It is hoped that when the league kicks off this season that glorious sunshine will greet the clubs unlike last season when the opening few months of the campaign was blighted by appalling weather conditions that saw many game postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
Once again defending Premier Division champions Corsham Centre A will be the team to beat as they go in search of a fifth successive top flight title.
The Centre have lost just two league matches since April 2003 and those were against Westbury Rangers A in 2007 and last terms runners up Biddestone Social last September.
If the Centre are too clinch a another title they will have to do it without many players who helped them to great success over the past six seasons.
The Centre will be without inspirational captain Craig Gingell and striker Simon Gray who are giving Sunday football a rest also missing is Dan King who has signed for fierce rivals Biddestone and with the departure of a few players to Box Rovers, the Centre may struggle this season.
Having said that the four time champions will have Scott Lye available as he is no longer on contract with Chippenham Town so it isn’t all doom and gloom at the Centre and it would be a surprise if they weren’t involved with the race for silverware next May.
Once again Biddestone Social are likely to be serious challengers to the Centre’s hopes of collecting a fifth straight title, last seasons runners up will see themselves as the side to end their rivals years on dominance.
In the past Biddestone have been the nearly men but it could be their time for glory this season especially now that they have captured the signing of highly rated goalkeeper Mark Bolton who has moved from third division winners Three Crowns United.
With a few more additions to their already impressive looking squad and if they can field a strong side on a regular basis the Biddy Boys will have every chance of picking up the gold medal rather than the silver at the end of what promises to be another thrilling campaign.
Box Rovers manager Stuart Beeho was happy with the way his side performed at times last season and having signed on a few new players to strengthen his side he should be confident that his team will finish higher that last terms sixth spot.
The premier division champions of 2002 have failed to deliver the goods since those glory day which is something of a surprise as Rovers are unquestionably one of the most skillful sides in the league but they have lacked a proven goal scorer, but with Tim Jefferies returning to the villagers this could be their year but if things start to go wrong early on then Rovers season will be over before it begins.
Bradford based Dog & Fox Ashley’s third place finish last term was one of their best for a while, so new manager Steve Wickings will be trying hard to improve on that which might be a hard task especially as a number of clubs have improved their squad.
Wickings will be hoping that he can rely on players from the past for assistance and if the likes of Steve Roddy and Ricky Trott can feature on a regular basis then thee Bradfordians will fancy their chances of claiming another top three finish but this season unlike last it might prove a lot harder to achieve.
Westbury Rangers A had one of their worse finishes for many years last season when their could only manage to secure fifth spot.
Manager Shaun Gardiner will be hoping that was just a blip and that his side can get back on track and produce the form that saw them lift the winners crown in 2005.
As always Rangers will rely on the goal scoring powers of Marc Lanfear who will be out to finish as Rangers leading marksman for a tenth season in a row.
Gardiner hopes to have a couple of new signings in place before the seasons kicks off and he hopes to have a few of his long term injuries back playing but without the services of Pete Ayton, Paul Beavers and Tim Coombes to name a few Rangers could well see themselves finishing in the bottom half of the table, which really shouldn’t happen.
Following the relegation of FC Colerne and Miller Sports to Division One, and the resignation of The Ship FC from the league only two sides were promoted from the First Division with them being Cooper Avon and White Hart Combe who have changed their name to The Gladstone Arms and both teams are more than capable of having a good first season in the top flight.
Of the two teams, Gary Newman’s Melksham based Cooper outfit will be expected to finish in the top half of the table and will even claim a number of shock victories.
Newman has added a couple of players to his already impressive looking line up, and if the likes of Simon Gillatt and Tom and Josh Robinson can keep their discipline and see a whole season out on the pitch then Cooper may well be the darks horses who could do a lot of damage to unsuspecting side.
Trevor Rawling’s Gladstone Arms task of staying in the division might be a little bit harder than that of Cooper Avon, and a lot will depend on if key strikers Aaron Merryweather, James Stone and Lee Fernandez will have the success in front of goal in the top flight as they did in previous seasons.
If Rawlings can get the best out of his strikers then they should remain in the division, but a poor start could well see them struggle but having reach the premiership the Chippenham based side will not be in a hurry to leave and are more than capable of holding their own with the big boys.
Potterne had an excellent first season in the top flight last term as they surprised many sides by finishing in fourth spot and were responsible for denying Biddestone Social the number one berth after claiming two fine victories over the Yatton Road club.
Potterne will have to work extremely hard to better or to even match their exploits of the last 12 months but if they can get players like Matt Minnis and Adam Heath to sign on again and play regularly then once again the so called bigger may just come a cropper again when they face Lee Sanders Tangerine and Whites.
After suffering a shocking start to the previous campaign Paul Ranger’s Winsley side who came good in the second half of the season will hope to get a better start this time around.
Winsley lost just three from 14 game from January to May and if they can start with a settled team from day one then they will have every chance of finishing in the top half of the table and with Ranger hoping to re-sign a number of up and coming youngsters to go with the experience that the likes of Neil Kirkpatrick, Dean Ranger and Mike Little bring to the villagers then Winsley’s future in the top flight should be safe for another season
Semington Rovers lost more than they won last season, but their total of 23 points was good enough to see them finish well clear of the relegation zone, but this season could see Allan Clarke’s side face a tough battle to secure their top flight status if he hasn’t taken steps to strengthen his side.
Clarke would be more than happy to finish where he did last term but he would also look for an improvement which may not be possible he loses the services of the likes of top scorer Stuart Barber, Kelvin Lockwood, Stuart Donohoe and Bobby Mitchell, but if he can bring a few more players to the side then Semington ought to look forward to a comfortable season without the fear of a relegation dogfight.
Maud Heath Sports showed glances of what they were capable of doing last season, but for them to stay clear of the drop zone this season they will have to repeat the form that saw them beat Westbury Rangers and claim draws against Potterne and champions Corsham Centre or once again the favourites for relegation could actually go down this year.
Maud Heath will need to bolster their squad or they could end up at the wrong end of the table from the off.
They have lost a few players from last years team so new manager David Beal will have his work cut out in getting the Anchor Road club moving in the right direction, but if he can get another striker to go along with hotshot Darren Holcombe then things might not be that bad for the Sports.
Having lost 12 of their last 15 matches last season Holt know that they will have to improve 100% this campaign otherwise their short run in the top flight of the League could be over come next May.
Holt will start what promises to be a long hard season for them as candidates for relegation but if players like Tom Pang, Tyler Pang and Nigel Tripp who are all rumoured to be signing on for Stuart Faint’s side actually put pen to paper and if another top target believed to be Steve Tweedle also signs then Holt may cause a few shocks, but for that to happen the afore named players need to play week in, week out otherwise Holt could struggle.
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