- Maidstone United F.C. (1897)
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Maidstone United Full name Maidstone United Football Club Nickname(s) The Stones Founded 1897 Dissolved 1992 (reformed as Maidstone United F.C.) The original Maidstone United was an English football club that existed from 1897 to 1992. The club played in the Football League Fourth Division from 1989 until their demise in 1992. During their time in the Football League Maidstone played their games at Dartford's Watling Street Ground. The club also played in various Amateur leagues and the Southern League, which was major semi-professional league in southern England until the formation of the Alliance Premier League (a national league now known as the Conference National) in 1979.
Contents
History
Maidstone United was formed in 1897 and played in various Amateur leagues such as the Corinthian, Athenian and the Isthmian League.[1] They joined the Southern League, the major semi-professional league in southern England, in 1971/1972. Their first season as a semi-professional outfit almost brought instant success as the team finished 3rd in the Southern League Division 1 (South) just failing to win promotion behind Waterlooville and Ramsgate. Attendances were much improved from the amateur days with local derbies against Tonbridge and Gravesend & Northfleet drawing respectable attendances of more than 2000. The following season Maidstone finished top and were promoted to the Southern League Premier Division. They continued to progress and during their 6 year spell in the league they finished in the top 5 on 4 occasions. In 1979 they became founder members of the Alliance Premier League (now the Football Conference), and won the league title twice, in 1984 and 1989.[2]
At the time of their first championship, Maidstone failed to gain promotion to the Football League because they lost out in the re-election system that the League employed at the time. By the time Maidstone United won the Conference again in 1989, automatic promotion and relegation had been introduced. Maidstone thus became members of the Football League Fourth Division.[2]
In 1988 the Stones left their ground in Maidstone having sold the land on which it stood to MFI. The ground was not considered large enough for League football, so they switched to ground-sharing with Dartford for their home matches. This caused average attendances to fall from around 2,400 to 1,400.[1]
After a shaky start in their first season in the Fourth Division (1989–90) they reached the promotion play-offs but lost to eventual winners Cambridge United in a dramatic two-leg semi-final which saw Cambridge striker Dion Dublin score twice in the second period of extra time to seal victory. Their form in the following season went from very good to very poor in a short space of time, which prompted the controversial sacking of manager Keith Peacock. The next manager was former Blackpool and Northampton Town boss Graham Carr.
Decline and collapse
By this time, the club were lurching into serious financial problems. They had spent vast amounts getting into the Football League and the spending continued now they were there. Running costs were huge and gates dwindled meaning the club's finances spiralled out of control, with large debts being run up. The club then took a massive gamble, and without any kind of planning permission, purchased a piece of land east of Maidstone for £400,000 with a view to build a ground on it. With a ground in the town the club believed they would be able to afford to continue in the Football League. However, the gamble did not pay off and the planning application to build on the land was turned down by the council.[2]
The entire squad of players were put up for sale to raise cash. During the 1991-92 season, the club was put up for sale. With huge debts, no ground and a poor team, there was little interest, although a consortium from the North East wanted to buy the club, move it to Tyneside and merge it with Newcastle Blue Star F.C..
On the football side, Graham Carr was sacked after a poor run of results at the start of the 1991–92 season, and former manager Bill Williams had little more success in turning the club around, eventually standing down just after the turn of the year. His assistant Clive Walker (not the former Chelsea player) took over, and managed to keep the Stones off the foot of the table. Walker's managerial skills, combined with the efforts of the few capable players left at the club (notably a young Gary Breen, keeper Iain Hesford, Bradley Sandemann and Liburd Henry) saw them through.
There was no threat of relegation in 1991-92 as the Football League was taking an additional member for 1992–93. They finished 18th of 22 clubs in the Fourth Division (the 23rd club, Aldershot, had been declared bankrupt and forced to resign from the league on 25 March 1992 after playing 36 games, results of which were declared void).
The 1992-93 season saw the creation of the Premier League from the old First Division, with the Second Division becoming Division One, the Third Division becoming Division Two, and the Fourth Division becoming Division Three. The Stones would be founder members of the new Division Three, but as the new season came closer it looked more and more unlikely that the Stones would be able to play in it as their financial worries showed no sign of easing.
They were due to play their first game of the season away to Scunthorpe United on 15 August 1992 but by this stage only two players were still registered to the club. They were given until the following Monday to guarantee that they would be able to fulfill their fixtures; unable to come up with the necessary backing, they resigned from the league on 17 August and went into liqudation.[1]
They had been due to contest the Football League Cup first round against Reading, with the first leg played on 19 August, and their demise meant that Reading received a bye to the second round.[1]
The collapse of Aldershot and Maidstone meant that the Football League decided to revert to a membership of 92 clubs (70 when excluding the 22 members of the new Premier League) and that its plan for 94 members clubs had to be scrapped.[1]
To date, Maidstone United are the most recent club to be forced out of the Football League due to bankruptcy. A number of former League clubs, including Scarborough, Halifax Town, Chester City and Rushden & Diamonds have gone bankrupt and ceased to exist since Maidstone United's demise, but all had dropped into the non-league divisions by the time of their demise, though when Chester City went out of business in March 2010 less than a year had passed since their relegation from the Football League.[3] However, numerous Football League clubs have come very close to suffering the same fate as Maidstone since 1992; these include Wimbledon,[4] Bradford City,[5] Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday[6] and Portsmouth.[7] The club were succeeded by the new Maidstone United F.C., who are a continuation of the old club.
Colours and Badge
Since the formation of Maidstone United the club's main colours have been amber and black. Records show that the club's first home kit consisted of an amber and black striped shirt with white shorts, however between 1922 and 1955 the kit was changed to amber shirts with black shorts [8]. From 1970-1973, Maidstone adopted an all white home kit, but returned to their traditional amber and black colours after this time. All white became the club's traditional away kit, although the club also had purple and blue away shirts over the years.
The new Maidstone kept the same badge. Unlike some clubs, Maidstone have stayed away from 'logo' type badges, instead sticking to tradition with the same club badge being displayed for their whole existence. The badge is the same as the towns coat of arms, except that the town's motto, "Agriculture and Commerce", is replaced with "Maidstone United FC".[9]
Stadiums
The original Maidstone United played at the Athletic Ground on London Road (now MFI). However, London Road did not come up to Football League ground grading requirements so the club relocated to Dartford's Watling Street Stadium in 1987, buying it in the process. In an attempt to return to Maidstone, the club's board purchased a piece of land east of the Town in Hollingbourne. However the council rejected the club's planning application to build on the purchased land, claiming the refusal was down to the site being in a conservation area.
Years Ground 1898[10]-1988 Athletic Ground, London Road 1988–1992 Watling Street (Groundshare with Dartford) Notable players
- Jimmy McMullan - joined Maidstone from the Scottish leagues and went on to sign for Manchester City. He also managed Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday.
- David Sadler - born in Yalding and attended Maidstone Technical School (now Oakwood Grammar), he started his career at Maidstone before going on to win the League title and a European Cup medal with Manchester United in 1968. Capped 4 times for England as a centre half.
- Warren Barton - pacey full-back who in 1990 was sold to top-flight Wimbledon for a club record £300,000. In 1995, following a call up to the England national team, he was sold to Newcastle United for £4,000,000.
- Mark Beeney - goalkeeper who represented Gillingham, Brighton & Hove Albion and Leeds United.
- Roy Hodgson - former manager of Liverpool, Bristol City, Blackburn Rovers, Malmö FF, Inter Milan, Viking F.K., Fulham and the Finland and Switzerland national teams.
- Glen Coupland - centre-forward who also represented Charlton Athletic, Dartford and Dover Athletic. In a famous 1975 F.A.Cup 1st round replay, Maidstone United defeated Colchester United 4-1, with two goals from Glen Coupland.
- Peter Taylor - former Southend United, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur, Leyton Orient, Oldham Athletic and England winger who has managed several clubs, including Hull City.
- Gary Breen - played for Coventry City, West Ham United & Sunderland, currently plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers. International for the Republic of Ireland, scored in the 2002 World Cup against Saudi Arabia in a 3-0 win.
- Chris Kinnear - Former Margate manager who successfully got them promoted up to Conference level before financial trouble saw them face successive relegation, eventually leading to his suspension.
- Bobby Houghton - Maidstone's player/coach in their first professional season in the Southern League Div 1 South (1971/72). Houghton later managed Malmö FF to the Swedish title and a European Cup final appearance against Nottingham Forest. Houghton (along with Roy Hodgson) is widely regarded as being responsible for the transformation of Swedish football.[11]
- Geoffrey Hunt - 5 time England cap who finished his career with the Stones in the late 1950s having had spells with Chelsea, Ipswich Town and Orient before dropping to non-league.
Honours
- Football Conference (known as Alliance Premier League before 1986)
- Champions (2): 1983-84, 1988–89
- Runners-Up (1): 1982-83
- Challenge Shield Winners (1): 1989-90
- Southern League
- First Division South Champions (1): 1972-73
- Athenian League
- Runners-Up (1): 1957-58
- Corinthian League
- Champions (1): 1955-56
- Memorial Shield Winners (1): 1955-56
- Kent League
- Champions (3): 1898-99, 1899–1900, 1900–01
- Division One
- Champions (2): 1921-22, 1922–23
- Runners-Up (3): 1897-98, 1919–20, 1920–21
- Kent Amateur League
- Champions (1): 1978-79
- Cup Winners (2): 1978-79, 1979–80
- East Kent League
- Division One Champions (2): 1897-98, 1898–99
- Thames & Medway Combination
- Winners (5): 1905-06, 1906–07, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22
- Runners-Up (6): 1901-02, 1903–04, 1911–12, 1919–20, 1922–23, 1955–56
- Section B Winners (1): 1910-11
- Essex & Herts Border Combination
- Champions (2): 1983-84, 1986–87
- Cup Winners (1): 1983-84
- Sportsmanship Shield Winners (1): 1986-87
- Eastern Floodlight League
- Winners (1): 1976-77
- S. Thames Section Winners (1): 1975-76
- Kent Senior Cup
- Winners (12): 1906-07, 1908–09, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1919–20, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1965–66, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1989–90
- Runners-Up (11): 1898-99, 1900–01, 1920–21, 1963–64, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1986–87, 1987–88
- Kent Senior Shield
- Runners-Up (2): 1919-20, 1921–22
- Kent Intermediate Cup
- Runners-Up (1): 1986-87
- Kent Amateur Cup
- Winners (3): 1955-56, 1960–61, 1961–62
- Runners-Up (4): 1947-48, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1964–65
- Kent Floodlight Cup
- Winners (1): 1972-73
- Runners-Up (1): 1968-69
- Kent Floodlight Trophy
- Winners (2): 1976-77, 1977–78
- Kent Victory Cup
- Runners-Up (1): 1919-20
- Kent Messenger Trophy
- Winners (1): 1973-74
- Runners-Up (1): 1974-75
- B&W Champions Cup
- Winners (1): 1987-88
- Bob Lord Trophy
- Runners-Up (1): 1984-85
- F. Budden Trophy
- Winners (1): 1984-85
- Eastern Pro-Floodlight Cup
- Runners-Up (1): 1979-80
- Stutchbury Fuels Challenge Cup
- Winners (1): 1986-87
- West Kent Challenge Cup
- Winners (1): 1979-80
- Runners-Up (1): 1982-83
- Anglo-Dutch Jubilee Cup
- Winners (1): 1977-78
- Bromley Hospital Cup
- Winners (1): 1961-62
- Chatham Charity Cup
- Runners-Up (2): 1920-21, 1921–22
Records
League positions/cup runs
- FA Cup best run - 3rd Round (replay) - 1978/79
- FA Trophy best run - Quarter final (replay) - 1986/87
- Best league position - Football League Fourth Division - 5th - 1989/90
Other records
- Most appearances - Fred Baker 383
- Highest transfer fee received - Warren Barton (£300,000)
References
- ^ a b c d e The Independent - Football: Maidstone resign from League as debts rise: Henry Winter on the demise of another football club, left without money or ground
- ^ a b c Maidstone United << The Ball is Square
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ Maidstone United - Historical Football Kits
- ^ Maidstone United F.C. - History
- ^ Show Me The Way To Go Home, Issue 76, page 20
- ^ World Cup: Lagerback faces familiar foes | Football | The Observer
Personnel Managers · PlayersHome Stadiums Bourne Park, Sittingbourne (2002-2009, 2011-present) · The Homelands, Ashford (2009-2011) · James Whatman Way, Maidstone (expected August 2012)Related articles The Original Maidstone United (1897-1992) · Isthmian League Division One South · Kent League · Isthmian Youth LeagueFormer Football League clubs Aberdare Athletic (1921–27) · Accrington (1888–93) · Accrington Stanley (1921–62) · Aldershot (1932–92) · Ashington (1921–29) · Barrow (1921–72) · Bootle (1892–93) · Boston United (2002–07) · Bradford Park Avenue (1908–70) · Burton Swifts (1892–1901) · Burton United (1901–07) · Burton Wanderers (1894–97) · Cambridge United (1970–2005) · Chester City (1931–2000, 2004–2009) · Darlington (1921–89, 1990–2010) · Darwen (1891–99) · Durham City (1921–28) · Gainsborough Trinity (1896–1912) · Gateshead (1930–60) · Glossop North End (1898–1915) · Grimsby Town (1892–1910, 1911–2010) · Halifax Town (1921–1993, 1998–2002) · Kidderminster Harriers (2000–05) · Leeds City (1905–19) · Lincoln City (1892–1908, 1909–1911, 1912–1920, 1921–1987, 1988–2011) · Loughborough (1895–1900) · Luton Town (1897–1900, 1920–2009) · Maidstone United (1989–92) · Mansfield Town (1931–2008) · Merthyr Town (1920–30) · Middlesbrough Ironopolis (1893–94) · Nelson (1921–31) · New Brighton (1923–51) · New Brighton Tower (1898–1901) · Newport County (1920–31, 1932–88) · Northwich Victoria (1892–94) · Rotherham County (1919–25) · Rotherham Town (1893–96) · Rushden & Diamonds (2001–06) · Scarborough (1987–99) · South Shields (1919–30) · Southport (1921–78) · Stalybridge Celtic (1921–23) · Stockport County (1900–2011) · Thames (1930–32) · Wigan Borough (1921–31) · Wimbledon (1977–2004) · Workington (1951–77) · Wrexham (1921–2008) · York City (1929–2004)Categories:- Maidstone (borough)
- Defunct English football clubs
- Association football clubs established in 1897
- Sport in Kent
- Defunct Football League clubs
- Southern Football League clubs
- Corinthian League (football)
- Athenian League
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