Sittingbourne F.C.

History

See: List of Sittingbourne F.C. seasons

Although an earlier Sittingbourne United club had been playing since 1881, Sittingbourne F.C. traces its lineage to 1886 when the club was reorganised under its current name. After playing at the Recreation Ground and then the original Gore Court the club moved to a field behind the Bull pub in 1892, where they were to remain for ninety-eight years. The club acquired Senior status in 1893, and entered the FA Cup for the first occasion in 1893–1994, losing at home 6–0 to the 1st Highland Light Infantry.

1894 to 1959: Kent, South Eastern and Southern Leagues

In 1894 Sittingbourne were a founder club of Division One of the original Kent League (with a reserve side playing in Division Two), finishing sixth from nine teams. The club was nicknamed 'The Brickies', owing to the town having a major brick-making industry. They achieved their first FA Cup victory in the 1894–1895 competition, defeating Ashford United 4–0 away in the first qualifying round before losing in the next round 8–0 at Chatham. In 1896 the club were disqualified from the competition after prioritising a Kent League match over a second replay against Romford. An enduring club record was established over the 1895–1896 Kent League season when they conceded in excess of 3.3 goals per league match played (73 goals over twenty-two matches). Initially run on an amateur basis, Sittingbourne FC adopted professionalism for the 1898–99 season.

The club were Kent League Division One runners-up for two successive seasons, 1900–01 and 1901–02 – in the latter season they tied on points for top spot but lost a Championship play-off match 1–0 against Cray Wanderers; in the season the club conceded only thirteen goals over twenty Kent League fixtures – a rate of 0.65 per match, a then record low that would stand for eighty-nine seasons – with goalkeeper J Macey keeping ten clean sheets. There was a success that season for 'The Brickies' when they won the Kent Senior Cup defeating Ashford United in the final 4–1 after a replay, having equalised through a penalty two minutes from time in the first match. From the 1901–02 season the club began additionally playing in the Thames and Medway Combination as a subsidiary competition. The following 1902–03 season Sittingbourne won both leagues in which they competed: they were champions of Kent League Division One, in which they lost only one match from sixteen played and conceded only eleven goals with goalkeeper Macey keeping eight clean sheets; and champions of the Thames and Medway Combination, in which they lost only one match from twelve played and conceded only eight goals with Macey keeping seven clean sheets. Following successive third-place finishes in the Kent League over the next two seasons the club resigned from the league in 1905 and became members of the South Eastern League, joining Division Two.

Sittingbourne were runners-up in their initial season in the South Eastern League and earned promotion to Division One – scoring eighty two goals over twenty-two matches, a club enduring record rate of 3.7 goals per game. Playing mostly against reserves teams from higher leagues based over a larger geographic area than the Kent League – the majority of clubs were London based however there were also journeys to Norwich, Luton and Brighton – in the following season 'the Brickies' finished sixth in their first season in Division One. Following two losing seasons where the club finished towards the bottom of the table they left the South Eastern League and returned, in 1909, to the reconstituted and enlarged Kent League. During this period, Sittingbourne were champions of the 1907–08 season Thames and Medway Combination (the league comprising five clubs) and runners-up of that league the following season (losing-out to Sheppey United in a first place play-off match). In a disappointing sequence the club were losing finalists in four of the five Kent Senior Cup finals between 1904 and 1908. The club was involved in a significant transfer in 1905 when it received a £25 fee for right winger Alex Birnie from Football League First Division club Everton.

1959 to 1967: Southern League

Following the demise of the Kent League in 1959 Sittingbourne became members of the Southern League joining at their second tier Division One level along with eight former Kent League adversaries. For the first two seasons in the division, 1959–60 and 1960–61 the club missed out on promotion to the Premier Division owing to an inferior goal average to the club in the final promotion position. The club reached the Kent Senior Cup final in 1960–61 but were not victorious. Manager Clarke resigned in May 1961 and the club reverted to employing a player-manager, Charles Rutter. He steered 'the Brickies' to a top third of the table finish in his first season in charge, 1960–61, after which along with twenty-six non–League clubs Sittingbourne applied for election to the Football League to fill the vacancy created by the collapse of Accrington Stanley; Sittingbourne were one of fifteen other applicants who failed to obtain a single vote (Oxford United from the Southern League Premier Division were elected). In early November 1962, for the last occasion to date (as of 2024), the club reached the proper rounds of the FA Cup, losing 3–0 at fellow Division One South club Hinckley Athletic. This came at a moment when the club had recorded only one win from seven league matches and next suffered a heavy defeat in a Kent Floodlight Cup match; shortly afterwards manager Rutter resigned. For the remainder of the season the team was selected by the management committee and finished towards the foot of the league table. The next managerial appointment was Poole Town manager Ray King who took up his duties in May 1963. During this period the club had continued to compete in, on a subsidiary competition basis, the Thames and Medway Combination and were champions for four consecutive seasons: 1960–61 (when they defeated Ramsgate Athletic 1–0 in the inter-divisional play-off), 1961–62 (when, in a match held-over to the start of the next season, they defeated Herne Bay 2–0 in the inter-divisional play-off), 1962–63 (when it was played as a cup competition, winning the final 4–0 over Tilbury) and in 1963–64 (competing in a four team league). In November 1963 with the club operating at a financial loss, the players' wages were cut, manager King resigned and the club management committee resumed team responsibilities after which the club once again placed in the lower third of the table, but having released eight professional players by the season's end had shored-up the club finances. Running under continued financial constraints and without a professional team manager in the 1964–65 season the club conceded in excess of 100 league goals (as they would over the following two seasons) and finished bottom of the league; but as there was no automatic relegation and courtesy of successful re-election the club maintained their position in Division One of the Southern League. The following campaign with finances remaining problematic the club placed nineteenth from twenty-four teams. Next, over the 1966–67 season in the league Sittingbourne finished bottom of 24 teams, having won a club season low of five matches, for the first time ever scoring at a rate of less than one goal per league match (forty-four goals from forty-six matches played) and conceded a then record 136 league goals (approaching three per match); early in the campaign, with the club continuing to lose money, they announced their intention after an eight-season stay to resign from the Southern League.

1967 to 1991: Kent League

For the 1967–68 season Sittingbourne joined the Kent Premier League (which had developed the previous season from the Thames and Medway Combination), replacing their reserves team for the first of what became a twenty-four season stay in the league. In the first season playing once again in a county based league the club finished as runners-up to Margate Reserves – both clubs had fifty points and the final ranking was decided by goal average. The Kent Premier League was renamed as the Kent League from the 1968–69 season and over that and the following three seasons the club achieved consecutive fourth-placed finishes in the table. From June 1971 the club were managed by Tony Oakley, he had previously been a player and had a brief spell as player-manager in 1968. Under his latest managership the club continued to feature towards the top of the table and were runners-up for two consecutive seasons: 1972–73 (when the club scored a then post-war high of 108 league goals over thirty-eight league matches with brothers Richard and Ray Hales netting sixty goals in all competitions between them); and again over the 1973–74 season; in both of these seasons the club conceded fewer than a goal per game. 'The Brickies' also appeared in the Kent League Cup final over these two seasons, losing out in the first and then in the latter they were the Kent League Cup winners defeating Chatham Town 2–1 in the final. In March 1975, with the club at the top of the Kent League table, it received a shock when Oakley died of a heart attack aged 41. In late April Gordon Burden was appointed to oversee the remainder of the season – in which the club recorded a third place in the final table and were losing finalists in the Kent League Cup. Under Burden the club won the Kent League Championship the following season, 1975–76, and almost completed a league and cup double, losing out in a replay in the league cup competition. Burden remained in charge for one more season in which the club were league runners-up. Over the 1977–78 season, initially under Mike Harrington's six-month tenure as manager and then under his replacement Peter Laraman the club dropped from their hitherto leading position to thirteenth in the league. Performances picked-up under Laraman and 'the Brickies' won the Kent League Cup in 1980–81 with a 2–1 win over Darenth Heathside and they re-established their position as one of the better teams in the league based on a tight defence that conceded less than an average of a goal a game in aggregate over the four seasons between 1980 and 1984. Over the 1981–82 season the club came within one point of topping the league and two seasons later in 1983–84 won the Kent League Championship by nine points, winning twenty-four and losing only three of thirty matches. The club then recorded three near misses for trophies: 1985–86 league runners-up (under manager Arthur Ervin); 1986–87 losing finalists after a replay in the Kent League Cup (when Roger Parker was manager); and in and 1989–90 league runners-up again (in manager Hughie Stinson' s second season).

1991 to 2006: Southern League

Sittingbourne's first season in the Southern League Southern Division, 1991–92, in which they finished ninth was not without incident: the club had six league points deducted for fielding two ineligible players and there were managerial changes: at mid-season the club had sacked manager Stinson and temporarily replaced him with his assistant Andy Woolford (who oversaw a six-match unbeaten run and was awarded a 'manager of the month' award) and then appointed former Football League player and former Maidstone United manager John Ryan in early March 1992. Over the following season under Ryan, 1992–93, Sittingbourne won promotion to the Premier Division – scoring 102 goals over their forty-two match campaign, with Dave Arter the club leading scorer with 30 goals; also in their best FA Cup performance for thirty years 'the Brickies' reached the fourth qualifying round before being eliminated in a replay at Marlow. In the Premier Division the next season after challenging at the top of the table in early-March 1994, a run of injuries, the disposal during the season of key goalscorers to refresh the squad (Jason Lillis to Walsall in October, Steve Lovell to Braintree Town in December, and Dave Arter and Jeff Ross to Ashford Town for a combined £7,000 in March), saw a run of one win, four draws and five losses over their final ten matches, in which only nine goals were scored, and a slump to eight in the end of season table. The club had recommenced playing in the FA Trophy this season and reached the third qualifying round (their then best progression in the competition) before losing a home tie 2–1 to Kingstonian. During the season there had been several notable inward transfers: Lee McRobert from Ashford Town (Kent) for £20,000 (the club's record signing), former Margate top-scorer Martin Buglione a £10,000 capture from St Johnstone and for a handful of matches former Liverpool player Jimmy Case played in the team. There were too during and after the season several outward transfers for significant sums: in November 1993 the club sold defensive duo Neil Emblen and Mike Harle to Millwall for a combined fee of £210,00; in June 1994 goalkeeper Lee Harper joined Arsenal for a fee worth up to £150,000; and in July 1994 young forward Steve Forbes went to Millwall for £50,000.

In July 1994 the club members decided that the football club should be controlled by a Limited Company: at the inaugural meeting of the company in September 1994 hitherto Chairman Mick Fletcher, who had overseen the still incomplete development of the Central Park stadium, was not voted onto the new board of Directors with Barry Bright voted the new chairman. Shortly afterwards it was revealed the club, who had sold their Bull Ground four years earlier for £6.5 million, had debts of over one million pounds with a further £685,000 required for completion of the Central Park complex. Performances in the league became a reflection of the financial constraints under which the club were operating and with the club in lower mid-table in early February manager Ryan left and was replaced by Steve Lovell who was appointed as player-manager. A few weeks later Lee McRobert became the fourth player sold by the club to Millwall in three seasons when he departed for £35,000. Lovell could not turn performances around and the club finished the 1994–95 season in the Premier Division relegation places and were sent down to the Southern Division.

2006 to date: Isthmian League

In 2006 a re-organisation of the English football league system saw Sittingbourne moved sideways into Division One South of the Isthmian League. Over the first four seasons in this division, initially under Lovell and then from November 2007 with Gary Abbott as manager, mid/upper table positions were achieved by the club. Abbott also led 'the Brickies' to a much awaited trophy: in the 2009–10 season, after a gap of 52 years, Sittingbourne won the Kent Senior Cup defeating Folkestone Invicta 3–1 in the final. On being informed that his position would become unpaid, manager Abbott quit in May 2011 and was replaced by his assistant Richard Brady. Shortly afterwards, in September 2011, he and his assistant, ex-Brickie Jamie Coyle, departed to Leatherhead. Long serving player Joe Dowley took over, initially as caretaker before in November 2011 his position was made permanent. On the field in the 2011–12 season, following a reduction in the playing budget, the club slumped to nineteenth from twenty-one clubs in the league table, escaping relegation by two points, after winning only six of forty matches and recording their lowest ever goals scored per league game ratio (0.9). Dowley resigned at the conclusion of the season and was replaced with joint managers, Scottish brothers Jim and Danny Ward (previously of Ramsgate). They oversaw a rise in the club's finishing position in the league table over the 2012–13 season to ninth.

At the end of that season Sittingbourne did not renew their lease at Bourne Park and moved to Woodstock Park, a facility two miles south of the town centre, in a groundshare with Southern Counties East Football League (formerly Kent League) club Woodstock Sports – becoming sole tenants two years later when Woodstock Sports folded. Shortly after the move Spice stood down as chairman of the club and was replaced by former player Maurice Dunk, who resigned as chairman of groundsharing club Woodstock Sports. In September 2013 the Ward brothers quit the club and over the next six seasons through to the 2018–19 season the club produced mid/lower table performances under several managers: from September 2013 joint managers Matt Wyatt with Nick Davis (then a current player and captain); then solely Wyatt for three months from July 2014; followed by former partner Davis from October 2014 for a stay of over three seasons (guiding the club to the semi-finals of the Alan Turvey Trophy (Isthmian League Cup) in the 2015–16 campaign); he was replaced in January 2018 by club coach Aslan Ödev, who remained in post twelve months; and Chris Lynch (formerly the Dover Athletic head of youth development) joined in January 2019.

Off the field, in May 2018 the club business was incorporated as a Limited Company, limited by guarantee (company registration number 11360242). From the 2018–19 season owing to expansion and realignment within the Isthmian League the club were placed in the league's South East Division, one of its three equally ranked second tier divisions. Both the 2019–20 and 2020–2021 seasons were abandoned owing to the COVID 19 pandemic (with the club not performing well in the matches actually played). In the former season after a nine match losing sequence manager Lynch resigned and was replaced by club coach Darren Blackburn who took over in February 2020, just prior to the pandemic induced shutdown. With Blackburn at the helm for the 2021–2022 season, the club achieved a position of tenth in the league table after which former manager Nick Davis was reappointed. Halfway through the following season, after a run of twelve defeats, Davis resigned and was succeeded in January 2023 by Ryan Maxwell (formerly the Braintree Town manager) as both manager and director of football. In his first full season in charge, 2023–24, 'the Brickies' achieved their highest league finishing position in twenty-eight years of third in the Isthmian South East Division table – in one of the promotion play-off positions; in their semi-final play-off match, played at Sittingbourne, the club were defeated 2–1 by Three Bridges. The company accounts covering that season indicated that the football club had increased their financial deficit over the season by £42,000 and its accumulated liabilities of £60,000 were being supported mostly by directors loans.

Stadium

Sittingbourne began playing at the Recreation Ground and then from 1890 home matches took place at the original Gore Court Cricket Ground. In 1892 they moved to a field known as Vallances Meadow behind the Bull pub in the centre of the town; the club fenced the area which then became known as the Bull Ground. In 1928 the club launched a £2,000 debenture scheme to fund a new spectator and club facilities stand at the ground which was opened in November 1929. The club acquired the ground in 1954 for a total outlay of £5,270. In 1990, having played there for a total of 98 years, the club sold the site for reportedly £6.5 million.

The club began building a new stadium on the north-eastern outskirts of the town which was named Central Park Stadium and moved on to the site, which was in the early stages of development, for the 1990–91 season. The playing pitch was part of a complex in which ancillary activities were to be accommodated, these being envisaged as assisting with covering the costs of operating the stadium and financially supporting the football operation.Overspending on the new ground caused a financial crisis at the football club which was alleviated in July 1995 when the club sold Central Park to the local council for a reported £875,000 and leased it back at an annual rental of £75,000. Greyhound racing, which had been planned when the club owned the ground, commenced at Central Park in October 1995. Following their first season as tenants of the council in July 1996, owing to unpaid rent, the club were locked-out of Central Park, but subsequently allowed limited access to stage matches. The ground was sold on by the council to a company of greyhound racing operators and in June 1997 the club signed a seven-year lease with them to secure use of Central Park as the club's home ground.

Owing to the televising of the greyhound racing the club found it hard to guarantee the availability of the stadium and moved for the 2002–03 season to a former training pitch which was part of the Central Park facility. This required significant work to bring it up to standard (including erection of a stand originally used at the Bull Ground and additional floodlights); the revamped ground was known as Bourne Park and became the club's new home ground. Between 2002 and 2009 the stadium was shared with Maidstone United, and again for the 2011–12 season, after which Maidstone moved into their newly built Gallagher Stadium.

In May 2013, for financial reasons, 'the Brickies' left Bourne Park and moved to the less costly Woodstock Park, a sports ground with an adjacent social club, function and events centre located two miles south of the town centre. Initially the club shared the ground with Southern Counties East League club Woodstock Sports and improvements were required to bring it up to the standard required by the Isthmian League. Woodstock Sports FC folded in 2015 and Sittingbourne became sole tenants. Canterbury City groundshared with Sittingbourne for the 2022–23 season.

Football management and coaching

Manager/Director of football: Reece Prestedge

Assistant manager: Joe Anderson

Managerial history

Aug-46–Dec-46: Bill Dickie (trainer-coach)

Dec-46–Jun-47: John Finch

Jun-53–Jan-56: Arthur Banner

Apr-56–Feb-59: Walter Rickett

Feb-59–May-61: Ike Clarke

Jun-61–Nov-62: Charles Rutter

May-63–Nov-63: Ray King

Jun-71–Mar-75: Tony Oakley

May-75–May-77: Gordon Burden

May-77–Dec-77: Mike Harrington

Dec-77–1985: Peter Laraman

1985–Feb-87: Arthur Ervin

Feb-1987–May-88: Roger Parker

1988–Jan-92: Hughie Stinson

Jan-92–Mar-92: Andy Woolford (caretaker)

Mar-92–Feb-95: John Ryan

Feb-95–Sep-96: Steve Lovell

Sep-96–Mar-99: Alan Walker

Mar-99–Jan-2001: Hughie Stinson

Jan-01–Sep-01: John Roles

Oct-01–Nov-04: Mark Beeney

Nov-04 –Mar-05: Steve Nolan

Mar-05–Oct-07: Steve Lovell

League history

1894–1905: Kent League

1905–1909: South Eastern League

1909–1927: Kent League

1927–1930: Southern League: Eastern Division

1930–1939: Kent League

1946–1959: Kent League

1959–1967: Southern League: First Division

1967–1968: Kent Premier League (previously Thames & Medway Combination)

1968–1991: Kent League (renamed from the Kent Premier League)

1991–1993: Southern League: Division One South

1993–1995: Southern League: Premier Division

1995–1996: Southern League: Division One South

1996–1998: Southern League: Premier Division

1998–1999: Southern League: Division One South

1999–2006: Southern League: Division One East

2006–2018: Isthmian League: Division One South

2018–present: Isthmian League: Division One South-East

Honours

Kent League (1894–1959)

Division One: Champions: 1902–03; 1957–58; 1958–59.

Division One: Runners–up: 1900–01; 1901–02; 1909–10; 1922–23; 1926–27.

League Cup Winners: 1925–26; 1958–59.

Kent League

Champions: 1975–76; 1983–84; 1990–91.

Runners–up: 1967–68 (Kent Premier League); 1972–73; 1973–74; 1976–77; 1981–82; 1985–86; 1989–90.

League Cup Winners: 1973–74; 1980–81.

South Eastern League

Division Two: Runners–up: 1905–06.

Southern League

South Division: Champions: 1992–93; 1995–96.

Thames and Medway Combination

Champions: 1902–03; 1907–08; 1911–12; 1924–25; 1925–26; 1927–28; 1955–56; 1958–59; 1960–61; 1961–62; 1962–63 (cup competition winner); 1963–64.

Kent Senior Cup

Winners: 1901–1902; 1928–1929; 1929–1930; 1957–1958; 2009–2010.

Club records

Best league performance: Pre-Conference/National League: Eighth in the Southern League Eastern Division 1927–28

Post-Conference/National League: Eighth in the Southern League Premier Division, 1993–94 and 1996–97

Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 1925–26, 1928–29

Best FA Trophy performance: Quarter-finals, 2024–25

Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round, 1991–92, 1992–93

Record attendance: 5,951 vs Tottenham Hotspur, friendly, 26 January 1993

Biggest victory: 15–0 vs Woolwich, Kent League, 1922–23

Heaviest defeat: 0–10 vs Wimbledon, Southern League Cup, 1965–66

Longest unbeaten run: 32 games 2024–25