Woking F.C.
| Full name | Woking Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Cardinals, The Cards | ||
| Founded | 1889 | ||
| Ground | Kingfield Stadium Woking | ||
| Capacity | 6037 | ||
| Chairman |  David Taylor | ||
| Manager |  Kim Grant | ||
| League | Conference National | ||
| 2007–08 | Conference National, 17th | ||
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Woking Football Club is a football club from Woking, Surrey, England, formed in 1889. They currently play in the Conference National league.
History
Early Years
Woking Football Club, nicknamed The Cards (from the Cardinal red of the red and white halves), was formed in 1889. The club joined the West Surrey League in 1895-96, winning the title by one point on the final day of the season. However, within 21 years of being formed, the club was in danger of folding for financial reasons. The turning point came when, in January 1908, Woking played Bolton Wanderers F.C. in the First Round of the FA Cup, having won through five qualifying rounds. Despite losing the away game 5-0, the club made it into the national press. Bolton Wanderers, impressed by the minnows they had defeated, travelled to Woking for a friendly match the following season, which kept the club solvent. [citation needed]
Isthmian League years
In 1911 the club joined the Isthmian League, maintaining their place in the top division for 72 years and finishing as runners-up to Wycombe Wanderers in 1956-57. That achievement was eclipsed in the following season when, in front of a 71,000 crowd, the Cards beat Ilford F.C. 3-0 in the last FA Amateur Cup Final to be televised live. The club then went into decline, culminating in a first-ever relegation in 1982-83. By the end of the 1984-85 season the club had fallen further down the football ladder, being relegated to Division Two South of the Isthmian League. It was during that season that former player, Geoff Chapple, was appointed as manager. Although he was not able to save the club from relegation, Woking just missed out on promotion at the first attempt, the club clinched the Division Two South title in 1986-87. After two third place finishes in Division One, they were promoted back to the Premier Division at the end of the 1989-90 season.
The following season saw Woking embark on a "giant-killing" FA Cup run. Entering the competition at the Fourth Qualifying Round, they beat Conference opposition in the shape of Bath City, Kidderminster Harriers and Merthyr Tydfil to set up a Third Round tie away to West Bromwich Albion. Recovering from being a goal behind, Woking won 4-2, with a hat-trick from Tim Buzaglo. The Fourth Round saw the Cards draw a home tie against Division One side Everton. The game was switched to Goodison Park but Woking lost to a Kevin Sheedy goal.
Conference years
Promotion to the Conference
Promotion to the Conference was achieved in 1991-92. The Isthmian League title was clinched in early April, with seven games still to be played, 18 points clear of nearest rivals, Enfield. Few of the championship winning side were retained for the higher division and Woking finished the season in eighth position. The following summer saw Chapple sign former Chelsea, Sunderland, Fulham and QPR winger, Clive Walker, from Brighton & Hove Albion and he was to prove the catalyst in the most successful period in the club's history. The FA Trophy was won in 1994 when Runcorn were beaten on a waterlogged Wembley pitch. Twelve months later Kidderminster Harriers were beaten as Woking became only the second club ever to win successive finals. Wembley was revisited in 1997 and the FA Trophy was won for the third time, this time against Dagenham & Redbridge. The Cards also achieved five successive top five finishes in the Conference, including being runners-up in 1994-95 and 1995-96. The club also continued to enjoy national prominence in the FA Cup. Barnet were defeated in successive seasons following draws at their Underhill ground. In 1996-97 a run in the FA Cup saw the club beat Millwall, then top of Division Two, and Cambridge United, who were challenging for promotion from Division Three. The Third Round saw Woking draw 1-1 away to Premier League side Coventry City, thanks to a last minute equaliser from the Cards' Steve Thompson, but Coventry won the replay at Kingfield 2-1.
At the end of the 1996-97 campaign, having just clinched the FA Trophy for the third time, Geoff Chapple and his coach, Colin Lippiatt, left the club and joined Kingstonian. This was the beginning of a much less successful period for the club. John McGovern and then Brian McDermott were given the position of manager, but neither achieved anything greater than a mid-table finish. After McDermott, Colin Lippiatt returned but fared little better. He was replaced by his former boss as Geoff Chapple too came back to Woking. Lippiatt departed in January 2002 and Glenn Cockerill joined as Chapple's assistant. This season ended with the club just one place above the relegation places. In the meantime very significant events had taken place off the field. The downturn in the club's fortunes had led to a financial crisis. With the club facing administration or worse, local businessman and long-time fan Chris Ingrim came to the rescue, becoming Chairman in February 2002 with an aim of trying to increase the club's income and to secure its long-term financial stability.[citation needed]
The 2002-03 season saw the club get off to its best ever start in the Conference.[citation needed] However, September brought seven consecutive defeats and a rapid descent into the relegation zone. Geoff Chapple resigned and Glenn Cockerill took over as manager, initially on a temporary basis. After an erratic run of results Woking only avoided relegation on the last day of the season, thanks to a win and the defeat of their relegation rivals. Subsequently, the club turned fully professional and the following season The Cards finished a more creditable ninth.
In 2004-05 Woking started the season with a largely settled side, the only new signings being Shwan Jalal, Justin Richards and Stephen Evans. Hopes were high for concerted push for a play-off place. After a slowish start the team began to hit form from October onwards, building on a very mean defence, in which the central partnership of Jon Boardman and Luke Oliver were outstanding. A great run from late December saw the team move into the play-off places. Only an injury time goal from Scarborough deprived the Cards of second place with eight games to go. But then a combination of injuries and suspensions took their toll and the team found themselves on the final day with only an outside chance of making the play-offs. It wasn't to be, but the final placing of 8th, with 68 points, was the Cards' best achievement since 1997-98.
The 2005-06 season
The close season saw the departure of central defenders, Jon Boardman and Luke Oliver, both bought by League clubs. Striker Raphaël Nadé was also sold to Carlisle. Jimmy Aggrey and Karim El-Salahi joined from Bohemians and Crystal Palace to replace them, and strikers Lloyd Blackman and Craig McAllister arrived from Farnborough Town and Stevenage Borough respectively to boost the forward line. The re-signing of the influential midfielder Ian Selley was an important boost. Woking ended the season in 11th place.
The 2006-07 season
Boss Glen Cockerill was linked with Lincoln and Grimsby over the summer. He remained in charge but had to deal without the services of Conference top scorer Justin Richards who joined Peterborough. Striker Craig McAllister did well to try and fill his boots, and academy talent Giuseppe Sole surprised many with his ability.
On March 29, 2007, the following statement was released on Woking FC website:
"The Woking FC Board of Directors have today confirmed that the contracts of Glenn Cockerill and Matt Crossley have been terminated with immediate effect. The club would like to thank them for their services and wish them all the best for the future. Graham Baker and Neil Smith will take charge of all first team affairs for the remainder of this season"
The management combination of Neil Smith and Graham Baker helped the club remain in the Conference for the 2007/08 season, finishing in 15th place with a record of won 3, drawn 1 and lost 2 from the final six games of the season.
A few managers were touted for the position for the new season with many expecting Neil Smith to be appointed full time manager. However on the May 3, 2007 former Grays Athletic manager Frank Gray was appointed manager with Gerry Murphy as his number two.
The 2007-08 Season
Woking started the 2007-08 season with many new signings, all of whom came up from leagues below. However the main coup of the summer was the retaining of club captain Tom Hutchinson on a two year contract.
Woking started the season with a four match unbeaten run before losing at Salisbury City. The team remained unbeaten at home until a 3-0 defeat against York City on 13 October 2007.
Woking played their first televised game of the season against Farsley Celtic on 4 October, winning 2-0. Unfortunately this was to be their last win for 8 matches, which included a disappointing defeat at home to Staines Town in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round.
They got back to winning ways in their next televised match, at home to Ebbsfleet United on 29 November. They followed this up with four more wins, including a 2-1 victory in the Setanta Shield over arch rivals Stevenage Borough, before playing the top two sides in the league, Aldershot Town, twice, and Torquay United over the next three games. Three narrow defeats left them in 18th place going into the new year. The team bounced back with a win against Halifax Town in the first home game of 2008. This was followed up by a last gasp effort by striker Marvin Morgan giving Woking all three points against Weymouth, Woking then drew 1-1 at home to Crawley Town.
On 8th April, Woking announced that manager Frank Gray had left the club by mutual consent following a 2-0 home defeat to rivals Stevenage Borough. Colin Lippiatt was named in charge temporarily with Justin Edinburgh as his number two until the end of the season.
The 2008-09 Season
On 30th May 2008, leaked information sourced that former Ghana and Charlton striker Kim Grant and former Oxford captain Phil Gilchrist will be the club's new Head Coach and Assistant, with Colin Lippiatt taking the role of Director of Football. This was formally announced at a Fans' Forum on 3rd June 2008.
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable Former Players
Terry McFlynn
Clive Walker
Wayne Burnett
Tim Buzaglo
Laurence Batty
Kevin Brown
Tom Jones
Neil Smith
Adriano Basso
Honours
- FA Trophy Winners 1994, 1995, 1997. Runners Up 2006
- FA Amateur Cup Winners 1958
- Football Conference Runners Up 1995, 1996
- Isthmian League Champions 1957, 1992
- Isthmian League Cup Winners 1991
- Isthmian Charity Shield Winners 1992, 1993
- FA Cup 4th Round 1991
- Surrey Senior Cup Winners 1913, 1927, 1955, 1971, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004
- Conference League Cup Winners 2005, Semi-Final 2008
- Vauxhall Championship Shield Winners 1995