Four months since the season began, Tim’s team have still to play four of the clubs in our division: Basingstoke (11th), Frome (22nd), Havant & Waterlooville (4th), and Sholing (13th). One of them are our opponents on Saturday when we travel up the M3 to the Winklebury Complex, the home of the Hampshire F.A., to face Dan Brownlie’s Basingstoke.

Wimborne have, however, already played this season on Winklebury’s 3G, when Winchester were playing home games there before their new 3G pitch was ready. It was our second fixture of this campaign, back in August, when we recorded our only away league victory with a cracking second-half performance to win 4-2 – that evening Cam Munn scored a perfect hat-trick, with Billy Walker bagging the other.

Basingstoke, after finishing 12th with a W9 D5 L7 home record last season, five points above the relegation zone, are again sitting mid-table this time around, with a W5 D8 L5 GF 26 GA 30 record; at Winklebury it’s W3 D3 L3. That position belies a real up and down season for Brownlie’s boys. After starting the league campaign with a remarkable ten-game unbeaten run, including beating Dorchester 2-0 and drawing 2-2 at Totton, and being in the division’s top five, the Dragons have gone eight league games without a win. The last victory was 2-1 at Hanwell, almost exactly two months ago when Liam Ferdinand bagged a brace. They’ve lost their last four: Poole 1-3 at home; Chertsey 0-3 away; Tiverton 1-3 at home; and, in their last league game, Havant & Waterlooville 1-5 away. And you have to go back to 24th September for their last league win at Winklebury: 1-0 over Walton & Hersham – but we know what an impressive result that was. After that super start to the season, those recent results leave Basingstoke bottom of the current form table with a W0 D2 L4 GF 6 GA 17 record. Wimborne are 16th in that table with a W1 D2 L3 GF 8 GA 9 record.

The Magpies are also 16th in the table that matters, the league table, with a W6 D3 L8 GF 19 GA 28 record; on our travels our record is W1 D1 L6. That leaves us two points behind The Dragons with a game in hand. Our last three games were: a 3-0 win over Taunton; a 2-3 loss at Marlow; and a 1-1 draw with Dorchester. Since then, manager Tim Sills’ selection options have improved with Ross Flitney, Sam Roberts and Jez Bedford available again.

Which brings me to another option for Tim – this week’s massive signing – the return of Toby Holmes. I could regale you with tales of that 80 yard solo run against North Leigh, that game-changing sub appearance at Evesham, etc., etc. but I’ll limit myself to a few stats: 3 seasons; 132 goals in 140 appearances; 60 goals and 15 assists in 2017-18 season including 7 hat-tricks and 1 double hat-trick; Wimborne’s fourth highest goalscorer in the modern era behind Jamie Sturgess, Scott Joyce and Gareth Barnes. Your match previewer’s “Mastermind” specialist subject? Probably. But I’ve started this preview so I’ll finish …

Away from the league, the Dragons failed to clear the first hurdle in both FA competitions: losing 1-3 at home to Sholing in the FA Cup; and 0-1 at Taunton in the FA Trophy. The last time we played Basingstoke was in the FA Cup in 2021 at Winklebury when James Stokoe’s team won 4-3.

The last season the teams were in the same division was 2018-19 in Southern Premier South. After The Dragons had completed the double over The Magpies, 4-2 at Cuthbury, 3-2 at The Camrose, Basingstoke lost out in the final day scramble of seven teams to slip to the 3rd relegation spot. Wimborne finished six places higher but with only three points more.

Both teams have shown inconsistent form this season: the Dragons ten games unbeaten, then eight games without a win; the Magpies on a game-to-game basis. Neither team has been in league action this month so the managers will have been trying to work out why there’s been this inconsistency. Both managers will fancy their team’s chances on Saturday, it’s going to be an intriguing contest. Have a break from festive preparations and watch the teams go toe-to-toe – after all, it’s what Saturday afternoons were made for. See you there.

Venue: Winklebury Football Complex, Winklebury Way, Basingstoke  RG23 8BF  approx 60 miles

Admission: adults £12, concessions £8, U18s £5, U12s free.

Average attendance: 677

Weather forecast: light cloud; 7oC; 10% chance of rain.