Tuesday 27th June 2023
The second instalment of the Men's First Team 'Meet the squad' series focuses on four players who all won awards in 2022-23 and who are all back for more this coming season.
Left back Louis Spalding and central midfielder Kai Robinson shared the Manager's Player of the Year prize, with the former also winning Players' Player of the Year award. Robinson's partner in the heart of midfield Jack Hobson-McVeigh claimed the Goal of the Season prize while attacking midfielder Matt Jones earned the Golden Boot.
All are players who bring different qualities to the team, and who are important to manager Sam Collier's system. And the Bassett boss is particularly happy to have secured the services of Spalding and Jones - both of who were highly coveted by rival clubs this summer.
Speaking of the four, Collier said: "It's great to have all four back and shows where we are at as a club in order to have kept hold of them all given the seasons they had."
"It's well documented how much Louis means to us as a team and I'm absolutely delighted to have him again. He's an outstanding talent, scoring ten goals from left back and his energy levels are fantastic. He's a fantastic lad too who always plays with a smile on his face."
"Kai was one of the first names on the teamsheet last season. What he offered around the pitch was huge for us. His energy enthusiasm, desire and heart make him a huge asset to the team."
"Jack was a real gem for us last season with his passing range, enthusiasm, and his deadball skills. His experience in the middle of the park is also huge for us."
"Then with Matt, we signed him last year after he'd fallen a bit out of love with the game. We wanted him to get that smile back on his face and we did that. And we're very lucky to be able to keep him as he's turned down a lot of opportunities to go to a higher level and get a lot of money. And we're hoping he'll be able to continue with the form he showed last season finishing as top scorer as a midfielder."
Detailed profiles of each player are available below.
All four players are available to sponsor for the 2023-24 season for just £50. If you are interested in sponsoring any of our Men's First Team players, please contact Chairman Paul Gerrish (paul.gerrish@rwbtfc.co.uk; 07946 629483)
Spalding is a highly talented young full back who is entering his second season with Bassett. Skilful, quick, an outstanding defender and a player who always looks to get forward, he was named Manager's and Players' Player of the Year following a standout debut season. Spalding played 47 times, scoring a hugely impressive ten goals. Among his goals was a long range stunner in the FA Cup against Reading City, a last minute winner at home against Tuffley Rovers and a brace away at the same opponents.
With Swindon Town as a youth, Spalding joined Cirencester Town on loan in 2017-18. That year he made eleven appearances, before signing with the Centurions ahead of the following season after his release from Swindon. With Cirencester in 2018-19, Spalding featured 38 times as his side finished as runners-up in Southern League Division One South. He then joined Swindon Supermarine, appearing in 38 games in the curtailed 2019-20 Southern League Premier Division South campaign, ten matches a season later and four times in 2021-22.
An unsung hero of the team, Robinson is an energetic, tough-tackling central midfielder who is entering his seventh year with Bassett. He initially joined the club at the start of the 2017-18 season and was one of Bassett's leading appearance makers that year, playing 36 times and scoring once. His appearances were more limited over the subsequent four seasons.
However over the past year and a half Robinson has played a key role in the heart of midfield. And his performances over 43 games in 2022-23 earning him joint Manager's Player of the Year honours. In total he has played 132 times for Bassett, scoring twice - the second of those goals coming last season at home against Hereford Pegasus.
Robinson initially joined Bassett from Wantage Town, with whom he gained Southern League experience during the Alfredians' difficult 2016-17 campaign. Prior to joining Wantage, the midfielder played for New College Academy, while also representing Wiltshire Under 18s.
An experienced, cultured central midfielder, Hobson-McVeigh is entering his second season with Bassett having joined last summer from Malmesbury Victoria. Cool in possession with excellent distribution skills, the midfielder is also a threat from set pieces and has the knack for producing spectacular goals - as evidenced by his thunderous first-time strike against Southam United that earned him Bassett's 2022-23 Goal of the Season award.
Hobson-McVeigh is a New Zealand national and represented his country in the 2009 FIFA Under 17 World Cup in Nigeria in which he scored a spectacular goal against Turkey, helping the Kiwis reach the last sixteen. He has played at the highest level in his home country too, having appeared for Birkenhead United, Waitakere United, West Auckland Town, Team Wellington and WaiBop United.
He moved to Germany in 2016 and played as high as the fifth tier Oberliga Niedderrhein with Dusseldorf West and SC Union Nettetal. He then moved to England, joining Malmesbury in 2020-21 after a brief spell with Cirencester Town. He scored 7 goals in twelve games that year - including a goal against Bassett from beyond the halfway line - before registering the same number of goals in 36 appearances in 2021-22. In his first season with Bassett, Hobson-McVeigh scored five times in 36 games.
Jones is a dynamic, versatile player who is entering his second season with Bassett having joined in October 2022. Primarily featuring as an attacking midfielder - playing either centrally or on the left side, he is also an accomplished performer in a deeper midfield role as well as at left back. Strong, skilful, good in the air and possessing a turn of pace, Jones is the complete package. He also has an eye for goal and, despite not playing for the whole season, finished as Bassett's 2022-23 Golden Boot winner with 17 goals in 28 appearances.
Jones has experience playing at a higher level of non league football. As a youth he was with Swindon Town - with whom his father Tom Jones played over 200 times. After a loan spell with Swindon Supermarine, Jones a single Football League appearance with Swindon as a substitute against Rotherham United in 2013-14. The following year he had loan spells with Wantage Town, Chippenham Town and Farnborough. Following his release from Swindon, Jones joined Chippenham, and starred as they won the 2016-17 Southern League Premier Division title. He then had spells with Cirencester Town, Farnborough, Hungerford Town (in the National League South) and Weston-super-Mare before joining Bassett.
Last modified on Friday 30th June 2023 at 08:43.