Review of the Season

[Tony]

Review of the Season – Season of Progress?

Football can be a cruel sport but the pain Hampton are feeling this evening after missing out on the play offs by one point feels largely self-inflicted. Just when it mattered most, the team’s form cratered gaining a measly 9 points from their last 10 games in a season that lurched from bad to great, to bad, back to good, and then to awful without much in between. How a team could go on a 16 game unbeaten run including 9 wins out of could then slump so badly when it really mattered must be the question on everyone’s lips. And what does this tell us about the prospects for next season given the new owners stated aim to be in EFL2 within five years?

The final table says we finished 9th which by any measure is an improvement on last season. However, having been 2nd at the half way stage and still in 4th place a matter of weeks ago , the final position feels like failure. No doubt Mel Gwinnett will put a positive spin on things, and to be fair had we built more slowly from a poor start to finish in 9th most people would have said “well done.” The fear is that Hampton replicate Havant & Waterlooville’s last year when they finished with a long run without a win dropping them out of the play offs, then followed up with a dreadful season that saw them relegated. 9 points from 10 games is solid relegation form.

The play offs were the objective from the start but this may have looked optimistic to some with the bulk of the previous squad still making up the side. If the results were going to improve much depended on the form of new recruits, Ben Seymour, Mason Bloomfield and Rob Hall. Could they supply the goals that were so obviously missing the previous season? And with the first seven games to be played away due to Beveree pitch problems, there was justifiable concern that this could be a difficult start.

And indeed, the season started ominously away at Eastbourne with Seymour, Bloomfield, Gray and new midfielder, George Hunt, all missing through injury. Veteran goalkeeper, Alan Julian, then pulled up with injury in the warm up to be replaced by Adam Debois. Julian did not reappear all season and was forced to announce his retirement. Fortunately, Debois proved a more than adequate replacement. The team looked under-cooked during pre-season and were lucky to get to half time with a one goal deficit. Things got better in the second half but clear cut chances were few and the game finished 1-0 to Eastbourne, a side who were to go onto struggle for the rest of the season.

Despite a couple of draws away at Chelmsford and Dartford goals and points were hard to come by. It was not until the 8th and 9th league games respectively that Seymour and Bloomfield got onto the score sheet and when the first game of the FA Cup hove into view, Hampton sat in an uncomfortable 21st place with just nine points from the first nine games. It was with some difficulty that Hampton got past Southall from two steps below them relying on what proved to be Sam Deadfield’s only goal of the season, 2-1. The next round away at Lewes proved to be the nadir of the early season, with Lewes cruising to a 3-0 half time lead which Hampton never looked like overturning. It was agreed by all present that day that it was one of the worst Hampton cup performances of recent years against a side that were hardly world beaters in the division below.

But Lewes did prove to be a turning point and maybe down to a few home truths that were told in the dressing room in the aftermath of an embarrassing defeat. With no real changes to the squad other than the appearance of George Hunt after missing the start of the season through injury, Hampton started to tidy up their game and found their missing scoring boots as they put together an amazing run of wins, some against more struggling sides but also defeating play off favourites, Torquay, Worthing and Maidstone in quick succession and with some swagger. After 20 games Hampton were suddenly second, going 16 games without defeat, not quite a record for the club but pretty close all the same. At the half way stage of the season Hampton were second eight points behind deserved leaders Yeovil Town. Something of an over-achievement? Perhaps, but the question was now could we consolidate and perhaps even give Yeovil a run for the title.

The first signs that the momentum was beginning to stutter came with a lacklustre 2-1 win at home to Weston-Super-Mare followed by a 3-3 draw away at Slough Town when having come back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, a 98th minute equaliser was conceded. Injuries to Justin Thomas and Mason Bloomfield led to manager Mel Gwinnet, who had set his stall by the strength of his squad, having to dip into the loan and transfer market to bolster the side. A strong run in the FA Trophy which saw successive draws to National League opponents somewhat masked the dip in league form. Southend and Hartlepool were both defeated away on penalties after strong defensive displays setting up a home tie against Macclesfield in the 5th Round. Despite being from a league below Macclesfield looked the superior side throughout and won the tie easily 2-0, player errors contributing to our downfall. It was a timely reality check.

League defeats at Braintree, Welling and at home to Chelmsford and Aveley saw Hampton drift back down the table and for a while out of the play off places. Fortunately, the team started to get back on track with wins against league strugglers, Weymouth, Havant & Waterlooville and Eastbourne Borough but the latter victory was only secured in the 96th minute against the run of play, then followed by an even more dramatic 97th minute winner against Chippenham Town. Not convincing displays but at least we kept going to the very end. The problem was that the team were creating very few chances in games and again had to rely on a Ben Seymour penalty to win away at Hemel Hempstead, another side in freefall in the league. The line ups were also beginning to see less consistency as injuries and loss of form saw Mel Gwinnett bring in new faces and loanees with mixed impact.

Nevertheless, a play off place looked within the team’s grasp. But then the goals almost completely dried up, failing to score in five of the last 9 games and with just one win at home to already relegated Dover. With two games to go matters still rested in our own hands needing just a point from away games at St Albans and Maidstone but sadly the Beavers’ misery continued and both games were lost with not much resistance to fate.

In hindsight, last season’s goalscoring problem was not really resolved. Ben Seymour got into double figures but the bulk of his goals came from penalties – at least we can boast no misses all season after 13 missed last time around. Bloomfield got 10 with three coming in the home game against Maidstone. Injuries and lack of consistency leaves a question mark over him for next season. Never has been a consistent strong scorer and probably not going to change spots over the close season. Midfield got just 16 goals between them and this was a repeat of last season. When the forwards weren’t scoring there was no one reliably able to step up and fill the gap. That and personnel will have to change next season if we want to be serious contenders.

We were the 10th lowest scoring team in the division. Defence were 6th best but keeping clean sheets became more difficult towards the end. Adam Debois was supporters’ player of the year and Louis Fernandez, the Players ‘ player of the year which perhaps tells you something. With veteran Dean Inman off to Australia, Mel will have to bolster the back line and it could do with some more experience in an otherwise very young looking back four which looks heavily reliant on Fernandez. Midfield and attack look to be the areas with need of a complete rethink which may mean sacrificing a few fans’ favourites. Hall clearly was not the signing we expected hardly ever playing despite his obvious pedigree so perhaps he will stay as coach only. The side badly needs some pace and solidity in midfield and the type of player that can go past a player and open up the pitch. Mel’s rejection of wing play may need a rethink also to get away from what became a frustrating long ball strategy not unlike that of the manager he replaced.

With the likelihood of moving to a morning training regime next season, some players may need to move on anyway. The concern that this model will not improve the side is real. Eastbourne spent a lot of money on it barely escaping relegation. NLS is a tough league full of experienced players. Lack of experience will count heavily against you. And I guess question marks about the manager having blown the play off over the last 10 games. Summer recruitment will give us an idea of what the club wants and its ambition. With speculation about ownership in the air, started unnecessarily by the club itself, there may be a lot of change just around the corner which makes it hard to see what comes next.

[Big Rich]

Superb summary of the season. Thanks Tony.

[Josh2002]

Very well put Tony.

[Lord Elpus]

Excellent review Tony. Nail hit on head as usual.

[Shepperton Supporter]

Good review Tony, some food for thought there and perhaps it opens up some discussions on how we see the squad and club shaping up fo 24/25.

[tones]

Hope the powers-that-be in the club read this report and then make a better go of putting out a Hampton team that will do the business week in, week out.

[Tony]

At some point when the dust has settled we’ll get to hear their assessment of the season and what their plans and ambitions are for the squad. As ever it will come down to money and ability to recruit well. No doubt our better players will be targeted and attracted elsewhere and we will do the same to other clubs.

[Lord Elpus]

Has any post match interview with Mel been posted anywhere yet? I haven't seen one....

[Shepperton Supporter]

Has any post match interview with Mel been posted anywhere yet? I haven't seen one....

What can he say?

[Big Rich]

Has any post match interview with Mel been posted anywhere yet? I haven't seen one....

What can he say?

Probably worth him waiting until the initial pain has subsided before giving his reflections.

[Tony]

Has any post match interview with Mel been posted anywhere yet? I haven't seen one....

What can he say?

I would hope there would be some analysis of why form went off a cliff at the vital point in the season. Supporters don’t get to see what goes on behind the scenes so may not appreciate any valid reasons for what happened. Part of good leadership is to front up when things don’t go well so I would be surprised if we don’t see something from Mel pretty soon.

[Lord Elpus]

Has any post match interview with Mel been posted anywhere yet? I haven't seen one....

What can he say?

I would hope there would be some analysis of why form went off a cliff at the vital point in the season. Supporters don’t get to see what goes on behind the scenes so may not appreciate any valid reasons for what happened. Part of good leadership is to front up when things don’t go well so I would be surprised if we don’t see something from Mel pretty soon.

Absolutely this, I hope we do see something soon.