Maidstone United F.C.
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| Maidstone United | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Maidstone United Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Stones, The Old Maiden, Invicta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1897 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Bourne Park, Sittingbourne (groundshare) |
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| Capacity | 3,000 (200 Seated) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Paul Bowden-Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Lloyd Hume and Alan Walker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Isthmian League First Division South |
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| 2005/06 | Kent League Premier Division Champions |
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Maidstone United Football Club are an English football team from Maidstone, Kent. Former members of the Football League between 1989 and 1992, they were forced out of the league by financial ruin but the youth squad formed the nucleus of a new club. The 'Stones' were elected to the Kent County League Fourth Division in 1993 and have since progressed through the pyramid. In 2005/06 they won the Kent League and are playing in the Isthmian League First Division in the 2006/2007 season.
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[edit] The first Maidstone United
The original Maidstone United club was formed in 1897 and played in various Amateur leagues such as the Corinthian, Athenian and latterly the Isthmian League before joining the Southern League, the major semi-professional league in southern England, in 1971/1972. At the time the club stated that it was their ambition to be in the Football League within 10 years and considerable improvements to the playing squad and facilities at the Athletic Ground on London Road were carried out.
After many years as a mediocre amateur club, their first season as a 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 Premier Division. They continued to advance 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.
At the time of their first championship, Maidstone failed to gain promotion to the Football League because they lost out in the elections. By the time they won the Conference again in 1989, however, automatic promotion had been introduced, largely due to the efforts of the Stones' own chairman Jim Thompson, who was a leading light on the Conference committee. Maidstone thus became members of the Football League Fourth Division. Coincidentally, Kent's only existing League club, Gillingham, had been relegated to Division Four in the same season, thereby setting up the League's first ever Kent derby. In 1987 the Stones had left their ground in Maidstone having sold the land on which it stood to MFI; they switched to ground-sharing with Dartford for their home matches, so Gillingham fans dubbed them "The Squatters".
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 their opponents 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; he'd enjoyed some success at the Cobblers, winning promotion a few seasons before. Carr favoured a direct approach to football,an idea which is usually accepted by football fans so long as it is successful - sadly for Carr, at Maidstone it wasn't, and ugly football combined with some poor results led to a rapid disenchantment on the part of the fans.
By this time, the club were lurching into serious financial problems. Their attempts at finding a suitable site for a new stadium in Maidstone were floundering on planning difficulties; a preferred site to the East of Maidstone was thrown out by the council because it lay in a conservation area, whilst a further site to the west was also rejected by Tonbridge and Malling Council, in whose district it lay. Confident the latter would pass the planning process, the club had gambled and paid £400,000 for the land - a huge sum they could not afford. With dwindling gates, caused by the 50-mile round trip for fans to Dartford, the poor performances on the field and substantial running costs (including massive match-day police bills), the writing was on the wall.
Things could only get worse for Maidstone. Inevitably, the entire squad of players were put up for sale to raise cash, and the cherry-picking made the first team even worse. By the 1991 - 92 season, the team had reached rock bottom. The club was put up for sale but with huge debts, no ground and a poor team, nobody who could be taken seriously was interested. A consortium from the North East wanted to buy the club, move it to Tyneside and rename it 'Newcastle Blue Star'; that was about as good as the offers would get.
On the football side, Graham Carr was sacked after a predictable poor run of results at the start of the 91 - 92 season. His assistant Clive Walker (not the former Chelsea player) took over, and did a remarkable job of keeping the Stones off the foot of the table considering the threadbare and largely talentless squad he had inherited. 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 an ageing but capable Liburd Henry) saw them through without being relegated.
Due to their crippling debts, the Stones had their first game of the new Division Three season cancelled at the start of 1992-93. They were given 48 hours to guarantee that they would be able to complete the season's fixtures. Unable to come up with the necessary backing, Maidstone became only the third club to resign from the Football League mid-season and went into liquidation. Controversially, Dartford FC also went bankrupt, many blaming this on the fact Stones chairman Jim Thompson was also on the Dartford board. It was also alleged that a housing company who purchased the old ground for development had strong links with Thompson. Subsequently, Jim Thompson was banned from involvement with football clubs by an FA disciplinary hearing. He remains a prominent figure in the town, having been Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for many years. It is rumoured he now has involvement with cricket's 'Harlem Globetrotters' Lashings World XI, also based in Maidstone.
[edit] Rising from the ashes
A new club, Maidstone Invicta, was formed within days, and joined the Fourth Division of the Kent County League for the 1993-94 season. Initially, Jim Thompson ran the club, but after his ban Paul Bowden-Brown took over. A highly committed and popular chairman, Bowden-Brown remains in his post to this day.
In 1996 the original Maidstone United name was re-introduced, and in 2001 Maidstone won promotion to the Kent League Premier Division. The club's long term target is to return to the Football League. They may be a step closer, having won the Kent League in 2005-06 and gaining promotion to the Ryman League.
[edit] Honours Since Reforming
- Kent County League Div 4 - 1993/94
- West Kent Challenge Shield - 1993/94, 1998/99
- Tunbridge Wells Charity Cup - 1993/94
- Kent County League Div 2 - 1994/95
- Kent Junior Cup - 1994/95
- Kent County League Div 1 - 1998/99
- Weald of Kent Charity Cup - 1999/2000, 2000/01
- Kent League Premier Division - 2001/02, 2005/06
- Kent League Premier Division Cup - 2001/02, 2005/06
- Kent League Charity Shield - 2002, 2003
- Kent Senior Trophy - 2002/03
[edit] Records Since Reforming
Attendances:
- Friendly - 12/03/02 - 1589 - Gillingham
- FA Cup - 29/09/02 - 937 - Boreham Wood
- FA Trophy - 05/11/06 - 321 - Ashford Town (Middlesex)
- FA Vase - 19/11/05 - 423 - Andover
- Isthmian League - 25/11/06 - 719 - Dover Athletic
- Kent League - 25/03/06 - 573 - Beckenham Town
- Kent County League - 16/04/01 - 320 - Snodland
Results:
- Victory - 26/03/94 - 12-1 - Aylesford - Kent County League Div 4
- Defeat - 24/02/96 - 2-8 - Scott Sports - Kent County League Div 1
Positions:
- FA Cup Best Run - 3rd Qualifying Round - 2002/03
- FA Trophy Best Run - 2nd Qualifying Round - 2006/07
- FA Vase Best Run - 3rd Round - 2001/02
- Best League Position - Kent League Premier Division - 1st - 2001/02, 2005/06
[edit] Current Squad
The club's squad includes the following players:
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[edit] Management staff
- Manager - Lloyd Hume
- Manager - Alan Walker
- Scout - Chris 'Scruffy' Hiscock
- Physio - Tim Warden
[edit] Famous former players
- David Sadler - born in Yalding and attended Maidstone Tech (now Oakwood Park 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 - manager of Bristol City, Blackburn Rovers, Malmö FF, Sampdoria, Viking F.K., 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, 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 [1].
[edit] Stadium
Maidstone currently play their home games in Sittingbourne, but in November 2004 were granted planning permission to build a new stadium on Whatman Way in Maidstone town centre, on the banks of the River Medway. After numerous delays due to legal wranglings, the ground is expected to be completed in time for the 2007/2008 season, which will mark the first time that the club have played a home game at a ground they own within the town since selling their London Road ground in 1988.
[edit] External links
- Maidstone United Official Website
- Show Me The Way To Go Home - an unofficial Maidstone United fanzine
- Maidstone United Blogger
- Total Maidstone - The definitive site for all things Maidstone!
- Stones fixtures and club directory site, from the maker of Total Maidstone
