Pressing Issues

Football’s historical significance within the working-class is perhaps its most fundamental identity. In its original form, football was a meritocracy – where anyone could beat anyone on their day.

This is embodied in the fact that eighteen different teams won the FA Cup in its first thirty editions. Compare that to the ten winners we’ve had across the past three decades – and the fact that just three teams have nineteen between them – and it’s a strong indicator that football’s power balance is not what it once was.

It’s no secret that the gulf in quality and resources at different levels has grown into a seemingly unscalable chasm over recent years.

Spanning that chasm is a total imbalance of transfer budgets, facilities and manpower which can make the Premier League look like a different ballgame entirely when compared with non-league football.

But there’s an alternative view of that. Globalised, multi-billion elite clubs are often criticised for sacrificing long-term fans in favour of greater profits – compared to many non-league clubs who play integral roles in supporting local communities.

It’s nobody’s right to say which of these extremes are better. Some prefer the quiet beauty of non-league. Others are enticed by the glamour of the world’s elite.

Yet despite this, the day-to-day running of clubs at different levels is actually surprisingly similar.

In order to gain some understanding of just how similar, I sat down with Dorking Wanderers’ Director of Football Jordan Clark, and Ross Wilson (Nottingham Forest Sporting Director) and explored the challenges they both face – albeit of course, on different scales.

Burning Ambition

Jordan has been at Dorking Wanderers since 2016. During that time, Dorking have been promoted three times, relegated once and moved grounds. They are in the National League South, five divisions below the Premier League.

Yet Jordan expressed his belief that “Dorking’s ambition (over the next ten years) is limitless in many ways. We’ve proven that with the right vision and structure, progression is possible and sustainable.”

There is no tangible reason for Jordan’s faith, but he has an unshakable passion and belief that his football club have the potential to move up the pyramid.

Nottingham Forest have spent over £200 million on players in the last three years, and have successfully battled relegation from the top-flight on two occasions.

Their top four charge this season gives Ross the confidence to express, with a tone of pride and assurance, that his club is “on an upwards journey” and that it has “grown and enhanced every area” since he arrived in Nottingham in 2023. He repeatedly emphasised just how ambitious Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is, and how this has created a culture of belief within the club.

“We have sought to improve our diet and nutrition, our training ground, the pitch, the gym, the dressing room, the data, the culture – with a caveat to that being that every single area can still be improved more”.

There was no limit to Ross’ ambition. He was proud of what the club has achieved since his arrival, but so clearly maintained a drive and desire to push on and strive for perfection. He spoke with passion about the definition of success is constantly changing at Forest.

Jordan maintained his pride and motivation to improve Dorking in much the same way: “With each step up, the expectations, standards and level of professionalism have all increased… we’ve had to raise the bar in everything we do – from player development to education, and from recruitment to integration with the first team.”

Dorking are not backed by a Greek billionaire. Marc White plays owner, chairman and manager at the Surrey outfit. This has perks which we’ll explore later on, but it means that Jordan’s visions for a successful future are restrained by one factor: “resources – both financial and spatial”.

But tribulation breeds creativity, particularly among Dorking’s senior figures.

“There’s a shared vision for where we want the club to go to. Marc’s passion and footballing philosophy align well with the academy. Jonathan (Bines – CEO) brings a strategic oversight that’s vital for sustainability and growth, and we’re all pulling in the same direction. The club has shown it can be creative and forward-thinking in overcoming obstacles.

Essentially, both Ross and Jordan hold unshakable ambition to push their club towards the top, with a view of constantly improving all areas in order to do so. To them, it’s like a constant arms race: strive for perfection or get left behind.

It’s only the way they channel this ambition that is different. Ross manages a larger facility but with the financial power to do so, while Jordan and his team tend to look at creative ways to push forward and improve.

Community Focus

Sporting Directors are also at the heart of their club’s communities. Ross spoke at length about Forest’s bid to create a “family” culture, and how his role is integral to sustaining that.

“I speak to every single player every single day, even if it’s for five seconds. (Marinakis) wants us to treat the club, and all the people within it, as part of the family. We let everyone know that they’re important to us.”

It’s quite telling that this part of my interview was where Ross was at his most passionate.

Ross’ role dictates that he acts as a touchpoint for hundreds of staff at Forest, as well as the players, and as a result of that he plays a key role in maintaining the club’s culture and community feel.

Similarly to Forest, Dorking are driven to be a family-like club. Jordan makes it clear that his aim will always be to “develop people, not just players”.

“The club’s profile has grown immensely. There’s a stronger community presence, increased supporter engagement, and a real buzz around Dorking – something that feeds into everything we do”.

With the club operating on a much smaller scale, Jordan is just as – if not more so – focused on planning ways of encouraging local people to get involved at Dorking.

Different scales, but their goal of promoting a positive culture and encouraging a family-feel is almost identical.

The Power Of Sport

If there is one thing to takeaway from speaking to Jordan and Ross, it is the passion and ambition they both showed. Despite being five divisions apart, both figures live and breath their football clubs.

While the beautiful game is not the meritocracy it once was, to think that Dorking and Forest still share many of the same challenges is, in many ways, quite beautiful. That Jordan and Ross would likely bond over parallel positives and negatives, reinforces the reasons for which most of us got into sport in the first place: to connect with people.