By Pete Oliver

Chapple has always had an affinity with Wembley

When the new Wembley is finally opened and doubtless nods its head to the famous echoes of its past, few will have greater claim to a mention than Geoff Chapple.

The name of the former Woking and Kingstonian manager may not sit easily alongside such as Alf Ramsey, Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Ian Rush or even Bob Stokoe.

But thanks to five FA Trophy wins in a remarkable seven-year stretch under the old Twin Towers, Chapple deserves his place in the history of a ground that dominated his footballing life.

"I wrote an essay when I was 14 saying the two things I wanted most in life were to own a BMW and play at Wembley," Chapple told BBC Sport.

"I had five or six BMWs but I never did make it to Wembley as a player."

A broken leg sustained in an FA Vase tie on March 8, 1980 - the same day as his father Bill died - effectively ended those dreams.

But the ambition did not go away and it was Chapple's switch to management that propelled him down Wembley Way.

An instant success with Windsor and Eton, Chapple was then appointed manager of Woking, where he had previously spent a couple of years as a player, in the 1984/85 season.

As a non-league manager you never get rich, but you can't take away the memories Geoff Chapple

Unable to save them from relegation to Division Two South of the Isthmian League, the Cards had "hit rock bottom."

"But I knew we had a lot of good players and I built them up," Chapple said.

"I knew it was a sleeping giant. The first crowd I had there in 1984 was 87. When we got to the 1990s I would say Woking was the biggest non-league club in the world.

"We had crowds of 3,000 and I sensed it was getting big."

How big became apparent when Woking knocked West Bromwich Albion out of the FA Cup in 1991, thanks to a hat-trick from Tim Buzaglo, before losing 1-0 at Everton in the fourth-round.

But it was the Trophy that Chapple virtually made his own once he had fulfilled his initial target of establishing Woking in the Conference.

"In the early years at Woking it didn't mean a thing to me," he said.

"I knew we would be knocked out in the early rounds but then all of a sudden I got a liking for it."

Woking had won the Trophy's predecessor, the FA Amateur Cup, once before in 1958 in the last final to be televised live.

But with Chapple inspired by the competition and the prospect of leading out a team at Wembley the Cards virtually took out ownership of the Trophy in the mid-1990s.

I have had a wonderful journey and now I am trying to put something back at Farnham Geoff Chapple

Having booked their place in the 1993 final, an emotional Chapple drove to Wembley in the early hours and sat in his car at three o'clock to record a message for the club's telephone information service.

"The dream is now a reality. Woking is going to Wembley," he had said.

"I never thought I would go back there again and again and again - and win.

"It was so sensational to me. It meant so much to me to go Wembley - that I would be physically inside the stadium.

"I could have sat inside Wembley stadium when it was empty and been thrilled."

Runcorn, Kidderminster and Dagenham and Redbridge all fell under the Woking spell as the Cards triumphed in '93, '95 and '97 after Chapple had given up his job as a financial consultant to go full-time with Woking in 1991.

The glory years also included two runners-up positions and a third place in the Conference.

"We were so unlucky," Chapple added. "People began to say I was just a cup man and not a league man but I always wanted to do it and get Woking into the Football League."

Chapple was paid �25,000 a year but without a contract. When, in 1997, he asked for a written deal to provide some level of security it was not offered.

"That hurt me," he said.

Conference rivals Kingstonian were ready to offer a contract, though, and a four-year term, as well as �40,000 to spend on a team, took Chapple to Kingsmeadow to start another Trophy trail.

Promotion to the Conference was also achieved with the K's, as well as a record-breaking run to the fourth-round of the FA Cup.

But it was further back-to-back Wembley wins over Forest Green and, memorably, Kettering Town in 1999 and 2000 which confirmed the Chapple Trophy legacy.

Those successes did not spare Chapple the sack just 12 months later following relegation and a second stint at Woking, where money was tight, did not reproduce the magic.

When we got to the 1990s I would say Woking was the biggest non-league club in the world Geoff Chapple

Nevertheless, Chapple still warrants the title of a new autobiography written by former Woking player and Woking Mail Sports Editor: 'Geoff Chapple - The Story Behind the Legend.'

With his career having turned full circle Chapple, now a 60-year-old courier driver, is back at hometown club Farnham as chairman of the Combined Counties League club.

"I have had a wonderful journey and now I am trying to put something back into this little town.

"As a non-league manager you never get rich, but you can't take away the memories," said.

Wembley provides many of them and Chapple plans to top up his collection when the new ground opens, hopefully next year.

He said: "The thing about the old place was that the history was so special, when you think about the people who had graced that wonderful stadium.

"The new ground won't have that history but I have heard good reports about it and some friends of mine who have been up there say it's going to be the best football stadium in the world.