Wandering to the top

Save Premise

So here we are. A new version of FM and a chance to get stuck in with a save. This is going to be a simple road to glory save taking Dorking Wanderers to the Premiership and to win the Champions League on the way. Something that after 20 or so years playing FM i have never done to the best of my memory and so its time to cross that off the old FM bucket list.

Dorking are the most local team to where I live and so playing some homage to Lollujo and his Non-League to Legend save on Youtube, I thought local was a good place to start. However, that is where the similarities end as I already mentioned I am planning to stick it out with Dorking the whole save and I also won't be adding the realism pieces he mentioned. I will choose my staff and I will do my own player searching but attribute masking is very much turned on.

I will also start with no-coaching badges and the lowest level of experience meaning I will also need to get them sorted as I go up the leagues as well.

Dorking Wanderers: The lowdown


The club were formed in 1999 and initially played in the Crawley & District League. After just one season the club decided to switch to the West Sussex League playing in Division 4 (16th tier in English football). Dorking won the league at the first attempt and in their first season in Division 3 they finished 2nd getting back to back promotions. In the 2003-04 season they won Division 2 and in the 2005-06 season they finished 3rd in Division one to get themselves into the Premier Division (11th Tier of English football) to make it 4 promotions in 6 seasons.

Things only got better from there. In 2006-07 Dorking won the West Sussex League's Premier Division clinching the title with a win on the final day meaning the club was promoted to Division 3 of the Sussex County League. In 2010-11 they won Division Three and in the following season they came third in Division two to seal back to back promotions and get themselves to Division one.

However, the club were denited entry into the league initially due to their ground being deemed not fit for purpose but an appeal saw the FA over-rule the decision to allow them into Division one. Initially the club struggled finishing third from botton in 2012-13 but just two seasons later they finished 2nd in 2014-15 earning promotion to Division one South of the Isthmian League

In Wanderers' first season in the Isthmian League they finished as runners up in Division One South qualifying for the promotion play-offs, however they lost in the semi-finals to Faversham Town. The following season saw them finish 2nd again but this time they managed to beat both Hasting United and Corinthian Casuals on penalties to seal promotion to the Premier Division. Just two seasons later they won the Premier Division by a margin of 22 points earning them promotion to the National League South for the very first time.

An incredible 11 promotions in just 19 years and if it wasn't for Covid it very well may have been more. In the 2019-20 season the league was stopped with Dorking 7th in the league which meant they qualified for the promotion play-offs. Despite beating Bath City in the quarter finals they lost to Weymouth in the Semi-finals 3-2. The 2020-21 season was made null and void due to Covid but at the time that decision was made Dorking were sitting top of the league.

Now to add to the story, all of that has been acheived under the helm of Marc White. Not only has Marc White managed the side throughout their whole history, he is also remarkably the owner and founder of the club. This is a club he started with some mates, even played in the team for the first few seasons. A true one man club. You can read more about his story here.

However, after 22 years it is time to hand the management reigns to a new man..... Me

Gonna be a long road, hope you stick with it to the end!

Season Expectations

So after two good seasons in the Vanarama South the Media clearly have predicted big things for the third straight season with the club being predicted 2nd for this season. The pre-season odds though have us in 7th which does at least align with the boards expectations of getting into the play-offs this season with promotion next. The pressure is certainly on to get off to a good start.


The Squad

So looking at the team there is quality here for sure. In goal we have 39 year old Stuart Nelson who comes having had lots of experience in League 1 with Gillingham and should at least do a role this season for us.

The defence out of everywhere needs the most work. Not only are we short in numbers but quality wise we have some challenges. Barry Fuller is another league veteran with lots of experience and his mentals are superb. Physically he lacks and I have worries playing a right back with just 5 pace. Therefore we are going to have to look at a right back as well as a centre half or two if we are going to challenge seriously.

The midfield has not one but two taylors in the side. Bobby-Joe Taylor and Josh Taylor make up a good half of the midfield. Niall McManus is a third decent midfielder. The current plan is for McManus and Josh Taylor to make up the midfield two with Bobby Joe playing out on the left hand side. A right winger is another area for us to look at as the current options are servicable but not ideal. Unfortunately for us our best midfielder Wes Fogden is injured with an ACL tear meaning he will miss the whole season which is a massive shame.

Up top Jason Prior is going to be our main striker this season. The full squad can be seen below


The budgets

So to help us with our aspirations we have £15k in transfer budget and £750 per week spare in wages which should be plenty in helping us beef up the squad for the promotion fight

Formation & Tactics

So lower league football here i come, quite a stark difference to the Man City Beta save and one where we are going to have to use a completely different tactic. The urge and desire to play with Wide Centre backs is there but let's be honest this is the 6th tier of English football and something a little more simple is going to be needed. So welcome to the 4-4-2


For now we are going to keep it simple. A standard 4-4-2 with the aim to get the ball wide and to get the ball in the box. With Jason Prior being a decent Target Forward, i want to make sure we have a focal point up top, A striker that can score a header or alternatively knock it down for the 2nd striker to put away. Bobby Joe Taylor is a strong left winger and can cross and so I will have him slightly more attacking than the right hand side but that will be countered by having a Mezzala set to attack in the RCM position which i think will give us a nice balance. Defensively its pretty standard with the right back (Currently sill Fuller) set to be more defensive as his pace is not going to catch anyone if the opposition gets behind him. So having him sit a little will try and navigate that.

I still want to engage high up the park and our defensive line is set to Standard for now meaning we will need to be direct with our passing to get it from the back to the front quickly but with our defensive pace it just seems a little risky to be pushing too far up the park for now. This is how we will start the season but no doubt things will change with the arrival of new faces or with results. As we go up the leagues fully expect this to evolve into something entirely different.

Transfer Business

It has been a fairly quiet pre-season with two new faces in whilst also offloading two unwanted players. Dozens of players came in on trial as we looked and explored new options and quite frankly we were beaten to a number of players as I definitely found the transfer window more competitive than in previous versions as the AI came in and poached many of the prospects that I had lined up.

Leaving the club were James Muitt (£1.2k to Dag & Red) and Kane Willis (£725 to Billericay) which was nice to get a little bit of revenue but the additional £700 p/w on the wage budget was the real benefit for us. Muitt was one of a number of ok right wing options and was slightly weaker than the other two whilst we were overstocked in the centre of midfield and Willis was an older option. In fact looking through the team again it is clear we are an old team that will need freshening up quickly.

In terms of inbounds, the two signings were Centre Half Jamie Bradley-Green and striker Shamir Mullings who both joined on free transfers. Bradley-Green is on a non-contract and has been at both Chelsea and Southampton previously. He has good heading and jumping reach meaning he will be an asset at both ends of the park but i mainly chose him due to his overall all-roundedness with none of his key attributes dropping below an 8. There were players with better attributes in places but these were always countered by some shocking ones elsewhere (Normally in Positioning / Concentration) and in my experience that can lead to mistakes. I think he is solid, young and a step above what we had.

Shamir Mullings on the other hand is a different kind of beast. A Non-league journeyman who has lots of experience but has struggled a bit to settle down and get some goals. Four seasons ago he did have a good 1/2 season with Chelmsford where bagged 12 in 18 that sealed a move to Forest Green for £20k but he has failed to kick on. Again there were flashier players available but we couldn't land them and Mullings performances in pre-season were excellent plus look at his key stats. He is 6"5, can head the ball with good jumping reach. The ultimate big man to aim for and so although not as rounded as Prior he gives us a 2nd option up top and with both Mullings and Prior as a front two we should have the strikers to get onto these crosses in the box.

We are still looking to add some new faces to the squad. The board said i could have a Senior Affiliate but were unable to find a suitable club so that avenue is currently closed but I am trialling a few more players out as we look to bolster options. The full back options still need some work and another left hand sided winger are the priorities but with the beauty of no transfer windows in Non-league we still have some time left.

Pre-season


A very solid, high scoring pre-season as we picked up 6 victories and a draw across our 7 pre season games. Solid results against Woking and Bromley who are in the League above us whilst we flexed some goal-scoring capabilities with 26 goals across all 7 games. Defensively it is clear we have work to do as conceding 9 isnt perfect but the formation and style of play seems to work. Some improvements in defence and we should bring down the number of chances we concede.

Now its time to get to going

Great update, really nice details. Be interesting to see how direct passing works for you: all the guides say that it's the best thing for LLM saves, but I've always found that you lose too much possession.

The season has started very well as the players have taken to the formation and tactics and executed near flawlessly to see us into 2nd position in the league. It is still early days but the signs are really encouraging.

On opening day of the season we travelled to Concord Rangers and things got off to a good start as Jason Prior flicked on a Bobby-Joe Taylor corner to the backpost with Jamie Bradley-Green scoring on his debut to put us 1-0 up. However, we still showed some weakness in our defending and when it came to half time we were 2-1 down. Albeit it was completely against the run of play. In the second half we persisted and we eventually got the equaliser with Jason Prior heading in from another Bobby-Joe Corner. We even had a goal disallowed with a few minutes to go as James McShane was judged to be a yard off-side.

Post match it was obvious our defence still needed some work and with first choice left back Callum Kennedy out injured, I did what Zealand would do and i turned to the loan market. MK Dons sent me Jack Davies for the season. Physically he is solid and although his technicals and mentals lack double figures, on closer expection his stats are all above a 7 so although not excellent, he doesnt have too many glaring weaknesses. A nice solid option as the season goes on.

Going into our first home game of the save, we were up against St Albans and we blew them away in the first half with three goals (2 for Jason Prior and 1 for Bobby Joe Taylor) as we had 17 shots before half time restricting our visitors to 0 shots. They got a little more into the game as it went on but were unable to break our defence down as we eased into a 3-0 victory. Once again it was set piece heaven as Jason Prior scored from another corner and the penalty spot with Bobby-Joe Taylor looking a class above this league already.

Another match down and another new face as we welcomed James Rowe to the club to provide another alternative in the centre of midfield. Recently at Aldershot town he has typically played in the Vanarama National / League 2 and he looks like an allround clasdy midfield option in an area that will surely suffer the most with fatigue.

His arrival spurred on another good performance as we went away to Braintree Town and although the winning margin was just 1 goal we had in total 30 shots at their goal as we rained in the crosses. New striker Shamir Mullings bagging a headed goal to get off the mark and secure us a 1-0 win. It was a goal I was personally really happy to see as out of all of my new signings Mullings was the one that I was the most nervous about. He doesnt fit the mould of what i usually buy and I can't remember ever buying a striker with finishing under 10 but he fits what I am trying to do with this team and it worked.

It was just 2 days until our 4th and final fixture of August (Who schedules that for part timers?) but we still had time to add another new face to the squad. It was back to the loan market again as we added in Luke Redfearn from Burton Albion for the season. A young centre half and one just to fill the squad out so we have options especially when we get to fixture congestion.

So onto our 2nd home game of the season and this time we welcomed Hungerford Town to the Meadowbank. Within 10 minutes we were 3-0 up as Mullings, Prior and Harris scored goals. James Mcshane and Bobby-Joe Taylor added a 4th and 4th in the second half as despite being unfit from playing just two days prior we came away with a solid 5-0 victory.

Analysis and Thoughts

A great start, 10 points out of 12 and 3 clean sheets from 4 games and goals are flying in as we have 11 from 4 already. The squad is playing well especially Bobby-Joe Taylor who has been superb. Young Jack Davies has 3 assists from left back as the crossing is doing the trick with both Mullings and Prior to aim fo. Prior has 4 goals as well and looks like the striker we need to fuel a promotion push.


The data hub is now starting to fill up with data to get an overview of what is working and the clear stat that stands out is the cross completion rate where we are completing an incredible 38% of all crosses which is way above the league average and its clearly working as our average goals per game of 2.75. The directness of the passing that this tactic relies on was a worry but again so far our pass completion rate is roughly on par with the average for the league but I will keep an eye on it for sure.

Another month down and another flawless performance as we really start to gel into a good team. The Month kicked off with a trip to Chelmsford who were sitting in 18th. James Rowe got his first two goals from the club as he picked up two Jason Prior knock downs to put us in a good position. A Chelmsford goal threatened to make it a nervous affair but a goal from Jason Prior late into stoppage time prevented dropped points as we picked up a 3-1 win.

Back at the Meadowbank we had our toughest game yet against Billericay who were also undefeated going into the game. Both teams had the meanest defences in the league and for 30 minutes it looked like it was going to be one of them tight games with very few chances. However, then stepped up Shamir Mullings who inspired 3 goals in 7 minutes bagging two himself before James Rowe added a third to give us a very comfortable 3-0 win.

It was then FA Cup time and our time to experience the magic of the cup. Our 2nd Qualifying round tie saw us drawn at home with lower league side Tavistock. We made 8 changes to the team as we looked to rotate and to keep people fresh and despite the changes we put out our most dominant display yet as we bagged 8 goals in an 8-0 demolition. Mullings bagging a second consecutive brace but it was his strike partner Alfie Rutherford who shone the brightest bagging a hat-trick. James Rowe also continued his fine goal scoring run getting a goal making it 4 in 3 games for another of our new signings. Next month we have the 3rd Qualifying round where we will be at home against Hornchurch.

September finished off with an away trip to bottom of the table Tonbridge Angels and back at full strength we took a little while to get going as Tonbridge managed to hold us for the first half as we struggled to break them down. However, in the 47th minute Jason Prior hit the goal of the season latching onto a Shamir Mullings knockdown from 30 yards to rifle in a half volley into the bottom corner. It was spectacular. Just 13 minutes later Prior won a penalty and the excellent Bobby-Joe Taylor slotted the penalty home to give us a 2-0 victory. It left the table looking like this


Analysis and Thoughts


Currently I don't think there is a better Non-league player than Bobby-Joe. His average rating of 8.18 is insane and with 3 goals and 7 assists in just 8 games he is contributing more than a goal a game at the moment. On all of our set-pieces he is the perfect person to get the ball to Jason Prior and Shamir Mullings who between them have 12 goals in the 8 games we have played so far.

With two big men up front (Mullings 6"5 & Prior 6"1) getting the ball into the box is essential to our game plan working and so far the team have done a good job in achieving that.


We are putting the ball into the box more than any other team (20% higher than the next team) but its the quality of the crosses that also shines as we have the highest completion rate at 32% which I think goes to explain our high numbers of shots (142 across 8 games at an average of 17.75 shots a match) and our high header win rate (72%). We are able to dominate aerially and Bobby Joe Taylor is often the architect of getting the ball to the big men.

The plan is working

Our busiest month yet as the FA Cup starts to kick into gear and we are still in a good position. The FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round was up first as Hornchurch came to the Meadowbank and once again Mr. FA Cup Alfie Rutherford stepped up bagging his 2nd hat-trick in the competition as we came away with a 4-1 victory and booking our 4th Qualifying round spot against Billericay.

Before that FA Cup tie though we hosted Bath City who were in 4th and on paper our toughest tie this season but they still were not a match for our front line with Shamir Mullings bagging a brace and Jason Prior getting one himself as we smashed them 3-0.

Back in the FA Cup against Billericay in our third home tie on the bounce we once again brushed the Essex side away with relative ease with Mullings and Prior both getting a goal apiece to seal a 2-0 win and our place in the 1st round proper. The draw is in and we will be going away for the first time in the competition as we take on Grimsby of the Vanarama National where they currently sit atop the table.

From here the games were coming every 3-4 days and with non-league players it is where it gets tough to keep players fit and the team strong with all of the rotation. That showed a little in the game against Oxford City and it took a 91st minute goal from Sub Alfie Rutherford to seal another win! However, in the next game against Maidstone we faltered for the first time this season. Rutherford bagged an early goal but an 8 minute spell in the 2nd half saw us go from 1-0 up to 3-1 down. A late goal from Rutherford threatened to get us back in the match but we went down to our first defeat of the season.

However, a good team bounces back and we did just that. Eastbourne felt that fury as we went 4-0 up after 49 minutes with Josh Taylor getting a brace, Luke Redfearn scoring his first goal for the club and Alfie Rutherford scoring yet again. We eased off in the 2nd half and the scoreline of 4-2 made it look like a close encounter but we were never really threatened. The month finished off as we hosted Dartford and we went 1-0 down and it just looked like one of them days where we couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. So what do you do? Well you put on a 6"5 beast in Shamir Mullings who on his first touch scored a header from a corner before curling in a Henry-esque goal to seal a 2-1 victory. Both goals coming on the big mans birthday.


A 10 point lead at the top of the table after just 12 games is insane. Just 5 points dropped and we are looking superb and its possibly the first time ever i feel like we have a real tactical fluidity to a team that is just doing everything that I imagined. Its superb to watch

Analysis and Thoughts


Alfie Rutherford. A forgotton man of sorts with both Mullings (11) and Prior (8) bagging the goals up top in a strong strike partnership. Before October, he had just a couple of starts bagging a hat-trick against Tavistock but he was struggling to get game time. However, he was give his chance and he has not let us down getting 7 goals in October and we now have three strikers on brilliant form which goes a long way to explain our goalscoring with 31 goals scored in the league and 14 in just 3 FA Cup games. 45 Goals in 15 games is insane.

A big part of the success is set pieces. The height of our team with Mullings, Prior, Bradley-Green and Harris in the box is causing huge issues. With Bobby-Joe Taylor delivering we have an incredible 8 goals in the league already from corners. That is 26% of our league goals from just this one set piece!

Now I also want to talk a bit about the defence which so far have been neglected a little with the attack getting all of the plaudits. Defensively, our game has been incredibly solid, We have the best defence in the league and as you can see below its not by luck


We do not give the opposition many shots, in fact averaging less than 10 shots a game faced and that is a big reason why we are not conceding. If this end carries on doing what it has been doing then it is obvious that we have the firepower to win games and we will be in the Vanarama National very soon

Another quiet month as the Cup competitions take centre stage as we competed in both the FA Cup and the FA Trophy whilst we also got a little break in the league as well. Before we get into the games there was one more exit as we moved on Luke Moore as he joined Eastbourne Boro on a free transfer. It was another £400 per week off the wages for a man that was 33 and not even making the bench.

The FA Cup 1st round tie started the month as we travelled north to go to Grimsby. Certainly our hardest match all season and we were outplayed off the park as their obvious superior skills came into play. The end score-line made the game seem closer as we bagged two goals in the last 9 minutes thanks to Alfie Rutherford taking his FA Cup tally this season to 8 but we lost only our 2nd game all season - 3-2. Our Cup run is over but it just gives us the ability to concentrate on the League.

Three days later we had 2nd placed Hemel Hempstead away from home. Despite having a decent point gap over them there was pressure on this tie. Our team was tired from the Cup game and we had played a game more than them so our gap of 8 points could easily be cut down to 2 if we lost. The boys rose to the occasion as Alfie Rutherford scored another brace in the first half to give us a comfortable 2-0 win.

We then went away to Slough Town, a tricky tie as they were in and around the play-off spots and we went a goal behind. However, these boys don't panic and Alfie Rutherford bagged a third brace of the month before Shamir Mullings put the game to bed. A 3-1 victory and we still have only dropped 5 points in the league.

Then came a 2 week break as we let the rest of the league play their game in hand before we were back in action in the FA Trophy as we entertained Worthing from the lower leagues. A rotated squad did the job as Shamir Mullings bagged both goals in a very comfortable 2-0 win. Our reward is a 3rd round away tie against fellow Vanarama South side Dulwich Hamlet next month. So as we go into the festive season the league looks like this


Analysis and Thoughts

Our great start to the season has carried on and we hold a very comfortable 7 point lead at the top. I feel confident enough at this stage of the season the play-offs are a definite which means the boards expectations in all competitions will be met but with this sort of form and gap we need to now go and clinch the title and get our 12th promotion in 22 seasons.


To do that we need to keep the goals coming and the contributions from my three strikers who are all in the high scoring, high assisting quadrant and it just means we are so dangerous. Jason Prior has been on a bad patch of form but Alfie Rutherford has come in and taken the mantle and as you can see is averaging over a goal every 90 minutes. Its insane and long may it continue.


Equally another area i have been impressed with is our average possession. With such a direct style of play there was a danger we wouldn't keep the ball but in fact we sit 6th in the table and we typically on average have slightly, ever so slightly more of the ball.and therefore not inviting too much pressure on. Its something I am constantly monitoring but so far there are no amber warning lights that i can see that make me worried our form is going to drop off anytime soon

Another month down and the Dorking Express is still in full throttle as we look to hunt down promotion early. A near perfect month in the league and further cup progression has been another good month. Especially when you look at some of the sides we beat in the League as they were very much in the chasing pack and our lead has now extended.

Dulwich Hamlet though did get a little bit of revenge on us after knocking them out in the Cup as they claimed a 3-3 draw where we needed a last minute penalty to prevent us losing our 3rd game of the season. Formation wise they play with 3 AMC's and it just meant they were able to get behind our midfield two and get at the defence with some midfield runners. We struggled but managed to avoid that defeat. It leaves the table like this


The gap is widening and at 11 points surely we can't do a DrBenjy and bottle it from here. The 100 point mark is looking possible as we chase down a historical promotion for the team. We do have to be a little careful, malaise and over confidence don't creep in as we had some tighter games than normal and with Jason Prior still not finding the net we have one of our strikers in a really bad run of form. It increases the pressure on Shamir Mullings and Alfie Rutherford but so far they are staying upto the challenge

Analysis and Thoughts

Not a huge amount to talk about that we haven't covered before. Tactically we have had to make a small tweak moving the left back from wing back duties to full back duties as MK Dons were complaining about Jack Davies playing in that role instead of the one we agreed as part of his loan. Burton Albion also came in and complained about Luke Redfearns game time but we managed to back them down a little on that one.

The only exciting piece of news is we got our preview for our youth intake. With our facilities still poor, I am not hopeful but this is what we got.


Not the most to work with but we will see in March time what it looks like in reality

A busy month as things slightly caught up with us and at times we did struggle but I'll come to the results in a minute. First off lets cover some transfers. All season I have been keeping my eye out on some new faces and right back was an area of concern for me. Barry Fuller is a solid player but 5 pace and at 37 years of age we needed a younger alternative that was just a little more mobile. One of the things that the data hub and the squad stats show is that we are creating far more down our left then we are on our right. Our right midfield also needs a little bit of work but so far I have failed to find the winger that will improve us.

We did though find a right back as Togolese International Steve Lawson joins on a free transfer having left Scottish Premier Division side Livingston at the end of last season. Incredibly well rounded and with 12 pace a lot faster than Fuller. It means instead of a full back on defence duties we can move it to support which should mean we have more men going forward on the right hand side and hopefully create a little more down that flank.

There have been two exists as Jeremy Beckles and Slavomir Huk both left on free transfers. Beckles was the longest serving Dorking player but has sat in the reserves all season and has gone to Mospiel to get some gamae time. Whilst Huk was our back up keeper and a club Icon that wanted a new challenge. I said yes and he has joined Grimsby Town. Both went for no money but help to keep the wage budget in control. I now only have one keeper at the club so I am desperately trialling out some keepers with the view to bringing someone else in. With Nelson our only option and at 40 years of age, getting someone who could be our long term No.1 is the priority. So onto the results


We dropped 7 points in January alone. That is just 3 less than what had dropped all season up until this point and we also had an exit from the FA Trophy at the hands of Weymouth. It was tough, fatigue was definitely a factor as the games come thick and fast plus we got sloppy in the defence. I think we conceded more this month than we had all season.

We were always going to run into a tricky patch but I think we have managed to get ourselves out of the worst of it. At one point our gap at the top was down to 5 points but the last three games have righted it and we have restored our lead to 11 points again over Oxford City.


So despite struggling we are still dominating and with just over 3 months to go we are in the driving seat to take home the title. Play-offs are now a foregone certaintly with a 20 point gap with 16 games to go and if we can stay somewhat consistent I think we will have enough to seal this first of hopefully many promotions.

Analysis and Thoughts

So I am still investigating to see if there is a reason why our defence suddenly started getting a little leaky. I think its just fatigue and rotation but I am trying to navigate the data hub to get any more insight. Part of the problem is we have limited analysis available and secondly I am just not sure if i am getting anything truly meaningul.

Either way in February the number of matches is down to four which means we can play a regular backline and monitor if the problem persists or dies down. One thing that i have looked at is the squad performance to see where we can improve.


This helped me officially recognise right back was an area of improvement. If you look at the left backs (Kennedy, Davies) versus the right backs (Fuller, Philpott) there is a vast difference in the assist columns. The left backs have 1 goal and 10 assists to their name whilst the right backs have just 2 assists. We are getting a lot more out and i think part of the problem was because of Fuller's lack of speed I was playing him more defensively as i didnt feel like he had the pace to get back and defend if someone went around him. With Lawson now in i am hoping by moving to a support mentality I will be able to get more from the right hand side.

Equally we have a similar problem on the right midfield slot where average ratings have been less as well as goal and assist outputs. The big difference here though is Bobby-Joe Taylor who is playing on the left is on all of our set-pieces and we are picking up lots of assists and goals through that channel so it is a lot harder to compare apples with apples. Either way performances can be improved and it means the next signing after we solve the Goalkeeping hole is going to be a right winger.

For the rest of the season I am going to be reviewing the whole first team as we prepare to renew contracts and from there I can determine where we need to improve.

A bizarre month for us as we experienced some highs and also a big fat low. I said i wanted to control the number of goals we were conceding and the first two matches showed we still had some problems. Tonbridge were bottom of the league and scored two in the first half where we just didnt close them down. Luckily we powered through in the second half to take the game away from them.

The Bath game was a disaster as we had chances but just fell apart defensively and it was here that i decided that we needed to make more tweaks to the set up. I moved both full backs to support duty away from their attacking duties to try and ensure we can't be got at. The last two games were both clean sheets as we drew with Chelmsford 0-0 and beat Maidstone 4-0 to at least end the month on a high. The Chelmsford game was disappointing as they have been struggling all season but the Maidstone game was us back at our best again which we hadn't really seen since November/December.


Table wise, despite being a little hit and miss we have extended our lead at the top to 12 points with 12 points to go. I am going to need a DrBenjy level bottle job to lose the title here.... surely? Either way my thoughts have moved to us being in the 5th Tier and i have started scouting around for the top performers in the 6th tier to see if they will come with us as we go to the Vanarama National.

One new player has joined and that is Harvey White who will be our back-up keeper this season. He came through at QPR and spent some time at Woking last year, he was the best of the bunch and has some potential. His low positoning is the main worry but he is here and will be back up this season and next.

Analysis and Thoughts


I am going to leave it a few more games to see if the slight tactical tweak solves the defensive challenges but my main focus right now is on possible reinforcement areas for next season. Squad wise we are older than what i would like and so youth or at least players under 28 are going to be the main focus. Based on the last few months defensive performances we are going to need to look at the defence and in particular probably two new starter centre halves with Bradley-Green being the main backup. A new keeper to boot as Stuart Nelson being 40 years of age does worry me. The other main area is going to be right midfield where we have not had a starter that has really nailed down the place and contributed enough.

So 4 definite needs and also left back could be an option depending if we are able to keep Jack Davies here for another season.

Another Month down and our charge to the title is still looking strong despite failing to keep a clean sheet all month. We are certainly not as good as we were in the first half of the season but we are doing enough to seal the title.


Our first intake is through as well and as expected it wasn't great. In fact it has come through slightly worse than what the preview said. With Lower league management, you have to be really careful in who you offer contracts for as you can easily use up your wage budget on youngsters who never make the grade. With that being said, I signed just the one player from the intake. Scott Jones could be a solid left back in a year or two. He needs some work but has some base line stats such as tackling, teamwork and decisions that means he could end up being ok.

Analysis and Thoughts


The lack of clean sheets is certainly annoying me but I know i need to work on the defence anyway for next season. Luckily we have the firepower in this division to at least outscore the opposition and get the points we need to secure this title. The question is.... can we do that next season. Are the strikers good enough next season. Having already decided on the obvious areas of reinforcements, are there some less obvious areas that we need to look at.


So I have started looking at the strikers in much more detail and really trying to get under the bonnet of their performances. Now all three have scored a lot of goals and because of that I would normally give them all out a new contract for next season but is that the right thing to do?

Alfie Rutherford is the weakest from CA point of view but has the most eye catching stats. Scoring over a goal every 90 minutes, he has been ruthless this season. Scoring 21 goals from just 79 shots all season means he is far outperforming his xG and has the highest conversion rate (26%) which is more than double the next man. The chances certainly do fall to Mullings who has more shots per game (often headers that go over the bar) and he is doing a reasonable job in converting them. Jason Prior has the worst conversion rate of 9% and the worst goals to 90 minutes ratio. He is also the only striker to really go on a drought as he went 15 games without scoring.

Looking through the stats, Jason Prior is the man who i could sacrifice based on these stats. However, his assists numbers (15) means he is producing a lot more than just goals. However at 33 years of age, he certainly doesnt provide a long term option for the side. So I am not sure I quite got a definitive answer but could Prior be on his way out of the Meadowbank as we look to make a mark in the Vanarama National next season

No beating around the bush here. No did they or didn't they bottle it. We straight up won the Vanarama South.


If you look at the results we did make hard work of it as we only won 2 of our remaining 7 games picking up 3 draws and 2 defeats in the process and at one point I did honestly think we were going to bottle it. Still we had enough fire power to get the job done and seal our place in the 5th Tier of English football for the first time.

Analysis and Thoughts

A great first season, almost the perfect first season for this long slog up the divisions as we get the first one out of the way. The Vanarama leagues can be really tough to get out of so I am happy that I did it the first time around and one season before the board required it. It was enough to get me a new contract as we now look to take on the Vanarama National for the first time.

How we got there is through goals. We scored a lot of them and Shamir Mullings ended up being top scorer hitting 29 in all competitions whilst also bagging 6 assists at an Average rating of 7.42. A great signing, and possibly one of my best ever in the lower divisions as the gamble on a tall man with limited finishing worked a treat. Jason Prior, the veteran striker went on a bit of a goal blitz at the end of the season to bag 23 goals and 16 assists for a 7.28 season. However, Bobby-Joe Taylor was the man of the season picking up not only the fan's players of the season but also the leagues as he racked up 11 goals and 27 assists in all competitions for an average rating of 7.87. I also managed to pick up Manager of the season as well.

An Incredible season, I don't think I have ever had a player get 27 assists in season and the creativity from Bobby-Joe is insane. He just never had a bad game and the only slight problem is although he is contracted here for next season, he doesn't want to sign an extension as he wants to play higher league football. Earlier in the season Port Vale came in with a measly £1.5k bid which i rejected, Taylor did get upset but we agreed if a bid of £150k came in I would accept. No other bids did come in but it has meant he is thinking about going on elsewhere.

Now that the season is over, its time to look at who out of my players I will actually keep. There is a big part of me that wants to shed a lot of players who were not good enough this season but with dynamics being powerful, I need to keep some of this team around even if it is just for their squad status as being influential. So hopefully I can get them to take fringe / Squad player roles next season. The Budgets for next season see our wages go up by another £3k per week so we have some room to get new faces in.

WIthout seeing the pre-season odds, my main aim for this season is not to be in a relegation battle. I am thinking mid-table would be a solid enough result as there are some big teams in this league and we are going to need to do a few chances. Perhaps even tactically, as we are now likely to be the underdogs in most games and as we saw in our matches against higher level opposition (Grimsby and Weymouth) we were not even close to winning.

So let's see who the winners and loser's were in the 2021/22 season.


So Saudi money may win you the FA Cup but it doesn't keep you in the League as Newcastle face a shock relegation. They spent big as well signing Dunk (£68m), Isak (£60m), Dakonam (£46m), Trippier (£24.5m), Ceballos (£12.5m), Pozuelo (£6m), Mata (£250k). How they cope in the Championship and keep this team happy is going to be fascinating and if they don't make it out of the league the first time of asking, it will be incredibly interesting especially as they have European football to contend with. The English representatives in Europe next year are


Dorking update

So our promotion triggered a few events for the club. Firstly we had this


The Meadowbank is deemed as not meeting the criteria for the Vanarama National so we are going to build a new stadium in just a year. A Stadium that only holds 1k more than our current stadium and a stadium that is going to put us £1.8m in the red. I mean surely, it would have been cheaper to build a new stand at the Meadowbank and having been to the ground there is every reality that could be done in the current stadium without us needing to build a new stadium catchily called "The Dorking Stadium". Although I guess based on the above we have sold the name rights. I am going to guess our shirt sponsors have bought the rights meaning we will be playing at "The Stonegate Stadium".

However, it means in the meantime we need a new home and so for next season we will be playing at


We are going to be groundsharing with Crawley Town who after last season will also be playing in the Vanarama National with us. So an interesting start for us in the 5th tier and I can't say I am happy about the new stadium as I believe it will now block us from getting a bigger stadium in a few years time when / if we get into the football league as the game will block us building another new stadium so close to this one being built. This save could get even harder than I even imagined