21st Century Hampshire Top Twenties: 2011/2012

Gosport Borough's dugouts.

And so to last season...

Saints finished top for the first time in yonks, and yes, there they will probably stay for another decade or two, as the spinning wheel of fortune landed them with lucky sevens, triple cherry super-rich owners. Three jacks for the Saints; unfunny jokers ruining Pompey, who look like they're going the same way as Andover and Rangers.

Once upon a time, Aldershot Town made it back from non-league, so there's always hope for a new Pompey.

Near-miss misery in the play-offs for Basingstoke Town, AFC Totton and Sholing this season; joy for Super Stevie Claridge's Gosport Borough - the Football League Show's star pundit helping his final club to promotion away to Poole Town on the final day of the season.

Winchester City were promoted to the Southern League with 100+ bulges of the onion bag; Fleet Town escaped replacing them due to Darlington's liquidation (don't ask why, it's too complicated).

The top twenty table for last season looks like this:

1. (2) Southampton 2/2
2. (1) Portsmouth 2/22
3. (3) Aldershot Town 4/11
4. (7) Basingstoke Town 6/5
5. (5) Eastleigh 6/12
6. (4) Farnborough 6/16
7. (6) Havant & Waterlooville 6/19
8. (9) AFC Totton 7/3
9. (8) Bashley 7/13
10. (11) Gosport Borough 8/3
11. (10 ) Sholing 8/4
12. (11) Fleet Town 8/21
13. (14) Winchester City 9/1
14. (15) Moneyfields 9/4
15. (19) GE Hamble 9/5
16. (NE) Romsey Town 9/8
17. (20) Alton Town 9/10
18=. (NE) Totton & Eling 9/11
18=. (17) Cove 9/11
20. (16) Fareham Town 9/12

Of last season's Wessex League Premier sides, only Alresford Town and Fawley have yet to feature in the end of season top twenty - both will be hopeful of doing so next time out. Fareham Town hung on to their ever-present status by three measly points over Lymington Town.

21st Century Hampshire Top Twenties: 2010/2011

AFC Totton celebrate winning promotion at Gosport Borough in 2011.

The debut season for Hopping Around Hampshire - the season I got my football mojo back after becoming terminally fed up with the money-grabbing, preening, posing Premiership primadonnas that had represented Pompey over the previous few years. Steve Cotterill managed to spend what little money he had on "quality" rather than "quantity" - quality that no-one else is now willing to buy as their wages threaten the club's existence. They finished 16th in the second level.

Saints, funded by Swiss bankers, finished runners-up behind Brighton in the old third division. Lower down, Aldershot Town bumbled about in mid-table fourth division. Nearby Farnborough just missed out on promotion from Conference South after leading the division going into the last few weeks.

Hampshire's most successful club this season were AFC Totton, who won away at Gosport on the final day to win the Southern League South & West trophy. Cross-city rivals Sholing (formerly VT FC) were beaten in the play-off final by Frome Town.

The top twenty clubs for 2010/2011 were as follows (numbers after a club's name indicate the level their league was at in the pyramid, followed by their position within that league):

1. (1) Portsmouth 2/16
2. (2) Southampton 3/2
3. (3) Aldershot Town 4/14
4. (7) Farnborough 6/2
5. (5) Eastleigh 6/8
6. (4) Havant & Waterlooville 6/9
7. (6) Basingstoke Town 6/13
8. (8) Bashley 7/11
9. (9) AFC Totton 8/1
10. (10) Sholing 8/2
11=. (11) Fleet Town 8/13
11=. (12) Gosport Borough 8/13
13. (13) Andover 8/21
14. (18) Winchester City 9/3
15. (19) Moneyfields 9/7
16. (14) Fareham Town 9/8
17. (19) Cove 9/9
18. (NE) Lymington Town 9/11
19. (NE) Hamble ASSC 9/12
20. (NE) Alton Town 9/13

The three new entries (who replaced Romsey Town, Totton & Eling and Blackfield & Langley) had all featured in the top twenty before. Andover were liquidated after the season finished and thus featured for the final time.