Margate F.C.

Margate F.C.

The club was founded in 1896 and joined the Southern Football League in 1933. After a spell in the Kent League after World War II the team returned to the Southern League in 1959 and remained there until 2001. In 2001 they gained promotion to the Football Conference. The team have to date reached the third round proper of England’s premier cup competition, the FA Cup, on two occasions. From 1934 until 1938 Margate served as the official nursery side for Arsenal.

About Margate F.C. in brief

Summary Margate F.C.Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent. The club was founded in 1896 and joined the Southern Football League in 1933. After a spell in the Kent League after World War II the team returned to the Southern League in 1959 and remained there until 2001. In 2001 they gained promotion to the Football Conference, the highest level of English non-league football. The team have to date reached the third round proper of England’s premier cup competition, the FA Cup, on two occasions. From 1934 until 1938 Margate served as the official nursery side for Arsenal. In 1971 the Gate endured a series of mediocre league seasons, but took part in two famous FA Cup ties against Bournemouth and Swansea City. On several occasions in the 1970s Margate had discussed a merger with neighbours Ramsgate to form a new team representing the whole Isle of Thanet. The negotiations floundered, however, and Margate lost 6–0 to Swansea in a match which was then set up to set up a third round tie against First Division First Division Tottenham Hotspur, then UEFA Cup holders. During the 1980s the club was known for a number of years as Thanet United. They currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division and are known as ‘The Gate’ The team was originally called Margate Town, playing friendly matches on local school grounds before settling on a pitch at what would later become the Dreamland amusement park in 1912. In 1929 the club reformed again and moved to its present home at Hartsdown Park, leasing part of the park from the local council for conversion into a football stadium.

Around this time Margate signed a Dutch player, a highly unusual move in an era when it was almost unknown for Continental players to move to English clubs. Goalkeeper Gerrit \”Gerard\” Keizer, who joined the Kent club from Ajax Amsterdam, later went on to play for Arsenal in the Premier League. In the second season of this arrangement, 1935–36, Margate reached the second round proper, losing 3–1 to Blackpool after defeating Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace in the earlier rounds, but shortly after this the club had to step back down to theKent League for financial reasons. In 1959–60 Margate won the Division One championship and with it promoted to the Premier Division. Two years later the club turned full-time professional but this policy proved financially untenable when the team were relegated back to Division One in 1965–66. Nonetheless, they won promotion at the first attempt and returned to Premier Division in 1967. A year later Margate beat Swansea City and Hersham & Hersham in a cup tie set up for Swansea City & Hershham to qualify for the fourth round of the UEFA Cup. The next season the team lost 11-0 to Maccabi Maccabiah, with Ted Dougall scoring a cup record of nine goals. After the Second World War the Gate continued to play in Kent League under new manager Charlie Walker, who led the team to two Kent League championships but was then controversially sacked.