Football Season Guide

Aldershot Town

In


James Kellermann (mid), Wolverhampton), Jake Cole (gk), Woking), Scott Rendell (att, Woking), Shamir Fenelon (att), Crawley), Anthony Straker (mid), Grimsby), Bernard Mensah (att), Watford), Liam Bellamy (mid), Dover), Iffy Allen (att), Torquay), Will Evans (def), Eastleigh), Nick Arnold (def), Whitehawk), Callum Reynolds (def), Boreham Wood), Matt McClure (att), Dagenham & Redbridge)

Out


Luke Oliver (sp)(def), Jim Stevenson (r)(mid), Dover), Omar Beckles (r)(def), Accrington Stanley), Sean McGinty (r)(def), Torquay), Sam Hatton (sp)(mid), Welling), Chris Barker (sp)(def), Joe Oastler (r)(def), Gosport Borough), Rhys Browne (r)(mid), Grimsby), Dan Thomas (sp)(gk), Tom Richards (sp)(def), Damon Lathrope (r)(mid), Torquay), Dan Walker (r)(att), Hemel Hempstead), Phil Smith (r)(gk)

Aldershot are looking for brighter fortunes this season as they welcome back Gary Waddock. He was the manager that lead the Shots to the Football League back in 2008 and the fans are dreaming for another great campaign under the much-liked and respected boss this year, especially after three years of mediocrity and disappointment after dropping back into the non-league. Barry Davies was really disappointing and underwhelming last season as his team never looked remotely close to getting into the play-offs. They displayed a brand of turgid football that was hard to watch most of the times and left the fans disappointed. That means that the arrival of Waddock was welcomed as great news but there is quite a lot of pressure on the manager to bring instant success. The reality now is that Aldershot are far from a leading light in the division and their squad looks both lacking in depth and quality. The manager made some good moves over the summer and the one that got the people really talking was that of Scott Rendell. The striker, hero of arch rivals Woking, accepted the offer to play for the Shots and it will be interesting how fit he is after spending an year on the sidelines. Jake Cole is another good signing from the Cards and will provide a safe pair of hands between the sticks. Will Evans and Bernard Mensah can potentially very good signings too while Liam Bellamy arrives from Dover after reaching the play-offs with them. In the other direction goes Jim Stevenson while the other big loss is that of Omar Beckles, the towering defender that is off to Accrington Stanley after a steady season. Aldershot generally have the look of a side that is unable to mix it with the best and Waddock will really need to get things going quickly at the start for his men to have a chance of something more memorable.

Target


Aldershot are unlikely to do much better than recent seasons and a place in and around the mid-table spot is in order.