Michael Malcolm

Michael Malcolm

Born 13 October 1985 (Age 21 at debut)

Position: Forward

(Diamonds player #272)

Total appearances 12 – 2 goals

(8 League, 2 FA Cup, 2 Hillier Senior Cup)

Debut:

15 September 2007 (Home Burton Albion)

Final game:

13 November 2007 (Home Cogenhoe United)

Michael started his career as a schoolboy at Wycombe Wanderers, but was spotted by Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 14, and signed for them – Wycombe gaining £10,000 for his signature. He represented England at schoolboy level, but in July 2005, he was released without making a first team appearance, and joined Stockport County. He attracted interest from Dutch side FC Utrecht and German side Werder Bremen, but prospective deals fell through. After two years with the Hatters and over 40 appearances with just 5 goals, he was released. He signed for Conference North side Kettering Town in July 2007, but after just 6 games he was released, and he joined Diamonds on 14 September 2007 on a non-contract basis. After 12 appearances for Diamonds, and two goals, including one at Weymouth, he went on loan to Conference South side Billericay Town on a one month deal. On his return however, his contract was not renewed and he joined Weymouth on 4 January 2008.

In November 2008, he joined Crawley Town, initially on loan, which was later made into a permanent deal. After being released by Crawley midway through the following season however, he joined Conference South side Farnborough on 27 December 2010 until the end of the season. On 21 July 2011, Michael joined Isthmian Premier side Lewes, but was released at the end of January 2012, joining Conference South side Bromley on 3 February 2012. He left Bromley for Isthmian Premier side Whitehawk on 4 January 2013, helping them to promotion into the Conference South. He left at the end of the season, and signed for fellow Conference South side Maidenhead United on 11 June 2013. He left by mutual agreement at the beginning of January 2014, before signing for Isthmian Premier side Wealdstone on 25 January 2014 as they won promotion to the Conference South.

He then finished the 2014-15 season a St Albans City, before spending the following season with Cambridge City, Staines and Cray Wanderers, along with a short spell with Hayes & Yeading. The 2016-17 season was mostly spent with Barton Rovers, with a stay at Hanwell Town in 2017/18, leaving there before the end of the season.

Appearances

2007/2008 – squad number 23

Abdou El-Kholti

Abdou El-Kholti

Born 17 October 1980 (Age 26 at debut)

Position: Defender

(Diamonds player #271)

Total appearances 21

(13 League, 1 FA Trophy, 4 League Cup, 3 Hillier Senior Cup)

Debut: 30 August 2007 (Away York City)

Final game: 29 April 2008 (Home Brackley Town)

Born of Moroccan parents, French born Abdelhalim El-Kholti started his career at Servette FC in Switzerland, before spending time with Wydad Casablanca in Morocco. In September 2002, he came over the the UK and after a trial, joined Yeovil Town where he played in their Conference winning side. He was released at the end of the 2003/2004 season, and joined Cambridge United, the club being relegated to the Conference. The following season, he joined Chester City, before dropping into non-league football with Weymouth in July 2005. With the Dorset club suffering financial difficulties, he moved to Grays Athleic where he played 6 times before being released. Abdou joined Diamonds on 29 August 2007 re-joining Garry Hill – his former manager at Weymouth. He added flexibility down the left, playing in midfield or defence, and after a brief loan spell at Billericay Town in November, and made an impression towards the end of the 2007/2008 season, notably in the Setanta Shield games.

He was released at the end of that season however, and joined Woking 18 June 2008 for the following season. After Woking’s relegation, he joined newly promoted Hayes & Yeading on 1 September 2009, but his stay was short lived and he was released the following month. Abdou retired from football to return the catering business which he had learned while in Paris after leaving school. His passion for pancakes saw him open up his own business in Canary Wharf, London in October 2010. He is still involved with the catering trade as of 2018.

Appearances

2007/2008 – squad number 27

Ryan Semple

Ryan Semple

Born 14 July 1985 (Age 22 at debut)

Position: Midfielder

(Diamonds player #270)

Total appearances 4

(4 League)

Debut:

11 August 2007 (Away Woking)

Final game:

27 August 2007 (Home Kidderminster Harriers)

Born in Belfast, Ryan began his footballing career with the Youth set up at Peterborough United, during which time he had a trial with Manchester United. The right sided midfielder made his League debut at the age of 17 against Bristol City in October 2002, but suffered a broken leg in February 2003. In a bid to regain fitness, he went out on loan to Conference side Farnborough Town in November 2003 for two month, returning to Peterborough United the following January. He was released in July 2006, and joined Lincoln City, but he again suffered from injury problems which restricted the number of appearances for the Imps. He went to Chester City for another loan period in November 2006.

He was brought to Nene Park by manager Garry Hill on 10 August 2007, initially for a one month loan period, but after four games, he returned back to Sincil Bank where his contract was eventually cancelled by mutual consent in January 2008. He joined Oxford United on non-contract forms in February, but only spent a few weeks before joining Brackley Town in March. He left in May, and joined Deeping Rangers of the UCL Premier Division at the start of the 2008/09 season. Agreed a dual signing deal to enable him to play for Haverhill Rovers of the Ridgeons League Premier Division. On 4 June 2009, he joined Gainsborough Trinity of the Conference North, but then signed for Northern Premier League (Unibond) Premier Division side Boston United on 4 March 2010 in their quest for promotion to the Conference North. Ryan left the Pilgrims at the end of the 2011/2012 season after 9 goals in 79 appearances, and joined Conference North side Corby Town on 20 June 2012. After a single season with the Steelmen, where he scored 15 times, Ryan joined Isthmian Premier side Bury Town on 23 June 2013. He played 27 games for the Blues, scoring 5 times before making a return to Conference North side Boston United on 7 January 2014. At the end of that season his injury problems meant he retired from the playing side of the game to take up a role with the Peterborough United Academy. In 2018 he moved to a role with the Manchester City Academy as their U15 coach, returning to the role at Peterborough in 2020. His Wikipedia page is here.

Appearances

2007/2008 – squad number 26

Dean Howell

Dean Howell

Born 29 November 1980 (Age 26 at debut)

Position: Defender

(Diamonds player #269)

Total appearances 56 – 1 goal

(43 League, 3 FA Cup, 3 FA Trophy, 5 League Cup, 1 Maunsell Cup, 1 Hillier Senior Cup)

Debut:

4 August 2007 (Home Northampton Town)

Final game:

29 April 2008 (Home Brackley Town)

Dean started his career as a trainee at Notts County but failed to break into the first team on a regular basis. He went out on loan to Spalding United in December 1999 until the end of the season when he was released. He joined Crewe Alexandra in the summer of 2000 but went out on loan again, this time to Rochdale before being released again in the summer of 2001. He went on to play for Southport, Morecambe and Halifax Town, before joining Colchester United in August 2005, but was released before the end of the season, re-joining Halifax Town.

After spells at Weymouth and Grays Athletic, Garry Hill brought him to Nene Park, signing a one year deal on 1 August 2007. Playing as a left wing back, he played in all but three Conference games during the 2007/2008 season, scoring once – against Torquay United early in the season.

Dean left Nene Park on 13 May 2008 to join the newly promoted Aldershot Town on their return to the Football League. He was released by Aldershot in May 2010 and on 22 July 2010, signed for Crawley Town. He signed an 18 month contract extension in January 2011, and helped them gain two successive promotions to League One, but was released in May 2012. On 26 May 2012, Dean signed for newly promoted League Two side Fleetwood Town on a two year deal. On 5 November 2013, Dean went on a two month loan deal to League Two strugglers Bury. He was released by Fleetwood at the end of his contract in 2014.

Appearances

2007/2008 – squad number 24

Martin Foster

Martin Foster

Born 29 October 1977 (Age 29 at debut)

Position: Midfielder

(Diamonds player #268)

Total appearances 24

(20 League, 2 FA Cup, 1 FA Trophy, 1 Maunsell Cup)

Debut:

4 August 2007 (Home Northampton Town)

Final game:

29 December 2007 (Home Northwich Victoria)

Martin started his career at Leeds United, but failed to break into the first team squad. He went out on loan to Blackpool for some first team experience, but eventually left in 1998 and joined Scottish side Morton. He failed to settle in Scotland and after a loan spell at Doncaster Rovers, joined them in the summer of 1999. Again, appearances were limited, and he went out on loan to Ilkeston Town during his time there. In 2001, Martin signed for Conference side Forest Green Rovers, where he spent three seasons, making over 130 appearances. In 2004, he joined Halifax Town, making almost 100 appearances for the Shaymen, before joining Oxford United on loan in January 2007. He signed for Diamonds from Halifax on 1 June 2007 on a one year contract, but left my mutual consent in January 2008, mainly due to the travelling time from his home and young family in Sheffield.

He left Diamonds to join Tamworth on 8 January 2008 and became their team captain for the 2008 / 2009 season. He joined newly promoted Conference North side Eastwood Town on 17 June 2009, but left on 10 December 2009 to join fellow Conference North side Harrogate Town. After retiring from playing he had a spell as joint-manager at Matlock Town from October 2014 until the start of 2015, before he became Assistant Manager with Gainsborough Trinity in 2016. He left that role in February 2017. His Wikipedia page is here.

Appearances

2007/2008 – squad number 17

Curtis Osano

Curtis Osano

Born 8 March 1987 (Age 20 at debut)

Position: Defender

(Diamonds player #267)

Total appearances 193 – 1 goal

(164 League, 9 FA Cup, 11 FA Trophy, 6 League Cup, 1 Hillier Senior Cup, 2 Maunsell Cup)

Debut:

4 August 2007 (Home Northampton Town)

Final game:

30 April 2011 (Away Darlington)

Born in Kenya, Curtis stared his career as a schoolboy with the Reading Academy and graduated to earn a first team contract with the Royals. As a 19 year old, he went on a two month loan to Aldershot Town in October 2006, before going on an end of season loan with Woking in January 2007. He only made two substitute appearances for Reading and was restricted mainly to the reserves and on 6 July 2007, a season long loan at Nene Park was agreed for the forthcoming season. He had played for Reading in their pre-season friendly at Nene Park prior to the season. In making a total of 56 appearances for Diamonds during that loan spell, Curtis started more League games than any other player and after being released by Reading, became manager Garry Hill’s fifth summer signing on 10 July 2008 on a two year deal. He was capable of playing either as a full back or in midfield.

During the 2008/2009 season, he was an ever present for the first 39 league games, until injury kept him out of the final games of the season. He scored his debut goal for the club in the 4-0 victory at Altrincham. He showed his flexibility by moving to a role in the centre of defence for a period in the middle of the season, before reverting to his right back role. His performances won him the Diamonds Supporters’ Player of the Season award, and the Diamond Minors’ Player of the Season award. During the following season he once again played at both full-back and centre-back, and his efforts were rewarded with a call-up to the England C squad for their game against Poland Under-23’s in Grodzisk Wielkopolski in November 2009. He agreed an extension to his contract for the 2010/2011 season and went on to make a total of 193 appearances for the club in four years, before being released in May 2011. During July 2011, he had trials with both Brighton & Hove Albion and Luton Town and on 29 July 2011, he signed a six month contract with Luton Town, later extended till the end of the season. On 28 May 2012, Curtis signed a one year deal for League Two side AFC Wimbledon, but after just the single season, he was released on 14 May 2013. Despite having talks with League Two side Newport County, he opted for a deal with newly formed Indian I-League side Jindal Steel Works (JSW) Sports, Bangalore in July 2013. He returned to the UK in 2016, spending a brief period with Farnborough FC before retiring from the game. His Wikipedia page is here.

Appearances

2007/2008 – squad number 2

2008/2009 – squad number 2

2009/2010 – squad number 2

2010/2011 – squad number 6

Paul Bastock

Paul Bastock

Born 30 May 1970 (Age 37 at debut)

Position: Goalkeeper

(Diamonds player #266)

Total appearances 25

(19 League, 1 FA Cup, 2 FA Trophy, 1 League Cup, 1 Hillier Senior Cup, 1 Maunsell Cup)

Debut:

4 August 2007 (Home Northampton Town)

Final game:

19 January 2008 (Away Crawley Town)

Prior to joining Diamonds, Paul had played professional and non-league football for over 20 years, making over 600 league appearances for eight different clubs. The highly experienced goalkeeper had begun his career as a youth keeper with Coventry City, and was a member of the side which lifted the FA Youth Cup in 1987. His first professional contract was signed in the summer of 1988, when he joined Cambridge United as a back up. He went on loan to Bath City in October 1988 to gain some first team experience, before making some 12 appearances for the U’s. He spent a short time with Malaysian side Sabah FA, before returning to the UK, joining Fisher Athletic in 1989. In the summer of 1990, he joined Kettering Town, where he spent two seasons before moving on to Boston United. He is widely considered as the best Boston United player of all time, as voted by the fans in a recent poll and holds the all-time record for the most ever appearances for Boston United – 625 games in all competitions. His record breaking 573rd game for the Pilgrims came in a Lincolnshire Senior Cup game against Scunthorpe United in August 2003. He also played several times for the England National Game XI. He spent 12 seasons at Boston United, and missed just one game in their Conference Championship side during the 2001/2001 season. An injury midway through the 2003/2004 season saw his time at Boston come to an end as he was unable to regain his place from replacement Nathan Abbey. He left in October 2004, and joined Scarborough, but the travelling proved to much and he joined Dagenham & Redbridge on a non-contract basis the same month as cover for the suspended Tony Roberts. In November 2004, he joined St.Albans City and made 84 consecutive appearances, before a suspension ended the run. He was part of the promotion winning side that saw the Saints reach the top tier of the Football Conference in the 2005/2006 season – when he won the St Albans Player of the Year award. He was also a goalkeeping coach at Boston United during his latter period at St.Albans.

On 17 May 2007, Garry Hill brought the keeper to Nene Park as Diamonds prepared for their second season back in the Conference. After 13 consecutive appearances for Diamonds, he lost his place to Paul Nicholls, before returning to the first team. The arrival of loanee Dale Roberts in January 2008 however signalled the end of his time at Nene Park, and he left after making just 25 appearances.

He rejoined St.Albans City on 28 February 2008 after being released by mutual consent, and remained their first choice keeper at the start of the 2010/2011 season. On 23 March 2011, he was released by mutual consent and rejoined Conference North side Boston United – the side where he had previously made 625 appearances. He went on to make 679 appearances for the Pilgrims before being released at the end of the 2011/2012 season. On 1 June 2012, Paul signed for NPL Premier side Worksop Town- at the age of 42. Despite talk of his retirement, Paul rejoined Southern Premier side St.Albans City on 16 May 2013. After a further season with the club, Paul was released on 1 June 2014, 2 days after his 44th birthday. On 23 July 2014, he joined Southern League Division One Central side Royston Town. He played for St Neots Town in the latter part of the 2014-15 season, Dunstable Town in 2015-16, and Stamford the following season, finishing his career at Wisbech Town in 2017-18.

He finally retired at the end of the 2017-18 season having played 1277 league and cup games – a world record. His Wikipedia page is here.

Appearances

2007/2008 – squad number 1

Mark Wright

Mark Wright

Born 20 January 1987 (Age 20 at debut)

Position: Defender

(Diamonds player #265)

Total appearances 4

(3 League, 1 Hillier Senior Cup)

Debut:

20 March 2007 (Away Woodford United)

Final game:

23 April 2007 (Home Northwich Victoria)

The 20-year old left back started his career as a trainee at Tottenham Hotspur after being spotted playing for Harlow & West Essex Schools. After representing the Spurs Academy and a short spell at Charlton Athletic, Mark had a trial at Southend United at the start of the 2004/2005 season, and after impressing, signed on as a scholar.

In December 2005, he was loaned out to Conference South side Lewes in order to gain first team football, but at the end of the 2005/06 season, he found himself surplus to requirements at Southend, after the club had just achieved promotion to the Championship. He was snapped up by Grays Athletic in August 2006, but found first team opportunities limited at The Recreation Ground. He went out on loan to Conference rivals Crawley Town, playing nine games and scoring once, then went on loan to St.Albans City in February 2007.

Mark joined Diamonds on 19 March 2007, three days before the closure of the loan deadline and made his debut in the Hillier Senior Cup Final against Woodford United the following day. He returned to Grays at the end of the season and was released, joining Bishop’s Stortford in August 2007. In December 2007, he joined Fisher Athletic, and although he started off the 2008/09 season with Fisher, he moved to Thurrock in September 2008, before returning to Bishop’s Stortford in February 2009. He left to become a nightclub promoter, before taking a lead role in a cult TV reality show entitled “The Only Way is Essex” (TOWIE) between October and November 2010. After an initial ten episodes, a second series of 14 episodes started in March 2011, with a third series due to start in September 2011. At the same time, Mark signed for Isthmian Division One North side Heybridge Swifts on 12 September 2011, although he didn’t make his debut until 2 weeks later in the 0-3 home defeat to Redbridge. His stay was short lived however, and he joined Conference South side Thurrock on 24 October 2011, but was unable to make his debut the following day due to filming commitments. He also missed the next couple of games, before jetting off to Australia to take part in the 11th series of the ITV programme “I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here” at the beginning of November. After 22 days in the jungle, Mark narrowly failed to become “King of the Jungle”, finishing as runner-up on 3 December 2011. He never actually played for Thurrock and on 11 January 2012, signed for Southern League Division One Central side St.Neots Town. He is now a full-time on the TV Reality Show scene.

Appearances

2006/2007 – squad number 19

Matt Baker

Matt Baker

Born 18 December 1974 (Age 27 at debut)

Position: Goalkeeper

(Diamonds player #264)

Total appearances 7

(6 League, 1 Hillier Senior Cup)

Debut:

20 March 2007 (Away Woodford United)

Final game:

28 April 2007 (Away Burton Albion)

Matt was born at Harrogate, Yorkshire and as a schoolboy, was on the books of Leeds United. He was signed up by Hull City as an apprentice keeper in 1996, and won a professional contract with the club making his League debut in August 1999. He only made four first team appearances, and went on loan to Bradford Park Avenue early in 2000 before being released in May. He joined Hereford United in July 2000 as understudy to Scott Cooksey, and although his opportunities were limited during his first season, an injury to Cooksey at the start of the following season, saw him become the first choice keeper. With over 135 appearances in four year and several appearances for England ‘C’, he joined Wrexham in July 2004. His stay there was short lived and he joined MK Dons in December 2004 where he remained for two years. He joined Weymouth in December 2006 after being released, and subsequently joined Diamonds on 2 March 2007 on loan until the end of the season. He provided cover for Scott Tynan and made his debut in the Hillier Senior Cup Final win at Woodford United. He made his League debut two weeks later, but after several fine performances, he returned to Weymouth at the end of the season.

He was eventually released by Weymouth in the summer, and joined Macclesfield Town at the beginning of the 2007/08 season on trial, but a serious knee injury during the pre-season forced him into early retirement from the game. Matt had been keen on journalism during his days at Milton Keynes, and subsequently became the club’s website reporter while studying for a degree in media.

Appearances

2006/2007 – squad number 1

Danny Williams

Danny Williams

Born 2 March 1981 (Age 26 at debut)

Position: Midfielder

(Diamonds player #263)

Total appearances 12 – 1 goal

(12 League)

Debut:

3 March 2007 (Home Exeter City)

Final game:

28 April 2007 (Away Burton Albion)

Danny started his career at Chesterfield where he remained for three season making over 30 appearances for the Spirites. The young winger joined Hereford United in the summer of 2002, where he spent the next three seasons Stevenage Borough. He joined Stevenage Borough in 2005, but injury limited his number of appearances. After his release in the summer of 2006, he joined Forest Green Rovers but fell out of favour, and joined Diamonds on 2 March 2007 until the end of the season.

He was released on 1 May 2007, and later joined Northwich Victoria for the 2007/08 season. After a season and a half, Danny was released in January 2009 and joined Belgian side Royal Racing FC Montegnee. After two seasons there he returned to play for Telford United in 2011, and then moved to Hereford United before retiring from the game to become a Football Agent.

Appearances

2006/2007 – squad number 36