AFC Totton
IT’S NEARLY HERE! Here we are with just one day to go before AFC Totton kick off a National League South campaign for the very first time in the club’s history.
I am so excited about this coming season, and I know that many of you will be feeling just as excited as I am. I’m sure a reasonable number of Tottonians will be making the three-and-a-half hour trip to the other side of Kent to cheer on our heroes. Let’s get as many Stags fans as possible to travel to Dover and make this Saturday a day to remember!
In recent seasons, we have all become accustomed to success. In 2022/23, The Stags won the Southern League Division One South title, then the following season we finished Runners-Up in the Southern League Premier Division South, only to miss out in the Play-Offs. We took the Runners-Up spot once again last season, but this time we finally made it across the line to reach Step 2 for the first time in 139 years of this football club, thanks to our Play-Off final victory over Gloucester City.
So now, we enter a league where half of the clubs are full-time professionals. Three of the clubs in our division have even played in the Football League — Dagenham & Redbridge, Maidstone United and the hosts for our second away game of the season on Tuesday 19 August, Torquay United. To think that my beloved Stags are taking on clubs like this in a league campaign makes me realise just how far this wonderful football club has come. This is fantastic for the club, and fantastic for our town.
Think about this; when we reached Wembley in 2007 in the final of the FA Vase, Torquay United were still playing in League Two, six levels further up the English football pyramid. We had just missed out on the Wessex League title on goal difference that season, although we won it the following season.
Consider this, too; in 2010/11 Southampton were playing Dagenham & Redbridge in EFL League One. I remember the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ricky Lambert scoring against The Daggers that season. AFC Totton were still playing at Step 4, six divisions below Dagenham. We won promotion that season to the Southern Premier, after winning the Southern League Division One South & West title in our first season at Testwood Stadium, several years before it was renamed the Snows Stadium.
After winning the Southern League Division One South three seasons ago, the difference in quality to Step 3 football was very noticeable indeed. Fortunately, the Board did a fantastic job in supporting Jimmy Ball by allowing him to bring in the quality needed to not just survive but to also challenge at the top of the table and, in just two seasons, get promoted again.
GOING UP!: The AFC Totton squad celebrate their Southern League Premier Division South Play-Off final victory over Gloucester City in May 2025.
The AFC Totton fanbase has grown due to the success of recent seasons, and to put it as simply as possible, last season the crowds were bigger than they have ever been. In the league over the last three seasons, we have Played 122, Won 75, Drawn 32 and Lost just 15. That is a win percentage of 61.47% — pretty impressive.
In the meantime, the club has continued to grow and improve, going from strength-to-strength both on and off the pitch. We are entering the National League South with several much bigger clubs who will have much bigger budgets at their disposal than we do. In this division, we are no longer the ‘Billy Big Timers’ that some other clubs accused us of being in the Southern League. We have to be realistic and recognise that there is a chance that we might not be able to maintain that incredible win ratio.
I’m not saying we are going to struggle this season — I actually believe that we are going to have a very good season. For me, a good season would see us finish somewhere in the middle third of the table. Jimmy Ball has recruited brilliantly so far, judging by what I have seen in pre-season.
There's something else I would like to add regarding us AFC Totton supporters. You have all been fantastic over the last few years, and our numbers are ever-growing. As we adapt to life at Step 2, maybe we won’t win as often as we have done, as half the clubs we’ll be facing this season are full-time professional. So, if we don't win as often as we did at Steps 3 and 4, we need to do our bit by staying loyal and continuing to support the club as we adapt to life in the National League South.
I was thinking recently whether there is anything that we as fans can do to help the club continue to grow. Maybe we can help the club think of new initiatives to keep the gates growing. Maybe we can start by doing something simple, like bringing a mate to a specific game and see if we can get them hooked. I bet we can attract a few new supporters that way. In the old days at Testwood Park, we tried 'Kids Go FREE' days, which worked pretty well.
Obviously, we need the boys to do their bit by winning as often as possible, and I have no doubt they will be doing everything they can in that regard.
We need to get even more sponsors on board, too. Over recent seasons, the club has performed better in commercial terms than it ever has, judging by the number of advertising boards I see around the pitch and the sponsors I see in the SFS Main Stand. Keely Ball has done a fantastic job from what I can see, but we need more of the business community to come on board and support this truly wonderful football club.
I keep saying this to people all the time, and I probably drive some people mad; Totton is a town with a population of about 30,000. I’m sure we can get more Tottonians to come and watch us on a regular basis. I also believe we can tap into the population of other areas, such as other parts of the New Forest and Western Southampton. I know we already get some support from all those areas, and I truly believe this club can continue to grow.
2025/26 is going to be a very exciting season, and the future of this football club looks amazing. Let's all pull together and make sure the future is amazing. COME ON, YOU STAGS!
By Sean McGlead
Images courtesy of Harvey Gerring
