This Saturday sees the meeting of two clubs whose recent fortunes have almost mirrored each other, all the way from Football League aspirations to this week's Ryman Division One fixture, writes Matthew Clements - www.doverathletic.com Let me take you back to May 2000 when Whites achieved their best ever finish in the Conference. I remember well that proud moment of finishing 6th, in a season when they threatened to challenge Rushden & Diamonds for the title before the sale of key midfielders Joe Dunne and Simon Wormull. The best midfield in the Conference had been torn apart, and the team never recovered. Dover boss at the time Bill Williams didn't really recover either, lasting just one more season in charge at Crabble. On becoming manager of Kingstonian after leaving Dover, Williams had unwittingly swapped one club heading into financial crisis for another. K's had an even better season than Whites in 99/00, finishing fifth in the Conference and winning the FA Trophy at Wembley for the second season in a row but relegation occurred just one year later. Kingstonian's reaction was to hire a proven Conference manager in Williams to get them out of the Ryman Premier again. However, Williams' efforts never got off the ground and he was back at Crabble as Commercial Manager within a few months, soon announcing horrendous debts and then leaving again shortly after. After Whites had been relegated from the Conference themselves and marginally survived being wound-up in the summer of 2002, both clubs were unable to achieve their aim of promotion back into non-league's elite. It was in this time that more damage was done to both clubs. Kingstonian FC's assets had been bought by the Khosla family, whilst Dover struggled to manage their day-to-day finances and keep up with the CVA repayments. Kingstonian soon became tenants at their own stadium, sold by the Khosla's to AFC Wimbledon for £2m, which K's have seen nothing of. Promises to hand over control of the club to 'K's Trust' during 2003 and 2004 were not kept and the club struggled to stay afloat. Both Dover and Kingstonian missed out on the Conference South "promotion" in 2004, too embroiled in problems on and off the field to realise the significance of such a crucial season. K's misery was perhaps worse than Whites, as they lost 1-0 to Lewes in the Play-Off final. Lewes stand fourth in Conference South at the time of writing. Ironically, both clubs' problems came to a head almost simultaneously. Both were woeful on the field during the early months of the 2004/05 season, as problems behind the scenes were coming out in the open. For Dover, the club was saved in January 2005 but Kingstonian had to wait a little longer for a light at the end of the tunnel. On Friday 11th February 2005, the light emerged as the Khosla's transferred ownership of Kingstonian FC to Jimmy Cochrane. Cochrane committed himself to clearing the clubs debts. The Observer newspaper commented at the time: "So farewell then, Rajesh Khosla - ex-owner of Kingstonian, who pledged a 10-year plan, then sold the club's ground for a £2m personal profit. 'He's raping us,' said (then) manager Kim Harris in 2003. 'He's put a sword right through the club's heart.' The K's - no assets, in debt and funded by fans - were saved from liquidation by new owner Jimmy Cochrane on Friday night. So what next for Khosla? 'I will leave here a happy man,' he promised in 2003. 'Selling the ground was good business.'" The two clubs have re-built since then, both on and off the pitch. However, Kingstonian's lack of a ground of their own and decimated fan-base has left them vulnerable and a shadow of their former self, whilst Dover are in a more fortunate position to build on. Looking ahead to Saturday's match, memories of their previous meetings and Conference days are inevitable. However, both clubs' record signing David Leworthy will not be on the hallowed turf, sticking four past Woking or lifting the FA Trophy. Harsh lessons have hopefully been learnt from the traumatic experiences of the past five years, as the two sets of supporters search for new heroes (without the transfer fee) and a route back up the pyramid. What both sets of supporters will be hoping is that this Saturday's re-union of tortured souls will signal the start of a bright new era for both clubs. Justin Allen, added: Had you been living on the moon for the last five years - then returned to Earth and noticed Dover were entertaining Kingstonian, you could be forgiven for thinking it would be another top-of-the-table Conference clash. It is staggering since both club's met in March 2000 at Crabble, when the K's won courtesy of an own goal from Stuart Munday, both clubs have managed to get relegated three times. Whites finished sixth that season in non-league's elite while their friends from Surrey beat us by a point to end fifth. K's were to last one more season in the Conference while Dover were only to outlive them in that division by a year. Now both clubs, after years of financial turmoil, are in a stable position off the pitch and Clive Walker's men are set to face another tough match as they bid to climb straight back up out of Ryman One. Only Paul Hyde and Tony Browne survive at Crabble since that Conference meeting - while Walker was assistant to then boss Bill Williams. Walker said: "They had a bloody good side then - and so did we. That was a year when we had players like Simon Wormull, Joe Dunne and Dave Clarke in the team. "In all honesty, we weren't far away from having a side good enough to win the division. We needed perhaps two more players to compete at the top - but sadly we ended up selling Dunne and Wormull halfway through the season. "I remember we were thrashed 4-1 by Kingstonian earlier that season. David Leworthy was playing for them then and he got a hat-trick. "Games against them were always open. I think we beat them 5-1 at home the season before and Matt Carruthers scored a hat-trick." Danny Chapman, Hyde and Browne were in the side a season later, when the Whites lost 1-0 at Kingsmeadow - the last time the two clubs met in Conference action. A lot has changed since then - and both clubs lined up against each other in the Ryman Premier last season. K's held Whites to a goalless draw at Kingsmeadow - while a hapless performance saw the Kent side crash 2-1 at home against them at Crabble. That match signalled the end of Steve Browne's ill-fated time in charge and Walker was appointed manager the following day. K's and Whites finished bottom and second from bottom last season - but it is Dover who have made the stronger start to life in the fourth step of non-league football. And Walker is delighted with his team's current position and admits in the summer he would have settled for having 35 points from the first 16 games of the season. He said: "There's another 28 games to play in this league yet. So much can happen and I'm just happy, that despite all the injuries we've had, that the team is in a strong position in the league. "You have to give the side credit for the way they've managed to keep themselves up there despite all the problems. Those two matches against Dartford in the FA Trophy have really hurt us. "We lost half our first team and that's a serious handicap for any side. But the young lads who have come in have worked hard and, although we've been inconsistent, they've been picking up points to keep us ticking over. "Eventually, we're going to start getting stronger again. Craig Cloke is not far away from returning, Danny Chapman got through two hours of football against Bromley and Daniel Braithwaite is not too far away from returning. "Cloke and Braithwaite could be back soon. One thing is for sure, they'll be fit for the run-in from February through to May. That will really give us a lift and suddenly we could end up with five or six good players sitting on the sidelines. "It's been frustrating that we've not been able to field the same team twice since that Dartford game. We've always had to keep changing the starting XI and formation around. "When we won those first seven league matches, I only had to make a change once - when Nicky Humphrey had to miss a match. "Winning teams don't get changed. The continuity is so important and any successful side has to have that - I don't care what anyone else says. We've had to sign new players, pair lads together who've never played with each other before and field lads who don't have many games under their belts. "It's important that we get the experienced players back because I've got no doubt that will make a big difference. You need a settled squad with lots of experience - that's the best way to build a winning team. Look at any top-of-the-league club in the country and you will see that they hardly ever have to change things around." Chapman should be fit to face K's and striker Tommy Tyne also should be available. Carl Rook and Marc Cumberbatch were both cup-tied for the Westview Cup game with Bromley on Saturday - and will come back into contention. Meanwhile, Clive admits that FOUR players who he wanted to bring to Crabble to bolster the squad have turned him down, including Dartford goalkeeper Kevin Hudson, 38. He said: "It wasn't a question of money or the club - but travelling. All the lads we were after only lived six or seven minutes from their clubs and they didn't fancy travelling down to Dover." Walker, however, paid tribute to George Best, whose tragic recent death touched nearly everybody in football. Walker actually played for Leicester City against George at Old Trafford in April 1965. United beat Foxes 1-0 and Walker, just 19 at the time, remembers how a young Best stood out in that game. He said: "Best was a genius. One hell of a player. Luckily I was defending on the other flank so didn't have to mark him. But he gave us problems all match. "One thing about George was not only his skills, speed and shooting ability - but he could put a tackle in too. There aren't any players built like him nowadays. "I was just a kid playing in front of a packed Old Trafford and it was a great experience. Denis Law and Bobby Charlton were playing that day too. It was a great era and Best stood right up there as one of the best players ever." Dover Athletic v Kingstonian Ryman League Division One Saturday 3rd December 2005 Kick Off 3:00pm at Crabble, Lewisham Road, River, Dover