Tuesday 2 May 2023

A SOUTH WEST MINI LEAGUE

Roll up, roll up for the South West mini league that will be taking place within National League South in the 2023-24 campaign. 

Truro City's promotion through the Southern Premier South play-offs now means that the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire will all be represented. 

The White Tigers, managed by former Plymouth Argyle skipper Paul Wotton, will be the duchy's sole representative, despite playing their home games at Plymouth Parkway's Bolitho Park.

Torquay United and Yeovil Town will be marking their returns to sixth tier after relegations from the National League. However, both clubs have won promotion from this level before; the Gulls won the National League South under Gary Johnson in 2018-19 and will be looking to repeat that feat. The Glovers won the Isthmian League title (long before the establishment of National Leagues North and South) in 1996-97 when former Spurs defender Graham Roberts was in charge.

Yeovil won't be Somerset's only representative in the division as they will be joined by Bath City and Weston Super Mare, who won the Southern League Premier South title last season. The former are one time rivals of the Glovers, as are Dorset side Weymouth, who completed a great escape to remain in the division under the guidance of Bobby Wilkinson.

Slightly further afield in Wiltshire, Chippenham Town will be competing as the county's second team behind Swindon Town. 

All in all, it's probably the most 'South West' friendly make up of the division since it was founded in 2005.