Media Watch - Wimborne Town

The life-cycle of a team can be paradoxical. Just when you think that it’s settled and at the best level that could possibly be achieved, a subtle change takes place that sometimes elevates it above the glass ceiling. To succeed you must always evolve, sometimes to be dismantled and re-built again.

If we look at the side that played the first competitive game for the new incarnation of Merthyr Town just three and a half years ago, we can start to see how the change has taken place.

On 7th August 2010, we faced Shepton Mallet in a Toolstation Western League First Division fixture after our automatic demotion. The side that played that day was:

Andrew Delve: Steve Williams, Ryan Dorrian, Jonathan Newall, Jamie Thomas, Matthew Harris, Tareq Khalil, Stefan Oliver, Scott Armitage, Craig Stiens, Marcus Griffiths. Substitutes: Cortez Belle, Adam Thomas.

Compare that to the side that played in our last game two weeks ago and there are just three survivors – none of whom played in the starting line-up against Guildford!

The constant turnover of players at many clubs means breeding success evolves to the point that you are continually witnessing ‘another team’ in transition. There were six ‘new’ players in the starting line up against Guildford compared to the opening game of the season at North Leigh. People scoffed when the Trust took control of the club and said that it would be a miracle if it could ever return to the same level before the automatic demotion. But this current group of players are showing that there is massive untapped potential in this current team. The outcome on Saturday certainly won’t prove anything significant, but the team have developed this inexplicable confidence in their own collective ability.

It will be seven years, at the end of this season that Garry Shephard and Danny Carter have been in charge of Merthyr, saving the club from certain relegation, leading the club to two consecutive championship titles and a play-off final in the last four seasons.

The upturn in fortunes is intrinsically linked with the stability and steady progression that has been made over the last four years. Shep said in a recent radio interview that “We set out a five year plan to return to the same level before the demotion. If after playing all of the first ten league game’s of the season ‘away’ from home you would have told us that we would be top by 9 points, we would certainly have taken that.”

Currently, the Martyrs are playing in a way where they look to dominate teams in all areas of the pitch. When appropriate the defence pushes as high a line as possible and the forwards are everywhere, constantly inter-changing to confuse the opposition. But it is also essential that in the remaining ten away games starting at Wimborne that we are rock solid in defence and give away as little as possible.

With just over a third of the season left there is more than enough attacking potential in the squad to play some of our best football. Let’s just hope that it’s enough to finish the job.

Wandering wrote:
If we look at the side that played the first competitive game for the new incarnation of Merthyr Town just three and a half years ago, we can start to see how the change has taken place.

On 7th August 2010, we faced Shepton Mallet in a Toolstation Western League First Division fixture after our automatic demotion. The side that played that day was:

Andrew Delve: Steve Williams, Ryan Dorrian, Jonathan Newall, Jamie Thomas, Matthew Harris, Tareq Khalil, Stefan Oliver, Scott Armitage, Craig Stiens, Marcus Griffiths. Substitutes: Cortez Belle, Adam Thomas.

Compare that to the side that played in our last game two weeks ago and there are just three survivors – none of whom played in the starting line-up against Guildford!

Conversely, Andrew Thomas was in the starting lineup against Guildford but was suspended for that Shepton Mallet match. But it's true that - apart from Garry Shephard - no other player from the squad that started that season is still with the club.

THE relief of being back in action may be short-lived for title chasing Cirencester Town.
Gloucestershire Echo

Back in action for the first time in more than a month, the Centurions claimed their first win of 2014 at Wimborne Town on Saturday.

The only game of the day in Calor League Division One South and West saw Jody Bevan bag his 251st senior goal to seal all three points for Brian Hughes’ men.

“It was absolutely crucial to get a game into our legs and blow some cobwebs away because it had been a while,” Hughes said. “It was never going to be pretty but the crucial thing was to get the win and we’ve done that. We knew it was going to be an ugly game of football , one that would be won by a single goal and that’s how it proved. But it was all about the result and we now move onto the next game, whenever that will be!”

Hughes reserved special praise for super sub Bevan who won the game with a goal mere minutes after being thrown on from the substitutes bench. The 35-year-old targetman bagged a scrappy goal that has earned him the tag of a wet weather specialist by his boss.

“It was a perfect scenario for Jody to come on and affect the game, it had his name written all over it,” Hughes said. “If the chance had fallen to anyone else, they wouldn’t have scored as they would have tried to hit it too hard. But Jody toe-punted the ball in a goalmouth scramble, it beat the goalkeeper rolled in some mud on the line and just trickled in. It got nowhere near the back of the net, but it was a perfect finish.”

Youngsters to be given chance as four Magpies leave Cuthbury
Blackmore Vale

Magpies boss Steve Cuss has called on his experienced leaders to help out younger members of his squad – after the club have been forced to let four first team players leave Cuthbury.

After January was completely washed out, the Magpies are expected to see a loss of more than £15,000 – forcing Aidan Sainsbury, Patrick Wilson, Billy Maybury and Gary Middleton to leave the Cuthbury outfit.

“We’ve had to move the squad around” explained Cuss. “Financially, it’s tough for all clubs when you’re not playing football. It’s not a budget cut, it’s just looking at finances. Unfortunately, we had to let four of our players go over a two-week period. From a football point of view, we thank them for their efforts – but it gives other people a chance.”

Youngsters Dan Burton-Hemmings, Jamie Grose and Liam Donarchy were all included in the squad against Cirencester on Saturday – and are expected to be given more playing time during the rest of the season. Wimborne were in talks with Bournemouth Poppies midfielder Scott Costello, to help fill the void left by Sainsbury, along with the injury to Jamie Davidson.

“I think when there is a bit of youthfulness around, they just go out and play” added Cuss. “I don’t think they look at where they’re playing, who they are playing against or look at league tables. They just want to go out and play football. It’s all about experience for them. They’ve been playing senior football for a couple of years but nowhere near this level. For them, it’s coming in and just trying to gain that experience and get a feel of how it works at first team level and some of the quality opposition they have to play against, and get up to that standard.”

Wimborne’s youngsters will face a stern test on Saturday when they host league leaders Merthyr Town. The Welsh side narrowly beat Wimborne in the reverse fixture in December when Ryan Prosser fired home a winner deep into stoppage time.

The Magpies put in an impressive defensive display against promotion-chasing Cirencester on Saturday, but will need their experienced players in top form as they face a side who have scored 18 goals without reply in their last two games.

“We’ve got some great senior players in there” added Cuss. “They are all good leaders and they will help these young players in the squad through this difficult period that we’ve got. We’ve got to regroup and get going again for the next period of games.”

From the Wimborne Website:-


Magpies v Merthyr preview

19th February 2014
Jamie Davidson could be set for a return for the visit of table-topping Merthyr Town at Cuthbury on Saturday after missing last week’s clash against Cirencester because of injury.

James Stokoe is also set to feature despite picking up an ankle knock during the encounter.

The duo’s inclusion is good news for the Magpies as Merthyr have become their bogey side.

The Martyrs did the treble over Wimborne in league and cup games last term. But on the trip to South Wales earlier this season the Cuthbury men were beaten only at the death.

Magpies boss Steve Cuss rates Merthyr highly.

He said: “They are quite capable of playing at the higher level and deserve to be top of the table.

“But we played well on their artificial surface in a midweek game back in December.

“If can produce the level of performance as we did at Merthyr and against Cirencester last Saturday then hopefully we can go and win the game.”

Wimborne Town (from): Harvell, Arnold, Oliver, Maybury, Costello, Blake, Webb, Kemble, Stokoe, Burton-Hemmings, Gamble, Griffin, Davidson, Phillipson-Masters, Grose, Roast.

Wimborne boss Cuss backs Merthyr's promotion push
Bournemouth Echo

WIMBORNE manager Steve Cuss has set his sights on the scalp of league leaders Merthyr Town on Saturday – despite backing the Welsh outfit for promotion.

The Martyrs, who have beaten Magpies four times over the past two seasons, hold a six-point advantage at the Southern South & West summit with the Cuthbury boss unable to see past Wimborne’s bogey side for the title.

Cuss told the Daily Echo: “From the start of the season, Merthyr have looked the league’s stand-out team and the players they have added during the season have made them even stronger. Having said that, they are beatable like everyone else and they won’t find it easy going from their artificial surface to grass pitches every other week. Hopefully, that will give us a little advantage.”