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Revision as of 21:09, 9 June 2009

Dover Athletic
File:DoverAthleticLogo.jpg
Full nameDover Athletic Football Club
Nickname(s)The Whites[1]
Founded1983[1]
GroundPerry's Crabble Stadium,
River, Kent[2]
Capacity6,500 (1,000 seats)[3]
ChairmanJim Parmenter[4]
ManagerAndy Hessenthaler[4]
LeagueIsthmian League
Premier Division
2008–09Isthmian League
Premier Division, 1st (promoted)[5]

Dover Athletic Football Club is an association football team based in the town of Dover, Kent, England, who play in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was formed in 1983 after the dissolution of the town's previous club, Dover, whose place in the Southern League was taken by the new club. In the 1989–90 season Dover Athletic won the Southern League championship, but failed to gain promotion to the Football Conference as the club's ground did not meet the required standard. Three seasons later the team won this title again and this time gained promotion to the Conference, where they spent nine seasons before being relegated. In April 2008 the club won the championship of Division One South and with it promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. The following season Dover won the Premier League title and gained promotion to Conference South.

The team usually wear white shirts and are consequently nicknamed the Whites. They have played at the Crabble Stadium since the club's formation. The club's best performance in the FA Cup was an appearance in the first round proper in the 2002–03 season, while the best performance registered in the FA Trophy, the national competition for higher-level non-league clubs, was a run to the semi-finals in the 1997–98 season.

History

For a statistical breakdown by season, see Dover Athletic F.C. seasons

Dover Athletic F.C. was formed in 1983 after the town's previous club, Dover, folded due to its debts. The new club took Dover's place in the Southern League Southern Division,[2] with former Dover player Alan Jones as manager and a team consisting mainly of reserve players from the old club.[6] Initially Athletic struggled, finishing second from bottom of the table in the 1984–85 season.[6][7] In November 1985 Steve McRae, who had succeeded Jones a year earlier, was sacked and replaced by Chris Kinnear.[6]

Under Kinnear the club's fortunes turned round, with two top-five finishes followed by the Southern Division championship, and with it promotion, in the 1987–88 season.[7] The team started strongly in the Premier Division, finishing in sixth place at the first attempt, and then winning the championship in the 1989–90 season.[5] The club was denied promotion to the Football Conference, however, as the Crabble Stadium did not meet the standard required for that league.[2] After finishing fourth and second in the subsequent two seasons, Dover won the title again in the 1992–93 season and this time were admitted to the Conference.[5]

Although Dover finished in eighth place in their first season in the Conference,[8] the following season saw the club struggling against relegation, and Kinnear was dismissed due to a combination of the team's poor performances and his own personal problems.[6][9] John Ryan was appointed as the club's new manager,[10] but his reign was a short one and he was dismissed when the club lost seven of its first eight matches in the 1995–96 season.[11] The club then appointed former England international Peter Taylor as manager, but he was unable to steer the team away from the foot of the table, and Dover held onto their place in the Conference only because Northern Premier League runners-up Boston United failed to submit their application for promotion before the required deadline.[11]

Bill Williams took over as manager in 1997 and proved to be Dover's most successful Conference manager, leading the club to the FA Trophy semi-finals in the 1997–98 season and a best ever league finish of sixth place in the 1999–2000 season.[5][12] Williams left the club to take a senior position with Conference rivals Kingstonian in May 2001.[12] By now the club was in severe financial difficulties, with a number of directors resigning and debts exceeding £100,000. Amid the crisis the entire board of directors resigned, forcing the club's Supporters' Trust to take over the running of the club,[13] and manager Gary Bellamy was sacked after just six months in the job.[14][15] Former Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall took over but was dismissed just three months later, with Clive Walker taking over in March 2002 with the club rooted to the foot of the table.[16] The club finished the season bottom of the Conference and was relegated back to the Southern League Premier Division.[17] The club's ongoing financial problems led to it entering a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), a process by which insolvent companies offset their debts against future profits, due to debts that were now estimated at £400,000.[18]

Dover (white shirts) playing Staines Town in 2009

In Dover's first season back in the Southern League Premier Division the Whites finished in third place, albeit 17 points adrift of Tamworth, who claimed the one promotion place available that season.[7] A poor start to the following season saw Walker replaced by Richard Langley.[19] Dover finished the season in 19th place, before being switched to the Isthmian League Premier Division in the summer of 2004 following a re-organisation of the English football league system.[5] The new season started with six successive defeats, which saw Langley sacked, and the financial problems continued, with the club coming within two months of being closed down.[20][21] Dover were relegated to the Isthmian League Division One at the end of the season,[5] but were saved from possible extinction in January 2005 when former director Jim Parmenter returned to head up a consortium that took over the club.[22] Parmenter quickly sacked manager Steve Browne and convinced Clive Walker to return to the club to replace him,[23] and also arranged for the club's outstanding CVA debts to be cleared, putting the club on a firm financial footing for the first time in many years.[24]

Dover Athletic narrowly missed out on an immediate return to the Premier Division in the 2005–06 season, reaching the play-offs for promotion but losing out to Tonbridge Angels.[25] The following season Dover again reached the play-offs but lost in the semi-final to Hastings United,[26] after which Walker did not have his contract renewed and was replaced by former Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler.[4] In his first season in charge he led the club to the Division One South championship and promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division.[27] The following season Dover won a second consecutive championship and thus gained promotion to Conference South.[28]

Colours and crest

Dover Athletic's traditional colours are white and black,[29] which were also the colours worn by the earlier Dover club.[30] The current away kit is all red,[29] although in the past other combinations such as yellow and blue have been worn.[1] The club's crest contains a stylised representation of the town's two most famous landmarks, Dover Castle and the white cliffs, enclosed in a circle bearing the club's name. The club's shirts have been sponsored by companies including Criccieth Homes, Paul Brown of Dover, Jenkins and Pain and cross-channel operators Hoverspeed and SeaFrance.[1][29][31]

Stadium

The Crabble Stadium
Main article: Crabble Stadium

Dover Athletic's home ground since the club's foundation has been the Crabble Stadium, which was also the home of the former Dover club.[2] The word Crabble, which is also found in the name of a local corn mill,[32] derives from the Old English crabba hol, meaning a hole in which crabs are found.[33] The stadium, commonly known simply as "Crabble"[34] or "The Crabble",[35][36] forms part of the larger council-owned Crabble Athletic Ground,[37] and the earlier Dover club originally shared the lower pitch with a rugby club, but moved to the upper pitch in the 1950s, adding a grandstand in 1951, followed soon after by terracing and floodlights.[2]

Dover Athletic continued to make improvements to the ground, although not in time to allow the club to take its place in the Football Conference in 1990. Subsequently new turnstiles were installed and two new terraces and a second grandstand added. These improvements meant that the club was able to gain promotion after its second Southern League title in 1993.[2] The stadium's modern capacity is 6,500, with 1,000 seats and 4,900 spectators under cover.[1]

In 2007 the club announced that under the new sponsorship deal with SeaFrance the stadium would be known officially as the SeaFrance Crabble Stadium, but a year later it was announced that the deal would not be renewed due to the ferry operator's financial constraints.[29][38] On 1 July 2008 local car dealership Perry's was announced as the club's new main sponsor and the stadium rebranded as the Perry's Crabble Stadium.[37] Between 2003 and 2004 it was known as the Hoverspeed Stadium under the terms of another such agreement.[39] Margate played their home matches at The Crabble for two seasons from 2002 until 2004, while their own Hartsdown Park ground was being redeveloped.[40]

Supporters

File:IsthOneGatesGraph.svg
Average attendances by team in the Isthmian League Division One South in the 2007–08 season, with Dover highlighted

In the club's early days Athletic struggled to attract crowds of over 150,[6] but by the time the club reached the Conference, crowds at The Crabble were averaging around 1,000.[41][42][43] After the club's relegation to the Isthmian League Division One South, the average attendance fell to just over 800,[44] but when the club returned to the Premier Division for the 2008–09 season, the average attendance at the Crabble was 1,293, the highest in the division.[45] The highest home attendance in the club's history was 4,186 for a match against Oxford United in the first round proper of the FA Cup on 16 November 2002.[46]

Although Athletic's improved monetary position means that the Supporters' Trust is no longer required to financially support the club, it remains active as a fundraising organisation.[47]

Statistics and records

File:GraphDAFC5.svg
Dover's league positions since the club's formation. Yellow lines represent breaks between divisions, level numbers refer to levels of the overall English football league system.

Dover Athletic's highest finish in the English football league system was in the 1999–2000 season, in which the team finished in sixth place in the Football Conference, the highest level of non-league football and the fifth level overall. The Whites have made 11 appearances in the final qualifying round of the FA Cup, but only once progressed to the first round proper, in the 2002–03 season, when they lost 1–0 at home to Oxford United. Five years earlier the Whites reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy but missed out on an appearance at Wembley, losing to Cheltenham Town. The largest number of points the team has accrued is 102 in the 1989–90 season, and the highest total number of goals scored in a season is 89, scored in 40 matches in the 1985–86 season.[5] The team's biggest ever win was a 7–0 defeat of Weymouth in April 1990,[46] and the heaviest defeat was a 7–1 loss to Poole Town in April 1984.[48]

The holder of the record for most appearances for Dover Athletic is Jason Bartlett, who played in 539 matches, and the all-time top goalscorer is Lennie Lee, with 160 goals.[46] The club's record signing is Dave Leworthy, who joined the club from Farnborough Town in 1993 for £50,000,[1] which at the time was the highest transfer fee ever paid between non-league clubs.[49] The record fee received by the club was also £50,000, paid by Brentford in 1997 for Ricky Reina.[1]

Players

As of 9 June 2009.[50]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK England ENG John Whitehouse
— GK England ENG Lee Hook
— DF England ENG Olly Schulz
— DF England ENG Dean Hill
— DF England ENG Craig Cloke
— DF England ENG Matt Fish
— DF England ENG Sam Gore
— DF England ENG Jake Leberl
— MF England ENG Andy Hessenthaler
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Sierra Leone SLE John Keister
— MF England ENG James Rogers
— MF England ENG Jerahl Hughes
— MF England ENG Jon Wallis
— MF England ENG Sammy Moore
— FW England ENG Lee Browning
— FW England ENG Francis Collin
— FW England ENG Shaun Welford
— FW Mali MLI Lassana Sidibe

N.B. The Isthmian League does not use a squad numbering system.

For a list of all Dover Athletic players, past and present, with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Dover Athletic F.C. players.

Managers

Dover Athletic have had 14 full-time managers in the club's 25-year history, with Chris Kinnear's 10-year stint being the longest.

Andy Hessenthaler was appointed manager of Dover in 2007.
From To Manager Notes
1983 1984 Alan Jones [6]
1984 1984 Graham Sawyer (caretaker) [51]
1984 1985 Steve McRae [6]
1985 1995 Chris Kinnear [9]
1995 1995 Nigel Donn and
Dave Leworthy (caretakers)		 [9]
1995 1995 John Ryan [10][11]
1995 1996 Peter Taylor [52]
1996 1997 Joe O'Sullivan [53]
1997 2001 Bill Williams [54]
2001 2001 Gary Bellamy [55]
2001 2001 Clive Walker (caretaker) [15]
2001 2002 Neville Southall [16]
2002 2003 Clive Walker [16][19]
2003 2004 Richard Langley [20]
2004 2004 Gary Whittle (caretaker) [20]
2004 2005 Steve Browne [56][57]
2005 2007 Clive Walker [23]
2007 present Andy Hessenthaler [58]

Honours

Dover receive the Isthmian League championship trophy in 2009

Rivalries

Dover Athletic's main rivalry is with nearby Folkestone Invicta.[59] A meeting between the two teams in 2004 was watched by a crowd of 2,278, a record attendance for a league match at Invicta's ground.[60] The club also has a rivalry with Margate.[61] In the 2001–02 season, when both teams were in the Football Conference, the two games between Margate and Dover were watched by a combined total of more than 6,000 spectators. The game played at Margate's Hartsdown Park stadium drew a crowd of 3,676, and 2,325 were in attendance for the game at Dover.[62]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Williams, Tony (2007). Non-League Club Directory 2007. Tony Williams Publications Ltd. p. 515. ISBN 1-8698-3355-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Dover Athletic F.C." Pyramid Passion. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  3. ^ Stuart Croll (2007-09-25). "Ground of the Week : The Crabble Stadium". BBC. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  4. ^ a b c "Hessenthaler named Dover manager". BBC. 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Dover Athletic". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "John Husk". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  7. ^ a b c "England - Southern League Final Tables". RSSSF. 2005-07-04. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  8. ^ "Football Conference 1993–94". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  9. ^ a b c Rupert Metcalf (1995-01-13). "NON-LEAGUE FOOTBALL: Stamco ready to ride the hard road". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  10. ^ a b Rupert Metcalf (1995-02-17). "Sittingbourne net Lovell". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  11. ^ a b c "Football: Taylor's a fast mover". The Argus. 2000-11-15. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  12. ^ a b "Bill Williams Resigns". Dover Athletic F.C. 2001-05-14. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  13. ^ "Dover appoint Southall". BBC. 2001-12-18. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  14. ^ "Nationwide Conference: Dover on the brink". The Daily Telegraph. 2001-11-01. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  15. ^ a b "Nationwide Conference: Dover win lifts gloom". The Daily Telegraph. 2001-11-11. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  16. ^ a b c "Dover appoint Walker". BBC. 2002-03-13. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  17. ^ "Football Conference 2001–02". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  18. ^ Steve Cattermole (2002-06-19). "CVA Proposal Gets Green Light". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  19. ^ a b "Walker goes at Dover". Non-League Daily. 2003-10-29. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  20. ^ a b c Simon Wigmore (2004-09-13). "Kemp bows to pressure over Langley". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  21. ^ "Club must raise £48,000 or close". BBC. 2004-11-25. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  22. ^ Justin Allen (2005-01-06). "Jim's Takeover Bid Confirmed". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  23. ^ a b "Whites are Clive and kicking". Dover Athletic F.C. 2005-01-17. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  24. ^ Justin Allen (2006-08-01). "CVA Agreement Reached". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  25. ^ "Club History". Tonbridge Angels F.C. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  26. ^ "Ten-man Hastings reach play-off final". The Argus. 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  27. ^ a b "Dover ease to Ryman South title". BBC. 2008-04-05. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  28. ^ a b Howard, Tom (2009-03-28). "Dover Athletic crowned Ryman Premier champions". Kent News. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  29. ^ a b c d Matthew Clements (2007-01-08). "SeaFrance on board". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  30. ^ "Team Photos". The History of Dover Football Club. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  31. ^ "New sponsor deal for Dover". BBC. 2000-07-25. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  32. ^ "Crabble Corn Mill". Crabble Corn Mill Trust. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  33. ^ "The Origin of Dover's Name". Dover-Kent.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  34. ^ "Visiting Crabble". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  35. ^ "Dover 1-1 Morecambe". BBC. 2002-04-20. Retrieved 2008-02-16. The hosts, already relegated, showed plenty of spirit and enjoyed the majority of possession in an entertaining encounter at The Crabble.
  36. ^ "Non-league Notebook: Slade enraged by Dover defeat". The Independent. 2003-02-21. Retrieved 2008-02-16. Dover entertain Forest Green Rovers at The Crabble in the fifth round of the Trophy.
  37. ^ a b "Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover". Dover District Council. Retrieved 2008-02-04. Cite error: The named reference "crabble2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  38. ^ "Sponsor cutback hits Whites". Dover Athletic F.C. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  39. ^ "New sponsorship deal for Dover brings new ground name". Non League Daily. 2003-07-05. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  40. ^ "The History of Margate Football Club". margatefchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  41. ^ "Stats 1999/2000: Dover Athletic". ConfGuide.com. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  42. ^ "Stats 2000/1: Dover Athletic". ConfGuide.com. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  43. ^ "Stats 2001/2: Dover Athletic". ConfGuide.com. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  44. ^ "Attendances: Isthmian League Division One South". Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  45. ^ "Attendances: Isthmian League Division One South". Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  46. ^ a b c "Dover Athletic". Non-League Daily. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  47. ^ Paul Harrison. "Trust Statement". Dover Athletic Supporters' Trust. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  48. ^ "Dover Athletic all-time records". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  49. ^ "He played them both - Spurs: David Leworthy". Vital Football. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  50. ^ "Player profiles". Dover Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  51. ^ "Graham Sawyer". margatefchistory.co.uk. 2006-09-16. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  52. ^ "Taylor-made for top job". BBC. 2000-11-14. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  53. ^ Rupert Metcalf (1997-24-01). "Football: Stevenage to take up the cry". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-01-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  54. ^ Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 339. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
  55. ^ "Gary Bellamy". Chesterfield F.C. 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  56. ^ "Browne's the Whites choice". Dover Athletic F.C. 2004-10-12. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  57. ^ Phil Windeatt (2005-01-17). "Dover Athletic 1 Kingstonian 2". This Is Local London. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  58. ^ "Hess unveiled as new Whites manager". Kent Online. 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  59. ^ "Dryden breaks Invicta record and Dover's hearts". kentishfootball.co.uk. 2005-03-28. Retrieved 2008-02-06. In the post-match press conference, Folkestone Invicta boss Neil Cugley was delighted with their victory over their local rivals.
  60. ^ "Folkestone Invicta FC". BBC. 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  61. ^ "History/Honours". Margate F.C. Retrieved 2008-02-04. ... with the highest single attendance being just under 4,000 for the Boxing Day game against local rivals Dover Athletic.
  62. ^ "Fixtures 2001/2 : Margate". Confguide.com. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
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