Some non-league English football clubs date back hundreds of years, having experienced many ups and downs during their history.
Meanwhile, younger clubs continue to make history while attempting to join the EFL eventually.
However, some clubs are born, die and then are resurrected under a slightly different identity. One of those clubs is Kent-based club Maidstone United F.C.
The early days of Maidstone
The original Maidstone United were a member of the Football League from 1989 until 1992. However, the club fell into bankruptcy in 1992 and was thrown out of the league.
Shortly after the club’s bankruptcy, Maidstone took over the youth team Maidstone Invicta, who stepped up to the senior game by being elected to the Kent County League fourth division in 1993.
The drop to the bottom of the English football league pyramid was due to Maidstone not having a suitable stadium.
The team played its matches on the original club’s old training ground, where the reserve team had also previously played its games, next to the club’s original ground, London Road Stadium.
The rebirth and rise up the divisions
The ‘new’ club wasted little time in bouncing back up the leagues. Although the club was rebooted too late to play any part in the 1992/93 season, they found instant success in season 1993/94, as they cruised to the title in the Fourth Division of the County League.
Maidstone also had success in a cup competition in the same season, winning the West Kent Challenge Shield and the Tunbridge Wells Charity Cup.
There was another boost in the summer of 1994, as due to the restructuring of the league, United found themselves in Division Two.
More success was to follow that season, as they picked up the Division Two title while also lifting the Kent Junior Cup.
By 1997, the club were once again operating under their original name. While Maidstone had found life easy in the other divisions, Division One was a trickier prospect.
The club took four years to win promotion, having gone through six different managers. However, former United player Jason Lillis guided them to the Division One title and promotion to the Kent County League Premier Division in season 1998/99.
Maidstone finished a creditable third place in their first season in the Kent County League Premier Division.
The following season, Maidstone successfully applied to become a senior club and also finished second place in the table under another former player, Matt Toms.
The club applied to be a part of the Kent League, which gave the club a better chance of moving up the pyramid. They saw their application accepted in time for them to start the 2001/2002 campaign in the Kent League.
The switch to the Kent League was a resounding success, as Jim Ward led the team to a double of the league title and Cup.
However, the club were denied a place in the Southern League Eastern Division due to issues with the club’s Central Park stadium, which they shared with Sittingbourne.
In the close season of 2002, both Maidstone and Sittingbourne moved to Bourne Park, which was constructed on the same complex as Central Park on the old training pitch.
In season 2002/03, Stones found themselves in an unusual situation. They looked set to win a second successive title but lost the championship by 0.14 of a point.
This was due to the League Management Committee deciding that the title would be awarded to the team with the highest earned points per match average.
Maidstone and Thamesmead Town were the top two with 63 points, but Cray Wanderers, who picked up 62 points, were awarded the title.
However, the Stones did experience cup success that season, winning both the Kent Senior Trophy and the Kent Charity Cup.
The wins did little to compensate for the club being prevented from entering the Southern League, as an application to join the league was once again denied.
The following two seasons saw back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the league. However, in November 2004, the club successfully applied to build a new stadium at James Whatman Way.
The construction of the new stadium was slightly delayed as the club needed to agree on a lease with the land owners, the Ministry of Defence.
The team went on to claim the league title in season 2005/06, which saw them promoted to the Isthmian League Division One South.
What was arguably even better news was that they agreed on a 99-year lease for the land at James Whatman Way and could now start work on a new stadium.
Further progress made up the leagues
The team continued to prosper on the pitch and somewhat surprisingly won the league title and secured promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. However, progress on the new stadium was slower than they would have liked.
The club struggled near the bottom of the table for the next several seasons, as the cost of building a new stadium had a knock effect on the team’s quality.
After a series of financial woes, Maidstone eventually succumbed to relegation in season 2011/12. The following season, the Stones finished sixth place in the table, narrowly missing out on the play-offs.
In July 2012, Maidstone finally returned to their hometown, as they moved into their new home, the Gallagher Stadium.
The club won promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division courtesy of winning the play-offs.
The 2014/15 season proved to be a historic one for Maidstone, as for the first time in their history, they made it to the FA Cup first round. They defeated Stevenage after a replay, only to suffer a second-round exit to Wrexham.
In the same campaign, the Stones were also crowned as Isthmian Premier champions. The following season, Maidstone once again made it to the first round of the FA Cup, but this time they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Yeovil Town.
The Stones enjoyed a strong campaign in the English sixth tier and achieved promotion to the National League. They won promotion via the play-offs courtesy of a penalty shootout win over Ebbsfleet in the final.
Maidstone then became something of a yo-yo club. After spending three seasons in the National League, they were relegated in 2018/19 after finishing rock bottom of the table.
However, in season 2021/22, the Stones once again won the National League South title to claim promotion back to the fifth tier. They made an immediate return to the sixth tier the following season.
In season 2023/24, Maidstone made history by reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time. They became the first non-league team since Blyth Spartans in 1978 to do so.
Maidstone finished seventh place in the National League South in season 2023/24 and missed out on promotion.
However, considering their recent history of winning promotions, it seems highly likely that the Stones will be back in the National League in the near future.