By David Richardson
After a welcome point against promotion-hunting Wrexham on Saturday, more good news could be on the way for Woking with the club’s long-awaited investment appearing to edge closer.
Chairman Rosemary Johnson has raised hopes by telling The NLP: “I’ve been in Woking now for 45 years; I’ve never seen anything as close as it is at the moment.”
The club announced they had an investor last May, which The NLP understands is a property developer although Johnson said she has “no intention of confirming or denying” the status of the party involved.
Upwards of 250 flats are expected to be built around the club’s current home but even if, for example, the plans are submitted in April, it could still take between nine and 12 months for the complex deal to be completed.
Once the plans are submitted, it will be interesting to see what Woking reveal about the structure of the investment.
The club have consistently said the investor will “secure the long-term future of the club”.
Understandably, the builder will want to maximise profits from the sale of the flats, but the question is how will Woking benefit from such a large building project?
Johnson added: “We have no intention of saying anything about it until it has gone through because if you say anything like that, people will try and second guess what’s going on.
“We made the mistake by talking back in May. We’ve been rightly slated by the fans for it and because of that, we will say nothing. The deal is still being worked on and finalised.”
Meanwhile, Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Wrexham came as a big relief for manager Anthony Limbrick.
Even before the game, Johnson insisted Limbrick still has the backing of the board despite winning just three of their last 23 league games.
Pressure
The Cards had been flying high at the top of the table earlier in the season but after picking up just 16 points from a possible 69, they are now scrapping to secure their National League status.
The rookie boss was given the difficult task of replacing Garry Hill last May and was handed a contract until 2020, to coincide with a three-year plan to reach the Football League.
Having avoided relegation last season, the target for Limbrick’s first year was a top-half finish but with eight games to go, Woking are plummeting towards the bottom four.
However, Johnson maintains Limbrick is the right man to lead the club into a full-time training programme next season.
“I think every manager goes through difficult periods,” she added. “There’s a whole combination of reasons why the team is struggling.
“Anthony has always asked for advice and he works closely with the board to produce the results that we all want, and we respect him for that.
“We have never as a club, certainly not in my time, reacted inappropriately to a bad run. The key is to work with the manager and the players to turn things around.”
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper which is available every Sunday and Monday
