Gosney, 33, made the stunning decision to leave the Boatmen following a nine year spell at the club to join promotion chasing Salisbury F.C to rediscover his love and enjoyment for football once again.
Gosney — who amassed over 400 appearances for the Boatmen — released a statement following his departure.
“After much consideration and reflection, I have made the difficult decision to leave Sholing Football Club.
I understand that this decision may come at a challenging time for the club, it has not been an easy one, especially this stage of the season. However, I believe it is the right step for me at this time to be able to find the love and enjoyment for football again.”
His departure is a huge blow for the club, who have lost an experienced player at the business end of the season with relegation a top concern for Paul Doswell’s side.
The Boatmen sit 15th in the Southern Premier League South Division, and will be hoping to pull of a great escape from relegation in order to remain in the division they gained automatic promotion to last season.
Sholing Chairman Gerry Roberts released a club statement following Gosney’s exit.
“It is with great disappointment that we have to announce that Ryan Gosney has decided to leave Sholing to join Salisbury FC.
Salisbury put in a seven day approach last week and asked for us to waive the notice period which we refused. We wanted Ryan to see out the season with us. Sadly, that hasn’t materialised.
Ryan felt that he would better further his career with Salisbury as they look to gain promotion.
Sholing Football Club would like to thank Ryan for his nine years of service to the Boatmen, and wish him well for the future.”
The Boatmen refused to waive Salisbury’s seven day notice period to persuade the veteran to remain at the club, but the 33-year-old’s recent loss of love and enjoyment seems to have played a huge part in his decision to leave the club.
Salisbury manager Brian Dutton was overjoyed with Gosney’s decision to join the club for their run in for promotion this season.
“I’m delighted to sign Ryan Gosney. He is firstly a wonderful goalkeeper and also a player with lots of non-league experience which is going to be vital for our young, inexperienced side as we reach the climax of our season.
We have been bereft of quality goalkeeping depth this season and crucially we now have excellent keepers in Alex Rutter and Ryan Gosney for the run-in.”
The addition of Gosney to Dutton’s side will bolster their goalkeeping options ahead of a tight race for promotion at the opposite end of the table to his former side Sholing.
Salisbury sit third in the league and are comfortably in the promotion places with 10 points between them and sixth placed Walton and Hersham, with AFC Totton in fourth on 62 points, and Merthyr Town in fifth on 57.
