Front cover photo by pitchsidephotogrpahy.com

Chairman: Ken Jacobs Manager: Wayne Mew

Assistant Manager: Stuart Long Coach: Dave Smith

Coach: Andy Darnton Res. Manager: Francis Benali

Res. Coach: Craig Mew Treasurer: Paul Taylor

Secretary: Carolyn Mew Wyvern Secretary: Laura Hicks

Medical Staff: Paul Coffin & Dave Penny

Programme Editor: Cam Melling Safety Officer: Mike Garner

Youth Protection Officer: Laura Hicks

Home colours: White & Black Away Colours: Blue

First Team Midweek Games: Tuesdays Reserve Midweek Games: Tuesdays

Club Website: www.romseytownfc.com Founded: 1886

Ground: The Bypass Ground Last Season

Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division: 16th FA Cup: Extra Preliminary Round

FA Vase: Second Qualifying Round Hampshire Senior Cup: 2nd Round

League Cup: 1st Round

Welcome to the Bypass Ground - home of Romsey Town FC. We hope you enjoy your short stay here at our club.

Next Home Game: GE Hamble 21/04/12 Next Away Game: Alton Town 28/04/12

Match Officials Referee: T. Foster Assistants: S. Davis C. Ellam

Kits by mustoe77 on sortitoutsi.net

Hello and welcome to this afternoon‘s game against what looks like to be our division rivals Downton. We are both on the same amount of points going into this crucial time of the season so this is bound to be a critical game looking back at the end of the year. We currently sit in 7th place after Hamworthy defeated to-day‘s opposition Downton 3-1 on Tuesday meaning they have overtaken us into 6th. However, we have some games in hand and 6th is up for grabs all the way to 11th place Al-ton Town it seems. Wednesday‘s game however, did not help our cause for a 6th placed finish. A disappointing game saw us lose 3-0 to Totton & Eling at home which is one of our worst perform-ances at the Bypass of the season. A tight first half was finished by Totton & Eling nicking a goal at the stroke of 45 minutes and some good defending on the line their man-aged to poke home. The second half was not great for Romsey conceding another two goals including a penalty. Hopefully today we can get back on track and a win today against Downton would really help our chances of that much coveted top 6 finish. Come on the Town!

By Cam Melling

Romsey‘s Leading Estate Agent

Buckinghams of Romsey 35 The Hundred

Romsey Hampshire SO51 8GE

Tel: 01794 511212 Www.bofr.co.uk

Proud to Sponsor Romsey Town

Name: Downton FC Nickname: The Robins Team Colours: Red and white 10/11 League Position: 1st (Division One) Last season‘s results: N/A League Most Appearances (this season): Charles Aldridge (36) League Top Goalscorer (this season): NickTurpin & Declan McGregor (19)

n September 1905 a general meeting was arranged by the Rev J. H. Phillips which resulted in the formation of Downton F.C. Early results were not very encouraging and it was not un-til after the First World War in 1919 that the Robins entered the Salisbury and District league Div. 2 gaining promotion to Div. 1 in 1920, but returned to Div. 2 in 1924. In the 1924/25 season Downton became the first winners of the Norman Court Cup beating Alderbury in the final and winning the competition again in 1932, 34, 35, 36, 39 and then on three further occasions after the war. In 1949/50 the club won the Wilts Junior Cup for the first time beating Atworth 6-2 in the final. The following season the club entered the Bournemouth League and gained promotion to Div. 1 winning the Championship five times. In 1958/59 they won promotion to Senior Div. 1 winning the title seven times between 1959/60 and 1967/68. Following this achievement the club was presented with a special plaque by the Bournemouth F.A. To progress the Robins joined the Hampshire league in 1968/69 winning promotion in 1971/72, with further promotions in 1978/79 and 1979/80. In 1992/93 Downton were elected to the Wessex League with the Reserves joining the Combination League. Our highest league position was 8th in 1996/97, but our best season was 1995/96 when we won both the Wessex League Cup and the Russell Cotes Cup with the Reserves runners-up in the Combination Cup. The Robins entered the F.A. Vase for the first time in 1995/96 and the F.A. Cup in 1997/98. In County competitions we won the Wilts Senior Cup in 1979/80 and 1980/81 and runners up in 1955/56, 1991/92 and 1994/95. We also won the Bournemouth Senior Cup in 1962/63 and 1979/80 and the Senior League Cup in 1961/62, 1963/64 and 1966/67. We were winners of the Salisbury Hospital Cup in 2008/09 beating Western League Shrew-ton Utd in the final, after beating Laverstock & Ford and Amesbury en-route. Downton went on to repeat the feat in 2009/10, retaining the Hospital Cup by beating Chalke Valley in the final at the Ray Mac stadium.

Downton FC Our stats this season are near to identical to Downton’s this year; we’ve had one loss more, scored two more and conceded two fewer. This is Downton’s first season back in the Pre-

mier Division since an infamous relegation in 07/08

saw them gain only 6 points all year and concede

177. This season has been different and they have been bolstered by having two regular goalscorers

in Declan McGregor and Nick Turpin who will be

the men to watch out for today. April has not been a good month for Downton

losing both games. In fact it has only been one win in their last five. Downton win our previous meeting, defeating in us

3-1 in a game which the score did not tell the

entire story. Downton have one of the most regularly used subs

in the league with Harvey Coker making 22 ap-pearances off the bench.

Matthew Brown – Position: Goalkeeper Good ‗keeper, has been solid every time he‘s been called on. Jake Long – Position: Left back Tough full back resigned last sea-son from Lymington after previously being at Romsey Richard Hayter - Position: Defender Solid defender who can play all across the back—ever present last season Gareth Batchelor – Position: Centre Back Skilful centre back who begins his second season with Romsey. Can play at the heart of midfield. Ross Gregory – Position: Centre back Captain spent many years at Romsey before signing for AFC Totton and is back at the heart of the defence Jamie Thoroughgood – Position: Centre back New defender in the heart of the defence. Signed from Guilford. Lewis Robinson - Position: Full back Adventurous full back who returns to Romsey after a successful loan spell last year. Luke Dempsey Position: Midfield Tough tackling centre mid who can also fill in at centre back signed from high flyers Sholing. Chris Hall – Position: Midfield Second season in centre midfield and an eye for a goal. Converted into right back this season. Chris Morris – Position: Midfield New midfielder recruited from Al-resford, very, very skilful and can walk past players. Shane Flooks - Position: Midfield New signing who joins us from Lymington. Grabbed his first for us against Christchurch. Liam Robinson - Position: Wing Winger who is back at the club on loan. Has an eye for goal. Macs Sampays – Position: Wing Third season at Romsey, never misses a game. Puts a good ball into the box and beats players. Callum Stanley – Position: Wing Very fast winger who can beat anyone. James Whitlock – Position: Centre back/ Wing Skilful winger who can fill in at the back. Will be in and out with the reserves. Simon De‘ath – Position: Striker The Assassin, Romsey legend, longest ever serving player and all time top goalscorer. Guaran-teed to score you goals. Ryan Long – Position: Striker Very quick striker who resigned halfway through last season after leaving for Gosport for 6 months. Can also use his pace on the wing. Ben ‗Chalky‘ White – Position: Striker New striker signed from Al-ton Town has scored over 30 goals in the past two seasons. Con-tributes much more than goals. Lee Burch - Position: Striker New signing from Hythe & Dibden where he scored 5 in just 10 games this season. Can fill in at left back although.

Jake Long

Richard Hayter

Gareth Batchelor

Luke Dempsey

Ross Gregory

Chalky White

Ryan Long

Simon De‘ath

Macs Sampays

Chris Morris

Chris Hall

Matthew Brown

Lewis Robinson

Lee Burch

League Table

Recent Results Manager: Francis Benali Coach: Craig Mew League: Wyvern Combination League Division 1 West

Top scorer: Danny Longman (9) Top appearances: Scott Fellbrich (18)

First Team Watch

5-0

First team centre back, Ross Gregory turned out for the reserves‘ 5-0 win over Hythe & Dibden on Saturday. The defender looked solid and composed at the back in what was a comfortable win.

Fixtures

The reserves have one game left this season against East Cowes but it has yet to been ar-ranged.

Date Opposition H/A Competition Result Scorers

12/08/11 Bournemouth Home League 1-0 Simon De‘ath

20/08/11 Brading Town Home FA Cup 0-1

23/08/11 Moneyfields Away League 5-6 Simon De‘ath 2, Ryan Long 2, Macs Sampays

27/08/11 Newport (IOW) Home League 1-3 Macs Sampays

29/08/11 Winchester Home League 2-3 Simon De‘ath, Ryan Long

03/09/11 Hayling United Away League 2-1 Simon De‘ath, Chalky White

06/09/11 Bemerton Heath Home League 1-0 Ryan Long

10/09/11 Bournemouth Away League 1-3 Simon De‘ath

13/09/11 Cowes Sports Home HSC 1st Round 7-3 White 3, De‘ath, Morris, Baker, R.Long

17/09/11 Lymington Home League 0-1

20/09/11 Blackfield & Langley Home League 4-5 Simon De‘ath 3, Chris Hall

24/09/11 Fawley Home FA Vase 1-3 Simon De‘ath

27/09/11 Moneyfields Home League 3-0 Chris Hall, Ross Gregory, Macs Sampsays

01/10/11 GE Hamble Away League 0-2

08/10/11 Rozel Rovers Home HSC 2nd Round 2-0 Ryan Long 2

12/10/11 Newport (IOW) Away League 2-0 Ryan Long 2

15/10/11 Hamworthy Home League 2-1 Luke Baker, Jamie Thoroughgood

18/10/11 AFC Portchester Away League Cup 1st Round 1-0 Ben White

22/10/11 New Milton Away League 3-2 Simon De‘ath 3

25/10/11 Fawley Home League 3-3 Macs Sampays, Simon De‘ath, Ryan Long

29/10/11 Fareham Home League 2-1 Own Goal, Chris Hall

01/11/11 Amesbury Town Away League Cup 2nd Round 5-0 De‘ath 2, Sampays, White, Long

05/11/11 Alton Home League 6-2 R. Long 2, White, Gregory, Hall, Sampays

08/11/11 Lymington Away League 2-3 Jack Vallis, Chris Hall

12/11/11 Hayling United Home League 5-0 Simon De‘ath 2, Ryan Long 3

19/11/11 Brading Town Home League 3-0 Simon De‘ath 2, Macs Sampays

22/11/11 New Milton Home League 1-0 Ben White

26/11/11 Winchester Away League 3-3 Simon De‘ath 3

06/12/11 New Milton Away HSC 3rd Round 5-0 Ryan Long 3, Jamie Thoroughgood, Gareth Batchelor

27/12/11 Totton & Eling Away League 1-0 Simon De‘ath

07/01/12 Blackfield & Langley Home League 1-1 Chris Hall

10/01/12 New Milton Home League Cup 3rd Round 1-0 Liam Robinson

14/01/12 Brading Town Away League 3-0 Chris Hall, Liam Robinson, Lee Burch

17/01/12 Eastleigh Away HSC Quarter Finals 2-3 Ryan Long 2

21/01/12 Downton Away League 1-3 Ross Gregory

28/01/12 Alresford Town Away League 2-1 Chris Hall, Ryan Long

31/01/12 Laverstock & Ford Away League 0-1

04702/12 Christchurch Away League Cup 1-3 Shane Flooks

18/02/12 Bemerton Away League 0-3

21/02/12 Christchurch Home League 1-0 Simon De‘ath

25/02/12 Alresford Home League 0-1

07/03/12 Fawley Away League 2-1 Ryan Long, Sam Wilshire

10/03/12 Fareham Away League 1-3 Liam Robinson

13/03/12 Christchurch Away League 1-2 Ryan Long

17/03/12 Horndean Away League 2-0 Ben White 2

24/03/12 Hamworthy Away League 1-1 Liam Robinson

31/03/12 Laverstock & Ford Home League 3-1 Jamie Thoroughgood, Ben White, Chris Morris

09/04/12 Totton & Eling Home League 0-3

14/04/12 Downton Home League

21/04/12 GE Hamble Home League

28/04/12 Alton Away League

Romsey Town: A brief history The club was formed in 1886 when a meeting took place at the Town Hall ―to consider the desirability of forming a foot-ball club in the town.‖ Initially they played at Alma Road and in 1889 began playing in local league football where they had successful spells in a number of competitions before joining the Southampton League as founder members in 1908. The 1920s were a good decade for Romsey Town and after winning the Hampshire Intermediate Cup and the South-ampton Senior League they gained entry into the Hampshire League but struggled in the West Division and returned to local football after just one season. In 1930, Romsey moved to Priestlands, which is now Romsey School, and returned to the Hampshire League where they were placed in Division 2. Here the club were better prepared as they went on to produce some of their best attacking sides, featuring well in both league and cup competitions. In 1956, they were relegated and moved to their current home, The Bypass Ground. Romsey continued in Division 3 but the early 1960s saw a further decline in fortune, eventually resulting in relegation from the league in 1964. Because the football pyramid was not yet in existence, the club were forced to drop right down to replace their reserves in Jun-ior Division 1 of the Southampton League and it was not until 1968 that they won promotion back to the senior section. By the 1970s, the club started to re-surface out of the doldrums of lower league football and after three successive pro-motions and a Southampton Senior Cup triumph in 1974. Romsey regained their Hampshire League status in 1975 where they promptly won the Division 4 title at the first attempt. Romsey proceeded to end the decade on a high note, again winning promotion and the Hampshire Intermediate Cup in 1978 followed by arguably their finest hour a year later when they won Division 2 title and unexpectedly defeated Farnborough Town 1–0 in the Hampshire Senior Cup final played at the The Dell. The 1980s saw Romsey consolidate in Division 1 before becoming founder members of the Wessex League in 1986. Here they soon became a strong force, and after some encouraging campaigns, they clinched the title in 1990 and en-joyed numerous good cup runs, most notably in 1990 when they lost 1–2 at home to Littlehampton Town in the 4th Quali-fying Round. A change of personnel saw Romsey fall into decline, and after a nightmare season in 1993 they were relegated back to Division 1 of the Hampshire League, from where they were again relegated. Despite these setbacks, Romsey bounced back and within two years they had won the Southampton Senior Cup and promotion back to the Wessex League. How-ever, they struggled in what had become a much harder competition. In 1998, Romsey were again relegated back to the Hampshire League and a series of managers and large turn-over of players saw them slip into the league's third di-vision. In 2003, the club hit an all-time low when they bottom but the club were re-elected, and since then they have en-joyed a remarkable upturn in fortunes. In 2004 the Wessex League absorbed the original Hampshire League and due to their facilities Romsey were placed in Division 1 and after some encouraging final placings they won promotion in 2007 back to the top flight, now known as the Premier Division. In the 2007–08 season with manager Glenn Burnett at the helm Romsey's team spirit was at an all-time high. The team were performing well on the pitch as well with two consecutive mid-table finishes really consolidat-ing Romsey's position in the Wessex Premier League. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Glenn Burnett decided to step down blaming his decision to leave on how much he had to do at the club. Assistant manager Lee Harrison soon fol-lowed suit. As well as a large percentage of the squad that Glenn had been crafting over the last few seasons. In the 2010–11 season, backed by the new management duo of Wayne Mew and Stuart Long, began with many trials as Romsey searched to rebuild a team. In the end Romsey finished in 16th position in the league despite a lack of players. One of the high points of the season was Romsey's longest-serving and most prolific player in their history, Simon De'ath, who finished with 25 league goals, placing him seventh in the goalscorer charts. Wayne Mew continued at the helm for the 2011–12 and managed to keep hold of striker Simon De'ath despite interest from numerous bigger clubs—including Winchester City.

Romsey Town: Honours Wessex League Champions 1989/90

Hampshire League Division 2 Champions 1978/79, Runners-up 1994/95 Hampshire League Division 3 Runners-up 1946/47, 1977/78 & 2003/04 Hampshire League Division 4 Champions 1975/76

Hampshire Senior Cup Winners 1978/79. Finalists 1948/49 Hampshire Intermediate Cup Winners 1926/26, 1930/31 & 1977/78 Hampshire Junior Cup Winners 1900/01, 1909/10 & 1923/24. Finalists 1898/99 & 1899/1900 Russell Cotes Cup Runners-up 1932/33 & 1988/89

Southampton Senior Cup Winners 1973/74 & 1994/95. Southampton Junior Cup Winners 1922/23 Southampton League Premier Division Champions 1980/81 & 1983/84

Southampton League Senior Division 1 Champions 1926/27, 1973/74 & 1976/77. Southampton League Senior Division 2 Champions 1972/73, Southampton League West Division Champions 1951/52 Southampton League Romsey Division Champions 1927/28

Southampton League Junior Division 3 Runners-up 1924/25 Southampton League Junior Division 4 Champions 1974/75 Salisbury & District League Champions 1898/99

South Hants League Champions 1900/01 Winchester League Champions 1921/22 Eastleigh League Champions 1922/23, 1923/24, 1928/29.

Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division (12/04/12)

C

While you wait for the action to restart, why not have a go at this week‘s football quiz?

With it being semi-final weekend The FA Cup is the sub-ject. Name the winners of these years.

1. 2011 2. 2010 3. 2009 4. 2008 5. 2007 6. 2006 7. 2005 8. 2004 9. 2003 10. 2002

1. Manchester City 2. Chelsea 3. Chelsea 4. Portsmouth 5. Chelsea 6. Liverpool 7. Arsenal 8. Manchester United 9. Arsenal 10. Arsenal

Have a suggestion for what the Half Time Challenge could be? Then email your suggestion to cameronmelling@hotmail.co.uk.

Romsey Goalscorers (L = League, C = Cup)

Simon De‘ath - 27 (23L, 4C) Ryan Long - 25 (16L, 9C) Ben White - 12 (7L, 5C) Chris Hall - 8 (8L, 0C) Macs Sampays - 7 (6L, 1C) Liam Robinson - 4 (3L, 1C) Ross Gregory - 3 (3L, 0C) Luke Baker - 2 (1L, 1C) (Left club) Jamie Thoroughgood - 3 (2L, 1C) Jack Vallis - 1 (1L, 0C) (Left club) Chris Morris - 2 (1L, 1C) Gareth Batchelor - 1 (0L, 1C) Lee Burch - 1 (1L, 0C) Shane Flooks - 1 (0L, 1C) Sam Wilshire - 1 (1L, 0C)

Matthew Brown (GK) Jake Long Richard Hayter Gareth Batchelor Ross Gregory (C) Jamie Thoroughgood Lewis Robinson Luke Dempsey Chris Hall Chris Morris Macs Sampays Sam Wiltshire Shane Flooks Liam Robinson Simon De‘ath Ryan Long Ben ‗Chalky‘ White Lee Burch

Today‘s Teams

Romsey Town Downton Manager: Jeff Softley Colours: Red shirts White shorts Red socks Form: LLWLL Position: 8th

Manager: Wayne Mew Colours: White shirts Black shorts Black socks Form: LLWDW Position: 7th

Colin Hopkins Charles Aldridge

Ben Cross Mark Gulliver

Daniel Newman (C) Ben Smith

Joe Dorrington Daniel Gain Ben Halski

Oliver Hoare Blake Lennan

Matt Holmes Rae Hughes

Callum Robertson Tom Western

Simon Colbourne Declan McGregor Matthew Redman

Jack Smith Kevin Thick Nick Turpin