Sittingbourne Football Club Official Brochure 2022 - 2023

Sittingbourne FC & Ludis would like to thank all of the businesses that appear in this publication for their support and wish them continued commercial success. The content of this brochure is believed to be correct at the time of printing but we cannot endorse individual statements and readers should not rely solely upon the continued accuracy of any individual claims contained herein without consultation with the service provider. Designed and Printed by Ludis 2022.

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sittingBOurne fOO t B all clu B were fOrmed in 1881

– albeit then known as Sittingbourne United.

In 1886 the team formed again, becoming Sittingbourne Football Club. The club has had many successes and difficulties along the way – first of all playing at the Bull Ground,

then moving to Central Park in 1990. In this season the club became the Winstonlead

Kent League Champions, remaining unbeaten within their own respective league. This was a European record as the only senior football club in Europe to remain unbeaten within their own respective league. An attendance record of 5,951 spectators watched a friendly with Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday January 26th, 1993. In 1993 the BBC described Sittingbourne as ‘the Manchester

United of Non-league football. However unfortunately financial problems behind the scenes resulted in uncertainty and the club had to move next door to Bourne Park. This proved to still be costly and in the season 2012 / 2013 Sittingbourne then found a new chairman Maurice Dunk and a new home Woodstock Park – where we are today. We have a total of 21 teams across a mix of men’s, youth and ladies’ football. We are keen to bring the good times to Sittingbourne.

f O rmed in 1881 as s itting BO urne u nited

The forerunners of Sittingbourne Football club commenced playing on the newly opened Recreation Ground in 1881, being known as Sittingbourne United before changing to Sittingbourne Football Club five years later. Another local club calling themselves “Nil Desperandums” had been formed. In 1888 it was decided that the Sittingbourne and Nil Desperandums clubs should merge as one. By 1890 Sittingbourne migrated to the Gore Court Cricket Ground.

The 1893/94 season saw the club gain senior status, entering the English Cup for the first time. The Kent League was formed in 1894/95, and the club had a team in each of the two divisions although the first team also played a large number of games against opponents outside of the league, including Arsenal, Millwall and the Orient. Professionalism was adopted during the 1898/99 season and the Kent league was won in season 1902/03.

The club left the Kent League in 1905/06 to enter the South Eastern League Division One, but by 1909/10 they had returned to familiar territory. The First World War brought a temporary closure, but the club was reformed for the start of the 1919/20 season. Success came in the late 1920s when they won the Kent Senior Shield in 1927 and 1928, the Kent League Cup in 1928 and the Kent Senior Cup in 1929 and 1930. There was a financial crisis in 1932/33 and the

club went into liquidation. The supporters’ club took over and Sittingbourne survived to the Second World War which once more brought about their enforced closure. In 1946 the club was reformed but three years later it was again in financial difficulty. The hat was passed round at the AGM and this enabled Sittingbourne to start the new season. In January 1954 the Bull Ground was purchased with the help of a £3,000 loan from the FA and help from the supporters’ association.

The “Brickies” or the “Bourne” as they are known, won the Kent Senior Shield that year beating Canterbury City 4-2 in the final. They ended the days of the old Kent League as the strongest team, winning the championship by seven points in 1957/58 and by nine points the following season. They won the Kent Senior Cup in 1958, beating Ramsgate 1-0 in the final at Gillingham in front of a crowd of 10,066. In February 1990, Sittingbourne opted to sell the Bull Ground for development. This venture

enabled the club to move to a 23-acre site near to the town centre. A 2,000-seater stand complete with executive boxes, boardroom, restaurants and a sports hall have been constructed. In the season 1990/91, the club’s first at Central Park, Sittingbourne became the Winstonlead Kent League champions courtesy of an unbeaten league campaign. The European newspaper stated that, not only was that a first for the Kent League, it was also a record for the 1990/91 season as they were the only senior football club in Europe to remain unbeaten within their own respective league. Promotion to the Beazer Homes Southern league followed in 1991/92, with the pinnacle of achievement finally being realised in 1992/93, when Sittingbourne gained promotion to the Beazer Homes League Premier Division for the first time. An incredible 1992/93 season saw the Central Park ground attendance record broken five times, with 5,951 spectators turning up to watch the friendly with Tottenham Hotspur in January 1993. BBC television described Sittingbourne as ‘the Manchester United of non-league football’ during a fulllength feature on the club.

Council to run greyhound racing at Central Park and he, in turn, allowed Sittingbourne to sign a seven-year lease for the use of the facilities. One standout moment of the 1997/98 season came when Arsenal joined Millwall in sending a side down to help out the financial position of the club. Millwall ran out 7-0 winners and Arsenal beat the Brickies 5-2 on 2nd August 1997. The Arsenal team was managed by George Graham, with Arsene Wenger watching and signing autographs in the main stand.  Arsenal’s team included six players who had played in a European game against Strasbourg just a week before plus Tony Adams and Nigel Winterburn. Adams wrote briefly about the game in his autobiography whilst Nicholas Anelka, who had just joined Arsenal, scored in the game. Media had paid a part in the success of the football club and none more at this time than Tony Rickson as editor of the now defunct East Kent Gazette. But there was also a new kid on the block in 1996 as the first Sittingbourne FC website was launched. Midway through the 1998/99 season Barry Bright felt that he had taken the club as far as he could and handed over the chairmanship to Andy Spice.

The 2002/03 season saw the management committee make the decision to move out of the main Central Park Stadium. Televised greyhound racing made it impossible to guarantee that the club could continue to use the stadium on a Saturday afternoon.

The club signed a 10-year lease with Caernsport for the use of the training pitches and feverish activity during the summer of 2002 by an army of volunteers led to a new ground being developed for the new season.

The ground was given the name “Bourne Park” and a temporary stand shipped in from Mount Ephraim Gardens which was used throughout that season.

Ex-Leeds United goalkeeper Mark Beeney took over in 2001, before the reins then passed once again to Steve Lovell who returned for his third spell at the club in April 2005.

The 2005/06 season was destined to be the last one Sittingbourne played in the Southern League because of the FA reorganising the

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leagues on a more geographical basis, so the club faced a new challenge playing in the Ryman’s Isthmian league for season 2006/07. In November 2007, Sittingbourne appointed a new manager in Gary Abbott. The team struggled somewhat after the playing budget was slashed midway through the 2010/11 season and Gary was replaced by Richard Brady in 2011/12.

Season 2011/12 also witnessed the birth of the Sittingbourne FC football academy, a joint venture with the Sittingbourne Community College. Richard Brady and Jamie Coyle left in October 2011 and ex-Brickie Joe Dowley took over the reins. Jim and Danny Ward joined at the beginning of season 2012/13 and immediately the fortunes of the club improved, finishing a very respectable ninth.

Jim and Danny Ward departed from the club during September 2013, with Matt Wyatt and captain Nick Davis taking over.

Season 2012/13 marked a milestone with the club gaining a new chairman in Maurice Dunk and also moving home to Woodstock Park. The club and supporters owe Andy and Tania Spice an enormous thank you

for keeping Sittingbourne FC afloat after the disastrous mismanagement of the previous regime that led to the club being on the brink of extinction in the early 1990s.

In July 2014 Nick Davis resigned as joint manager and Matt Wyatt then resigned himself in October 2014. His replacement was his previous joint manager Nick Davis, who then resigned again in 2018. After initially taking The Brickies to the play-off places, new manager Aslan Odev failed to maintain this and after a number of losses it was mutually agreed that he would stand aside, paving the way for Chris Lynch to take over.

There was decent start to the 2019/20 season but as results proved disappointing towards the end of the season Lynch resigned, to be replaced by his assistant Darren Blackburn. However, before Darren had a chance to take the helm the Corona Virus shutdown occurred with the result that the league results were expunged for that season. The club finished halfway up the table in season 2021/22 after flirting with a play-off place and the directors decided that a new face was needed to lead the first team and Nick Davis made a return as the manager after an eight years absence.

d ate v enue Opp O nents v enue s c O re attendance d etails

Sat 13 Aug A Whitehawk Isthmian South East (0)1 - 2(2) 250 Puemo

Tue 16 Aug H Ramsgate Isthmian South East (0)0 - 0(0) 220

Sat 20 Aug A Fisher FA Cup P (0)2 - 2(0) 247 Amedu (og), Pont

Tue 23 Aug H Fisher FA Cup PR (0)0 - 1(1) 202

Sat 27 Aug H Faversham Town Isthmian South East (2)2 - 1(1) 277 Sinai, Harding

Mon 29 Aug A Sheppey United Isthmian South East (0)1 - 0(0) 1,004 Jones

Wed 14 Sep A South Park FA Trophy 1Q (1)2 - 1(0) 88 Graham, Jones

Tue 20 Sep H Hythe Town Isthmian South East (1)2 - 3(2) 184 Gorham, Jones

Sat 24 Sep H Burgess Hill Town FA Trophy 2Q (0)1 - 1(0) 174 Jones

Sat 1 Oct H Chatham Town Isthmian South East (0)0 - 0(0) 382

Tue 4 Oct A Corinthian Velocity Cup 2 (0)1 - 0(0) 91 Gorham

Sat 8 Oct A Haywards Heath Town Isthmian South East (1)2 - 0(0) 269 Quiassaca, Jones

Tue 11 Oct A Cray Valley PM Isthmian South East (1)3 - 1(0) 120 Puemo, Jones, Sinai

Sat 15 Oct A Three Bridges Isthmian South East (0)1 - 2(1) 117 Quiassaca

Sat 22 Oct H Littlehampton Town Isthmian South East (0)0 - 1(1) 150

Sat 29 Oct H Ashford United Isthmian South East (1)1 - 3(2) 259 Jones

Sat 5 Nov A Chichester City Isthmian South East (0)1 - 1(0) 163 Pont

Sat 12 Nov H Beckenham Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Tue 15 Nov A Chatham Town Velocity Cup 3 7.45pm

Sat 19 Nov A Sevenoaks Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Tue 22 Nov A Welling United Kent Cup 2 7.45pm

Sat 26 Nov H Lancing Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 3 Dec A Burgess Hill Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Burgess Hill Town win 4-3 on penalties

d ate v enue Opp O nents v enue s c O re

Sat 10 Dec H East Grinstead Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 17 Dec A VCD Athletic Isthmian South East 3pm

Tue 27 Dec H Sheppey United Isthmian South East 1pm

Mon 2 Jan A Corinthian Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 7 Jan H Whitehawk Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 14 Jan A Ramsgate Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 21 Jan H Chichester City Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 28 Jan A Beckenham Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 4 Feb H Sevenoaks Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 11 Feb A Ashford United Isthmian South East 3pm

Tue 14 Feb A Hythe Town Isthmian South East 7.45pm

Sat 18 Feb H Haywards Heath Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 25 Feb A Chatham Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 4 Mar H Cray Valley PM Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 11 Mar H Three Bridges Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 18 Mar A Littlehampton Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 25 Mar A Faversham Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 1 Apr H VCD Athletic Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 8 Apr A East Grinstead Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Mon 10 Apr H Corinthian Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 15 Apr H Burgess Hill Town Isthmian South East 3pm

Sat 22 Apr A Lancing Isthmian South East 3pm

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To enable us to continue our progress and achieve our objectives we are always looking for financial support from local, national and international companies who wish to align and affiliate themselves to our ‘Football For All’ ethos and ambition.

sponsorship, shirt sponsorship and matchday sponsorship, as well as many other packages.

We have many sponsorship opportunities available which give you exposure, helping to promote and grow your business. We offer stadium sponsorship, player

Like almost all non-league clubs, we rely on volunteers to keep the club running. We are lucky enough to have a fantastic team of volunteers fulfilling a number of crucial roles, but we are always on the lookout for more people to help so if it is something that you’re interested in, then please do get in touch.

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