New Manager

[Pedro]

Clearly a 'marmite' appointment at the moment but I am happy with Ben's appointment. I fully expect an assistant incoming and probably a former defender and also probably someone also known to the club.

[Bagdhad Billy]

Margate fans expecting about 4-5 players to follow Ben to Dartford, Harry Hudson just announced he is leaving them they all think he is coming to the Darts.

Any good I wonder ? Risky with a lot of lower league players all coming in at once.

[Dave T]

Although I’ve already said I’m not happy with this appointment I may be being a bit harsh and unfair to Ben but I was hoping for a higher level of quality manager.

We have to give Ben a fair chance to see how he gets on, what players he retains & new players he signs and then see how things go both pre season and the first 10 or so games of the season.

He’s always done very well with the academy teams in developing them and turning them into football playing teams that can win things and his record at Margate has been ok so fingers crossed he can turn things around for us and turn us into an on the deck footballing side again which can hopefully start to win things again.
Plus we are more likely to start seeing some wingers back at the club again which we haven’t seen for a while now apart from Evan that joined us back end of the season.

A big thing is going to be who he will bring in as his assistant and backroom team. If the names mentioned to me are right then I will await the comments and possible fireworks.

Today is a fresh start and let’s see how things go but I think Ben knows he’s got a big challenge ahead of him probably starting from tonight as he starts to have chats with players.

Blimey Matt, that's a pretty quick turn around! Seriously though, lots of us probably felt a little disappointed, but chose to count to ten before posting

I'm sure that most fans will give Ben and his team their full support and hope he surprises us. Hopefully his academy links means he will be able to persuade Olly, George, etc to stay on. Good luck Ben.

[Sleightly Deceptive]

Although I’ve already said I’m not happy with this appointment I may be being a bit harsh and unfair to Ben but I was hoping for a higher level of quality manager.

We have to give Ben a fair chance to see how he gets on, what players he retains & new players he signs and then see how things go both pre season and the first 10 or so games of the season.

He’s always done very well with the academy teams in developing them and turning them into football playing teams that can win things and his record at Margate has been ok so fingers crossed he can turn things around for us and turn us into an on the deck footballing side again which can hopefully start to win things again.
Plus we are more likely to start seeing some wingers back at the club again which we haven’t seen for a while now apart from Evan that joined us back end of the season.

A big thing is going to be who he will bring in as his assistant and backroom team. If the names mentioned to me are right then I will await the comments and possible fireworks.

Today is a fresh start and let’s see how things go but I think Ben knows he’s got a big challenge ahead of him probably starting from tonight as he starts to have chats with players.

Blimey Matt, that's a pretty quick turn around! Seriously though, lots of us probably felt a little disappointed, but chose to count to ten before posting

I'm sure that most fans will give Ben and his team their full support and hope he surprises us. Hopefully his academy links means he will be able to persuade Olly, George, etc to stay on. Good luck Ben.

I’m hoping there’ll be a lot of turnarounds. Me included. I was impressed with and inspired by his interview. It could be the beginning of exciting times. Or

[The 5th Searcher]

Although I’ve already said I’m not happy with this appointment I may be being a bit harsh and unfair to Ben but I was hoping for a higher level of quality manager.

We have to give Ben a fair chance to see how he gets on, what players he retains & new players he signs and then see how things go both pre season and the first 10 or so games of the season.

He’s always done very well with the academy teams in developing them and turning them into football playing teams that can win things and his record at Margate has been ok so fingers crossed he can turn things around for us and turn us into an on the deck footballing side again which can hopefully start to win things again.
Plus we are more likely to start seeing some wingers back at the club again which we haven’t seen for a while now apart from Evan that joined us back end of the season.

A big thing is going to be who he will bring in as his assistant and backroom team. If the names mentioned to me are right then I will await the comments and possible fireworks.

Today is a fresh start and let’s see how things go but I think Ben knows he’s got a big challenge ahead of him probably starting from tonight as he starts to have chats with players.

Blimey Matt, that's a pretty quick turn around! Seriously though, lots of us probably felt a little disappointed, but chose to count to ten before posting

I'm sure that most fans will give Ben and his team their full support and hope he surprises us. Hopefully his academy links means he will be able to persuade Olly, George, etc to stay on. Good luck Ben.

Oh it’s certainly not a quick turn around Dave, as I said right at the start I’m not happy with the appointment BUT it’s been made and nothing anyone can do about it.

It’s nothing personal against Ben at all I was just hoping for a much more experienced manager with hopefully some higher level experiance but it’s not happened. All we can do is support Ben and hope that he can turn us around and do a great job for us. Only time will tell but as quite a few have posted (both very long term and some newer fans) none are happy with the appointment BUT will give Ben time and see what happens.

[Spike]

It's nice to see a bit of positivity and that most people are willing to give the guy a chance. Ben's only got a few years experience as a manager but he's done okay with that and he's done a fantastic job with our academy. And personally I would have no problem with the likes of Flanners and Sawyer as his backroom team as there's a lot of knowledge, experience and contacts there. The important thing is that Ben would be the manager rather than the cobbled together partnership that Flan had with Coyley which was a flawed idea from the outset in my opinion. Ultimately though, I expect this club to get promoted asap and at the very least I expect us to be scrapping it out near the top next season. To do that you need good players to win enough matches and given that some are likely to leave it mostly hinges on recruitment. We've not done very well in that department for the last 4 seasons, hopefully Ben can do a bit better. I'm not sure what to expect but I'm not downbeat about the appointment and I'm looking forward to next season. I think my overriding emotion is curiosity.

[MickW]

A certain Mr Burnham didn't have much management background but he seemed to find a way.
Give the lad our support and who knows - we may even win a couple of cup games.

[Dart of Herts]

Margate fans expecting about 4-5 players to follow Ben to Dartford, Harry Hudson just announced he is leaving them they all think he is coming to the Darts.

Any good I wonder ? Risky with a lot of lower league players all coming in at once.

You’ve got to feel sorry for Margate fans losing their manager AND captain in the same day after it being announced that they were both staying on

Edit: my bad, I was reading an article from last year. Still harsh though

[tommytollbooth]

Ben seems to have a genuine affection for Dartford FC and with his time at the club he will know Dartford's aspirations and limitations, I thought he was a decent player for us until Steve King decided otherwise. Will he be player/manager? I understand Ben has had a couple of good seasons playing for Margate at a lower level, but I'm sure he will know if he can do it. Good luck Ben.

[DA Mikey]

A certain Mr Burnham didn't have much management background but he seemed to find a way.
Give the lad our support and who knows - we may even win a couple of cup games.

Not a slight on Greenhalgh, more our ‘constitutional structure’ but my expectations on where we end up in the league this time next year are so low that I’d be really happy with a cup run running into 2027. It’s been such a long time.

[Odd-ball]

Let's give him a chance to prove himself

I'm happy with the appointment as he clearly shows his love and his commitment for the club which is what I want to see !

Not a manger who is Just looking for a job to get paid next season,

Ben has taken a chance on us as much as we are on him !

UP The DARTS !!

[WillDfc42]

Been announced his back room staff is following him.

[The 5th Searcher]

So Adam Flanagan makes a return to Dartford yet again but as part of Bens backroom team, not sure if he was the assistant manager or not.

Also joining the club as part of the backroom team is Elliot Leveson.

Have to wait and see now if it’s announced that their captain Harry Hudson is joining us as well, he’s also left them immediately.

Flans is one of the names I’d heard was possibly coming in as Bens assistant along with another former player / captain / assistant manager. Don’t know how true that one is though although I did spot him at PP for our last game against Cray Valley.

I never actually realised that Flans was already working with Ben at Margate so isn’t really much of a surprise in the end.

[WillDfc42]

So Adam Flanagan makes a return to Dartford yet again but as part of Bens backroom team, not sure if he was the assistant manager or not.

Also joining the club as part of the backroom team is Elliot Leveson.

Have to wait and see now if it’s announced that their captain Harry Hudson is joining us as well, he’s also left them immediately.

Flans is one of the names I’d heard was possibly coming in as Bens assistant along with another former player / captain / assistant manager. Don’t know how true that one is though although I did spot him at PP for our last game against Cray Valley.

I never actually realised that Flans was already working with Ben at Margate so isn’t really much of a surprise in the end.

Who’s the former player?

[Pedro]

So Adam Flanagan makes a return to Dartford yet again but as part of Bens backroom team, not sure if he was the assistant manager or not.

Also joining the club as part of the backroom team is Elliot Leveson.

Have to wait and see now if it’s announced that their captain Harry Hudson is joining us as well, he’s also left them immediately.

Flans is one of the names I’d heard was possibly coming in as Bens assistant along with another former player / captain / assistant manager. Don’t know how true that one is though although I did spot him at PP for our last game against Cray Valley.

I never actually realised that Flans was already working with Ben at Margate so isn’t really much of a surprise in the end.

Who’s the former player?

Paul Sawyer? Only one I can think of that matched former player/captain/assistant manager?

[Park Life]

https://margate-fc.com/2026/05/08/flana ... down-park/

Flanagan, Leveson and Hudson Depart Hartsdown Park


May 8, 2026 by Margate FC
Margate Football Club can confirm that following on from yesterday’s announcement, Ben Greenhalgh’s backroom team at Hartsdown Park will also be joining Dartford FC.

With that in mind the Club would like to thank Adam Flanagan and Elliott Leveson for their time at Hartsdown Park.

Late last night we were also informed that captain Harry Hudson has decided to end his stay at Hartsdown Park and will be leaving the club immediately.

Once again, we wish Harry, Adam and Elliott the best in their future endeavours.

[Mark Sweet]

Makes complete sense for Ben to bring his staff across. Let's just hope Flanagan is a better assistant than he was manager..

I do expect a few players to follow also as is the norm at this level and there is some talent in that Margate squad, however wouldn't want too many as we surely can do better than the division below.

[Skip]

Makes complete sense for Ben to bring his staff across. Let's just hope Flanagan is a better assistant than he was manager..

I do expect a few players to follow also as is the norm at this level and there is some talent in that Margate squad, however wouldn't want too many as we surely can do better than the division below.

To be fair to Flan, he led Brentwood to the Isthmian North title about 10 years back before his unsuccessful spell as joint manager with Coyley at PP.

[JCJ]

To be fair I always thought Flannagan was better than Coyle not sure why, but then again Jamie has done well at Whitstable.

Hope we do not bring to many of the Margate players quite a few have been with us beofore in the academy.

Hopefully we can keep the majority of last seasons team as we were not that far off just tactics from the manager cost us in my opinion.

Be intersting to see who stays and goes.

[The 5th Searcher]

So Adam Flanagan makes a return to Dartford yet again but as part of Bens backroom team, not sure if he was the assistant manager or not.

Also joining the club as part of the backroom team is Elliot Leveson.

Have to wait and see now if it’s announced that their captain Harry Hudson is joining us as well, he’s also left them immediately.

Flans is one of the names I’d heard was possibly coming in as Bens assistant along with another former player / captain / assistant manager. Don’t know how true that one is though although I did spot him at PP for our last game against Cray Valley.

I never actually realised that Flans was already working with Ben at Margate so isn’t really much of a surprise in the end.

Who’s the former player?

The former player / captain / assistant manger is Paul Skip Sawyer as Pedro mentioned. He was at PP for our last game and he’s the name mentioned to me that will be part of the backroom team.

Have to wait and see if it’s confirmed or not.