Kingstonian F.C.

Kingston and Surbiton YMCA Kingstonian was formed in autumn 1885, under the name Kingston & Surbiton YMCA. Over the two years the club played only friendly matches against other football teams in the region. The club's first season as Kingston Wanderers also heralded a change of home ground to the Fairfield Recreation Ground. and Southend United, either side of a win over fellow Conference team Southport – on their way to the FA Cup fourth round, where they were drawn with Bristol City before succumbing to a late winner in the replay, losing 1–0. Relegation and, moreover, financial problems as a result of overspending in the chase for success, saw a sharp downturn in the club's fortunes with the club entering administration to avoid bankruptcy with debts of £800,000 in October 2001. Property developer, Rajesh Khosla, and his family took over the club with a new company Kingstonian F.C. Limited and was assigned the lease in 2002. In 2003 the then manager Kim Harris said that Khosla, was "raping us" after Khosla sold the Kingsmeadow ground for £2 million in personal profit. whilst making a profit. While this did not save Kingstonian from relegation that year, the 2005–06 season saw Kingstonian Football Club revitalised. They only narrowly missed out on the promotion playoffs and finished their season by beating AFC Wimbledon in the final of the Surrey Senior Cup at Woking's ground 1–0. Changes continued during mid-2006 with Mark Anderson and Malcolm Winwright taking charge of the club, installing Stuart McIntyre as successor to Ian McDonald in the role of head coach. However, McIntyre's stay in the role was brief and "unsuccessful", being replaced by Tommy Williams. With former Ks midfielder Tommy Williams installed as manager, the club again reached the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round, losing 3–2 to a last minute goal against Eastbourne Borough. The league campaign saw the club make late challenge for the play-offs falling short in the last couple of weeks of the season. In his second season, the 2015-16 campaign saw the Ks lift their first cup in ten years, winning the Isthmian League Cup with a 5–0 victory over Faversham Town. The 2016–17 season started poorly with the club just outside the relegation zone with six games remaining. Tommy Williams was replaced as manager by former Billericay Town man Craig Edwards. He led the club to a 16th-place finish after a five match unbeaten run to end the season. Ks left the Kingsmeadow Stadium at the end of the season and moved to Fetcham Grove to groundshare with Leatherhead. Edwards resigned in October 2017 and was replaced by former Whyteleafe manager Leigh Dynan. At the beginning of the 2018–19 season, Kingstonian moved back to the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and started a ground share with Corinthian-Casuals at King George's Field. A difficult season saw Ks have three managers, as Leigh Dynan was replaced by Dean Brennan and then very quickly by stand-in manager Kim Harris - the Ks moved from second place in the table on New Year's Day to escaping relegation by a single place. New manager Hayden Bird joined the club in 2019, only for the 2019–20 season to be curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In that season's FA Cup the Ks reached the first round for the first time since 2000–01, where they defeated Macclesfield Town 4–0 at Moss Rose, before losing 2–0 at home to AFC Fylde in the second round. The 2023–24 season saw Kingstonian relegated from the Premier Division, 15 years after their promotion to that level. ==Colours and badge==

The team's current crest contains the motto Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat, the motto of Lord Nelson which translates as "Let he who has earned it carry the palm", and is inscribed on the Britannia Monument. Kingstonian's home kit is red and white hooped shirts, black shorts and red socks. Kingstonian remained at Richmond Road for most of the 20th century, it thus being referred to as the club's 'traditional home'. The club's record home attendance of 8,960 was attained there in 1955 in a match against Bishop Auckland. After a season and a half ground-sharing at Hampton F.C.'s Beveree ground, Kingstonian opened its new Kingsmeadow Stadium (on the site of the old Norbiton Sports Ground owned by Kingston Council) in August 1989. After Kingstonian entered administration to avoid bankruptcy and lost the Kingsmeadow lease in October 2001. It was assigned in April 2002 by the administrators to a property developer, Rajesh Khosla, who was also by then owner of the club. The fans of AFC Wimbledon, who at that point were already sub-tenants at Kingsmeadow, raised £2.4 million to enable them to buy the lease from Khosla in June 2003, with a view to making Kingsmeadow their home in the short term until their intended move to a site in Wimbledon became more feasible for them. Kingstonian secured a financially favourable 25-year sub-tenancy agreement with AFC Wimbledon, with customary break clauses. The clubs operated a ground-sharing arrangement, with Kingstonian receiving preferentially cheap rental terms. In 2015, AFC Wimbledon sold Kingsmeadow to Chelsea to help finance their plans to move back to a new stadium in Wimbledon. Chelsea's intention was to use Kingsmeadow as a base for their own youth and women's teams, and were unwilling to accommodate Kingstonian. The sale proved detrimental to Kingstonian, unable to play in a ground where the new owners did not want them. and the club was forced to relocate as a result, starting a groundshare with Leatherhead F.C. at their ground at Fetcham Grove for the 2017–18 season. The following season they moved again to King George's Field in Tolworth, sharing with Corinthian-Casuals Kingstonian reached agreement with Tooting & Mitcham United to play at their Imperial Fields stadium for the 2022–23 season. In February 2024 it was announced that, starting with the 2024/25 season, Kingstonian would be groundsharing with Raynes Park Vale at Prince George's Playing Fields, Grand Drive for at least two seasons. ==Current squad==

{{cite web ==Team management==

As of 30 May 2024 ==Managers==

Kingstonian's first final came in 1896, when they came second in the Surrey Junior Cup. A notably prolific spell for the club came in the 1930s, when they won seven, and came runners up in two competitions. The dual FA Trophy victories in 1998–99, 1999–2000 were both at Wembley Stadium, and the 2000 final was the last ever FA Trophy final at the old Wembley before the current stadium was built. ==Records==

• Record win: 15–1 v DHC Delft (1951) • Record defeat: 3–12 v Bishop Auckland (1955) • Most club appearances: Rob Tolfrey – 565* • Most club goals: Johnny Whing – 295 • Record fee paid: £18,000 – Dave Leworthy (from Rushden & Diamonds, 1997) • Record fee received: £150,000 – Gavin Holligan (to West Ham United, 1998) • Record attendance: 9,844 v Bishop Auckland (Richmond Road, 1955) • FA Cup best performance: Fourth round, 2000–01 • FA Amateur Cup best performance: Winners, 1932–33 • FA Trophy best performance: Winners, 1998–99, 1999–00 ==Former players==