There's been a lot of change since SJP was last full. Numerous academy graduates have gone from young pros to established first-teamers, to highly sought-afters. Some have even become former Grecians. What is certain is that, despite a number of injuries, there will be plenty of homegrown talent in Matt Taylor's squad later this afternoon. Whilst missing out on the play offs last season was disappointing, so many of our academy graduates are now seasoned professionals looking to build on positive 2020/21 seasons. The likes of Alex Hartridge, Archie Collins, Matt Jay, Josh Key and Ben Seymour all make for a strong core to the squad, with the likes of Jordan Dyer and Harry Kite looking to add more game time following a handful of appearances last season. The highly sought-after Harry Lee and Sonny Cox will also be looking to make their first team debuts after signing their first professional contracts in July. Away from the first team, this year should also provide some of our youngsters with the opportunity to gain first team experience whilst out on loan, touch wood. Currently, Jack Arthur and Cheick Diabate have had loan spells until January 2022 confirmed at Bideford and Truro City respectively. James Dodd, having recovered from back-to-back ACL injuries to earn himself a new contract, is expected to go out on loan, whilst the likes of Nelson Iseguan, Ellis Johnson, Alfie Pond and Jack Veale could all easily spend time away from SJP this season. Despite the emphasis on youth, Matt Taylor has not hesitated to bring in experience over the summer. Jevani Brown, Timothée Dieng, Jonathan Grounds and George Ray all bring with them a wealth of Football League experience. This has been supplemented with further young players with potential in the shape of Josh Coley, Sam Nombe and Callum Rowe. The temporary addition of the highly-regarded Cameron Dawson also adds real quality between the sticks without blocking the pathways of Harry Lee or Jack Arthur whilst they gain experience. The volume of change within the squad, which has proven rarely high compared to recent seasons, doesn't seem to have affected people's opinions on how the Grecians will fare in League Two this season. City are currently tipped to be in the play off mix, with certain journalists even having the Grecians down as favourites for the title!


First Team Results

Final Table

Exeter were promoted after the 2-1 home win against Barrow on the 26th April 2022. And in the following game at Northampton drew with 3rd placed Northampton to go to the Top of the league, 

A Scott Palfrey poster!


NEW CLUB RECORDS SET IN 2021/22

Fewest defeats in a Football League season - 8
League Two 2021/22. Equals previous record set in 1932/33, 1963/64 and 2019/20
Fewest away defeats in a Football League season -5
League Two 2021/22
Fewest away goals conceded in a Football League season 
22 League Two 2021/22
Eighth consecutive season of winning more League games than losing.
Sixth consecutive season with a positive goal difference. (Only ever achieved before in non-League football).
Fourth consecutive season conceding 50 goals or less.

First time in the club’s history having consecutive seasons with a goal difference better than plus 20.

First time in the club’s Football League history having consecutive seasons with a positive goal difference in away games.

Longest sequence of undefeated League games- 15 1
7/08/2021 to 20/11/2021

Longest sequence of undefeated games - 19

17/08/2021 to 20/11/2021 (15 League, 3 FLT, 1 FAC)
Longest sequence of undefeated away games * - 9

17/08/2021 to 06/11/2021 (7 League, 1 FLT, 1 FAC)
* League Record remains 8


League Cup

FA Cup

Although the result for the FA Cup R1 replay was expunged the goals scored and apperances stand. Exeter and Bradford had to replay their FA Cup first-round replay tie on Tuesday, 30 November after the Exeter fielded a sixth substitute in the initial tie. The Grecians thought they had reached the second round when they scored three goals in extra time after a goalless 90 minutes. But FA Cup rules state teams may not make more than five changes in a tie, including any period of extra time. 

Football League Trophy

Friendlies

Premier League Cup
Results

Table

West Ham,Wolves and Swansea were their under 23's

Exeter did not qualify for the knockout stages

Devon Bowl

The Devon Bowl was re-introduced after a two year break (Due to pandemic)

Goalscorer's

Youth 

Football League Youth Alliance
Exeter City’s Under-18s coach, Chad Gribble, admitted his players were looking forward to returning to league action following their break from competitive matches due to the squad's recent COVID-19 setbacks. This past fortnight has seen a number of the youth team link up with Dan Green and his Under-23s side for their latest round of cup ties with Plymouth Argyle and Swansea City, ahead of this coming Saturday, which will see the U18s play their first fixture in the Youth Alliance South West division since 13th August. But Gribble explained that it isn’t just those players that featured in the Premier League Cup that have been preparing themselves for this coming weekend with match minutes, with other members of the Under-18s squad getting involved in a behind closed doors friendly game during the week. “Firstly, the Swansea match was the priority, and so it meant the Under-18s and the Under-23s all trained together. They had a good preparation session together, and good work was put in during that time, and it provided a good experience for the boys to be in amongst Dan Green and the older players,” said Gribble. “The boys who started on Tuesday evening against Swansea, and the boys who were brought on all got a good amount of exposure, and I was quite pleased to see the Under-18s contribute to the cup tie. “It is important we look to continue doing that. Harry Lee, Alfie Pond and Sonny Cox all started, but they, like the rest of the players had to earn their opportunity. I think for them, and for the younger pros like Jack Veale and Nelson Iseguan, what helped them was the run we had in the Youth Alliance Cup last season, and that put them in good stead and helped them handle the occasion. The Swansea match was another successful day for the Academy, but what is important is that we will continue to push these players because our aim is for them to start for the first team in the future.” “We took the remainder of the U18s group that weren’t involved on Tuesday, as well as some players from the Under-16s, to Millfield School near Street, and played a friendly against an Under-19s side. It meant that everyone has played some sort of football ahead of this weekend. A match always feels different, and you can’t replicate that game feeling in training. There were some sloppy moments in the game, but that was to be expected, and hopefully, that will mean that there will be a reduction in untidy moments on Saturday, and we will cut the sloppy bits out of our game. “The friendly game was perfect preparation for us, but we know that Saturday's match against Cheltenham will be a different ball game. Obviously, they will be a stronger opponent, and they will have played three more league matches than us, but we’ll know exactly where we are during the opening 20 minutes of Saturday's contest.

Results

Exeter qualified for Merit 1 by finishing in 3rd place.



Final Table

Merit 1
Results

Final Table

FA Youth Cup