History

A Brief History

History of Ashford Town Football Club

A Brief History of Ashford Town Football Club

In the beginning:

Football in Ashford was started around 1880 and pre-dates the formation of "Town" by over fifty years with Ashford United being the leading side of their day winning the Kent Senior Cup in 1893 and a year later becoming founder members of the Kent League. Playing at Godinton Road they staged the KCFA Senior Cup final in 1899 whilst the club were losing finalists in both 1902 and 1903. Three year later in the 1906/07 season United withdrew from the Kent League and subsequently folded.

Public pressure for a local senior side was met by the formation of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Football Club who later became the Ashford Railway Works team. Prior to the Great War they played in the Kent League's regional divisions, later gaining promotion to the top division. They enjoyed six seasons in the top flight but eventually in 1927 small gates forced their withdrawal from the County League's senior division and the team was later disbanded.

The Formation of the Club:

In April 1930 Sir Charles Iggleden (Editor of the Kentish Express) presided over a meeting to form a senior football club in Ashford and subsequently applied to compete in the Kent League, Kent Senior Cup and FA Cup with the team playing on the railway works ground. Ashford Town was elected to the Kent League on 29 May 1930 and played their first game at home to Canterbury Waverley winning 4-2 on 30 August that year. Town finished their first season a creditable 6^th in the Kent League. 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 works.

The following year the club moved to Essella Park owned by the then president, Fred Norman, who, with his brother Charlie, owned a bicycle factory in the town. It was the sale of this ground in the mid 1980’s that enabled the purchase and development of the present ground at The Homelands, named after the farm which originally occupied the site, 4 miles south of Ashford Town centre with easy access to the newly built M20.

Despite being champions of the Kent League in1948-49, it was cup football that has provided the greater success. Town reached the FA Cup First Round Proper as a Kent League side in 1958-59 losing 0-1 at home to Crystal palace before a ground record of 6525. In the 1960's Town reached the first round of the Cup on four occasions, falling to league sides every time. First round defeats came at the hands of Brentford (0-5 A) and Gillingham (1-2 H) whilst the best runs ended in the second round at home to QPR (0-3) in 1962 and at Swindon four years later losing 0-5. Further honours came with success in the Kent Senior Cup in 1959 and 1963.

In 1972-73 Town reached the semi final of the FA Trophy losing to Scarborough at Peterborough by a penalty goal. The following year Town finished third in the league when Alan Morton set the Club scoring record of 46 goals from 69 games, which still stands today, and culminating in a 1-3 home defeat by Walsall in the First Round of the cup. The decade had opened with a brief flirtation with the premier division gaining promotion in the fourth spot in 1969-70 but after one season, despite finishing above Kettering and Gloucester City relegation loomed.

There was a long wait until promotion to the Southern Premier was achieved again in 1986-87 at a time when the new ground at Homelands was being built. The final game played at Essella Park was a draw with Dorchester which ensured both teams gained promotion to the Southern Premier division. The next two seasons saw ground sharing at Folkestone whilst the new stadium was built producing 52 points each time and final positions of twelfth and eighteenth but the first season at the Homelands ended in disappointment with 37 points proving insufficient to maintain Premier status.

During the 1990’s Manager, Neil Cugley, produced an entertaining and successful side which gained promotion to the Premier Division in 1995/6 and as a highlight drew an FA Cup first round tie against Fulham captained by Micky Adams, with a capacity 3,300 supporters packed into the Homelands and Sky TV looking on the game was played in torrential rain. Two nil up, many think Town were robbed when referee Andy D’urso, now of the Premiership, awarded Fulham two penalties which were converted in atrocious conditions resulting in a replay at Craven Cottage. Despite being behind early on, the 90 minutes finished three all with Fulham ending up eventual winners 5-3 after extra time. The following year Town defeated Dagenham and Redbridge away in the first round and then drew Watford away in the second round losing 5-0. The season ended poorly with Town finishing 18^th and saved from relegation by the resignation of Sudbury.

Enter Rodney Marsh, ex England International and associates to take over the club with many promises. Few of the promises were delivered and the associates withdrew taking with them the title deeds to the Homelands freehold land. Several managers including Nigel Donn, George Wakeling, Tony Reynolds and Tommy Sampson came and went with varying degrees of success until early 2001 when present owner, Tim Thorogood, acquired the Club together with a new lease on the stadium.

Tim set about rebuilding the team after most of the first team players left and finding form at the end of his first full season in charge Town finished 13^th in the league but without any luck in the cup competitions. Off the field, the club finally achieved financial stability and a new management team turned around the club’s extensive off field activities.

Following reorganization of the non league structure for the 2004/05 season, Town ended 45 consecutive seasons in the Southern League and transferred to Ryman Isthmian League Division One South. Finding it difficult to adapt to the Ryman league on the budget available the club finished near the relegation zone in each of the first three seasons. In March 2007 new investors Tony Betteridge and Don Crosbie bought the club from Tim Thorogood to go with the freehold of the stadium they had already acquired. The terms of the deal included a commitment to invest in the refurbishment of the facilities at the Homelands and to fund an ambitious future for the playing side of the club.