Following a disappointing season at Park View Road, Welling United Chairman Mark Goldberg has changed the managerial set up.
Goldberg took the managerial role himself for the last two games of the 2015-16 season then surprised many when he made a total overhaul of the playing squad in the summer.
When the 2016-17 season started, the new squad picked up just two points from the first seven games. Defeat at Hampton and Richmond Borough in mid November left Welling languishing in 21st place and Goldberg made the brave decision to step down.
Jamie Day took over with the help of ‘Football Consultant’ Ady Pennock and they oversaw a run that saw them rise to 15th in the league with some breathing space between them and the bottom three.
However, that came to an end when Gillingham offered Pennock the manager’s role. He wanted Day as an assistant and when he and Goldberg could not reach agreement, he followed Pennock to the Medway club.
Harry Wheeler had been at the club as assistant manager all season and he, along with Tristan Lewis, were given caretaker joint manager titles. Although they struggled to get anything from away games, they picked up enough points at home to keep their heads above water.
Wheeler then left the club when Billericay Town came calling and Lewis used his contacts to persuade Alex Dyer to take the reins for the last five league games plus the Kent Senior Cup Final.
Dyer started with consecutive home victories against Gosport Borough and Truro City to guarantee safety but was unable to halt the away woes. However, Goldberg stated that he would like Dyer to become permanent manager at the player of the season presentations and Dyer also confirmed that he would like the role after the final.
An agreement could not be reached, however, and Goldberg looked elsewhere eventually naming Jamie Coyle as player-manager and Jack Parkinson as player-assistant manager. Both are former Wings so have an understanding of how the club operates. They will be working with Lewis who has been appointed as Director of Football which includes his role as running the new Welling United academy.
Coyle has been at Maidstone United since 2014 making 98 appearances. He has also played for Gravesend and Northfleet, Dartford and Dulwich Hamlet as well as the Wings, and was player coach at Maidstone last season.
Parkinson was Welling captain in Day’s first spell as manager before moving on to Woking. Then he spent a season at Maidstone United before joining Dover Athletic. The Whites loaned him out to Maidenhead United for the second half of the season just ended, where he won a Vanarama National League South champions medal.
On the Welling United website, Goldberg said that he is delighted to have reached agreement with all concerned to form this management team, which he is confident contains the abilty and experience to serve the Club well over the forthcoming season.