Garry Hill has spoken for the first time since leaving his position at Woking last week and told reporters that there is no animosity from himself towards the club.
Hill spent over six years at Kingfield and during that time took The Cards from The National League South to The National League and reflected on recent developments prior to watching Dagenham & Redbridge face Forest Green Rovers. He told The National League’s social media team:
“I’ve had six and half wonderful years there and I wish the club all the best. There is a change going on which I think every club on and off the pitch needs at times. Hopefully it is for the right reasons for the players, supporters and volunteers.
“There is no animosity from myself and I wish them all the best.”
Hill has been replaced by Anthony Limbrick as new investors pursue a fresh start at Kingfield. Limbrick has worked with youth teams at both Southampton and West Ham as well as at an International level for England. Cards fans will get a chance to hear him speak at a fans forum on Wednesday which is being held at Kingfield.
Image by David Holmes. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk
Woking head to Merseyside on Saturday as they go in search of their first away win of the season at Tranmere Rovers.
Garry Hill and his Woking side are likely to be in high-spirits after back-to-back wins against Torquay United and Wrexham lifted them out of the relegation zone. However, The Cards will visit a Tranmere side who will be looking to prove a point after the departure of manager Gary Brabin last weekend.
Woking Celebrate Beating Wrexham 2-0
Tranmere narrowly missed out on a play-off spot last season and had made a good start to the 2016/17 campaign until defeats at Aldershot Town, Lincoln City and Sutton United saw the club dismiss Brabin.
We caught up with Rovers fan Kenny Orr to find out what is going on at Prenton Park and what Cards fans can expect.
Gary Brabin – named manager of the month (for August) on September 2nd, out of a job by the 18th of the same month. This seems weird from an outsider’s perspective, but the fans seemed to have lost faith after a good start?
I can imagine from the outside looking in, it must seem crazy, but I’m relieved Brabin has gone. Last season we setup not to get beat rather than going for wins and we didn’t reach the play-offs which was a failure in the eyes of the supporters. We were told that a more positive approach would be taken this season and it never came, even when we won. Games were becoming laborious and extremely frustrating.
Who would you like to see come and take over the vacant management position?
There is a strong rumour about Nigel Adkins, who is an ex-player/coach, as well as being a Birkenhead native. He’d be a hell of a coup but part of me just can’t see it happening. If not, I’d like to see Tony Grant (ex Everton/M.City & now coaching) given a go as he apparently has a good reputation.
Want I want to see us avoid is a long ball merchant. I’ve had enough of it after Micky Adams and Gary Brabin.
Tranmere ended last season well and just missed out on the play-offs but were damaged by a difficult start. What did you make of the standard of football and what were your highs and lows?
The standard of football is ok and not too distant from League 2. The frustration for me is how many teams will automatically go for a physical approach to most games. It’s prehistoric and unnecessary in my eyes, it would be good to see more individual skill and nous on show.
Highs – beating Chester at home with a big crowd and solid performance was great.
Lows – Losing to Wrexham at home towards the end of the season killed our faint playoff hopes. Our home form was woeful for most of the season.
A good start to this season means Tranmere are still up the right end of the table. Would fans be happy with the play-offs or has the aim got to be automatic promotion?
Most fans expect a good crack for the automatic place, settling for the playoffs now would be seen as a major lack of ambition. The playoffs are always a lottery and we haven’t won one of them since 1991!
Who will Woking have to watch out for on Saturday?
James Norwood is always a threat and our most exciting player. He’s scored a few already and it would be good too see him played up front rather than being exiled out wide now that Brabin has gone.
Finally, what is your score prediction?
1-1. I can’t see a great change under an assistant manager being given control. Our players seem very low on confidence too, so you’re visiting at a good time.
Images by David Holmes. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk
For the first time since late April, Woking welcome a National League outfit to Kingfield as the top tier of non-league gets underway for the 2016/16 season.
Cards fans will see a new-look side as only five players from last term are still at the club with notable names departing. However, with signings such as Delano Sam-Yorke, Max Kretzschmar and the loan signing of Dennon Lewis, the Kingfield faithful seem to have a positive outlook on the much changed squad.
Saturday’s visitors, Lincoln City, have also seen big changes this summer and most notably this saw Danny Cowley join as manager. Cowley took Braintree Town to the play-offs last season and this has lead to the bookies putting The Imps up there as one of the favourites for the title.
We talked to Lincoln fan Jack Mulhall to find out more about what has happened over the summer and what we can expect from Saturday’s guests.
It’s been a busy summer at Sincil Bank with a new gaffer coming in. After a great season with Braintree Town, what do you expect to see from Danny Cowley?
For me, Danny is the perfect appointment at absolutely the right time for Lincoln. His methodical approach is something I’ve never seen from any manager we’ve had. Preparation is important. His model is next-generation stuff, taking a huge interest into the sports science side. It’s clearly worked on a part-time basis and I, and most others, are excited to see how that transforms into full time.
He has already made some signings, can you take us through those?
Danny was quick to bring in the trio from Braintree (Habergham – Left back. Woodyard and Miles – central midfielders). They’re clearly players he knows and trusts and from what I’ve seen they are real ‘ball at the feet’ players. Nathan Arnold has signed and that’s a great addition for me having featured heavily in Grimsby’s promotion. We missed flare last season and he should bring that. We have strengthened in attack with Adam Marriott and Jonny Margetts coming in. Both have found the net in pre season, both with points to prove having had tough seasons last year. I expect one more to be brought in before opening day, and I’m hoping it’s a centre half to partner Jamie McCombe.
Matt Rhead bagged 18 in 31 appearances last season so it is no surprise that there are clubs interested in him. How important will he be if you can keep hold of him?
For me, Matt is hugely important to next season, albeit if I don’t expect him to feature as much. He offers so much in both boxes. Last season, he scored with his left, his right, his head and an overhead kick. You sense it’ll be whether Matt wants to be here or not rather than whether a club can tempt us with four Yorkie bars and a KitKat. Barrow seems the most likely option with Paul Cox keen on his former player. I’d be disappointed to see him leave. (It seems that Matt and Lincoln weren’t interested in the chocolate bars as since talking to Jack, Matt has signed a new deal at Lincoln)
What is your expectation on for the season?
Like every year, I’m full of optimism. Like every year, this one feels different. I think we’re good enough to mount a promotion challenge and expect a top seven as a minimum..but who really knows!
Lincoln will come up against Delano Sam-Yorke on Saturday. How do you reflect on his time with yourselves?
He initially came on loan. A player I rated heavily. Signed on a permanent deal and never really got going. I think the style was negative to his game. I wasn’t disappointed to see him depart and sense his heart is always down south. He will score goals though, there’s no doubting that.
Sam-Yorke Celebrates a Pre-Season Goal
Finally, how do you think Saturday’s game will play out and what is your score prediction?
There’s something about Kingfield I really don’t like (maybe because our only win there comes against Hayes and Yeading). It’s a real unknown challenge too, opening day is always tough to call. That said if you can’t be confident on opening day, you’ll never be confident again. 3-0 away win!
Images by David Holmes. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk
Woking’s newly promoted academy graduate Charlie Carter has admitted he is ‘buzzing’ for the new season to get underway next Saturday when Lincoln City visit Kingfield.
19-year-old Carter’s impressive form in pre-season, which included goals against Watford and Luton Town, saw the youngster earn a contract with the first team. Looking back on warm-up games, the midfielder believes that it has been a successful pre-season for himself and the rest of the squad, who have been helping him progress in training.
“It is going positively for me and the squad. We have had a good pre-season and we just need to take it into the season.
“In training they (Keiran Murtagh and Joey Jones) are always trying to help me out and help me progress. They’ve been great to me.”
On his position in the squad throughout the season, Carter is remaining upbeat, even if he doesn’t secure a starting place straight away.
“I am just happy to be in the squad right now. I will just keep working hard and if I get into the starting XI then that is good. If I don’t, I will still be positive because I am young and still learning.”
Charlie was talking to BBC Surrey’s Gary Smith and the full interview can be heard here.
Photos by David Holmes. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk
Woking manager Garry Hill has confirmed that he is still looking to sign players in the January transfer window to strengthen his playing squad.
The Cards boss told BBC Surrey after Saturday’s win over Maidenhead United that he was still in the market for a handful of players as Football League teams keep an eye on members of the Woking side. He told reporter Gary Smith:
“We are still light on bodies, I need to get three or four in. There’s one or two players being mentioned to league clubs, we will control that. The players are aware of that and they just get on with their jobs.”
Woking overcame The Magpies to progress to the third round of the competition but didn’t have it all their own way as the visitors took a first-half lead.
“To be honest I was quite pleased to come in at half-time only one down. They were certainly the better team in the first 45 minutes.”
Sole Strikes As Woking Win
However, The Cards hit back strongly with goals from Giuseppe Sole, Joe Quigley, Chris Arthur and a brace from Keiran Murtagh to win out comfortable winners, impressing a relieved Hill.
“From the time we equalised until the final whistle we played some good football and scored some good goals.”
Picture by David Holmes. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk.
The full BBC Surrey interview can be heard at – bit.ly/1npWGy5
Woking travel to Cheshire this afternoon in search of their first league win since early October.
Garry Hill’s side have struggled to pick up points since a 3-0 win at Halifax Town and were soundly beaten against Macclesfield Town last weekend. A hat-trick from Kristian Dennis contributed to a 5-2 victory for The Silkmen on a difficult afternoon for The Cards. That was the second 5-2 at Kingfield this season. The other was a victory for Woking over Saturday’s opposition, Chester. A similar result against The Blues at the Deva Stadium would see The Cards pick up their first league double of the season.
We talked to Chester media man Chris Graham to find out the latest going ons in the north-west.
Chester face Woking for the second time this season (even though it is only November!) and the game is likely to tighter than the game at Kingfield. Woking ran out 5-2 winners that day but it was a close affair until the red card and penalty. Do you think that was the turning point?
Definitely, Chester had started fairly well and looked threatening as they went forward but to lose Ben Heneghan midway through the first half, after already having substituted Ross Hannah, and then immediately finding themselves a goal behind meant it was always going to be an uphill task. Despite playing with 10 men Chester still looked to attack, which allowed Woking that bit more space going forward and once Holman fired in the second at the start of the second half the floodgates opened. The game will always have at least one warm memory for Blues fans though as it was the game that saw Michael Kay score the 500th goal since Chester FC reformed in 2010.
Pattie celebrates against Chester
Chester now sit in mid-table seven points off of the play-offs. How would you evaluate the season so far?
It’s been a rather strange start to the season, with the side being so inconsistent it’s difficult to work out where they truly sit in the table, and being mid-table at the moment is only fair. There have been multiple false dawns, and just as you think the side has finally clicked and is capable of going on a run it then throws up some surprising results, accompanied by poor performances and they seem back to square one. The home form has been very strong, winning five, drawing four and losing just twice but is hindered by just three wins and two draws away from home. If the team can start to pick up results away from home, whilst maintaining strong home form there is no reason they can’t climb the table and push the play-off teams.
Has the highlight been the 3-2 victory over Wrexham?
Most definitely, it is the first game Chester fans look for when the fixtures are released and the players really managed to capture the passion of the fan base and turned in their performance of the season so far. John Rooney’s free kick was a thing of beauty, a curling effort from 30 yards, to open the scoring before Wrexham equalised through a penalty that even the away fans seemed surprised by at the time. Rooney was involved in the second as he set up Tom Shaw to coolly slot home before Kane Richards was completely unmarked at the back post to add a third. As is often the case with Chester though it was never comfortable and despite being the better side for most of the game Wrexham pulled one back in stoppage time to set up a nervy ending.
Ross Hannah and John Rooney have ten league goals between them this season. How has that been working as a partnership?
Signing Ross Hannah in the summer was huge for the club, he appeared to be the proven marksman that they had lacked the previous season and could push the team towards the playoffs, so far he has done a good job of leading the line whilst playing as a lone striker, a role he was not too familiar with when he arrived at the club. It is starting to come together for him though, with two goals against Kidderminster (and a third ruled out for offside) and a goal against Forest Green in his past three matches. John Rooney is key to the team though, he’s key to the midfield and often looks the man to unlock an opposition defence, it’s clear that he and Ross enjoy playing together and against Kidderminster, in Rooney’s 100th appearance for the club, Ross set John up to give Chester the lead before capitalising himself off a parried Rooney effort to secure the third.
Who will Woking have to look out for on Saturday?
At the back Ben Heneghan will be one of the key defenders, and I’m sure will look to make amends for his sending off in the reverse fixture earlier this season, after a slower than expected start Heneghan is starting to find the form he showed last season that earned him an England C call up. In the midfield John Rooney will be the main threat, and if Woking are able to keep him quiet then they will go a long way to getting a positive result. Rooney is one of Chester’s top scorers as well as leading the team in assists, which shows how much of a danger he can pose. Up top Ross Hannah will do his best to keep Woking’s centre halves busy with his energy but James Roberts, who is on loan from Oxford United, is one who could cause some real danger. Roberts has impressed in his spell with the club, scoring an emotional goal in his return to action against Halifax after he tragically lost his brother following his debut in the victory against Wrexham. Finally, what is your score prediction?
Looking at the two sides recent form I can only go for a Chester victory, as mentioned earlier they’ve been very solid at home while Woking have only won twice away from home all season. I expect it to be close and possibly only a goal in it so I’ll go 2-1 to Chester.
Photos by David Holmes. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk
Woking manager Garry Hill has been named Conference manager of the month for March.
The Cardinals boss picked up the award following four league wins in four games in March. This included breaking Luton Town’s 27-game unbeaten run and an impressive 3-1 victory at play-off contenders Barnet.
Everyone at Everything Woking FC would like to congratulate Garry on his well deserved award.
Photo by David Holmes. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk
Woking go in to this Saturday’s game with real optimism around the club following the loan signing of Jack Marriott.
The Ipswich youngster played a crucial part in Tuesday’s 3-0 win against Dartford and claimed an assist and a goal on his debut. Marriott’s Impressive performance amongst goals from Scott Rendell and Joe McNerney gave the Cards their second home win of the season and a win on Saturday could see them leave the relegation zone.
Garry Hill will be looking to do the double over a Hyde side who have failed to pick up a league win yet this season. Woking won the reverse fixture 2-0 in September with Kevin Betsy grabbing a brace to take the three points.
We caught up with Hyde fan @Jamie_McNamee ahead of Saturday’s crucial game at the bottom of the table to see if the Tigers fans are remaining positive –
With nineteen games played you have drawn three and lost sixteen, how has this season started so badly for yourselves?
The season in a whole has been dreadful so far and I think there are certain factors that have contributed to this. The first one is the phenomenon of ‘Second Season Syndrome’ mean that we do not have the element of surprise on a lot of teams in this league anymore. Without a doubt last season the end result as a team was much greater than the individuals placed within the team but on paper this season’s squad is stronger than last season’s. A second factor is our lack of goals, especially when we are on top in games. There have been several games this year where Hyde have started like a house on fire and in some matches have even taken the lead but then that inevitable opposition goal comes all the momentum in the team is lost. The Chester game last week was a perfect example of this. Take the lead early on with a tidy finish by Louis Almond and after near a full half of a barrage on the Chester goal the strike right near the end of the first half and Hyde never really got back into the game up until about five minutes to go being 2-1 down. One last factor is just general bad form by certain players. Our experienced pair of Will Haining and Danny Carlton have been dreadful, Tom Collins early season heroics have seen him demoted to the bench. I could go one but the only real high points this season is our performance against Nuneaton where we should have won that game comfortably but ended up with a 2-2 draw, the recent performance of Louis Almond and on loan goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux.
You were confident when we played you in the reverse fixture you would just about survive this season, do you think the squad are good enough and will pick up in confidence when they finally get a win?
Hard to tell if they will pick up in confidence when they finally get a win because reaching that elusive first win seems so near but so far at the moment. We do play some good stuff at times but it is quite annoying at times when opposition fans of other clubs play you and say “I don’t understand how you are winless this year” I do think that when we win a match we will go on a little run of form but unfortunately I think Hyde’s fate in the Conference premier will all ready of been sealed by then.
In what positions have you particularly been struggling and can you see the squad being strengthened in January?
We have seen a chopping and changing at centre Half this season with a total of about 7 different players being played there whether through injury or poor form. The best of them being Glenn Belezika, who is on loan from Oldham. Up front we lack goals from Scott Spencer and Reece Gray who were massive in helping Hyde reach this level two years ago. Do I see us strengthening in January? Hard to tell, depends on who is out there but Hyde will not invest any real money to strengthen due to our tight player budget. I think we will have to get rid of some to bring others in is basically what I think may happen.
Who is likely to pose Woking the biggest threat on Saturday?
Louis Almond, he has been on a good run in the last couple of games. Tricky little winger who can chip in with between 10-12 goals a season at this level and could cause you back four and keeper a problem in the up and coming encounter. Reece Gray with his intelligent way of finding space and threading through balls could also be a real threat.
Finally, what is your score prediction?
Let’s be both bold and stupid here I’ll go with a 3-1 victory to Hyde to break our winless streak.
Questions and article by Jacob Greenwood @JGreenwood91
Photo by David Holmes & Andy Nunn. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk
People often say that you can’t judge how a team will do based on their pre-season results. This has proved the case at Kingfield this season and Woking beat both Gillingham and Bournemouth whilst only losing one game during pre-season.However, The Cards have struggled early in the season with only one win in seven games. Despite this there appears to be an air on calm with fans having a lot of trust in the management team.
We talked to Woking fan Adrian Corbett to find out where things have been going wrong and if fans should be starting to worry.
Hi Adrian,
After the initial pre-season excitement everything has gone a bit flat after a poor start, a derby day defeat and four loses on the bounce, why do you think we have suffered from such a poor start?
The loss of 3 very good players who are practically impossible to replace I.e. Bubb, Stockley and Knott – arguably best players in the league last season.
Gavin Williams scores in Woking’s defeat to Aldershot Town
Woking fans have reason to be positive after an improved performance against Alfreton last week but various players were playing out of their natural position, do you think this is something Garry should stick with?
You only play players out of position when needs must. Sometimes players do adapt to being good in a couple of positions.
The loan window is a place where Garry has been successfully before, is this an area you could see us performing in well again this season? If not, could this count against us with the lack of disposal income to spend on permanent players?
If we can get similar deals to last season where the owning club still covered all if not a large proportion of their wages then yes the loan moves are a good idea.
What worries Woking fans the most is that we haven’t been losing to teams that are expected to be in the top have of the table, do you think we can perform better on the big occasions like last season?
It doesn’t personally worry me! Over the course of the season we will find our true level then that’s the time to judge.
Finally, where do you think we will finish this season?
Difficult to say this early especially when you can’t see where the next goal is coming from. As long as we don’t spend cash we don’t have and live within our budget and have a football club in the future, that is more important.
Questions and article by Jacob Greenwood @JGreenwood91
Photo by David Holmes. A full set can be found at wokingfc.co.uk
Woking manager Garry Hill has revealed that there will be no change in the playing budget with the new season approaching.
After an impressive 12th place finish last season the Cards boss declared that he was is looking forward to the challenge of working with one of the smaller budgets in the league.
Hill told BBC Surrey:
“Any football manager at any level wants a little bit more (money) to work with but it’s not to be.
“The average budget in the conference is £600,000 and there are six to eight clubs in the league with budgets of a million pounds plus. Our budget is £300,000 and we are part time playing against 16 full-time clubs. I’m aware of that and so is Steve Thompson and we will get on with it, we find it more of a challenge.”
Hill also confirmed that a deal was offered to Bradley Bubb, who spent last season on loan at Kingfield from Aldershot Town, but it was turned down by the striker.
“Bradley Bubb was offered a contract six weeks ago by myself but that was the end of it, it didn’t really appeal to him.”
After turning Woking down, 26-year-old Bubb signed for Belgian side Royal Antwerp. The Belgian second division side have close links to Manchester United which has seen the likes of Ryan Shawcross, Jonny Evans and John O’Shea feature for the side now managed by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
