Division One contenders set out their title hopes

As to what would constitute success, he adds: “With how we’ve performed so far, we look to finish towards the top of the league and aim to play in the top division where we feel we belong.”

Rapid Viennas, celebrating winning last season's Barry Goldstein Trophy, are looking for more silverware this coming season[Missing Credit]

Rapid Viennas manager Josh Novack describes himself as the ‘special one’ and therefore believes his side will finish top of the pile come May.

He says: “I’ve won during my whole managerial career, my players are the perfect tools, it’s as simple as that. Last season was a good first one, but now we want to really kick on and make sure we’re seen as the team to be afraid of. Last time around, we won a trophy but didn’t get promoted, this year we want both.”

Saying preparations have been ‘good’, he’s switched things around for this year, employing a formation change and play in style, though says the players have picked it up quickly. Two wins from three pre-season friendlies to date he says have brought them confidence, with him adding: “We know what we need to do to turn one point into three and that’s what I’m hoping will see us push for a title race.”

Brady Maccabi have big ambitions of their own, with manager Ricky Ansher saying: “We want to win the title, retain our David Wolff Cup and have strong performances in the other competitions.”

Speaking about their pre-season, he says: “It’s been up and down. We thought we'd assembled a strong squad ready to compete and then out of the blue a few players said they weren't going to play this year. It came as a bit of a shock to us all, but we regrouped and have made some more signings, and the squad is in a better place than it was before.” Led by captain Ben Myers, they’re also looking forward to the returns of Jordan Nathan and Ethan Myers.

Ansher adds: “This is the first year we truly believe we have a squad good enough to win the League and fight on multiple fronts.”

Temple Fortune FC are celebrating their 50th anniversary in the MGBSFL[Missing Credit]

Temple Fortune will be embarking on their 50th season in the MGBSFL, with Nigel Kyte saying: “No other team can beat our longevity. It’s a big season for us and we hope to commemorate this incredible achievement by having a successful campaign. In these days of clubs coming and going so freely, a 50th consecutive season really is something different!”

As to what they’re hoping to achieve in their landmark campaign, which in the words of Kyte has seen them ‘clear out the fringe players and replace them with better quality ones’, he says: “Last season was a big disappointment. We brought in new manager James Lee towards the end of the campaign and we see him as a breath of fresh air. We hope to be able to more than hold our own, at least top half with a promotion push being a bonus – which is a realistic objective.”

Bocher Juniors have set their sights on ‘making progress and building on last season’s momentum’. Joel Ucko says: “There’s that old cliché in football – what goes up must come down – but I firmly believe that what’s gone up is only going to keep rising. We’ve done some smart business in the transfer window, kept the spine of the team intact, and that’s absolutely vital if you want to compete at the right end of the table. The ambition is to keep climbing the ladder, one game at a time.”

With a ‘solid’ pre-season behind them, he said: “we deliberately tested ourselves against stronger opposition to expose the boys early to the standards we expect week in, week out and the togetherness is there, you can feel it in the dressing room and on the training pitch.”

Pinpointing goalkeeper Dan Shaw, their captain Adam Waters and midfielder Judah Yawitch as their star men to look out for, Ucko adds: “We’re an entirely religious Modern Orthodox team and we work with the lads to ensure we deliver both on and off the pitch in that respect. For us, it’s about more than football, it’s about celebrating, enjoying, and living our Jewish identity with pride, openly and unapologetically. The first requirement to wear our shirt is to be a mensch – proud of who you are, committed to Torah learning during the week, davening three times a day, and demonstrating strong middot and class in everything you do, before, during, and after games.

“We want to inspire others to use the opportunity of playing in this League to fully invest in and engage with their Jewish identity – to grow in their Judaism, strengthen their character, and take pride in who they truly are and represent. If players from other clubs decide to emulate our lads, feel inspired, and take steps to invest in and showcase their Jewish identity more than they did before, that is as good as – if not better than – any promotion or trophy we could win next season. What comes second? The results. Simple as that.”

40 Year Wanderers will be competing in Division One for the first time – this being their third ever season, with one of their players, Ben Conway, saying:” We would be delighted to remain in this division come the start of next season! That being said, last season we beat every team in this division apart from two of them, in the league or the various cup competitions, so we’re certainly primed to be competitive and hopefully more, with the right mentality.”

Focussing on fitness in pre-season, Conway says: “Nobody’s forgotten how to play football, but there are definitely some summer pounds worth shaving off for all of us. We’ve also been recruiting and probably scaring some of our trialists away with our fitness-heavy training sessions! Nevertheless, we’ve made some signings who we are excited to debut on the pitch.”

With goalkeeper Daniel Moreno put forward as their most important player, as to what he hopes to the club can achieve over the coming nine months, he adds: “It’s hard to know now but a mid-table finish or higher with a decent cup run would likely satisfy most of the boys. And we vow, as ever, to never bring a boring game to the division, to fight for every ball, and to make sure no one ever wanders alone.”

Hampstead Ducks and Mill Hill Minyan complete the line-up.