New Waders Boss Gets Busy

Danny Payne, the new manager of Pitching In Southern League Division One Central club Biggleswade Town, has revealed his first batch of players committing to the 2023/24 campaign.

The first to put pen-to-paper is Robbie Parker.

The skipper of the side, he had an injury that sidelined him towards the end of last season but is a crucial member of the squad to retain.

The 28-year-old midfielder re-joined the Waders in October 2021 having left for St Ives Town in the summer of 2018.

The hard working and energetic midfielder was originally a scholar at Northampton Town and also had spells with Wellingborough Town and Bedford Town.

Parker will continue as club captain next season.

Another midfielder, Luke Middleton, has also penned a new deal with the Waders.

Arguably player of the season last year, his consistent performances in the middle of the park stood out.

The 19-year-old signed for Biggleswade in February 2022.

He was originally in the academy at Stevenage and joined the Waders from league rivals and neighbours Biggleswade FC where he played 8 times in 2021/22.

Experienced defender Liam McDevitt has also agreed to stay at the Yvette Brewer Stadium.

McDevitt made a real difference when he re-joined the Waders in November 2022 from Premier Division South side Beaconsfield Town.

His experience from the steps above and his winning mentality will be crucial for the waders next season.

The 33-year-old originally joined Southern Premier South side Hayes & Yeading United in the summer of 2018 having spent the previous campaign in the Southern Premier Central with St Neots Town.

He started out with Stevenage before moving to Hitchin Town and then Royston Town.

After a handful of appearances for each he settled at Barton Rovers for several seasons, interspersed with a brief return to Royston.

In the summer of 2016, he moved to St Ives Town where he spent a full season.

From St Ives he switched to St Neots at the start of the 2017/18 season.

After a standout season in Hayes & Yeading's defence, he opted to sign for Biggleswade Town during the early part of the summer of 2019 only to return to United before the end of August 2019.

He signed for Beaconsfield in the summer of 2022.

And, crucially, Biggleswade have managed to retain the services of top scorer Jon Clements.

Last season’s league `golden boot` winner and Waders top goalscorer with 34 goals, has committed for the 2023/24 season.

The 32-year-old signed for Biggleswade in the summer of 2022, having re-joined league rivals Welwyn Garden City in November 2021.

He had returned to Colney Heath in June 2021 from then-Essex Senior League side Walthamstow.

He moved to Stow in the summer of 2020, having led the Magpies scoring charts with 17 in the league and 32 in total in the voided 2019/20 Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division campaign.

The experienced player started out at Boreham Wood, for whom he made around 50 appearances and scored 7 goals.

He moved on to have spells with London Colney, for whom he enjoyed a prolific 2016/17 season, scoring 41 goals in 54 games, Welwyn Garden City, for whom he netted 37 goals the following season, and Tring Athletic before joining Colney Heath for the first time in 2019.

Experienced 31-year-old goalkeeper Kyle Forster will also be returning to the Waders in 2023/24 in a new role as keeper coach.

He has been a proven keeper over the years at this level as well as the step above and will provide a great level of experience and support to the club’s other keepers next season.

Forster signed for Biggleswade in November 2019 from league rivals Barton Rovers, for whom he made 133 appearances for between 2012 and 2017 in his first spell and also played for Ware, Aylesbury FC, London Colney, Kings Langley and Bedford Town before re-joining Barton in the summer of 2019.

Another staying at the Yvette Brewer Stadium but in a new role is 35-year-old Joe Howe, who will be focusing more on the coaching side of the game now.

He has recently completed his degree in S&C and has vital playing experience at higher steps and hold his UEFA B coaching badge.

Howe joined Biggleswade in August 2021, having been with Southern Premier South side Hendon since July 2020.

He had been on loan to the Greens from Vanarama National League South side St Albans City from November 2019 until lockdown.

He had joined the Saints from league rivals Hemel Hempstead Town in June 2019.

He began his career as part of the MK Dons academy, before being offered his first professional contract in 2006 with the club.

After leaving the Dons, he had spells with Northampton Town, Kettering Town, Welling United, Fisher Athletic and Croydon Athletic before joining Ebbsfleet United in 2010.

The right back went on to make over 200 appearances for the Fleet before moving onto Bromley, Leatherhead and then Hemel.

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