Welcome to Norton Nomads Football Club

Nomads were held to a 2-2 draw by Mid-Somerset side Westhill in a drizzly evening in Westfield. With nearly half the squad missing, Paul Tarrant's side had to draft in a catelogue of players for this one-off game, a few of them catching the eye in a competitive game.

With Tarrant away, Assistant Mark Stillman took control of the team and watched on from the sidelines as a happy man in the opening stages, as Nomads' quickly put-together side strung some nice moves together. Mike Reynolds (pictured), usually of Timsbury, was left in space on the edge of the penalty area, and hit his resulting shot a foot wide of the post. Five minutes later Nomads had the lead when good work from debutant Dean Bigden, Kev Lake and the returning Luke Tucker resulted in the latter hitting a beautiful strike from 20 yards to home keeper Ricky Tomlinson's left, giving him no chance. The home side responded with a series of nasty, rather savage fouls which costed them a number of free-kicks, their main chances falling to Dave Brooks, who shot off target from distance, and a forward heading over from close range. Aside from that, Nomads' defence was kept together mainly thanks to Ben Hancock, the Radstock centre-half proving a class act throughout. Bigden nearly marked his first appearance with a goal when his effort on the bounce smashed against the inside of the post and back into the hands of the grateful Tomlinson. Andy Coombs curled a shot inches wide and hit another off target, his brother Alex headed straight at Tomlinson from Tucker's cross and Reynolds drilled a free-kick wide as Nomads were a constant threat on the home defence.

Whilst Nomads brought on Luke Slingo for a cameo appearance, it was a couple of substitutions from home manager James Lorimer which did the trick in the second half as his side gave up with their physical approach and opted for a more passing game. They were rewarded on 53 minutes when Alex Coombs was adjudged to have bundled over an opponent in the penalty area, his brother Andy pointing to the penalty spot without any hesitation. Brooks stepped up and hammered the ball to Nick Britton's left, giving the keeper no chance. Britton kept Nomads in the game as he made a promising debut, palming away a few stinging drives from distance. He was again powerless, however, to prevent a second goal on 72 minutes. Luke Kingman's corner was met with a thumping header from Brooks, who escaped the attentions of Kev Page to divert the ball past Britton from 10 yards. It looked as if pre-season was going to end with three defeats out of three, but Kev Lake halted the slide five minutes later. After Reynolds was brought down just outside the penalty area, Lake spotted the replacement keeper hopelessly out of position, and lofted the ball into the roof of the net to make it 2-2. Westhill finished the stronger side with Brooks and Karl Orchard shooting wide, Britton keeping out a Matt Allen shot and then producing save of the match from Kingman's driven free-kick in wet conditions, getting strong hands to keep out the well-hit strike. A Lake jinking run saw his cross deflected over as Nomads trooped off happy with a draw, which was the fair result. Thanks to all those who filled in for Nomads in the last minute - Ben Hancock, Luke Tucker, Dean Bigden, Tom Davis, Luke Slingo and Mike Reynolds.

Nomads' third, and possibly final pre-season friendly of the 'summer', takes place against a team they've never faced at a venue they've never set foot upon.

The team in question are Westhill Gardeners, who were formed in the summer. Despite being a new team, several members of the side will be familiar to the Nomads players. Manager of Gardeners is the most familiar face of all - former defender James Lorimer (pictured). 'Beaner' appeared for Nomads 12 times last season, 9 of those games starts, filling in at right back or centre half. After being in and out of the team, he announced at the End of Season Presentation that he would be following in the footsteps in many of the Westfield contingent by leaving after a year at the club. He has now formed a side to take part in the Mid-Somerset League Division 3 and has been joined by several former Westfield players. They will possibly be the only side in the league to field two sets of twins - Dan and Joe Beck plus Jon and Matthew Tout - and anchoring up the defence/midfield will be James Keeling and Adam 'Dave' Brooks, both of whom have played against Nomads several times for Westfield's Sunday side, who are in Nomads' league next season. This is one of Westhill's first friendlies, they play at the ground with the same name.

Nomads go into the game on the back of two pre-season defeats and are without several established players. Craig Maidment and Kevin Martin both picked up injuries for Welton Rangers in the past week and neither will take part. Adam Simmonds is absent, Nath Witcombe and Chris Rogers have work commitments and manager Paul Tarrant also misses out as he's on holiday with his girlfriend. That leaves Assistant Mark Stillman in charge and, along with the help of Andy Coombs and Kev Page, has drafted in some players to make sure Nomads can field at least 11 for this evening game. Page has called upon Tom Davis of Welton Rangers and Farrington Albion to ref one half and play in defence for the second. Coombs has been busier, bringing in Dean Bigden, Luke Slingo and "Roachy" from his various contacts. The latter plays for Coombs' Saturday side, Timsbury Athletic. Luke Tucker will also take to the field for the first half in a swan-song appearance whilst Nick Britton will become Nomads' fourth goalkeeper of pre-season as he makes his long-awaited debut between the sticks.

As mentioned previously, the clubs haven't met before. As this is likely to be Nomads' final warm-up game, they'll be keen to avoid going through the whole of pre-season without a win, something they haven't done since 2005. Back then five friendlies resulted in five defeats, five goals scored and a staggering 43 conceded.

Nomads’ second pre-season outing ended in a second defeat at the hands of a clinical Bath Arsenal side at Bath Uni. Last year’s league winners oozed quality at times, but Nomads’ depleted side weren’t completely over-awed on a baking hot morning in the roman city.

The Bath & District League side took the lead on seven minutes when a run from the right eventually saw the ball passed inside twice, drawing the Nomads defence out of position. It fell kindly to Ali Aulds, who hit a sweet strike into the bottom corner past a static Kev Page in the Nomads goal. The defender was filling in for Nick Britton and defender Dan Fossaceco, both unavailable, and kept Nomads in the game by parrying some long range shots, but was unable to do anything about goal number two on 18 minutes. Again it came from a move down the right, Jason Harrison's cross into the middle brilliantly headed home by Mike Brown. Nomads had their chances to come back into the game with Nath Witcombe particularly a thorn in the Arsenal defence. He was thwarted by home keeper Ashley Weymouth after several attempts to round him, and then a combination of his pass and debutant Lee Tadd’s strength created a chance for the latter, but he shot wide. Bath Arsenal effectively made the game save on the half hour when Page’s sliced goal kick was latched upon by Danny Williamson, and he finished with ease from 18 yards. Goal number four then arrived on 36 when once again Harrison was given too much time and space to cross to Williamson who splendidly flicked the ball home from close range past a perplexed Page. Andy Coombs narrowly avoided putting through his own net before Chris Bridges skewed a shot wide at the other end. Nomads did pull a goal back on the stroke of half-time - Witcombe’s persistence set up Tadd, and the midfielder held off Dave Lancaster before expertly looping the ball over Weymouth from 20 yards. The hosts could have gone into the interval further ahead still, the Nomads defence carved open with Dave Chedgy left with two men, but Page did exceptionally well to turn over a stinging drive.

Nomads, with newbie Ben Hansford on for the second half, started brilliantly with a second goal inside 60 seconds. Witcombe was put through almost instantly by Bridges but it appeared the chance had gone when Dan Burgess got in an interception. However, it ran loose to Alex Coombs, who beat a full-back and delivered a cross to Witcombe, the striker shooting on the turn past the unsighted Weymouth. The home side still held the upper hand though and never really looked in danger of throwing the game away; instead they extended the lead on 55 minutes. Chris Banks was given too much time and space to control and smash an unstoppable shot past rookie keeper Craig Maidment into the top corner from over 25 yards – an outstanding finish. Still Nomads refused to lie down and be beaten, as they made it 3-5 within 10 minutes. Bridges played the ball across to Witcombe, who once again tore the home defence apart by cutting inside and firing the ball past Weymouth's outstretched right hand into the corner. Maidment did well to tip a close range effort over the bar and Aulds' strike took a deflection before clippomg the outside of the post as Arsenal poured forward menacingly, adding a sixth with 15 minutes remaining. Once again it was a goal where the wingers stretched Nomads all over the place, leaving gaps galore, and Aulds' low cross into the centre was inevitably smashed into the roof of the net at the bar post by Brown. Mark Stillman should have pulled a goal back within a minute when the stand-in injured forward capitalised on Page’s deflected pass from the centre, but could only shoot tamely at the home custodian. Bridges was also denied by a combination of Weymouth and defender Lancaster, and Witcombe’s quick free-kick sailed miles wide of the post. The final goal of the game arrived on 88 minutes when Paul Tarrant was beaten down the left, the resulting cross, once again from Harrison, saw Nomads once again out-numbered and Maidment given no chance with Williamson's close range finish, to complete his hat-trick. A heavy defeat maybe (albeit against a very decent side) but lessons to be learned as the season draws closer.

After a three-week absence, Nomads return to pre-season action with a clash against Bath & District League Division Two side Bath Arsenal Sunday. The match takes place at Bath University, kicking off at 10.30am.

Bath Arsenal are likely to prove tricky opponents for Paul Tarrant's side, as they were crowned champions of Division Three last season. They won the title by two points from Bathford Rangers, Arsenal's 5-3 win over Bathford on a Thursday night in April proved to be vital for Dan Burgess' (pictured) side as they then knew that nine points from their remaining four games would definitely seal the title. They started by beating Heritage United 3-2 three days after defeating Bathford, but then crashed back to earth with loss over fourth placed Bristol City Supporters, only the second defeat of Bath Arsenal's season. This meant they needed wins over two of the higher placed sides in the league, Odd Down SC Reserves and FC Belvedere, to finish as league winners. Odd Down were beaten 5-2 at the Lew Hill Memorial Ground, before Belvedere were hammered 4-0 at Lansdown, allowing the party to begin. It turned out to be a sweet day for Burgess, who saw Bath City, the side he follows, win promotion to Blue Square Bet Premier in the afternoon. They've added to their squad in the summer, bringing in Danny Harnden from Full Moon (Burgess tapping up a fellow Wessex employee) and top-scorer Mike Brown remains with the club. He scored 31 goals last season in all competitions, Bath Arsenal hitting over 100 altogether. Their last pre-season outing was on Wednesday night when their sister side, Bath Arsenal Saturday, beat them 7-3 at Bath Uni.

Nomads go into the game on the back of hardly any pre-season training and with only six players paying their signing on fee for next season - Paul Tarrant, Mark Stillman, Kevin Martin, Andy Coombs, Liam Hunt and Craig Maidment. Goalkeeper Nick Britton returns after missing the club's only previous friendly this season, a 5-3 loss at Vine Tree SC, Adam Simmonds and Kev Lake also come back into the fray as well. One player who won't be in the reckoning is Luke Tucker. After spending weeks deciding where his future lies, Tucker has decided to stick with Farrington Albion for a further year, and we wish him well. Ad Maidment has also confirmed that he won't be signing on for a second spell. With all this in mind, Tarrant will be keen to get as many players as possible to sign on the dotted line on Sunday morning, as the league opener is just over three weeks away.

Nomads and Bath Arsenal Sunday have never met in any way, shape or form. They both fielded sides in last year's 5 a-side tournament in Twerton Park but were placed in seperate groups. Hmm, scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Nomads' only meeting against a side with "Arsenal" in their name was three years ago, when Welton Arsenal B hammered Paul Tarrant's side 4-1 in a friendly at Norton Hill Rec, Nomads' goal arriving from Jamie Gulliford in the first half.

It might be a bit later than normal, but the Frome & District League Division One fixtures have finally been released, and unlike recent years, Nomads' games have been planned to the very end.

First up are Westbury Park at home. The same opponents visited Nomads on the opening game of last season, then at Ston Easton, winning 3-0. This time the game will be at Warwick Fields, Clutton FC, kick-off 10.30am on Sunday 12th September. That's followed by another home game against The Griffin a week later, Nomads' first away fixture on Sunday 3rd October when they return to Gypsy Lane for the first time in over two years, new side Three Swans the hosts. 26th September has been reserved for a Cup date. The season start date worked out well for Mark Stillman, Andy Coombs (pictured from the Westbury home game last season), Craig Maidment and Liam Hunt, who all return from Ayia Napa the day before. The final game of the season has been scheduled as Team Frome Two home on Sunday 13th March, but this is likely to change.

The new sides in the league are Kickers United, who will play at Writhlington School, and Three Swans of Frome.

Nomads started their preparations for the 2010/11 season with a pre-season defeat at the hands of Vine Tree Social Club at Beckington Memorial Hall.

The game started fairly evenly with Nath Witcombe coming closest to opening the scoring for Nomads, heading straight at Matt Nutley from Andy Coombs’ cross. This was as good as it got for a while though as Vine Tree, formerly Foresters Arms, cut Nomads apart with three goals in quick succession midway through the half. It started when Nomads failed to clear properly from a free-kick, Mark Stillman’s attempted headed clearance fell straight to James Wase who drove the ball home under the dive of Dan Fossaceco. The keeper, making his first appearance for the club since March 2006, was left picking the ball out of the net again on 23 minutes. Gareth Davies’ throw-in was headed over Fossaceco and onto the face of the bar, before being smashed home from a couple of yards. The lack of pre-season training was proving pivotal as Nomads conceded again soon after, Nutley’s mammoth drop-kick was missed by defenders Kev Page and Dave Chedgy before being flicked over a stranded Fossaceco by Wase. This kick-started Paul Tarrant’s side, who finally got to grips with their 4-2-3-1 formation. They pulled a goal back when a neat interchange of passing saw Liam Hunt tee up his fellow holding midfielder Craig Maidment, the latter took a touch before hitting a thunderous drive which flew into the top corner from 25 yards, drawing applause from all quarters. He hit another effort from distance just wide soon after as he was clearly relishing in his new role, Andy Coombs also attempted to chip Nutley from distance but it flew inches over. Fossaceco denied Vine Tree with a fine save from close range and Davies hit a free-kick well wide before the half ended on a sour note. From Nutley’s goal-kick a home midfielder fell awkwardly under no pressure, resulting in a snap which could be heard from all in his vicinity. He was carried off and taken to hospital, we wish him well.

The second half started with Vine Tree, now sporting a different kit, almost extending their lead when their new-look front line caused problems early on, McCarroll also rounding Fossaceco before his shot into an empty goal was thumped clear by Page. Just past the hour mark, Nomads pulled back a second goal. Andy Coombs, Stillman and Hunt linked up before Hunt slipped it through to Witcombe, who beat the offside trap and coolly stroked the ball into the corner past Nutley. Fossaceco kept Nomads in it with a superb close-range save as Nomads went to sleep at the back, whilst his opposite number denied Alex Coombs when he was going away from goal. He was, however, helpless to prevent an equaliser on 70 minutes. Craig Maidment’s free-kick was met in the air by debutant Chris Bridges, the giant 6’5 attacking midfielder flicking it back into the danger-zone where Hunt’s slightest of touches laid it off to Page, who half-volleyed the ball into the far corner. The scores were level for less than two minutes – Levi Keevil’s through ball set McCarroll clear, Fossaceco advanced from his line and appeared to get the slightest of touches to the ball, but referee Steve Porter pointed to the penalty spot. Home captain Carl Penman stepped up and sent Fossaceco the wrong way from 12 yards. Bridges almost pulled one back immediately when he latched onto Maidment’s pass from the kick-off but was denied by a good save from Nutley, and also blazed off target minutes later. Vine Tree wrapped the game up with 12 minutes remaining – Page lost the ball in defence and the striker escaped the attentions of him and Kevin Martin before placing the ball into the corner, Fossaceco’s touch not enough. The Nomads keeper kept the score down with two further fine saves in the closing stages as Nomads trooped off reasonably happy with their morning’s work.

Norton Nomads FC are no more. From 5th August 2010 the club's name has officially changed to "Nomads FC".

The decision was made over the summer by several first-team players, who were keen to drop "Norton" from the name as the club haven't played matches in Midsomer Norton in four years, and there is no affiliation with the place. There was talk of reverting to "Clutton Nomads" to confirm the club's new location, but the vast majority were keen on simply "Nomads" as very few use the "Norton" part of the name anyway.

This change has arrived in time for Nomads' friendly on Sunday against another side that's changed their name over the summer - Foresters Arms becoming Vine Tree Social Club.

Nomads FC kick-off their preparations for the 2010/11 season with a friendly against fellow Division One side Vine Tree Social Club. The match will be played at Beckington Memorial Hall and kicks off at 10.30am.

Vine Tree were, coincidentally, the last side to face Nomads in a competitive game. This was on the final day of last season when the visitors, then known as Foresters Arms, eased to a 2-0 win thanks to a Gareth Davies brace. They've since switched pubs after two seasons and will be hoping that this improves their fortunes. Jim Nutley's side have finished fourth in the last two seasons in Division Two following their relegation in 2008. Each campaign has been dogged by inconsistent results so they'll be hoping to buck the trend and push for promotion this time around in a new-look league. Richard McCarroll is the man to look out for, he's been the club's top scorer for the past four seasons and scored in the 4-4 draw between the clubs last season. As well as that, they can rely upon certainly one of the better goalkeepers in the league in Matt Nutley. He's kept three clean sheets against Nomads in seven games.

Nomads go into the game on the back of a fairly stop-start pre-season training sessions, not helped by several members of the team being on holiday. Everyone is available for Sunday bar new goalkeeper Nick Britton, who has a family commitment. This has left manager Paul Tarrant searching for someone to fill in between the sticks, he's anxiously waiting back from former number one Dan Fossaceco to see if he can bail the club out. Otherwise Nomads will be forced to field an outfield player in goal, which Tarrant was keen to avoid as he's keen to give everyone a decent run-out. Chris Bridges, Lee Tadd and Dave Herrin are set to make their debuts whilst Matt Crozier and Kevin Martin are back for second spells in a new-look Nomads team following the departures of Westfield contingent Adam Colbourne, Jas Cripps, Jamie Gulliford, Andy Howe, James Lorimer and Joe Skipper over the summer. Luke Tucker is 50/50 depending on his weekend commitments, he is still yet to decide where he will be spending his Sundays next season - a choice between Nomads, Farrington Albion or his bed at 148 Rush Hill.

The clubs have met on seven previous occasions with Vine Tree by some distance gaining the upper hand, winning five of the games. Nomads' only win was a 4-3 success in the Division Two Cup Quarter-Finals in January 2009, a memorable game where Nomads were 3-2 down with 10 minutes left but ended up victorious thanks to Kev Lake's (pictured) late brace. The only time Nomads have avoided defeat against their Beckington opponents was last October, when the clubs played out another goal-fest, this time a 4-4 draw. Lake hit another double with Gulliford and Adam Simmonds also scoring for Nomads, in a game marred by Cripps and home captain Carl Penman accidentally clashing heads early on, both being taken to hospital soon after. Foresters Arms scrambled a point thanks to Pete Warr's late goal.

All of Norton Nomads' home pre-season matches have been postponed due to a cock-up in the re-seeding of the goalmouths at Warwick Arms. Nomads have trained away from the goalmouths for three weeks but they are showing no dramatic sign of improvement, meaning that no games will be played on the surface until September.

This has ruined Paul Tarrant's pre-season plans. The club will now try and arrange some away games, starting on 8th August where midfielder Chris Rogers is trying to arrange a game with Vine Tree Inn at Beckington. Bath Arsenal are looking into playing Nomads at Bath Uni, however the fee for use of a pitch and changing rooms are in the region of £60. Signing on fees might be used to subsidise this.

The new fixtures and layout of the league is yet to be announced. Not sure why, keep waiting patiently...