Dartford F.C.

Two seasons later, Dartford became founder members of the Southern League Division Two, winning the Championship at the first attempt. They took part in the 1898–99 Thames & Medway League, however they finished bottom.^[1] The club moved between the Southern and Kent Leagues several times over the following seasons, dropping to the West Kent League in the 1900s, following financial difficulties. Around the same time the club found its first permanent home ground, Summers Meadow in Lowfield Street, obtained on a long lease.

In 1908–09 Dartford won the West Kent League and Cup 'double' and rejoined the Kent League where they remained until the outbreak of the

Darts continued their association with the Kent League, winning the league cup in 1923–24, before switching to the Southern League in time for the 1926–27 season. At the start of the 1930s the Dartford Board appointed the successful Kettering Town manager, Bill Collier, as manager. The Scot continued his pattern of success with Dartford and won trophies by the shoal during the decade leading up to the 1939–45 war.

Dartford won the Southern League Eastern section title in 1930–31 and 1931–32 (missing a hat-trick by just one point the season after) and the overall Championship of the League was won with victories over the Western Section winners Exeter City Reserves 7–2 away and Yeovil & Petters United 2–1 at home respectively. In county football Dartford won the Kent Senior Cup four times in five seasons and the Kent Senior Shield three times.

In addition Dartford gained a reputation nationally by becoming the first club outside the Football League to reach the FA Cup Third Round Proper in successive seasons. In 1935–36 Dartford lost to a star-studded Derby County (then second in Division One) by 3–2 at the Baseball Ground having at one time led by 2–0. Leading player Fred Dell was transferred to West Ham United for a reported £2,000 immediately after the game. The following season saw Dartford lose 0–1 at home to Darlington at the same stage. Towards the end of the decade Mr Collier, who had brought a distinctive Scottish flavour to Dartford, resigned to take over a business in Scotland and the period was seen out in a comparatively quiet vein.

Post-1945

For a decade and a half following the 1939–1945 war, Dartford had little to show for its efforts except for a sparkling win over Bromley in Kent Senior Cup in 1947. At the time, Bromley vied with Bishop Auckland as the premier amateur club in the land and the Lillywhites look a 2–0 lead in the final before Dartford struck back with three goals to lift the trophy. Included in the Dartford line-up that day was Ted Croker, later to become the Secretary of the Football Association. Soon after this win Dartford transferred Riley Cullum and Fred Alexander to Charlton Athletic for £6,000, which wiped out the club's debts entirely.

Dartford's first post-war manager had been Warney Cresswell (ex-Everton and England) but poor results led to him being rapidly replaced by Bill Moss who gradually put some stability into the club's playing performances. In the late 1950s the Southern League was totally reorganised and Dartford spent most of the ensuing twenty seasons in the Premier Division. The key managers of the era were George Green, Alf Ackerman and Ernie Morgan, each of whom bring extensive Football League experience to the club resulting in a reasonable level of respectability to the playing side affairs.

1970s

In the early 1970s Dartford appeared in four successive Kent Senior Cup finals, winning the first and the last. Around this time, the club acquired the services of ex-

Holden left before the start of that season and was replaced by Ernie Morgan who grafted three or four quality players on to Holden's squad and steered the Darts to the Southern League title and a place in the

1980s

Then came the 1980s, a period dominated by two managers with contrasting styles: John Still and

In summer 1986 former Tottenham and England winger Peter Taylor took charge of the club. In the four seasons of his reign Dartford were never out of the top four in the Southern League Premier Division, won the Southern Cup twice (and were denied a unique hat-trick by VS Rugby in the 1989–90 final), the Southern League Championship Trophy twice, the Kent Senior Cup twice and reached the FA Trophy semi-finals twice. In each of his four seasons at Dartford the team scored over one hundred goals – a feat unmatched before or since. In addition Taylor saw average attendances rise from around 450 to almost 1,000.

1990s

In the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire and the Hillsborough disaster, Dartford, like so many clubs, needed to either relocate or upgrade their current facilities with the Board going for the latter option. Large sums of money were spent on planning and design fees, which burdened a manageable financial deficit with crippling interest charges.

At the same time

However, Maidstone United went bankrupt and had to resign from the league in August 1992, most of their cash being taken up to gain the eagerly sought Football League place. Ground improvements, which Maidstone United had paid for, were sold to Dartford at a cost (around £500,000), which pushed Darts' debts beyond manageable proportions. Watling Street was sold to pay off creditors and Dartford withdrew from the Southern League four games into the 1992–93 season.^[2]

The club's Supporters' Association, around 400 strong, came to the rescue. A private limited liability company was incorporated in November 1992 to manage affairs which meant, primarily, keeping the Youth team operating, an action which was rewarded when the Youth team beat Maidstone Invicta (the club rising out of the ashes of the old United Club) in the final of the John Ullman cup by 2–0 at

The following season saw Dartford involved in a season-long battle with Furness for the Division One title. Dartford lost only one league game all season. It came at the last fixture of the season – away to Furness – to decide which of the two teams would win promotion. The home side held on to a 1–1 draw to deny Dartford the title on goal difference. Dartford were winners of the Kent Senior Trophy, having beaten Chatham Town 3–0 at Welling United's ground, whilst the newly formed reserves team carried off a (South London Federation) League and Cup 'double' under the guidance of former Dart Gary Julians.

In May 1996, Dartford gained promotion to the Southern League, exactly one hundred years after the club first entered that competition. Manager Tony Burman was forced to resign in December due to business commitments but the club quickly promoted reserve team manager Gary Julians to the role.

Home from Home: Thurrock

In September 1997 a disastrous fire at Erith & Belvedere's Park View ground put the club's future and standing with the Southern League into serious doubt. A new ground sharing arrangement was made with Purfleet in time for the 1998–99 season. The season saw the Youth team, under the guidance of Grant Spelling and Simon Halsey, win the Northern Section title after a play-off penalty shoot-out with Welling United and reach the finals of the Kent Youth League Cup and Kent County Cup.

The 1999–2000 season saw the Darts reach the semi-final of the Kent Senior Cup and the reserves reach the same stage of the Kent Intermediate cup. The club remained in the Southern League for the following three seasons, with the best performance in 1999–2000 when the club finished eighth.

2000s

Home from Home: Gravesend

The club moved closer to the borough with a new arrangement to play home matches at Gravesend & Northfleet's (now Ebbsfleet United) Stonebridge Road ground from the 2000–2001 season. In November 2001, the club parted company with Manager Gary Julians and Coach Micky Crower. Former manager and player Tony Burman returned to the club as caretaker manager to be assisted by former captain and player Paul Sawyer. With Dartford languishing in the relegation zone, Tommy Sampson, who had played over 200 games for Dartford during the five-year period 1975–80, was appointed as the new manager the following month. He was assisted by Martin Farnie and Paul Sawyer. In early 2002 long time Dartford favourite Steve Robinson returned to the club as reserve team player manager. Many changes were to follow on the playing front and by the end of the season Dartford had finished in a very creditable eighth position and in doing so were the highest-placed Kent club in the Dr Martens Eastern Division. The reserves too had a very good season, winning the Northern section of Kent League Division One. In a play-off for the overall winners of Division One, the Darts missed out on the title by losing after extra time to Dover Athletic Reserves.

The ground-sharing agreement at Gravesend & Northfleet, coupled with an upturn in performances on the field, saw a significant increase in attendances to help the financial position of the club. Season 2002–03 saw a further expansion of the playing side with the addition of an Under-16 side in the Kent Youth League, thus making the progression of players from Under-16 level to the senior squad possible. The decision paid off as the team achieved a league and cup double. The Under-18 team were runners-up in the Central Division.

Return to Dartford

The 2003–04 season saw the first team finish in 16th position in the Eastern Division but the news that everybody had been waiting for came on 10 April 2004 when

Dartford played their first game at new stadium

But after a season drifting in and out of the bottom four, Dartford got relegated to the renamed National League South. In the 2017–18 season, Dartford narrowly missed out on automatic promotion via goal difference to Havant & Waterlooville. They played Braintree Town in the play-off semi-final and lost 1–0.^[3] It was announced after the play-off that Tony Burman and his management team would step down from their managerial positions.^[5] A few days later ex-players Adam Flanagan and Jamie Coyle were confirmed as the new Dartford joint-managers.^[6] The 2019–20 season saw managers Adam Flanagan and Jamie Coyle removed from their position. On 10 October, Steve King was announced as the new manager of the club on a three-year deal.^[7] Having taken the job with the team in the bottom four, King went on to guide Dartford to the play-off final, which saw Dartford lose on penalties to Weymouth.

In the 2022–23 season, Dartford finished as runners-up in the National League South but lost on penalties in the play-off semi-finals against St Albans City.^[3] The following season saw the club relegated to the Isthmian League.^[8]

Players

Current squad

As of 25 April 2024^[9]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ENG Tom Wray — DF  ENG Emmanuel Adebowale — DF  ENG Tommy Block — DF  ENG Jayden Boulton — DF  ENG Joash Nembhard — DF  ENG Sam Odaudu — DF  IRL Paul Rooney — DF  ENG Maxwell Statham — DF  ENG George Whitefield — DF  ENG Jordan Wynter — MF  ENG Luke Allen

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Olly Box — MF  ENG Luke Coulson — MF  ENG Taylor Maloney — MF  ENG Tyrell Miller-Rodney — MF  NGA Fumnaya Shomotun — MF  ENG Jack Smith — FW  MSR Brandon Barzey — FW  ENG Ashton Day — FW  ENG Jordan Greenidge — FW  ENG Charlie Sheringham — FW  ENG Alex Wall

Out on loan

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

Club officials

Dartford FC (1992) Limited

Chairman: Steve Irving
President: Bill Archer
Directors: Bob Blair; Mark Brenlund; Tony Burman; Harry Extance; Norman Grimes; Jeremy Kite;
Company Secretary: David Boswell
Football Secretary: Peter Martin
Operations Manager: Jack Smedley
Front of House: Hayley Thomas
Safety Officers: Dave Skinner
Programme Editor: David Shafford

Dartford Football Club Supporters Association

Chairman: Michael How
Vice-chairman: Scott McKinnon
Treasurer: Geoff Ashburn
Secretary: Gary Clark

Football Management

Manager: Adrian Pennock
Assistant manager: Christian Jolley
First Team coach: Martin Tyler
Goalkeeping coach: Jim Stannard
Kit Man: Terry Groom

Seasons

Statistics from the last decade^[3]

Honours

Dartford, historically, are the most successful club that currently play in the National League South followed by rivals Bath City.^[12][13]

League

• Southern League / National League South (level 6)
  • Champions: 1983–84
  • Play-off winners: 2012
• Isthmian League Premier (level 7)
  • Champions: 2009–10
• Southern League Division One (level 7)
  • Champions: 1980–81
• Isthmian League Division One North (level 8)
  • Champions: 2007–08
• Southern League Division Two
  • Champions: 1896–97
• Southern League
  • Champions: 1930–31, 1931–32
• Southern League
  • Champions: 1973–74

Cup

• FA Trophy
  • Runners-up: 1973–74
• Southern League Cup
  • Winners: 1977, 1988, 1989
• Kent Senior Cup
  • Winners (13): 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1946–47, 1967–70, 1972–73, 1986–87, 1987–88, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2019–20, 2021–22
• Kent Senior Trophy
  • Winners: 1995–96
• Kent League Cup
  • Winners: 1924–25
• Southern League Championship Match
  • Winners: 1983–84, 1987–88, 1988–89
• Inter-League Challenge Match
  • Winners: 1973–74

Club records

• Highest league position:^[14]
  • First in Southern league, 1930–31, 1931–32
• FA Cup best performance:^[15]
  • Third round: 1935–36, 1936–37
• FA Trophy best performance:^[15]
  • Runner-up: 1973–74
• FA Vase best performance:^[15]
  • First round: 1994–95

Former players

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dartford F.C..

• Official website
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• Unofficial match previews site
• Unofficial forum
• Unofficial website