Ebbsfleet United

1946–2007: Gravesend & Northfleet

Gravesend & Northfleet F.C. was formed in 1946 by a merger between Gravesend United (originally formed in 1893) and Northfleet United (originally formed in 1890). The new club retained the red and white home colours and the Stonebridge Road stadium of Northfleet United.

The club were elected to the Southern League for the 1946–47 season and, in the inaugural season, reached the first round proper of the FA Cup, losing to fellow Southern League club Gillingham. The club reached the first round of the FA cup again in 1949–50, before being defeated by Torquay United of the Football League Third Division South. For eight seasons, the club recorded mid-table finishes in the single division Southern League (a highest of fifth in 1947 and a lowest of twenty-first in 1952) until finishing bottom of the division over the 1954–55 season. During that period, "The Fleet" twice won the Kent Senior Cup: in 1949 they defeated Gillingham 2–0 in a twice-replayed final and, in 1953, were victors 2–1 over Dartford.

Following the dismal record over the previous season, in the summer of 1955 the club appointed ex-Arsenal and England player Lionel Smith as manager, their seventh manager in ten seasons. He remained in charge for five seasons until resigning in 1960. Three seasons into Smith's tenure, Gravesend & Northfleet were the 1957–58 Southern League Champions. During the following season, the league operated two parallel regional divisions and, by achieving a second-placed finish in the South-East Division, the club earned a position in the league's newly formed Premier Division for the 1959–60 season.

For three seasons, the club recorded lowly finishing positions in the division before being relegated to the Southern League Division One after the 1962–63 season. In 1961 and 1962, whilst still members of the Premier Division, the club applied for election to the Football League Fourth Division but failed to receive a single vote on each occasion. In the relegation season, "The Fleet" achieved their longest-ever FA Cup run in the 1962–63 season competition: after beating League Division Four strugglers Exeter City, and then mid-table Isthmian League club Wycombe Wanderers at Stonebridge Road in the first two rounds, in the third round the club won away at Carlisle United of the Football League Third Division before they were knocked out in a fourth round replay at leading Football League Second Division club Sunderland – that was the first of a sequence of four seasons of appearing in the proper rounds of the FA cup. The subsequent three were: in 1963–64 losing in the second round to Brentford of the Third Division, in the following season losing in the first round to another Third Division club Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, and then beaten in the first round by Wimbledon of the Southern League.

Shortly after the relegation, the club was rocked by a financial crisis which saw an exodus of key players in October 1963 and, in April 1964, the supporters club made key donations to avert the threat of the club folding. In the 1963–64 season, "The Fleet" slumped to twentieth position (from twenty-two clubs) of the Southern League Division One, and recorded similar lowly finishes over the following six seasons. During that spell, in November 1968, the club appointed Alf Ackerman as manager. In 1970, in the final season of the six-season run, the club won the Kent Floodlit Cup, defeating Margate 2–1 in a final replay, having shared six goals over the initial two-legged final tie. In 1971, the club achieved a third-place finish in Division One and were promoted back to the Southern League Premier Division. During the period between 1969 and 1971, Roy Hodgson, who later became manager of the national teams of Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland and England, was a player at the club, making 59 appearances.

The club's return to the Premier Division for the 1971–72 season was unsatisfactory: they recorded all-time lows of five matches won and thirty goals scored. They finished at the foot of the table and were duly relegated into the now-regional Southern League Division One South. In February 1974, Ackerman quit as manager, citing lack of funds, and was replaced as manager by former player Tony Sitford. Fifteen months later, under Sitford, Gravesend & Northfleet were the 1974–75 Division One South champions and were again promoted to the Premier Division. Three seasons later, in 1978, "The Fleet" won the Southern League Cup defeating Weymouth 2–0 over a two-legged final. The club appeared in the first round of the FA Cup for each of the three seasons between 1978 and 1980, being defeated in the first two occasions by members of the Football League Fourth Division and previous cup conquerors: Wimbledon in an away replay in 1978 and in the following 1979–80 competition by Torquay United; and in 1980 defeated at home by non-league Isthmian League Division One St Albans City.

There was a reorganisation of Non-league football in 1979 and Gravesend & Northfleet were one of thirteen clubs from the Southern League Premier Division who together with seven clubs from the Northern Premier League were founder members of the countrywide Alliance Premier League. After a disappointing first half of the 1980–81 season, with the club in lower mid-table, manager Sitford was sacked in December 1980 and replaced by former Gillingham and Wimbledon defender Dave Galvin. 'The Fleet' not only maintained their league status that season but also won the 1981 Kent Senior Cup defeating Ashford Town 2–0 in the final. However, after the following 1981–82 campaign, in which Galvin resigned mid-season they were relegated back into the Southern League Premier Division