AFC Totton
VENUE:
Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton SO40 2RW
Saturday 03 August 2024 | Kick-Off 3:00pm
Tickets: £10 Adults; £5 Concessions - Buy online in advance.
NEW SIGNING CHARLIE AUSTIN is expected to make his AFC Totton debut when The Stags complete their pre-season programme this weekend with the visit of National League side Forest Green Rovers to the Snows Stadium.
The ex-Southampton and QPR striker made the national news headlines by signing on the dotted line for Jimmy Ball’s team in midweek, and he is in line to make his first outing as a Stag when Steve Cotterill brings his team to the New Forest on Saturday.
Rovers – who come from the town of Nailsworth in Gloucestershire and also go by the nicknames of The Green, Green Army, and Black-and-White Army – find themselves back in non-league football after six years in the Football League. In 2021/22, they won automatic promotion to League One, only to then suffer back-to-back relegations that culminated in them finishing bottom of League Two last season and making the drop back to tier 5 of the English football pyramid, despite the mid-season appointment of Cheltenham-born Cotterill after a run of 12 matches without a win. However, with average odds of 11/1, FGR are among the bookies’ favourites to bounce back into League Two at the first time of asking, with only Barnet and Oldham Athletic currently being offered at shorter odds.
Forest Green Rovers are famous for being the world’s first vegan football club. Chairman Dale Vince, the owner of renewable energy company Ecotricity, banned meat and dairy products from the New Lawn’s canteens and food kiosks in 2015. Three years later, Rovers became the first football club in the world to be certified carbon neutral under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) initiative Climate Neutral Now.
Totton boss Jimmy Ball is one of several former Forest Green alum currently plying their trade at the Snows Stadium. Having been Forest Green’s U18s manager, Ball was appointed as Manager following the sacking of Mark Cooper in April 2021 and went on to narrowly miss out on promotion to League One in the Play-Offs. Newspaper reports linked him with a possible return to the New Lawn in January, shortly before Cotterill was appointed.
Central defender Luke Hallett played under Ball at Forest Green, as did former Totton striker Jireh Oyebamiji. Veteran centre-forward Scott Rendell enjoyed a loan spell with The Green Army in 2005/06, while contracted to Reading. Defender Ben Jefford and former AFC Totton forward Brett Williams both played for Rovers in their 2016 National League Promotion Play-Off Final against Grimsby Town at Wembley Stadium.
For Stags fans, the game represents the first opportunity to see 35-year-old striker Charlie Austin in action since his signing was formally announced on Wednesday morning. The former Saints hitman was at the Snows Stadium on Tuesday evening ahead of The Stags 1-0 win over Eastbourne Borough to process the paperwork and sit down for an interview with AFC Totton TV, during which he explained what encouraged him to join Jimmy Ball’s squad.
ALL SMILES: New AFC Totton striker Charlie Austin (left) with Stags boss Jimmy Ball.
“The patience that the football club showed in doing the deal was brilliant, and I’m very grateful for that. In the end, I just rang James Beattie [AFC Totton’s Director of Football] and said let’s get the deal done.
“I want to play – it’s not about me, but if I can help the team to get over that hurdle then maybe I can help us to get promoted, which is our objective. Over the last 15 years, non-league has got a lot better. I’m looking forward to the challenge and I’m ready to play.”
The match against Forest Green Rovers will be AFC Totton’s final pre-season friendly before the 2024/25 season kicks-off with the visit of Walton & Hersham next Saturday. The Stags have faced Didcot Town, AFC Stoneham, a Southampton XI, Banbury United, Brockenhurst, Totton & Eling and Eastbourne Borough in their seven previous friendlies, and will be using this weekend’s encounter as a last chance to get players up to full match fitness ahead of the new season.
Speaking after the win over Eastbourne, Jimmy Ball commented:
“It was a good work out, there were no injuries, and everyone came off a lot fitter than they started, because it was hot. It was quite an aggressive game but that doesn’t concern me – you have to be prepared to fight fire with fire at times, and my players did that.
“We were good in possession. It was possession with purpose and with meaning. I was really pleased with all of it. We’ve been working on a lot and I’m pleased with where we’re at in terms of fitness and performances. We’re seeing patterns in our play and things almost working – you don’t need to peak in pre-season – but we look in good shape.
“I was looking at Forest Green’s squad the other day and there’s only one player still there from my time. But I had a great relationship with the fans and I gave them a night there that they will never forget. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and I wasn’t able to continue but I have fond memories of my time at the club. I’m sure it’s going to be a tough test on Saturday and I’m really looking forward to it.”
AFC Totton vs Forest Green Rovers takes place at the Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton SO40 2RW on Saturday 03 August 2024. Kick-off at 3:00pm. Tickets: £10 Adults; £5 Concessions - Buy online in advance.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Image courtesy of Sayers Sports Photography
