Ground Address : Hartsdown Park,Hartsdown Road,Margate,Kent CT9 5QZ
Ground Telephone Number : [01843] 221769
President : Mr. R.W Griffiths
Vice President : Mr. T J Horsham
Directors : Mr. K.Piper (Chairman),
Mr. R.Piper (Vice Chairman),
Mr. M.Farrell
Mr. C.Page,
Mr. L.Pryor,
Mr. P.Turner,
Mr. G. Wallis,
Mr. S.Wrightson.
Commercial & Promotions Department
127 High Street, Broadstairs, Kent CT10 lNG
Telephone : [01843] 864895 Fax : [01843] 866552
General Manager : Paul Turner
Commercial Manager : Brian Greenfield
Office Administrator : Sue Turner
Football Secretary : Ken Tomlinson
65 Nash Road, Margate , Kent CT9 4BT
Telephone & Fax : [01843] 291040
Team Managers : Chris Kinnear (First team)
Steve Winch (Reserve & Under 18 teams)
Steve Moore (Under 16 team)
Club Trainer : John Griffen
Centre of Excellence Coach : Keith Boanas
Football in the Community Officer : Mark Weatherly
Groundsman : Ray Baker
Social Club : Pam & Mark Weatherly [220411]
Club Shop : Sue Smith
Youth Section : Paul Turner (Chairman)
Sue Tumer (Secretary)
Programme Editor , Keith Smith
Committee Members , R,Baker, G.Cronk, R,Hewitt, R.Lawrence,
L,Manning, K.Martin, C,Page, R,Piper,
B.Rainsford, K,Smith, H,Tobin, K.Tomlinson,
P,Turner T Twyman, S.Wrightson.
Margate F.C. was formed in October, 1896 and played at various grounds, including Northdown Road and Margate College. For the early years they played in junior football leagues in East Kent, before joining the Kent League for the 1911/12 season and, after the Great War, turned professional, using grounds at Dreamland Amusement Park and Garlinge. They were Kent League runners up in 1927/28, however, heavy debts caused the club to close down at the end of that season.
They reformed in 1929 and moved to their present ground at Hartsdown Park, finishing the 1929/30 season as Kent League runners up once again. The club then began it's fine run in the F.A. Cup, which has included victories over Gillingham, Q.P.R., Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Swansea City. Having won the Kent League in 1932/33, they joined the Southern League and were runners up in their first season.
Margate became the nursery club to Arsenal in 1934, with many Arsenal players coming to Margate; they even played a 'home' F.A. Cup tie at Highbury. This was the club's most successful period. 1935/36 saw Margate reach the F.A. Cup 3rd Round, losing 1-3 to Blackpool, but at the end of that season they were overall Southern League and Southern League Central Section Champions, Kent Senior Cup, Kent Senior Shield and Kent League Cup winners. The following season they won the Southern League Midweek Section, but heavy costs saw the club return to the Kent League in 1937/38 where they finished as Champions. Continuing heavy debts and the end of the Arsenal nursery arrangement caused the Club to close down.
Once again the club was reformed, this time for the 1939/40 season, but war broke out again, however, they were reformed again after the war. Many honours were won in the 'Kent League Days', including the 'double' in 1947/48. Most of this success was under the management of former Brighton, Spurs and West Ham player, Almer Hall, who was in charge from 1950 until 1970.
Having played in Amber and Black for many years, the club changed to Blue and White in the early 1950's. This came about as one of the Directors was an ardent Huddersfield Town supporter.
In 1959 Margate again joined the Southern League, along with many other Kent sides. 1961 saw a sensational 3-0 win in the F.A. Cup 1st Round at Bournemouth, who until then were unbeaten at home in Division Three. The sixties also saw promotion as Champions from Division One in 1963, only for relegation to follow in 1966. The Southern League Cup was won in 1967/68, beating local rivals Ramsgate 3-1 in a replay at Hartsdown Park.
1971 saw Bournemouth exact revenge beating Margate 11-0 at Dean Court, with Ted McDougall scoring a record nine goals. The following season they reached the 3rd Round again, losing 0-6 at home to Spurs before a record crowd of 14,500. Relegation was suffered in 1976/77, promotion as Champions of Division One South followed, but the following season relegation happened again.
In 1981 the club changed it's name to Thanet United, hoping to attract sponsorship from a wider area. They finished bottom of the league in their first season and struggled to avoid relegation in the following two seasons. After narrowly missing promotion in 1984/85 and a good fifth position finish in 1987/88, Thanet again struggled in 1988/89 and towards the end of that season a new Board of Directors was appointed and in the following season Thanet reverted to it's more familiar name of Margate under a firm financial footing, hoping to see a return to the success of the 60's.
Steady, if unspectacular, progress has been made since this time, crowned in 1993/94 when under the leadership of Andy Woolford and Mark Weatherly they beat Dover Athletic 2-1 to win the Facet Kent Senior Cup for the fourth time and in the 1995/96 season the Under 16 side won the Kent County F.A. Cup for the first time, defeating Furness on penalties.
Over forty players have joined League clubs, especially before the war. Some of note since the war include John Yeomanson (West Ham, 1947), Doug Bing & George Wright (West Ham, 1951), Tommy Bing (Spurs, 1956), Mel Blyth (Millwall, 1978) and in March 1993 Martin Buglione was transferred to St. Johnstone for a club record fee.
Last season was the clubs' Centenary Year and with the appointment of Chris Kinnear as manager it turned out to be the most successful for many years. A topsy-turvy season saw a string of home defeats at the beginning of the campaign virtually put us out of promotion contention, but having created a new club record by winning eight consecutive league matches by Christmas we were in fourth place. Weather disruption caused another series of setbacks until the beginning of March when an unbeaten run of fourteen games took us back up the table to finish in a creditable fifth place - the best since 1987/88 - and during this period the defence only conceded six goals.
With a majority of young players backed up by a handful of experienced squad members the future looks particularly bright. Especially as the youth teams have again won trophies, with the Under 18's pulling off a magnificent 2-1 defeat of Premiership West Ham United during an eventful cup run. They eventually finished second in their league and carried off the League Cup.
The club has 19 teams associated with it ranging from the Under 10's to the first team squad and includes an F.A. Centre for Excellence under the guidance of coach, Keith Boanas. Most of these teams play in the East Kent Youth League, whilst the Under 18's and Under 16's play in the Kent Youth League and the Reserves participate in Division Two of the Winstonlead Kent League.
MAJOR HONOURS
Southern League
Overall Champions - 1935/36
League Championship Match - 1936, 1938, 1968
Central Champions - 1935/36
Midweek Champions - 1936/37
Division One Champions - 1962/63
Division One (South) Champions - 1977/78
League Cup Winners - 1967/68
Merit Cup Winners - 1966/67, 1977/78
Kent League
Division One Champions - 1932/33, 1937/38, 1946/47, 1947/48
Division One Cup Winners - 1935/36, 1947/48, 1953/54, 1968/69
Division Two Champions - 1937/38, 1953/54, 1956/57, 1989/90
Premier Champions - 1966/67, 1967/68
Kent Senior Cup
1935/36, 1936/37, 1956/57, 1993/94
Kent Senior Shield
1920/21, 1930/31, 1935/36, 1936/37, 1947/48, 1952/53, 1961/62, 1962/63
Kent Floodlit Cup
1962/63, 1966/67, 1975/76
F.A. Cup Proper
3rd Round (twice), 2nd Round (8 times), 1st Round (19 times)
Record win : 12-1 (v Deal Cinque Port 1911/12 and v Erith & Belvedere 1927/28)
Record defeat : 11-0 (v Bournemouth 1971/72)
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