Dorking Wandering
The Dorking Wanderers FC Fans Forum
Club said 3 new signings today, first at 9am. Tweet last night indicated first may have been involved in World Cup qualifiers this month (presumably for lower ranked country).
@adeb I get that, but Marc doesn't seem to have any faith in any of the youngsters.
I honestly can't see us managing a whole season with just two strikers.
I know Charlie can play slightly higher up, but he certainly isn't a 20 goal a season striker that we badly need
Only needs one to pick up an injury, then we are looking into the the loan market and possibly a panic recruit
I'll have a Guinness
@adeb I get that, but Marc doesn't seem to have any faith in any of the youngsters.
I honestly can't see us managing a whole season with just two strikers.
I know Charlie can play slightly higher up, but he certainly isn't a 20 goal a season striker that we badly need
Only needs one to pick up an injury, then we are looking into the the loan market and possibly a panic recruit
Yes just having two strikers worries me too. Jason will be 37 in December. What if he or Alfie gets injured? I know Charlie Carter, Jimmy Muitt and Paul McShane can contribute goals, but still look a little weak up front.
@adeb I get that, but Marc doesn't seem to have any faith in any of the youngsters.
I honestly can't see us managing a whole season with just two strikers.
I know Charlie can play slightly higher up, but he certainly isn't a 20 goal a season striker that we badly need
Only needs one to pick up an injury, then we are looking into the the loan market and possibly a panic recruit
Paul McShane can contribute goals
James' younger brother?
Seriously tho - surely McShane is an option up front?
I get that but he’s more of a number 10 then a striker
Maybe Marc could go and whisper in Seagers ear. Got 34 goals last season and we all know he will get goals at this level
I'll have a Guinness
Seriously tho - surely McShane is an option up front?
Squad list confirms James McShane as third striker. Assume Marc intends to get emergency loan keeper in if Foulkes injured.
Curious how the squad will look with the new signings. Both Vincent and Lewis are listed as Wingers. Our midfield looks stacked with Taylor, Pybus (if he can get back to it), and Carter. I like the idea of a back three with Camp, Annesley, and JNW. Pace, aggression, and some height.
Hopefully, Alfie can score like he did in the 21-22 season. Also, with Annesley (what is he 6'4"?)in the back, maybe there won't be such an emphasis on JP helping out with defensive duties like corners, i.e. resting JP more.
Yes just having two strikers worries me too. Jason will be 37 in December. What if he or Alfie gets injured? I know Charlie Carter, Jimmy Muitt and Paul McShane can contribute goals, but still look a little weak up front.
This is the point.
We have a key man dependency on Alfie. He is the only striker we have who can run in behind and stretch teams.
Yes we have Macca but he plays in the hole and is more of a back up. JP plays a specific role, but is not ever doing the job Alfie does.
If Alfie gets injured or goes off form our forward line is severely weakened.
So either there is a +1 to come into the team perhaps after the season has already started, as was the case last season. Or there is a plan to use someone like Carter in that role.
As it stands it's a squad of 19, plus 3 youngsters that I doubt will get much game time (based on Marc almost never really trusting such youngsters in league matches)
I don't know if there is wiggle room in the budget, but any major injuroy problems and at the least the loan market will need to be used
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
@steve1966 We definately need another striker. Can only assume he will be looking at the loan market for one
@dorking-eagle What is the record amount of minutes one of the academy lads has managed in a league game?
From memory it was 25 minutes and that only happened once, and the lad was smashed to bits afterwards in the post match press conference for being shit. Usually they only get 3 minutes in injury time.
Hayden Gale, Seb Cabballero, and Jack Saunders will know themselves that the squad place is merely a vehicle for getting a loan move somewhere and getting senior football elsewhere. If one of them can get a regular starting place at an Isthmian Prem club (in the division below) and go from there they are doing well.
I thought Joe Rabbetts would have got on the fringes of the first team following a very positive time at step 3 Bognor, but it never came to be, and he is now at step 4 Sholing. It is great there is a thriving academy at DWFC however it doesn't look likely that players will often get first team opportunities at DWD outside of friendlies and (mostly Surrey Senior) cup matches.
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
@dorking-eagle Sholing are Step 3
As others have said, not much point in signing a 3rd/4th striker at this point as they would just be sitting on the bench 90% of the time. McShane is definitely the 3rd choice striker option, not sure why people are questioning that? He was our top scorer in our first NL season people seem to forget (more than Seager). He should also look a bit sharper and stronger with a full pre-season under his belt.
Marc has also said that we may switch formation at times and play a 4-2-3-1 which requires less strikers on the pitch anyway. This should mean Prior and Rutherford rotate and play less minutes.
We're effectively going in to this season with the same forward options that we had last season (Murphy made one league start...) and we were top scorers in the league last year. However, if/when the situation arises where we need another striker then we will just sign one. There will be plenty of loan options available.
Wingers feel like more of a problem area than strikers to me. Vincent is definitely not a winger and JNW will be at LB/LCB more often than not so that leaves us with just Muitt and Lewis. Dennon has a very lean goalscoring record as well.
What I like about Dorking is that they get most of their squad sorted early. This means that Marc can start pre-season with virtually a full squad and has a full 6 weeks to assess and coach his squad. They also release their new shirts and season tickets early. Much more organised than Crawley!
Crawley normally work with a bigger squad (25-27), but tend to start by selling off players they can get money for, want to leave or let those go that don't renew contracts. They then try and find new players.
That means they start pre-season this week with 19 players and still need to find a 1/3 of the squad including most of the midfield. Season tickets went on sale last month, but still no kit release.
I think getting money in as early as possible is the main motivator.
Nevertheless, I do agree with it. I get impatient very easily, as I like things done promptly, and so it's good to know pre-season fixtures, kits etc as soon as possible
Marc is an astute businessman, but also was a home and away fan himself first and foremost, so he can see things through the fans eyes. He knows that fans want loads of information and comms, to be able to feel like an insider in the club and to feel fully included and involved and an integral part of things. I think that is a big reason why things are done which put the supporters front and centre.
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
