whitstable250815.pdf

Whitstable Town
A BRIEF HISTORY
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) when matches were
played were played on a Friday at "Mr. Saddleton's
field" - an area of ground near the
railway station. The use of the club's current
Belmont ground began in January 1888 with
a friendly game against Herne Bay. There
was a change in name briefly to "Whitstable
Swifts" in 1893 but reverted to "Whitstable
Town" just two years later. 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. The club
folded in 1904 only to be reformed in 1908.
In 1908-09 Whitstable 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
they were both successful in lifting both the
first and second division titles. After one season
in the New Brompton League following
the Second World War, Whitstable returned
to Kent League in 1947-48 (also playing in
the K Division of the New Brompton League.)
Success came to the club as they won the
Division 2 title in the 1949-50 season and
gained promotion to the First Division until
the League disbanded in 1959. These were
sometimes considered the glory years as
Whitstable temporarily became a professional
club but the problems of competing with
much wealthier clubs proved difficult and put
considerable pressure on the clubs finances.
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 Kent
League was reformed in 1967 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. 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. Success on the pitch had
been elusive since the re-formation of the
Kent League. Despite a regular "top 10" position,
the best league finishes had 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 reaching 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.2006
-2007 marked the best season in the club’s
history. Under 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. 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 the second season it was a
mirror image of the previous year as we
found ourselves again in the lower reaches of
mid table. The following five seasons saw a
number of managerial changes with the side
always providing a sprint finish to the season
to ensure survival. Ex referee Gary Johnson
took over as chairman at the start of the
2012-2013 season. Jim and Danny Ward took
over as the management team from Nicky
Southall at the start of this season. giving us
our best finishing position in the league as
we ended up eighth. The Wards moved back
to Ramsgate in the close season and Will
Graham has taken over the reins.