After a long summer break from English domestic football filled with many other sports, non-league football will soon be back. At Non League Daily, we have our best National League Outright bets to kick things off.
For the second successive season, Barnet lost in the playoffs – this time a 0-4 defeat at the hands of Solihull Moors, despite going into the game as favourites.
With big spenders Chesterfield, Notts County and Wrexham now into the EFL, Dean Brennan will firmly believe his side have what it takes to go one step further and win the league as they look to end their seven-year exodus from the Football League.
The Bees have recruited a nice blend of players, signing young players such as Joe Rye, Jermaine Francis and Joe Grimwood from the division below and experienced National League players such as Billy Clifford and Myles Kenlock (Ebbsfleet), Rhys Browne (Woking), Mark Shelton (Oldham) and Joe Kizzi (Sutton).
They have also retained the services of Nicke Kabamba who finished second in the top-scoring ranks last year with 25 goals.
The blend of experience and exciting youth signed, mixed with a core of players that led Barnet to a second-place finish should set the Bees in good stead ahead of the new season.
Forest Green romped to the League Two title in 2022, but it has been only down from here for Rovers. Poor recruitment coupled with a string of unsuccessful managerial appointments has seen Forest Green plummet down the leagues back to the National League.
However, Dale Vince seems to have learned from his mistakes and his side looks well-versed for an instant return.
Cheltenham duo Liam Sercombe and captain Sean Long rejected a new deal at Cheltenham to sign for their Gloucestershire rivals. Tom Knowles joins from Forest Green after enjoying a couple of fruitful seasons with Yeovil in the National League. Adam May joins from League One Cambridge after accumulating over 100 appearances in an injury-ridden spell at the U’s. Finally, Ben Tozer drops down from Wrexham to sign for Steve Cotterill’s side. The 34-year-old brings a wealth of experience, as well as a goal threat and a deadly long throw.
Overseeing this newly shaped Forest Green side is Steve Cotterill. The wily, experienced gaffer joined just too late to save Rovers- his form would’ve seen them finish 14th.
With an abundance of talent capable of playing up the table, Forest Green are in a good position to get promoted at the first time of asking.
Multi-millionaire Matt Uggla purchased York in the summer of 2023 with lofty ambitions of instant promotion to the Football League. This did not materialise as the Minstermen survived relegation by the skin of their teeth thanks to the managerial nous of Adam Hinshelwood.
Hinshelwood was appointed as manager mid-way through the season after impressive work leading Worthing to the chance of promotion in both seasons he managed in the National League South. The 40-year-old is a manager who favours attacking play, with his Worthing side regularly topping goalscoring metrics.
While the high turnover last season de-railed York, they look better prepared this year, with the majority of their signings familiar with each other and the tactical set-up.
Harrison Male (Dorking) and Ricky Aguiar (Swindon) join after previously playing under Hinshelwood, while Joe Felix and Ollie Pearce join from the Rebels, so the quartet are linking up once more.
Pearce is coming off the back of a season where he scored 44 goals and assisted 10, and will be a welcome addition to a new-look York attack.
Ashley Nathaniel George (Maidenhead) and Tyrese Sinclair (Rochdale) sign to augment the attack on the flanks, so York are well stacked to score plenty of goals.
Dipo Akinyemi could be the man to fire them to the playoffs or beyond. The 27-year-old arrived with big expectations after claiming the top-scoring berth and the Scottish Championship Player of the Year when playing for Ayr United. In an injury-disrupted first season, the bustling target man scored 15 goals, despite York’s early season struggles. Under an attacking manager like Hinshelwood, Akinyemi will be looking to break the 20-goal barrier and challenge for the Golden Boot.
Much has been made of Woking’s off-the-pitch woes, with the Cardinals seemingly in financial disarray. In Michael Doyle, the Surrey club have the right man to steady the ship on the pitch.
One player who could be crucial in Woking’s bid for survival is Charley Kendall. The 23-year-old scored four goals after joining in January, but you feel there is more to come. After scoring 29 goals in 50 games for National League South side Eastbourne Borough, Kendell was snapped up by League One Lincoln.
However, this move did not work out, with Kendall loaned to Sutton, Bromley and Dagenham and Redbridge but failing to make an impact.
Now he is settled at Woking, he can show the goalscoring exploits we have seen from him in the past. If his pre-season form is anything to go by, Kendell will be a real handful for defenders this season.
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