Woking’s Football League promotion hopes driven by pragmatism not fairytales
12 months ago, Woking FC were just a subplot in another story. A 2-1 victory against Wrexham, the club under Hollywood ownership and the ongoing subject of a Disney documentary, was the last one they picked up in the final four matches of the 2021/22 season.
Whilst it significantly diminished the Welsh club’s chances of securing the National League’s solitary automatic promotion spot and ultimately condemned them to a doomed play-off campaign, all it did for Woking was shore up their place in the division following a campaign that was somehow both remarkable and forgettable in equal measure.
The season began with the club experiencing a takeover of its own. American investors Drew Volpe and John Katz came in, allowing the club to go full time for the first time in its history, yet the expensive signings seen at Wrexham and previously successful National League sides like Stockport County and Salford City were not forthcoming.
An inconsistent start on the pitch gave way to a nine-game run without a win in the New Year. Manager Alan Dowson departed in February after four years in charge, and then claimed he had been let go during a ’20-second phone call’ on his way out alongside Sky Sports commentator and assistant coach Martin Tyler.
Darren Sarll was poached from Yeovil, lost two of his first three matches as boss, won two of the next three, and ultimately steered the team to a 15th place league finish, ensuring another season in the top tier of non-league football.
For a town that produced The Jam’s Paul Weller and was the setting for the opening of H.G Wells’ War of the Worlds, it would be fair to say that the local football club has not received a similar level of worldwide acclaim.
There was a hat-trick of FA Trophy wins in the 1990s and a handful of commendable runs in the FA Cup around the same period of time. Two finishes as runners-up in what was then the Conference did not even earn a play-off shot at the Football League – a second promotion spot was only granted to the fifth tier in 2003. A constant in either the fifth or sixth tier since, Woking have not truly threatened to reach the Football League for more than two decades now.
Sarll’s first summer in charge saw 12 players depart and nine come in, all on free transfers other than current top scorer Rhys Browne. Even this overhaul and the associated intrepidation could not have led many regulars on the Woking terraces to believe a first-ever promotion to the Football League was on the cards.
Wrexham’s very presence at the top of the league this term, and the nature of their battle for promotion with second-placed Notts County, means that one of the most significant seasons in the club’s history has managed to escape widespread attention – and that suits the man who has masterminded the success just fine.
“Football is a simple game,” Sarll explained following a recent fixture against Halifax Town. “It’s complicated by fairytale notions of styles and things like that. It’s about clean sheets, making sure you are very defensively strong and taking chances. To move forward you have to make sure the elements are right for you to win games.
“The reason we have had a very good season is that we are pragmatic as a football club about how we have to try and earn points. We’ve had to scrap and scrape every barrel every week to get points.”
Even if Sarll’s assessment of his team’s success suggests nothing spectacular is taking place in northwest Surrey, the record books will show this was a season to remember regardless of how it ends. The 48 goals his team has conceded is comparable with both Wrexham and Notts County, and the best defensive record the club has had at this level since 2005-6. A regular season tally of 24 wins is the best since a second-place finish in 1995-96.
After spending much of the season third in the league table – a position that would have ensured a home play-off semi-final and one less game en route to a potential Wembley final – a 1-0 defeat to Halifax in their final home league game means they will have to take the long route in the post season promotion battle.
On Wednesday they face Bromley in a play-off eliminator at the Laithwaite Community Stadium, knowing they are still only three wins away from a first-ever appearance in the Football League.
Manager Sarll believes the home crowd could well make the difference and help this Woking side make history. “[It has been] the best thing about this season,” said the 40-year-old after a crowd of over 3,000 people packed into the Laithwaite for the midweek fixture against Halifax. “I try and reiterate every week that my appreciation for them is authentic and genuine and sincere. The best thing is the connection they have with the players.
“I think they are probably the most intelligent fans that I’ve been lucky enough to lead, and I think they recognise how hard it is to win games being Woking.”
Sarll managed Stevenage in League Two for just over two years, meaning his is more than familiar with the trials and tribulations that come with competing in the EFL. Even if helping Woking experience them for the first time in their history will be enough to have outsiders believing in football fairytales, for him it will be just the next phase of his well-calculated plan.
