AFC Totton
WINGER TOM BLAIR will be leaving AFC Totton this summer.
The former Southampton Academy player arrived at the Snows Stadium from Dorking Wanderers last summer, having played for Bridport while on loan from The Saints as a teenager, before going on to build a reputation for himself as a force in local non-league football at Dorchester Town, Eastleigh, Salisbury (on loan), Weymouth and Havant & Waterlooville.
Blair made his competitive AFC Totton debut as a starter at home to Walton & Hersham in the opening game of the 2024/25 Southern League Premier Division South season. His first goal for the club came in the feisty one-all draw at his former home of Havant & Waterlooville at the end of August 2024, and he went on to contribute seven goals in total, during 32 starts and eight substitute appearances across all competitions, that included Totton’s historic promotion-winning campaign.
While not a great scorer of goals, Blair proved himself to be a scorer of great goals with an unstoppable pearler into the top-right corner of the Wimborne Town net via the underside of the crossbar in September; a swift breakaway strike courtesy of a one-two with Charlie Austin to defeat Swindon Supermarine in November; a last-gasp winner from off-the-bench at Tiverton Town in December, and a 75th-minute equaliser from the edge of the box against the same opponents in the return match at the Snows Stadium in April 2025, which The Stags won 2-1; and, finally, an arrow into the top-left corner in the last regular league game of the season at Frome Town.
A source of creativity whether operating on the left or right wing, and a deliverer of pinpoint set-pieces, Blair racked up plenty of assists throughout the season. But he was also no stranger to a referee’s notebook, collecting 15 yellow cards and seeing red in the 1-0 Isuzu FA Trophy win at home to Dorchester Town in October.
“My wife and I have known for some time that there was potentially a big change coming up, and that this season might be my last playing football for a little while. So, it was important to pick the right club and to be amongst the right people, and I chose very well by coming to AFC Totton for my last hurrah.
“It was great to be in a team with the kind of attitude that just refuses to be beaten, and the way we eventually won promotion just summed up our season with that dramatic comeback against Dorchester Town. That game and the celebrations after beating Gloucester City in the Play-Off final will live long in my memory.
“Totton is a great club with fantastic people at every level, and it’s been a real pleasure to be a part of it, so I’m sad to be leaving but I’m happy to have been here and to have experienced such an eventful season with everyone connected to the club. With the team, the management and the tremendous support the club has, you have everything in place to do well in the National League South and to get to where you want to be.”
AFC Totton boss Jimmy Ball said:
“Tom had a very productive season with us. We knew the type of player we were getting when we signed him from Dorking and although his disciplinary record would sometimes have me tearing my hair out, you can’t ignore the fact that he’s a player with the ability to pull things out of the bag in key moments, and he played a big part in helping us to gain promotion.
“His stay with us may have only been a short one but it was also sweet in many ways, and I know that everyone at the club wishes Tom every success in the next chapter of his life.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Sayers Sports Photography (left) and Ian Middlebrook (right).
