National League South

From depths of Poole and into the deep end

From early starts to late night ferries, Charlie Austin’s formative years in the Wessex League were a world away from the glamour of his Premier League days at QPR and Southampton.

by
The Non-League Football Paper Team
27 September 2026

By Chris Dunlavy

From early starts to late night ferries, Charlie Austin’s formative years in the Wessex League were a world away from the glamour of his Premier League days at QPR and Southampton.
Rejected by Reading as a teenager, Austin worked as a bricklayer whilst playing part-time for the likes of Kintbury Rangers, Hungerford and Poole Town.
“There’s one day I’ll always remember,” laughs the 37-year-old, who retired in May after a prolific career that yielded 317 goals in 692 games.
“We were working in Basingstoke. I lived in Bournemouth. I left home at half six, started carrying the ...

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