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 | Robert Conway and Kevin Watkins
CLUB | Winchester City – Pitching In Southern League Premier South
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FOLLOWING YOUR CLUB AND HOW DID YOUR SUPPORT FIRST BEGIN? | RC: I moved to the City in the summer of 2010 and went to my first match in September of that year. For the first couple of years, I was working most Saturdays so didn't get to as many matches as I'd liked, but a few years later I changed careers and I've been a regular follower home and away ever since.
KW: I have been supporting Winchester City on a regular basis since 1999. A friend of mine used to go and encouraged me to attend a game towards the end of the season and I've been hooked ever since.
HOW MANY OF THIS SEASON’S GAMES WERE YOU ABLE TO ATTEND? | RC: I try to get to every single match. This season I got to all but five League matches. Aside from watching Winchester City, my other footballing passion is German football so the only reason I missed those five matches is because I was out of the country watching a few matches on the continent each time.
KW: I managed to attend a total of 45 games during the season.
WHICH OF YOUR TEAM’S PLAYERS HAVE MOST STOOD OUT FOR YOU OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON AND WHY? | RC: We've got a great squad together now so I could argue to pick any one of them, however our left-back, Danny King, is now onto his 17th season with Winchester City and is like a fine wine, he keeps getting better with age. He had another outstanding season last year.
KW: The player who has stood out for me this season is our winger, Trevor Caborn. A player who nobody had heard of when he signed last summer but has become an important member of the team who has scored some important goals and provided a lot of assists. He was playing Step 5 the season before and has looked more than comfortable with the two-step jump, even attracting interest from teams higher in the pyramid.
WHICH GAME MOST STANDS OUT FROM THIS SEASON AND WHY? | RC: We had some great results this season and for different reasons there were many great games. Beating Bracknell Town 5-0, a last-minute winner at Merthyr Town on a Tuesday night, getting to watch Winchester play at Plymouth Argyle's Home Park in a Southern League match and (until the final match) being the only team to take full points from Champions, Chesham United, were all stand-outs. But my favourite matchday was back in November, Beaconsfield Town 1-2 Winchester City. We scored a late winner which was obviously great, but it was an all-round great away day. The sun was shining, pre-match beers in the town and post-match drinks in London celebrating the three points made it a day to remember.
KW: For me the stand out game has to be winning 2-1 away at Champions, Chesham United. They had previously won their first seven out of seven home fixtures, so were probably expecting another win against mid-table Winch, but we put in a superb performance to deservedly claim all three points.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE AWAY GROUND TO VISIT AND WHY? | RC: My favourite ground in our League is easily Merthyr Town's Penydarren Park. It's a beautiful stadium with modern facilities but also steep concrete terraced steps, plus their footy scran is top notch too!
KW: My favourite away ground also has to be Merthyr Town. It's a wonderful set-up there which wouldn't look out of place in The Football League and the staff and fans are always friendly, which isn't the case at every ground!
HOW DID THE SEASON COMPARE TO YOUR HOPES DURING THE SUMMER? | RC: As it was only our second-ever season at this level and having achieved our target of survival in our first, I think finishing higher than you did the previous season is always the aim. I was hoping a top half finish could be achieved (which we did), so overall I am very pleased with how our season went. Next season is going to be a very tough League, but a top ten finish is my hope, with an optimistic outside hope of maybe challenging for the play-offs?
KW: We're lucky to have a great manager in Craig Davis who has improved our League position every year since he's been at the club, which is eight years now, as well as having a great bunch of players who give 100% every week, which, as fans, is all we ask for. With the squad that was assembled last summer I knew that we would improve on the previous season and so it proved as we punched well above our weight again, finishing the season 11th, above some much bigger clubs is a real achievement.
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