Tom Bonner

[Lennylenny]

Nobody should leave forums or Twitter because of opposite views so mark don’t, Tom is a great player , I’m hugely disappointed he’s joined a team going nowhere instead of a top club. Tom should be applauded when he comes here , if he scores we should clap,we should hang our heads in shame if he has not resigned for anything but money.end of day we won 4/1 away while Havant ,haven’t won under king and by all accounts are poor, so up the darts!

[Jonty]

Is that Reggie or Arthur talking? I miss Reg & Arthur. Any chance of them returning Lennylenny?

[Jonty]

It hurts to see Tom signing on for another club, especially after that long winded retirement saga unfolded during the summer. He has gone and there is not a lot we can do, especially if the club has a very large war chest to play with. Personally, I think we ain't done too bad on the defensive front since he r̶e̶t̶i̶r̶e̶d̶ made a business decision. Good luck Tom but not against us.

[Dicky Dart]

f*cking hell, just read this. I feel a bit let down, if I’m honest. Fair enough if he wants to retire, but to do the dirty of the Darts is another thing. He obviously didn’t want to retire, he just didn’t want to play for Dartford any more. Fine, but I really hope no one licks his arse when he plays against us. What he did for Dartford Football Club shouldn’t be forgotten, but for the moment he plays for an opponent. An opponent that would really, really like to beat us. At least it’s not Ebbsfleet, though, eh?

[Ozytalksbull]

Good luck Tom
The Dartford board are a joke

[Watling Man]

Good luck Tom
The Dartford board are a joke

Obviously fed up with Palace again, hence back on here

Still talking rubbish

[Colspaz]

My understanding was that Tom signed for us on non contract as we needed cover on the bench, he had been training with dartford since the start of the season to keep his fitness up, and the manager wanted him to sign, not sure how Dowse and the board can be blamed if he decided to go elsewhere after saying he cannot commit to every Saturday, if Tom does not like Dowse he should not of been training with the squad since the start of the season, as they say you don’t know who you can trust in football.

[BRASSNECK]

My understanding was that Tom signed for us on non contract as we needed cover on the bench, he had been training with dartford since the start of the season to keep his fitness up, and the manager wanted him to sign, not sure how Dowse and the board can be blamed if he decided to go elsewhere after saying he cannot commit to every Saturday, if Tom does not like Dowse he should not of been training with the squad since the start of the season, as they say you don’t know who you can trust in football.

Don’t let the facts spoil a good story.

[Matt85]

My understanding was that Tom signed for us on non contract as we needed cover on the bench, he had been training with dartford since the start of the season to keep his fitness up, and the manager wanted him to sign, not sure how Dowse and the board can be blamed if he decided to go elsewhere after saying he cannot commit to every Saturday, if Tom does not like Dowse he should not of been training with the squad since the start of the season, as they say you don’t know who you can trust in football.

That doesn’t fit in with people’s narrative that the board and dowse are the problem though mate.
Dowse has spent most of the season trying to get bonner back, and as you say, had signed him on a non contact basis.
Very poor all round but no blame can be put on the board or the manager.

[Tony H]

My understanding was that Tom signed for us on non contract as we needed cover on the bench, he had been training with dartford since the start of the season to keep his fitness up, and the manager wanted him to sign, not sure how Dowse and the board can be blamed if he decided to go elsewhere after saying he cannot commit to every Saturday, if Tom does not like Dowse he should not of been training with the squad since the start of the season, as they say you don’t know who you can trust in football.

So, if that’s correct, he was transferred to Havant then!

[Ozytalksbull]

Good luck Tom
The Dartford board are a joke

Obviously fed up with Palace again, hence back on here

Still talking rubbish

What ????? I think your a bit off track

[Ajaxman DFC]

My understanding was that Tom signed for us on non contract as we needed cover on the bench, he had been training with dartford since the start of the season to keep his fitness up, and the manager wanted him to sign, not sure how Dowse and the board can be blamed if he decided to go elsewhere after saying he cannot commit to every Saturday, if Tom does not like Dowse he should not of been training with the squad since the start of the season, as they say you don’t know who you can trust in football.

I was very surprised when I heard the news yesterday.
Even more so now after reading Tom couldn't commit to playing every Saturday.
As far as I'm aware Havant are still full-time with one of the biggest budgets in the league.
I'm sure Kingy wouldn't have gone there otherwise.
Especially after his experience at Gloucester, which was successful until they decided to revert back to training two evenings a week the following season.
I've no doubt Tom will be an integral part of the team.
Which sounds like maybe the business venture didn't quite work out.
If that's the case then good luck to him.
He should never be forgotten for the excellent service he's given to Dartford FC.
He owes the club nothing. He hasn't done the dirty by running off with another club. It's not a relationship. He has only one relationship and one major commitment before anything else.
And that's with his wife and family respectively.

[Matt85]

My understanding was that Tom signed for us on non contract as we needed cover on the bench, he had been training with dartford since the start of the season to keep his fitness up, and the manager wanted him to sign, not sure how Dowse and the board can be blamed if he decided to go elsewhere after saying he cannot commit to every Saturday, if Tom does not like Dowse he should not of been training with the squad since the start of the season, as they say you don’t know who you can trust in football.

So, if that’s correct, he was transferred to Havant then!

No.
Non contract means the player can request for his registration to be cancelled.

[Tony H]

My understanding was that Tom signed for us on non contract as we needed cover on the bench, he had been training with dartford since the start of the season to keep his fitness up, and the manager wanted him to sign, not sure how Dowse and the board can be blamed if he decided to go elsewhere after saying he cannot commit to every Saturday, if Tom does not like Dowse he should not of been training with the squad since the start of the season, as they say you don’t know who you can trust in football.

So, if that’s correct, he was transferred to Havant then!

No.
Non contract means the player can request for his registration to be cancelled.

If he was registered with the NL surely he would need to be transferred to play for another team in the League regardless of contract status.

[Tony H]

So, if that’s correct, he was transferred to Havant then!

No.
Non contract means the player can request for his registration to be cancelled.

If he was registered with the NL surely he would need to be transferred to play for another team in the League regardless of contract status.

…registered as a Dartford player!

[Matt85]

No.
Non contract means the player can request for his registration to be cancelled.

If he was registered with the NL surely he would need to be transferred to play for another team in the League regardless of contract status.

…registered as a Dartford player!

The club don’t need to transfer anyone if it was non contract.
Non contract could mean a variety of things, including just a verbal agreement.
The player can request his registration to be cancelled so that he can sign on elsewhere.
Really not sure how anyone can put this at the door of the club, they were powerless to stop him signing anywhere.

"I said to them if I would carry on playing football, I would stay at Dartford. I've not retired for any other reason than I have to. It was Dartford or nothing for me”.

[Ajaxman DFC]

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.

[Matt85]

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.

Then why train with the club for the last few weeks/months.
He was also on the bench with the coaching team for the last cup game.
Not really the actions of someone who didn’t want to be at the club.
A lot of players said they would never play for kingy again either but those circumstances change too.

[Tony H]

I know what the difference between contract and non-contract is Matt, and let’s get this straight, I am NOT criticising whatever decision Tom’s made. His service to this club had been immense and, whatever made him decide what he has, I wish him well. I’m merely interested to know what capacity he is as back with us because, as usual, no information has been given out by the club. My criticism is of the way we seem to communicate things since the summer, or not as the case may be!!

[Ajaxman DFC]

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.