Aldershot Town’s 2025/26 campaign came to an end on Saturday with a 2-0 defeat to already-relegated Truro City, ending what’s been a frustrating campaign for the National League side.
Less than 12 months ago, the Shots were celebrating at Wembley Stadium after beating Spennymoor Town in the FA Trophy final, but have failed to kick on this time around – finishing just above the relegation zone.
Since the defeat, John Coleman has officially left the club after his short-term contract came to an end, with Slough Town’s Scott Davies being confirmed as his successor, following reports earlier this month.
One thing that has also been confirmed is the club’s retained list, as preparations for next season can now begin.
Former Reading quartet amongst 12 to leave
After the frustrating nature of their 2025/26 season, Aldershot Town had plenty of decisions to make when it came to their out-of-contract players, and it appears as though the club are favouring a busy summer as 12 players will be leaving.
Amongst the 12 to leave the club, four of them have ties to League One side Reading. Goalkeeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke joined Aldershot earlier this season, following his departure from Reading but despite being a prominent figure, his short-term deal won’t be extended.
Defender Josh Brooking was a product of the Royals Academy before moving on to Chelsea, but missed the entirety of the 2025/26 season through injury and leaves the club just 12 months after arriving from Dorking Wanderers. Meanwhile, fellow Reading Academy graduates Dejan Tetek and Tyler Frost also depart after their spells with the National League side.
The full list as confirmed via Aldershot’s Twitter page is as follows;
- Pat Nash, Coniah Boyce-Clarke, Dejan Tetek, Hady Ghandour, Kwame Thomas, Luke Jenkins, Olly Scott, Matt Penney, Theo Widdrington, Tyler Frost, Josh Brooking and Marcus Dewhurst
Intriguingly, all three of the clubs’ first-team goalkeepers (Nash, Boyce-Clarke and Dewhurst) have all been released, suggesting the goalkeeping department is undergoing major changes as a priority this summer.
Are Aldershot in trouble next season?
Whenever a football club undergoes major changes to the playing squad and management, there is almost always a threat of a struggle in the new season, especially when Aldershot finished just above the relegation zone this season.
Scoring goals wasn’t an issue for the club, with the Shots managing to score 69 goals, which was only bettered by one other bottom-half club (Solihull Moors). However, their issue was at the other end of the pitch, conceding 87 goals in total – the third-worst in the entire division.
This in itself is likely to be an implication as to why they have opted to release all three goalkeepers ahead of the summer, with several defenders also amongst the 12 that will be leaving once their contracts come to an end. Aldershot also ended their campaign with a five-match losing streak, scoring just once.
The club’s owner Deane Wood recently revealed that his side were looking to save money moving forward during a recent interview, suggesting the playing budget next season could be impacted by the losses.
He stated…
“We’ve got to save money and we’ve got to bring in more money. Like I’ve said to a lot of people, if you have a sinking ship – nobody wants to get on it, so we’ve got to get the ship sailing along so everyone wants to get on the ferry/holiday boat and enjoy it.”
He went on to add…
“We’re struggling. We’ve struggled this year and every week we think ‘we’ve got to step forward’ yet we end up two steps back because there’s another bill we didn’t know about.”
Whilst other elements of the interview reveal that some players aren’t in the manager’s plans, thus likely to go and increase the budget – these quotes suggest that new manager Scott Davies is likely to be working with a smaller budget, which isn’t always negative.
Davies joins from Slough Town where he consistently managed to secure their safety in the National League South and knows the club inside out, having played for the Shots several times during the early stages of his career.
Therefore, whilst the need to save money may be a concern to some, almost every football club in the country is losing money at present. The new manager knows the club well and has key players like Will Nightingale and Josh Barrett to try and build his side around, giving an element of positivity ahead of the summer.