2020/21 Halfway Stage: National League Team of the Season

  

The chaotic nature of the National League can best be summed up by Torquay United and Altrincham becoming the first sides to pass the halfway stage of their seasons on Tuesday 9th February.

Where do you start with that? For one, only two sides passed the halfway stage. There are still another 21 football clubs yet to reach that point. Dover Athletic, who have only played 15 league matches, may not break that barrier for another month.  

 

The 2020/21 National League campaign has been defined by events off the field more than on it amid a number of COVID and weather enforced postponements and concerns over funding leading into the ongoing debate about whether the season can continue for both financial and health reasons. At least the latter appears to be resolved now.  

 

Like most, the politics frustrate me. I find it all tedious. I’m thankful that there are people like Thomas Feaheny (@thomasfeaheny) and Ollie Bayliss (@ollie_bayliss) that condense the information into easy-to-read tweets to keep us informed. As a casual fan of the National League, I much prefer to focus on on-field matters. You know, the actual football.  

Against the odds, the 2020/21 National League campaign has been brilliant so far. Managers and players have stepped up amid the off-field uncertainty. There has been an average of 2.7 goals per game (0.02 less than the Premier League) and despite the expectation being that bigger budgets and squads would be pivotal, it's Torquay United and Sutton United that lead the way, ahead of Notts County, Stockport County and Hartlepool United. 

 

Given that we have, sort of, reached the halfway stage of the season, I spent the weekend and early part of this week thinking about what my Team of the Season would be at this juncture. So, I wrote my thoughts and reasons down and without further ado:  

 

 

GK: Nathan Ashmore  

 

Age: 30 

Club: Boreham Wood 

 

I was taken aback the first time I saw Nathan Ashmore in the flesh. Unfortunately, not for the right reasons. Then I watched him play. It was immediately noticeable that Ashmore had a huge personality. He also showed he was a pretty good goalkeeper too. Ashmore’s journey to non-league's top tier involved three promotions and he didn’t take long to establish himself as one of the finest goalkeepers outside of the Football League. A natural leader, it is unsurprising that his arrival at Boreham Wood coincided with an improvement in form and he has more than played his part in The Wood currently having the best defensive record in the division at the time of writing, conceding a goal every 0.74 matches.  

 

RB: Dion Kelly-Evans 

 

Age: 24 

Club: Notts County 

 

I found right-back the toughest selection. It’s not that there is a dearth of quality, just a lack of obvious standouts. Kane Smith (Boreham Wood), Joel Senior (Altrincham) and Lewis Cass (Hartlepool United) and my eventual selection, Dion Kelly-Evans, all came to mind. Why the latter? Notts County have one of the meanest defences in the National League and Kelly-Evans has more than played his role despite splitting his game time between right-back and left-back. The 24-year-old has offered consistency in roles where consistency has been hard to come by for Neal Ardley’s side.  

 

CB: Connell Rawlinson 

 

Age: 29 

Club: Notts County  

 

It’s hard to escape the feeling that Notts County have struggled to hit top gear this season but their defensive record has ensured they remain in the mix for the sole automatic promotion spot as they slowly reach the halfway point of the campaign. With Alex Lacey and Ben Turner struggling for regular game time for various reasons, Rawlinson has been pivotal in organising a defence that has conceded just 13 goals in the 17 matches the Welshman has started.  

 

CB: Kyle Cameron 

 

Age: 24 

Club: Torquay United 

 

Kyle Cameron isn’t your typical old-school meathead centre-half. However, he recently shaved his head, likely due to lockdown restrictions on hairdressers, and he looks menacing. It’s a look that suits a central defender that stands 6 foot 4 inches and dons the captain’s armband. The ex-Newcastle United youngster is cementing his case for being the strongest centre-half in the National League, mixing an aerial dominance with a comfortability in possession that enables him to ping passes across the field, useful a side with so many young, fit and pacey forwards. Expect to see Cameron step into the Football League next season, with or without Torquay United.  

 

LB: David Ferguson 

 

Age: 26 

Club: Hartlepool United 

 

This was a real tough decision between David Ferguson and his Hartlepool United left-back predecessor Mark Kitching. I went with the former based on selection consistency, role and output. It surprised me to learn of his drop into non-league following a spell at Blackpool and his performances in the North East make his time in non-league all the more baffling. Ferguson has recorded seven assists to my count this season from left-back or left wing-back and plays a pivotal role for Dave Challinor’s side.  

 

DM: Craig Eastmond  

 

Age: 30 

Club: Sutton United  

 

Sutton United have been one of the National League’s surprise packages. Matt Gray has a group of reliable footballers at his service, players willing to muck in regardless of conditions and Craig Eastmond has come to typify this. Eastmond started the campaign at centre-back as Sutton got off on the right track. He has filled in at right-back. He has played in his preferred role of central midfield alongside a number of partners. His work ethic, leadership qualities and performances have withstood those tests and he has even chipped in with a couple of goals, including a first-time return from the halfway line against Eastleigh.  

 

AM: Conor Lemonheigh-Evans 

 

Age: 24 

Club: Torquay United  

 

Torquay United took the try-before-you-buy option on Conor Lemonheigh-Evans to the max, keeping him on loan for two and a half years before making the move permanent this summer. The Welshman has repaid Gary Johnson’s faith by playing a key role for the side currently sitting atop of the National League table. The 24-year-old has been given more freedom this season, playing as the furthest forward midfielder (and a lone striker on one occasion), scoring five goals and assisting a further nine. A player that provides real energy, determination and quality to the final third for Torquay.  

 

AM: John Rooney 

 

Age: 30 

Club: Stockport County  

 

Signing John Rooney feels like a National League cheat code. This is a player that has reached double figures in five of the last six seasons, who was arguably the National League Player of the Season last term and ought to have been playing League Two football this season with Barrow. Instead, he decided to stay in the National League and help Stockport County to promotion. He’s doing a fine job, chipping in with nine goals from seventeen matches thus far. For a glimpse of his talents, check out his goals against Altrincham (2-2, curler into top corner), Boreham Wood (1-1, free kick) and Woking (4-1, first time finish).  

 

AM: Ben Whitfield  

 

Age: 24 

Club: Torquay United  

 

In many ways, Ben Whitfield sums up Torquay United quite nicely. His first action is almost always a forward-thinking one, as if his brain works on the sole basis of working out how he can get from his position to the opposition box on as little time as possible. It’s a process that certainly works for him. The ex-Port Vale winger has been an ever-present in Torquay United’s starting XI this season and has repaid his managers faith with five goals and seven assists, making the left-wing spot his own. Whitfield may not always look like the most conventional footballer but he’s definitely amongst its most dangerous.  

 

ST: Michael Cheek 

 

Age: 29 

Club: Bromley 

 

Michael Cheek scores goals. Since 2013, Cheek has played for five different clubs in the National League South and Premier. Not once has he fallen below double figures. That includes this season. Despite only playing 20 league games, Cheek has scored 11 goals. More importantly, seven of those goals have given Bromley the lead in matches. Cheek isn’t just a poacher, however. He does the donkey work, leads the line as you’d expect a number 9 to and has even registered five assists for team mates. The Ravens have struggled for reliable and consistent performances this season but their number 9 has had no such problems. 

 

ST: Danny Wright 

 

Age: 36 

Club: Torquay United 

 

Here are the numbers. Danny Wright all of Torquay United’s opening 15 matches. They won eleven, drew two, lost two, scored 33 and on only one occasion did they concede more than once. He has been injured for their previous seven encounters. Torquay have won just twice, scoring just nine goals and conceding eight. As for the lead striking position, Gary Johnson has given starts to Josh Umerah (four), Billy Waters (three), Rob Street (one) and Conor Lemonheigh-Evans (one). Former National League title winner Danny Wright’s absence isn’t the sole reason for The Gulls’ downturn in form but there is little doubt on his importance to the side as the lone striker.  

 

 

Do you agree? Of course you don't. Let me know who should have been selected either in the comments section or via Twitter @NLMusings.