Whitstable Town F.C.

Whitstable Town
Full name Whitstable Town Football Club
Nickname(s) The Oystermen
Founded 1886
Ground The Belmont Ground
Whitstable
Kent
(Capacity: 3,000)
Chairman Joe Brownett
Manager Justin Luchford
League Isthmian League Division One South
2010–11 Isthmian League Division One South, 15th
Home colours
Away colours

Whitstable Town F.C. is a football club based in Whitstable, Kent, England. The club was established in 1885 and joined the Kent League in 1950. In the 1996-97 season, the team reached the 5th round of the FA Vase. They were champions of the Kent League Premier Division in the 2006-07 season and were promoted to the Isthmian League.

Contents

History

Although the first recorded football match in Whitstable was in 1885, the first record of Whitstable Town's existence was the following year. After a couple of years playing in a field behind the railway station, the club relocated to The Belmont Ground in 1888, where they play to this day.

In 1909 the Oystermen joined the original Kent League, where they played until it folded in 1959, winning the Division Two title three times. They also lifted the Kent Amateur Cup (now Kent Senior Trophy) in 1929. After the collapse of the Kent League, the club played for a while in the Aetolian League, but this meant long trips to play London teams as opposed to the earlier money-spinning East Kent derbies, and this was a period of financial struggle for the club, which dropped into the amateur leagues for a number of years.

In the late 1960s the Kent League reformed, with the Oystermen among the founder members. They also attracted national publicity in 1989 when striker Gerry Allen scored a goal after just 4 seconds of a match. They had remained members of the Kent League until their promotion to the Isthmian League in 2007.

Ground

The Belmont Ground boasts a seated stand along one side as well as covered terracing behind each goal. Within the last ten years the dressing rooms and clubhouse have been completely refurbished, a new snack bar built and floodlights erected. Whitstable Town are the best supported Kent team in the Isthmian League South. Their major local rival is Herne Bay. When the two teams were most recently in the same league, their matches regularly attracted 400 or more fans. More recent matches against Margate in the FA Cup and Dover in the Isthmian League have attracted more that 1000 supporters.

Honours

Club records

Current playing squad

Sources

External links