Our second home game of the season and the second against a team nicknamed “The Robins”! (Unfortunately I have already used most of my robin puns in the Evesham preview so I’m afraid this edition will be played with a straight bat my man). They may have the same nickname but, unlike Evesham, we have never played this team before, neither on a clear day or a dark knight. But…holy smokes!…there is a connection to quite a few recent Terras players who have also played for the Berkshire side.
And it won’t take many guesses to work out that the common thread here is former manager Bobby Wilkinson. He managed at Bracknell in two spells before and after his stint at the Bob Lucas stadium with many players following as he moved between clubs (including dynamic duo Teddy Howe & Dan Roberts). Francis Amartey is the only current Robin who played for the Terras briefly at the start of last season but he has never played under Wilkinson.
Bracknell are embarking on their fourth consecutive season at in the Southern Premier league, their highest level in the football pyramid although they had a disappointing campaign in 2024/25, their season ending on the Wayne as they concluded the season in 18th place following consecutive top 5 finishes.
Looking at other player connections – former Terra and joker Nick Crittenden never played for his home town club but he was born in Bracknell. The former Chelsea youth player featured 78 times for Weymouth in two Conference National seasons from 2006 before the midfield riddler moved up north to play for (and then manage) Dorchester Town.
Back to this weekend and, for the Terras, it could be a case of the players saying to themselves “it’s what I do that defines me” as they seek a first home victory of the season. After all the night is darkest just before the dawn!…
Match preview by
Duncan Gardner
