The 1990's (part 4).....


1998-1999...

The 1998-99 season saw some changes in the Kent League. All grounds were now required to have floodlights, which forced four clubs to arrange groundshares, Cray Wanderers at Bromley, where they have remained ever since, Crockenhill at Erith & Belvedere’s old Park View ground, Erith Town at Greenwich Borough’s Harrow Meadow and VCD Athletic at Thamesmead’s Bayliss Avenue. Folkestone had been promoted to the Southern League, Corinthian had resigned and Swanley Furness, also without lights, had dropped to the reserves division. The top division was now renamed as the Premier Division and would run with 19 clubs.

 

At Hythe United Mick Dix continued as manager with Dave Linstrem as his assistant. Joey Jones was in charge of the reserves. The big changes were off the field with the club getting a new chairman, David Clapson, who had recently retired from a senior position at Eurotunnel. Long-serving secretary Ted Maycock stood down and was replaced by Martin Giles, back in the role he held in Hythe Town’s Southern League days. There was a new kit, again sponsored by HV Wooding, a variant on all-red, the shirt can best be described as white with a red ‘Ajax’ stripe front and back, and red sleeves.

On the field there were only a handful of additions to the squad, Goalkeeper Steve Chivers joined from Deal as first choice but the other new signings hardly featured. The first three league games saw narrow defeats but then came a 5-1 thumping at Tunbridge Wells on August Bank Holiday Monday. Two more league defeats followed and the club was pointless and, unsurprisingly, bottom of the table. The FA Cup proved a welcome distraction with a 2-1 win over Isthmian Division Three side Croydon Athletic.

 

Cup joy was followed by the first point of the season, surprising Tommy Sampson’s expensive Deal Town side with a last-minute Kevin Clifford equaliser. Another league defeat was followed by three cup games; there was FA Cup defeat away to Isthmian Two side Witham Town, a Kent Senior Trophy victory over Swanley Furness and then an FA Vase defeat at Sussex Division One side Redhill.

 

The next game saw a home defeat to Crockenhill and manager Mick Dix announced he was taking a ‘two-week break’ leaving Dave Linstrem in caretaker charge. Linstrem’s first game saw a remarkable 1-0 win away to unbeaten league leaders Ramsgate although this proved to be just a blip as the next three games were lost. But the board decided formally to remove Dix as manager and offer the job to Linstrem, which he accepted, with Ian Daffin as his assistant.

 

His first game as the fully-fledged manager was the start of a remarkable run of five successive games against Faversham Town. The first game, at Salters Lane in the Kent League Cup, was abandoned in the 84th minute due to partial floodlight failure. The second, at home in the league, saw a 2-1 win in front of Hythe’s lowest-ever league crowd of 33. The third game was the restaged League Cup game that ended in a draw, the fourth saw defeat in the Kent Senior Trophy and the fifth gained Hythe a win in the League Cup replay.

 

Linstrem made efforts to strengthen the squad, signing ex-Charlton and Deal player Paul Murray from Dartford, Colin Binder from Ashford and Gary Miller from Whitstable, each of whom were well known in local football. A win at home to Canterbury over Christmas saw Hythe move off the bottom of the table in front of the best home attendance of the season, 152.

 

But the rest of the season was a real battle, a brief decent run saw three wins and three draws in six matches but although many games were close Hythe struggled to score goals, averaging less than a goal a game in the new year until a welcome 5-2 win over VCD brought the season to an end. Hythe finished in eighteenth position with only Tunbridge Wells below them and Ramsgate as champions. The reserves ended one position better, seventeenth out of nineteen.

 

 

Phil Hancock appeared in 41 of the 44 games, with Andy Laker and Andy Bigginton just behind him. Steve Ridley, Clive Barham, Steve Chivers, Jason Brazier, Dave Linstrem, Andy Towse, Steve Hobbs, Paul Stanton and Rhys Taylor-Ryall all played in over half the games. Hythe scored just 52 goals in their 44 games, Hancock led the way with nine, Bigginton, Ridley and Hobbs each scored six. Andy Bigginton was the Players’ Player of the Year, goalkeeper James Howard won the Reserves’ award.

 

1998-1999 Kent League Table....

Team Pld W D L F A GD Pts
Ramsgate 36 26 5 5 93 24 69 83
Deal Town 36 24 9 3 78 25 53 81
Greenwich Borough 36 24 4 8 64 28 36 76
Thamesmead Town 36 20 14 2 57 19 38 74
Crockenhill 36 19 10 7 62 38 24 67
Chatham Town 36 18 11 7 61 40 21 65
VCD Athletic 36 16 9 11 61 51 10 57
Whitstable Town 36 15 9 12 60 52 8 54
Beckenham Town 36 13 11 12 52 48 4 50
Slade Green 36 11 11 14 58 49 9 44
Sheppey United 36 11 8 17 50 59 -9 44
Herne Bay 36 9 9 18 35 51 -16 36
Lordswood 36 8 12 16 47 71 -24 36
Canterbury City 36 9 8 19 34 73 -39 35
Cray Wanderers 36 8 9 19 53 66 -13 33
Faversham Town 36 9 5 22 41 80 -39 29
Erith Town 36 8 5 23 33 79 -46 29
Hythe United 36 7 7 22 38 65 -27 28
Tunbridge Wells 36 5 8 23 46 105 -59 23

1998-1999 Results.....

Date Opponents Comp Venue Score Att Scorers  
25/07/1998 Leyton Orient XI F Home 2-0   Paul Stanton, Andy Bigginton  
28/07/1998 St Leonards F Home 0-2      
08/08/1998 Hamstreet F          
11/08/1998 Kent Fire Brigade F Away        
13/08/1998 Gravesend & Northfleet F Home        
15/08/1998 Thamesmead Town KLP Away 0-1 36    
22/08/1998 Ramsgate KLP Home 1-2 81 Steve Ridley  
29/08/1998 Chatham Town KLP Home 1-2 82 Steve Hobbs  
31/08/1991 Tunbridge Wells KLP Away 1-5 90 Dave Linstrem pen  
05/09/1998 Greenwich Borough KLP Home 0-1 78    
12/09/1998 Whitstable Town KLP Home 2-4 92 Linstrem pen, Danny Gooding  
19/09/1998 Croydon Athletic FAC1Q Home 2-1 158 Hobbs, Gooding  
22/09/1998 Deal Town KLP Away 2-2 287 Gooding, Kevin Clifford  
26/09/1998 Beckenham Town KLP Home 1-2 74 Ridley  
03/10/1998 Witham Town FAC2Q Away 2-5 79 Hobbs, Phil Hancock  
06/10/1998 Swanley Furness KST1 Home 2-1   Linstrem 2, 1 pen  
10/10/1998 Redhill FAV2Q Away 2-3 109 Linstrem, Bigginton  
17/10/1998 Crockenhill KLP Home 1-3 59 Jason Brazier  
24/10/1998 Ramsgate KLP Away 1-0 77 Barham pen  
31/10/1998 Herne Bay KLP Away 1-2 100 Andy Towse  
03/11/1998 Deal Town KLP Home 1-3 102 Bigginton  
07/11/1998 Erith Town KLP Away 0-1 65    
21/11/1998 Faversham Town KLC2 Away 2-2 ab  

Barham pen, Gooding

Abnd 84mins floodlight failure

 
28/11/1998 Faversham Town KLP Home 2-1 33 Bigginton, Gooding  
01/12/1998 Faversham Town KLC2 Away 2-2 aet 53 Bigginton, Hancock  
05/12/1998 Faversham Town KST2 Away 1-3   Bigginton  
08/12/1998 Faversham Town KLC2R Home 3-1 50 Bigginton, Hancock 2  
19/12/1998 Whitstable Town KLP Away 0-1 89    
28/12/1998 Canterbury City KLP Home 2-0 152 Towse, Ridley  
06/01/1999 Canterbury City KLP Away 0-1 60    
23/01/1999 Crockenhill KLCQF Away 0-2 58    
30/01/1999 Faversham Town KLP Away 0-1 48    
02/02/1999 Thamesmead Town KLP Home 1-3 48 Barham pen  
06/02/1999 Cray Wanderers KLP Home 1-0 52 Hancock  
13/02/1999 Cray Wanderers KLP Away 1-0 96 Brazier  
16/02/1999 Lordswood KLP Away 2-2 52 Stanton, Brazier  
20/02/1999 Erith Town KLP Home 2-0 62 Ridley, Brazier  
23/02/1999 Chatham Town KLP Away 0-0 93    
27/02/1999 Herne Bay KLP Home 1-1 68 Ridley  
06/03/1999 Lordswood KLP Home 2-4 68 Barham, OG  
09/03/1999 Sheppey United KLP Away 1-5 56 Hancock  
13/03/1999 Slade Green KLP Away 1-3 62 Barham  
20/03/1999 Sheppey United KLP Home 0-0 62    
27/03/1999 Greenwich Borough KLP Away 0-2 36    
05/04/1999 Tunbridge Wells KLP Home 0-0 107    
10/04/1999 Beckenham Town KLP Away 0-0 71    
17/04/1999 VCD Athletic KLP Away 2-4 69 Colin Binder, Hobbs  
24/04/1999 Slade Green KLP Home 2-4 42 Barham pen, Hobbs  
27/04/1999 Crockenhill KLP Away 1-3 72 Hancock  
04/05/1999 VCD Athletic KLP Home 5-2 71 Hobbs, Hancock 2, Ben Bartlett, Ridley  

1999-2000......

Hythe United returned for another season in the Kent League, now sponsored by Bass Brewers. Crockenhill had dropped out, Erith Town would play back at the Erith Sports Centre. The Herald reported that the club had given serious consideration in the summer about returning to the Kent County League, which seemed highly unlikely. £5,000 from an FA grant had been spent on improving the poor Reachfields pitch with the Secretary joking that at last there was a green surface to play on. Gary Towse became the new reserve team manager but perhaps the best new signing was Martin Whybrow as programme editor. He would go on to make over 340 (programme) appearances, not counting postponements. The club again had a new kit, all red but with red and white sleeves, sponsored by Autorite Finishers. Season tickets were on sale for £35, match-day admission was £3.

 

The pitch improvements were not quite complete in time for the pre-season friendlies. A home game with a Charlton Athletic XI was cancelled and a hasty rearrangement saw the Charlton side play at Folkestone that evening and a Folkestone side play at Hythe – unfit pitch or not.

 

The first two league fixtures were not kind to Hythe, firstly at Deal who would go on to win the League and the FA Vase this season, and then at home to Ramsgate, who would be runners-up to Deal and, often forgotten thanks to Deal’s success, would reach the Vase Quarter-finals themselves. After the shock of 6-1 and 6-0 defeats, Hythe got their first points on the board with a home win over Cray Wanderers. Next up was Sussex County League side Burgess Hill Town in the FA Cup, Hythe losing 3-0 in a replay after a goalless draw at Reachfields.

 

Goals would prove hard to come by for the whole season, only managing more than two on four occasions. The next three league games would be goalless, although two were draws. The drought was ended by Steve Hobbs in a 1-0 win at Ramsgate, gaining revenge for the earlier beating and winning at Southwood for the second season running.

 

There was a mini run in the FA Vase, beginning with a 3-1 win at Sussex side Ringmer. However, it required an injury time equaliser from the head of Andy Bigginton to force extra time, with even goalkeeper Jason Hughes up for the corner. In the next round Hythe held out for a 1-0 win over Walton Casuals, then of the Combined Counties League. Hythe made their exit to another Combined Counties side in the following round, losing 2-1 away at the plane-spotters dream, Bedfont. In between these games, Hythe made first round exits to second-bottom Cray Wanderers in both the Kent Senior Trophy and the Kent League Cup.

 

In October Hythe played in the last-ever game at Canterbury’s Kingsmead Stadium, where the developers moved in the following week. By December the club had dropped to sixteenth in the table so the win at Slade Green, only the third in the league, was very welcome. In fact it started Hythe’s best spell of the season, winning six games out of seven to rise to ninth in the table. After a couple of defeats a run of four wins in a row, including scoring four goals for the only time that season, against Herne Bay, saw Hythe move to eighth in the table. Despite a final day defeat at VCD Athletic where the club could only field ten players, they finished in eighth place. A very young reserve side finished tenth out of eleven clubs in Division One South.

 

Elsewhere it was quite a season for local clubs. Folkestone Invicta won promotion in the Southern League, Deal Town won the FA Vase at the old Wembley (Hythe had a run a coach to the game), Gillingham won the League Play-off final to reach the (now) Championship, and even Calais reached the French Cup final.

 

 

In 41 games, Andy Bigginton led with 36 appearances, now converted to a defender. Regulars were Steve Chivers in goal, defenders Gary Miller, Ben Bartlett and Andy Towse, midfielders Jason Brazier, David Gear, Daran Wilkins and Paul Stanton and strikers Dave Linstrem, Steve Ridley and Steve Hobbs. Dave Linstrem was top-scorer with eleven goals, Hobbs scored eight and Ridley six. Bigginton won both Manager’s and Players’ Player of the Year, the reserves awards went to James Howard and Martin Reene respectively. Steve Chivers won the Herald Trophy (for most man of the match awards).

 

1999-2000 Kent League Table....

Deal Town  34 26 5 3 87 28 59 83
Thamesmead Town   34 23 6 5 75 29 46 72
Chatham Town   34 23 3 8 76 40 36 72
VCD Athletic  34 18 10 6 53 32 21 64
Ramsgate  34 18 9 7 75 41 34 63
Greenwich Borough   34 17 5 12 70 44 24 56
Erith Town   34 16 8 10 56 54 2 56
Hythe United   34 14 6 14 38 50 -12 48
Sheppey United   34 12 6 16 45 60 -15 45
Beckenham Town   34 12 8 14 45 51 -6 44
Lordswood  34 12 6 16 55 63 -8 42
Herne Bay   34 12 8 14 56 48 8 41
Cray Wanderers  34 10 3 21 42 80 -38 36
Tunbridge Wells   34 9 6 19 49 72 -23 33
Slade Green   34 8 6 20 41 65 -24 30
Whitstable Town   34 6 9 19 38 56 -18 27
Faversham Town   34 6 6 22 39 70 -31 24
Canterbury City   34 6 6 22 35 92 -57 24

1999-2000 Results.....

Date Opponents Comp Venue Score Att Scorers
20/07/1999 Charlton Athletic XI F Home P-P    
27/07/1999 Folkestone Invicta F Away 1-3   Andy Bigginton
31/07/1999 Dartford F Home 1-0   Lloyd Partner
03/08/1999 Ashford Town F Home 0-2    
07/08/1999 Deal Town KLP Away 1-6 180 Partner
10/08/1999 Ramsgate KLP Home 0-6 81  
14/08/1999 Cray Wanderers KLP Home 3-1 62 Partner 2, Bigginton
21/08/1999 Burgess Hill Town FACP Home 0-0 141  
24/08/1999 Burgess Hill Town FACPR Away 0-3 171  
28/08/1999 Chatham Town KLP Away 0-2 102  
30/08/1999 Tunbridge Wells KLP Away 0-0 103  
04/09/1999 VCD Athletic KLP Home 0-0 69  
11/09/1999 Ramsgate KLP Away 1-0 105 Steve Hobbs
18/09/1999 Beckenham Town KLP Away 1-4 70 Hobbs
25/09/1999 Ringmer FAV2Q Away 3-1aet 66 Bigginton, Partner pen, Phil Hancock
02/10/1999 Slade Green KLP Home 1-2 86 David Gear
09/10/1999 Cray Wanderers KST1 Away 2-3 51 Hobbs, Steve Ridley
16/10/1999 Cray Wanderers KLC1 Home 0-1 52  
23/10/1999 Walton Casuals FAV1 Home 1-0 106 Jason Brazier
26/10/1999 Greenwich Borough KLP Home 0-1 50  
30/10/1999 Canterbury City KLP Away 1-1 56 Hobbs
06/11/1999 Greenwich Borough KLP Away 0-0    
13/11/1999 Bedfont FAV2 Away 1-2 65 Dave Linstrem
16/11/1999 Thamesmead Town KLP Away 0-1    
20/11/1999 Erith Town KLP Away 0-0 37  
27/11/1999 Sheppey United KLP Home 2-4 48 Andy Towse, Brazier
04/12/1999 Erith Town KLP Home 1-3 35 Linstrem pen
18/12/1999 Slade Green KLP Away 2-0 65 Linstrem, Hobbs
28/12/1999 Tunbridge Wells KLP Home 2-0 142 Linstrem 2
08/01/2000 Faversham Town KLP Away 1-0 67 Linstrem
15/01/2000 Lordswood KLP Away 0-3 60  
22/01/2000 Canterbury City KLP Home 1-0 62 Hobbs
29/01/2000 Chatham Town KLP Home 1-0 73 Hobbs
05/02/2000 Herne Bay KLP Away 2-1 158 Linstrem, Ridley
19/02/2000 Cray Wanderers KLP Away 2-3 90 Bigginton, Brazier
26/02/2000 Thamesmead Town KLP Home 0-2 102  
11/03/2000 Beckenham Town KLP Home 2-1 53 Ridley 2
18/03/2000 Sheppey United KLP Away 3-1 62 Hobbs, Andy Towse, Brazier
25/03/2000 Lordswood KLP Home 2-0 65 Bigginton, Ridley
01/04/2000 Herne Bay KLP Home 4-1 60 OG, Andy Towse, Linstrem 2
11/04/2000 Deal Town KLP Home 1-3 129 Ben Bartlett
18/04/2000 Faversham Town KLP Home 1-1 50 Linstrem
22/04/2000 Whitstable Town KLP Home 2-1 72 Brazier, Ridley
24/04/2000 Whitstable Town KLP Away 1-0 125 Linstrem pen
03/05/2000 VCD Athletic KLP Away 0-2