Taunton Town: National League South club loses six players in a week

Taunton began this campaign at the top of the National League South table but have tumbled down to 19th since then

Football fans expect turnover during the transfer window but none quite as drastic as at non-league Taunton Town, who have seen six first-team players leave in just seven days this month.

Financial issues have blighted the National League South side this campaign leading to a mass exodus.

The club have also plummeted down the table to 19th and have only one win in their past 12 league games.

"It's a really tough situation, I'm not going to sugar coat it or say that everyone's happy and everyone's cheerful," captain Nick Grimes told BBC Radio Bristol following their 1-0 loss to neighbours Yeovil on Tuesday.

"I don't begrudge the ones for going, a lot of them have gone onto full-time contracts, and clubs and deals that they're going to progress and go higher up the football pyramid.

"Now, more than ever, we've got to stick together, ride it out is all we can do, hoping there's a light at the end of the tunnel really.

"We've had one of the tightest-knit groups I've ever been part of and we've lost half of that in the last week so it's tough, we've got a lot of new faces in the changing room."

The Somerset club are in their second term in the sixth tier, having won promotion to that level in 2021-22 for the first time in their history.

Having started the campaign with only one loss during their first 11 matches that put them top of the table at the end of September, things have spiralled downwards since.

Chairman Kevin Sturmey said in a statement last Friday that the club is going through a "well documented" tough time, although he confirmed that all player wages were paid and up to date.

"Any business would struggle with 10% income and 100% expenditure for the months of October, November and December," he said.

"Not receiving a significant amount of sponsorship money which we had built into our cashflow has also not helped."

A number of Taunton's matches were postponed in the autumn because of flooding, while the club enjoyed runs in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy last season that boosted finances - something missing this campaign.

However, a statement released by players last Friday via goalkeeper Lloyd Irish pointed to wider troubles.

"Fundamental failures at the very top of the club [are] leading to a situation where the club is unsustainable and the group of players has had to be broken apart," their statement said.

'Turning out a competitive side'

The club have this week announced a new sponsor and partnership deal, while former player Paul West was also appointed to the board as a football advisor.

In a statement to the BBC, Sturmey said he wanted to "focus on the positives" moving forward.

Head of football Rob Dray said it had been a "difficult time" with the club "firefighting at the moment day-by-day".

Two players were brought in on loan from Bristol City on Monday although Dray said they are "restricted" with what they can do despite needing more.

"We're getting a competitive side out, it [loss to Yeovil] showed we're competitive after losing so many and having so many issues," Dray said.

"Now we need to build a player or two and find some quality from somewhere on a very restricted budget."