Farnham Town are delighted to announce the signing of Bobby-Joe Taylor from National League South side Dorking Wanderers on a contract until June 2026.
With a decade’s worth of Step 1 football under his belt, Taylor will bring all his experience and intangibles to the Memorial Ground this season as we look to establish ourselves in the Southern League Premier South.
After breaking through at Cambridge United, making his Football League debut in August 2014, Bobby-Joe has been a regular at National League level ever since, tallying over 210 appearances with clubs such as Maidstone United, Aldershot Town, Dover Athletic and Bromley prior to joining Dorking Wanderers in the summer of 2021.
The 30-year-old made huge contributions over the years for the Wanderers, including starting in their extra-time National League South play-off final victory over Ebbsfleet United in May 2022, earning promotion to the National League for the first time in their history.
Over the next two seasons in the National League, Bobby-Joe appeared in 75 of 92 National League games for Dorking primarily from wide areas being equally as adept playing on the left or right of the midfield, while also being able to drop into a wide centre-back role as well in a back three.
This past season, he made 15 appearances for Dorking in the National League South and also enjoyed two successful loan spells, firstly with Horsham in the Isthmian Premier League where he appeared 12 times as they went on to win the title, and then finished the season with Walton & Hersham in the Southern League Premier South who finished third, narrowly missing out in the play-offs on penalties to Gloucester City.
A player with unquestionable quality and experience higher up the pyramid, Bobby-Joe will be a tremendous addition to the squad and everyone at the Club is looking forward to working with him this season. He will wear the No.16 shirt.
On Bobby-Joe’s arrival, manager Paul Johnson said: “I’m really pleased about getting this one done. There were a lot of clubs in for Bobby-Joe this summer after leaving Dorking, and it says a lot about what we’re building here that he’s turned down more established clubs higher up the pyramid to come and join us.
“His record speaks for itself. He’s played his entire career at National League and National South level. He knows what it takes to win and succeed, he’s enjoyed promotions, and he’s going to be bringing all of that experience and leadership into our dressing room.
“As a player, his versatility is his biggest asset. He can play on the left, on the right, in defence or in a more advanced role and those options give us the ability to change in-game and react better to what’s in front of us. His dead-ball quality and delivery from wide areas is second to none. As a person, he’s a great lad and understands what we’re doing here and wants to come in and contribute. I can’t wait to start working with him when we meet again for pre-season.”
Chairman Harry Hugo adds: “Bobby-Joe is a proven commodity in Non-League football. It’s not a surprise that there were several clubs vying for him this summer, but it’s no longer a surprise that Farnham Town can throw their hat in the ring now for players of his quality. It shows how far we’ve come as a Club in a pretty short space of time.
“From speaking to Bobby-Joe about what we’re building here, it was clear that he was excited about the trajectory of our club and how he slots into what we want to do next season. He is a player that our fans should get excited about watching this season. I can’t wait to see him in action at the Memorial Ground!”
Bobby-Joe becomes our fourth new arrival of the summer, and will wear the No.16 shirt this season!