With the thrills and spills of the 2023/24 season now over, we have asked supporters from across our four divisions to share their thoughts on the campaign.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part...
NAME | Tom Hammond
CLUB | Hadley – Pitching In Southern League Division One Central
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FOLLOWING YOUR CLUB AND HOW DID YOUR SUPPORT FIRST BEGIN? | Since 2016. I was formerly a Barnet fan but after the move to the Hive, I felt disillusioned with the club and didn't feel the vibe when attending matches there. So when Hadley moved back to Brickfield Lane, I decided to start watching matches and was hooked. In the picture that accompanies this article, I'm juggling tennis balls because I run the tennis balls challenge at half-time at Hadley.
HOW MANY OF THIS SEASON’S GAMES WERE YOU ABLE TO ATTEND? | I only missed three games home and away all season.
WHICH OF YOUR TEAM’S PLAYERS HAVE MOST STOOD OUT FOR YOU OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON AND WHY? | Luke Alfano won our fans’ Player of the Season poll, just four votes ahead of Issac Stones. Those two were the stand-out performers this season. Four other players worth mentioning, who had a significant impact after joining the club mid-season, are George Alfieri, Caoilan McGettigan, Jay Rolfe and Germaine Dua. With those three in the team, we had a huge turnaround in form and instead of fighting against relegation, we nearly made the play-offs.
WHICH GAME MOST STANDS OUT FROM THIS SEASON AND WHY? | Beating then League leaders Bedford Town 3-2 away from home. It was quite early on during our remarkable run of form and it was richly deserved.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE AWAY GROUND TO VISIT AND WHY? | It's a tricky one this. I'm going to have to mention a few. Kidlington - their fans are absolute quality, Biggleswade Town and AFC Dunstable - best food, Bedford Town - best facilities and Kings Langley - nice and easy to get to and we provided a brilliant atmosphere there.
HOW DID THE SEASON COMPARE TO YOUR HOPES DURING THE SUMMER? | Far better than I expected - I predicted 14th. We had a difficult summer period and I felt also that the League would be stronger this time around. Its only our second season at this level in our history, so I was expecting a little bit of ‘second season syndrome’.
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