Lard, loyalty and a dangerous new front line
Opposition Unpacked is our slightly different guide to each visiting team: the culture, the characters, the numbers that matter and the players most likely to cause problems.
First up are Horsham—supported by the Lardy Army, managed by one of non-league football’s longest-serving bosses and back at Plainmoor just over four months after their last visit.
THE 60-SECOND GUIDE
Nickname: The Hornets
Founded: 1881
Home: Fusion Aviation Community Stadium
Manager: Dom Di Paola
Last season: 15th in National League South
Cup highlight: FA Trophy quarter-finalists
Horsham collected 59 points last season: 15 wins, 14 draws, 53 goals scored and 54 conceded. Almost perfect mid-table symmetry.
THE STORY YOU NEED TO KNOW
Yes, their supporters really are called the Lardy Army.
The name dates from the 1990s, when fans began sending a bar of lard to the chairman of their next opponents as a spoof warning from the “Anti-Polyunsaturated Faction”.
One recipient failed to see the funny side. Horsham’s own chairman asked who the “Lardy Boys” were—and the name stuck.
Today, “Lardiness” represents friendship, away days, beer and not taking football—or themselves—too seriously.
It may be one of football’s strangest supporter identities. It may also be one of its best.
THE SERIOUS BIT
Behind the eccentricity is a remarkably stable football club.
Dom Di Paola has been in charge since April 2015, taking Horsham from Step Five to Step Two.
On the final day of last season, they fielded a starting XI in which EVERY player had already made at least 100 appearances for the club.
In an era of revolving-door squads, Horsham have tried the radical alternative of keeping good people.
WHAT THE MANAGER SAYS
Di Paola has not publicly attached a specific league-position target to the new campaign.
He has described National League South as containing “a lot of good teams”, although Horsham’s summer recruitment suggests they want to progress rather than merely survive.
New midfielder Niall McManus was less guarded about their ambitions: “As soon as you get in the play-offs, anything can happen. That’s what you’ve always got to strive for.”
SUMMER RECRUITMENT
Six senior arrivals | Four notable permanent departures | Five loans ended
IN
| Player | From | The shorthand |
| Ashley Nadesan | Sutton United | Former EFL forward with more than 200 Football League appearances |
| Jamie Yila | Maidstone United | Powerful attacker who scored 28 goals in two seasons at Chatham |
| Sam Howes | Dagenham & Redbridge | Goalkeeper returning for a second Horsham spell |
| Archy Taylor | Eastbourne Borough | Energetic, two-footed attacking full-back |
| Niall McManus | Dorking Wanderers | Box-to-box midfielder with 272 Dorking appearances |
| Ronan Silva | Hampton & Richmond | Goalscoring midfielder with extensive Step Two experience |
OUT
| Player | Destination | What Horsham lose |
| Lewis Carey | Eastbourne Borough | Ever-present goalkeeper with 175 appearances in three seasons |
| Isaac Philpot | Dorking Wanderers | Centurion centre-back and established defensive leader |
| Shamir Fenelon | Burgess Hill Town | Fan favourite who scored 47 goals in 231 matches |
| Rhys Murphy | Released | Experienced forward who finished last season on loan at Farnham |
| Five loanees | Parent clubs | Including last season’s Player of the Year, Leone Gravata |
The theme is clear: Horsham have attempted to replace several important departures with proven Step Two experience and greater attacking variety.
THREE TO WATCH
Ashley Nadesan: Quick, mobile and able to operate across the front line. Di Paola felt Horsham became too one-dimensional in attack last season.
Jamie Yila: Powerful, unpredictable and capable of creating something from very little—the sort of player who makes supporters nervous whenever he receives possession near the penalty area.
Niall McManus (above): An experienced box-to-box midfielder who rarely stops running and knows what a promotion challenge looks like.
NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
15: League wins last season.
14: League draws—they were not easily shaken off.
12: Centurions in last season’s squad.
11: Years with Di Paola in charge.
6: Senior summer signings.
WHEN WE LAST MET
United beat Horsham 2–0 at Plainmoor on March 28, with Dylan Morgan opening the scoring after eight minutes before a Sonny Blu Lo-Everton free-kick was turned into the net for the second.
Horsham had won the earlier meeting in Sussex 2–1 with a stoppage-time winner, leaving last season’s honours even.
AWAY-DAY FACT FILE LAST TIME AT PLAINMOOR
235: Horsham supporters made the journey to Plainmoor.
1st: The largest visiting following at any of United’s 23 regular-season home league matches.
1: The margin by which they beat Weston-super-Mare’s Boxing Day following of 234.
6.3%: The proportion of the 3,740 crowd supporting Horsham.
The Lardy Army therefore lived up to its reputation: nobody brought more away supporters to Plainmoor during the regular league season.
THE VERDICT
There is nothing lightweight about Horsham and a tricky season opener for the Gulls.
They have continuity, experience and greater attacking variety than last season. The Lardy Army will travel in good humour and in good numbers, but their team will arrive expecting to compete.
Come for the lard story. Keep a close eye on Nadesan, Yila and McManus.
