was it a necessity? 

“We have steadily improved this ground each year over the past 10 years but this year we really had to work hard to get the grandstand in, ready to meet Hellenic Division 1 requirements and also the paths around one side of the pitch. It was a fantastic achievement by all involved, with lots of kind people helping and putting their hands in their own pockets but it’s now moved us up another level and will hold us in good stead for the future.” 

What are your expectations for the 2019-20 season?

“I want us to be involved at the top end of the table this year but as we all know it’s easier said than done! I truly believe in the lads I have with me. The mood around the club at the moment is also fantastic which will help and there is a real togetherness with this squad that makes me think they believe they can do something special if they stay together.” 

STRINGER'S GOAL v FAIRFORD, PRE-SEASON LAST TERM...

Your skipper has retired, so are you expecting to make personnel changes for next season? 

“We are looking to bring in new players this season to hopefully fill the void of our departing Captain and improve our squad but we also already have some good characters in the dressing room that I’m sure are ready to step up and be counted.” 

With Malvern Town joining your league for next term, the division might well be stronger. What are your thoughts about the opposition you will face? 

“Personally I think it’s great that we have a few new sides coming in. With Easington and Pewsey Vale both leaving, we have less travelling, some tasty local derbies and more good local grounds to go to. The division certainly looks stronger now which will only prepare this year’s eventual league winner better for the Premier Division, so we see it as a positive step forward and we can’t wait for the challenge.” 

Any departures or new signings so far? 

“It’s still that funny time before pre-season at the moment when nobody quite commits to signing, so I don’t have any names in the hat yet. However, I feel that our enquiries have gone well and it doesn’t look like we are going to lose too many lads this year either, which to me is our main objective as another year together will make us stronger anyway. I have promoted our reserve team’s Manager Jamie Henderson up to 1st team coach and I’m going to bring in a ‘number two’ and a physio’ this year which will be some good improvements. So hopefully our pre-season goes well and we can start the season as we mean to go on.”

Ben Stringer, Newent Town FC’s Manager…