INTRODUCTION
Dorking was founded in 1999, and after 11 promotions in 19 years find themselves in National League South. Dorking was at the top of the table when last season was cancelled and could’ve had the 12th promotion.
Initially, the club played their games at Westhumble for many seasons. Still, due to rapid climbing through the leagues, the need for infrastructure and demands also change. The club now has a 3.000 seat stadium refurbished in 2018 after Dorking FC disbanding.
Several players have followed the club through the leagues and still play for the club. All three players with the most league appearances still play there, and the longest-serving players have been with the club for 10 years. The only player the club ever paid a transfer fee for is the prolific goalscorer Jason Prior. This former full-time pro also had a trial at Newcastle at 23 but failed to impress. Last season the club also gave squad numbers to the first players from the academy. One of them, Olly Allen, has also attracted interest from Premier League clubs such as Wolves and Brighton. Hopefully, this can be a new trend for the club to develop its own players and make a sustainable economy by selling them on.
As of now, the club is one promotion away from switching to full-time status. However, as mentioned, the club was top of the table when last season was cancelled, so the possibilities of going up and turning pro are definitely theirs for the taking. It’s just a matter of time before it happens.
Chairman, owner and manager Marc White started the club with mates in 1999 and played himself for the first years. However, with the rapid rise through the leagues, White fell short out on the pitch and shifted focus to the managerial side of the game. From a just fantasy when this all started to be on the brink of professional football, it’s time for White to hand over the team to the new manager and focus on running the club.
With Marc White taking of one of his many hats, there’s time for a new manager to step in at Dorking Wanderers. After a thorough and lengthy process, White has landed on his successor and hopefully feels comfortable with appointing the new manager. All the way from Norway comes 34-year old Kristian Hoffmann with only experience from youth football. Hoffmann has never managed a senior side before. Still, with excellent leadership skills and a hard-working mentality, it looks like they have found the right man for the job. A good track record of developing youth players is also quite appealing with the late development in the academy.
After all, Marc White built his career from no experience himself, so who’s better than him to take a punt on an up and coming manager?
FM Veteran 