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Post by stones1 on Apr 2, 2024 15:27:59 GMT
Done a remarkable job there all things considered. Will get a top NL job easily, someone like Barnet if they don’t go up this year perhaps.
Probably could have left a few times over the years; but shows you the dangers of one season of poor recruitment at this level
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2024 18:26:46 GMT
After a major slump in form Wealdstone have sacked manager David Noble.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2024 19:25:05 GMT
After a major slump in form Wealdstone have sacked manager David Noble. Everything went to shit for Wealdstone after their manager left for Notts County back in January. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2024 6:03:04 GMT
Impressive comeback by Wealdstone last night. Dorking took a 2 goal lead in the 2nd half but 4 goals from Wealdstone in 20 minutes means its relegation for Dorking.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2024 6:19:00 GMT
Impressive comeback by Wealdstone last night. Dorking took a 2 goal lead in the 2nd half but 4 goals from Wealdstone in 20 minutes means its relegation for Dorking. Oh dear the bubble has burst. Can we get Bobby Joe Taylor back now? He’s probably not a George kind of player though. Dorking could keep going on forever in any upward trajectory-they probably- like us - need to consolidate as a club in NLS and stay real for a season or two as a decent non league club abd bucks from there. Wonder if Mr White will finally handover to another team manager? Interesting! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2024 6:20:37 GMT
Impressive comeback by Wealdstone last night. Dorking took a 2 goal lead in the 2nd half but 4 goals from Wealdstone in 20 minutes means its relegation for Dorking. Oh dear the bubble has burst. Can we get Bobby Joe Taylor back now? He’s probably not a George kind of player though. Dorking could keep going on forever in any upward trajectory-they probably- like us - need to consolidate as a club in NLS and stay real for a season or two as a decent non league club abd bucks from there. Wonder if Mr White will finally handover to another team manager? Interesting! Couldn’t keep going in an upward trajectory and build as a non league club. Blooming spellchecker! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2024 22:49:02 GMT
Dorking's fate is interesting. Just how far can a minor club, with a small ground they don't own, go - on the strength of one man's ambition and wallet?
The answer would appear to be no further than this.
Their first NL season wasn't bad. Attendances were good - they had more than doubled their gates coming up from the IP to the NS (700 - 1,455), and they put on another 33% in the NL. (Although how many of those nearly 2,000 could actually see much of the games is debatable...)
And they did fairly well on the pitch. They started brightly - up to 6th place after 4 games. But that was the best they managed, three defeats on the trot saw them drop to 18th. Recovering from this, they spent the next two months around mid-table - although gradually drifting down to 18th again. Then a win (against us!) took them back up to 15th - but that was followed by only one win in nine, ending in 21st place. At which point something happened (I paid no attention to Dorking that season, so I've no idea what - a new player, a return from injury?) and a run of eight wins and three draws saw them safely at 16th by the end of the season.
Their second season started badly, in and out of the relegation zone for the first few weeks, but they pulled themselves out and up to 12th. However, the middle of the season followed the same pattern as the first, with a gradual decline down to the relegation zone by late Jan/early Feb. And this time there was no recovery - a few weeks of bumping along in 20th and 21st, followed by a drop to 23rd, where they remained.
In summary, two fairy similar seasons - OK starts, then a gradual drop down to the relegation zone. But, whatever they managed to do in the first season to get them to safety, they didn't manage to repeat in the second. So the key to their relegation is what happened to save them 30-odd games into the first season - and why they couldn't do the same a year later.
I've no idea - except to suggest that any other club, seeing the same pattern starting to repeat itself coming up to Christmas would have done something drastic to avoid relegation - Fleet, Fylde, Woking and York all managed this. But, that would probably have involved changing managers - and Marc White wasn't about to sack himself.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2024 23:33:33 GMT
I would really like to feel sorry for Dorking but I don't, f**k 'em.
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Post by jdh80 on Apr 13, 2024 4:55:34 GMT
I would really like to feel sorry for Dorking but I don't, f**k 'em. The potential of seeing Dartford, Dover, Dorking and Boreham Wood all getting relegated in the same season for some reason brings a smile to my face... |
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Post by stones1 on Apr 13, 2024 6:57:34 GMT
Not sure about the Dorking hate … club with a lot of good people around it. Still part time and were decimated by injuries this year.
Assume Marc White will step down as manager, personally can’t help but like him for his vulnerable honesty - at least you know her genuinely cares about his club. Exponential success isn’t sustainable and it’s refreshing for a club and a fan base to not view relegation as the end of the world
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2024 8:10:50 GMT
Compared to many of the entitled clubs in the National League, I find Dorking to be a breath of fresh air.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2024 8:18:45 GMT
Marc White is def a marmite type figure.
Def not the perfect manager by a long way, but as the Chairman and Owner he has done incredibly well over several seasons.
I have no doubt that Dorking will be pressing very, very hard, for promotion from the NLS next season.
Reminds me of the Chatham situation where the owner, Kevin Hake, is trying to do it all, with no little success.
It wil be interesting to follow the 'Wanderers Story'.
Good luck to Marc but whether Stones and Dorking clash next season, is in the lap of the football Gods.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2024 9:01:37 GMT
Not sure about the Dorking hate … club with a lot of good people around it. Still part time and were decimated by injuries this year. Assume Marc White will step down as manager, personally can’t help but like him for his vulnerable honesty - at least you know her genuinely cares about his club. Exponential success isn’t sustainable and it’s refreshing for a club and a fan base to not view relegation as the end of the world Is vulnerable honesty another way of saying “hangs his players out to dry in public”. He’s a narcissistic ego maniac who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a manager’s job. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2024 9:12:26 GMT
Not sure about the Dorking hate … club with a lot of good people around it. Still part time and were decimated by injuries this year. Assume Marc White will step down as manager, personally can’t help but like him for his vulnerable honesty - at least you know her genuinely cares about his club. Exponential success isn’t sustainable and it’s refreshing for a club and a fan base to not view relegation as the end of the world Small clubs having money pumped in to them by individuals short/medium term, in the hope that they will somehow magically become sustainable always ends in the same way - Billericay, Margate, Dover, North Ferriby, H&W, Ruston & Diamonds, just off the top of my head - the list is almost endless. And, of course, it affects other clubs in the area - blocking promotion, poaching players, raising salaries/fees, and creating discontent amongst fans (if they can do it, why can't we?) In fairness, Dorking at least got fairly decent support, but not owning their ground (and not being able to substantially develop the one they use) was always going to be the problem. And their chances of growing the club and support are remote. Dorking is a very small town in rural Surrey - population only 17k (compare that to our immediate catchment area - 177,000 - over 10 times as much). And there are no adjacent centres of population to boost their crowds. The closest place of any size is Leatherhead (pop 33k), but they have their own club who play in the ISC. Horsham (pop 51k) is 11 miles away, but they also have their own club (in the IP). Other nearby towns are Redhill/Reigate (combined pop 57k) and Guildford (77k), but this isn't really football country (neither of those towns have clubs higher than Combined Counties). The only place to buck the trend is Crawley, 10 miles away (pop 119k), who, of course, have a successful L2 side (non-league until 2011), but Crawley is not only by far the largest population centre in that area, but also far more urban than is typical in Surrey/Sussex - being next door to Gatwick Airport. Basically, even if White could get the money together to fund a new ground, their gates are never going to be much bigger than they are now (just under 2,000). And whilst that isn't too bad for the NL (Dorking are 14th in the attendance table), it's hardly a sustainable source of income on its own. Without White, Dorking would fade back to what they were - a hobby club, created by a group of friends, dissatisfied with how Wimbledon was being run. Yes, Wimbledon - 20 miles away... |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2024 21:31:47 GMT
Not sure about the Dorking hate … club with a lot of good people around it. Still part time and were decimated by injuries this year. Assume Marc White will step down as manager, personally can’t help but like him for his vulnerable honesty - at least you know her genuinely cares about his club. Exponential success isn’t sustainable and it’s refreshing for a club and a fan base to not view relegation as the end of the world He cares to such an extent that he got involved in fisticuffs with Hak a couple of seasons ago! |
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