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Ebbsfleet United F.C.

Coordinates: 51°26′58″N 0°19′21″E / 51.44943°N 0.322369°E / 51.44943; 0.322369
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Ebbsfleet United
Gravesend and Northfleet F.C. logo
Full nameEbbsfleet United Football Club
Nickname(s)The Fleet
Founded1946; 78 years ago (1946)
(as Gravesend & Northfleet)
GroundStonebridge Road, Northfleet
Capacity4,769 (2,179 seats)
OwnerKEH Sports Ltd
ChairmanDr Abdulla Al-Humaidi
ManagerHarry Watling
LeagueNational League
2023–24National League, 19th of 24
Websitehttps://www.ebbsfleetunited.co.uk/
Current season

Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League, the fifth level of English football league system.

Founded in 1946 from the merger of Gravesend United and Northfleet United, they were known as Gravesend & Northfleet until changing to their current name in 2007. Gravesend & Northfleet started in the Southern League, which they won in the 1957–58 season. In 1974–75, they were promoted to the Southern League Premier Division before becoming founding members of the Alliance Premier League ahead of the 1979–80 season. They rejoined the Southern League in 1982. Ahead of the 1997–98 season, they joined the Isthmian League. They won the league in 2001–02 to again reach the top level of the non-League system. After having changed their name to Ebbsfleet United in 2007, they won the FA Trophy in 2007–08. They were relegated to the Conference South in 2010, but would return immediately, before being relegated again in 2012–13. After two unsuccessful play-off attempts, Ebbsfleet were successful at the third, defeating Chelmsford City in the play-off final. In their first season back in the fifth tier, Ebbsfleet reached the play-offs but were unsuccessful. They were relegated back to the National League South in 2019–20, before returning to the renamed National League as champions in 2022–23.

Home matches have been played at Stonebridge Road since the club's inception. Between 2008 and 2013, the club was owned by the web-based venture MyFootballClub, whose members voted on player transfers, budgets and ticket prices among other things instead of those decisions being made exclusively by the club's management and staff as at most other clubs.[1]

In April 2024 plans were approved for a new 8,000 seater stadium in Northfleet as part of a wider regeneration of the area. Work is scheduled to begin in September 2024 with completion aimed for August 2026. The relocation will see the demolition of Stonebridge Road.[2]

History

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Gravesend & Northfleet

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Gravesend & Northfleet F.C. was formed in 1946, following the Second World War, after a merger between Gravesend United (originally formed in 1893) and Northfleet United (originally formed in 1890) with the new club retaining the red & white home colours (and the Stonebridge Road stadium) of Northfleet United.[3][4] From 1969 and 1971, Roy Hodgson, who later became manager of the national teams of Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland and England, was a player at the club, making 59 appearances.[5] In 1979, the team was one of the founder members of the Alliance Premier League,[6] but were relegated back into the Southern League Premier Division three seasons later.[7]

For the 1997–98 season, Gravesend & Northfleet left the Southern League and joined the Isthmian League. They played in the Premier Division of the league until the 2001–02 season, when they finished as champions and earned promotion back into the Football Conference.

Ebbsfleet United v. Stafford Rangers at Stonebridge Road, November 2007

MyFootballClub takeover

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On 13 November 2007, it was announced that the website MyFootballClub had entered a deal in principle to take over the club.[8] Approximately 20,000 MyFootballClub members each paid £35 to provide an approximate £700,000 takeover fund and all owned an equal share in the club but made no profit nor received a dividend. Members had a vote on transfers as well as player selection and all major decisions. Because of the nature of MyFootballClub, it was announced that manager Liam Daish would become instead the first team head coach. His backroom staff would remain at the club.[8]

Between 16 and 23 January 2008, MyFootballClub members were given the choice to vote on whether to proceed with the takeover and whether to allow Liam Daish to continue with his plans for the January transfer window. Both resulted in overwhelming "Yes" votes: 95.89% voted to proceed with the takeover while 95.86% voted to allow Liam Daish to continue his transfer plans. The deal was ratified at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the club's board on 19 February.

On 10 May 2008, Ebbsfleet United won the FA Trophy, defeating Torquay United 1–0 in the final in front of 40,000 fans on the club's first trip to Wembley, becoming the first Kentish team to win this trophy.[9] Ebbsfleet United went on to win the Kent Senior Cup in the same season, with a 4–0 victory over Cray Wanderers on 26 July 2008.

After one year of ownership a majority of MyFC members failed to renew, with membership numbers dropping from a peak of 32,000 at the time of the takeover to just over 9,000 on deadline day 2009. The club had previously stated that 15,000 was the minimum required.[10] As of September 2010, two and a half years after the takeover, there were around 3,500 members.[11]

The club remained in the Football Conference until being relegated to the Conference South at the end of the 2009–10 season. On 28 September 2005 veteran Jimmy Jackson played his 500th game for the club.[12]

In an October 2010 vote among MyFC members, the earlier decision to allow the team manager autonomy in transfer dealings was rescinded by a majority of 35 on a total vote of 132, meaning that the membership would have 48 hours to endorse a proposed signing or sale before it can be finalised. Both the manager and the club secretary opposed the change.[13]

On 15 May 2011, Ebbsfleet United won the Conference South play-off final 4–2 against Farnborough and were thus promoted back to the Conference Premier at the first time of asking,[14]

On 23 December 2011, it was announced that the club needed to raise £50,000 by the end of the 2011–12 season or risk going out of business.[15]

On 23 April 2013 it was announced that MyFC's members had voted in favour of handing two-thirds of MyFC's shares to the Fleet Trust, a supporters' trust for the club, and the final one third to one of the club's major shareholders (believed to be former club chairman Phil Sonsara).[16] Ebbsfleet United were relegated to the Conference South at the end of that season.

Kuwaiti ownership

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KEH Sports Ltd, a group of Kuwaiti investors agreed in May 2013 to take over the club, appointing KEH Director Dr. Abdulla Al-Humaidi as the new chairman. [17][18] Liam Daish subsequently departed as manager and the new ownership appointed Dover Athletic coach and former Charlton Athletic defender Steve Brown as the new manager.

Steve Brown's first competitive game was a goalless draw at home to Havant & Waterlooville. A club record was broken just before Christmas as Brown's team achieved nine wins in succession. A 2–0 win over Sutton United, with both goals coming from Billy Bricknell, broke the long-standing record which subsequently put them amongst the title contenders but poor runs of form were to follow. Ebbsfleet eventually reached the playoffs, helped by goalkeeper Preston Edwards keeping eleven clean sheets at Stonebridge Road over the course of the season. The playoff semi-final first leg against Bromley at Stonebridge Road ended in a 4–0 win for the Fleet. Despite Bromley winning the second leg, Brown's side won 4–1 on aggregate. The playoff final was against Dover Athletic at Stonebridge Road in front of a 4,200 crowd. Dover dominated the encounter, winning 1–0 with a goal early in the second half from former Ebbsfleet striker Nathan Elder.

The 2014–15 season started with much promise, with wins against Concord Rangers & Havant & Waterlooville. However, the season failed to live up to expectations and Steve Brown was relieved of his duties the day after a 3–0 home defeat to Gosport Borough in November 2014. Jamie Day replaced Brown and, despite taking the club to the FA Trophy quarter-finals, where they lost to eventual winners North Ferriby United, he was relieved of his duties in April 2015. In the summer of 2015, former club captain Daryl McMahon was named as permanent manager. Matty Godden finished as the Fleet's top scorer for the 2014–15 season with 12 goals in all competitions.

The 2015–16 season was far more fruitful for the Fleet, as they led the league for almost the whole season, with results including a 6–0 win at home to Hemel Hempstead Town and a 5–0 win away to Hayes & Yeading United. However, title rivals Sutton United went on a 26-game unbeaten run and clinched the league title by beating the Fleet 2–0 at Gander Green Lane. In the play-off semi-finals the Fleet edged past Whitehawk via a penalty shootout after a 3–3 draw on aggregate but lost on penalties in the final to rivals Maidstone United.

In the 2016–17 season Ebbsfleet again missed out on first place, this time to National League South champions Maidenhead United. Yet gained promotion to the National League with a 2–1 win at Stonebridge Road in the play-off final over Chelmsford City. The following season the team achieved their highest ever league finish of 6th, beating Aldershot Town in the play-off qualifying round 5–4 on penalties. A heavy 4–2 defeat in the next round to league runners up Tranmere Rovers consigned Ebbsfleet to another season in the National League.

In October 2017, Stonebridge Road also became known as Kuflink Stadium as part of a five-year sponsorship deal.[19]

The 2018–19 campaign did not reach the heights of the previous campaign with Daryl McMahon leaving the club in November following a 1–0 win over Barrow. Former Woking manager Garry Hill was appointed manager of the club, his first game in the dugout being a goalless draw against Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup. Despite an initial renaissance, the Fleet missed out on the playoffs following a winless April.

In the spring of 2019, it was reported that there was an ongoing pay dispute between Ebbsfleet United and its players. On 1 February, the Ebbsfleet players released a joint statement claiming they had only been paid on time once in the preceding 12 months, that they had unknowingly played matches earlier in the season without the right medical insurance in place, and that pension payments had not been met.[20] In response, the players refused to warm-up before a match against Wrexham. In an April 2019 statement, Ebbsfleet United claimed that the late payments were due to compliance procedures relating to transactions from Kuwait.[21]

In May 2019, Ebbsfleet United players and fans protested against unpaid wages at Stonebridge Road.[22] At the end of the 2018-19 campaign, Ebbsfleet allowed many contracted players to leave on a free transfer following the pay dispute.[23]

The 2019–20 season started with the Fleet losing all of their first five matches. In October 2019, Garry Hill left the club after just two wins in the opening 16 games of the season. Assistant Kevin Watson was appointed to the role on an interim basis before signing a seven-month contract to the end of the season. In February 2020 the ownership, KEH sports, appointed Damian Irvine to lead the club and oversee the day-to-day operations and all football matters. It was announced on 18 May 2020 that Kevin Watson's short-term contract as Manager would not be renewed and he would leave the club.[24] The 2019–20 season was cancelled in March due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic with Ebbsfleet in the relegation places. Ebbsfleet United was relegated by 0.004 points after the league was determined on a points-per-game basis.

On 2 June 2020, Tennis Borussia Berlin manager Dennis Kutrieb was appointed as the new manager.[25] On 17 June 2020, Ebbsfleet were confirmed among the list of clubs relegated from the National League on a weighted points per game basis.[26] They achieved promotion back to the fifth tier in the 2022–23 season, clinching the title with four matches remaining to move twenty-four points clear of second-place.[27] In January 2024, Dennis Kutrieb was sacked and later replaced by Danny Searle.[28][29]

On 23 December 2023, Al-Humaidi resigned as Chairman and as Director of Ebbsfleet United, on the same day that it was reported he was declared bankrupt.[30][31]

Colours

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Ebbsfleet's traditional home colours are red shirt with white detailing, white shorts and red socks. Away colours have varied, with blue and white stripes favoured in the late eighties before colour combinations such as white/black and yellow/navy or black were used. MyFC members chose white with red detailing as the away colour in 2008–09, but a clash with the home colours of Woking and other clubs was not spotted until after the kit had been supplied, so a third shirt with green body and white sleeves was used with the white shorts and socks. For the 2010–11 season, members made the unusual choice of purple for the away kit.

Seasons

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Main article: List of Ebbsfleet United F.C. seasons

Club personnel

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Club officials

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Position Staff
Chairman Kuwait Abdullah Aaaf Al Humaidi
Directors Kuwait Dherar Al Humaidi, Abdulrahman Aaaf Alhamidi
Associate Directors England John Copus
England Sue Copus
Chief Executive Australia Damian Irvine
Communications Manager England Ed Miller

Source: Ebbsfleet United F.C.

Management team

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Position Staff
Manager Harry Watling
Assistant manager David Kerslake
First-team Coach John Cotton

Players

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Current squad

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As of 2 November 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Mark Cousins
2 DF England ENG Luke O'Neill
3 DF England ENG Lewis Page
4 MF England ENG Josh Wright
5 DF England ENG Tyler Cordner (on loan from York City)
6 DF England ENG Louis John
8 MF England ENG Sha'mar Lawson (on loan from Millwall)
8 MF England ENG James Kellermann
9 FW England ENG Rakish Bingham
10 MF England ENG Wesley Fonguck
11 MF England ENG Will Randall
12 FW England ENG Dominic Samuel
13 GK England ENG Harrison Firth
14 FW Saint Lucia LCA Dominic Poleon
15 FW England ENG Greg Cundle
16 DF Albania ALB Franklin Domi
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF England ENG Toby Edser
18 MF Equatorial Guinea EQG Charles Ondo
19 MF England ENG Jephte Tanga
20 DF United States USA Giles Phillips
21 FW England ENG Nathan Odokonyero
22 MF England ENG Ben Chapman
23 DF Senegal SEN Pape Souaré
24 DF England ENG Mustapha Olagunju
25 DF England ENG Jack Wakely
26 DF England ENG Tom Dallison
27 MF England ENG Craig Tanner
29 DF England ENG Todd Kane
30 GK England ENG Dylan Berry
33 DF England ENG Anthony Stewart
35 MF England ENG Elijah Anthony
39 FW Saint Kitts and Nevis SKN Kwame Thomas

Notable former players

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Further information: Category:Ebbsfleet United F.C. players

Honours

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Part of the crowd at Wembley for the 2007–08 FA Trophy final in May 2008

Source:[32]

League

Cup

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Fans' website approves Fleet deal". BBC Sport. 23 January 2008. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  2. ^ "Plans for new stadium and 3,500 homes approved". BBC News. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  3. ^ Hudd, Tony (2 May 2007). "Shock as Fleet change their name". Kent Online. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  4. ^ Miller, Ed. "Official Website – before 1945". Ebbsfleet United F.C. Official Website. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  5. ^ "Congratulations Roy! Former Fleet player becomes England manager – Ebbsfleet United Football Club : Official Website". Ebbsfleetunited.co.uk. 2 May 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  6. ^ Rundle, Richard. "1979–1980 Alliance Premier League". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  7. ^ Rundle, Richard. "1982–1983 Alliance Premier League". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  8. ^ a b Perry, Alex; Sinnott, John (13 November 2007). "Website agrees Ebbsfleet takeover". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  9. ^ Howard, Tom (10 May 2008). "Ebbsfleet make FA Trophy history". kentnews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  10. ^ Andrews, Gary "Ebssfleet and MyFC vote to stay alive" Archived 15 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Soccerlens.com. Retrieved 11 March 2010
  11. ^ "What happened to MyFootballClub and Ebbsfleet United?" Archived 9 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 September 2010
  12. ^ Jackson hits Gravesend landmark BBC Sport 28 September 2005
  13. ^ "Liam Daish's transfer dealings hang in the balance: KentishFootball.co.uk". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Ebbsfleet United delighted to bounce straight back up" Archived 23 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 May 2011
  15. ^ "Ebbsfleet United need £50,000 to survive". BBC Sport. 27 December 2011. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  16. ^ "Ebbsfleet United: MyFootballClub votes to offer shareholding" Archived 20 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2013
  17. ^ Tervet, Steve (13 May 2013). "MyFootballClub members have accepted the offer from Kuwaiti investment group KEH Sports Ltd for the purchase of Ebbsfleet United". Kentonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  18. ^ "Fleet unveil new management team - Ebbsfleet United Football Club | Official Website of the Fleet". 3 June 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  19. ^ Ed McConnell. "Ebbsfleet United to rename Stonebridge Road ground Kuflink Stadium". Kent Online. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  20. ^ "Players break their silence as club fails to pay". Kent Online. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Ebbsfleet United deny player allegations over late wages". BBC Sport. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Players and fans protest unpaid wages". Kent Online. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Fleet offer free transfers". Kent Online. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Club statement: Kevin Watson". Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Fleet land promising German manager". Kent Online. 2 June 2020. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  26. ^ "National League Statement | Ordinary Resolution Supported By Clubs". www.thenationalleague.org.uk. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Ebbsfleet United win title to seal National League return after three years". BBC Sport. 7 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  28. ^ Miller, Ed (29 January 2024). "Club statement: Dennis Kutrieb". Ebbsfleet United FC. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  29. ^ "Danny Searle appointed as permanent manager". Ebbsfleet United FC. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Ebbsfleet chairman quits role". Kent Online. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  31. ^ Barr, Luke (23 December 2023). "Kuwaiti tycoon behind 'Dartford Disneyland' declared bankrupt". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  32. ^ "Club Honours". Ebbsfleet United FC. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
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