The name Windsor & Eton is back in the Isthmian League for the first time since 2006.
The Royalists finished runners-up in the Combined Counties League Premier Division North last season and went on to win the play-off final 2-0 at home to Broadfields United.
Rob Webb took the hot-seat early in the season having been part of the club’s climb from the Thames Valley Premier League, and here he talks to Tom Canning about the season ahead at Step 4.
Please note, there will be an additional piece from Rob ahead of the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round fixtures that take place from Friday 7th August to Saturday 8th August, on Friday.
Hey Rob, firstly, congratulations on winning the playoffs. That seems like a long time ago.
Yeah, it does seem like a long time, but it also is never far from the memory, because it was just so good.
I mean, obviously topped off by winning the League Cup as well which is really difficult to do in a season where you’re playing a lot of games. To keep that focus and keep playing the best you can, all the way through the season, right to the end, and finish another two weeks after everybody else as well, having to do that is really tough, but I’m really proud of the boys, proud of the club, and proud of the management team.
Everyone worked so hard to make it happen.
Rob Webb is on the latest Berkshire Football Stories podcast, listen below or here on Spotify.
It was quite a challenging end of season, and obviously you get in the playoffs, you have three extra games. I thought you’d have less games this season, but I actually don’t think you do!
We’ve got more games this year, I think, and we’ll be in just as many cups. There’ll definitely be more games for sure, unless, obviously, we don’t perform as well as we’d like to in the cups.
Is there a thought to prioritising competitions?
It would never happen. We’ll just go for everything.
So, Windsor & Eton, as it is, back at Step 4, back in the Isthmian League, there must be a buzz around the club right now?
Yeah. With the back-to-back-to-back promotions, you’re recalibrating every year. Obviously, I’ve been a part of that every single year as well, and there’s a lot of learnings there and a lot of League prerequisites that you have to have. Your ground grading and things like that. So, there’s so many things that you have to get in place.
And there’s small things like equipment that you’re using or track suits for the players. And there’s things that take a long time behind the scenes that you never really realise, there’s all these things going on. And every year we’re having this same problem to deal with, but it’s a good problem.
We’re right with it!
I hadn’t thought of that because, of course, every season you’ve got to get a couple of better players in. Do you think that might catch up with the club at some point? What’s the goal for this season that leads into that? Are you going play-offs again? Or does the club need to level out?
Yeah, I don’t think we’re at that point yet. But I think, yeah, obviously people will always think that as well at some point, but we’re not at that stage yet, for sure. I think from the conversation we’ve had over pre-season and where we’re at, I think we’re still in the ball game to kind of try and go again and try and see where it takes us.
I’m under no illusions at how difficult that’s going to be because the League is so strong. It’s a really, really strong League and some of the budgets in this League are another level. So I’m absolutely under no illusions how difficult this is going to be.
However, we feel we’re a big club as well and we get a lot of spectators through the gate and that really helps. I’ve said before about non-league football and it’s all about the support base and what you can get through the gate. That’s really the lifeblood of the club, really.
We do get good numbers through the gate and the volunteers that we have doing all the food – they’ve added chips to the menu this year, which is massive as well.
Things like that, small things make a big difference. So, yeah, I feel we’ll compete but I’m under no illusions at how difficult the task is going to be.
Both Ascot United and Binfield romped Step 5 at various points in the last couple of years and are now finding their level for various reasons. Windsor didn’t romp the league so what makes you think you can go on and push on?
I mean, obviously, we won the league at Step 6. So, that was great.
But it was tough. Last year with all the games we had at the end, they were all away games as well. So, it was even tougher because we were playing away games Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – everything was away!
The amount of travelling you do and the demand on the players is so high. I think for me, we’re always pushing as hard as we can take it. And I think Step 5 was really tough.
I know what you’re saying about Ascot and Binfeld maybe not performing like they did previously in Step 5. I do understand that. I don’t want to speak about other clubs because I don’t really know their situations. But I do think we’ve got all the tools that we need to make it happen.
I just believe in it. For me, I wouldn’t be at a club, this is my personality, I wouldn’t be a club that didn’t have that ambition to go and do it.
I’ve got no interest in being at a club that’s not ambitious. So, anyone that knows me knows that this club is still going places because I simply wouldn’t be here if I didn’t truly believe that it was.
Talk me through a couple of signings then. You’ve got Jack Mazzone who scored a couple of goals for you at the end of last season, on-dual registration from Bracknell, you’ve made that permanent. You’ve got a couple of other players in, you’ve lost a couple of players. How are they settling in?
A lot of people just know Jack for his goals and what he’s done in non-league football. But anyone that’s worked with Jack will know what a great leader he is and what a great character he is. For our group, obviously, to come into the play-offs, it makes a huge difference to have someone like him with what he’s done in the game.
The confidence that that gives you as a group, ‘we’re going to get a goal’. We’ve just got to make sure we don’t concede and we are going to get a goal. He’s going to get something.
That brings a lot of confidence. But also, not just the goals, it’s the dressing room manner, how he is with the boys, the leadership qualities that he has. He’s an example and he’s what we need in this moment to have that experience.
We’ve made some great signings. It’s not just Jack. Nathan Jones is an amazing signing from Binfield.
In pre-season, his tenacity, the way he works is unbelievable. He’ll play through injury, which you don’t necessarily want him to do, but he’ll do it. He’s one of these characters that will just play and play.
Trey Pender-Brown, well-coveted. A lot of teams have wanted to get Trey for many years and I’m just so proud that he saw us as the club for him because it was a big jump for him to move away from Brook House, his boy-hood club that he loves, and find a new home and settle down.
He’s settled tremendously well. He’s a bit quieter than Jack Mazzone, but he is just such a hard worker and such a good lad. But there’s obviously more signings.
I’m going to end up not mentioning them, but those guys have really stood out coming into pre-season. The retained players, you’ve got our captain Ben Hutchings, who’s amazing with everybody. You’ve got Toby Bridges, who’s still around.
He’s got carrying injury, but he’s still with us and he’s doing things that no one’s seeing. He’s just not playing. We’ve got a lot of retained players that are fantastic.
I’ll tell you, someone who has been brilliant is Alex Donville, AD. He’s been really, really good in pre-season as well. We didn’t see much of him last year, but he’s been fantastic, come back incredibly fit, really hungry, and someone that’s really impressed me in pre-season.
Rob, thank you very much. Good luck for the first game of the season!
