Farnham Town can confirm that defender Michael Kinsella will be leaving the Club this summer after the conclusion of the 2023/24 season.
The experienced defender was the first summer recruit of Paul Johnson going into last season as we looked to add some quality and leadership to the defensive unit.
Kinsella was a player familiar with the Farnham Town management staff having been part of the successful group at Bedfont Sports along with many of the squad, including Darryl Sanders, Joe Jackson and Charlie Postance who all made the move to The Memorial Ground ahead of the 23/24 campaign.
During the early months of the season, Kinsella was a regular fixture in the matchday squad, appearing in 13 of the Town’s first 19 games including starts in six of our seven fixtures in October, all of which went down as Farnham Town wins en route to our British record 25 successive league wins to start the season. He scored his first and only goal for the Club in the 6-0 home win over Guildford City on October 24th.
In November, he suffered an unfortunate knee injury including a torn meniscus which sidelined him for the next five months of the campaign but was able to return in April for the final stretch of the season.
Kinsella made his return to the side off the bench during the 5-0 win over Fleet Town on April 9th and made seven more appearances over the final weeks of the season. In total, he made 21 appearances for the Town in 23/24, helping the side complete an invincible league campaign and securing promotion to Step 4 for the first time in our history.
Manager Paul Johnson said: “Michael is a player I have worked with for many seasons. I have a huge amount of respect for him as a player and a person. He worked so hard to get back from his ACL injury coming into this season and it was gutting to see him have to go through another knee injury this season knowing what he put in to come back from the last one.
“Over the course of the season, he was a solid contributor whenever he was able to step onto the pitch for us and was a leader in the dressing room. He’ll always be remembered as part of the squad that made history this season. I’m hoping that Michael can remain injury-free over the next few seasons and get back to his best. All of us at the Club are appreciative of his contributions this past season.”
Everyone at Farnham Town would like to wish Michael all the best on the next step of his football career, and he’ll always be welcomed back to The Memorial Ground with open arms.