Their stay at this level saw the team forced to groundshare with other clubs due to drawn-out and problematic redevelopment work at their Hartsdown Park stadium.
A year later the club reformed, initially under the name Margate Town, and returned to the Kent League, still playing at Dreamland, but folded again due to heavy debts.
[9] Goalkeeper Gerrit "Gerard" Keizer, who joined the Kent club from Ajax Amsterdam, later went on to play for Arsenal.
[12] The team slumped during a succession of rapid managerial changes which only ended in 1950 when Almer Hall was appointed manager, a post he was to hold for the next twenty years.
[2] Two years later the club turned full-time professional, but this policy proved financially untenable when the team were relegated back to Division One in 1965–66.
[2] During the 1970s, Margate endured severe financial problems and a series of mediocre league seasons, but took part in two famous FA Cup ties.
[14] One year later, Margate beat Swansea City and Walton & Hersham to set up a third-round tie against First Division Tottenham Hotspur, then UEFA Cup holders.
The following season, despite finishing sixteenth, the Gate were forcibly relegated one division due to the ongoing delays and problems with the redevelopment plans for Hartsdown Park.
[20] Amid ongoing issues with the redevelopment work, which at one point made it seem very likely the club would fold completely,[5] Margate were again relegated to the Isthmian League Premier Division.
[21] Robin Trott was placed in temporary charge as player-manager in April 2006 and, after an unbeaten five-game run, was given a one-year contract at the end of the season.
[24] Shortly afterwards, the club narrowly avoided being subject to High Court action over unpaid debts to HM Revenue and Customs.
The following season Margate were sitting at the top of the table in January, however, after much speculation, Kinnear accepted the vacant manager's position at Dover Athletic.
Goalkeeper Craig Holloway was placed in temporary charge of the side, and brought in Simon Osborn as joint manager.
After a poor start to the 2013–14 season, Holloway resigned his role as joint manager, leaving Osborn in sole charge.
The play-offs were delayed by a lengthy appeal against a points deduction applied to fifth-placed Enfield Town,[30] but when they eventually began, Margate defeated Dulwich Hamlet in the semi-finals.
[40] Margate's shirts have borne various sponsors' logos including the pop group Bad Manners, whose name appeared on the team's kit as part of a sponsorship deal with their record label in the late 1990s.
[41] Lead singer Buster Bloodvessel was running a hotel in Margate at the time and actually joined the football club's board of directors.
[42] Another band, The Libertines, sponsored the club for the 2018–19 season after starting work on a recording studio and hotel in the town.
[47] The club moved out and the old stadium, which was constructed mainly from timber and corrugated iron,[48] was demolished in early 2003, but the local council disputed the plans submitted.
[2] The club's biggest victory is 12–1, achieved against Deal Cinque Ports in the FA Cup first qualifying round in 1919 and against Erith & Belvedere in the Kent League in the 1927–28 season.
[24] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.