On the third of January 2020, Cheltenham Town signed a much needed striker from League One Doncaster Rovers. The enthusiastic and sometimes ‘a bit random’ attacker joined on a two and a half year deal for an undisclosed fee and took to life in League Two like a duck to water. A debut goal versus Oldham was followed by another against Walsall and lead to four goals in his first five games.
But how did life for then Conference South side Billericay Town lead to the heights of the Football League and an FA Cup Fourth Round tie against one of the biggest clubs in the world?
May started out at Billiericay Town in 2013 and played twice in the 2012/13 season, March 30th saw May’s first appearance on the Ricay bench in a 4-1 win over Hayes and Yeading. April 16th saw May take the step up, playing ninety minutes in a 3-2 defeat to Staines Town. A trip to Weston-Super-Mare followed but it was another defeat as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against the Somerset side.
2013 also had May on the books of Corinthian, a year before Cheltenham’s 2017/18 top scorer Mohammed Eisa scored sixteen goals in eighteen games. The Kent outfit have also been represented by Andy Hessenthaler and Jimmy Bullard. May was in the reserves side at eighteen years old, praised for his ‘undoubted talent’ and being tipped for the football league and professional football.
Chatham Town of the Isthmian League Division One North followed during which he was dual registered with Bromley, who were then of the Conference South and now of the National League. Cheltenham did the double over Bromley in the 2015/16 season, winning 2-1 and 4-1. Bromley finished third in 2014, losing out to Ebbsfleet in the Play Offs.
May’s Chatham departure was apparently unexpected, with manager Kevin Watson left having to fill the gap he left late on in the window.
May’s tour of Kent continued in what was a very busy 2014 for the striker, joining VCD Athletic who won 2013-14 Isthmian League Division One North. Erith and Belvedere came soon after, where the now prolific goal scorer impressed enough to be picked up by Farnborough in October 2014, having scored twenty five goals for the Southern Counties East Football League leaders, earning himself a move to Conference South Farnborough.
Hailed as Kent’s leading goal scorer, May was on trial at League One strugglers Crewe Alexandra but opted for Spencer Day’s promotion contenders. Day told Farnborough’s website that: “It’s a great opportunity for him to try at a higher level and we are excited to again give lower pyramid players their chance”.
Farnborough didn’t work out as May returned to Erith and Belvedere after two weeks and two appearances.
These came against Bishop's Stortford and Sutton United, both 1-0 defeats in the National League South.
A two year spell at Hythe Town came between 2015 and 2017. The Gravesend goal machine was loved at Hythe, scoring goals for fun and winning the praise of coaches, fans, and board members alike.
Hythe Secretary Martin Giles told InYourArea that: “He was the sort of guy where you could have an average game against a side and at the end of it you’d won 3-1 because Alfie had scored three goals”.
“He made goals out of nothing”.
Soon enough the Football League came calling. Alfie finally turned professional in 2017 as he joined Doncaster Rovers for their promotion winning season, losing out on the league title due to Cheltenham Town and their 6-1 away defeat to Portsmouth, which allowed Pompey to leapfrog May’s side on the final day. The Doncaster Free Press described the move as a thing of fairytales.
May played in Doncaster’s 2-0 win over Cheltenham and scored three times in sixteen games in his first season. Luton, Grimsby, and Wycombe were his victims as he netted against two now Championship sides.
His contribution to Darren Ferguson’s side doubled the following season as he added six goals to his tally in thirty one games.
This included a run of four goals in as many games at the start of the 2017/18 season, bagging against Blackpool and Blackburn in the league and Hull and Bradford in the EFL Cup. Goal number five came at the end of September in a 3-0 win over Plymouth with his sixth of the season going in against Rochdale in December.
The 2018/19 season brought the peak of May’s Rovers career with a further eleven goals in forty seven matches. Doncaster finished sixth in League One, with former Cheltenham loanee John Marquis netting twenty five times in all competitions. The club also reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, going out to Crystal Palace.
The first half of the following season brought a further three goals in twenty three games, leaving his tally at twenty three goals in 117 games. Michael Duff’s Cheltenham Town came in for the striker in January 2020, paying an undisclosed fee to bring the Donny dangerman to Whaddon Road.
The second half of the season saw May fire Town to the League Two Play Offs, hitting six goals in twelve before the Coronavirus Pandemic saw the season cut short. May played in both Play Off matches as Cheltenham remained in League Two. “There is a lot of quality in there” is what Duff had to say on Alfie May after his debut goal against Oldham.
The 2020/21 season has brought a further nine goals in thirty (at the time of writing) as Cheltenham strive for promotion. This included May bringing the fireworks with his rocket of a right foot, smashing home a Ben Tozer long throw against Premier League leaders Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
It was of course no surprise that May has powered through the EFL as he did through Kent, many employers and managers over the years praised and encouraged the striker throughout his career. From his time as a reserve player at Corinthian where the manager knew he was destined to be a full time footballer, to his big move to Doncaster where Ferguson heaped praise on Cheltenham’s 2020/21 top scorer.
“The fans really like him”
“He’s just getting on with it, every day with a smile on his face."
- Ferguson on May at Doncaster (Speaking to Doncaster Free Press)
Sources: Soccerway, kentishfootball, Farnborough.co.uk
All quotes used are in accordance with fair use and are credited to the original publication below:
Photo Credits: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/sport/chats-have-strikers-place-to-21156/ https://www.kentonline.co.uk/hythe/sport/a-may-to-remember-118042/