Ramsgate

The current Ramsgate FC is a non-league football club from the east Kent seaside town was formed in 1945 as Ramsgate Athletic; although there has been a team representing Ramsgate of Kent since 1886.

The original club folded in 1924, with local rivals Ramsgate Glenville taking over their Southwood Stadium. Glenville did not continue after the war. Ramsgate Athletic became members of the Kent League in 1945-46.

‘The Rams’ were crowned as league champions in 1949-50 before going on to add further titles in 1955-56; which also saw a run to round one of the FA Cup before going out to Watford at Vicarage Road, and then again 1956-57.

The successes led to a move to join Division One of the Southern League where mid-table finishes were regular. In 1971-72 Ramsgate ended as runners-up to win promotion to the Premier Division; at which point ‘Athletic’ was dropped from their title.

The end of the 1975-76 campaign saw Ramsgate relegated to the Kent League where they remained, finishing as runners-up in 1996-97 before lifting the title in 1998-99 and then again in 2004-05 to win promotion to the Isthmian League.

The Rams won Division One South at the first attempt to win promotion to the Premier Division. A bottom place finish in 2008-09 saw the club drop back down to Division One South.

After several seasons of mid-table finishes Lloyd Blackman was appointed as manager in January 2017 after being coach to previous bosses Jim and Danny Ward from 2015. Former Maidstone United and Thamesmead Town chairman Paul Bowden-Brown was appointed as CEO in October 2018.

Blackman resigned in December 2018 to be replaced by Nick Davis, citing Bowden-Brown’s interventions as a cause. The Rams ended the 2018-19 season in eleventh position. Davis was sacked in September 2019 after a poor start to the season.

Ramsgate FC will play in the Isthmian League Division One South East in the 2019-20 season.

My visit

Friday 16th July 2010 

I was on annual leave from work so I decided after plenty of research to have a day’s groundhopping in North Kent on . My first destination was to be Ramsgate. I took the early train from Victoria to my start out point on a pleasant morning, passing through many seaside towns on the way. 

The walk from the station to Southwood Stadium took around ten minutes, but was where the fun began for me. Over the next twenty minutes I circumnavigated the entire ground looking for the proper entrance to no avail. 

I got plenty of tantalising glimpses, but no gates. The very last option was Price's Avenue and sure enough, there were the empty gates at the end of the road. If anyone wants a review of the 50's and 60's residential housing of Ramsgate, I'm your man! 

The ground itself was functional, but not the smartest if truth me told. It showed signs of aging and being rather piecemeal. The clubhouse advertised it was open every night, which even though offering a regular source of income, must have been difficult to attract trade as there was a couple of decent looking pubs nearby.

Down the right hand side touchline there was a patchy fence with practice grounds behind with just a thin patch of flat open standing for spectators. The other three sides were made up of a mixture of terrace and flat concrete and grass standing. 

The Clubhouse End had a decent cover with a far end having a smaller one. The Main Stand was a low seated construction along the far touchline. At the time of my visit, contractors were doing maintenence work making all ready for the new season.

I walked back to Ramsgate station in good time for the next train on to Margate.

Ramsgate 0 Arundel 0 (Saturday 7^th September 2019) FA Cup First Qualifying Round (att: 197)

The FA Cup will always be my favourite football competition. It’s one I love to attend as often as possible, so when I got an unforeseen opportunity it was a no brainer to pick a game from the expansive choice.

I’d originally taken the day off work to play cricket in the final Wenlock Arms fixture of the summer out in deepest Essex. However, a lack of commitment and availability caused its cancellation and released me on a free reign.

After narrowing my options down to two; Whitstable Town v Folkestone Invicta being the other, I decided on Ramsgate, primarily because of the further distance which would be a long trek for a midweek match when I generally do more groundhopping.

After making my way to St Pancras, I settled down for the ninety minutes trip on the Javelin train along to the Kent coast where I alighted at Broadstairs. A cloudy sky met my arrival as I took a bus on an all day ticket purchased online for £4.20.

My sporting day started with a visit to Broadstairs Cricket Club, where the first team were taking on Bromley Common in the Kent Premier League. The most pleasant ground; The Pavilion, was surrounded by some beautiful trees with a small crowd watching the action.

The visiting batsmen were going hell for leather early in the piece as I wandered round to the Attractive pavilion and enjoyed a bottle of Spitfire Gold while watching the Ashes Test as well as keeping an eye on proceedings outside.

Everyone seemed most pleasant and approachable throughout my short stay. I would have had a longer watch, but my itinerary was planned with more refreshments and sightseeing before the FA Cup encounter.

The excellent Loop bus service collected me at the end of Park Avenue to take me the ten minutes or so to Wellington Crescent; a stop on top of the cliff overlooking the harbour. A free lift took me down to sea level opposite the Royal Victoria Pavilion.

This fine building had been beautifully restored by Wetherspoons and was now allegedly the biggest pub in the country. It was certainly some size as patrons discover when they need to trek to the toilets.

A fine pint of Oakham JHB refreshed me while I listened to a fascinating “View from the Boundary” on Test Match Special featuring BBC correspondent Jeremy Bowen revealing his love for the game and tales of meeting foreign leaders and wars. I recommend the podcast.

A short walk to the harbour bus stop allowed me to take the Loop to South Eastern Road, where I got out to sample a beer at the Conqueror Alehouse; a micropub converted from an old corner shop.

Disaster had struck. I’d left my reading glasses on the bus. Checking Google Maps for information would be awkward, as would checking the football scores throughout the afternoon. Putting a bet on was definitely out of the question.

A local couple pointed me in the direction of the pub. I entered the small room that went momentarily silent at the sight of a stranger. It was an all male crowd. I sat in the corner and got chatting with a pleasant enough drinker.

The Oakham Citra was on top form and a fair price. The owner gave me some tips on similar pubs in Broadstairs as he rang the bell for last orders. He was also going to the match.

The locals were a fun and friendly bunch once the initial barriers came down. An openly gay fella opposite made innuendos and flirted with me, to disapproval from the governor. “This is a pub, not a cottage!” I drank up and left in good form.

It was just over five minutes to the Southwood. There was no danger of the same confusion in finding the entrance as in my previous visit as I followed fellow spectators to the entrance. Time was getting on, so I didn’t bother with a beer in the clubhouse.

Instead, I bought a tea, chips and hot dog with were all OK, if perhaps a little steep price wise? Admission was £10, with the glossy programme a further couple of quid. Half time draw tickets were £1 for five; with cash prizes guaranteed. I couldn’t resist!

Southwood was a better venue than I had thought before. It had substantial terracing at both ends; which both had covers over the centre section. I took up a seat in the stand after purchasing a Bovril. The wind was making it into that type of day.

Arundel were very much the underdogs. Before play they were in third place in Division One of the Southern Combination. That was two steps lower than Ramsgate’s league status. The hosts were second from bottom in their Isthmian League division.

The firm surface, strong wind and resilient visitors were to give the Rams a frustrating afternoon despite having the majority of the play. The first opportunity came when Kane Rowland headed wide a cross from Rory Smith.

Ashley Hawkes hit an effort over the bar for Arundel on the half volley on four minutes. Their play generally relied on denying any home attacks and then knocking the ball long for Hawkes and Callum Chalmers to try and snatch a goal on the break.

Tom Chapman went close on twenty six minutes but saw his volley go wide from a Tom Wynter low centre. Dan Stevens made a comfortable save from Rowland to extinguish hopes of a Rams goal.

Ramsgate came close to breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half time. Another Wynter cross saw Chapman’s shot parried by Stevens, before the rebound fell to Rowland who saw his shot come back off the foot of the post from an acute angle.

At half time I caught up with the cricket on TV in the bar. My luck hadn’t improved on the raffle ticket front; needless to say. It was a relief when the gate opened to allow access to the bar, as there wasn’t another toilet inside the ground.

Five minutes after the adjournment Arundel went as close as they would throughout when a twenty five yard free kick from Matthew Noble was saved at the second attempt by keeper Will Godmon.

Stephen Smith replied for the Rams with a long range shot that was watched wide by goalie Stevens. Rowland then forced him into a fine save when the ball dropped in the area following an Aaron Lamont free kick.

Stevens denied Chapman, taking a knock for his troubles as realisation and doubts began to grow on the pitch and terracing. Eli Amoo snatched at a half chance for Arundel, dragging his shot well wide.

Stephen Smith had a weak effort easily saved before Ashley Miller fired over as the clock ran down. Rory Smith saw a shot stopped just before the visiting side were reduced to ten men when referee Alex Mathieson sent off Chalmers for a second bookable offence.

The final half chance came when Ramsgate’s eleventh corner of the game was blocked by the ever resolute defence of the Sussex side. The final whistle went shortly after, signalling for me to get on my way.

I’d managed to work out that a bus would take me to a stop in the town centre in five minutes time. The large screen graphics of Twitter allowed my eyes to see that Scarborough Athletic had drawn at home to Marske United.

Hendon, my local team, had won against Little Common in a tie played at the home of Eastbourne United. I’d been there before and predicted pretty much how that particular game would go in the wind on a poor playing surface.

The bus stopped just around the corner from High Street, where I purchased some new “readers” from Poundland so that I could see the other scores and work my way to the pubs in Broadstairs.

My first sight of the bay at the bottom of the High Street was stunning and took me by surprise. I had friends who loved Broadstairs. I could now see why. It really was a tidy town; with food outlets and pubs. It was my type of place.

First port of call was The Chapel Bar and Bookshop; a previous place of worship to those devoted to the church. It was now devoted to those of reading and beers. A fine pint followed before I crossed Albion Street.

Magnet Micropub offered a warm welcome and an excellent pint of Perry St Pale from the Iron Pier Brewery of Gravesend. The place was busy with a good vibe. The smaller pubs really did work in crating a good atmosphere.

I’d taken my eye off the ball with the Test; but not as badly as the England team it had appeared, as they managed to mess up a half chance in the game. Meanwhile the England football team had thrashed Bulgaria 4-0 at Wembley.

I’d been having such an enjoyable time that I pretty much overlooked game; something more or less unthinkable on other days. The Thirty-Nine Steps Brewhouse served me the same ale as the Magnet, but not of as good a quality.

It was nice to see a bar billiard table upstairs in the aesthetic glass fronted building. Mind The Gap was my final call. It seemed a pretty apt choice as a railwayman; although it could of course have refereed to the space between the England batsmen’s bat and pads.

I gazed out of the large window longingly wishing good days such as this would last forever. I was in such a dream world that I missed my intended train; instead having to catch the stopping service to Victoria.

Not that it would matter. The best of Lou Read on my IPod and I drifted away, awaking near Bromley. I wondered how their cricket team had fared from earlier? It had been that kind of carefree day. If only every Saturday was as enjoyable.