Dorking Wanderers F.C.

Dorking Wanderers Football Club is a semi-professional[1] football club based in Dorking, Surrey, England. Affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association,[2] they are currently members of the National League, the fifth tier of English football, and play at Meadowbank. Formed in 1999 by a group of friends as a recreational amateur team playing grassroots football, the club began life in the Crawley & District League and went on to win twelve promotions in their first 23 seasons, reaching the National League in 2022. Having played for the club in its earlier years, club founder Marc White continues to be the chairman and first team manager to the present day.[3]

Dorking Wanderers
Full nameDorking Wanderers Football Club
Nickname(s)Wanderers
Founded1999 (1999)
GroundMeadowbank, Dorking
ChairmanMarc White
ManagerMarc White
LeagueNational League
2022–23National League, 16th of 24
WebsiteClub website

History
Dorking playing Little Common in the Sussex League Division Two in 2012.

The club was formed in 1999 by businessman Marc White and friends Peter Buckland, Mark Lewington, Ian Davidson, Lee Spickett and Penny Gregg. White described at the time of the formation of the club he and his friends were a season ticket holders at Wimbledon and had become disillusioned with how the club was being run coming to the end of its Premier League tenure. The group decided to do something else with their weekends and so Dorking Wanderers were formed as an amateur recreational team.[4] The club initially played in the Crawley & District League.[5] After their first season in the Crawley League they switched to Division Four of the West Sussex League, winning the division at the first attempt.[6] In 2001–02 the club finished as Division Three runners-up, earning a third consecutive promotion. After winning Division Two in 2003–04 they were promoted to Division One, and a third-place finish in Division One in 2005–06 saw them promoted to the Premier Division.[6]

In 2006–07 Wanderers won the West Sussex League's Premier Division, clinching the title with a victory on the last day of the season.[6] As a result, the club were promoted to Division Three of the Sussex County League.[7] They went on to win Division Three in 2010–11, earning promotion to Division Two. A third-place finish in Division Two the following season was enough to see them promoted to Division One.[7] Although the league initially denied them entry to the division as their ground was not deemed to meet the requirements,[8] the club appealed to the Football Association, who overruled the decision after an independent ground grading visit confirmed that the ground reached the mandatory standards for Division One football.[9] The team initially struggled in Division One, finishing third-from-bottom in 2012–13. However, they finished second in 2014–15, earning promotion to Division One South of the Isthmian League.[7]

In Wanderers' first season in the Isthmian League they finished as runners-up in Division One South, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, going on to lose 2–1 to Faversham Town in the semi-finals.[7] The following season saw them finish second again; in the play-offs they beat Hastings United on penalties in the semi-final after a 1–1 draw, and then won again on penalties against Corinthian-Casuals in the final following a 0–0 draw, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2018–19 the club won the Premier Division by a margin of 22 points, earning promotion to the National League South for their first time in history. Following the curtailment of the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were placed seventh in the league table (decided on a points-per-game basis), qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Bath City 2–1 in the quarter-finals, the club lost 3–2 to Weymouth in the semi-finals. The 2020–21 season was made null and void following a vote by member clubs of the National League, with Dorking top of the National League South at the point the season was ended.

In the 2021–22 season Wanderers finished second in the National League South, going on to defeat Ebbsfleet United 3–2 in the play-off final, earning promotion to the National League for the first time in the club's history.[10] They also won the Surrey Senior Cup, beating Kingstonian 5–4 on penalties after the final had eneded in a 1–1 draw.[11]

Season-by-season record

Reserve team

In 2015 the club's reserve team were promoted from the Suburban League to Division One of the Combined Counties League.[13] However, they left the league at the end of the season as the club were set to groundshare with Dorking during the 2016–17 season.[14] The reserve team rejoined the Combined Counties League at the start of the 2018–19 season. In 2021 they were transferred to Division One of the Southern Combination.

Ground
Meadowbank Stadium with the spire of St Martin's Church

The club initially played at Big Field Brockham, before moving to the Westhumble Playing Fields on London Road in 2007.[5] The ground had a small seated stand and covered standing on one side of the pitch, with the remainder being uncovered;[15] Floodlights were installed in 2012. In July 2018 the club relocated to a refurbished Meadowbank ground,[16] which had previously been home to Dorking F.C. prior to their disbanding.[17] Their first game at Meadowbank was a friendly match against Sutton United on 17 July 2018.[16]

Meadowbank had become the home ground of Dorking F.C. in 1953.[16] A 200-seat stand was built on one side of the pitch around 1956,[16] with a covered standing area built on the other. Another covered standing area was installed behind one goal, with the other end left open.[18] However, they were forced to leave the ground in 2013 after it was shut down for failing to meet health and safety requirements.[16] Prior to Dorking Wanderers moving to the ground, it was upgraded to include a 300-seat stand, two covered standing areas and a 3G pitch as it was converted to a community sports facility at a cost of £5m.[16] The Surrey County Football Association also moved their headquarters to Meadowbank when it reopened.[16]

In February 2020, the club announced that planning permission had been granted to upgrade Meadowbank Stadium to a Grade B status. In July 2020, the stadium passed the Grade B status assessment. By September 2020 work had been completed on a new seated stand and a new covered terrace both at the east end of the ground, taking Meadowbank's official capacity to 3,000.[19] In March 2023 an uncovered 1,200-capacity terrace was opened at the west end of the ground.

Current squad
As of 20 October 2023.[20][21]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Harrison Male
3 DF England ENG Bobby-Joe Taylor
4 MF England ENG Dan Pybus
5 DF England ENG Tony Craig
6 MF England ENG Niall McManus
8 MF England ENG Matt Briggs
9 FW England ENG Jason Prior
11 MF England ENG James McShane
12 DF England ENG Callum Kennedy
15 DF England ENG Joe Cook
16 MF England ENG Charlie Carter
17 MF England ENG Josh Taylor
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF England ENG Luke Moore
19 FW England ENG Ryan Seager
20 MF England ENG Dan Gallagher
21 GK Slovakia SVK Slavomir Huk
22 DF England ENG Barry Fuller (captain)
24 FW England ENG Harry Ottaway
26 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Matt Everitt
28 DF England ENG Alex Lankshear (on loan from Blackpool)
29 MF England ENG Tom Blair
30 MF England ENG Seb Bowerman
31 GK England ENG Callum Backhurst
37 MF England ENG George Francomb

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF England ENG Isaac Philpott (at Raynes Park Vale)
7 MF England ENG Jimmy Muitt (at Bognor Regis Town)
10 FW England ENG Alfie Rutherford (at Bognor Regis Town)
13 GK England ENG Josh Wilson (at Chipstead)
14 DF England ENG Spike Steggall (at Phoenix Sports)
23 MF England ENG Jack Jebb (at Havant & Waterlooville)
25 MF England ENG Aaron Kuhl (at Farnborough)
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 MF England ENG Jaevon Dyer (at Phoenix Sports)
32 MF England ENG Jack Saunders (at Redhill)
33 DF England ENG Joe Rabbetts (at Bognor Regis Town)
34 DF England ENG Cameron Black (at Cray Wanderers)
35 DF England ENG Archie Procter (at Eastbourne Borough)
36 MF England ENG Olly Allen (at Walton & Hersham)

Honours
  • Isthmian League
    • Premier Division champions: 2018–19
  • Southern Combination
    • Division Three champions: 2010–11
  • West Sussex League
    • Premier Division champions: 2006–07
    • Division Two North champions: 2003–04
    • Division Four North champions: 2000–01
  • Surrey Senior Cup
    • Winners: 2021–22[11]

Records

See also
  • Dorking Wanderers F.C. players

Notes
  1. Deducted one point.
  2. The league was declared null and void on 18 February 2021. As a result, all records were expunged and no teams were promoted or relegated.[12]

References
  1. Non-league success story Dorking Wanderers targeting Premier League dream
  2. Dorking Wanderers manager praises Surrey FA as 'fair and responsible' This is Surrey, 28 March 2013
  3. "Club History". dorkingwanderers.com. Dorking Wanderers. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  4. McVeigh, Niall. "'Real-life Championship Manager': the incredible rise of Dorking Wanderers". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  5. History Dorking Wanderers F.C.
  6. A History Of Dorking Wanderers F.C. Dorking Wanderers F.C.
  7. Dorking Wanderers at the Football Club History Database
  8. League secretary slams Wanderers This is Surrey, 27 April 2012
  9. Champagne corks fly as Wanderers This is Surrey, 12 July 2012
  10. Panting, Matthew (21 May 2022). "Report: Ebbsfleet denied promotion in controversial fashion". Kent Online. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  11. Stobbart, Dan (18 May 2022). "Wanderers win the Surrey Senior Cup". Dorking Wanderers FC. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  12. Osborn, Oliver (18 February 2021). "National League Statement | Outcome Of Written Resolutions". Vanarama National League. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  13. Dorking Wanderers Reserves at the Football Club History Database
  14. Groundshare ends Membership for Reserve Side Combined Counties League
  15. The Ryman League South Guide 2016/17 Lewes F.C.
  16. "Return to Meadowbank", Groundtastic, Autumn 2018, pp28–33
  17. Dorking's 137 year old football club is closing down leaving just one senior team in the town Surrey Mirror, 16 February 2017
  18. Dorking Pyramid Passion
  19. "Meadowbank Stadium". Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  20. "First Team Squad". Dorking Wanderers Official Site. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  21. "23/24 FIRST TEAM SQUAD NUMBERS CONFIRMED". Dorking Wanderers F.C. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  22. "Cards come out on top in Surrey derby". Dorking Wanderers F.C. 7 April 2023. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
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