Dorking Wandering
The Dorking Wanderers FC Fans Forum
A first visit to the Testwood Stadium this weekend as we look to bounce back from a tough Easter at newly promoted AFC Totton. The Stags have had a good first season in the NLS and currently sit 13th in the league on 57 points. The Hampshire side have nothing to play for though, as relegation and promotion are both now impossible for them, and this means recent form has seen them pick up just 1 win from their last 5 games.
Marc said in the weekly update that Camp and Rutherford are possibilities for this weekend, but Pat Casey is unlikely to return until the very end of the season. Harry Pinchard will miss the game with the injury picked up on Easter Monday, while Paul McCallum is also a doubt. There was no mention of Tony Craig or Niall McManus.
Predictions:
Totton 1-2 Dorking (Prior, Lewis)
1,602 att.
Foulkes
Francomb Annesley Norville-Williams
Enslin Pybus Sidwell Lewis
F.Vincent
Carter Prior
Subs: Camp, Knight, L.Vincent, Moore, Pearson, Rutherford, Lawrence
The unusual thing about our training arrangements is that we train Mon, Tues and Thurs mornings, so those with jobs have to fit those around these odd hours.
The old arrangement was to train Tues and Thursday evenings, as is common with most part time footballers with jobs
The players we have with outside jobs are almost all over 30
It's not scientific, it's not definitively a problem, it's just a theory of mine, and it could be that the churn of players released this summer drastically reduces the situation
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
i guess the counter argument is that situation (two job players) is not uniquely a DWFC issue. The reality is most teams at this level have players balancing work alongside football. If that alone was the main cause, you’d expect most clubs in the division to be dealing with a similar level of injuries, and they’re not. So I don’t think that explanation really holds up on its own.
While many players at this level will have jobs outside of football, most of them would be playing in part time clubs. Dorking are fairly unique in that they have players who have been at the club 6+ years and have therefore gone from playing Step 3/4 football, training a couple of nights a week, to playing Step 1/2 football and training 3 mornings a week.
That is a tough transition to make, especially as you get to the wrong side of 30.
@calvertskans Yep - and this is also why it's not a disaster (imo) to spend another season in the NLS, if we have to. We are going through a big transition atm, brought about by the reasons you say, and this will take a few seasons to sort and settle, and won't happen overnight, obviously.
