mannojunior

Cheers mate! Not ideal timing but I really wasn't enjoying it and I had already turned down approaches from teams higher up. Ultimately I failed in my recruitment over the summer.

Season 4 - 2025/2026 :: Dorking Wanderers :: November 2025 Results League Table Disappointing. Disheartening. That's all I can say about the start we've made to life in League Two. I have to take full responsibility as my recruitment was poor and I though the lads we had from last season could make the step up. How wrong was I. There has been no consistency and our defensive record was shocking. A sad day. I've loved my two years at Dorking but a change is needed. I would love to have stayed to battle relegation but the squad is poor and I can't have another relegation on my CV after the two outstanding seasons. It may look like the easy way out but I need to put myself first so that I can keep climbing the ladder.

Season 4 - 2025/2026 :: Dorking Wanderers :: August and September 2025 August Results Humbling. It has been quite the welcome to League Two and August saw 6 fixtures resulting in 1 win, 1 draw and 4 defeats. Disappointing to lose at Rochdale on the opening day having taken the lead but that set us on the road to three consecutive 2-1 defeats as we faced MK Dons in the Carabao Cup and then Crewe at home in the league. Relief at home to Rochdale as we picked up our first win thanks to a brace from Timi Davies. A real crash back to reality with a 4-0 defeat away at Walsall and then finished off with a decent point at home to Hartlepool. A tough month and one where I spent a lot of time trying to find the right formation, the right starting eleven and crucially, the right back four. On a positive note, Henry Timi Davies has been in red hot form and is justifying his place in the starting eleven. September Results Another poor month. There is really no getting away from the fact that we are poor and the summer recruitment doesn't seem to have made us a League Two team. It's been a hard slog and there have been some narrow defeats but we simply cannot defend in the last 10 minutes. The amount of goals we've conceded at such crucial times is appalling. I have now settled on a 4-3-3 formation with Mackenzie Lamb dropping in to the number 6 position and this seems to have helped with possession but our defence is poor and I've got to make it through to January with this lot. League Table Bleak. It doesn't look awful but we have played 11 games in comparison to most who have played 8 or 9 around us. Time to dig deep.

Season 4 - 2025/2026 :: Dorking Wanderers :: Pre-Season Update Transfers Out There has been a summer clear out of sorts. I did expect more to leave this summer but I handed out a lot of two year contracts last season which means that some of those players that are probably not good enough for League Two are still with us as they run down their contracts. Headline news is that Archie Chaplin, our start young central defender has departed the club for Luton. It is disappointing as this is a transfer that was sanctioned by the board but £250k isn't a bad return given he signed on a free last summer. You'll also notice a few familiar faces leaving in the form of Josh Kelly and Edon Pruti. Pruti was immense in Vanarama South and then had a decent season in the Vanarama National but I don't think he was ever going to make it at League Two level and the same applies for Josh Kelly. It's sad as Pruti was our club captain but we need to move players on who are not good enough. Transfers In 12 new faces arrive at Dorking over the summer. You'll instantly notice that Archie Chaplin returns on loan for the season and I think this is really positive for the club. We've also signed some highly rated youngsters in the form of Henry Timi Davies from Arsenal, Layton Stewart from Liverpool and Charlie Olsen from Boston United. I'll put it out there now, recruitment this summer was painful and I am not even sure we have enough to stay up this season. I would have loved to have strengthened our defence a lot more but there were just no suitable candidates that wanted to join. I have no doubt that our strike force is good enough for this league but I think I am going to have to look to play attacking football to try and paper over our defensive issues. Pre-Season Results A fairly positive pre-season, although nothing spectacular. I was constantly chopping and changing to try and figure out my starting eleven for the start of the season but I don't think I actually managed to work out the best way forward. You'll see new signing Timi Davies has made an impressive start and he will be in my plans. Now it's time to get down to business. I think this is going to be a tough slog but I'd like to think we can battle relegation rather than being rock bottom. On a personal note, no further approaches were made by other clubs over the summer and I am now fully focussed on Dorking. Of course, should jobs become available during the season then I would certainly look at moving away to try and further my career. At the end of the day, this save is about me becoming the most successful manager in Champions League history and I'm going to need to make some moves for that to happen.

Season 4 - 2025/2026 :: Outdoing Ancellotti So we have officially rolled over to pre-season and we look ahead to our fourth season in management and our third season at Dorking Wanderers. I've signed a two-year contract extension following our promotion to League Two which keeps me at the club until the end of the 2026/2027 season. Since our playoff success, I was rumoured to be in line for the Birmingham and Cambridge jobs but no approaches were made. I was then formally approached by Huddersfield for their vacant manager position following their relegation to League One but following the interview I was unsuccessful. Truthfully, had the Huddersfield offer come through I think I would have taken it to progress myself. Alas, no such offer came through. I am now very much preparing the squad for our first season in League Two and I am trying to make the squad as competitive as possible. Money isn't great so I am trying to be as wise as possible in the transfer market. There is still a chance I leave this summer should the right offer be forthcoming but for now my focus is on Dorking.

Season 3 - 2024/2025 :: Dorking Wanderers :: Outdoing Ancellotti Playoff Final We've done it. What an incredible performance from the lads. Another assured performance and we have achieved back to back promotions. Struggling to take it in. And there it is, League Two here we come. I still can't quite believe that we have pulled that off. It's been a phenomenal season and I was purely hoping to survive but the lads have been outstanding. I had expected this to come given that we are now in League Two but it is great to see the club is now professional. We are going to need to work wisely in the market to be able to compete in League Two but I have a real confidence that the boys will give it a real battle next season. As with last season, a number of players will have to depart who are not good enough but we certainly have a very talented core of players who I can call upon. So the objective of this save is to become the most successful manager in Champions League history and that means that I need to work my way up to bigger clubs. Following the promotion, I have increased my rating to two and a half stars and it seems a couple of clubs are sniffing around me. I'll be honest, if a big club come in for me then I will have to take it to progress myself. However, I'm not going to make a move just for the sake of it. We have started a project here and if there are no suitable clubs out there who come in for me then I certainly won't be forcing a move. Let's see what happens over the summer. For now, I am planning my squad for next season.

Season 3 - 2024/2025 :: Dorking Wanderers :: Outdoing Ancellotti What a result. We make it through to the playoff final. A really convincing performance from the lads with well taken goals from Bellis and Rutherford. Although we didn't control possesion (theme of the season) we defended well and hit them on the counter. This sets us up nicely for a final against Eastleigh who came up from the Vanarama South with us last season. For one of us, it is going to be two promotions in two seasons. For the other, it will be heartbreak.

Season 3 - 2024/2025 :: Dorking Wanderers :: Outdoing Ancellotti There was a chance. And we blew it. Gutting. Southend appear to be our nemesis. To the playoffs we go!

Season 3 - 2024/2025 :: Dorking Wanderers :: February to April update Consistency. Our incredible return to the Vanarama National continues. February was an unbeaten month with two wins and three draws. Disappointed to have dropped points against Solihull Moors and Yeovil but we really can't complain. We moved into March in good form and picked up four wins from the first four games of the month, with a spectacular victory away at Notts County where we were 5-1 up at half time. It then finished in disappointing fashion with a rare defeat at home to Boreham Wood. Not the team I expected us to fall to defeat to. You'll see if was another month where our incredible front line stole the show with regular goals from Rutherford, McNeilly and Bellis. We then started a crucial April with a defeat await at Carlisle and I thought this might be the start of the 'slip'. That was not the case. Four victories and a draw in the remaining five games, including a win over league leaders Colchester put us in a very strong position. But how strong? Incredibly strong is the answer. Two defeats on the bounce at the end of March and start of April arguably killed off our hopes of winning the league outright but going into the final game of the season we have an outside change of clinching the title. We have to hope Colchester slip up against Solihull Moors and that we beat Southend comfortably. I'm not expecting anything to happen and I would have bitten off a play-off place at the start of the season but let's just see what happens. In other news, I now have my National A Licence and I also rejected an interview for the vacant position at Oldham. I am not quite sure why they thought I'd want to take a backwards step but each to their own!

Season 3 - 2024/2025 :: Dorking Wanderers :: January update 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat in January keeps our excellent form going. The only disappointment is that we exit the FA Trophy in the Fourth Round with a poor defeat away at Dover. I will take the blame for that one as I played a largely rotated side and it backfired on us. The league form is still going strong, with our only blip being a 0-0 draw at home to Halifax where we really should have one. It's nice to see an even spread of goal scorers, even if it is only spread across our strikers. This form sees us sitting third in the table and we maintain a strong position as we look to cement a play-off spot. With Seb Drodz leaving for a decent fee, I did have a look at the transfer market and noticed that a player I have been tracking for a year and a half was available. That player is Alex Fletcher, who signs from Vanarama South side, Bath City. Fletcher has a very good set of attributes and he wanted to make that step up to the Vanarama National. You'll see that he has made a very positive start to his time here at Dorking and I am delighted to have him onboard.

We have accepted a fee of £20,000 from FC Brasov for Seb Drodz. This one came a bit out of the blue as he made 9 appearances at the start of the season and hasn't featured since. He arrived in the summer and I had high hopes for the young Romanian who joined from Milwall. Unfortunately he just didn't perform and I was looking to send him out on loan to progress. I couldn't turn down £20,000 for someone I just don't think would ever cut it with us. I hope he goes on to achieve his potential as he is a great talent.

Season 3 - 2024/2025 :: Dorking Wanderers :: Mid-season update So we reach the halfway point, so to speak, and our incredible form has continued which sees us sitting 4th in the table, 6 points behind leaders Stevenage. We've had some really strong performances throughout this run and I can only think of the defeat to Southend where I felt we never had a chance. The side has gelled incredibly well given that there was a big summer rebuild and we've managed to have a pretty steady squad throughout. You'll see that we managed to make it to the First Round of the FA Cup where we narrowly lost to League One Ipswich. We are also still going in the FA Trophy which is nice and allows me to play some of the lads who aren't getting as many minutes as they deserve. In terms of the squad, I've tweaked the formation slightly which you will see below as I wasn't get any luck with a wide player on the left. I've tucked the left winger in as a left sided shadow striker and McNeilly has played incredibly well there. What this does is allow me to rotate my four strikers and keep things fresh. You'll see that there has been no shortage of goals with Sam Bellis, Alfie Rutherford and Donell McNeilly all on respectable figures. The only disappointment is that Dudziak has been out injured for some time but he is now close to a return. I did bring in some cover for him in the form of Henry Lansbury who has done a decent job. Going forward the aim now has to be to finish within the play-off places given the run we've had so far. I can only see injuries hampering us now. This man, Donnell McNeilly, has been an absolute monster so far this season and you can see why! His contract is up at the end of the year and he is currently not willing to open negotiations whilst other clubs are sniffing around him which is a real shame. I am hoping that those interested clubs will go away and I can get in there with an extension. He is also not far off the top scorer!

Season 3 - 2024/2025 :: Dorking Wanderers :: August and September update Two months in and I think it is fair to say that we have adapted to life in the Vanarama National League. Make no mistake, there is no guarantee that our success will continue but there are good signs for sure! I was a little unsure after the first three games as we picked up three draws. We were down to ten men in two of those games and we were conceding late goals. The 2-1 win over Halifax has kick started our season and I am delighted that in our opening 9 games we have only lost one game, to a high performing Woking side. Slightly concerned that we haven't scored in the last three games but we are still picking up points. We sit just inside the play-off positions and I can't say I'm disappointed. Our aim has to be survival, but it is nice to see that we can hold our own so far. We haven't really been tested yet though, except for the game against Woking where we conceded midway through the second half. I've been mightily impressed by Maldini at centre back and I think he will be a mainstay this season. You'll also see that we have signed a new contract with the club. I couldn't really say no and it will only help my personal development. Next step is to secure my National A Licence - if the board finally agree to it.

Season 2024/2025 :: Dorking Wanderers :: Pre-season update A big summer rebuild has taken place with over half of last years squad departing on a free transfer. We've managed to pick up a lot of decent youngsters upon their release from big clubs and I am very excited about the likes of Maldini Kacurri and Henry Jeffcott. I've built a squad where I now have two solid players in each position going forward. I know that we only have 5 spots on the bench and players are going to be frustrated at the lack of game time but the nature of non-league is that they can be replaced. I think we've got a solid squad that should be able to compete this season. I've not really dipped in to the loan market as I'd like to hold on to those slots in case we need mid-season reinforcements. This is the current eleven that I have settled on. No doubt there will be plenty of chopping and changing as the season goes on but that is the nature of non-league. I think we have a really strong strike force with Rutherford and McNeilly up top. I've also got Sam Bellis and He Zhenyu on the bench should I need them. Defensively we've dealt quite well in the market and I don't have many concerns there. I still think our wingers could be improved upon but there really isn't a lot out there at the moment. Lets see what we can do in the first few months before we reassess.

Season 2023/2024 :: Dorking Wanderers :: End of Season update Apologies for neglecting this thread for a while! I've not had much time to devote to this save but we completed the season and we comfortably won the league after a really impressive season. Big relief for me after the misery of relegation with Chester last season. This will have done my reputation some good and it moves one step closer to moving up the pyramid as a manager. Lets not forget, the aim of this save is to be the most successful manager in the history of the Champions League. I have to think selfishly and this title will have boosted my reputation. Attention now turns to next season and the dreaded Vanarama National League. It's going to be a difficult league to get out of, if that is our aim. I have no doubt that the finances we have available will make summer recruitment comfortable but I will need to choose wisely and build a team solid enough to compete. From a personal point of view, if I was to be approached by another club then I would have to seriously consider it to help myself progress. At the moment there doesn't seem to be any interest and my focus will be on next season with Dorking.

Season 2023/2024 :: Dorking Wanderers :: Mid-season update A very positive start to the season and we are firmly in the race for promotion. Our biggest downfall has been when we have faced off against those at the top of the table and I think our defence is partly to blame. Our attack is immense with Rutherford and Bellis forming a lethal duo but I have yet to settle on a defensive unit and I am looking to address this with some new signings.

New signing through the door. Felt I needed an extra body in the midfield to rotate in and out of the ball winning midfielder role. An exciting prospect who was released by Forest.

Dorking Wanderers - Season 2022/2023 - August Update August was almost the perfect month. Following our wins on the opening two days of the season, we then hosted Wealdstone and a solid performance saw us come away with all three points. We followed that up with a difficult trip to fellow promotion hopefuls Ebbsfleet and came away with a deserved point. We controlled the game but didn't create too many openings and I think a point was a fair result. We then finished the month with a routine 3-1 victory at home to Chelmsford. The only disappointment was with conceding our first goal of the season in this match! The excellent start to the season sees us sitting top of the table. It's been a really great start but we do have a lot of teams hunting us down so it is imperative that we have a strong September to backup our good start to the season. For those wondering, I have changed my system this season and I am focussing less on possession and more on utilising the attacking talent we have. You'll see below the system I am using and our loanee, Chay Cooper, has made a blistering start to his career here in his new role. I am excited to see how we progress moving forward.

Season 2023/2023 - Dorking Wanders - The Start Well, things started with a takeover and Marc White left the club. Unfortunately the new owner hasn't decided to put any additional capital into the club which makes it far less exciting. Let's see what the new owner is like in time... Transfers As you will have seen, I did have quite a big task on my hand over the summer to rebuild the team. A lot of players left the club following the relegation from the National League and I was only able to hang on to Rutherford, McShane, Taylor, Fuller and Briggs, who would be described as some of the core players. You'll see that I did make a tidy £25,000 from the sale of Josh Shonibare and this allowed me to really bring in those quality players to bulk out the squad. So there are a lot of new players but I am very confident that I have assembled a squad capable of going straight back up. I also have quite a lot of loan slots available which means that I have that up my sleeve should we need it throughout the season. In terms of players in, I am very excited to welcome Sam Bellis from Southampton, Ben Wells from Crawley and Chay Cooper from Colchester on loan. These three will have a big role to play this season and you will see below why. Start of the Season We are just two games in to the new league season but things seem very positive so far. Weymouth is not an easy game to have on the opening day but we blew them away courtesy of a brace from both Alfie Rutherford and Sam Bellis who I am hoping will link up to be a formidable force this season. We then followed this up with a very professional victory away at Folkestone thanks to a goal on debut from Micah Obiero who will now have a big role to play up top in supporting Rutherford and Bellis. After two games we sit top of the table and long may that continue!

Season 2: Dorking Wanderers - 2023/2024 Season So it has taken until June 2023 to find the right job and I've finally got my new club in Dorking Wanderers. The club finished 21st in the Vanarama National League last season and dropped down to the National League South. The aim has to be to get us back up at the first opportunity and the club is a really exciting project. The board are backing us with money and I have pretty much a blank canvas to go with. I am going to have to make sure that I get the recruitment right as I think that is what ultimately let me down at Chester. And here is what we have to work with...

So we've come through to early June and this is the most appealing of the offers I've had. Dorking narrowly missed out on safety in the National League last season and have now dropped down to the National League South. A lot of players have left so I would need to do a complete rebuild but they are a very interesting challenge. On the other hand, I was sort of hoping for an offer from a foreign club but nothing has been forthcoming and I have applied for a lot of jobs! I think I need to give this some more thought before making a final decision,

Season 2022/2023 - The End And there we have it. A really disappointing second half of the season has sent us down and cost me my job. I have to take some of the blame as the last few months were painful viewing for anyone. I failed to sort out the defence and it really cost us. I was dealt a very average squad when I took over and we made some promising progress but I could never get a handle on our leaky defence and ultimately that has cost us. It's a shame because if we had stayed up then I was confident of a summer overhaul allowing us to push towards a promotion push next season. Let's see where this takes us! This is going to be one hell of a journey and I need to brush off this setback and look up.

DON'T PANIC - IT'S GOING DOWN TO THE FINAL GAME...

March 2023 - Is the end in sight? Okay so now I am starting to panic. We are in such a poor run of form and we simply cannot defend. We kept just one clean sheet in March which is simply not acceptable. I've got to admit, I've tinkered with the defence quite a bit but I think we have a very solid defence on paper but it is really not showing out on the pitch. We started with a home game against Banbury and given their position I was hopeful of 3 points but another poor performance came through and we went away with nothing. We then surprised everyone, myself included, with a great win at home to Kidderminster. Sadly this didn't spark a change and we then slipped to defeat at Leamington. We did have a difficult end to the month with games against 2nd and 4th but again, we came away with one point and more disappointment. So here we go, six games left and I am in danger of falling into the drop zone and losing my job. We've got a nice run of fixtures in April but the league is so tight and anything can happen. Lets see if we can survive.

Cracking start mate! Can’t wait for the next update!