Northfleet United F.C.

Northfleet United
Full name Northfleet United Football Club
Nickname(s) The Fleet
Founded 1890
Ground Stonebridge Road
Northfleet
Gravesham

Northfleet United Football Club was a football club based in Northfleet, Kent.

History

The club were founded in 1890. In 1905 Northfleet United moved-in to the newly constructed Stonebridge Road ground. They joined the Kent League in 1906-07 and were runners-up in their inaugural season. 'The Fleet' followed that with three successive championship titles in 1907-08, 1908-09 and 1909-10. The team repeated winning the championship in 1919-20 and were runners-up in 1921-22. In the intervening season, 1920–21, they were winners of the Kent Senior Cup.

Following financial difficulties in 1923 Northfleet entered into a [1] formal arrangement whereby they played youngsters from Football League Tottenham Hotspur. United were Kent League Cup winners[2] in 1923-24, League runners-up in the following season and a year later in 1925-26 were Kent League Division 1 champions scoring 172 goals over a 36 match season. The club were Kent League Cup finalists in 1926-27, losing to the Chatham based Royal Naval Depot. For five successive seasons between 1923-24 to 1927-28 Northfleet United won the Kent Senior Cup.

Northfleet United joined the Southern League in 1927-28, joining the Eastern Section, but left in 1930[3] and rejoined the Kent League.

In 1931 the arrangement with Tottenham Hotspur was upgraded to full nursery team status[1] and this heralded a period of seven seasons of success during which period they scored a minimum of 110 goals in league competition each season. Northfleet were Kent League Division 1 Championship & Kent League Cup double winners in 1931-32, 1934–35 and 1936-37. Additionally they were Kent League Division 1 Championship winners twice more in 1935-36 (completing a straight hat-trick as league toppers) & 1938-39, were Kent League Cup victors again in 1937-38 and lifted the Kent Senior Cup in 1937-38 too. The club were Kent Senior Cup semi-finalists in both 1935-36 and 1936–37, losing to ultimate winners and Arsenal nursery team[1] Margate on both occasions. The 1932-33 season was by comparison a relative anticlimax as Kent League runners-up, to Margate on goal average only!

With the outbreak of the Second World War league competition ceased as did the nursery team arrangement.

In 1946, the club merged with Gravesend United to form Gravesend & Northfleet, which is now known as Ebbsfleet United who continue to play at the Northfleet United home ground of Stonebridge Road.

In November 2015, to celebrate the 125th anniversary of its founding, a complete history of the club - called Set In Concrete - was published.[4]

Season Playing Records

Season Lge Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos FA Cup Other*
1906–07 Kent League 14 9 0 5 37 19 18 2/8 4Q
1907–08 Kent League 16 14 1 1 24 11 29 1/9
1908–09 Kent League 16 13 1 2 52 22 27 1/9 4Q
1909–10 Kent Lge Div 1 22 17 2 3 74 31 36 1/12
1910–11 Kent Lge Div 1 26 7 4 15 38 64 18 13/14
1911–12 Kent Lge Div 1 28 10 5 13 47 48 25 8/15
1912–13 Kent Div Lge 1 28 14 5 9 58 55 33 4/15
1913–14 Kent Div Lge 1 30 17 5 8 63 49 37 4/16 2pts deducted
1919–20 Kent League 24 19 3 2 70 22 41 1/13 ru:KSS
1920–21 Kent Lge Div 1 32 21 3 8 76 40 45 3/17
1921–22 Kent Lge Div 1 28 18 6 4 78 36 42 2/15 5Q
1922–23 Kent Lge Div 1 32 17 5 10 88 41 39 4/17
1923–24 Kent Lge Div 1 30 15 5 10 61 35 35 4/16 w:KLC & KSC
1924–25 Kent Lge Div 1 34 29 1 4 114 25 59 2/18 w:KSC
1925–26 Kent Lge Div 1 36 29 3 4 172 48 61 1/19 R1 w:KSC
1926–27 Kent Lge Div 1 26 15 3 8 76 51 33 5/14 R2 ru:KLC; w:KSC
1927–28 Sthn Lge: East 34 17 7 10 83 54 41 3/18 R1 w:KSC
1928–29 Sthn Lge: East 36 17 4 15 87 65 38 9/19 R2
1929–30 Sthn Lge: East 32 6 7 19 53 77 19 16/17 R2
1930–31 Kent Lge Div 1 36 22 3 11 125 58 47 4/19 R1
1931–32 Kent Lge Div 1 36 32 2 2 138 22 66 1/19 R1 w:KLC
1932–33 Kent Lge Div 1 34 28 1 5 126 50 57 2/18
1933–34 Kent Lge Div 1 36 23 3 10 122 47 48 4/19 R1
1934–35 Kent Lge Div 1 36 26 7 3 110 51 50 1/19 4Q w:KLC
1935–36 Kent Lge Div 1 36 26 5 5 158 41 57 1/19 sf:KSC
1936–37 Kent Lge Div 1 32 25 2 5 128 29 52 1/17 w:KLC; sf:KSC
1937–38 Kent Lge Div 1 32 23 5 4 116 29 51 3/17 w:KLC & KSC
1938–39 Kent Lge Div 1 28 20 4 4 125 38 44 1/15
*KEY: KLC=Kent League Cup; KSC=Kent Senior Cup; KSS=Kent Senior Shield

Key

League Record

  • Pld = Played
  • W = Games won
  • D = Games drawn
  • L = Games lost
  • GF = Goals for
  • GA = Goals against
  • Pts = Points
  • Pos = Final position/rank

FA Cup

  • 1Q = First qualifying round
  • 2Q = Second qualifying round
  • 3Q = Third qualifying round
  • 4Q = Fourth qualifying round
  • 5Q = Fifth qualifying round
  • R1 = First round proper
  • R2 = Second round proper

'Other'

  • w = winner
  • ru = runner-up
  • sf = semi-finalist

See also section key to 'other'

Sources

Non-League Football matters

Football Club History Database

The Southern Counties East Football League

Jeff Trice's Margate FC history website

Former players

1. Players that have played/managed in the Football League or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
2. Players with full international caps.
3. Players that hold a club record or have captained the club.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kent's nursery clubs Retrieved 5 May 2009
  2. ↑ Kent League Cup Winners Retrieved 19 April 2014
  3. ↑ Northfleet United at the Football Club History Database
  4. ↑ Retrieved 05 November 2015
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