2026/27 Season Preview

Truro (A)

The season begins tomorrow for The Magpies with a tough away trip to Truro. The Tinners are coming off a really difficult debut season in the National League where they never really looked like staying up. They have a pretty stable squad and a very experienced manager in John Askey as they look to bounce back at the first time of asking. The dangerman for Truro is Tyler Harvey who scored 27 times as they won the National League South in the 2024/25 campaign, although he did struggle at the higher level last season. Ex-Magpies Zac Bell and Shaun Donnellan are likely to start in the Tinners defence and whilst we haven't played them in 9 years we are unbeaten in our last 9 games against them stretching back to 2010. I'd also like to take this opportunity to note that their mascot is a giant Chough, a rare bird only found in the UK in Cornwall, called Brian.... Brian Chough... which is excellent pun work and puts Yorkie the Magpie to shame. 

Maidenhead will likely be playing our 3-5-2 formation as we try to make the most of our front loaded squad. I suspect we will start with MWH, Remy Clerima and JM Odeniran at centre-back, with JML and Jordan Ragguette as wing-backs. Josh Coley is a shoe-in for the Number 10 role behind Josh Umerah alongside either Dan Nkrumah or Connor Hall. I think Ryan Peters will start with Nkrumah with Hall coming off the bench as he works his way towards fitness judging by his size in pre-season although I do like the idea of bringing on Nkrumah to utilise his pace as the Truro defence tires. The biggest mystery for me is who starts in midfield due to the disastrous loss of Matt Robinson for at least 8 weeks with a knee injury sustained in the Southampton friendly. Last season Clerima would step into midfield when required but with our lack of depth in defence I cannot see him playing there unless we change to four at the back. Common sense therefore indicates it will be Joshua Johnson and Christian N'Guessan in midfield as I don't believe Jaydn Dundas is quite ready yet and Finley Welch only signed a contract mid week. I would say that Welch is probably a more similar replacement for Robinson in terms of playing style but Johnson and N'Guessan feels like a decent partnership, with N'Guessan sitting and Johnson playing the more progressive role.

Overall, Manny O will be a miss in the centre of defence but I think Clerima is a very adequate replacement (some would say improvement). However, Robinson will be a huge loss for us and the squad still looks as thin in places as my hairline. But, I'm going to predict a draw for us tomorrow in an exercise of blind faith towards Ryan Peters who I believe is one of the best managers in the League. 

Maidenhead United Season Preview

If you’re after a full National League South preview and predictions looking at all the teams in depth I thoroughly recommend both Lee Wilson on X and the ever excellent Off the Line Blog. 

Pre-season 

Maidenhead 1 - 4 MK Dons

Holyport 1 - 4 Maidenhead

Maidenhead 1 -3 Southampton U21

Maidenhead 0 -1 Wolves

Wimborne Town 1 - 1 Maidenhead

Penn & Tylers Green 0 - 5 Maidenhead

Brackley Town 1 - 0 Maidenhead

I think it would be fair to call the pre-season campaign a mixed bag at best. Not a huge amount can be read into the results against decent football league teams but the 0-1 loss to NLN team Brackley last week is a real concern. In an ideal world we would have a clear injury free First XI by this point but a number of trialists were still starting in that last fixture and fitness concerns elsewhere in the squad has meant several key players are going into this first game undercooked. 

However, I was hugely optimistic after last season's friendlies where I thought we looked really good with impressive wins against Eastleigh and Boreham Wood. Harry Pritchard looked back to his best at the base of midfield and Asher Yearwood looking like he was going to be a real game-changer. This was followed by a 4 game winless streak where we played like strangers with no creative spark as Yearwood looked anonymous at best and an injury to Pritchard before the opening game meant his season never really started. In regards to this year's friendlies, MWH has looked very solid in defence and Nkrumah has shown some promise. Another positive note is Alfie Pendlebury who has been a real stand out player in the opening few friendlies and I'm really looking forward to seeing how he progresses this season. 

Squad Strength and Signings

I've looked at most of our signings in depth in my previous blog post which can be accessed here. I ended that article by stating that we were still short in a number of positions and I anticipated a few more signings before the opening game of the season... Well, that hasn't come to fruition and only Finley Welch has been added to the squad with Josh McMenemy heading out to Bracknell Town on loan until January. 

Welch is a box-to-box midfielder with a creative spark who impressed in his trial appearances. He came through the Norwich youth system before joining Boston on loan where he sustained a serious knee injury which severely impacted his fledgling career. He only played 4 times last season in the K2 League in Korea for Chungbuk Cheongju and will need to prove his long term fitness. I am intrigued by this signing and despite his lack of playing minutes over the last few seasons I am hopeful that Welch could provide some adequate cover for Robinson until he returns and then some competition for Josh Johnson and Christian N'Guessan. 

I can thoroughly recommend to readers the inaugural Maidenhead United Supporters Group video podcast "Magpies in Flight" There was a real debate around our pre-season signings on the pod which I think reflects well the broader debate amongst Magpies Fans. The two schools of thought are broadly:

1. A better summer than last season with some exciting signings, with a particular positive note being the move away from journeyman to a younger profile of players.  

2. Overall disappointment in the recruitment, albeit relief in some of the departures, with the main concern being the injury profiles in a number of our recruits (and the size of Connor Hall's arse). 

I am ever the optimist and I fall into the former camp. I think we have to ultimately accept that if we are to sign young exciting players then they may come with caveats such as a poor injury record because if they didn't they probably wouldn't be signing for Maidenhead United. I don't wish to put the club down, but when young players are looking for the next step in their career; whether it be climbing up the football pyramid, or rebuilding their careers after being released by a league club, bigger clubs offering more money or full time football, or part timers with much better training facilities than us will always be their first choice. Whilst the lack of football played by Welch and Johnson over the past few seasons is a worry, if they hadn't been injured both would no doubt be playing at a much higher level. Furthermore, I would much rather watch either of them play than see Kane Ferdinand, Nathan Ferguson, Pritchard or Yearwood line up alongside Robinson or N'Guessan. 

One thing all Magpies fans can agree on is that we are still desperately short in defence as can be seen from the updated squad depth graphic below. 

I'm still hopeful the club will announce another defensive addition before tomorrow, or even at the publishing of the team sheet, a tactic we have used on several previous occasions. 

The two centre backs we have been consistently linked with over the past two weeks are George Abbott and David Mantle. Abbott has been on trial at York Road and started the Brackley friendly where I understand he played well. He started off at Brentford and then moved to Watford where he captained their U19 and U21 teams alongside a number of loan spells to non-league clubs. He was released last summer and moved over to the Polish second division where he played 15 times for Górnik Lęczna predominantly in the first half of their season. He has described himself as a ball playing defender but reviews I’ve seen from Gornik fans on X suggest he really struggled physically and technically last season at that level. 

David Mantle had also been linked with another loan deal from Coventry. He impressed me greatly in the handful of appearances I saw last season when he joined us on loan in January before injury curtailed his spell with us. Apparently the stumbling block is injuries to other defenders in the Coventry U21 side but he is supposedly keen to come back to York Road. 

In an ideal world I would love to see us sign Mantle and another centre back who can cover Left Wing Back as we are incredibly exposed there if Ragguette gets injured. I appreciate the budget may now be low but I would have thought we could loan someone in from Reading or Wycombe who can provide cover if another signing isn’t an option.

If there is one position we do appear to have strength in depth then it is at Centre Forward. Umerah and Pendlebury can cover the target man role whilst Hall and Nkrumah offer finishing and pace respectively. This depth does leave me wondering about the exciting signing of Freddy Dunham who can offer both finishing and pace but who has hardly featured in pre-season. I assume he will be loaned out to gain experience at a higher level after his 35 goals last season came at Step 6. A loan down the pyramid was vital to Josh Kelly’s development so fingers crossed it will do the same for Dunham if he’s not currently part of Peters’ first team plans. I would hate for him to spend the season on the bench, make a couple of starts in the Berks & Bucks, and then be released at the end of the season as I really want the club to attract more local talent such as Dunham. 

Key Players

Matt Robinson - By far and away our best player last season. His injury could be a disaster for the club as we have a really tough start to the season with difficult fixtures against play off contenders Truro, Dorking, Hemel and Chelmsford who we need to pick up points against if we want to stay in the race for promotion. Our poor start really cost us last season and led to the end of Devonshire's tenure, whilst I'm confident this won't happen to Peters we must pick up some wins in these vital fixtures, and without Robinson this task is much much harder. He is the best midfielder the club has had in some time and he did look knackered at times last season. If I'm being positive, hopefully this forced layoff at the start of the season may allow Robinson to be more influential in the back end of the season as being brutally honest, he was poor against Dorking in the play-offs which I put down to fatigue.

Josh Coley - As it's been said elsewhere, if the Magpies are to have a good season, a huge amount rests on Coley's jinking shoulders. With both Popoola and Dulson departing, the club have lost their most creative players from last season and Coley has without doubt been signed to replace their goals and assists. It's not going to be an easy task for him but with two strikers to supply I think he will be a huge asset. He knows the league and whilst he hasn't torn up any trees in pre-season I believe he is exactly the kind of player who will perform in those big moments when the team needs him. With Robinson out for the first couple of months he has to step up as a leader as well for this team but I think he will excel under this added pressure. 

Jordan Ragguette - I was impressed with Ragguette last term, his ability to get forward at speed and put in some really dangerous crosses will be vital for this team in the coming season. The move to two up front and Coley just behind them means both Ragguette and Mitchell-Lawson on the wings will be crucial to our attacking structure. We've lost a lot of goals from outside the box with the loss of Dulson and Popoola that we can't replace with our new signings, I think instead we will be looking to get crosses into the box and allow Pendlebury and Umerah to cause chaos and for Hall to finish the tap ins. Ragguette showed he was capable at times of putting in some truly brilliant crosses and if he can do this more consistently across the season we will be a very dangerous team. Our squad also lacks any alternatives to Raguette on the left which only emphasises his importance to this team. 

2026/27 Predictions

As I have previously stated I am always an optimist when it comes to football and I believe we will do well this season and finish relatively high in the play off positions. I think most of my positivity is stemming from Ryan Peters' management. Statistically if the season had started when he took over Maidenhead would have won the league which just shows what an excellent job he did. I would love to see us turn York Road into a fortress this season and I hope that Peters has had the time needed over the summer break to drill the team into exactly his style of play which is always difficult when you take over mid season. My main concerns at this point are around the Robinson injury and our lack of depth in defence. Robinson was by far and away our best player last year and we tended to play dreadfully on the few occasions he was out. I would hope that Peters also realises this and the new centre midfield signings will slightly allay this reliance although that is easier said than done. But right, onto some predictions:

Top Scorer - Josh Umerah

Player of the Year - Josh Coley

Final League Position - 3rd

The good thing about running this blog is if my predictions are beginning to look foolish I can always edit them later on in the season....  

Other than finishing in the play off places here are my top 5 hopes for Maidenhead United this coming season. 

1. Beat Slough - I cannot have Christmas and Easter ruined for me again this year. I would hope both the payers and the coaching staff realise how much this game means to the fans. I want revenge. I want to smash that lot, home and away. They are not a good side and those 4 points we lost against them last season really cost us in the play-offs. 

2. Improve the catering and hospitality offering - This can't be as difficult as the club make it look. Hire more bar staff for the big games, we are throwing much needed cash down the drain by missing out on added revenue. We can't be running out of beer before half time in big games, these are the opportunities to show the fair weather fans how great supporting the club can be and we look tinpot. A few seasons ago we allowed outside catering companies and restaurants to use one of our three tea bars which I thought was a brilliant idea. As much as I love a Magpie Burger and Chips, it would be great to have more options, and again, promotions like this will attract more people to York Road. 

3. An FA Cup run - Let me dream. I don't ask for a lot. Just one proper FA Cup run in my lifetime. PLEASE. 

4. Ground move progresses - This one is more on the council than the club but it would be wonderful to finish the season without any further council u-turns, and then see a real timetable for the move. The club brings so much to this community and we deserve a proper ground to showcase this and allow the club to fulfil its potential. The arguments against our move are pure nimbyism and the council have to be brave and ignore them. In an ideal world I would love to stay and develop York Road but unfortunately that just isn't an option anymore so we have to push forward with the move. 

5. Promote Youth - This one may be more unlikely than an FA Cup run but I'd love to see the next Reece Smith or Josh Kelly come through our youth setup to the first team. Supporting your local club just feels a bit more special when there are local players in the team (This sentence sounds far more Reformy than I'd like). I appreciate that this isn't an easy task, and this isn't a criticism of the club so I would love to hear from any fans who regularly watch the Youth Team if there is anyone to keep an eye out for in the next few years. 

Finally, good travels to those making the long trip to Truro this weekend, enjoy the weather and bring home a Magpies victory please.  Until next time, see you on The Bell End. Up The Mags!