Dorchester Town F.C.

Dorchester Town

Full name

Dorchester Town Football Club

Nickname(s)

The Magpies

Founded

1880

Ground

The Avenue Stadium, Dorchester

Capacity

5,229 (710 seated)

Chairman

Matt Lucas

Player-Manager

Mark Jermyn

League

Southern League Premier

2014–15

Southern League Premier, 17th

Website

Club home page

Home colours

Away colours

Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division. The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club.^[1] They play at the Avenue Stadium, on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. They were founder members of the Conference South in 2004, which was the highest standard they have ever reached, but were relegated after ten years in 2014.

History

Founded in 1880, Dorchester Town were Dorset Senior Cup finalists in 1888 and 1890 before joining the Dorset League in 1896. Despite being founder members of the league, the club had little success before winning the championship in 1937/38 with a 2–0 victory at Sherborne on 25 April 1938.

The club joined the Western League in 1947, winning promotion from Division Two in 1950, and going on to take the league championship in 1954/55. The fifties proved to be a successful decade for the Magpies, winning the Dorset Senior Cup for the first time, and having a number of good runs in the FA Cup facing the likes of Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Port Vale and Plymouth Argyle. In 1954, Dorchester reached the 2nd Round before eventually losing out to York City in front of 5,500 fans at the old Avenue ground, in a season where York went on to reach the semi-finals.

Following four more victories in the Dorset Senior Cup, the club entered the Southern League (Division One South) in 1972. They first tasted success in this division when they finished runners-up to Margate in 1977/78, going unbeaten in the final 16 matches of the season, with manager David Best utilising his links with old club AFC Bournemouth to attract former first-teamers such as John O'Rourke, Jack Howarth and Harry Redknapp to the Avenue.

The formation of the Alliance League (now the Football Conference) unfortunately meant the Magpies ended up back in the reformed Southern Division a year later, but the club celebrated its centenary by winning the Southern Division in 1979/80 by a one-point margin over Aylesbury. Stuart Bell succeeded David Best as manager during the season, and the Magpies went unbeaten in the last 14 games to clinch the title. A young Trevor Senior impressed alongside ever-present top scorer Paul Thorne, whilst Graham Roberts joined neighbours Weymouth early in the campaign for £6,000 before going on to star for Tottenham Hotspur and England.

Senior stayed with Dorchester for a further two seasons, before signing for Portsmouth during the 1981/82 season for £35,000, going on to play for Watford, Middlesbrough and Reading, where he broke the Berkshire club's all-time goalscoring record. Before leaving the Magpies, Senior helped the club reach the 2nd Round of the FA Cup again before losing out to AFC Bournemouth in a replay at Dean Court in front of a crowd of 8,700. A goal four minutes from the end of extra time was enough to end Dorchester's dreams of a place in the third round – a feat they have still yet to achieve.

Relegated at the end of the 1983/84 season following a severe financial crisis, the club only just avoided dropping out of the league altogether the following year. However, a remarkable turnaround followed, and Dorchester returned to the Premier Division as champions at the end of the 1986/87 season, taking the title following a goalless draw at runners-up Ashford on the final day of the season.

The return to the top southern division has been a rollercoaster of emotions for Dorchester fans. Having been a mid-table team for a number of years, a brush with relegation came at the start of the nineties, and Stuart Morgan was introduced as manager in 1993. In his first full season, Morgan took the club to sixth in the league, followed by the sale of Darren Garner to Rotherham United for £30,000 during the summer.

The following seasons were a mixture of highs-and-lows, flirting with relegation on a number of occasions, facing Oxford United in the 1st Round of the FA Cup, reaching the last 16 of the FA Trophy for only the second time, and finishing fourth in the Premier Division in 1997/98.

Unfortunately in the following seasons, the Magpies were unable to rekindle the same form, and following a number of close-shaves at the wrong end of the table, the club were relegated to the Eastern Division at the end of the 2000/01 season, despite a strong FA Cup run culminating in a 3–1 First Round defeat at Wigan Athletic's impressive 25,000 all-seater JJB Stadium.

Under the guidance of manager Mark Morris, Dorchester's young squad regained their Premier Division status within two years, defeating King's Lynn on the final day of the 2002/03 season to take the Eastern Division title ahead of Eastbourne Borough, having won 16 of their last 17 matches and scoring 114 goals in their 42 league games. A season earlier the Magpies had picked up the Southern League Cup for the first time, again defeating King's Lynn in a 4–0 aggregate victory in the final.

The first season back in the Premier Division was a difficult one but the club succeeded to reach the end-of-season play-offs, where two fine victories over Bath City and Tiverton Town saw Dorchester become a Conference club for the first time in the newly formed Conference South division. A season later the Magpies almost saw further play-off glory, but missed out on another promotion opportunity on the final day of the season, going down 7–3 at Bognor Regis Town.

A mid-table finish the following year ended with the resignation of Mark Morris – arguably the club's most successful manager in recent history – with Mick Jenkins taking charge of the first team. His reign, however, was short-lived. Despite the club's tenth success in the Dorset Senior Cup, the team narrowly avoided relegation by finishing 17th in the league, and Jenkins was sacked just a month later in the wake of Eddie Mitchell taking over the ownership of the club.

Mitchell's arrival at the helm saw former Dorchester midfielder Shaun Brooks installed as Director of Football, and the club announced it would be making the step up to full-time football ready for the 2007/08 season.

In September 2014, Dorchester suffered a tragic loss, their kitman Alex Legge, aged 38, died suddenly. He was well known around the club and town and was loved by many.^[2]

Community Ownership

The club is democratically run by its supporters.^[3]

Colours and Badge

The club have a long tradition of playing in black and white striped shirts with black shorts and socks at home. For the 2005–06 season, to celebrate the club's 125th anniversary the home club sported a black and white quartered shirt, similar to the original strip the club was founded in. The away kit is currently all yellow, the clubs traditional third colour; but has in the past been sky blue, white and red kits.

The club's current badge is circular, with the words 'Dorchester Town F.C.' and 'The Magpies' on a white outer rim, in black text. The central area contains two magpies on a brown branch in front of a sky blue background. Above them is a design based upon the town's Coat of arms, a purple circle containing a castle, upon which is a shield.

Stadium

Main article: Avenue Stadium

Dorchester Town play their home games at the Avenue Stadium, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 2RY.

The Avenue Stadium, currently sponsored by Greene King IPA, is located near to a branch of Tesco on the outskirts of Dorchester. Opened in 1990, it consists of one main stand, which is all-seated, and three small banks of terracing, which are all-standing. A railway line runs along the back of the stadium. Whilst the capacity of the stadium is 5,009, Dorchester tend to attract crowds of around 500–600, although, during the 1990s, the club regularly achieved 900–1000 strong attendances. The record attendance at the Avenue Stadium came in the 1999 season, in front of a crowd of 4,159.^[4] At the start of the 2011/12 season, a sponsorship deal was announced with Greene King IPA, with the stadium being rebranded 'The Greene King IPA Community Stadium'. A recent F.A. Cup game against Plymouth Argyle attracted 3,196 fans to the Avenue. Dorchester beat their League neighbours 1–0 in a match which was televised live by ESPN in the UK and Fox Network in the USA.

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Shane Murphy
		GK	Alan Walker-Harris
		DF	Chris Dillon
		DF	Mark Jermyn
		DF	Matt Oldring
		DF	Jake Smeeton (Captain)
		MF	Jason Brookes
		MF	Charlie Davis
		MF	Nick Crittenden
		MF	Neil Martin
		MF	Bradley Tarbuck
		FW	Solomon Ayunga
		FW	Ben Watson
		FW	Luke Woodland

Club staff

Club officials

President: Keith Kellaway

Chairman: M Lucas

Club Secretary/Vice Chairman: D Martin

Football Secretary: D Ring

Club Ambassador: E C G Belt

Football staff

First Team Manager: Mark Jermyn

First Team Assistant Manager: Nick Crittenden

First Team Coach: Stuart Heath

First Team Goalkeeping Coach: Steve Dodge

Reserve Team Manager: Simon Evans

Reserve Team Coach: Neil Mackie

Reserve Team Administrator: Stuart Griffiths

Under 18's Joint Managers: Martin Pashen

Under 18's Coach: Martin Pashen

Academy/Development Centre Head Coach: Alex Browne

Physio Therapist: Emma Tonkin

Kit Manager: Nick Kellaway

Honours

Southern League Eastern Division
- 2003–04 Champions
Southern League Southern Division
- 1979–80 & 1986–87 Champions
- 1977–78 Runners up
Southern League Cup
- 2001–02 Winners
- 1991–92 Runners up
Southern League Challenge Trophy
- 2002–03 Winners
Western Football League|Western League Division One
- 1954–55 Champions
- 1960–61 Runners up
Western Football League Professional Cup
- 1960–61 & 1961–62 Runners up
Western Football League Alan Young Cup:^[5]
- Winners (1): 1961–62
Dorset Senior Cup
- 1950–51, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2010–11, 2011–12 Champions

Club records

Points in a season

Most – 93 in 42 games (2.21 points/game). (Southern League Division One East, 2002–2003)
Least – 20 in 38 games (0.53 points/game). (Southern League Premier Division,1983–1984)

Wins in a season

Most – 28 in 42 games. (Southern League East, 2002–2003)
Least – 4 in 38 games. (Southern Premiership, 1983–1984)

Draws in a season

Most – 18 in 46 games. (Southern League South, 1981–1982)
Least – 2 in 36 games (Twice). (Western League Division 1, 1958–1959 and 1959–1960)

Defeats in a season

Most – 27 in 40 games. (Southern League South, 1985–1986)
Least – 5 in 42 games. (Southern League East, 2002–2003)

The same number of drawn games occurred in the Western League Division Two, 1949–1950, but the club played only 30 games.

Goals in a season

Most scored – 115 in 40 games (2.88 goals/games). (Western League Premier Division, 1960–1961)
Most conceded – 96 in 34 games (2.82 goals/game). (Western League Second Division, 1948–1949)
Least scored – 35 in 40 games (0.88 goals/game). (Southern League South, 1985–1986)
Least conceded – 30 in 34 games (0.88 goals/game). (Southern League Division One South, 1976–1977)

Notable former players

Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
Players with full international caps.
Players that hold a club record.

External links

References

↑ "Dorset CS Clubs". DorsetFA. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
↑ http://www.freenewspos.com/en/latest-news-article/b/1176869/town%20New/magpies-mourn-loss-of-kitman-alex-legge
↑ "Membership of Dorchester Town Football Club: Own Your Own Club". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
↑ History of Avenue Stadium Official Dorchester Town FC Website
↑ "Western Football League Alan Young Cup Winners" (PDF). Western Football League. Retrieved 2013-01-07.

Southern League

Premier Division	Bedworth United Bideford Biggleswade Town Cambridge City Chesham United Chippenham Town Cirencester Town Dorchester Town Dunstable Town Frome Town Histon Hitchin Town Hungerford Town Kettering Town King's Lynn Town Leamington Merthyr Town Paulton Rovers Poole Town Redditch United Slough Town St Neots Town Stratford Town Weymouth

Division One Central	AFC Rushden & Diamonds Arlesey Town Aylesbury Aylesbury United Barton Rovers Beaconsfield SYCOB Bedford Town Chalfont St. Peter Egham Town Fleet Town Godalming Town Hanwell Town Kings Langley Leighton Town North Greenford United Northwood Petersfield Town Potters Bar Town Royston Town St Ives Town Uxbridge Ware

Division One South & West	AFC Totton Banbury United Bashley Bishop's Cleeve Bridgwater Town Burnham Cinderford Town Didcot Town Evesham United Larkhall Athletic Mangotsfield United Marlow North Leigh Shortwood United Slimbridge Swindon Supermarine Taunton Town Tiverton Town Wantage Town Wimborne Town Winchester City Yate Town

Seasons	1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Coordinates: 50°42′01.93″N 02°26′44.23″W / 50.7005361°N 2.4456194°W / 50.7005361; -2.4456194

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