Dorking Wanderers

GaryMadineGoalMachine

GaryMadineGoalMachine

Well-known member
Was watching some of the Oldham game last night and when the National Table came up sitting in 6th place were Dorking Wanderers .. who the Hell are Dorking Wanderers!!
 
Good little story ..

When Dorking Wanderers were announced as Oldham Athletic's first home opponents of the new National League season, it prompted derision from Latics supporters.

Fans took to social media to decry how far Oldham - inaugural members of the Premier League in 1992 - had fallen.
Both clubs are appearing in the National League for the first time this season - but it is Dorking who are more excited about their maiden voyage.

Formed in 1999 by Marc White and his group of friends, Dorking started playing football in a park.

Twenty-three years and 12 promotions later, the Surrey side are settling into life in England's fifth tier, which they kicked off with a 2-2 home draw against Chesterfield on Saturday.

Next is a trip north to face Oldham, which will be broadcast live on TV.

"It is really exciting - our progression has been so quick," said White, who is Dorking's manager, owner and chairman.

"We will be privileged to play a lot of top clubs but, at the same time, we won't be the whipping boys - we never have been and we never will be."

Dorking's meteoric rise is reminiscent of White's boyhood club Wimbledon, who rose from non-league to reach the English top flight for the first time in 1986.

But Wanderers' journey is perhaps even more remarkable.

"The original intention was to have a kickabout and enjoy a beer after the game," said White, 49, who also runs a marketing company.

It began as "purely a social thing" but matters moved quickly for the Wanderers, who first played in the Crawley and District Football League before switching to the West Sussex League, which they won at the first attempt.

Four promotions in five seasons saw them reach that league's Premier Division and, with White at the helm, success kept on coming. Wanderers won promotion to the National League South in 2018.

That same year, the club moved to the refurbished Meadowbank Stadium, which had been home to non-league Dorking FC, who dissolved in 2017.

Wanderers now also run academy sides, a youth outreach project and a women's team which plays in the sixth tier.

"We have gone from paying a fiver on a local park to having 1,000 active members," said White.

"We never really had a plan and we just pieced things together as we went along, but perhaps 12 to 14 years in we started to have these little pipe dreams.

"We were the beneficiaries of Dorking FC being disbanded, but Dorking is a small market town and everyone wants the best for each other. Some of the people who worked at Dorking FC are now involved with our club.

"It was, over time, an ever-expanding hobby, but it became properly serious when we reached the National League."

Despite making their biggest step up so far, Dorking will continue to operate on a part-time basis, and only recruited three new players over the summer - Southampton academy graduate Ryan Seager, ex-Newport and Sutton midfielder Jack Jebb, and former Tranmere midfielder Adam Mekki.

All arrived on free transfers. The only transfer fee the club has ever paid was £15,000 for striker Jason Prior from Havant & Waterlooville in 2018.

"We tend to stick with what we already have," said White.

"We remain cautious when it comes to signing players, and most of our squad have been on our promotion journeys over the past couple of seasons, but we do look for players who can give us an upgrade."

Wanderers started the season with only one senior goalkeeper in Slovakian Slavomir Huk, as fellow stopper Dan Lincoln is a first-class cricketer who played for Berkshire and Middlesex before joining Kent.

Attacking midfielder James McShane, one of Dorking's longest-serving players having joined six years ago, can scarcely believe how far the club has come.

"There is a picture of me caked in mud from when we played at our old ground in Westhumble," he told BBC Sport.

"The pitch was absolutely terrible and the changing rooms were basically two sheds next door to each other.

"We would perhaps get 40 or 50 fans, and definitely no more than 100, but now we have around 1,200 for every game at Meadowbank."

The 32-year-old, who works in a Royal Mail delivery office, believes White's cautious nature has paid dividends and helped Dorking's progression.

"The nucleus of the squad has been here for five to six years," said McShane.

"When he does bring in a few players each summer, it means the others have had to step up. The gaffer manages to keep everybody in the squad happy, although I am not sure how he does it!"

Should Dorking's next steps not go to plan, White, as chairman, would be willing to sack himself as manager.

However, given what he has done for the club, it is not likely to happen any time soon.

"If we weren't doing well I would be the first to go, because I am the biggest Dorking Wanderers fan of all," said White.

"We have an executive and a non-executive board, and they remain the driving force. If the results outweighed the budget, then I am sure they would want to talk to me about it.

"We want to consolidate and get the ground more up to spec, although I have been saying that for 20-odd years."
 
BFCPaul said:
Good little story ..

When Dorking Wanderers were announced as Oldham Athletic's first home opponents of the new National League season, it prompted derision from Latics supporters.

Fans took to social media to decry how far Oldham - inaugural members of the Premier League in 1992 - had fallen.
Both clubs are appearing in the National League for the first time this season - but it is Dorking who are more excited about their maiden voyage.

Formed in 1999 by Marc White and his group of friends, Dorking started playing football in a park.

Twenty-three years and 12 promotions later, the Surrey side are settling into life in England's fifth tier, which they kicked off with a 2-2 home draw against Chesterfield on Saturday.

Next is a trip north to face Oldham, which will be broadcast live on TV.

"It is really exciting - our progression has been so quick," said White, who is Dorking's manager, owner and chairman.

"We will be privileged to play a lot of top clubs but, at the same time, we won't be the whipping boys - we never have been and we never will be."

Dorking's meteoric rise is reminiscent of White's boyhood club Wimbledon, who rose from non-league to reach the English top flight for the first time in 1986.

But Wanderers' journey is perhaps even more remarkable.

"The original intention was to have a kickabout and enjoy a beer after the game," said White, 49, who also runs a marketing company.

It began as "purely a social thing" but matters moved quickly for the Wanderers, who first played in the Crawley and District Football League before switching to the West Sussex League, which they won at the first attempt.

Four promotions in five seasons saw them reach that league's Premier Division and, with White at the helm, success kept on coming. Wanderers won promotion to the National League South in 2018.

That same year, the club moved to the refurbished Meadowbank Stadium, which had been home to non-league Dorking FC, who dissolved in 2017.

Wanderers now also run academy sides, a youth outreach project and a women's team which plays in the sixth tier.

"We have gone from paying a fiver on a local park to having 1,000 active members," said White.

"We never really had a plan and we just pieced things together as we went along, but perhaps 12 to 14 years in we started to have these little pipe dreams.

"We were the beneficiaries of Dorking FC being disbanded, but Dorking is a small market town and everyone wants the best for each other. Some of the people who worked at Dorking FC are now involved with our club.

"It was, over time, an ever-expanding hobby, but it became properly serious when we reached the National League."

Despite making their biggest step up so far, Dorking will continue to operate on a part-time basis, and only recruited three new players over the summer - Southampton academy graduate Ryan Seager, ex-Newport and Sutton midfielder Jack Jebb, and former Tranmere midfielder Adam Mekki.

All arrived on free transfers. The only transfer fee the club has ever paid was £15,000 for striker Jason Prior from Havant & Waterlooville in 2018.

"We tend to stick with what we already have," said White.

"We remain cautious when it comes to signing players, and most of our squad have been on our promotion journeys over the past couple of seasons, but we do look for players who can give us an upgrade."

Wanderers started the season with only one senior goalkeeper in Slovakian Slavomir Huk, as fellow stopper Dan Lincoln is a first-class cricketer who played for Berkshire and Middlesex before joining Kent.

Attacking midfielder James McShane, one of Dorking's longest-serving players having joined six years ago, can scarcely believe how far the club has come.

"There is a picture of me caked in mud from when we played at our old ground in Westhumble," he told BBC Sport.

"The pitch was absolutely terrible and the changing rooms were basically two sheds next door to each other.

"We would perhaps get 40 or 50 fans, and definitely no more than 100, but now we have around 1,200 for every game at Meadowbank."

The 32-year-old, who works in a Royal Mail delivery office, believes White's cautious nature has paid dividends and helped Dorking's progression.

"The nucleus of the squad has been here for five to six years," said McShane.

"When he does bring in a few players each summer, it means the others have had to step up. The gaffer manages to keep everybody in the squad happy, although I am not sure how he does it!"

Should Dorking's next steps not go to plan, White, as chairman, would be willing to sack himself as manager.

However, given what he has done for the club, it is not likely to happen any time soon.

"If we weren't doing well I would be the first to go, because I am the biggest Dorking Wanderers fan of all," said White.

"We have an executive and a non-executive board, and they remain the driving force. If the results outweighed the budget, then I am sure they would want to talk to me about it.

"We want to consolidate and get the ground more up to spec, although I have been saying that for 20-odd years."
Click to expand...
So, kind of like "Darn Sarf"'s version of Kirkham & Wesham AFC Fylde?
 
I dont even know where Dorking is. But good luck to them.
 
I was surprised as never heard of them before, which is unusual as the odd name crops up in the FA Cup 1st round.

Nice story on You Tube and appear to have progressed in a conventional way rather than manufactured if that makes sence.

Good luck to them I say.
 
Dorking is in Surrey but right on the western edge next to the Hampshire border.The famous composer Ralph Vaughan Williams lived in a house on a hill overlooking the town. Portillo visited Dorking in one his railway programmes. Looks like a pleasant place to live.
 
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Its a great story. Nice place used to live there. Loads of boozers for a small town. Good for a pub crawl, pleased they are doing well.
 
They are nothing like Kirkham. Seen them a couple of times v Enfield and they are a very good team. Whereas Haythornthwaite, like Pilley, has bankrolled the club, they run the club well within it’s means. A ‘real’ success story !
 
Dorking is a lovely place, very expensive and very picturesque countryside...... well it used to be in 1966 when I was last there!! 🤣
 
Who the hell are Bonnyrigg Rose!

Noticed them on halftime scores in ground yesterday.
They are currently second in the Scottish League 2.

I notice some of my old favourites like Berwick Rangers, Brechin City and Gretna are no longer around.
 
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I have been to a couple of Dorking W home games this and last season.

Good set up, they had an epic battle with Maidstone to win Conference South last season. Lost that one, but deservedly went up via the playoffs.

They seem to have attracted support from those who used to watch their football in London and have adopted DW as their second team. It’s noticeable that people check their phones much more than at a Blackpool game because they are checking out how their London team is going on. I am doing the same, but following how Blackpool are getting on.

Might go next Saturday when Wrexham and the movie stars are the visitors..
 
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