Sponsor a Legend - 70's & 80's

Sponsor a Legend - 70's & 80's

May 20, 2021

Don Roper, Graham Fuge and Jackie Henderson are the latest Dorchester legends to be honoured with a seat in their name. Magpies fans voted the trio as the best players of the sixties, with the former Arsenal league-winning forward Roper picking up over half of the count. All three will have seats named in their honour in the main stand and are available to sponsor by clicking here.

With the tantalising return of live football to The Avenue not far away, we want to ensure that all seats are fully voted on and in place by the time pre-season kicks off. As such, we're wrapping up the Sponsor a Legend campaign with a vote on both the 70's and 80's.

The Seventies

David  Best - Dorset born Best begun his career with AFC Bournemouth, making 230 appearances for The Cherries. He moved to Oldham Athletic in '66 and then Ipswich Town two years later, where he'd make 168 appearances for The Tractor Boys. He returned to Dean Court for one year before moving to The Avenue in 1976. He's go on to make 121 appearances for us, before stepping up to become manager and having a big hand in assembling the league winning side of 79-80.

Richard  Burley - A towering defender who would play almost a decade for the club between 1972 and 1981. He'd make 203 appearances and score eight  goals, as well as being a key part of the side who won the league in 1979-80.

Bob  Brittain - The ever-popular Bob Brittain made 74 appearances for his beloved Dorchester, winning a league winners medal  in 79-80. He would remain involved at the club long after his retirement in various capacities.

Rod Hansford - Local product who would make 272 appearances and score 48 goals between 1967-76 before moving onto Bridport.

Peter Poore - Over a decade at The Avenue, Poore was a cult hero. Starting as a centre forward in 1973, he was the club's leading scorer in four of his ten seasons with us. In time, he turned into an exquisite defender, and was central to our league championship in 1979-80 and the FA Cup run of 1981. In total he made 317 appearances for the club, scoring 77 times. He is the father of Carl Poore, who would also win a league championship with the club under Mark Morris.

Graham  Roberts - Roberts joined the club as a youngster, following his release from Portsmouth. He quickly found his feet at The Avenue, scoring an incredible 33 times in just 79 appearances. Unsurprisingly, teams higher up the pyramid came calling and he moved on for a then-record £6,000 transfer fee, before going on to become a cult hero at Tottenham Hotspurs, Rangers and Chelsea, as well as winning six caps for England.

Peter Poore

The Eighties

Ray Ames - Another local product, Midfielder Ames made over 100 appearances for the Magpies. In his debut season, he was a member of the league winning team of 79-80 and a key part of the side for the FA  Cup run to Round Two vs Bournemouth in 1981. Son of Freddie Ames.

Ray Ames

Gary  Borthwick - A man known by many in the local non-league scene, Borthwick made over 300 appearances for the Magpies over a nine year career in the county town. His inspiring performances in midfield pushed the team on to a league title in his debut season, but his contribution didn't finish there, as he went on to coach, be number two and indeed manage the club in more recent times. Can still be found at the Avenue on regular occasions now.

Gary Borthwick

Tony Chutter - Another local talent who represented his hometown team. A midfielder who spent six years  at the club between 1979-85 making 161 appearances with 10 goals. League winner in his first season and key part of the FA Cup run.

Keith  Miller - Miller begun his career with West Ham United, before AFC Bournemouth paid £10,000 for his services. He'd go on to captain The Cherries and is the club’s fifth all-time leading appearance maker. He joined Dorchester in 1980 and played for us for over a decade. A natural leader of men, he'd step up to become manager after retirement and led up to the league championship in 1986-87 and was still in charge as the club moved to the new Avenue Stadium in 1990.

Peter  Loveridge - A towering defender who played 274 games for the club, scoring 22 times  between 83-90. He was an ever present in 1984-85 and in the league winning 1986-87 season.

Pete  Morrell - An outstanding career that spanned both grounds, Morrell made just under 400 appearances, scoring 85 times - not bad for a right back! He was a cult hero for Magpies fans, as well as key part of the 86-87 league winning side, and still a regular in the team as we moved to the new Avenue Stadium.

Trevor  Senior - a man who needs no introduction to Dorchester fans. A stunning 59 goals in just 78 games, saw the Dorchester-born youngster get signed for a then club-record £35,000 by Portsmouth. He'd spent four years at Fratton Park before moving to Reading where he scored 184 goals in 362 league and cup appearances in two spells between 1983 and 1992. He moved to Middlesborough for £200,000 in '88, scoring twice in the play-offs as they got promoted to the second division. Senior returned to his beloved Magpies after his full-time career, and has been involved in the coaching the club's under 18's and was assistant manager to Craig Laird.

Paul  Thorne - An influential winger with the sweetest of left feet, Thorne would have the Magpies fans on their feet consistently. He played 265 games, scoring 47 goals in an Avenue career that spanned over a decade. Scorer of one of the most iconic Dorchester goals of all time, his strike against AFC Bournemouth at a packed Avenue took the Cherries back to Dean Court in the FA Cup.

Paul Thorne scoring against AFC Bournemouth in front of a sold out Avenue Ground