A month into the new football season, there have been many shocks and surprises throughout the divisions, none more so than the National League South where two teams tipped for Relegation are currently unbeaten and two teams who finished in the play-offs last season languish above the relegation zone. We look at the table and pick out our surprises as well as a noticeable trend in the league

How well have Hemel Hempstead started the season?

The early league leaders are Hemel Hempstead Town FC who after appointing Bobby Wilkinson in April 2024 were tipped to struggle this season. However their signings have been inspired - Ricardo German, fresh off a 33 goal season for Chesham United, has hit the ground running scoring 5 goals in the opening fixtures. This combined with the signings of Trae Cook-Appiah, Brandon Barzey, Teddy Howe and Renny Smith to go alongside the likes of Kyle Ajayi and George Williams are making Hemel an incredibly exciting team to watch with 22 goals in their opening 7 games.

Trae Cook-Appiah suffered a terrible injury on Saturday against Bath and we’d like to wish him the best in his recovery

How far can Bobby Wilkinson take them though? They travel to Slough Town on Saturday, a team who are unbeaten at home in a year and so this will prove a formidable test for The Tudors.

Which Portsmouth loanee is starring for Tonbridge Angels?

Jay Saunders’ Tonbridge Angels side are the other unbeaten team in the league with 3 wins and 3 draws from their opening 6 games including impressive draws away at Aveley and Chelmsford where the Angels were comprehensively beaten last year. These performances are showing that Saunders’ men have a strong backbone to the team this year and the back 3 are being ably supported by Portsmouth loanee Toby Steward in goal who is proving to already be one of the signings of the season - he is surely an EFL Goalkeeper in the making. At the other end, Sean Shields and Trevan Robinson are forming a combination that many teams will be jealous of. Shields with his trickery and finesse already has 5 goals to his name to lead the goalscoring charts, and Robinson has a single goal but 3 assists to support his teammates.

Saunders is being very grounded as he knows there will be bumps in the road to come but with many tipsters predicting a difficult season for the Angels, he will be delighted with the start and 3 points at home tonight against an injury hit St Albans City will be very well received.

Are Maidstone better off without Elokobi?

Maidstone rose to fame last season reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup beating Ipswich along the way. Many predicted the prize money would make full-time Maidstone favourites to go up but it hasn’t quite started that way. Firstly, Maidstone’s pitch needed relaying at a considerable cost and the new signings haven’t clicked yet. On paper, they are a formidable outfit with the signings of Shaq Coulthirst (Ebbsfleet), Jordan Higgs (Tonbridge Angels), Aaron Blair (Braintree) and Ben Brookes (Chelmsford) all joining to play alongside Reiss Greenidge, Sam Corne and George Fowler - all fantastic NLS players. However just a solitary win from their opening 6 games has left The Stones fans demanding more. In fact, their only goalscoring players have been defenders and Maidstone are yet to score from open play!

There is no doubt George Elokobi is under pressure, and this was evident when he tore into the Maidstone fans after a dull 0-0 against Hampton & Richmond, a team only a few months prior that Maidstone had beaten 4-0.

Maidstone United manager George Elokobi to stop players going over to supporters at full-time | Those who snubbed his team after Hampton & Richmond stalemate ‘aren’t true fans’ (kentonline.co.uk)

How well are Boreham Wood and Dorking Wanderers doing in National League South?

Prior to a ball being kicked, both Boreham Wood and Dorking would have fancied themselves to bounce back from relegation but 7 games in, both teams will have realised the league is a lot harder than they imagined. Dorking Wanderers, under the guidance of mercurial Marc White have endured a mixed start - but after White’s comments before the first game, he would have demanded more from his outfit especially after managing to keep most of the squad who appeared in the National League last season.

Boreham Wood are a team going through change after former manager Luke Garrard left following their relegation. Ross Jenkins took over after his departure from Oxford City FC. Similar to Maidstone, their squad is very impressive at this level. Nathan Ashmore is a superb keeper, Chris Bush, David Agbontohoma and Erico Sousa are fantastic defenders, and in Lee Ndlovu, Johnny Goddard and Kwesi Appiah, they have more than enough to frighten NLS Defences. Again, like Dorking, they haven’t made a bad start with 11 points from their opening 11 games, and I fear the best is yet to come.

What's causing the Injury crisis in National League South?

Injuries seem to be the hot topic in the National League South at present. Maidstone, Chelmsford, St Albans, Dorking, Bath to name a few are all experiencing huge injury lists. At this level, it can decimate a team and really derail a season - St Albans for example have had games where they have had 1 fit Centre Back.

Is this down to bad luck? Or is it just due to the changing pitches within the league? Due to financial reasons, many of the teams play on 4G and so for a player to be constantly changing between grass for home matches and training to then performing on a 4G pitch, it must take a toll on their body.

Whilst a different sport, the below report showcases a huge difference in the injuries sustained on natural grass compared to artificial turf: ““The overall burden of injuries on natural grass was 2,481 per 1,000 days compared with 4,740 per 1,000 days on artificial turf, a staggering difference.”

‘Staggering’ amount of injuries on 4G pitches compared to grass – The Irish Times

This is something the FA needs to explore more, especially at a level whereby an injury can cause a player to lose out on their whole income should they be injured for a lengthy period of time.