Football Season Guide

Salisbury are back in the Conference Premier after a few seasons in which they got their house in order in terms of finances and are ready to get back among the best teams in the non-league. The Whites were demoted from that division at the end of 2009-10 season due to debts but the club managed to bounce back relatively quickly and secured promotion from the Conference South at the second attempt this May. They saw off Dover for a very dramatic 3:2 extra time victory in the play-off final and back then, the hopes were for another very strong campaign in the Conference Premier this season. At the moment, though, realism is setting in and the main reason for that is that successful manager Darrell Clarke has left the club since securing promotion. He decided to join Bristol Rovers as an assistant instead of continuing his work in Wiltshire - something that definitely came as an unexpected and bitter blow to both the club and the fans. His assistant in the past few season, Mickey Harris, was put in charge for the upcoming campaign but the question marks remain whether a man of such tender age for a manager can cope with the challenge. Harris is just 28 years old and smashes the current record for the youngest manager in English football but he has been adamant since taking over that he is up to the job and ready to make Salisbury a competitive and strong unit that hold their own against the best teams in the league. The squad was mostly kept together since last season with a few new signings added. The most eye-catching is definitely former Wales international Warren Feeney who will be also a coach with the first team and will bring some experience and know-how to a rather young squad. Another striker who joined is Ben Wright and he indeed is a very good capture. The forward had little luck at Forest Green last season but is extremely talented and prolific when he hits form, as shown with Braintree in 2011-12. Players like David Fitchett, James Clarke and Stuart Sinclair can definitely grow and after showing potential last season while Chris McPhee is a great player to have in midfield but Salisbury are still one of the main relegation candidates due to the off-pitch uncertainty and will do very well to maintain their Premier status for next year.