| Full name | Ashford United Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Nuts & Bolts | ||
| Founded | 1891 (reformed in 2011) | ||
| Ground | The Homelands, Kingsnorth (Capacity: 3200 (500 seated)) |
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| Chairman | Ernie Warren | ||
| Manager | Paul Chambers | ||
| League | Kent Invicta League | ||
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Ashford United F.C. are an English football club based in Ashford, Kent. The 'new' United was formed in 2011 (resurrecting a name used by the town's football club around the advent of the twentieth century). Between 1930 and 2010 the town was represented by Ashford Town FC, before it ultimately went into administration. Ashford United are currently members (2011–12) of the Kent Invicta League.
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The roots of senior football in Ashford originate in 1881 with the South Eastern Rangers who played at Newtown Green (with dressing rooms in the adjacent Alfred Arms). The club reached the Final of the Kent County Badge competition (the fore-runner of the Kent Senior Cup) in 1886 and 1888 but lost on both occasions to Chatham.
In 1891 the original Ashford United was formed when the South Eastern Rangers amalgamated with Kentish Express FC. Initially their home ground was at the back of the Victoria Hotel. About 700 people yielding gate receipts of £5 were present for 'United's' first match on 19 September 1891, a defeat by the Highland Light Infantry 1-5. The team exceeded the exploits of their fore-runners and defeated Chatham 2-0 in winning the Kent Senior Cup in 1893. The club were founder members of the Kent Premier League in 1894-95 with a reserve side playing in Kent League 2. The club relocated to an enclosed ground - with a timber built stand - at Godinton Road. Team colours at the time were black and white striped shirts. The team appeared in the Kent Cup Final for two successive years, 1902 and 1903 but were unsuccessful on both occasions: losing a replay 1-4 to Sittingbourne (a last minute penalty equaliser against Ashford causing the replay) and to Maidstone respectively. In 1907 owing to a lack of support at their Godinton Road ground (which being beyond the railway bridge was a fair distance from the town and their previous base in the Newtown area), the club suffering from heavy debts was unable to fulfill its fixtures and ceased playing mid-season.
Shortly afterwards however a new club was formed, playing as the Ashford Railway Works. The club's home ground was relocated back to Newtown on land provided rent-free by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway. Playing in the Eastern Section of the Kent League and wearing red and green quartered colours, the team enjoyed considerable success winning the League in four successive seasons, 1912, 1913, 1914 & 1920 (the latter after the break caused by the Great War). It was around this time that the club acquired its nickname of the ‘Nuts and Bolts’ as many of the members were drawn from the ranks of skilled engineers in the railway. The club became more commonly known as 'Ashford' upon the post-war resumption of the Kent League competition. However once more fate took a hand and in 1928 the club folded leaving the Town with no senior club.
The decision to found Ashford Town was taken at a meeting in April 1930 chaired by Sir Charles Iggledon, who was the editor of the Kentish Express. Ashford Town were elected to the Kent League, and played their first match on August 30 of the same year at the railway works ground with Canterbury Waverley the visitors. The result was a 4-2 victory. In 1931 the club moved to Essella Park. Initially the ground was provided rent-free by Fred Norman. He was co-founder and co-owner of Norman Cycles and would go on to become Club President post second war. The rent-free arrangement remained in place until the 1950s at which time the club purchased the freehold for £2,060-7s - reputedly the sum Norman had paid for the land many years earlier. The Essella park pitch featured a notable slope with the goal at the Willesborough end being considerably higher than that at the Ashford end. The last home game played by the club in 1939 before suspension of matches owing to the second war saw the 'Town' triumph over Bexley Heath to win the Kent League Cup.
After the war the club re-formed in 1946 and with Joe Fagg as manager were Kent League champions in 1948-49. This success was by 'goal average' as three clubs (Ashford, Dover and Ramsgate) all finished the campaign with 52 points from 34 matches. The team scored a post-war high of 109 goals in their league campaign (still the highest today). It was almost a double celebration as the reserve side missed out on top spot in the Kent League Division 2 with Folkestone's reserves taking the honours. The Ashford second string were however subsequently successful, taking the Kent League Division 2 title in the 1952-53 and 1955-56 campaigns.
In 1958 Ted Ballard (a former full-back with Leyton Orient and Southampton) was appointed as manager of the club. In the 1958-59 season, the club (and for a second time a club representing Ashford) won the Kent Senior Cup, beating on this occasion Tonbridge 2-1. In the same season, whilst still playing in the Kent League, Ashford Town reached the FA Cup First Round proper. They lost 1-0 to Football League opposition, Crystal Palace, in front of an Essella Park ground record of 6,525 spectators. This match was refereed by a youthful Jack Taylor who climaxed his career as referee at the 1974 World Cup Final. This season was the first of four consecutive appearances by Ashford (who remained managed by Ted Ballard throughout this time) in the FA Cup first round proper. For each of these years they would ultimately fall to teams from the Football League.
The league competition in which the club played, the Kent League (which had been in existence since 1894), was disbanded in 1959. Together with seven refugees fom this League (Folkestone, Ramsgate, Margate, Dover, Bexleyleath and Welling, Tunbridge Wells and Sittingbourne) the club joined the Southern League.
Ashford's 44-year membership of the Southern League commenced in the 1959-60 season as members of the newly formed Division One (the second level of the Southern League) - the league included the rumps of the previous South East and North West Divisions together with two additional new recruits, Hinckley Athletic and Romford. Away matches for the team involved more extensive travelling with trips to amongst others Exeter City Reserves, Merthyr Tydfil, Kidderminster, Burton Albion and Cambridge City to be negotiated. The 'Town's' first match in the new league was 22 August 1959 and was a 8-1 reverse at fellow newcomers Hinckley Athletic. Four days later playing the other newly recruited club Romford in front of a 2,800 crowd at Essella Park Ashford notched their first points courtesy of a 1-0 victory (scorer: Murfet). The season also witnessed the teams second successive appearance in the First round proper of the FA Cup: the result a defeat 5-0 at League club Brentford in front of a crowd of 13,900 - the largest single match crowd to see the 'Town' play. In making this round of the cup once again Ashford Town were awarded full membership of the Football Association, an honour much cherished by the club.
But 1959 was not all about action on the pitch. In this year the club became a Limited Company. But a more visible milestone was appearance of floodlighting at the Essella Road ground. The installation of the 'Do it Yourself' floodlighting was perhaps the best example of voluntary effort at the club. The self designed and installed system comprised eight 40 foot high towers each housing four 2,000 watt lamps. The total output was thus 64 kilowatts and had required an up-rated power supply to be laid to the ground. The overall cost was £1,507.10s.5d. It is reported that only once in their 28 year lifetime did the power fail. The lights were officially switched on with a Grand Opening Floodlight Game on Monday 19 October 1959 with First Division Chelsea the visitors. England forward and football legend Jimmy Greaves bagged four goals in a 7-2 victory for the Londoners, with Ron Vigar and Gordon Burden[1] netting for the home side.
The 1960-61 campaign saw the club's FA Cup exploits curtailed once again in the First Round proper with a 1-2 home loss (Town scorer: Joe White) to League club Gillingham. The following season's cup run in the 1961-62 season was the next high-point in Ashford Town's history when the club reached the FA Cup 2nd round proper. After beating (then non-league) Wycombe Wanderers in the First Round (winning a replay at Essella Park) the club lost 0-3 on home turf to Queens Park Rangers. Minor cup success was tasted once again though in 1962-63 with the winning for the third time of the club of the Kent Senior Cup. Although the club had for many years played in green and white, for a while in the sixties they adopted tangerine and white for their team colours. By the end of the decade they reverted to their 'traditional' green and white.
In the 1964-65 season the club appointed First Division championship medal holder Peter Sillett, an ex-England and Chelsea full back, as player-manager, replacing the previous incumbent Frank Sibley. In season 1966-67 by beating Cambridge City in the first round the club once again advanced to the 2nd Round proper of the FA Cup, with a visit to Third Division Swindon Town the prize. The initial tie on the Saturday was postponed owing to frozen pitch at the County Ground. The re-arranged fixture provided no respite however with Ashford falling 5-0 to Swindon.
It wasn't until the end of the sixties though that elusive League success was achieved. Throughout its Southern League tenure Ashford had been a mid/lower table team. Their previous high point was 7th in 1963-64. But this was eclipsed by a fourth placed finish under the managership of Peter Sillett in 1969-70 - a position that was rewarded with promotion to the Southern League Premier Division. This was a big step up for the club and represents their highest placing in the football pyramid. They were only one division below the Football League - indeed the 1969-70 Southern Premier champions, Cambridge United, had been elected to the Football League (their being no automatic promotion at this time).
Ashfords first match in the 1970-71 Premier was a 1-1 draw at home to Weymouth with Ashford equalising through Terry Street with the very last kick of the match. Two days later Ashford (extremely) briefly topped the table courtesy of a 1-3 win at Margate. But with only eight wins all season the club finished 20th (from 22) and were relegated. Notable performances during the campaign came from the men between the posts: The previous seasons keeper David Hills ceased playing early in the season; for several games a temporary replacement, former 1950's Chelsea goalie, Bob Robertson appeared; new custodian Brian Gambrill signed-on for £300 from Canterbury City and conceded seven goals on his home debut (in a 7-1 loss to Worcester City - David Gillingwater hitting the 'Town's' lone marker); mid-season he became injured and for several matches local amateur 'keeper Reg Gorham stepped in (echoing the make-up of the original Ashford United club he worked for the local free-sheet newspaper). The latter back-stopped the club to a 4-2 home win against Hillingdon Borough to snap a 14 game winless run.
The demotion from the Southern Premier put Ashford for the 1971-72 season in the now regionalised level of the Southern League Division One South. The following season, 1972–73, Ashford's best ever non-league knock-out cup competition placing occurred when they reached the semi-final of the FA Trophy - just one match from a Wembley final. Alas the dream was not to be as they lost 1-0 to a disputed second half penalty to Northern Premier League Scarborough (who would themselves go on to win the trophy) in a match played on neutral turf at Peterborough. Ironically for a club so linked to the railways, supporters travelling on a special train arrived 15 minutes after the kick-off following a delay en-route of that train. Ashford finished third in the 1972-73 Southern League Division One South (a position not having the prize of promotion). Alan Morton set a club record scoring 46 goals in 69 games, which still stands today. There are two other notable events from the 1972-73 the season. Firstly Roy Hodgson, who has since risen to be amongst Europe's foremost managers, played for the Town. Secondly the club took part in European football in the appropriately named Cross Channel Cup. Teams from French towns near the coast (Boulogne, St Omer and (?)) played similarly positioned English clubs (Ashford, Folkestone and (?)). Despite the 'Nuts and Bolts' fulfilling a couple of away fixtures the competition fizzled out partly owing to power blackouts within the UK caused by industrial disputes.
Around the early seventies the club began looking for a new ground. They favoured re-location to a site adjacent to the local authorities leisure complex close to the town centre. But no relocation was agreed and the search for new premises wasn't resolved until towards the end of the next decade. Player-wise goalkeper Tony Godden signed in 1972. He was later transferred in 1975 (for a very modest £1,500) to the talented West Bromwich Albion team who would, with him playing his part, come close to lifting the Football League League Winners Trophy in 1979.
During the 1973-74 season long-time manager Peter Sillett moved to Folkestone and was replaced by Dennis Hunt who moved in the opposite direction. Dennis had been a member of the Gillingham team that defeated Ashford in the FA cup in 1960-61. He brought with him Trevor Pearce who five years earlier had been plucked form non-league football by Arsenal. A modicum of progress was made by the Ashford team in reaching the FA Cup First round proper in 1974-75 with a home tie against Division 3 outfit Walsall. The originally scheduled Saturday match was postponed and moved to mid-week. Ashford's floodlights were not deemed of the required standard at this time so the match was played on the following Wednesday afternoon in font of an understandably thin crowd. The result was a victory to Walsall 1-3 (Town scorer: John Hold).
The club hit the local press for all the wrong reasons early in 1977 with stories that the club was two weeks from bankruptcy. There followed a drastic re-organisation and effort both on and off the field which over several years restored equilibrium. Unfortunately one of the adjustments was to the playing staff. Gordon Burden[1] who had first played for the club in 1954-55, became manager in what was his fourth stint at the club. On field performance suffered and the club endured a run of lowly finishes. The season 1978-79 was a particular nadir as the team scored a post-war record low of 28 league goals from a programme of 40 matches. Overall the team scored 35 in their total of 46 matches in all competitions, Dave Clay[2] top-scored with 8 and Peter McRobert next with 7. In 1979-80 there was a major re-organisation of non-league football with the creation in of the Alliance Premier League (the forerunner to the Football Conference).
With the creation of the Alliance Premier taking the top clubs from the Southern and Northern Premier Leagues the Southern League was re-organised into Southern and Midland Divisions (with no Premier Division). For the 1979-80 season Ashford Town were placed in the Southern Division. With the club still under its financial re-building and with southern based former Premier teams (who hadn't made the cut into the Alliance) making up part of the opposition, lowly league finishes continued for the Town team. There was some light however as the team reached the Kent Senior Cup final for two years in succession in 1980-81 and 1981-82. On neither occasion were the boys able to bring home the silverware, losing to Gravesend & Northfleet and Maidstone United respectively.
For the 1982-83 season the Southern Premier Division was re-introduced with regional-based Southern and Midland leagues below. Ashford Town remained in the Southern Division and although ostensibly staying in the same league this was a slide down the football pyramid - now being in the third level below the Football League. Ashford had not played below at least the second level for 23 years. After a couple of 8th-place finishes, two lower placings saw the re-appointment of Peter Sillett as manager. The turnaround from 18th position in 1985-86 to League runners-up and promotion in 1986-87 was marked. The promotion was founded on a tight defensive unit who conceded only 32 goals – the fewest in a season since post-war soccer resumed in Ashford in 1946. Sillett was the first manager to pilot the club to promotion since he initially achieved the feat back in 1969-70 season. Assisting him in the role of trainer on both occasions was George Sargeant. The former Irish Cup winner had previously played for the Town, joining from Hastings in 1952 and fulfilled the 'man with the magic wet sponge' role since the 1960s and would continue for a good few more years yet!
But the 1986-87 season wasn't all about promotion. It marked the season when the club would bid farewell to Essella Park as their home after 56 years. The final game on May 2, 1987 was in fact a title decider with Dorchester Town The 0-0 result meant the Dorset club pipped Ashford to the League title by 1 point. As noted previously the club had been looking to relocate away from the ground, which was in a residential district and hemmed in by houses, for over 15 years and along the way had looked at 17 sites. The Directors had now taken the plunge and purchased a plot of land for £80,000 a few miles beyond the immediate boundaries of the town in Kingsnorth. Whilst this project echoed the actions of Ashford United who re-located too far from its core supporters and ultimately collapsed in 1907, it was hoped that the greater mobility of people in the late twentieth century the better facilities to be built up at the new stadium would not cause a repeat occurrence. At the time of the final fixture at Essella Park they still awaited planning permission for the new 'Homelands' stadium development. The club were without a home, however, and for the next two years would ground-share with neighbours and longtime rivals Folkestone.
For these two seasons the club played Southern Premier League football - with the league now sponsored by Beazer Homes. And they continued at this grade for their opening season (1989–90) at the new Homelands stadium. The stadium boasted a capacity of 3,300 with 500 seated. But it wasn't an auspicious inaugural season and the club were relegated. For the following six campaigns they played back in the Southern Division. But the old cup spirit of the 'Nuts and Bolts' began to stir once again with the lifting of the Kent Senior Cup in 1992-93. This was followed two seasons later with the first appearance of Ashford Town in the First Round proper of the FA Cup for 20 years - and began a run of three years reaching this level.
The 1994-95 match was at home to Fulham and watched by a Homelands record crowd of 3,363. Neil Cugley's side achieved a more than creditable draw 2–2 against their Third Division opponents. Neil had been a non-playing member of Ashfords squad in their last appearance in the First Round in 1974-75. On a heavy waterlogged pitch the Ashford took a two goal lead (through Jeff Ross and Dave Arter) before two late penalties rescued the League team. The Town succumbed 5-3 after extra time at Craven Cottage in the replay. The season also marked only the second time in post-war football that Ashford scored in excess of 100 league goals - their 106 was second only to the 109 scored by the 1948-49 Kent League winning team.
The following season the first round draw wasn't so kind with non-league Bognor Regis Town were paired with Ashford with the tie at Bognor. Ashford did the hard work, achieving a 1-1 draw on the south coast but lost 0-1 at home in the replay. It was the first time the club had been knocked out in the 'proper' rounds of the cup by a fellow non-league team. Perhaps the team were trying to save the supporters the trauma of a trip to Peterborough (the scene of the 1972-73 FA Trophy semi-final defeat) who awaited them in the next round. The 1995-96 season wasn't a complete right-off however as Ashford wom the Kent Senior Cup and more importantly finished second in their division and gained promotion once again to the Southern League Premier Division.
In the 1996-97 cup run, the first round tie saw Ashford once again meet non-league opposition in the form of Dagenham And Redbridge. Following a 2-2 away draw Ashford brought the 'Daggers' back to Homelands. The replay ended 1-1 but Ashford progressed to the second round by winning 4-3 on penalties. For the Second Round match Ashford were drawn away at Watford. The result echoed previous away ties to league clubs for Ashford and resulted in a 5-0 defeat. In the league (now with the sponsor Dr Martens) the season ended poorly, with a finishing position of 19th and the club was only saved from relegation by the resignation of Sudbury Town.
However relegation couldn't be evaded in the 1997-98 campaign and 21st place saw them consigned once again to the Southern Division for 1998-99. For the following 1999-2000 season the league engaged in another re-organising and re-naming exercise for its divisions and Ashford competed as a Southern League, Division One Eastern team. It was back to mid-table finishes although in 2000-01 season Ashford advanced to the 4th round of the FA trophy, defeated in Weymouth 1-3 to end 'Towns' best run since 1972-73 in the competition. Around this time to differentiate it from the similarly named team from Middlesex, the club became known as Ashford Town (Kent). The campaign of 2003-2004 marked Ashford's last as a Southern League club after 44 years under their umbrella – there was more re-organisation afoot of the non-league scene.
The 2004-05 season re-organisation was brought about by the introduction of a North and South regional Conference leagues below the Premier. There was also the establishment of boundaries between the Southern and Isthmian League (which hitherto had overlapped). After it was all done and dusted Ashford Town found themselves in the Isthmian League Division One. This was a further demotion down the non-league structure for the club who were now in what was referred to as 'step 4' of non-league football (i.e. four levels below the Football League). In their first season at this level the team finished 20th of 22 and fared no better the following campaign (21st of 23). Former player Steve Lovell became manager at the beginning of November 2007 replacing former Chelsea player Clive Walker. In season 2008-09 the performances improved and the club finished 8th in Isthmian League Division One. But the 2009-10 season witnessed significant splits in the boardroom which affected the on-field activity and the club barely clung to their Division One status - only by beating Chatham in their final game.
But it was all to no avail, the summer of 2010 marked the end of Ashford Town FC after a history of 80 years. During this time they had won only one League championship - the Kent league in 1948-49 but had enjoyed a few promotions and cup exploits along the way. Although relegation had usually followed shortly after the promotions the post war record of the team was that they had never for any season finished bottom of their League - albeit it was close on more than one occasion![3]
At the end of the 2009-10 campaign the club owed money to Ebbsfleet United[4] and under Football Association rules whilst this remained unpaid they were suspended from competition. They could therefore no longer continue in the Isthmian League and as the Directors dispute continued and the debt remained unpaid they failed in their application to be admitted to the Kent Premier League. With no resolution and matters between directors Tony Betteridge and Don Crosbie being taken to court the town had no senior club playing non-league football for the 2010-11 season.
During what transpired to be a short one season hiatus the club was reformed as Ashford United[5] (harking back to before the Ashford Town days!). The club adopted the same crest as their forerunners, Ashford Town, except of course the word 'United' now replaced 'Town' and the simple wording 'Founded 1930' was expanded to 'Founded 1891, Reformed 2011'. The home ground for the club remained at 'Homelands'.
Under FA rules the 'new' Ashford United were not permitted to re-join the league where their predecessors had left-off: for their inaugural season of 2011-12 they were placed into 'step 6' football in the newly formed Kent Invicta League.
Goalkeepers
Defenders
Midfield
Forwards
| The Homelands | |
|---|---|
| Full name | The Homelands Stadium |
| Location | Kingsnorth, Kent, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°6′18″N, 0°51′21.51″E |
| Built | 1989 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Capacity | 3,200 (500 seated) |
| Tenants | |
| Ashford Town 1989–2010 Margate 2004–05 Maidstone United 2009–2011 Ashford United 2011– |
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Ashford have played at the Homelands since it was built in 1989. In 2004 Conference South Margate spent a season groundsharing at the ground while they tried to bring their Hartsdown Park stadium up to standard. In 2009 a deal was agreed for Maidstone United to groundshare at the stadium while they tried to build their James Whatman Way ground. Maidstone spent two years at The Homelands before returning to play at Sittingbourne's Bourne Park, where the Stones had previously groundshared from 2002 until 2009.
The record attendance at the ground is 3,363 for a match against Fulham in the first round of the 1994-95 FA Cup.
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