Season Preview: 2019/20

After almost 4 months without competitive football, Tadley Calleva are back in competitive action. A lot has happened over the Summer and there have been many changes in lots of areas of the Club.

Tomorrow afternoon, new manager Adam Club and his backroom staff, John McFarlane and Harrison Gilkes take control of their first competitive game away to Brockenhurst. This will prove to be a tough test as Brockenhurst finished 15th last season with 47 points. Tadley beat them in this fixture last season thanks to a wonder goal from Sam Hamilton but lost the home fixture 3-1. Tadley will look to match their finish last season where a fantastic season saw the Romans finish in 8th place.

The first home game of Adam Clark’s reign will take place next Tuesday as Tadley welcome Amesbury Town to Barlow’s Park. This will be the first opportunity to see Tadley at Barlow’s Park in competitive spirit since 20th April. This was the final game of last season in which Tadley beat AFC Portchester 3-1 in Danny Dolan’s last game in charge.

After the Amesbury match, Tadley face last season’s Wessex Premier Division Champions Sholing away from in the FA Cup. Clark will be looking to progress in this competition and take the Club the furthest it has ever got. Tadley finish August at home to AFC Portchester in the League Cup. The League Cup was won by Baffins Milton Rovers last season who Tadley face in the Hampshire Cup away from home later this month.

The 1st October is when Tadley travel to Alresford who is now home to a few ex-Tadley players. This fixture is always highly contested and it set to be another intriguing fixture for both clubs. The reverse fixture takes place on the 11th January in which Tadley won 2-0 last season thanks to goals from Sam Hamilton and Danny Vickers.

Fleet Town and Solent University are the fixtures either side of Christmas with the latter at Barlow’s Park. The first game of the new year is set be against Hamworthy United at the Specsavers County Ground. The Easter Weekend Fixture is against Hamble Club away from home but for the second season in a row, Tadley finish the season at Home facing Horndean on the 18th April.

This season is set to be an exciting one and with 8 new players being announced last night there are lots of new faces. Jack Martin and Lee Wyatt are both goalkeepers who have signed. Adam Price, Jordan Goater and Richard Jones are defenders who have been signed been Clark following the departures of Chad Abrams, Shemar Pettit and Shaun Dallimore. Midfielders have also been brought in as Tom Etheridge, Amie Kamdem and George Farrelly join the other arrivals. These players have had time over Pre-Season to get to know their teammates and understand Clark's philosophy.

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you filling Barlow’s Park once again. As the curtain draws on Pre-Season, the real stuff is just about to begin.