Erith Town F.C.
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| Full name | Erith Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Dockers | ||
| Founded | 1959 (as Woolwich Town) | ||
| Ground |
The Oakwood Old Road Crayford (Groundshare at VCD Athletic F.C.) | ||
| Capacity | 1,180 | ||
| Chairman | Albert Putnam | ||
| Manager | Ian Jenkins & Ricky Bennett | ||
| League | Southern Counties East League Premier Division | ||
| 2015–16 | Southern Counties East League Premier Division, 13th | ||
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Erith Town Football Club is a football club based in Erith in the London Borough of Bexley, England. In their previous guise as Erith Town, they had reached the Second Round of the FA Vase five times in their history. They are currently members of the Southern Counties East League Premier Division.
History
Erith Town were originally formed in 1959 as a Sunday club under the name Woolwich Town and played in the London Metropolitan Sunday League. In 1989 they briefly changed their name to Woolwich Heathway before reverting to their original name within a year.
In 1991, the club made the step up to Saturday football and joined the London Spartan League Division Two. In their very first season, they were promoted to Division One due to the restructuring of the league despite having finished in a lowly ninth place. At this time they also left their home at the Woolwich Barracks Stadium and entered into a ground-share agreement with Greenwich Borough at their Harrow Meadow ground.
In 1995, the club gained full senior status and were promoted to the Spartan League Premier Division and also moved to a new home at the Erith Sports Stadium, Avenue Road, Erith.
In March 1996, at the third request, the Dockers were granted permission to leave the Spartan League and they thus entered the Kent League, where they remain to this day.
In June 1997 the club decided that they should more fully represent the community of their new home and changed their name to Erith Town FC (although due to building works they returned to spend one more season sharing with Greenwich Borough in 1998–99).
In 2010, the club changed its name to Erith & Dartford Town Football Club following the arrival of Roy MacNeil, the club's new chairman. However towards the start of the 2010–11 season, the deal fell through and the club reverted to being Erith Town Football Club. Albert Putnam returned as chairman. Erith and Dartford Town have since become an independent club (now known as Kent Football United), playing in the Kent Invicta Football League. Erith Town won the Kent Senior Trophy in 2011.
Ground
For the 2013–14 season Erith Town began a groundshare with fellow Southern Counties East League team Cray Valley Paper Mills, at their Badgers Sports Ground. Previously, Erith Town played their home games at the Erith Stadium, Avenue Road, Erith, Kent, DA8 3AJ. Erith Stadium is a council-run facility and thus has plentiful car parking, a well-maintained playing surface, and ample (albeit uncovered) seating. All the facilities however, are on one side of the pitch and the fans are separated from the action somewhat by an athletics track. The dugouts were mobile and had to be pushed into position on match days. In February 2006 the ground hosted international football for the first time when it staged an under-21 ladies' international between England and the USA.
Erith began a groundshare with VCD Athletic for the start of the 2016-17 season.
Honours
- London Senior Cup:[1]
- Runners-up (1): 1999-00
Club records
- Best league position: 3rd in Kent League Premier Division, 2012–2013
- Best FA Cup performance: 2nd qualifying round, 2004–05
- Best FA Vase performance: 2nd round on five occasions, most recently 2005–06
References
- ↑ "Football Club History Database - London County Cups Summary". Fchd.info. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
Sources
- Erith Town at the Football Club History Database
External links
Coordinates: 51°28′35.03″N 0°10′47.29″E / 51.4763972°N 0.1798028°E