Dorking Wanderers F.C.

Dorking Wanderers
Full name	Dorking Wanderers Football Club
Nickname(s)	Wanderers
Founded	1999
Ground	Meadowbank, Dorking
Capacity	3,000 (522 seated)
Chairman	Marc White
Manager	Marc White
League	National League South
2020–21	National League South (season curtailed)
Website	Club website

Dorking Wanderers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Dorking, Surrey, England. Affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association,^[2] they are currently members of the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play at Meadowbank.

History[]

The club was formed in 1999 and initially played in the Crawley & District League.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[4]

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.^[4] As a result, the club were promoted to Division Three of the Sussex County League.^[5] 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.^[5] However, the league initially denied them entry to the division as their ground was not deemed to meet the necessary requirements.^[6] However the club appealed against this decision to the Football Association, who over-ruled the decision after an independent ground grading visit confirmed that the ground reached the mandatory standards for Division One football.^[7] Although the team initially struggled in Division One, finishing third-from-bottom in 2012–13, they finished second in 2014–15, earning promotion to Division One South of the Isthmian League.^[5]

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.^[5] 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, Dorking were sitting top of the league at the point the season was ended.

Reserve team[]

In 2015 the club's reserve team were promoted from the Suburban League to the Combined Counties League.^[8] 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.^[9] The reserve team rejoined the Combined Counties League at the start of the 2018–19 season.

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.^[3] The ground had a small seated stand and covered standing on one side of the pitch, with the remainder being uncovered;^[10] Floodlights were installed in 2012. In July 2018 the club relocated to a refurbished Meadowbank ground,^[11] which had previously been home to Dorking F.C. prior to their disbanding.^[12] Their first game at Meadowbank was a friendly match against Sutton United on 17 July 2018.^[11]

Meadowbank had become the home ground of Dorking F.C. in 1953.^[11] A 200-seat stand was built on one side of the pitch around 1956,^[11] with a covered standing area built on the other. Another covered standing area was installed behind one goal, with the other end left open.^[13] However, they were forced to leave the ground in 2013 after it was shut down for failing to meet health and safety requirements.^[11] Prior to Dorking Wanderers moving to the ground, it was upgraded to include a 300-seat stand, two covered standing areas and an 3G pitch as it was converted to a community sports facility at a cost of £5m.^[11] The Surrey County Football Association also moved their headquarters to Meadowbank when it reopened.^[11]

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^[14]

Current squad[]

As of 25 May 2021.^[15]

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	SVK	Slavomir Huk
2	DF	ENG	Isaac Philpott
3	MF	ENG	Bobby-Joe Taylor
4	DF	ENG	Sami El-Abd
5	DF	ENG	Ed Harris
6	MF	ENG	Niall McManus
7	MF	ENG	Jimmy Muitt
8	MF	ENG	Matt Briggs
9	FW	ENG	Jason Prior
10	FW	ENG	Alfie Rutherford
11	FW	ENG	James McShane
12	DF	ENG	Callum Kennedy
14	MF	ENG	Jake Gallagher
15	MF	ENG	Kane Wills


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	MF	ENG	Nick Wheeler
17	MF	ENG	Josh Taylor
18	MF	ENG	Luke Moore
19	FW	ENG	Giuseppe Sole
20	MF	ENG	Dan Gallagher
21	DF	ENG	Ben Dyett
22	DF	ENG	Barry Fuller
23	MF	ENG	Wes Fogden
25	MF	ENG	George Membrillera
26	GK	ENG	Sam Howes
28	MF	ENG	James Dickson
—	GK	WAL	Lee Worgan
—	MF	ENG	Jerome Beckles

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

Records[]

Best FA Cup performance: Third qualifying round, 2017–18, 2018–19^[5]
Best FA Trophy performance: Third round, 2019–20^[5]
Best FA Vase performance: Second qualifying round, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15^[5]

References[]

^ Meadowbank Archived 16 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine FootballGroundGuide
^ Dorking Wanderers manager praises Surrey FA as 'fair and responsible' This is Surrey, 28 March 2013
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b History Archived 18 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Dorking Wanderers F.C.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c A History Of Dorking Wanderers F.C. Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Dorking Wanderers F.C.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Dorking Wanderers at the Football Club History Database
^ League secretary slams Wanderers Archived 28 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine This is Surrey, 27 April 2012
^ Champagne corks fly as Wanderers Archived 28 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine This is Surrey, 12 July 2012
^ Dorking Wanderers Reserves at the Football Club History Database
^ Groundshare ends Membership for Reserve Side Archived 15 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Combined Counties League
^ The Ryman League South Guide 2016/17^{[permanent dead link]} Lewes F.C.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Return to Meadowbank", Groundtastic, Autumn 2018, pp28–33
^ Dorking's 137 year old football club is closing down leaving just one senior team in the town^{[permanent dead link]} Surrey Mirror, 16 February 2017
^ Dorking Archived 16 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Pyramid Passion
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "First Team Squad". Dorking Wanderers Official Site. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2018.

External links[]

Coordinates: 51°14′04″N 0°20′00″W / 51.234490°N 0.33336396°W / 51.234490; -0.33336396

[1] Meadowbank Archived 16 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine FootballGroundGuide

[2] Dorking Wanderers manager praises Surrey FA as 'fair and responsible' This is Surrey, 28 March 2013

[H-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b History Archived 18 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Dorking Wanderers F.C.

[H2-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c A History Of Dorking Wanderers F.C. Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Dorking Wanderers F.C.

[FCHD-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Dorking Wanderers at the Football Club History Database

[6] League secretary slams Wanderers Archived 28 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine This is Surrey, 27 April 2012

[7] Champagne corks fly as Wanderers Archived 28 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine This is Surrey, 12 July 2012

[8] Dorking Wanderers Reserves at the Football Club History Database

[9] Groundshare ends Membership for Reserve Side Archived 15 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Combined Counties League

[RH-10] The Ryman League South Guide 2016/17^{[permanent dead link]} Lewes F.C.

[GT-11] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Return to Meadowbank", Groundtastic, Autumn 2018, pp28–33

[12] Dorking's 137 year old football club is closing down leaving just one senior team in the town^{[permanent dead link]} Surrey Mirror, 16 February 2017

[13] Dorking Archived 16 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Pyramid Passion

[14] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[15] "First Team Squad". Dorking Wanderers Official Site. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2018.

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