Just look at the signing news above…just a SELECTION of some of the staggering summer signings in the Southern league – Southern Premier division (and not just by The Stags at AFC Totton!)

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Let’s start with AFC TOTTON though as they are favourites to win the division at 7/4 with some bookies and it’s no surprise. With a boardroom bulging with business nous in the form of Steve Brookewell & Steve Snow they will hope to go one better than their playoff defeat last season.

They are no strangers to eye-opening signings in recent seasons and this summer is no different as they have made two marquee signings in Tom Blair and Charlie Austin. Blair is probably the most impressive for me as he has recently enjoyed fine performances for Dorking two divisions higher and he should find the Southern league a breeze. Austin will create more column inches during the season and no doubt get attendances rising but, at 35, can he still show enough of the talent that earned him a fine football league career?

It would be a shock if The Stags are not in the top 2 as we go into the business end of the season and with a well-connected and financially fluid board who have great links to Southampton FC, you feel they have more levers to pull if needs be, a case in point being former Saints star James Beattie recently joining the board.

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Second favourites are currently GLOUCESTER CITY. The tigers were relegated from the conference north last season but are tipped for an immediate return. That seems logical as they almost certainly suffered from having to travel huge distances in that division in what is seen as a tougher league than the conference south. They will hope to be starting back in that division in 12 months time.

One big asset will be their new artificial pitch guaranteeing games will be played if we have another wet winter – a couple of other teams in this low-down know all about postponed games! Another big asset will be gaining the signature of King Baidoo. A local lad, he allegedly scored 33 times and provided 16 assists at Step 6 last season. He was also an England schoolboys player and was apparently spotted on a trail for Lincoln City this summer.

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Only a couple of months ago TAUNTON TOWN were figuratively looking for pennies down the back of the sofa to pay their players, with many of the squad leaving only to replaced by cheaper young loanees. Therefore they must have done the footballing equivalent of raiding the kids’ trust fund to prise Tom Smith from conference south playoff contenders Bath City! Even if Smith has not quite been on form the last couple of seasons for the Romans (according to one source), playing in the southern league is almost as notable as his famous mullet and surely he would not have come cheap?!

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WALTON & HERSHAM are joint-third favourites at 11/1. This is probably a recognition of their stellar rise up the leagues in recent seasons as they came close to a third successive promotion at the end of the 2023/24 campaign. However they are probably still in a rebuilding phase after the manager that masterminded their meteoric rise, Scott Harris, was sensationally sacked in April when the playoffs were out of reach.

They have made two impressive signings though in Archie Proctor and Elliott Bolton. Both have a youth grounding at football league clubs with all the benefits those training regimes and experience brings. The duo have also bagged many minutes at conference national and south levels and should be very well suited to this level.

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Just 8 miles east of AFC Totton we find fellow league and local rivals SHOLING FC. They may have only finished 15th in the division last season and currently rated at 66/1 to win the division but The Boatmen have made waves by convincing experienced goalkeeper Ross Worner to put pen to paper.

Not a surprise signing in many ways due to the Sholing manager Paul Doswell. The pair have worked together at Havant & Waterlooville and also at Sutton United and multi-millionaire Doswell would have been able to offer Worner a deal he could not refuse.

An excellent keeper, Worner has played at a much higher level and could continue to do so but work commitments outside of football mean he needs Southern league football to reduce travel times. However Havant will obviously be disappointed he did not stay with the Hawks following their relegation to this division!

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Last but not least we find another player who has departed Havant & Waterlooville for another south coast team – this time we look at Jake McCarthy who has been signed by POOLE TOWN. At 50/1 this signing alone will not result in a promotion charge but that price does seem pretty good value.

An excellent mercurial midfielder, Jake is easily good enough for conference south level if not higher so this is quite the coup for the Dolphins.

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CONCLUSION
For some of these clubs mentioned it is easy to understand where the money is coming from…for others it is a little more foggy shall we say!

The Southern league is a famous breeding ground for clubs who go on to bigger and better things but the financial resources required to build a team capable of promotion is almost always huge compared to match day revenue.

Only two teams can go up this year as every year. Many will be disappointed if they don’t achieve success in the league and/or get the golden ticket of a money spinning FA cup draw.

However, whereas some of the clubs can just shrug off the let down and just wire in more funds to try again next season will others overstretch and pay the ultimate price?…