24 Jun 2009 |
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WHITSTABLE TOWN a brief history
The Early Days The first recorded football match took place in the town during October 1885 when, under the name "Whitstable United", a team played Whitstable College. Earliest use of the name "Whitstable Town" can be traced to the following season (1886-87). Matches were played on Fridays at "Mr. Saddleton's field" - an area of ground near the railway station. Use of the club's Belmont ground commenced in January 1888 with a friendly game against Herne Bay. A century later, the club is still there and still competing against its local rivals on the North Kent coast. The club changed its name briefly to "Whitstable Swifts" in 1893 but reverted to "Whitstable Town" just two years later. The Start of Competition Whitstable Town played their first competitive game in 1897 - a Kent Junior cup match that resulted in a 7-1 defeat by Dover Star FC. Shortly after this, the club joined the "East Kent League" and later played in both the "New Brompton" and "Faversham & District" leagues.
In 1909, Town joined the Kent League Division 2 and achieved a respectable fourth place in their first season. Two teams were also entered in the Thanet League and these were successful in lifting both the first and second division titles. The FA Cup comes to Town The first FA Cup campaign came in 1910. A 3-2 victory over Folkestone preceded a defeat by Dartford in front of a crowd of some 2,150. Between the Wars... The First Major Successes
The Swinging 60s.... the Wilderness Years The loss of the Kent League came as a hammer blow. Wealthier clubs moved onward and upward to the more prestigious Southern League leaving behind a small band of teams fighting for survival. Town joined the Aetolian League briefly. Gone were the days of the money-spinning East Kent derby games against the likes of Folkestone, Dover, Sittingbourne and Margate. Matches against far off London-based sides were no substitute and, inevitably, the 1960's became a period of financial problems and decay. The team dropped into the Kent Amateur League for a short period - an all time low for a senior side with such a rich history - and later moved on to other competitions including the Greater London League. There were, of course, successes but at a lower level than in the past. The team finished as runners up in the Kent Amateur Cup in 1960-61 and second in the Greater London League in 1965-66. The Kent League was reformed in 1968 and Town rejoined immediately. However, this was not the Kent League of the "heady" 1930s and 1950s. Populated by a large number of reserve sides from Southern League Clubs, there was little to appeal to supporters... but it was a start. Gradually, former Kent League clubs began to return. Some like Whitstable had wandered various leagues. Others had encountered financial problems in the Southern League. At last, the League Management Committee was in a position to remove reserve sides from the competition and impose strict conditions governing grounds and facilities. East Kent derby matches became a reality once more - against Ramsgate, Canterbury City, Folkestone, Deal, Faversham Town, Chatham and, of course, our oldest and nearest rivals, Herne Bay. The club responded - building a club house and attempting to restore the Belmont to its former glory on limited funds. The "Town" celebrated its centenary in 1985-86 in a healthier state and the occasion was marked by games against Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace. Both matches attracted large crowds to the Belmont. Most progress has been achieved in the last 10 years following the arrival of chairman Joe Brownett and sponsorship by D&J Tyres of Herne Bay. Since then, dressing rooms have been refurbished, the club house re-fitted, floodlights erected, a new snack bar created, committee rooms extended, the pitch levelled and a drainage system installed. Most of the work has been undertaken by the committee and the most loyal group of unpaid volunteers to be found anywhere in football. ....But Limited Success Success on the pitch has been elusive since the re-formation of the Kent League. Despite a regular "top 10" position, the best league finishes have been two "third place" spots. Cup competitions have yielded greater success but there has been heartache as well.... "runners up" in Kent League Cup twice and the Kent Senior Trophy on three occasions. The only major reward came in 1979-80 - a 4-3 victory over Chatham to lift the Kent League Cup at the Bull Ground at Sittingbourne. Trailing 2-0 and 3-1 in the final, the team recovered to score two late goals and an "extra time" winner. The club achieved it best FA Vase run during 1996-97. Despite being drawn away from home in virtually every round, we reached the last 16...just 3 matches from an appearance at Wembley in this nationwide competition. With everyone praying for a home draw, luck deserted us...North Ferriby United (near Hull) ...away. A tight 1-0 defeat ended our dream on Humberside. A few years ago in March 1989, the club and one of its most popular players (Gerry Allen) received coverage in the national press following one of the quickest goals in football history - timed at just over 4 seconds. From the kick off, the ball was rolled forward and Gerry attempted to lob the ball over the goalkeeper from the half way line. A slight miscue caused the ball to drop short but it skidded on the damp surface and passed under the goalkeeper's body. Everyone dived for the Guinness book of records but it seems that there have been slightly quicker strikes. Had Gerry made a clean connection, it might have been the fastest goal of all time! ….And now promotion to the Ryman League.... 2006/2007 marked the best season in the club’s history. Under new chairman Tony Rouse and manager Marc Seager’s leadership we saw the team win the Kent League and the Kent Senior Trophy. A treble was just missed out on the last day of the season as we ended up as runners-up in the Kent League Cup. We also had a good run in the FA Cup ending with a narrow home defeat against Margate in front of 1,144 people. The championship brought about the long awaited promotion to the Ryman League and the most successful period in the clubs long history. The first year in the Ryman League (2007/2008) started shakily but an excellent end to the season brought us into mid table and respectability. Again after a difficult start to last season it was a mirror image of the previous year as we found ourselves again in the lower reaches of mid table. So we now look forward to 2009/2010 with expectation as former Gravesend & Northfleet star, Mark Munday, has taken over the managerial reigns following the resignation of Marc Seager at the end of last season with Joe Brownett taking over as chairman for the second time.Normal 0
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