Dorset Cricket Society

Dorset Cricket Society

Résumé of events 2026-27

Year

Month

Day

Speaker

Topic

2026
Oct
8th

Dave Merrington
The new season began with a venture into football, as former Southampton FC manager Dave Merrington came to speak to us. Dave was born in Newcastle and was invited to join Burnley at the age of 15. They were a big 1st Division club in those days with a large professional staff. Dave remarked that there were 56 professionals on the books at one time, with some of the old pros only able to get in the ‘A’ team. He was without a professional contract at the time and training for the youth players was only two evenings a week, so he decided to do an apprenticeship as an electrician, which often meant scaling rooves to install tv aerials. Half way through the apprenticeship he had the offer of a professional contract with Burnley which he accepted. The pay for 1st teamwork was £20 a week with a £4 win bonus and £2 for the draw. Burnley were a club ahead of their time, they had their own trading ground which the chairman had bought. At the age of 19 he fought his way into the Burnley 1st team as a centre half and remained there until he was 27. During this time Burnley played in Europe in the old Fairs Cup with some fairly frightening tales of foreign fans and the ways taken to avoid them after matches, particularly in Naples. Dave made sure he would have a future in the game by taking his coaching badges when he was just 23, which helped him out when his achillies tendon snapped at the age of 27 very soon after he had transferred to Bristol City. He coached at Bristol for a time but his wife was unhappy down south and he eventually returned to Burnley on the coaching staff. When Jimmy Adamson was sacked, Dave followed him to Sunderland. Jimmy didn’t have a contract with Sunderland, so when Leeds came calling they upped sticks and went to Leeds. Unfortunately the board at Leeds was split three ways which led to instability and the club missing some good potential signings. The inevitable happens and Dave is out of a job. After a prolonged period he had an offer to join the probation service, where he worked for three years. He commented on the difference between working with highly motivated footballers and ex-prisoners with very little motivation at all. In 1985 Lawrie McMenemy approached Dave to take on a job at Southampton where Dave introduced the idea of a chaplin and also involved the players in interacting with the city’s homeless. Amongst the players Dave was involved with included Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and Francis Benali. By now Dave had become manager and kept Southampton in the Premier League on the last day of the season, only to lose his job the next day. As that door closed, so another one opened into radio commentary, which extended Dave’s football career to over 60 years one way and another, as he explained the nuances that are needed to keep a listener glued to the radio, often whilst undertaking other tasks. Throughout his career Dave had been a man of strong faith, he explained how Christianity had been a very important bulwark to his life and how he first came across Jesus. There was just time for a couple of questions revolving around the current Southampton situation and whether Matt Le Tissier should have played more than 8 times for England. Many thanks to Dave and to Derek for hosting the afternoon.ss

15th

22nd

29th

Nov
5th

12th

19th

26th

Dec
3rd

10th

17th

2027
Jan
7th

14th

21st

28th

Feb
4th

11th

18th

25th

March
4th

11th

18th

25th

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Year	Month	Day	Speaker	Topic
2026	Oct	8th	Dave Merrington	The new season began with a venture into football, as former Southampton FC manager Dave Merrington came to speak to us. Dave was born in Newcastle and was invited to join Burnley at the age of 15. They were a big 1st Division club in those days with a large professional staff. Dave remarked that there were 56 professionals on the books at one time, with some of the old pros only able to get in the ‘A’ team. He was without a professional contract at the time and training for the youth players was only two evenings a week, so he decided to do an apprenticeship as an electrician, which often meant scaling rooves to install tv aerials. Half way through the apprenticeship he had the offer of a professional contract with Burnley which he accepted. The pay for 1st teamwork was £20 a week with a £4 win bonus and £2 for the draw. Burnley were a club ahead of their time, they had their own trading ground which the chairman had bought. At the age of 19 he fought his way into the Burnley 1st team as a centre half and remained there until he was 27. During this time Burnley played in Europe in the old Fairs Cup with some fairly frightening tales of foreign fans and the ways taken to avoid them after matches, particularly in Naples. Dave made sure he would have a future in the game by taking his coaching badges when he was just 23, which helped him out when his achillies tendon snapped at the age of 27 very soon after he had transferred to Bristol City. He coached at Bristol for a time but his wife was unhappy down south and he eventually returned to Burnley on the coaching staff. When Jimmy Adamson was sacked, Dave followed him to Sunderland. Jimmy didn’t have a contract with Sunderland, so when Leeds came calling they upped sticks and went to Leeds. Unfortunately the board at Leeds was split three ways which led to instability and the club missing some good potential signings. The inevitable happens and Dave is out of a job. After a prolonged period he had an offer to join the probation service, where he worked for three years. He commented on the difference between working with highly motivated footballers and ex-prisoners with very little motivation at all. In 1985 Lawrie McMenemy approached Dave to take on a job at Southampton where Dave introduced the idea of a chaplin and also involved the players in interacting with the city’s homeless. Amongst the players Dave was involved with included Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and Francis Benali. By now Dave had become manager and kept Southampton in the Premier League on the last day of the season, only to lose his job the next day. As that door closed, so another one opened into radio commentary, which extended Dave’s football career to over 60 years one way and another, as he explained the nuances that are needed to keep a listener glued to the radio, often whilst undertaking other tasks. Throughout his career Dave had been a man of strong faith, he explained how Christianity had been a very important bulwark to his life and how he first came across Jesus. There was just time for a couple of questions revolving around the current Southampton situation and whether Matt Le Tissier should have played more than 8 times for England. Many thanks to Dave and to Derek for hosting the afternoon.ss
		15th
		22nd
		29th
	Nov	5th
		12th
		19th
		26th
	Dec	3rd
		10th
		17th
2027	Jan	7th
		14th
		21st
		28th
	Feb	4th
		11th
		18th
		25th
	March	4th
		11th
		18th
		25th