Dorking Wandering
The Dorking Wanderers FC Fans Forum
After a valuable point last time out against Solihull, we head to north London to face 2nd place Barnet. After their 2-1 victory over Eastleigh last night, they come in to the game with 3 wins and 2 defeats in their last 5 games. Last season we (fortunately) took all 3 points at The Hive courtesy of a Bobby-Joe Taylor cross/shot.
We remain without McShane, Briggs and Gallagher as longer term absentees, while we await news from Marc's weekly update on the fitness of Joe Cook, Charlie Carter and Harry Ottaway.
Predictions:
Barnet 2-2 Dorking (Prior, Blair pen.)
1,672 att. (142 away)
Possible 4-2-3-1 lineup (injuries permitting):
Male
Fuller Craig Hollis B.Taylor
Pybus J.Taylor
Blair Carter Bowerman
Prior
Subs: Francomb, McManus, Moore, Muitt, Rutherford
Quite tough to pick a line-up for this one with the possible injury to Carter. If he ends up missing out then I expect McManus to come in with Josh further forward. Dan Pybus is another interesting one as he may miss out from the start due to his England C involvement midweek, although he did only play 45 mins. Will Marc stick with Bowerman for a third game in a row or will he give Muitt a start?
Absolute insanity if we get rid of Blair. Probably
our best attacking player.
I am going to all the last 6 games, might as well enjoy it while we can
Hope I am wrong, but really think we are going down, it's not just the results its the way we regularly set up wrong and have to change it, the players heads go when we go behind and ultimately the team just isn't good enough. No shame in that, training 2 mornings a week (sometimes not even that is we have a game midweek).
I am generally a glass half full person, so will enjoy the half a dozen or so new grounds to visit next season, enjoy the more friendly, changing ends and going in clubhouses at away grounds, cheaper away tickets and nearer (and cheaper) away travel.
The core away fans who were going years ago will of course still go, and I look forward to whatever improvements the new CEO can put in place to give us a better matchday experience.
We'd win more games next season for sure.
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
@dorking-eagle I have been massively confident we’ll get out of the bottom 4. The results against Chesterfield and Solihull supported that, but the complete capitulation and failure to fight against Barnet has severely impacted that.
I fear we’re going down too. I’ll fight until it’s mathematically impossible to stay up, I just hope they will.
Being the eternal optimist, I do actually think we'll stay up.
If we do go, it might not be a bad thing - chance to regroup, go full time, sort the ground ownership - get all the infrastructure sorted.
And like David said, lots of new grounds, cheaper tickets and hopefully we'll retain much of the increased away support we've managed over the past 2 seasons.
Stats show that, even though Barnet were deserved winners, the scoreline definitely flattered them a bit:
xG: Barnet 4.10 - 1.60 Dorking
Possession: 48% - 52%
Shots: 15 (11) - 11 (3)
Top Performer: Seb Bowerman [7.3] (Tom Blair second highest at 7.1 🤐)
@calvertskans I don't think Tom Blair's quality has ever been in question, when he wants to be he is a really good player. The problem is his attitude, the amount of times I have got frustrated watching him just strolling around, losing the ball cheaply and putting in half arsed tackles is a real issue and I would imagine that this has worn down Marc too. With that said, we have much much much bigger issues than Tom Blair.
@ethant Maybe a little bit but he seems to put more of an effort in that most. Plays 90 mins pretty much every game and is averaging a goal contribution almost every other game despite the jump in division - his quality would be crucial in the division below should we go down.
The whole conversation around dissent/discipline, etc has been odd recently. Josh Taylor has TWELVE yellow cards this season, half of which were for dissent and Marc doesn't seem to bat an eyelid yet Alfie gets two yellows for dissent (his only two yellows of the season) and is carted off after 30 mins and hung out to dry in post match interviews. Tom Blair didn't even get a yellow on Sat but is lumped in to that conversation as well for some reason?
Jason Prior and Luke Moore both needlessly got themselves sent off for off the ball stuff which really hurt us but Marc just laughed it off. Tony Craig has several yellows for dissent this season and last but also not mentioned at all. McManus is on 9 yellows (including one for dissent on Sat) even though he rarely starts but don't think Marc has ever mentioned it.
If Marc has actually got rid of Blair then I just don't see any players that will want to come to play for us next season and I think we'll struggle in the league below as well.
All the players mentioned have weaknesses. If they did not they would be playing league 1 or league 2 football now. The only one in the squad who could be doing so now but it not, is Briggs and he is injured.
We kind of forget that in this league the top sides all have players who can play higher. But they pay them more to play division 5 (NLP) than they even get at division 3 (League 1), and they are happy with this.
Other than Briggs we do not have anyone who can play higher. Therefore, the manager needs to be a bit more realistic about what he has. The best player this season has been Josh Taylor. He does not play higher because of his awful disciplinary record and his poor finishing and goal scoring as an attacking midfielder. But Mark overlooks that for him because he is our most effective player. He needs to be more angry at himself for some poor recruitment which is proving very costly.
@calvertskans Interesting stats Tom, cheers for that.
I haven't re watched the post match but did Marc actually name players who would not play for the rest of the season? Other than maybe Joe Cook? I think he mentioned some in passing but may not have actually said they are the ones who won't play?
But I agree about the inconsistency at play. I can only think it's his passion that overspills, which is of course one of the things we love about him. I do think that Prior especially gets away with more than most and is almost never criticised, and the same for one or two others. But is that in some part his 'over loyalty' which he says he's aware is an issue?
@adeb He used the word "two"and "few", and the only lads he named other than Cook negatively were Blair and Alfie. It wont be Alfie but Blair does not have much good will in the bank with Marc so it could be all over for him too. Of course, he could change his mind and it may well be that only Cook gets bombed out the club.
All the players mentioned have weaknesses. If they did not they would be playing league 1 or league 2 football now. The only one in the squad who could be doing so now but it not, is Briggs and he is injured.
We kind of forget that in this league the top sides all have players who can play higher. But they pay them more to play division 5 (NLP) than they even get at division 3 (League 1), and they are happy with this.
Other than Briggs we do not have anyone who can play higher. Therefore, the manager needs to be a bit more realistic about what he has. The best player this season has been Josh Taylor. He does not play higher because of his awful disciplinary record and his poor finishing and goal scoring as an attacking midfielder. But Mark overlooks that for him because he is our most effective player. He needs to be more angry at himself for some poor recruitment which is proving very costly.
I think there are a few more than could play at L2. When Crawley were playing badly last season, I certainly thought Dorking had some better players. Briggs before his injury was one, but Alfie was another (again before his injury) and I have always liked BJ Taylor. Also not forgetting George Francomb and Tony Craig who both played at L1 and L2 for many years and only left Crawley as the owners moved them on.
Fun fact - you can still buy a Joe Cook and a Tom Blair signed display from the 'From The Club' site 👍
A lot of Marc post-match interviews this season I'll get messages from friends like "he's lost it", and I've been frustrated at a few things that I feel management should take responsibility for. It is a fact that this is the highest level Marc's managed at and it's reasonable to assume there are limitations at management level. I personally don't buy the "maybe we went up too early" because we were pushing for promotion for a couple of years with only covid getting in the way, rather that management underestimated the challenges of National League and certain recruitment decisions didn't work out as hoped. I don't think Marc's time to go has come yet and if we're going down I want a manager that cares about the club.
But then I'm no expert on what's going on around our training and match preparation. If management have researched the right game plan and given all the right instructions which then aren't followed or let down by bad attitude, then I can see Marc's frustration and those responsible should be called out. I get the impression public name calling has been his management style inside and outside of football and he believes that's what's worked for him. Might understandably impact morale or cause friction for some players but I also agree with Marc there has been a difference in mentality compared to last season. Joe Cook, sorry to say, has come across as someone who hasn't shown the attitude the club needs. Alfie's record for us speaks for itself and hopefully learns the lesson re: discipline without any more friction, and agree that Blair has been one of the better players for us this season. If, however, the coaching and match prep hasn't been up to standard then we need to improve the coaching team.
Hoping Marc, the team and us supporters can all keep our heads and we can have something to cheer for in the last 6 games!
Marc hasn't changed in all the years I've been following the club and I wouldn't want him to.
It's arguably hard to hold the players to high standards when he baits the officials and of course had the stadium ban at the end of last season, beginning of this.
However I would argue that the players know what they are signing up to when they join the club, the videos and the docu series are all out there. He will tell it how it is (and ultimately the buck stops with him as he underwrites everything)
It makes our club unique, marmite perhaps but you can't argue with the track record, it's unmatched all the way from grassroots.
I don't think I'd have the interest I do if it wasn't for the way Marc and the club embrace the fans, keep us engaged and made to feel a real part of everything. MW is our USP.
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
