TRURO City will make their return to Southern League football this weekend after a four-year hiatus from the division.
The White Tigers departed the division back in 2015 after a glorious 1-0 play-off final victory at home to St Neots Town, in which Shane White netted the winner from the spot – but four years, four manager departures, one FA Cup first-round appearance, two play-off failures, two relegation battles and one relegation later, the Cornish club are back in the Southern League.
Four years is a long, long time in football and Truro supporters can expect the league landscape to have changed markedly since their play-off winning campaign.
Taunton Town were a division below Truro back in 2015, but will be among the favourites to win the title this season after falling a single point shy of sealing back-to-back promotions to the National League South last term.
This weekend's opponents Metropolitan Police were in the Isthmian League in 2015, but were transferred to the Southern League last year and were also within a whisker of promotion, winning the league play-offs but lost the super play-off final to Tonbridge Angels, ironically of the Isthmian League.
Truro will face Salisbury, who also lost in the play-offs last year, for the first time since their reformation in 2015, while the White Tigers will be familiar with the other losing play-off side last season, Corby Town, were Southern League champions in Truro's promotion year.
It is not just the league that has changed - this Truro City squad is unrecognisable from the last one to have played at this level.
This summer has seen plenty of new faces pitch up at Treyew Road, with James Ward, Dan Stedman, Harlain Mbayo, Louis Rooney, Moulaye N'Diaye, James Lorenz, Stewart Yetton, Rio Garside, Harrison Davis, James Hamon, Ryan Law, Luke Jephcott and Will Dean all joining on a permanent or temporary basis.
Noah Keats, Austen Booth, Niall Thompson and Jamie Richards are the only four remaining players left from last season's squad.
It is also new territory for manager Paul Wotton, who will take charge of his first competitive senior match as a manager this weekend.
It would be great to see him and his new-look side hit the ground running with a positive result on Saturday, but we all know that there will be a long, long way to go.
Fixtures:
Saturday, August 10 (kick-off 3pm):
Chesham v Salisbury
Dorchester v Beaconsfield Town
Farnborough v Poole
Gosport v Taunton
Harrow v Merthyr
Met. Police v Truro
Swindon Supermarine v Walton Casuals
Tiverton v Hayes & Yeading
Weston-super-Mare v Hendon
Wimborne v Hartley Wintney
Yate Town v Blackfield
Tuesday, August 13 (7.45pm):
Beaconsfield Town v Chesham
Blackfield v Wimborne
Hartley Wintney v Swindon Supermarine (7.30pm)
Hayes & Yeading v Harrow
Hendon v Met. Police
Merthyr v Weston-super-Mare
Poole v Tiverton
Salisbury v Gosport
Truro v Dorchester
Walton Casuals v Farnborough
Taunton v Yate Town
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