Looking South – Maidstone United

MAIDSTONE UNITED

STADIUM

With a capacity of 4,200, Maidstone play their home fixtures at the Gallagher Stadium, right on the river Medway. They had called London Road home for 8 years, before 3 periods of ground sharing with Sittingbourne lead up to the Gallagher Stadium’s opening in 2012.

MOST RECENT MEETING

Maidstone United 3-1 Chelmsford City (30^th April 2022) – On the 3^rd last matchday of the 21/22 season, Maidstone secured the title with a dominant win over the Clarets. Jack Barham gave the Stones the lead just before half time before former Claret Hady Ghandour made it 2 just over 5 minutes after the restart. Roarie Deacon put the icing on the cake with 10 to play, before Simeon Jackson pulled a consolation back for the Clarets, 6 minutes from time. The full-time whistle promoted a pitch invasion, as Maidstone were crowned Champions.

A FEW CLUB LINKS

A player who had a brief spell with the Clarets last season, Reece Grant, was a former promotion winner with Maidstone. He helped them to the title in the 21/22 season, before he departed for Dover Athletic. A teammate of his that season, Hady Ghandour, had also been on loan with Chelmsford that season. The Lebanese midfielder played 4 times for Chelmsford before his loan expired. He has just left Maidstone, in order to sign for Aldershot Town. Finally, Devonte Aransibia left Chelmsford after just 7 games and 2 goals, to join Welling. After a brief spell there, he played the rest of the season with Tonbridge. Following Maidstone’s relegation, he joined to bolster their chances of promotion once again.

THE MANAGER

With an impressive career, George Elokobi swapped playing for the dugout last season. He had retired prior but, in January 2023, was appointed caretaker manager. On March 24^th, he was given the permanent role. As a player, he reached the heights of the Premier League, so will bring valuable experience.

2022-23 SEASON

Following their promotion as Champions, Maidstone were met with immediate relegation. Over the course of the season, they accumulated just 25 points, seeing them slump to 24^th.In the end, they were 25 points from safety and 9 behind Scunthorpe who finished in 23^rd.