Once mighty Somerset Trojans, a formidable force in local soccer from the mid '60s to the '90s, have suffered a heavy exodus of players following relegation from the Premier to the First Division at the end of last season.

Their departures total 15 - far exceeding that of any other team in any of the four divisions (Women and Commercial included).

Second to the Trojans are PHC, another relegated team with an illustrious past. Seven of their players are seeking greener pastures.

First Division Prospect United are the hardest hit team in their division with five players moving onto other clubs.

Somerset's new coach Dennis Brown, however, isn't fretting over the fact that the West Enders have been the busiest club in the transfer market.

Confirmation of the transfers only left him questioning the players' loyalty.

"The guys who have left Somerset are the guys who were at Somerset for the wrong reason," said Brown. "They were promised this, they were promised that, they weren't playing for Somerset because they wanted to play for Somerset.

"They were there for the wrong reasons, it's a pleasure to see them leave. We had a good pre-season match against North Village on Sunday and I am looking forward to dealing with the players who wanted to play with Somerset from the heart."

The players whom he is happily kissing goodbye, among them some of last season's key starters, are forwards Sheridan (Baldy) Ming, Rohaan Simons and Marvin Belboda, midfielder David Lawler and defenders Randy Simmons, Torriano Davis and Damon Francis.

Ming is rejoining PHC, Simons is heading back home to Southampton Rangers and Belboda will renew old ties with Devonshire Colts, taking Francis with him.

Simmons is also heading to Rangers while Davis is moving to Dandy Town.

PHC have taken a big hit with the loss of skipper and key defender Stanton Lewis who is joining Boulevard.

But the departure of prolific goalscorer Ottis Steede will also hurt the club in their attempt to make an immediate return to the top flight.

At Bermuda's other leading clubs there have been relatively few significant transfers with the intended move of national team goalkeeper Dwayne (Streaker) Adams from North Village to Southampton Rangers not expected to make a huge difference to the defending league champions.

It remains to be seen how Village will cope with the departures of Randy Spence (to Devonshire Colts) and Domico Coddington (also to Southampton).

Devonshire Colts have seen goalkeeper Cymande Davis and forward Lloyd Holder obtain their releases but it's not known yet just where the pair are heading, if anywhere.

Dandy Town have likewise had long-time defender Pernell Douglas and forward Janeiro Tucker released but there is no word on their destination, although it's likely the latter - still one of Bermuda's most talented strikers - will return home to Southampton should he decide to play at all this season.

Boulevard will be missing several senior players but the loss of Leroy Stevens, Leonard Hypolite and Stevie Wade will only clear a path for many of their talented youth players to gain senior team experience.

A First Division team who showed promise on occasions last season, Prospect United, have surprisingly seen five of their players moving on.

And the loss of Phillip Bailey, Carlos Lopes, Daniel Reece, Thomas Brown and Tarik Smith may hurt their chances of being as competitive this time around.