CLUB INFO Come 1989/90, replacements were obviously needed for the new challenge of Premier Division football, but the Manager decided otherwise and was proved correct as the veterans in the side excelled as the Fleet finished 7th. Moore again had a quiet close season with key players leaving and not being replaced and he departed soon after the start of the 1990/91 season. Assistant Manager Bob Glozier took over the team which was already struggling and after just five weeks Glozier got his marching orders when the Fleet secured one of the big name managers in Non-League Football in Eddie McCluskey. His appointment as the third manager in as many months was expected to see a quick rise in the club's floundering fortunes
Sadly this was not to be the case and relegation was only avoided because just one team was relegated. The Fleet's position of second from bottom was even worse the following season with McCluskey resigning. His departure brought in old favourite Gary Aldous as Manager. With six separate spells at the club as a player, the new Manager with the best known name in local football was following in the footsteps of his Uncle Stan, and one other fact was similar, the club were looking set for a battle to keep off the bottom of the table. Relegation had really been inevitable, and bottom place was not unexpected, bring a three year spell in the Premier Division to an end
1992/93 saw the Fleet back in the Southern Division and its lower standard was to the teams liking, none more so than new signing from Barking, Steve Portway. An amazing season of goalscoring saw him shatter the club and league goalscoring records with a tremendous display of sharp shooting and opportunism in a side which had one of its best ever forward lines. But sadly the hoped for promotion was not forthcoming finishing 4th after setting the pace for much of the season
Lessons were learnt for the 1993/94 season and the Fleet were again one of the teams to beat. An excellent FA Cup run provided a passage to the First Round proper for the first time since 1980 and a large crowd of Fleet supporters bore down on Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road ground where a superb display deserved better than a 2-1 defeat. However with Portway still scoring regularly and the defence considerably tightened victory in the last game with Bury, 3-0, brought the Southern Division championship back to Stonebridge Road after a 20 year lapse by a three point margin
So it was back to the Premier Division once more, the Fleet consolidated without ever setting the division on fire. Goals were always the problem and the departure of an unsettled Steve Portway to Gloucester did not help matters as supporters were fed on a diet of goal-less draws. However, a mid-table position was one that everyone would settled for at the start of the season
So began the Fleet's Silver Jubilee season of 1995/96. The season began poorly with the departure of Manager Gary Aldous and the appointment of caretaker manager Chris Weller. Although the club's league form was modest this was to be a year of great achievement in the FA Cup, after defeating Guildford & Godalming, Molesey, Carshalton and Marlow in the qualifying rounds, the Fleet were rewarded with the plum draw at home to Nationwide League side Colchester. A 2-0 win in front of a capacity crowd seemed to have brought little reward with a Second Round tie away to Cinderford. After a 1-1 draw in the Forest of Dean, the Fleet were given all the incentive needed to win the replay. A home draw with Aston Villa. After winning the replay 3-0, the Board decided to switch the "home" tie to Villa Park where in front of 26,000 fans the team did themselves proud in a 3-0 defeat that flattered the Premier League side
The 1996/97 season started disastrously with five defeats in six games and Chris Weller, who had been appointed as the full-time manager just before the Aston Villa game, was sacked and was replaced by ex Welsh International Steve Lovell as player-manager. Significant steps forward to secure the club's future were made in 1997, thanks to the full support of the local council and the granting of a ten year lease by the ground's landlord.
In February 1997 Chairman Lionel Ball retired, have been in the position for 15 years, and was replaced by local businessman Peter Dean. Peter was no stranger to the club having sponsored the youth team for the previous two years. After many years as advocates of a total restructuring of the whole non-league pyramid, the club took the unprecedented step of moving from the Southern League to the Isthmian League. This move was made possible by a scenario where promotion and relegation issues left a spot free in the Premier Division that needed to be filled, and after obtaining the support of the majority of the fans, the Fleet joined the then ICIS league in May 1997
After another poor start to the season the club parted company with Steve Lovell in September 1997 and appointed Andy Ford, who had previously managed the club's successful youth team. Almost his first signing was to bring back goal ace Steve Portway, and following several changes in personnel the club finished mid-table in the new league and again reached the final of the Kent Senior Cup, where a crowd of over 1,500 saw the Fleet lose 1-0 to Margate at Stonebridge Road...
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