Ebbsfleet United  

Ebbsfleet United may be a new name, though one that is already engraved on the FA Trophy, but the club itself dates back to the 1890s. 

The fore-runner of Ebbsfleet United , Gravesend & Northfleet, were formed in 1946 when Gravesend United and Northfleet United merged and joined the Southern League. 

The new club established themselves without pulling up any trees until 1957/58 when they landed their first league title and scoring over 100 goals in the process.   

The next season saw a second placed finish but years of struggle followed before relegation in 1963.  However, that year was more memorable for an amazing FA Cup run which saw ‘Fleet reach the Fourth Round proper before losing to Sunderland in a replay. 

Because of the ‘Big freeze’ that cup run lasted a staggering five months! 

The 1970s was something of a yo-yo period for the club with promotion followed by relegation but reasonable finished in the Southern League Premier Division meant that ‘Fleet became one of the founder members of the Alliance Premier League, the forerunner to the Conference.   

Unfortunately, just three seasons later ‘Fleet were relegated back to the Southern League where they stayed until switching to the Isthmian in 1997.   

The turn of the new century saw the club lift the Kent Senior Cup twice in three years with the Ryman championship being won in 2002 following a dramatic 1-0 win over Bedford on the last day of the season.   

Earlier over 4,000 had crammed into Stonebridge Road to see ‘Fleet take on Canvey Island; the two teams which had dominated the league that season. 

Promotion to the Conference saw the club cope well with the higher level of football and in 2006 the club took a huge stride forward by turning full time under manager Liam Daish.   

2006/07 saw the club finish seventh, their highest ever league placing in what would turn out to the final season under their old name.  May 1, 2007 saw the club renamed Ebbsfleet United to take advantage of the growing population and opportunities in Ebbsfleet.   

The clubs name wasn’t the only thing to change as this season saw the club create history by being the first to be taken over and run by the members of a website. 

MyFC purchased a 75% stake in the club on behalf of its 28,000 members with no-one quite sure how the arrangement would work. 

But, manager Liam Daish and his players didn’t worry about off the field events and Ebbsfleet United instantly repaid their new owners by winning the 2008 FA Trophy in front of over 40,00 fans at Wembley to put the cap on what has been an amazing year for the football club.