Alan Dowson (born 17 June 1970) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former professional player. He was most recently interim manager of Hemel Hempstead Town. He made 55 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

between 1988 and 1993, before spending 13 years as a player in non-league football. He later managed a number of non-league football teams.

Playing career

Dowson began his playing career with

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

, 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 Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on a one-month loan in January 1990. After his release from Millwall, Dowson was quickly snapped up by

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

, where he made 18 appearances in a single season. A year with

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

saw the defender become a regular in the first team before dropping into non-league football. Joining Slough Town ahead of the 1993–94 season, Dowson featured 43 times throughout the campaign joining

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, he then spent two years with

before over a decade at Walton & Hersham. On 20 December 1996, Dowson signed for the

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

club - who had recently been relegated to the

Isthmian League Division One The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

. Dowson announced his retirement from playing at the end of the 2005–06 season.

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. Finishing as runners-up in his debut managerial campaign, Dowson also guided the club to the fourth round of the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

while recording a record-breaking 13-match winning run in all competitions. 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, 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. He announced his resignation at the end of the season to spend some time away from football and focus on his family. On 14 September 2014, Dowson was unveiled as manager at Hampton & Richmond Borough. Joined by his familiar backroom staff, including

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

commentator

Martin Tyler Martin Tyler (born 14 September 1945) is an English Association football, football commentator. He worked as a commentator for Sky Sports from 1990 to 2023, covering the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, as well as other domestic and inte ...

, 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. He was appointed

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

manager in May 2018. In his first season in charge Dowson took Woking to a 2nd-placed finish, gaining promotion to the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

with a 1–0 win against Welling United in the playoff-final. The club also enjoyed its most successful FA Cup run in almost two decades, defeating

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

to earn a famous home tie with Premier League club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in the Third Round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. Woking, the only Level 6 side left in the competition, lost the match 2–0. On 28 February 2022, Dowson was sacked by the club following a "prolonged run of poor form in the league", ending his four-year association with the

-based side. In May 2022 he became manager of

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

. Dowson oversaw an impressive start to the season that saw him awarded the National League South Manager of the Month award for October 2022. On 11 January 2024, Dowson was relieved of his management duties at Dartford. On 7 March 2024, Dowson was appointed manager of National League South club Hemel Hempstead Town on an interim basis until the end of the season. He departed the club on 15 April 2024 with one match of the season remaining.

Career statistics

Manager

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowson, Alan 1970 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Millwall F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Slough Town F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Walton & Hersham F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. managers Woking F.C. managers Dartford F.C. managers Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. managers National League (English football) managers Footballers from Gateshead