Woking: Defoe takes on the division’s draw specialists
STOP PRESS: Defoe leaves Woking
Woking’s 10th-place finish did not match the evidence around it.
They averaged more than 2,700 supporters, the ninth-highest attendance in the division. Only Solihull scored more goals outside the play-offs. Woking also posted the sixth-best defensive record and finished with a plus-15 goal difference. Those numbers should have produced more than 10th.
The problem was not whether Woking could compete. It was whether they could turn control into victories. Their 15 draws were the joint-highest total in the league, repeatedly leaving useful performances with only one point attached. Woking spent too much of the season proving they were difficult to beat and not enough proving they could finish teams off.
The FA Trophy defeat at Marine made that frustration harder to ignore. A realistic route towards Wembley ended against lower-league opposition, followed by a blunt assessment from Neal Ardley. He questioned the intensity, mentality and willingness to win individual battles. Todd Johnson made his decision soon afterwards.
Ardley’s departure was presented as more than a reaction to one defeat. Johnson believed results had fallen short of the club’s ambitions and wanted a stronger connection between the football team, its culture and the wider club.
Woking’s next appointment therefore carried more significance than the usual managerial change. The club had already built the foundations of a play-off side, but strong numbers and a healthy goal difference had still ended in 10th. The new manager’s job was to turn those narrow margins into a league position that matched the squad’s output.
That job went to Jermain Defoe. His name brought immediate attention, but the appointment also increased the pressure on Woking to deliver. A club previously discussing missed chances and too many draws was now placing its promotion ambitions in the hands of one of the most prominent first-time managers the National League has seen.
From the dugout
Jermain Defoe’s first full season in senior management will define Woking’s campaign. His playing career guarantees attention, but recognition offers no protection once the season begins. Todd Johnson and Jody Brown have presented the appointment as one based on leadership, player development and a clearer football identity. Defoe will not work alone. Paul Bracewell provides senior experience, while Craig Ross and Jake Hyde retain knowledge from last season’s interim spell. Woking have therefore built a wider coaching team around their rookie manager. The test is whether that blend produces decisions and results worthy of the attention.
Manager Profile
The intrigue now is what a Defoe team actually looks like. His playing career was built on movement, timing and ruthless finishing, so supporters will expect attacking intent. The recruitment hints at that direction.
Liam Dulson brings proven non-league goals, Josh Ayres offers a 6ft 5in focal point, and Ashley Clarke adds pace and one-v-one threat. Harrison Sohna should give midfield more left-footed craft, while Josh Kelly’s return and Sean Adarkwa’s arrival add further forward options. The recruitment does not suggest Woking will value possession for its own sake.
The National League still demands power, second balls and defensive discipline. Woking appear equipped for quicker transitions, greater width and more movement around the penalty area. Sanderson’s 17 goals leave a significant gap, making the distribution of chances across Defoe’s new attack an early test.
Summer Mood
Woking supporters have heard persuasive summer arguments before. Recent seasons have begun with momentum, only for poor runs and managerial changes to tear through the optimism. That history limits the appetite for grand predictions, but it does not lower the target. After finishing 10th and ending last season strongly, Woking are expected to remain involved in the play-off race rather than spend another year looking up at it.
Defoe’s arrival has intensified that expectation. Supporters want attacking football and visible progress, but above all they want a season that holds together. Another promising opening followed by a winter managerial change would make every claim of long-term planning difficult to take seriously.
Squad
The Cards’ squad has become younger, with an average age of around 25 and summer arrivals averaging closer to 23. Dulson, Adarkwa, Clarke and Ayres provide different forward profiles, while Sohna adds a left-footed midfield option and Asare replaces Drewe at full-back.
The retained group is settled. O’Brien, Forster-Caskey, Jaaskelainen and the Akinolas provide experience around players still establishing themselves at this level.
Woking have assembled more permanent attacking options than last summer, reducing their dependence on loans. Whether enough of those players deliver immediately will determine if the squad has genuinely improved.
Retained
- Will Jaaskelainen | Goalkeeper | Age 27
- Chin Okoli | Defence | Age 22
- Tariq Hinds | Defence | Age 26
- Caleb Richards | Defence | Age 27
- Timmy Akinola | Midfield | Age 25
- Matt Ward | Midfield | Age 22
- Aiden O’Brien | Forward | Age 32
- Tom Dryer | Forward | Age 19
- Roy Syla | Midfield | Age 26
- Timi Odusina | Defence | Age 26
- Jake Forster-Caskey | Midfield | Age 32
- Tunji Akinola | Defence | Age 27
Players in
- Liam Dulson « Maidenhead United | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 24
- Josh Ayres « Rotherham United | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 20
- Harrison Sohna « Hereford FC | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 23
- Zico Asare « Harrogate Town | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 25
- Ashley Clarke « AFC Bournemouth | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 20
- Josh Kelly « AFC Wimbledon | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 27
- Sean Adarkwa « Wealdstone | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 25
Players out
- Dale Gorman » Hednesford Town | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 30
- Kian Pennant | Released | Forward | Age 22
- Sam Ashford | Released | Forward | Age 30
- Luke Hall | Released | Midfield | Age 23
- Jack Turner » Ross County | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 23
- Jamie Andrews » Solihull Moors | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 23
- Harry Beautyman » Dagenham & Redbridge | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 34
- Aaron Drewe | Released | Defence | Age 25
Loan players returned
- Olly Sanderson, last season’s top scorer was released by Fulham this summer and has joined EFL Stevenage Borough
- Joe Gbode
- Steven Turner
One to Watch
Ashley Clarke gives Woking a different attacking threat.
His loan at AFC Totton produced 11 goals and 10 assists, while his Bournemouth background adds pedigree. The output stands out, but so does the way he plays.
Clarke carries the ball, beats defenders on either side and operates across several attacking positions. That versatility should allow Defoe to change Woking’s shape without changing personnel.
Woking scored freely last season, but the departures of Sanderson and Beautyman remove a large share of their attacking output. Clarke is not a direct replacement for either. His job is to help spread that burden and make Woking harder to read.
Bookies’ Odds
At 50/1 with Oddschecker, Woking are being priced as outsiders rather than serious title contenders.
Carlisle, Hartlepool, Southend and Forest Green are all much shorter, and Woking sit in the group of clubs who need plenty to click before they become part of the promotion conversation. There is a case for them being interesting at that price, though. Last season’s goal difference, scoring record and defensive numbers were all better than a 10th-place finish usually suggests. The issue was turning enough draws into wins.
The obvious caution is the loss of Sanderson and Beautyman’s goals. The upside is that Woking have recruited early, kept a decent core together and now have a full pre-season under Defoe. The price reflects their position accurately: capable of reaching the play-offs, but still carrying more questions than the leading promotion contenders.
