2026-27 Recruitment Plan for Farnham Town

Player Decisions

Retain

Michael Eacott, James Dean, Brandon Mason, Tom Leggett, Dan Bayliss, Ryan Kinane, Matt McKenzie, Billy Clifford, Harry Cooksley, Joe Jackson, Owen Dean, Daryl Saunders, Bobby Joe-Taylor, Seb Bowerman, Ogo Obi, Sam Evans

Release

Imran Uche, Andronicos Giorgiou, Kai Tanner, Ben Purcell, Great Evans, Adam Liddle

Loan End

Rhys Murphy

Retained Squad

New Signings

Pat Nash (Aldershot Town – free)

When Aldershot Town announced their retained list recently, one player that will have almost certainly caught the eye is Pat Nash. He is someone that will need little introduction to Farnham Town having played for Farnham Town previously, and I think that they could well be easily tempted to re-sign the youngster.

I think that the young goalkeeper provides Town with some really useful attributes, notably in the strength of his distribution, footwork, ability to play out and in the confidence to play almost as a sweeper keeper. He is very much a ‘modern day goalkeeper’.

Eacott is only 32 years of age, and is only on contract until the end of the campaign. Personally, I am a fan of Michael Eacott and would definitely keep him around the squad next term if he is willing to remain at the club, but this summer potentially represents a useful opportunity in which they can bring in a goalkeeper with a far higher ceiling – albeit potentially lower floor – that they can nurture, develop and allow to mature over time.

Pat Nash may well wish to go somewhere as a #1 such that he can get regular minutes under his belt, but I think that if Farnham Town want to go and push for promotion then having proper competition for the #1 jersey would be incredibly useful. He has been at the club before, and so I feel they may well be front of the queue in being able to bring him back. 

Freddie Taylor (Bromley – loan)

One player that particularly impressed me in 2025-26 and one that played against Farnham Town earlier this year is youngster Freddie Taylor. The Bromley defender has been on loan at Southern League side Havant and Waterlooville, and I have quite liked the look of what the young defender is all about. As such, I think he could be worth a higher loan in 2026-27 in which to continue his development. 

With a loan last year in the Southern League, I feel that the logical next step for him is to go and join a side in the National League South. If I was in Bromley’s shoes, that is certainly the level at which I would be pitching him for a move. Town have got a good right-back option at the moment in the form of James Dean who is hugely experienced, but I feel that signing a younger option to provide competition for him would be useful. 

In terms of his profile, Taylor is an energetic, attack-minded, athletic full-back that is very much in the ‘modern day mould’. He is comfortable on the ball in passing out from the back, and both elegant and efficient in the carry. Bromley are one of the best academy setups in the EFL and so it perhaps no surprise that he is an intelligent player with a good reading of the game, and defends smartly with a clever use of his body. 

He has got a good engine, is quick, mobile and is comfortable defending wide spaces. I like the fact that he plays the game with such a confidence, with a willingness to receive the ball under pressure and backs himself in playing out, and so as part of a Farnham Town side that are an atatcking outfit that make good use of the football he represents a good stylistic fit. 

One thing that I have been particularly impressed by with Taylor is his maturity at such a young age. For a player that has such limited first-team exposure, Taylor has taken to the men’s game really well and flourished for Havant and Waterloovile this term. 

He has had a good technical grounding, with spells at Watford and Brentford prior to joining Bromley, and I think that there is a really good player here. Still only 19 years of age, I feel that he is one that in the space of 12-18 months will be playing at the very least in the National League. As far as competition to Dean goes, I think the loan capture of Taylor would do just the trick. He is someone I am quite excited to see play again in 2026-27, and so I feel Town should make a move for him. 

Matt Penney (Aldershot Town – free)

I am expecting that Farnham Town will be fairly ambitious in the market this summer in strengthening their squad, and so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them sign a number of players from either the top end of the division they are going into or in the National League. 

One option that I feel could well be of interest to Town and who would most certainly fall into the category of being a bit of a ‘coup’ for them is former Aldershot Town man Matt Penney. He was let go by The Shots at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, and so is a free agent.

Farnham Town have tended to run with a fairly small squad with an emphasis on quality over quantity, and so signing a player of Penney’s profile that can play as a left-back, left winger or more centrally in midfield could be a useful attribute for them to have. 

While he hasn’t played much football there, I actually think that he could represent a useful option as a left-sided centre-back whereby he can almost be a ball-playing, ‘quarterback’ in progressing the ball out from the back. He has an exquisite range of passing, is intelligent, a good reading of the game and strikes me as being of a ‘classy’ customer that almost plays the game at his own pace. 

Ultimately, Penney is a left-back, and provides continuity to Brandon Mason in that he is an attack-minded player. Lovely delivery from deep. Strong technically. A player that virtually operates as a winger when they have got the ball. Brandon Mason is more of your direct-to-goal, straight line running, athletic full-back whose natural instinct is to carry the ball forward and look to provide an option on the overlap. Penney provides good balance in being more of a cultured left-back that looks to hold the width and in working crossing opportunities.

James Henry (Aldershot Town – free)

One player that I think screams a ‘Farnham Town type signing’ in terms of being local and coming from a higher level, yet real quality beyond the level they are at is James Henry.

Henry was released at the end of the campaign by Aldershot Town, having taken up a player coach role as part of John Coleman’s coaching staff. While he has ambitions long-term to go into coaching, I believe Henry still – rightly – feels he has got lots to offer as a player and so I would expect that his next move this summer would be in a playing capacity.

Despite being let go by The Shots, I think that signing for a club like Farnham Town is a better fit. The Shots will play a very high-intensity, transitional and direct style under Scott Davies, whereas I don’t think this plays to Henry’s strengths. He wants the ball on the deck and in a side that have the confidence to play.

While he can play as a winger, Henry’s more recent – and I feel most effective – work comes more centrally as a #10. At Oxford United, he played in a slightly deeper play-making role, but I think that at Farnham Town I can see him being used ahead of the more athletic types of McKenzie and Cooksley with the license to go and create.

He is an incredible technician, with a delicate weight of pass, good vision, creative and uses his experience well with the intelligence to know the type of pass that is required. Farnham Town are set up well without the ball, and so I think having Henry in that free-roaming, fluid #10 role whereby he can pick up clever pockets, get on the turn and pick his passes.

He does offer you the ability to use him in more of a double-pivot where he is able to dictate the tempo of a game, but his best work is close to goal in and around the penalty box. He may well be 36 years of age, but I think he can still provide enormous value at Step Two. He is local, and I feel he would make a cracking addition.

Niall McManus (Dorking Wanderers – free)

A big part of Farnham Town’s summer recruitment in my opinion is going to be about complimenting the existing group with ready-made Step Two players who have played at the level previously. One option that has become available and who I feel Town should look at signing is Dorking Wanderers midfielder Niall McManus. 

Ultimately, Town will want to be competitive in the National League South – not just stabilise in it – and so a proven player of McManu’s experience would definitely help. He has been part of a Wanderers side who have indeed won out of the league previously (2022-23) and that has never failed to finish inside the play-offs at Step Two. 

While he is not the most attack-minded midfielder, I think that he complements Town’s existing group well. They have got some good technicians in the squad such as Billy Clifford and Darryl Sanders, and so I believe there is value in signing a more defensively-natured, deeper-lying midfielder that can do the ‘other side of the game’. 

I think that McManus is a good stylistic fit for this Farnham Town side. Johnson’s side like to play an attacking, front-footed, possession based side and McManus has been a key part of a Wanderers side that look to control the game with the ball. 

Not all of the signings that Town make in the summer have got to be your ‘hero players’, and so I feel McManus is definitely worth a look for the all-round package that he offers. A model professional. Good character. Experienced. A winner. Incredible work-ethic, and hugely coachable in the sense of being receptive to perform a role.

Josh Sims (Yeovil Town – free)

One area in which I feel Farnham Town could look to strengthen is in the wide areas. One option that I think would represent a bit of a coup having played in the National League in 2025-26 is Yeovil Town winger Josh Sims. 

As a player, Sims is a dynamic and direct wide player with quick feet, good close control and speed. His low centre of gravity and agility enable him to quickly change direction and as such is a competent dribbler. This – coupled wth his aggressive running style – allows him to be strong in 1-on-1 situations, and can be a real threat when he is able to isolate opposition full-backs and in attacking space. 

During his time at Yeovil Town, Sims has been used largely as a makeshift wing-back, but I think that playing in a side like Town that use more traditional wingers represents a good fit for him. His syrength is in isolating players, and using his low centre of gravity and technical quality in spinning away from his marker and driving the ball to goal. He is incredibly hard-working and a good professional.

Sims is 29 years of age, and so offers experience to this Town side of having played higher. He was let go at the end of the season by The Glovers, and so is available on a free transfer. He might not be the flashiest customer in terms of output, but I think that he ticks a number of boxes and so could be a valuable addition.

Rhys Murphy (Horsham – free)

One player on this list that finished the campaign with Farnham Town on loan from Horsham and who they may well be interested in re-signing in the summer is 35-year-old Rhys Murphy.

Farnham Town themselves are new to the level, and so I do feel that there is value in signing a player of Murphy’s experience. Over 400 career appearances and a previous winner of the National League South, I think that he is the type of signing that may not play 46 games, but will provide invaluable insight and knowledge of the league and allow them to adjust effectively to the step up. 

As a player, Murphy provdes that intelligence at the top end of the pitch. Clever movement. Strong game intelligence, and an appreciation for where the ball is going to drop. He perhaps doesn’t have that pace and agility off the shoulder in his game like he has done previously, but he is still a very intelligent striker for the level. An instinctive finisher. Clean ball-striker. A proven goal-scorer. Town create a good volume of chances, and so having that option in the final third that can stay between the lines of the box and provide that more polished finisher is incredibly useful. 

Given his age, I don’t think that Farnham Town will be looking to add him on a multiple year deal and I wouldn’t advise that. However, as an option to sign on a 1-year-deal I feel that he could provide real value for a side that are making the step up. 

Mo Faal (Maidstone United – free)

The final player on this list that I think Farnham Town should go for is former Worthing man Mo Faal. Released by Maidstone United at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, I feel that he could represent a good option for Town to sign in terms of building a squad that is capable of going and being competitive at the top end of Step Two. 

As a profile, Faal is a little bit unique given his size and the fact that he is mobile, quick and agile. He is an aerial reference and physically strong, and he is able to dominate centre-backs with the use of his body in isolating them, spinning and attacking space in behind the opposition with his long-legged, efficient running style.

Farnham Town are new to the National League South, but I don’t see them waiting to stick around in the National League South for too long. They are an ambitious club, and they want to get promoted out of the league with 2-3 years. If they are to achieve that, I think that they need to go out and sign players that are in the bracket of being a top-end, National League South player, yet one that can step up to the National League. I think Mo Faal fits that profile. 

Given that the striker will be out injured until the back end of the calendar year, I think that it will need a club that are happy to bide their time with him and allow him to make a recovery. He is the type of player that can really provide value from the New Year onwards if Town are positioned nicely in the league. 

Town have already got two good strikers on the books in Sam Evans and Ogo Obi, and have a third in Rhys Murphy on loan that I think they will look to re-sign. There isn’t the amount of pressure on Faal to be that immediate starter, and so given his injury lay-off I think that actually suits him down to the ground. He wants to ideally go into a club where they have got the depth of attacking options to cope in his absence, but whom – when he is back – he can be pushing to start. Town is a good fit for that. 

On his day, Faal is one of the best strikers at the level and so I think that he is a good player and it would be a real coup if they can get him. Despite his injury, I don’t think that he will be short of offers during the sumemr, however I feel that he is the type of high-stock, high-floor, high-ceiling player the like of which aligns to Town’s ambition.