Dover Athletic are delighted to announce the signing of Michael Woods on a two-year-deal from 1st July.

The 29-year-old midfielder has joined following spells with fellow National League sides Hartlepool United and most recently Harrogate Town.

Yorkshireman Woods started his youth career with Leeds United, before signing for Chelsea as part of a £5 million transfer involving Leeds teammate Tom Taiwo in 2006.

In January 2007, aged 16, Woods become the fourth-youngest ever player to feature for Chelsea’s first team after coming on as a substitute against Macclesfield Town in the FA Cup as a replacement for former England star Frank Lampard.

Stints at Yeovil and Doncaster followed for the former England Under 17 and 19 international, before Woods moved to Harrogate where he netted nine goals during 39 appearances.

He then moved back to the Football League with Hartlepool after a season with the then-National North team, playing 144 matches during his four years with the County Durham side and finishing as the Pool’s top scorer with 11 goals in his final season, before transferring back to Harrogate in November 2018.

Welcome to Crabble Michael!

 

 

 

The new football season might be two months away but preparations have already started on Crabble’s turf ahead of Whites’ 2019/20 National League campaign.

Following the installation of the fibre sand pitch last year, Dover Head Groundsman Sid Fletcher is now performing the necessary maintenance work to ensure the ground is in top condition ahead of Whites’ first pre-season match at Crabble, against Maidstone United on Tuesday 16th July.

“It was a big job last year,” said Sid, “however, it’s a smaller in-house renovation this summer and we have a lot more time to get the pitch how we want it.

“There were a few bald spots towards the end of last season, so we have overseeded and implemented the fertilising regime to allow the grass to grow all over the pitch.

“The plastic fibres in the sand will give the turf the necessary strength needed to withstand the rigours of a football season and I can’t wait to see the finished product.

“My aim is for it to look the same at the end of the season as it will at the start!”

Athletic have added a further friendly to their pre-season schedule with a Millwall XI to visit Crabble on Monday 29th July.

The match against the Championship side will kick off at 7:30 pm.

Whites’ updated pre-season fixture list is as follows:

Wednesday 3rd July 7:30 pm – Bearsted FC (A)
Saturday 6th July 3 pm – Folkestone Invicta (A)
Tuesday 9th July 7:45pm – Beckenham Town (A)
Saturday 13th July 1 pm – K Sports FC (A)
Tuesday 16th July 7:45 pm – Maidstone United (H)
Saturday 20th July 3 pm – Hemel Hempstead Town (A)
Tuesday 23rd July 7:45 pm – Gillingham (H)
Saturday 27th July 3 pm – Colchester United (H)
Monday 29th July 7:30 pm – Millwall XI (H)

 

Dover Athletic are delighted to announce the signing of goalkeeper Yusuf Mersin on a two-year contract.

The 24-year-old Londoner, who stands at impressive six feet and five inches tall, featured 19 times for Crawley Town during a three-year spell with the League Two club before being released earlier this month.

Mersin played for Turkish Premier League for Kasimpasa FC before returning to the UK to sign for Crawley in 2016.

The giant stopper, who has represented Turkey at both under-17 and under-18 levels, commanded a seven-figure transfer fee when he moved from Millwall to Liverpool as a youngster.

Welcome to Crabble Yusuf!

Huge congratulations to Andy Hessenthaler who has today been named as the Vanarama National League Manager of the Month for April.

The reward is a fitting one for the Gaffer after he completed what at one stage looked like mission impossible by keeping the club in the league and doing it in style.

Mission was accomplished last month with Hessenthaler’s men winning four of the last five games, including a stunning 3-2 win at Barrow after being 2-0 down, a result which ensured survival.

The stunning season-ending performance saw Dover win 13 points from a possible 15 available and finish 14th overall.

Job done – well done Hess!!

 

We are delighted to confirm a number of pre-season fixtures in preparation for the club’s 2019/20 Motorama National League campaign.

Andy Hessenthaler’s men will first be in action at Southern Counties East League club Bearsted on July 3rd.

That will be followed by trips to Folkestone (July 6th) and K Sports (July 13th).

Three games will then be played at Crabble with Maidstone United visiting on July 16th, Gillingham on July 23rd and Colchester United on July 27th.

Ticket details for our home games will be announced on this website in the coming weeks while further friendlies will also be confirmed here first.

Schedule:

Bearsted (away) July 3rd at 7.30pm

Folkestone (away) July 6th at 3pm

K Sports (away) July 13th at 1pm

Maidstone United (home) July 16th at 7.45pm

Gillingham (home) July 23rd at 7.45pm

Colchester United (home) July 27th at 3pm