Erith & Belvedere F.C.
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| Full name | Erith & Belvedere Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Deres |
| Founded | 1922 |
| Ground | Park View Road, Welling |
| Capacity | 5,000 (1,000 seated) |
| Chairman | John McFadden |
| Manager | John Wilfort |
| League | Southern Counties East League Premier Division |
| 2015–16 | Southern Counties East League Premier Division, 16th |
Erith & Belvedere F.C., established 1922, is a football club representing Erith, in the London Borough of Bexley. They are currently members of the Southern Counties East League Premier Division.
An Erith FC had existed at the turn of the 20th century, however Erith and Belvedere FC was formed due to restructuring of Belvedere and District FC in 1922; which itself had only existed since 1918. On formation it joined the Kent League. Apart from two seasons (1929–31) in the London League, the Deres remained in the Kent League until the war, with third place in 1928–29 being their highest finish.
After World War II, the Deres were founder members of the Corinthian League, winning the Memorial Shield (League Cup) for three seasons in succession (1948–50). The Deres were one of only three clubs to remain in the Corinthian League throughout its existence, and in 1963 they joined Division 1 of the Athenian League on its expansion to three divisions. They reached the Athenian premier division in 1971, and won the League Cup in 1974, beating Redhill 1–0, via a goal scored by Charlie Carroll. The final was played at Park View on 25 May.
In 1978 the club opted to return to the Kent League, but in 1982 won the championship and were promoted to the Southern League. However, although they remained at that level for over twenty years, they always struggled until finally they were relegated in 2004–05 (the first relegation in the club's 83-year history).
To add to their problems during this period, the club was forced to leave its original ground, Park View, Belvedere, after a fire wrecked the main stand in September 1997, and entered a ground share arrangement with Welling United at their present home Park View Road (within the town of Welling).
Since 2010, the Deres hired Micky Collins and Julian Leigh to replace Richie Radbourne as manager and assistant manager respectively. After finishing 5th in 2010-11 campaign, the Deres finally found their feet during 2011-12 and came 2nd to Herne Bay. However, a strong campaign in 2012-13 finally clinched the Deres their first major league success since 1982 by winning the Kent League Premier Division on the final day of the season and returned the Deres to step 4 football in the Isthmian League Division One North for the first time since 2005. Also winning the Macron sponsored Kent League cup beating Corinthian 4-1 in the final thus clinching the Double. Micky Collins resigned at the end of that season. Chris Cosgrove and Martin Ford became the managers, but Ford was sacked in October and this sparked a downward spiral which left the club finishing bottom of the Isthmian League Division One North which meant relegation to the former Kent League, now known as the Southern Counties East League. Cosgrove was sacked on 1 May 2014 and replaced by Matt Longhurst.
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