Dorking Wanderers Football Club is a professional football club based in Dorking, Surrey, England. They are currently members of and play at Meadowbank. Formed in 1999 by a group of friends as a recreational amateur team playing grassroots football, the club began life in the Crawley & District League and went on to win twelve promotions in their first 23 seasons, reaching the National League in 2022, where they remained for two seasons before suffering their first-ever relegation. Having played for the club in its earlier years, club founder Marc White continues to be the chairman and first team manager to the present day.
History
The club was formed in 1999 by businessman Marc White and friends Peter Buckland, Mark Lewington, Ian Davidson, Lee Spickett, and Penny Gregg. White described at the time of the formation of the club he and his friends were season ticket holders at Wimbledon and had become disillusioned with how the club was being run coming to the end of its Premier League tenure. The group decided to do something else with their weekends and so Dorking Wanderers were formed as an amateur recreational team. The club initially played in the Crawley & District League.History Dorking Wanderers F.C. After their first season in the Crawley League they switched to Division Four of the West Sussex League, winning the division at the first attempt.A History Of Dorking Wanderers F.C. Dorking Wanderers F.C. In 2001–02 the club finished as Division Three runners-up, earning a third consecutive promotion. After winning Division Two in 2003–04 they were promoted to Division One, and a third-place finish in Division One in 2005–06 saw them promoted to the Premier Division.
In 2006–07 Wanderers won the West Sussex League's Premier Division, clinching the title with a victory on the last day of the season. As a result, the club were promoted to Division Three of the Sussex County League. They went on to win Division Three in 2010–11, earning promotion to Division Two. A third-place finish in Division Two the following season was enough to see them promoted to Division One. Although the league initially denied them entry to the division as their ground was not deemed to meet the requirements,League secretary slams Wanderers This is Surrey, 27 April 2012 the club appealed to the Football Association, who overruled the decision after an independent ground grading visit confirmed that the ground reached the mandatory standards for Division One football.Champagne corks fly as Wanderers This is Surrey, 12 July 2012 The team initially struggled in Division One, finishing third-from-bottom in 2012–13. However, they finished second 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, going on to lose 2–1 to Faversham Town in the semi-finals. The following season saw them finish second again; in the play-offs they beat Hastings United on penalties in the semi-final after a 1–1 draw, and then won again on penalties against Corinthian-Casuals in the final following a 0–0 draw, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2018–19 the club won the Premier Division by a margin of 22 points, earning promotion to the National League South for their first time in history. Following the curtailment of the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were placed seventh in the league table (decided on a points-per-game basis), qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Bath City 2–1 in the quarter-finals, the club lost 3–2 to Weymouth in the semi-finals. The 2020–21 season was made null and void following a vote by member clubs of the National League, with Dorking top of the National League South at the point the season was ended.
In the 2021–22 season Wanderers finished second in the National League South, going on to defeat Ebbsfleet United 3–2 in the play-off final, earning promotion to the National League for the first time in the club's history. They also won the Surrey Senior Cup, beating Kingstonian 5–4 on penalties after the final had ended in a 1–1 draw. The club's second season in the fifth tier saw them finish second-from-bottom of the division, resulting in relegation back to the National League South, the first time they had been relegated. In 2025–26 the club finished fourth in the National League South. In the subsequent play-offs they defeated Maidenhead United 2–0 in the quarter-finals before losing 4–2 to Torquay United in the semi-finals.
Season-by-season record SeasonTierDivisionPldWDLGFGAPtsPos1999–00Crawley & District Leaguecolspan=9 rowspan=8 2000–0116West Sussex League Division Four2001–0215West Sussex League Division Three2002–0314West Sussex League Division Two2003–04West Sussex League Division Two2004–0513West Sussex League Division One2005–06West Sussex League Division One2006–0712West Sussex League Premier Division2007–0811Sussex County League Division Three2412755847424/132008–09Sussex County League Division Three2615297045475/142009–10Sussex County League Division Three2815677844514/152010–11Sussex County League Division Three3024249335742011–1210Sussex County League Division Two3421678048692012–139Sussex County League Division One4210112162804120/222013–14Sussex County League Division One38167156863558/202014–15Sussex County League Division One38265710151832015–168Isthmian League Division One South46279109956902/242016–17Isthmian League Division One South463367103441052017–187Isthmian League Premier Division4616102077805814/242018–19Isthmian League Premier Division4228958731932019–206National League South35148135856507/222020–21National League South1812334017391/212021–22National League South40256910153812022–235National League461692167915716/242023–24National League46129255494452024–256National League South46241488954866/242025–26National League South462310137861794/24
Reserve team In 2015 the club's reserve team were promoted from the Suburban League to Division One of the Combined Counties League. However, they left the league at the end of the season as the club were set to groundshare with Dorking during the 2016–17 season.Groundshare ends Membership for Reserve Side Combined Counties League The reserve team rejoined the Combined Counties League at the start of the 2018–19 season. In 2021 they were transferred to Division One of the Southern Combination.
Ground
The club initially played at Brockham Big Field, before moving to the Westhumble Playing Fields on London Road in 2007. The ground had a small seated stand and covered standing on one side of the pitch, with the remainder being uncovered;The Ryman League South Guide 2016/17 Lewes F.C. Floodlights were installed in 2012. In July 2018 the club relocated to a refurbished Meadowbank ground, which had previously been home to Dorking F.C. prior to their disbanding.Dorking's 137 year old football club is closing down leaving just one senior team in the town Surrey Mirror, 16 February 2017 Their first game at Meadowbank was a friendly match against Sutton United on 17 July 2018.
Meadowbank had become the home ground of Dorking F.C. in 1953. A 200-seat stand was built on one side of the pitch around 1956, with a covered standing area built on the other. Another covered standing area was installed behind one goal, with the other end left open.Dorking Pyramid Passion However, they were forced to leave the ground in 2013 after it was shut down for failing to meet health and safety requirements."Return to Meadowbank", Groundtastic, Autumn 2018, pp28–33 Prior to Dorking Wanderers moving to the ground, it was upgraded to include a 300-seat stand, two covered standing areas and a 3G pitch as it was converted to a community sports facility at a cost of £5m. The Surrey County Football Association also moved their headquarters to Meadowbank when it reopened.
In February 2020 the club announced that planning permission had been granted to upgrade Meadowbank Stadium to grade B status. In July 2020 the stadium passed the grade B status assessment. By September 2020 work had been completed on a new seated stand and a new covered terrace both at the east end of the ground, taking Meadowbank's official capacity to 3,000. In March 2023 an uncovered 1,200-capacity terrace was opened at the west end of the ground.
Current squad
Out on loan
Management team {| class=wikitable !Position !Staff |- |Manager|| Marc White |- |Assistant Manager|| Dean Milton |- |First Team Head Coach|| Jordan Clark |- |rowspan="2"|First Team Coach|| Mick Daniels |- |Charlie Dunne |- |Goalkeeper Coach|| Dean Lightwood |- |Football Analyst|| Adam Trathan |- |Physio & Sports Therapist|| Dillon Hall |- |Senior Consultant Physiotherapist|| Paul Hunter |- |Head of Performance|| Jake Foster
Honours Isthmian League Premier Division champions 2018–19 Southern Combination Division Three champions 2010–11 West Sussex League Premier Division champions 2006–07 Division Two North champions 2003–04 Division Four North champions 2000–01 Surrey Senior Cup Winners 2021–22
Records Best FA Cup performance: Fourth qualifying round, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2025–26 Best FA Trophy performance: Fifth round, 2022–23 Best FA Vase performance: Second qualifying round, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 Record attendance: 3,732 vs Woking, National League, 7 April 2023
See also
Notes
References
External links
Official website Meadowbank