Update on 'B' team and pre-season fixtures

During the 2021-22 season, the club created an unofficial ‘B’ team, a squad of players comprising of graduates from the Aspire Academy U19 side and other promising players between the ages of 18 and 20.

The objective for this team is to aid these youngsters in their transition between the youth game and men’s football, in the hope that they can make the step up to playing for the Hamlet first team in the National League South.

Several members of this ‘B’ team earned first team call-ups last season, namely Jamie Splatt, Alpha Diallo, Jamal Abubakari and Ned Bowker, whilst it also offered other first team players on the comeback trail from injuries or on the periphery of the starting XI the chance to get minutes under their belts in friendly matches.

There are many other promising players who are not yet ready for senior football in the National League South but show exciting potential of reaching that standard and playing higher up the pyramid currently in the Academy or who have recently graduated. These young men will be seeking to emulate current first team players Quade Taylor and Sanchez Ming in graduating to the senior squad on a regular basis, as well as the likes of former successful academy alumni Ethan Pinnock, Nyren Clunis, and Michael Chambers to name just a few.

The players mentioned above were able to be blooded into the first team during our years in the Isthmian League South, which proved to be a much smoother transition for players making the jump from youth to senior football. However, since being promoted to the National League South, the gap and quality between youth football and first team level has widened and the demand on players at Step 2 is much greater at the ages of 17 or 18.

The development of local young players has always been part of the club’s DNA, so this season we intend to resource this area further with more competitive games for the ‘B’ team, predominantly against Step 4 and 5 sides so they can experience more men’s football. These games will be complemented by better training facilities to aid their development. The ‘B’ team played numerous friendlies last season and trained alongside the first team on a regular basis and have begun pre-season in the same manner. Several players also benefitted from spending valuable time away from the club on loan at other clubs.

We hope this will be a great stepping stone for young players making the transition from youth to men’s football and can help to continue the tradition of academy players having successful careers either at our club or elsewhere within the senior game.

We hope you will show your support for the team and we will publish fixture information so you can follow our progress on the pitch.