Alan Dowson

Alan Dowson (born 17 June 1970) is an English former professional player who is the current manager of Hampton & Richmond Borough. He made 55 appearances in the Football League between 1988 and 1993, before spending 13 years a player in non-league football. Dowson spent ten years as a player and three years as manager at Walton & Hersham.

Playing career

Dowson began his playing career with Millwall, progressing through the youth ranks before signing a professional contract with the first time in May 1988. Making a single appearance for the Lions, he also played for Fulham on a one-month loan in January 1990.^[1]

After his release from Millwall, Dowson was quickly snapped up by Bradford City, where he made 18 appearances in a single season. A year with Darlington saw the defender become a regular in the first team before dropping into non-league football.^[1]

Joining Slough Town ahead of the 1993-94 season, he then spent two years with Gateshead before over a decade at Walton & Hersham. On 20 December 1996, Dowson signed for the Surrey club - who had recently been relegated to the Isthmian League Division One.^[1]

Dowson announced his retirement from playing at the end of the 2005-06 season.^[1]

Managing career

After eight years with Walton & Hersham in a playing capacity, the club announced Dowson was to feature as player-manager in October 2004.^[2] Finishing as runners-up in his debut managerial campaign, Dowson also guided the club to the fourth round of the FA Trophy while recording a record breaking 13-match winning run in all competitions.^[3]

Dowson announced his resignation from the Swans in January 2007, shortly before joining Kingstonian. In his second full season as manager, he saw his side crowned champions of the Isthmian Division One South and promoted to the Premier Division. The K's finished fifth upon their return to the seventh tier in the 2009-10 season,^[4] but missed out on back-to-back promotions, losing in the play-off final to Boreham Wood.

In his final season as manager of Kingstonian, Dowson recorded his best league finish of second - following two seasons in a mid-table position. However, they failed to gain promotion once again after defeat in the play-offs semi-final.^[4] He announced his resignation at the end of the season to spend some time away from football and focus on his family.^[5]

On 14 September 2014, Dowson was unveiled as manager at Hampton & Richmond Borough.^[6] Joined by his familiar backroom staff, including Premier League commentator Martin Tyler, Dowson guided the Isthmian Premier Division side to a 12th-placed finish in his inaugural season. After a lacklustre 2014-15 campaign saw the Beavers finish 15th, Dowson led Hampton to become champions during the 2015-16 season, losing just seven league fixtures while scoring 105 goals.^[7]

References