Woking F.C.

Woking
	150px
Full name	Woking Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Cardinals, The Cards
Founded	1889; 135 years ago
Ground	Kingfield Stadium
Capacity	6,036 (2,500 seated)
Owner	Peter Jordan
Chairman	Rosemary Johnson
Manager	Garry Hill
League	National League
2015–16	National League, 12th
Website	Club home page

Woking Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Woking, Surrey, England. Formed in 1889, the team play at The Laithwaite Community Stadium (formerly known as Kingfield Stadium) and participates in The National League, the fifth tier of English football.

Woking have won the FA Trophy a joint-record three times and finished The National League 2015–16 season in 12th place. Woking are known as The Cards or The Cardinals.

History

Early years

Woking Football Club, known as the Cards, was formed 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, the Cards beat Ilford 3–0 to win 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 plunged to Division Two South of the Isthmian League. It was during that season that former player, Geoff Chapple, was appointed as manager. However, Chapelle 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 next 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. Recovering from being a goal behind, Woking triumphed 4–2, after a hat-trick from Tim Buzaglo. The club was then 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

Woking supporters watching their team win at Wembley in the 1997 FA Trophy Final.

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. The FA Trophy was won in 1994 when Runcorn were beaten at Wembley. Twelve months later Kidderminster Harriers were beaten as Woking became 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 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 (Kim Grant, Phil Gilchrist and Graham Baker) 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.

Ground

Woking play their home games at The Laithwaite Community Stadium (formerly known as 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. In recent years they have also shared a rivalry with Farnborough.

Players

Current squad

As of 19 May 2016.^[1]

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

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Jake Cole
2	DF	Jake Caprice
3	DF	Chris Arthur
4	MF	Mark Ricketts (captain)
5	DF	Brian Saah
6	DF	Ismail Yakubu (vice-captain)
7	DF	Joey Jones

No.	Position	Player
8	MF	Keiran Murtagh
9	FW	Scott Rendell
10	FW	Giuseppe Sole
12	MF	Godfrey Poku
18	GK	Nick Hamann
20	MF	Alex Smith

Out on loan

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

No.		Position	Player

Seasons

Year	League	Level	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Leading league scorer	Goals	FA Cup	FA Trophy	Average attendance
2006–07	Conference National	5	46	15	12	19	56	61	−5	57	15th of 24	Craig McAllister	15	R1	R1	No data
2007–08	Conference Premier	5	46	12	17	17	53	61	−8	53	17th of 24	Giuseppe Sole	14	QR4	R2	No data
2008–09	Conference Premier	5	46	10	14	22	37	60	−23	44	21st of 24 Relegated	Wilfried Domoraud	8	QR4	R1	1642
2009–10	Conference South	6	42	21	9	12	57	44	+13	72	5th of 22 Lost in PO final	Giuseppe Sole	14	R1	R2	1335
2010–11	Conference South	6	42	22	10	10	63	42	+21	76	5th of 22 Lost in PO semifinal	Elvis Hammond	12	R1	R3	1167
2011–12	Conference South	6	42	30	7	5	92	41	+51	97	1st of 22 Promoted	Giuseppe Sole	19	QR3	QR3	1834
2012–13	Conference Premier	5	46	18	8	20	73	81	−8	62	12th of 24	Bradley Bubb	18	QR4	R2	1600
2013–14	Conference Premier	5	46	20	8	18	66	69	−3	68	9th of 24	Scott Rendell	17	QR4	R2	1601
2014–15	Conference Premier	5	46	21	13	12	77	52	+25	76	7th of 24	Scott Rendell	24	R1	R3	1911
2015–16	National League	5	46	17	10	19	71	68	+3	61	12th of 24	John Goddard	17	QR4	QF	1634

Managerial history

A list of Woking FC managers from 1984 onwards.

Dates	Names	Notes
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–Present	Garry Hill

Club officials

Woking Football Club Limited

Chairman: Rosemary Johnson
Directors: Peter Jordan, Geoff Chapple, Rosemary Johnson, Garry Richardson, Kelvin Reay
Cards Trust elected Board representative: Ian Nicholson
Club Ambassador: Geoff Chapple
Head of Communications: David Taylor

Team Management

Manager: Garry Hill

Assistant Manager: Steve Thompson

Football Secretary: Geoff Chapple

First Team Physio: Steve Snelling

Head of Youth Development: Scott Harrison

Kit Managers: Malcolm Jobling & Stuart Baverstock

Groundsman: Colin Gallliford

Honours

FA Trophy
- Winners 1994, 1995, 1997
- Runners-up 2005–06
FA Amateur Cup
- Winners 1958
Football Conference
- Runners-up 1994–95, 1995–96
Conference South
- Champions 2011–12
Isthmian League
- Champions 1991–92
- Runners-up 1956–57
Isthmian League Cup
- Winners 1991
Isthmian Charity Shield
- Winners 1992, 1993
Surrey Senior Cup^[2]
- Winners (12): 1912–13, 1926–27, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1971–72, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2013–14
- Runners up (16): 1897–98, 1907–08, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1927–28, 1934–35, 1945–46, 1958–59, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2008–09
Conference League Cup
- Winners 2005
- Runners-up 1998
Vauxhall Championship Shield
- Winners 1995
- Runners-up 1996
Trevor Jones Memorial Trophy
- Winners 2011
- Runners-up 2009
London Senior Cup^[3]
- Runners-up 1983
Surrey Senior Charity Shield^[4]
- Runners-up 1932–33

Club records

Highest league position:

2nd in Conference National: 1994–95 & 1995–96

FA Cup best performance:

Fourth Round: 1990–91

FA Trophy best performance:

Winners: 1993–94; 1994–95; 1996–97 (Joint record number of wins)

Largest transfer fee received

£150,000 for Kevin Betsy to Fulham in 1998

Largest transfer fee paid

£60,000 for Chris Sharpling from Crystal Palace in 2001

Record win

17–3 vs. Farnham in the Surrey Charity Shield in 1913

Heaviest defeat

0–16 vs. New Crusaders in the FA Cup in 1905

Former players

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