History

Originally formed in 1963 with just one youth team playing in local league football on a nearby park pitch, the club expanded its youth system before embarking on a period of Saturday football in the London Spartan League. Membership of the Athenian League and Southern League (South) followed. For the first 15 years, Welling played on a sports ground at nearby Butterfly Lane, Eltham, before taking their present ground at Park View Road, after the demise of Bexley United who, at the time, were members of the Southern League.

After progressing from park football to senior football in a relatively short space of time, success was to continue with three promotions within five years. Initially winning the Spartan League and then after three more seasons in the Athenian League, progression and election to Southern League rounded off a marvellous period of success. This continued after just one more season when promotion to the Southern League Premier Division was secured after the league was re-organised. In the fifth season in this division, the Wings romped to the title by a record 23 points after an incredibly exciting season and were promptly promoted to the Conference Welling found life in the Conference much more of a challenge and although they were one of the most consistent sides during their 14-year spell in non-league’s top flight. Success in the Conference was limited to four County cup wins. The Wings dropped out of the top flight when they were relegated on the last day of the season in 1999/2000.

After four years back in the Southern League Premier, Welling finished just high enough to qualify for the inaugural season of the newly formed Conference South as the FA restructured the leagues so that two fed into the Conference which became Conference National. After a few mid-table finishes at the end of the 00’s, the Wings were rocked by the news of a winding up order by HMRC at the start of the 2010/11 season. Given 14 weeks to pay the outstanding debt the Wings’ fans showed their devotion to the club raising almost all the £60,000 needed to avoid the club going bust. Despite this, they were still deducted five points by the Conference and were handed a transfer embargo lasting until March 2011. Against all the odds, Day’s side held a place in the playoff positions for the majority of the season playing wonderful attacking football. They managed to finish sixth, their highest position in the Conference South ever, and their highest league position for ten years.

The Wings survived relegation in their first season in the Conference Premier on goal difference after finishing level on points with Alfreton Town, but they finished bottom of the table the following season and were relegated back to the National League South for the 2016/17 season. Welling again struggled and Goldberg stood down to concentrate on off field affairs as he looked to re-build the whole structure of the club. Having finished a disappointing season but safe from relegation, and with Goldberg now chairman, former player Jamie Coyle was appointed manager. 2017-18 was an improvement although it tailed off towards the end and Welling missed out on a play-off position and Coyle departed.

Steve King was invited to be the manager for the following season and he led Welling to a third placed finish and a play-off final but defeat in a tight game at Woking meant that there was to be no promotion.

The summer of 2023 brought about more change following Feeney’s departure, with former Eastbourne Borough boss Danny Bloor stepping into the dugout at Park View Road ahead of the 2023/24 season. Despite promising performances, the Wings found themselves deep in relegation trouble, with Bloor departing in January 2024, replaced by Rod Stringer. Stringer, assisted by Kevin Watson, master-minded a remarkable turnaround which saw Welling pull themselves out of the dropzone and seal survival with relative comfort by the time the season came to a close, guaranteeing sixth-tier football for yet another campaign.

Form

The Wings have made a somewhat inconsistent start to the campaign, having picked up 10 points from their first 9 matches. They currently sit 19th in the league table with tomorrow’s encounter with Worthing being their game in hand over most teams around them.

Recent results in the National League South have seen the Wings fall to a heavy defeat at the hands of Boreham Wood, before a defeat at home to Weston-super-Mare this past weekend. They did, however, beat third-placed Torquay United at the beginning of last month.

Last Six
05/10 – Weston-super-Mare (H) – Lost 1-3
02/10 – Sporting Bengal United (A) – Won 0-3 (London Senior Cup)
21/09 – Boreham Wood (A) – Lost 6-0
14/09 – Chatham Town (H) – Lost 0-1 (Emirates FA Cup)
07/09 – Torquay United (H) – Won 2-0
02/09 – Hemel Hempstead Town (A) – Lost 4-2

The Gaffer

Rod Stringer arrived at Park View Road earlier this year with a wealth of experience under his belt and a proven track record of success in non-League football.

His first experience in the dugout saw him lead Aveley to the Isthmian Division One North title in 2009, before moving on to Braintree Town where he achieved a second promotion, taking the Iron to the National League by being crowned National League South champions in 2011.

Stringer then moved on to Bishop’s Stortford, steadying the ship at Woodside Park over a five-year period.

In 2016, he made the move to Chelmsford City where he led the Clarets to three National League South play-off campaigns prior to his departure in 2020.

Following the pandemic, Stringer was named Brentwood Town boss in October 2021, leading them to the Isthmian Division One North play-off final before departing in February 2023.

He then arrived in DA16 in January 2024 with the task of steering Welling to survival. Rooted in the relegation zone when he took the hot seat, Stringer led the Wings to a run of just two defeats in the 18 remaining National League South games, eventually securing safety with relative ease.

The Captain

Dave Winfield, who joined the club from Chelmsford City in the summer, is the Wings’ club captain.

The 36-year-old centre-back has a wealth of experience under his belt both in the EFL and National League having started his career at Aldershot Town where he worked his way through the ranks. He won promotion to League Two by lifting the Conference title with the Shots in 2008 before moving on to Wycombe Wanderers in 2010. A three-year stay with the Chairboys saw him celebrate a second career promotion in 2011 as Wycombe secured a place in League One.

After making 100 appearances in a three-year stay at Adams Park, Winfield moved on to Shrewsbury Town for the 2013/14 campaign, before joining York City in 2014. His two-year stay at York saw him play 51 times whilst taking in a short loan spell with AFC Wimbledon, before moving back into non-League football with Ebbsfleet United in 2016.

A successful three years at Stonebridge Road saw Winfield score a vital goal in the National League South play-off final victory over Chelmsford City in 2017. He eventually became a Chelmsford player for a stint in 2019, signed by then Clarets boss Rod Stringer, before stepping back up to the National League with Bromley midway through the 2019/20 campaign.

His career then briefly took him to Romford in 2020 before he made a return to Chelmsford in 2021 where he would remain as a mainstay in their defence for a further three seasons before his move to Welling in the summer.

Key Player

The winner of back-to-back Player of the Month awards to start this season, goalkeeper Rhys Lovett has been in fine form between the sticks for the Wings.

The 27-year-old stopper emerged through the academy at Walsall before moving on to Rochdale and had his first taste of senior football lwith Cheltenham Town where he spent five seasons between 2015 and 2020.

While with the Robins, Lovett embarked on loan spells with Tiverton Town, Shepton Mallet and Shortwood United, before making a permanent switch to Gloucester City.

A move to Maidenhead United followed in 2021 where he made 15 appearances in the National League and somewhat bizarrely got on the scoresheet on the final day of the 2020/21 season, coming off the bench to take a position up front before finding the net in the 93rd minute against Boreham Wood.

Lovett spent the 2021/22 season at Billericay Town where he worked with current Wings Goalkeeper Coach Jim Stannard, prior to a two-year stay with Torquay United where he made nine appearances in total.