Fear Of Losing Top Players - 30th April

Wokingham & Emmbrook manager Roger Herridge (pictured) has made a renewed plea to Wokingham council as the town's football club continues to punch above its weight. Reports The Wokingham Times

The club's senior team ended its first season in the Hellenic Premier Division in 11th position, finishing higher than local rivals Ascot United and Bracknell Town. However, despite an ever improving first team, a competitive reserve side, a strong Under-18s set up and one of the most extensive junior programmes in the area, the club is still lacking a place to call home.
Earlier this year, chairman Mark Ashwell revealed that he received a 'pledge' from both the council's chief executive and a senior officer saying that the football club will be included in the master planning of redevelopment in the north of Wokingham.

But boss Herridge is worried that, unless something concrete happens soon, then he could see the break up of the most talented group of players that the club has had in years. With an average age in the early 20s, Herridge's first-team squad is almost entirely home-grown talent, but until Wokingham can relocate to a ground they can call their own, the manager is worried that those players could be attracted to pastures new and promises of better deals eleswhere.

"I now know what we need to get out of this league, but we'll never be in a position to do that until the council supports us," said Herridge. "The squad of players has been excellent and I certainly think we can progress next year, but until the local council gets us a ground, then as a club we're not going to progress and get out of this league. We have a special group of players who have been with the club for an awful long time, but if the club doesn't progress then these players will move on and play at a higher level – I can't hold them back. They have shown great commitment and I can't fault anyone. But for us to go any further, the club has to progress along with the playing side of things and we'll only do that if we get the backing from the council."

"There's some great people on the committee and associated with the club who are doing fantastic jobs, but for us to move forward in the way we want to we need a ground, but I'm not sure that our local council are particulalry interested in us at the moment. I don't think they realise just what an affect a succesful town football team can have on the local area and the community. The worry for me is, as much as the players can see how hard the committee works, do the players see the club progressing off the field in the same way as we are on it? We don't have a lot to offer the players in terms of convincing them to stay or attracting players to come and join us. And therefore I wouldn't be surprised if some of my players don't get approached by other clubs this summer. But another season playing for Wokingham & Emmbrook at this level will do their progression no harm at all and we certainly have the makings of a very very good side."

Despite what has been an outstanding season of consolidation and progression, the campaign ended on a somewhat disappointing note with four defeats in their last five games. The most gut-wrenching of all was the 3-1 defeat at Newbury in the semi-final of the BTC Reading Senior Cup, which denied Herridge's charges the opportunity of playing in the final at Madejski Stadium.

However, last Saturday's 2-1 defeat at home to Shortwood United, followed by Monday's 3-0 loss at Flackwell Heath still saw them finish in 11th position. It has been a season of many highlights for the club, but Herridge is already looking ahead to the next campaign and planning exactly where he can improve his side. "Overall it's been an excellent season," he said.
"If you had asked (former manager) Wayne (Wanklyn) or myself if we would finish mid-table with 60 points we would have taken it. We have certainly enjoyed our first season in the Hellenic Premier. There were lots of highlights – beating Wantage was a great result, while beating Highworth Town 6-1 on their own turf will probably go down as one of the results of the season in the whole division. It's a very good league and probably one of the strongest step five leagues around. I'm chuffed to bits that we have finished above Ascot – to finish above them with the resources and facilities they have is outstanding."

"We have achieved and even surpassed some our targets for the season, and if you look at our performances against the top clubs we know on our day and with our strongest squad we are more than a match for anyone in this league. We need to get a bit more experience in the team, but that is hard to come by when you don't have much of a budget. Sometimes you need an experienced head to get the players together and drive them forward when things aren't going your way. We also need a natural goalscorer and losing Adam Cornell mid-way through the season was a big blow because he is that type of player."

Wokingham will now break for the summer, and barring the awards ceremony and annual golf day, will not return for pre-season training until June.

Herridge Takes On Satsumas - 10th September

Wokingham & Emmbrook manager Roger Herridge has promised to do everything he can to maintain the standards set by former boss Wayne Wanklyn.

Ex-Reading player Wanklyn ended his reign as Satsumas boss on Saturday evening following a meeting with the club’s committee. His decision came on the back of a 3-2 defeat at Herefordshire side Pegasus Juniors, after Wokingham had led the strugglers 2-0.

Wanklyn led the club to their first promotion since reforming following the collapse of Wokingham Town, and has overseen the opening few games in the Hellenic Premier Division. Thanks to Wanklyn’s faith in the youth players at the club – he was the Under-18s manager before taking on the first team role – the club is well poised for the future, and early signs suggest they will easily consolidate their position at the new level. Wanklyn had previously suggested that had he not led the club to promotion last season, he would have stepped down as manager, but it seems the time was now right for him to leave. He has, however, vowed to remain involved at the football club, although exactly in what capacity remains to be seen.

Wanklyn is to be replaced by his assistant Herridge (pictured), who was also the club’s Under-18 boss, with Dan Bateman becoming the new assistant manager. And the 43-year-old former Finchampstead player paid tribute to Wanklyn, and said he has no intention of changing the principles that have seen the club re-establish themselves as a force in local football. “I’m as surprised as anyone to be honest – it’s all happened so quickly,” said Herridge. “He’s done an unbelievable job, taking us from a little bit of a laughing stock of local football and put Wokingham back on the map. There was only one man that could drag the club back up and it was him. He took the job on when it was at an all time low and then set out his objective of getting promoted. He needs to be congratulated for the two and a half years he’s been here and he’s brought a real professionalism back to the club. I’ve learned an awful lot in my time working with him. He’s an old pro and he did things in the right manner. I would support Wayne in every decision he made as a manager, but I don’t think he got many things wrong. We’ve got a decent squad so I won’t be looking to change many things. It’s still early days in the season – our challenge was consolidation after stepping up to this level and showing we can compete and get as many points as we can.”

New boss Herridge knows that he has been left in charge of a very competent squad of players, many of whom are still under the age of 23. “Management at any level is a challenge, but it’s made easier when you have a good squad of players,” said Herridge. “And we’ve got a good group of players here – they’re young and eager to learn and we have had a decent strat to life in a higher division. I know that to a man every player will be shocked by Wayne’s decision – when Wayne spoke everyone listened and they all think the world of him.”

Herridge also insisted that there was no alterior motive in Wanklyn’s decision to quit, insisting that the former boss simply decided that the time was right. Wayne’s a proud man with strong principles and if he decides the time is right we have to respect that,” he said. “He’s made his statement on the website and that says it all really. Personally it’s an opportunity I thought I might get one day, but not so soon. It’s a challenge, but it’s one myself and Dan are both looking forward to.”

Wanklyn Hands Over Control - 7th September

After almost three years in charge at Wokingham & Emmbrook FC Wayne Wanklyn has decided to resign from the position of first team Manager. 

Wanklyn commented. "I have been very proud of what has been achieved at the club during the past three seasons and winning the Senior Cup, gaining promotion to the Hellenic Premier Division and getting off to a solid start are without doubt the highlights. However, the time in my view, is right for a change to help continue the teams development.  A fresh approach with fresh ideas and new views is required. "

He continued. "I would like to thank a number of people for their continued support and the loyal core supporters have been great and the players do appreciate that.  The local press give us great coverage and that is also motivating the team.  A special thanks to John Ansell. The committee have been great, so many people work very hard behind the scenes for the good of the club.  My personnel thanks to them all, especially Neil Van Den Dungen, Graham Tabor and Clive McNelly. The Chairman Mark Ashwell has been unbelievable, a great guy who deserves huge credit, the best Chairman I have ever worked with.  We have achieved exactly what we set out to do!  My management team  - Sam Page, Dan Bateman and Roger Herridge have all shown tremendous loyalty and support every step of the way.  Our success has been a real joint effort, thank you. Finally the players – it has been a privilege to work with them all, their work ethic, loyalty and dedication has been first class.  I have managed many teams over the years, many teams with decent financial rewards, but have never managed a group of players with more commitment than this group.  A young bunch of talented footballers that will continue to get better, a huge thanks to them all."

 
"I will still be involved with the club going forward and will be working very closely with Mark Ashwell to ensure it’s future development.   Meanwhile I wish Roger Herridge and Dan Bateman all the very best in their new roles as First Team Manager and Assistant respectfully".

"Life’s A Pitch!" - 3rd September

Wokingham & Emmbrook manager Wayne Wanklyn got a taste of just how unpredictable the pitch at Larges Lane can be during Monday’s derby clash with Bracknell Town.

The wet weather over the past week had left the pitch looking green and lush, but a dry Sunday and Monday had left the ground fairly solid, highlighting the uneven surface.

Although Wokingham used a roller on some areas of the pitch to try and flatten it out, the ball still bobbled dreadfully in places, which wasn’t conducive to flowing football. It was a huge shame, because it is clear that both sides were desperate to get the ball down and play, but with the centre of the pitch particularly unpredictable, it made the midfielders’ jobs even more testing. It is no secret that the pitch at Larges Lane is not the best, and Wanklyn had hoped that some work would be done on it in preparation of Wokingham’s groundshare with Bracknell this season.

But it seems the bobbly surface is something Wanklyn, who was less than impressed with Monday’s game, will have to get used to. “A draw was probably a fair result in the end,” said Wanklyn. “I thought it was a pretty poor game for a local derby if I’m honest. The pitch didn’t help and you can’t expect to play and pass on that. It’s awful and doesn’t bode well for a good football match. It’s difficult to get flowing end-to-end football going when the ball is bobbling around like it was. It wasn’t a good spectacle. We had more than 350 people here today and I don’t think they would have thought it was a good game."

“Four points out of six (over the Bank Holiday weekend) isn’t a bad return, but it feels like a loss in our dressing room because the lads know they were capable of winning the game, although all respect to Bracknell because they worked hard and put a lot into it.”

Wokingham face their longest away trip of the season when they travel to Herefordshire to face struggling Pegasus Juniors tomorrow. They still face something of a goalkeeping crisis with all three keepers carrying injuries, although Stuart Harris (ankle) is expected to keep his place. The fitness of Jack Broome (groin) will be monitored, while defender Shaun Wanklyn is touch and go after suffering concussion during Monday’s game. Skipper Tom Hopper could return in the centre of defence, however.

NewEra Begins - 27th August

Wokingham & Emmbrook and Bracknell Town face each other in the first Hellenic Premier Division derby of the season at Larges Lane on Monday (3pm kick-off) and both managers are unsure what to expect from the game.

It is the first time that the sides have met since a convincing win for Bracknell against Wokingham Town on the last day of the season back in 2002. The clubs have dropped down the leagues since then, and their meeting on Saturday arrives at the beginning of a new era for both of them.

Wokingham earned their first promotion since they rose from the ashes of the old Finchampstead Road club, while Bracknell are also trying to consolidate after years of struggle in the Southern League. Although both managers couldn’t predict how Monday’s encounter will pan out, they are both going into the game looking to win it.

Wokingham boss Wayne Wanklyn said: “It’s a nice game to have on a bank holiday and hopefully we’ll have a decent crowd for it. We don’t go out to try and spoil games and scrap, we go out to win games and play the right way, but you never know with derby games. They can be exciting or they can be a damp squib. The lads are looking forward to it and I’m sure it’ll be a good game. It will certainly be tight and the league form and positions will go out the window on Monday.”

Wokingham sit midtable after winning two, losing two and drawing one of their opening five games, and Wanklyn is confident that he has seen enough from his team to know they are good enough to stay at this level. “Overall I’ve been pleased, but with a little bit more luck we could have been on more points,” he said. “We’ve shown we can compete at this level and I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

Meanwhile, Wokingham are in good shape, except for the loss of goalkeepers Stuart Harris and Nick Rumsby through injury, but Jamie Thomas will continue between the sticks for them.

Bland Moves To Hungerford - 28th July

Wokingham & Emmbrook have been dealt a blow in their preparations for their first season in the Hellenic Premier Division with the news that striker Richard Bland is set to leave the club.

However, manager Wayne Wanklyn believes his side have enough options up front to cope with the loss of last season’s top scorer, and will still be a force in the division during the forthcoming season. Bland was the golden boot winner in Hellenic Division 1 East last season as Wokingham sealed promotion as runners-up. But, after an approach from Zamaretto South West Division 1 club Hungerford Town, Bland decided to try his luck elsewhere, and Wanklyn has wished him the best of luck.

“I got a call from their manager (Bobby Wilkinson) on Thursday and he said he was interested and wanted to do everything properly so that’s fine – these things happen,” said Wanklyn. “Blandy goes with our blessing and I’ve always said that if players can improve at perceived better clubs then I can’t stand in their way. He’s had a very good offer financially from them so good luck to him. He’ll always be welcome back at Wokingham and I think it’s his spiritual home. I don’t want to lose any of my better players but we’ve got enough forwards to cope. Luke Lee is looking really sharp, Shane Cooper-Clark is a natural goalscorer, Adam Cornell has a great reputation and we’ve also got Chris Fower who played in this division for Shortwood last season. We also might have Wisey (James Wise) back around Christmas time and when we do it’ll be like having a new signing. We’ve got options, I’m disappointed to lose Blandy, but we’ll just reorganise.”

Strikers Cornell and Fower are just two of the players that have signed for Wokingham following their promotion. They have also attracted defender Tom Hopper and goalkeeper Nick Rumsby from Finchampstead, as well as attacking midfielder Jon Summer. With the departure of Bland, it means just two players have left the club from last season, the other being utility player Darren Thorne, who has had to stop playing due to work commitments.

Now Wanklyn is looking forward to kicking of their league campaign on Tuesday August 10 at Kidlington, who finished 11th in last season’s competition. He said: “Pre-season has been really good. We’ve had very good numbers for training, we’ve had two games against good opposition and coped very, very well. The attitude has been great, the fitness is looking good and the young lads are just getting better. It’s a new division and a new adventure for us, ther’s a lot of local derbies and the players view it as a real challenge. We’ll be difficult to beat this year.”