Bostik Supporters Preview 17/18: Enfield Town

The predictions of Arthur Salisbury of Enfield Town, a man who seemingly loves everyone so long as they don't come from a certain area of Essex...


We asked a supporter from each of our member clubs to answer the same series of questions as part of our preview of the new season. We also asked them to predict how their particular division would finish, from one to 24- and their answers will be revealed in a collection of Supporters Prediction Tables to be released the day before the big kick off.

Here are the answers of Arthur Salisbury, representing Enfield Town. It would seem as if Arthur’s first words upon entering the world were probably, “I hate Billericay!”

1. What was your favourite moment of last season?

April 8th. Friends and family called me a fool and worse for taking my girlfriend to Billericay Town away. They said that we should just stay home and watch the Grand National – after all, a horse called One For Arthur was running, so we all had a stake in this. Perhaps in a different year I would’ve listened to them. Perhaps. But this was likely going to decide which of us would sneak into the play-offs, and besides, what kind of man would I be? What kind of man did I want to be?

It was a pleasure to see all that mettle as we closed out the game 4-2 against the bigger boys, a pleasure to break my streak of witnessing us lose by five goals there, and a pleasure to end their season. And we all won big at the horses.

2. And what was the worst moment?

It would be easy to nominate our humbling in the play-off semi against a classy Dulwich Hamlet, but for me it can only be the 0-1 last-minute defeat away at Burgess Hill Town on the third day of the season. I have seen a lot of pathetic, namby-pamby performances in my time and I have the spreadsheet to prove it, but my god what a shower of etc.

Never have I left a game feeling more cheated or more like I was having the rise taken out of me. Straight up still fuming.

3. How will you do this season?

It’s highly likely that the top two places will go to the great ideologically distinct blocs of the post-‘91 era, Dulwich Hamlet and Billericay. I assume that we’ll start abysmally, then following an incredible March-May surge make the play-offs before losing to one of them.

4. Which matches are you most looking forward to- and why?

I do love the crackly tannoy at Harrow Borough and the guaranteed three points over Hendon, but you can’t make a weekend out of them. But a trip to Margate in late March, now that’s livin’!

5. What is your favourite away ground?

It’s an awful shame to have lost Canvey Island because it’s tremendous fun being able to see ships go by in the distance when you’re trying not to watch the game. I’ll go for Earlsmead due to the aforementioned sound system and the hand-drawn yet up-to-date league table on display.

6. Who do you consider your biggest rivals- and why?

It is Billericay, because I think they’re a horrible club and that they just keep getting worse.

7. What advice would you give to an away supporter visiting you for the first time?

There’s not a cashpoint very near the ground and nowhere in it takes a card, so come prepared. There’s a couple of cashpoints near Enfield Town station if you’re coming by train.

8. Who is your favourite player (for your club) of all time- and why?

I don’t want to gas up any of our current squad too much so I’ll go for someone no longer with us and say Adam Wallace, one of the great dench midfielders of the Isthmian League. He struck the right balance of effort and ability and consequently avoided most of the generic derogatory comments you could un-controversially throw at all of the jobbers you see out there.

9. Finally, predict who will fill the top five positions at the end of the forthcoming season:

Dulwich Hamlet, Billericay Town, Margate, Enfield Town, Staines Town.

Where next?

Bostik Supporters Preview 17/18: Dereham Town In our final set of supporters predictions before we produce the supporters predicted league tables, here is David Logan for the Magpies.
Bostik Supporters Preview 17/18: Bowers & Pitsea We head to Bowers & Pitsea for our next set of predictions, as Jack Walsh worries about how to replace a fifty goal strike partnership. Don't worry Jack, you won't need to bring your boots!

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