Tom Bonner

[Deanl1988]

I agree with the communication Tony, we had Kevin on trial but only found out he was let go in the kent online article, we then had two new players on the bench yesterday with no news as to who they are and whether they are signed or not. Communication has been shocking since the summer, and I was assured by senior personnel they were going to make sure this was not the case this season but if anything it is worse. Alex Wall we have had no update about for some time now either. Personally I feel further away from the club as a fan then I have anytime before.

[Sleightly Deceptive]

I agree with the communication Tony, we had Kevin on trial but only found out he was let go in the kent online article, we then had two new players on the bench yesterday with no news as to who they are and whether they are signed or not. Communication has been shocking since the summer, and I was assured by senior personnel they were going to make sure this was not the case this season but if anything it is worse. Alex Wall we have had no update about for some time now either. Personally I feel further away from the club as a fan then I have anytime before.

This!

[Matt85]

In reply to Matt85 that's a fair point.
Which further indicates his original plans haven't quite worked out.
The first thing you do in this situation is to be prepared for the unexpected.
So maintaining your fitness levels is important while deciding what the next best move is going to be.
It certainly sounds like he suddenly had some spare time on his hands. So why not come and help his old club out?
I'm sure by being on the coaching staff he would have been compensated for his time.
It's also quite possible if he was going to start a business, which is usually 24/7 to begin with atleast, he may well have quit the day job too.
So in effect he may not have had any regular income all of a sudden.
Then Kingy comes in and offers him full-time football.
It's just a theory. Depends on the nature of the business he was, or is still planning to go into.

Is he full time with them then? Or is it the same scenario of only playing when he’s not working.
If so than that makes the decision to join Havant even more bizarre as he could have done that here.
Time will tell.

[Tony H]

Simply put, nobody appears to know what Tom’s status with the club was. So many on this thread are assuming (or guessing!) I’m just interested to know that’s all.

[Ajaxman DFC]

To be honest Matt85 I can't see Steve King doing that. If H&W are still a full time outfit I can't see the point of having players who play when it suits them.
It's not very professional either.

[The Duke]

I feel sure Bonners decision to retire was genuine and he had a new business venture in place , bear in mind that Kingy was NOT in place at Havant then there was nothing premeditated and Toms comments about not playing for another team were probably based on sentiment

Times change and IF he has received a really good offer to go to Havant then thats life after all he is 33+ and probably only has 1/2 more seasons left

My view is that after the first few games Diarra/Nemhball have proved to be solid and IF we can extend Diarra's loan then we will NOT miss Tom Bonner

If Tom plays against us in 2 weeks time then I will not yell any abuse as he has now become just another ex Dart and we see plenty of them return to PP

Have missed several games at PP recently but will be really trying to get to this one !!!!!

[rambo]

Tom decided to leave us in the summer so it’s game over as far as Tom and DFC are concerned.What he chooses to do has nothing to do with DFC and good luck to him.
We are up s*** street atm and Tom would need at least a month to get up to speed and we can’t afford to gamble 5/6 games to get him fit so just lets concentrate on the players we have at the club

[edward]

Ok, Tom was quoted as saying he had to retire from the game and if he had carried on it was Dartford or nothing.
But circumstances do change. As I l've already stated maybe there have been problems with the business venture.
It happened to me once involving the purchase of a cafe in Worthing with a former Charlton player, whose partner unfortunately became very ill which was a massive game changer for him.
These things happen.
There are also quite few people now saying Tom didn't want to continue playing under Dowse either.
For those who do believe that, it might not be such a bad call bearing in mind Tom's statement on retirement was made before the board's recent public backing of the manager.

Money.

[Matt]

Bonner is entitled to start whatever employment he chooses, but at the moment his move to Havant seems like full time filth to Dartford Supporters. I was reading Bonner's quotes from the Kent Messenger when he 'retired' in June, which now sound wrong:

"I want to be a Dartford man still. I want to keep that relationship I've had with the fans and the club going"

"All I would say is, I'd do anything Dartford wanted of me"

Obviously Dowse has stated that he tried to persuade Bonner to continue last season, and even to return to Dartford this season! I think maybe a short note from Bonner in the press to put the move into context for his former supporters would be good. The boo boys may be out in force for our fixture against Haven't & Neverwillhave in a few weeks time.

[tommytollbooth]

Like most Dartford supporters I am amazed Tom has gone to Havant & Waterlooville, I thought their fortunes had well and truly tumbled since their former Manager/Money Man/Director of Football Paul Doswell left the club earlier this year. Unless they have found another moneyman I can't believe they are a fulltime club. Perhaps naively I thought Tom might be offered the Dartford Managers job in the not too distant future. Anyway good luck to Tom except on the 21st October.

[Lars Resort]

I'm rather hoping ' good luck Tom ' especially on the 21st October. Let's hope he needs it. Hopefully Harvey will give him a tanning.

[Matt85]

Bonner is entitled to start whatever employment he chooses, but at the moment his move to Havant seems like full time filth to Dartford Supporters. I was reading Bonner's quotes from the Kent Messenger when he 'retired' in June, which now sound wrong:

"I want to be a Dartford man still. I want to keep that relationship I've had with the fans and the club going"

"All I would say is, I'd do anything Dartford wanted of me"

Obviously Dowse has stated that he tried to persuade Bonner to continue last season, and even to return to Dartford this season! I think maybe a short note from Bonner in the press to put the move into context for his former supporters would be good. The boo boys may be out in force for our fixture against Haven't & Neverwillhave in a few weeks time.

I don’t think there will be anyone booing, there’s no need for that.
(That’s if he’s even available for them on the 21st)

No issue with him joining Havant, good luck to him.
My issue is with people blaming the board and dowse for something they had no way of preventing.

[The 5th Searcher]

If people watch Dowse’s interview after the Chippenham game Dowse is asked the question about Tom joining Havant and Dowse says what happened.
Havant or rather King made Tom an offer he couldn’t refuse and one we just couldn’t match.

[Spike]

Tom is entitled to go wherever he likes and if he's getting a big pay day down there (as Dowse's interview implied) then good luck to him. Tom was great for us and made a massive contribution over the years and that will never be forgotten. That said, I wouldn't have wanted him to stay on a "play when available" basis anyway, as we have a large chunk of the squad who already seem to be in that category and personally I would out the lot of them. We're not Dog & Duck FC and absences should be only in exceptional circumstances and it should be full time commitment or not at all as far as I'm concerned. It is an odd call by Steve King though, to sign an aging player on an occasional basis, when you consider that he excelled at delivering a neverending supply of top quality players, even if he didn't always perhaps get the best out of them. I'm probably way off target, but there is just a little piece of me wondering if this is just a bit of fun and games on his part and a way of sticking two fingers up at our board. I know it's unlikely, but it's fun to speculate.

Initially, I was shocked and very surprised by Tom's decision but having had time to think about it I'm not too fussed. I can see how re-signing for Kingy might feel like a kick in the teeth for some of those people at our club who had issues with the man, but for me he's just another manager at another club and we all move on.

Tom's only mistake was coming out with all that stuff about never playing for another club as it was obviously nonsense. He'll probably get booed if he plays against us now, which is a shame, but then I'm normally quite happy to boo anyone in an opposition shirt so I guess he'll be fair game. I think my main protest will be to personally downgrade him from "Tom Bonner, DFC Legend" to "Tom Bonner, ex-DFC player"... At least for a while.

[tommytollbooth]

According to the Dowse interview on Kent online today Tom Bonner is unlikely to play against us on the 21st due to work commitments?

[Lars Resort]

Somehow I don't think this club has seen the last of Tom Bonner.
Unless of course his business should take off for him.

[Spike]

According to the Dowse interview on Kent online today Tom Bonner is unlikely to play against us on the 21st due to work commitments?

Maybe that's a case of not being able to make it due to a subsequent engagement.

Seriously though, the more I think about it, the less of a big deal it seems.

[The Duke]

Well at least we didnt have to wait for 10 weeks to get the facts , Havant are obviously happy to pay Tom " top dollar " to make part time appearances for them and he would have been nuts to turn it down , we interesting to see how Kingy gets that to successfully] work , I hope we can keep Diarra who alongside Nembhall are becoming a decent duo at centre back , I also reckon that Altintop is now proving what a decent players he is and could slot into centre back !!!!

[Lennylenny]

Who cares? If Tom fell on hard times would any one of us pay his mortgage ? I pay to see someone give his all for 90minutes, I haven’t ever felt like a refund where Tom is concerned. I’ve been involved in non leauge footie since I last saw my feet , players who stay loyal , get a testimonial for a few grand when they could have secured a future with disloyalty now it’s only after a few beers people go oh remember Lee noble , bradbook , who was that bloke who shouted 1nil everygame! Tom has to look after Tom like Dowse will look after Dowse like I will look after myself and go games where my missus doesn’t kill me , I don’t think Tom liked the footie we play and he’s not alone , I’ve seen nothing but dire stuff BUT I didn’t go Saturday where we were meant to be brilliant , so let’s carry that on at Hampton and hope I not a jinx

[KingKong]

im sure Tom had good reason to make this decision. He was a fantastic servant to DFC and a truly inspiring captain. I can only wish him the best.