Woking F.C.


Woking Football Club is a semi-professional association football club, based in Woking, Surrey, England. Founded in 1889, the club plays its home matches at Kingfield Stadium and is nicknamed the Cardinals, often shortened to the Cards. Currently, they compete in having been promoted from the National League South in the 2018–19 season.

History

Early years

Woking Football Club was founded in 1889. The club joined the West Surrey League in 1895–96, winning the title by one point. 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 in the First Round of the FA Cup, having made it through five qualifying rounds. Despite losing the away game 5–0, the club made it into the national news. Bolton Wanderers, impressed by the minnows they had defeated, travelled to Woking for a friendly match the following season, which kept the club solvent.

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 the following season when, in front of a 71,000 crowd, Woking beat Ilford 3–0 to win the last F.A. 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 plunged to Division Two South of the Isthmian League. It was during that season that former player, Geoff Chapple, was appointed as manager. However, Chapple was not able to save the club from relegation. The following season, the club just missed out on promotion at the first attempt. However, the club clinched the Division Two South title in 1986–87 and, after two third-place finishes in Division One, they were promoted back to the Premier Division at the end of the 1989–90 season.

FA Cup glory

The 1990-91 season saw the club become part of FA Cup folklore. Entering the competition in the Fourth Qualifying Round, they beat three Conference sides to set up a Third Round tie away to West Bromwich Albion. After trailing 1–0 at half time, Woking went on to win 4–2, with Tim Buzaglo scoring a hat-trick. In the Fourth Round, the club was drawn against Everton. The tie was originally going to be played at Woking, though the venue was switched to Everton's home ground, Goodison Park. Woking narrowly lost the match 1–0 to a Kevin Sheedy goal.

Promotion to the Conference and FA Trophy success

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. The next season saw Woking finish 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. Woking won the FA Trophy for the first time in 1994, defeating Runcorn in the final at Wembley; the following season they became only the second club to win back-to-back FA Trophies, defeating Kidderminster Harriers in the final. A third FA Trophy triumph followed in 1997, with Dagenham & Redbridge the opponents in the final. The Cards also achieved five successive top-five finishes in the Conference, including being runners-up in 1994–95 and 1995–96 when they finished below Stevenage. The club also continued to enjoy national prominence in the FA Cup. Barnet were defeated in successive seasons following draws at their homeground. 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 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 Ingram bought the club, becoming chairman in February 2002 with an aim of trying to increase the club's income and to secure its long-term financial stability.
Cockerill took over as manager later that year, and oversaw a relative period of stability for the club, before he was sacked shortly before the end of the 2006–07 season. An unimpressive campaign under the management of Frank Gray followed in 2007–08, before a disastrous 2008–09 season which saw three men take charge of the club, eventually resulted in the club's relegation to the Conference South. That summer, a supporters' trust took over the running of the club. Woking finished 5th in their first Conference South season, but lost to Bath City in the play-off final. The following season saw Woking struggling to challenge for promotion, and Graham Baker was sacked halfway through the campaign for suggesting that the fans were expecting too much of the team. Garry Hill took over as manager and improved the team's form, eventually resulting in another fifth-place finish, only for the club to get knocked out in the play-off semi-finals this time against Farnborough. In April 2012, having beaten Maidenhead United 0–1 with Giuseppe Sole scoring for a record breaking ninth game in a row, Woking were promoted to the Conference Premier, winning the Conference South with two games to spare. They eventually reached 97 points, beating second placed Dartford by nine points.

Relegation to National League South

After five seasons in the National League, Woking acrimoniously parted company with Garry Hill after six-and-a-half years at the helm. The club appointed former Southampton and West Ham United under-23s coach Anthony Limbrick in May 2017, which saw the club take another step to becoming full-time again, with players training three times a week.
Despite a good run in the 2017-18 FA Cup, Woking's league form suffered, which culminated in just three league wins between October 2017 and April 2018. Limbrick was subsequently relieved of his duties just 11 months into a three-year contract, leaving assistant manager Jason Goodliffe to take over the managerial reins to preserve The Cards' National League status with just five games remaining. However, Woking's fate was eventually sealed on the final day of the season after a 2-1 home defeat against Dover Athletic.
On 16 May 2018, and after much speculation, the club finally confirmed the appointment of former Kingstonian and Hampton & Richmond Borough manager Alan Dowson.
Woking returned to the National League in 2019 following a 1-0 win over Welling United in National League South Play-Off Final.
In the 2018-19 season, Woking beat Tooting & Mitcham 4-0, Kempston Rovers 3-2 and Welling United 1-0 in the FA Cup qualifying rounds to set up league rivals Torquay United in the first round proper. Woking beat the Devon side 0-1 and set up a tie in the second round against League Two side Swindon Town. Woking were again able to win 0-1, resulting in a draw against Premier League side Watford FC. Woking exited the competition following a 2-0 loss.

Ground

Woking play their home games at Kingfield Stadium, Kingfield Road, Woking, GU22 9AA.

Mascot

Woking F.C. has a team mascot called K.C Kat.

Rivalries

For many years Woking's main rivals have been Stevenage and Aldershot Town, where games attract larger than average crowds. Torquay United FC have also become minor rivals due to intense games and competition in the past couple of years despite their distance from one another.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan/dual-registration

Seasons

YearLeagueLevelPldWDLGFGAGDPtsPositionLeading league scorerGoalsFA CupFA TrophyAverage attendance
2010–11Conference South6422210106342+21765 of 22
Lost in PO semifinal		Elvis Hammond12R1R31167
2011–12Conference South64230759241+51971 of 22
Promoted		Giuseppe Sole19QR3QR31834
2012–13Conference Premier546188207381−86212 of 24Bradley Bubb18QR4R21600
2013–14Conference Premier546208186669−3689 of 24Scott Rendell17QR4R21601
2014–15Conference Premier5462113127752+25767 of 24Scott Rendell24R1R31911
2015–16National League5461710197168+36112 of 24John Goddard17QR4QF1634
2016–17National League5461411216680−145318 of 24Gozie Ugwu17R2R11429
2017–18National League546139245676−204821 of 24
Relegated		Charlie Carter12R2R11911
2018–19National League South642239107649+27782 of 22
Won in PO final		Max Kretzschmar14R3R11882
2019–20National League5381510135055-55510 of 24
Season finished early due to Covid-19 Pandemic		Jake Hyde15QR4R12134

Managerial history

A list of Woking FC managers from 1984 onwards.
DatesNamesNotes
1984–1997 Geoff Chapple-
1997–1998 John McGovern-
1998–2000 Brian McDermott-
2000–2001 Colin Lippiatt-
2001–2002 Geoff Chapple-
2002–2007 Glenn Cockerill-
2007 Graham Baker &
Neil Smith		Caretaker Managers
2007–2008 Frank Gray-
2008 Kim Grant-
2008–2009 Phil Gilchrist-
2009–2011 Graham Baker-
2011–2017 Garry Hill-
2017–2018 Anthony Limbrick-
2018 Geoff ChappleCaretaker Manager
2018– Alan Dowson-

Club officials

Management team

Honours

Highest league position:
FA Cup best performance:
FA Trophy best performance:
Largest transfer fee received
Largest transfer fee paid
Record win
Heaviest defeat
1. Players that have gone onto play in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level.
2. Players with full international caps.
3. Players that hold a club record