It's just over a fortnight since the end of a first full season under Ben Strevens that can most generously be described as challenging. Here, I assess all 28 players to have represented the club during it, in various capacities across the National League as well as our fleeting involvements in the Fa Cup and Trophy.The glimpses of quality showcased during his sporadic appearances in the first half of the season made it incomprehensible why he was limited to such. Lo and behold, upon finally being granted a run of games from late-December onwards, the youngster had a single-handedly transformative effect on the side. Not only did he revolutionise the previously pedestrian midfield through technical craft above everybody else's, combined with boundless energy, but also gave licence for Jake Hessenthaler and Josh Rees to excel in more advanced roles. That's the sign of a top player, making those around him much better, and so he leaves as our most adored loanee in years, destined for a career much higher in the pyramid. Highlight - stunner on Boxing Day to cement his newly-earned place in the side. Rating - 9 The least involvement of anyone in our season, playing just the stoppage time period away at Maidenhead, shortly before exiting the club on a loan deal turned permanent to Braintree. Has done well there so fair play, but doubt we'd have seen the same potential come to fruition. Rating - N/A Will keep this as brief as his spell at the club - a season loan cut short after nine days when he was sent to prison. The only footballing contribution we saw him make in that time was the concession of a needless penalty to cost us the impressive point we were hanging onto with ten men at league leaders Chesterfield. A complete embarrassment. Rating - 0 Our 'Player of the Year', to little surprise because this signing was almost guaranteed to be an emphatic success, perhaps more so than any other in the division last summer. The epitome of rock-solid reliability, he arrived as the exact mould of defender we'd spent years being desperate for, having spent his entire career in the Football League. There have been a few shaky moments, like the slip to gift away a goal at home to Rochdale, but he's largely not put a foot wrong. Also a real aerial threat from set-pieces, where he often wins first contact, leading to four goals. Highlight - scoring the late winner in a crucial game at Kidderminster. Rating - 8.5 To miss a third of the season yet still end as our leading scorer and assist-maker is testament to the sheer quality of our borderline irreplaceable striker, whose influence still goes far beyond merely those outstanding numbers for he is so important to our overall play too, especially in making the ball stick or carrying it upfield to earn us crucial yards. That whole package is why he will be so highly sought-after upon his contract expiring this summer, therefore we simply have to make it our number one priority to keep him at the club if at all possible. At his unplayable best, which we saw so frequently this past season, there are few that even come close in non-league. Highlights - Woking winner, demolishing Oxford City, screamers at home and away to Eastleigh, matchwinning braces against Rochdale and Dorking. Rating - 8.5 Two starts apiece in September and October, with the former earning him the 'Player of the Month' award, but senior returnees would always come back into the side at his expense. Ended up back at parent club Luton, just as well because he was never going to get the sustained opportunities to nurture his growth well enough here. Rating - 6 It's easy to forget how impressive he'd been until an injury in November which would keep him out for almost the entire remainder of the season, restricting him to just 18 games overall. Nonetheless, he's averaged a goal contribution every three of those, which is seriously impressive for a defender to evidence the abilities that have probably gone slightly understated - a good passing range and crossing ability, on top of doing his primary role well. Highlight - both assists at home to Woking, the latter among the best of the season in stoppage time. Rating - 6.5 If the best ability is availability, then Hessenthaler stands out above all other outfielders having played every single minute this season. For a long time, this felt unwarranted because he looked a million miles away from someone who'd racked up over 250 appearances as a stable midfield operator in the Football League. That experience certainly hadn't come to the fore, nor any other redeeming qualities either. However, that all changed after Christmas, since which he improved enormously by every metric, benefiting from Appiah-Forson's emergence in the side. Now dictating and breaking up play with equal efficiency, he also added a fair few assists, which hopefully continues into next season. Highlight - scoring the opener at York then setting up the vital leveller at Bromley to double his goal contributions inside three days. Rating - 6 Didn't have a clue what to expect from this signing, but it certainly didn't jump out as immediately exciting given his history and a goal record that had never reached double figures in a season... until now, as all of that proved incredibly misjudged. For he has been nothing short of superb, maintaining high levels throughout all the season, even while disrupted by occasional injuries. During those periods of unavailability, we desperately missed his direct running and trickery out wide. Peaked in the final third of the season, with an impressive eight goals in fifteen games including a couple from the spot, where he proved quite adept as another string to his bow. A prolific scorer, skilful dribbler and tireless source of energy - we've got ourselves a brilliant asset whose career peak hopefully continues. Highlight - screamer at home to Fylde, mere moments after missing a one-on-one. Rating - 7.5 A lesson on how deceptive pre-season can be. Sydney Ibie looked to have undergone a year plus of evolution during the summer, returning as a seemingly polished powerhouse who excelled in the friendlies, even against higher-calibre opposition. This led to a contract extension to safeguard our talent, but reality would prove quite different as he fell completely the other way, slipping out of the first-team picture after increasingly poor performances, before unsuccessful loans at Aveley then Billericay. There's no future here now. Rating - 2 A really stop-start season, featuring clusters of games interspersed with spells on the sidelines. Six starts in a row was the most he was able to put together. During that time in particular, as well as the other brief periods when he was starting, I thought he looked much more a secure presence than we've seen in the past, with much fewer mistakes than before, although would still have him below Vincent and Page in the overall pecking order. Highlight - a superb, goal-saving block enroute to us getting three points at Ebbsfleet United. Rating - 5.5 We remain in very safe hands, quite literally as a continually outstanding goalkeeper, but also person representing our football club so commendably every single day with an unrelenting desire to drag us forward to better places. Great to see his qualities deservedly rewarded via a couple of international call-ups for England C this season. He'll feel he's had slightly more impressive ones, as there were a handful of disappointing goals in the mix that he'll be disappointed to have allowed past, but he's still saved us so many points as always. We've become so accustomed to his brilliance. Highlight - a stunning stoppage-time save away at Oldham, denying them victory. Rating - 8 Some youngsters can wilt in their first taste of senior men's football but Kedwell visibly relished the experience, exhibiting immense courage through a willingness to get stuck in. That character will take him far, but technical abilities didn't stand out quite so much, as he didn't exhibit a lot on the ball. He therefore became a player we'd introduce off the bench for some energy and grit. That he was able to provide the latter over more senior players, again, is testament to his willpower. Rating - 5 It's a telling sign that any praise of Kendall here usually pertained to his work ethic. That's certainly not a bad thing, as he was a real dedicated grafter, but there wasn't much firepower to supplement it, quite surprisingly for a man who'd scored 29 goals a within a year for Eastbourne Borough of the division below. The same ratio was never going to translate to this level but we still expected more than three from 25, which was not good enough, albeit the supply line around him left a lot to be desired. Kendall just didn't get into good positions, nor took advantage on the rare occasion he did, so there was little regret when his loan was terminated halfway through by parent club Lincoln City, in order to facilitate a permanent move to Woking. He's fared slightly better there by all accounts, not just numbers-wise, but is still nowhere near prolific. Highlight - scrambled stoppage-time winner at Ebbsfleet, an absolutely massive goal. Rating - 4.5 Another whose performances merited more involvement, Lawless brought youthful vigour to an otherwise pedestrian midfield on his occasional starts prior to Christmas, then would only be given one since, that being the final game while mostly restricted to scraps off the bench or being out of the squad altogether. Highlight: his first goal for the club, a tidy strike off the bench at Woking. Rating - 5.5 Our most consistent outfielder for absolute years now, Ling provides guaranteed stability and commitment to the utmost degree, as a proper servant to this club having now spent six years here across two spells. If you can rely on somebody to step up, even when all others around him are failing to do so, then it's him - the ultimate leader by example. However, there were a few moments this term that felt quite uncharacteristic, from positional lapses to the sending off at Aldershot for going studs-up into the chest of an opponent upon a counter-attacking turnover, though of course by pure accident. Nonetheless, he's generally been a dependable 7/10 most weeks as has always been the case, and will therefore continue to be a vital part of this team. The long-throw ins have also proven to be an effective, somewhat surprising, addition to his repertoire. Highlight: a quality performance helping us to a clean sheet at home to Oldham Athletic. Rating - 7 Don't think he's ever been good enough by a long stretch. Much better when it comes to dealing with direct stuff in the air, but completely out of his depth with the ball on the floor. His first period of action this season ended when he got himself sent off while not even on the pitch anymore, before being loaned to Eastleigh, who weren't inclined to extend his stay beyond the initial month. Due to extreme defensive depletion upon returning to us, Longe-King came back in to start five games in a row and was praised despite his almost identical lapses gifting two goals to eradicate clean sheets at home to Maidenhead then away at Boreham Wood. It speaks volumes if that's his solid best. Rating - 3.5 Pound for pound, possibly the worst signing of our entire history, which we were willing to write off completely this time last year before giving a second chance shortly into the new season. Initially did well, scoring in back-to-back games and looking a repentant character, only to soon get frozen out again for good. Leopards don't change their spots. Rating - 3.5 Didn't see him on the pitch long enough to formulate a real opinion, only playing around half an hour across four substitute cameos, although one of those did feature a tremendous defensive recovery at Southend United so he gets credit for that. Rating - N/A Was always going to be a massive risk given his injury history, yet then again he would not have been anywhere near this level without that fact. It was one I was glad we'd taken after the class showcased throughout pre-season, but did not pay off in the end as constant niggles prevented any real rhythm from building. The longest run he could manage was six starts towards the end of the season, the latter ending with him going off injured before half time for the fourth occasion, which unfortunately killed any chances of getting a renewal to his initial one-year deal. They were never long spells on the sidelines, mostly a fortnight or so, but he's just so fragile. What a shame for him and a career that deserves to have been spent much higher. Highlight: his first goal for the club to cap a 'Man of the Match' display against Maidenhead. Rating - 6 Went off the boil a bit around the middle of his loan spell, but its high points were certainly that. With raw talent in abundance, we saw him able to jink beyond bodies at effortless will, notably going solo through the heart of Hartlepool's defence to score a great goal on the penultimate weekend. There were also the ones against Solihull and Aldershot, as well as four assists, but probably his best contribution of all was an unplayable second half to inspire the comeback away to Bromley - certainly the best 45 minutes from anybody all season - as the stoppage-time equaliser originated from his perfect free-kick inswinger. Highlights - that second half, and the individual effort against Hartlepool. Rating - 7.5 Surpassing thirty appearances for the second consecutive season after all the hardships beforehand is testament to the warrior-like character that always shines through on the pitch, even if sometimes at the expense of composure with the rash moments that still remain on occasion, although are understandable in what was only his second full season playing at centre back. Overall, he's done well there, probably ahead of expectation in the season before last so this one felt like a bit of a drop-off, especially after the shift to a back four meant he lost his place. His appearances thereafter were as a makeshift striker off the bench when chasing a game, and he adopted the role completely after Effiong's injury, to the disbelief of supporters. Thrown into the deep end now, he obviously lacked the attacking radar but did unbelievably well beyond all expectations, with a record of two goals from five starts - both seriously well-taken - that would be respectable for anyone, let alone a defender. Highlights: the goals against Altrincham home and away, the former his first start up front, and latter a 98th minute leveller. Rating - 7 The disparity between performance levels across both halves of the season has been referenced with other players but nothing comes close to that of Rees. Arrived looking a heavily declined imitation of the man who who'd hit double figures like clockwork at his peak a few years prior, still bagging the odd one but some way off justifying his anonymity besides. Then came the new year and everything changed, as he thrived in a more advanced position shadowing the centre forward, which didn't just bring an explosive goalscoring sequence of a dozen in the last 21 games, but a complete evolution throughout so many other aspects too. Though it took him a while to get going, the eventual numbers speak for themselves in illustrating a brilliant season. Highlights: a practically last-kick equaliser at Bromley, overhead heroics as part of a hat-trick against Oxford City, sublime finishes against Boreham Wood & Ebbsfleet. Rating - 8.5 Doesn't look anywhere near ready for this level, though we probably haven't given him the best conditions to acclimatise. Initially thrown him in at the deep end, albeit without much alternative on our end, he then faced the opposite extreme of being limited to barely any minutes at all. A smoother, more consistent transition would have been much better. Will benefit from a decent pre-season. Rating - 4 There are many instances here of signings starting awfully before eventually turning out to be great this season. Well, Sears was the exact opposite. The former West Ham prodigy, who then spent over a decade in the Football League, looked an absolute cut above on his first start away at Aldershot Town by scoring one and assisting the other. However, that was as good as it got before the staggering descent set in. He wouldn't find the net again during over twenty appearances, in which he looked completely finished while completely disinterested on top. I've no doubt that actually wasn't the case but, either way, it was unanimously welcomed when his contract was mutually cancelled. Highlight: that brilliant display at Aldershot which sold us dreams, giving way to nightmares instead. Rating - 3.5 Our best ball carrier and passer, not just among the defence but possibly entire side in general, there was always the feeling that Tavares would excel once fit for a sustained period. Sure enough, he was absolutely immense throughout the opening couple of months this season, making several top interceptions in good positions, while also driving us upfield at will, most notably with a great assist away at Wealdstone, two days after another when he forced the winner versus Barnet on home soil. An injury layoff came in October, and he came back well with a strong return off the bench against Solihull, before another absence from which he would not reach anything resembling the same heights whatsoever. Clumsy penalty concessions on consecutive Tuesdays in January were symptomatic of a seismic loss in form that would not be regained, only levelling out to average in the end. Highlight: his role in our first win of the season against Barnet, making the own goal happen. Rating - 6.5 Our most exciting acquisition in terms of perceived creative influence upon the side, much was expected from the ex-Notts County midfielder, but reality proved incredibly underwhelming to begin with as he was wildly inconsistent. There were some very good performances, none more so than Oldham away where he completely ran the show, but an equal amount during which he'd constantly give the ball to an opposition player or hack it out of play altogether at will. Fluctuating between these extremes often from one week to the next, the turning point was a trip to Fylde when he filled in as a makeshift left-back so unbelievably well that he remained there even when the natural occupants of the position returned, not just solid but really good bombing forward too. The biggest compliment you can pay is that Vincent never once looked an imposter out of place, and even though his season ended with a broken arm in mid-February, he'll surely begin the next as our first choice, so well did he do. Highlights: a thunderbolt at home to Oxford City, among our goals of the season, and borderline 10/10 showing at Oldham. Rating - 6.5 There's always been a lot of love towards Westy, the epitome of role model professionalism who'd been such an influential presence both on and off the pitch since signing in 2020, so it was a real shame to lose him halfway through the season. Strip away that sentiment, his powers were waning at the age of nearly 36, having produced just a single assist by way of attacking contribution the past calendar year, but we would still be worse off without his unique skillset. That was now at Bromley's disposal, a clever bit of business from them which repaid itself through his brilliant brace in the play-off semi final recently. Not many players get an upwards move in this stage of their career. Rating - 5
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