Alan Dowson

Alan Dowson (born 17 June 1970) is an English football manager and former professional player who is the current manager of Woking. He made 55 appearances in the Football League between 1988 and 1993, before spending 13 years a player in non-league football. He later managed a number of non-league football teams.

Alan Dowson
Dowson managing Hampton & Richmond Borough in 2017.
Personal information
Date of birth (1970-06-17) 17 June 1970
Place of birth Gateshead, England
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Woking (manager)
Youth career
–1988 Millwall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1991 Millwall 1 (0)
1990 → Fulham (loan) 4 (0)
1991–1992 Bradford City 18 (0)
1992–1993 Darlington 32 (0)
1993–1994 Slough Town 43 (0)
1994–1996 Gateshead
1996–2006 Walton & Hersham
Total 98 (0)
Teams managed
2004–2007 Walton & Hersham
2007–2014 Kingstonian
2014–2018 Hampton & Richmond Borough
2018– Woking
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Dowson began his playing career with Millwall, progressing through the youth ranks before signing a professional contract with the first time in May 1988. Making a single appearance for the Lions, he also played for Fulham on a one-month loan in January 1990.[1]

After his release from Millwall, Dowson was quickly snapped up by Bradford City, where he made 18 appearances in a single season. A year with Darlington saw the defender become a regular in the first team before dropping into non-league football.[1]

Joining Slough Town ahead of the 1993–94 season, Dowson featured 43 times throughout the campaign[2] joining Gateshead, he then spent two years with Gateshead before over a decade at Walton & Hersham. On 20 December 1996, Dowson signed for the Surrey club - who had recently been relegated to the Isthmian League Division One.[1]

Dowson announced his retirement from playing at the end of the 2005–06 season.[1]

Managing career

After eight years with Walton & Hersham in a playing capacity, the club announced Dowson was to feature as player-manager in October 2004.[3] Finishing as runners-up in his debut managerial campaign, Dowson also guided the club to the fourth round of the FA Trophy while recording a record-breaking 13-match winning run in all competitions.[4]

Dowson announced his resignation from the Swans in January 2007, shortly before joining Kingstonian. In his second full season as manager, he saw his side crowned champions of the Isthmian Division One South and promoted to the Premier Division. The K's finished fifth upon their return to the seventh tier in the 2009–10 season,[5] but missed out on back-to-back promotions, losing in the play-off final to Boreham Wood.

In his final season as manager of Kingstonian, Dowson recorded his best league finish of second - following two seasons in a mid-table position. However, they failed to gain promotion once again after defeat in the play-offs semi-final.[5] He announced his resignation at the end of the season to spend some time away from football and focus on his family.[6]

On 14 September 2014, Dowson was unveiled as manager at Hampton & Richmond Borough.[7] Joined by his familiar backroom staff, including Premier League commentator Martin Tyler, Dowson guided the Isthmian Premier Division side to a 12th-placed finish in his inaugural season. After a lacklustre 2014-15 campaign saw the Beavers finish 15th, Dowson led Hampton to become champions during the 2015–16 season, losing just seven league fixtures while scoring 105 goals.[8]

He was appointed Woking manager in May 2018.[9] In his first season in charge Dowson took Woking to a 2nd-placed finish, gaining promotion to the National League with a 1-0 win against Welling United in the playoff-final.[10] The club also enjoyed its most successful FA Cup run in almost two decades, defeating Swindon Town to earn a famous home tie with Premier League club Watford in the Third Round of the FA Cup.[11] Woking, the only Level 6 side left in the competition, lost the match 2-0.[12]

Career statistics

Manager
As of match played 6 February 2021
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
PWDLWin %
Hampton & Richmond Borough 14 September 2014 16 May 2018 183 84 53 46 045.9 [13]
Woking 16 May 2018 Present 117 55 27 35 047.0 [13]
Total 300 139 80 81 046.3

References
  1. "Alan Dowson". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  2. "Slough Town FC". www.sloughtownfc.net. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  3. "History | Walton & Hersham Football Club". www.waltonandhershamfc.org.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  4. "Football Club History Database - Walton & Hersham". www.fchd.info. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  5. "Football Club History Database - Kingstonian". www.fchd.info. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  6. "Alan Dowson resigns as Kingstonian manager - News - Kingstonian FC". www.kingstonian.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  7. "Alan Dowson confirmed as Beavers boss - News - Hampton & Richmond Borough FC". www.hamptonfc.net. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  8. "Football Club History Database - Hampton & Richmond Borough". www.fchd.info. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  9. "Alan Dowson: Woking appoint Hampton & Richmond boss as manager".
  10. "Woking & Chorley reach National League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  11. "Blackpool to face Arsenal in FA Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  12. "Watford see off non-league Woking". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  13. "Alan Dowson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
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