New Manager.

[Sleightly Deceptive]

I’m sure Steve will come up trumps. Fer sure, the Board can’t afford to bollocks it up. Not as they did last time; most of us were happy with the appointment of Dowse. It was only him that proved himself hopeless. Lessons will have been learned I’m certain. I still reckon we’ll survive but no points from Dover and anything less than a convincing win v Tauntonil and I’m dreading the outcome.

[Tony H]

Just seen ex Aldershot manager(interim I thi k)Ross Mcneilly has just left Dorking Wanderers as assistant to Marc White to"further his future in management". Either he's got a job lined up or Marc got rid. Thought he could be a possibility for Dartford. Maybe. You heard it here first. No I'm just speculating tbh.

From what I have seen he resigned rather than being sacked, so I'd think he would have got something lined up. Marc spoke highly of him in the departure post.

It would be a risk, especially considering Mark Beard didn't work out at Eastbourne, however I am not totally against it if it was the case.

Time will tell.

Absolutely NOT the right candidate. Just my opinion!

[KentC]

I’m sure Steve will come up trumps. Fer sure, the Board can’t afford to bollocks it up. Not as they did last time; most of us were happy with the appointment of Dowse. It was only him that proved himself hopeless. Lessons will have been learned I’m certain. I still reckon we’ll survive but no points from Dover and anything less than a convincing win v Tauntonil and I’m dreading the outcome.

Thats the thing, there’s this big narrative that no one complained when Dowse came on but who is going to criticise the new manager or the board on a new appointment with experience.
Did people complain when Dowse came in, not really.
We’re people excited or really positive about his appointment, speaking for myself not really either.

So let’s be clear like a few others I’d imagine on here there wasn’t any excitement around Dowses appointment but at the same time it’d be lunacy to be negative at the time, you had to trust the board’s appointment and trust and back the manager region who it is.

This is why no one complained when he was chosen, you wouldn’t do that. Not because everyone was particularly happy with it as the narrative goes by some on here.

[MickW]

Two page spread on Martin Tyler in the sports section of the Guardian today (I thought it was an obituary when I spotted it !)
Yes we do get a 2 line mention.

[Dart of Herts]

Two page spread on Martin Tyler in the sports section of the Guardian today (I thought it was an obituary when I spotted it !)
Yes we do get a 2 line mention.

“We’ve done 15 months at Walton & Hersham, six years at Kingstonian, four years at Hampton & Richmond, the best part of four years at Woking and 20 months at Dartford [ending five weeks ago when Dowson was sacked with the club seven points outside the National League South playoff places]”. Would he like to return to the dugout? “Yeah, why not?” Tyler says. “I haven’t spoken to Alan since yesterday, so who knows. But he’s a professional manager, so it’s his job. For me, it’s amazing to be included.”

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... kept-going

[Taunton Dart]

Two page spread on Martin Tyler in the sports section of the Guardian today (I thought it was an obituary when I spotted it !)
Yes we do get a 2 line mention.

“We’ve done 15 months at Walton & Hersham, six years at Kingstonian, four years at Hampton & Richmond, the best part of four years at Woking and 20 months at Dartford [ending five weeks ago when Dowson was sacked with the club seven points outside the National League South playoff places]”. Would he like to return to the dugout? “Yeah, why not?” Tyler says. “I haven’t spoken to Alan since yesterday, so who knows. But he’s a professional manager, so it’s his job. For me, it’s amazing to be included.”

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... kept-going

We don't care - we've got Tony Burman!

[The 5th Searcher]

https://www.kentsportsnews.com/russell- ... 9-02-2024/

Lewis FC manager Tony Russell is rumoured to be in the running for the managers job, former Dorking Wanderers assistant manager has also been named as a possibility.

---

"Tony Russell, the Lewes FC boss, is being touted as a potential candidate to take the reins at Princes Park.

Previous Darts manager Alan Dowson was sacked over a month ago, and the Club are still yet to have replaced the 53-year-old. It does, however, seem that progress is being made in the recruitment process.

Tony Russell, who formerly managed Cray Wanderers, appears to be in contention for the position. The 45-year-old has recently attended some of Dartford’s fixtures, leading to speculation that he is the most concrete name amongst a curated shortlist of “three or four” candidates.

His contract with Lewes is not set to expire until 2025, so it is unclear whether a move for the manager would be made during the season, or in the summer.

Russell spent almost six years at Cray between the 2015/16 and 2020/21 seasons. His most notable achievements with the Club are winning the Isthmian South East in 2018/19, and finishing 2nd in the Isthmian Premier the following season.

Since taking over at Lewes in 2021, he has transformed a relegation-battling side to a consistent contender for the Playoffs. In the last two seasons, the East Sussex Club have finished outside the Playoffs by just six points and on goal difference respectively.

He has also gained a reputation for his developmental skills; one example of this is the help he provided Ollie Tanner in his time at Lewes, leading to his £55,000 move to Cardiff City. Another is Deon Moore, who recently moved to Sutton United after joining Russell from Dulwich Hamlet, where he played a periphery role.

Another name that has been mentioned in recent days is Ross McNeilly. McNeilly gathered managerial experience last season with Aldershot and moved into a coaching role with Dorking Wanderers this campaign.

However, with his departure from Marc White’s staff occurring only recently, his chances of securing the job this far into the recruitment process seems unlikely.

Despite this, Kent Sports News understands that a decision is still yet to be made on the next manager. Interim boss Tony Burman has previously stated that the Club won’t be “rushed” into a decision, but it “does depend on how results go”.

After picking up his first win away to Dover on Saturday, further results against Slough and Taunton to ease any relegation worries may give those in charge more time to make a thoroughly informed decision."

[Lennylenny]

Seeing as I was the first chairman of supporters club at Lewes, was a part in building them up when they couldn’t even be served by any brewery and my name is on the new stand at the philcox end ( along with a few others) I can recommend Tony , he signed Ronnie vint and murtagh, but they now are not a football club , they are just Dulwich with smaller venison and lobster burgers. Tony with a half decent budget will give what this club needs a approachable, honest , cohesive, person who has dealt with ladies and men on same pay so has respect. We could do a lot worse.

[DA Mikey]

Heard Tony Russell’s name mentioned at the weekend by some gentlemen ITK and did wonder if there was a connection.
Remember him at Cray and liked the cut of his jib.

[Lars Resort]

I don't know if that's the kiss of death there Lenny

[Tall Dart]

How many games would you say is reasonable for a new manager to need to settle? As we don't really have the luxury on that front do we?! You could say they will have a better platform than TB had, now he has installed some improvements. I'm getting to the point now, where I feel a change now could be counter productive to staying in NLS, which is our only objective now.

We do need a decision asap, tomorrow would be good please lol

[Mark Sweet]

It's already too late

If we go down the lack of urgency to appoint a new manager will be one of many mistakes we look back on this season.

[Sleightly Deceptive]

It’s such a difficult situation. Any incoming manager would be looking at NLS football. Of course. That’s looking very precarious now which might just affect the calibre of any new manager we get. If someone of repute comes in with NLS experience and would be ‘happy’ to steer us out of the Isthmian Prem (gawd forbid) then happy days. Not sure such a person exists though.

[Taunton Dart]

Talk of appointing a new manager now is short-sighted. At this stage of the season all decent candidates will be in situ in their clubs and chasing promotion or honours - they will not jump ship to a relegation battle and miss out on the end of the season. As a result the pool available will be extremely limited now, to those who are currently unattached or with struggling teams. Once the season is over then moving to a club like Dartford would be an attractive proposition for many - whether it be to build a side to win the NLS or to build for such success via a title challenge in the Isthmian League. For those thinking relegation will mean us going into oblivion just look at the whole change in the atmosphere at Yeovil, with their massive increase in crowds, after last season's relegation and their charge to the NLS title this year.

The only manager I can think of being available at the moment is Dowse - enough said.......

[Lars Resort]

I'm sure some club will take him on at some point, when all our there have forgotten what a mess he's made of such a successful, well thought of club. Especially with the smooth talking Martin Tyler telling all and sundry what a successful partnership they are.

[Spike]

I think some people are under-selling our club. When I last asked the question, I was reliably informed there were "around 40-50 applicants" for the job and several very experienced and respected names amongst them. (I know some of them because they've been spotted arriving at the club, presumably for interviews). Competition for the job is very high and whilst some applicants may not be available until the end of the season, others will be. In any case, there are often ways to negotiate around existing contracts and it could be argued that joining us for what remains of our relegation battle would be a shot to nothing for any new manager as they would either be totally blameless or an absolute hero. I am still optimistic we can avoid the drop, but if the unthinkable did happen, I don't think that makes the job any less attractive. In fact, it could be argued that being a big fish in a smaller pool, might make the job more attractive in some ways. I think a lot of people are looking at this the wrong way around. It's not a matter of deciding when to appoint and then picking the man, it's about picking the best applicant and then getting him here as quickly as their situation allows.

[Trevor B]

Spike said

I think some people are under-selling our club. When I last asked the question, I was reliably informed there were "around 40-50 applicants" for the job and several very experienced and respected names amongst them. (I know some of them because they've been spotted arriving at the club, presumably for interviews). Competition for the job is very high and whilst some applicants may not be available until the end of the season, others will be. In any case, there are often ways to negotiate around existing contracts and it could be argued that joining us for what remains of our relegation battle would be a shot to nothing for any new manager as they would either be totally blameless or an absolute hero. I am still optimistic we can avoid the drop, but if the unthinkable did happen, I don't think that makes the job any less attractive. In fact, it could be argued that being a big fish in a smaller pool, might make the job more attractive in some ways. I think a lot of people are looking at this the wrong way around. It's not a matter of deciding when to appoint and then picking the man, it's about picking the best applicant and then getting him here as quickly as their situation allows.

Spike I completely agree with your post as someone who doesn't have a clue who I would want to take over but perfectly happy to leave it in the hands of the board to choose the best candidate and then to await the announcement and when they will take over from Tony either this season or next and hopefully still in this division.

[Bkev180]

It's beyond a joke now tb can only pick up the crap left behind by previous MUPPET
Welling sack manager appoint manager getting results dartford still saying oh were interviewing well sort this crap out appoint a manager give them a chance of saving this club

THANKS DOWSE YOU CLOWN

[Mark Sweet]

It's beyond a joke now tb can only pick up the crap left behind by previous MUPPET
Welling sack manager appoint manager getting results dartford still saying oh were interviewing well sort this crap out appoint a manager give them a chance of saving this club

THANKS DOWSE YOU CLOWN

The board have had ample time to replace him.

[The Duke]

I listened to the Live Commentary and I am lost for words , I just hope the NEW Manager is a miracle worker . Respect for Tony Burman having to work with the current squad but as I have said before he aint Houdini !!!!!!!