Former player and youth coach Eamonn Dolan became Exeter City’s first manager in the era of supporter-ownership when he was appointed in June 2003. Remaining in post during the club’s first season in non-league football since 1920, he left St James’ Park in October 2004 to take an academy position at Reading. He served the Berkshire club - where he also had a brief stint as caretaker manager - until his death at the age of forty-eight in 2016. Reading subsequently named a stand in his honour.    

A Republic of Ireland Under-21 international, Eamonn began his career as an apprentice with West Ham United. Signing a full contract in March 1985, he made 15 league appearances before signing for Birmingham City in 1990. A year later a player-exchange deal with Mark Cooper brought him to St James’ Park where Alan Ball was re-building the team following Terry Cooper’s departure. Subsequently, having made just 26 league appearances for the Grecians, Eamonn was forced to retire in April 1993 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Remaining with the club, he became the club’s football in the community officer and later youth coach team before an eleven-day stint as caretaker-manager in October 2002 following the departure of John Cornforth. With John Russell and Mike Lewis bringing in Neil McNab - quickly followed by Gary Peters - Eamonn resumed his normal duties as the club unravelled behind the scenes and was duly relegated from the Football League.

As Russell and Lewis departed, and the supporters’ trust moved into position to take control, Eamonn was the ideal candidate to take responsibility of first-team affairs in June 2003. Facing the challenges of the club’s first season outside of the Football League since 1920, Eamonn overhauled the squad, lifted the spirits of the supporters and took City to 6th place in the Conference in 2003/04 one short of qualifying for the play-offs. 

Yet money was in alarmingly short supply at St James’ Park, and with the trust struggling to find an immediate way forward, Eamonn took up the opportunity of a secure position within Reading’s academy in October 2004. Nor was he quite sure if first-team management was what he most wished to do and, indeed on occasions, had admitted to being outside his ‘comfort zone’.

Had he stayed, the financial windfall resulting from the two FA Cup games against Manchester United in January 2005, may have provided him with welcome leeway in the first-team role. But, after thirteen years with the Grecians during which time he had experienced many personal and professional ups-and-downs, he left City as both highly-regarded and fondly-remembered.

Making an equally favourable impression in Berkshire - in a role that matched his qualities and aspirations - he developed Reading’s academy over the next twelve years and briefly served as first-team caretaker-manager in 2013. Yet fate intervened when Eamonn Dolan once again contracted cancer and was to die on 20 June 2016 at the age of forty-eight.