Dorking Wanderers

Dorking Wanderers are not your average football club.

Set up in 1999 by a group of mates, this club is already on the brink of the English Football League, having experienced an incredible 12 promotions in 22 seasons. 

They’ve seen two campaigns written-off by Covid, built themselves two new grounds from scratch, but this year won promotion to the National League for the first time in their short history.

Take a quick glance at the below timeline and you’ll see why this club is attracting national attention.

Dorking Wanderers were set up in 1999 by friends Marc White, Mark Lewington, Ian Davidson, Lee Spickett and Penny Gregg.

Marc White remains in charge to this day, holding the roles of Co-Founder, Owner, Chairman and Manager.

I was able to interview White, who explained the origins of his club to me:

“I was a Wimbledon fan back in the olden days with the Crazy Gang - I used to follow them home and away.

“Eventually I decided that enough was enough and I wasn’t going to bother anymore.

“Me and my friends, just looking for something to do, said why don’t we start a Saturday side? It all started there.”

After their inception in 1999 Dorking Wanderers found instant success and, after settling in the West Sussex League, won back to back promotions.

White looks back fondly on those days, telling me:

“There are no challenges initially when you’re just paying your money and playing - it’s just a bit of fun.

“We used to pay £5 to play, rent a pitch for £50, get changed by the side of it, put the nets up. It was just a fun thing, you know.”

Since then, Dorking have gone from strength to strength, navigating their way up all five divisions of the West Sussex League, all three divisions of the Sussex County League, two divisions of the Isthmian League, as well as the National League South. 

They now find themselves in the National League proper, just one promotion away from a place in the English Football League.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though.

When White and co. formed Dorking Wanderers back in 1999, they found a pitch they could call their own at Big Field Brockham.

As they moved up the leagues though, the rules and regulations the ground had to adhere to became more and more complicated.

In 2007 Dorking moved to their second ground at Westhumble Playing Fields, playing there for 12 years before moving to the impressive Meadowbank Stadium. 

White said: “Obviously as you go through the leagues the requirements become a lot more.

“We’ve had to pass numerous ground gradings - we’ve gone from renting a pitch to building two new grounds ourselves.

“You can only imagine how much has gone into that - blood, sweat and tears literally.”

And that blood, sweat and tears has paid off.

Wanderers’ current home - The Meadowbank Stadium - has been built to such a high standard that the Surrey County Football Association base themselves there.

After a quick walk around Meadowbank, it’s easy to see why.

Despite working hard to put themselves in a position of strength, like every club in the football pyramid Dorking Wanderers suffered during the pandemic.

Non-league football found things particularly difficult, with money tight and two seasons being declared null and void.

White explained: “It was absolute murder, we lost a lot of money. 

“We were actually top of the league, quite a few points clear when it got called off - it cost us an awful lot of money."

The table below shows the National League South 2020-21 season at the point the league was called off.

It's fair to say Dorking fans had a right to be frustrated.

After the most difficult two years of their short history, Dorking Wanderers bounced back in emphatic fashion and once again look like a club on the up.

White is optimistic about what the future may hold for his club, but is keen to stress how far they’ve already come.

He said: “The best way of describing it is that we literally had no supporters.

“We struggled to get fourteen boys to play football and pay a fiver, but now for our most recent playoff final we could have sold 8,000 tickets - that’s a huge evolution. 

“We’ve also gone from one team to now about 54 teams, from 4 years old up to walking football, so on and off the field the growth has been exponential. 

“It’s pretty remarkable and I’m really proud of it, but we’re not stopping there."

They’re certainly not stopping there.

Next season Dorking Wanderers will have the chance to earn promotion to the big time, but White’s keen to stress they won’t be phased.

He said: “We’ll face some gigantic clubs with real football league legacies, but we’ve been in this position a lot, so it’s not uncharted territory - we’ll feel it out and we’ll enjoy it. 

“We’re really fortunate - because of the huge amount of success we’ve had, we’re under no pressure. 

“Making sure we retain our position in this league is paramount - it’s a four down division - but I’ve no doubt we’ll do that.”

To avoid relegation, Dorking will have to battle clubs with real football heritage like Notts County, as well as those with high-profile and rich owners, like Wrexham.

White still believes his team can be successful against that kind of opponent though:

“We’re not really bothered to be honest. 

“There are still models that aren’t like Wrexham and that gives us hope of doing things differently.

“Sutton United won that league on probably a bottom five budget - they have a really good setup and they know what they’re doing.”

Whether their maiden voyage into the National League ends in relegation, promotion or a solid season of consolidation, there is no doubt that Dorking Wanderers are set up for success.

Speaking to White you get a real sense that he lives and breathes this club, which is unsurprising given the number of roles he holds here.

He knows it’s an unusual model at this level though and speaks candidly about what the future may hold:

"It is my life, it has been my life and it will definitely be my legacy.

“But it may well be the case that we end up having a different chair or a different board. 

“It’s probably more likely that we restructure that than it is the management side - that’s something I’ve been very successful at. 

“But I’m not bigger than the club - if we weren’t being successful then we’d make whatever changes necessary.”

Right now though, there’s no sign of Dorking slowing down. 

When I ask what the future holds for his club, White laughs and offers an endearing response:

“Good question. I think a lot of people would like to know the answer to that question. 

“If we were to even have a third of the promotions again we’d be in the Premier League - there’s so much that could happen, but what we’ve never done is force the issue. 

“We’ve always wanted to remain debt free, we’ve always wanted to make sure that whatever we’re doing, we can afford to do it. 

“One of the biggest challenges we have as we go forward is not succumbing to the big time mentality of some of these clubs.

“It is just what it is - a bunch of lads that have worked hard and that’s it really.”

There’s never been a more exciting time to be a Dorking Wanderers fan.

Their story has captured the imagination of football fans all over the country and continues to provide inspiration to non-league clubs everywhere.

Speaking to White though, you get the sense that this journey has only just begun.