Bashley chairman Frank Whitman has spoken of his disappointment in James Taylor after the £15,000-rated striker was made a free agent by the Football Association yesterday - and was instantly tipped to join Havant & Waterlooville.

Taylor successfully convinced the Lancaster Gate top brass that Bashley had breached his contract last season by making irregular payments despite the New Forest club winning their initial appeal with the Dr Martens League.

It means cash-strapped Bashley will get no fee for their prized leading goalscorer who topped the DML charts with 33 goals last season and attracted interest from H&W, Dorchester and Newport.

Said Whitman: "It's not so much the decision I'm disappointed with as the player himself. This whole affair has caused such bad feeling at Bashley that James would have to have left the club whether we'd won or lost. But what goes around comes around in football. Good luck to him."

Southern Division champions Havant & Waterlooville get their first taste of Premier Division action at home to Tamworth and could throw Taylor straight into the fray in place of the injured Steve Tate if they can thrash out terms with the Bitterne-based 24-year-old before today's 5pm deadline.

Also included is Portsmouth's third-choice keeper Chris Tardif, 19, who has joined H&W on three months' loan as competition for 6ft 8in giant Mark Brown.

Former Coventry City defender Liam Daish is primed for his H&W league debut, but ex-Pompey trainee Nicky Wyatt is ruled out injured and the fitness of two more strikers, Paul Wood and Dave Wakefield, is touch and go although both are included in Ville's 15-man squad.

"Having worries over four front players hasn't helped our preparations," admitted H&W manager Billy Gilbert.

Salisbury City, who finished 12th in the Premier Division last season and visit runners-up Boston United tomorrow, have lost three key players from the spine of their side.

Goalkeeper Jason Matthews has signed a one-year contract for Exeter City, midfielder Adie Randall has made his £20,000 move to Forest Green Rovers and sweeper Kevin Braybrook has walked out after completing his year's contract.

In their place Whites have signed keeper Paul Myers from Weymouth and ex-Saints midfielder Ian Savage in the Ryman League with Hampton last season. Braybrook's berth should go to either former Fulham trainee Darren Curtis or Darren Lush from Havant & Waterlooville.

Former Dorchester striker Martin Shepherd has been signed as a front-line partner for Paul Sales, but Sales is struggling again with the kicking muscle injury that dogged him last season.

Newport, unbeaten during pre-season, face the toughest of Eastern Division starts away to a Raunds Town side who have been unbeaten at home for 15 months.

"We couldn't have picked a harder game," reflected manager Tony Mount, who has lost midfielder Graeme Gee to ankle ligament damage. Strike signing Lee Dent from Cowes Sports is a highly doubtful starter due to a toe injury but fellow new faces Danny Husbands (Brockenhurst), Fraser Quirke (Worthing) and Kevin Young (Reading) are all in contention.

Bashley have lost one Taylor but will bring another one into the frame for their trip to Stamford. Dominic Taylor, top scorer for the reserves last season, is added to the young squad including a dozen players aged 22 and under. Fleet, at home to Chelmsford City, are two strikers light. Gavin Smith - a summer target of Bashley's - is on holiday and new signing Tommy Pegler is playing cricket.

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