Ebbsfleet United Women’s team skipper Dan Carlton is leaving the Kuflink Stadium this summer after two years leading from the front in a red shirt.
The former Brighton and Yeovil Town defender was part of the Kent Football United setup and moved across during the switch to Ebbsfleet United in the summer of 2022. She scored against Chelsea Academy in the Fleet’s superb win over the Blues that introduced the side to so many new fans and Carlton has been a crucial part of the Fleet team since.
And the experienced defender will remember her time with the Fleet with fondness, telling the club website, “My time with Ebbsfleet is some of the best moments in my career if I’m honest.”
In her first season the fitness instructor/strength & conditioning coach came agonisingly short of lifting the London & SouthEast Regional title as Worthing pipped the Fleet to it due to administrative reasons behind the scenes. “I don’t think us not winning the league in the way it happened will ever sit well with any of us. We worked so hard and I think our results and everything last year was an indicator of how good we actually were but it was just a shame that we couldn’t get what we deserved at the end of it. I know we didn’t win the league but I think enjoying football is the most important thing for me and I think I’ve pretty much done that the last two years I’ve been at Fleet.”
Highlights have been many with a run to Round 2 of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup and a meeting with Portsmouth, but the outgoing Fleet skipper also cites that win over Chelsea as being the kick-start for the Ebbsfleet Women’s side.
“The Chelsea game was an indicator of what we could do,” she recalled. “It was tough and we had never played football together as a team so to win that game at home in front of such a crowd – I think it was more than 800 fans – that was just such a good moment for us to see where we could go that season.”
In her time at the Kuflink Stadium, the England Lionesses triumphed in the Euros and reached the World Cup Final and the impact has seen the women’s game grow. “I think the Lionesses’ success definitely helped women’s football in general. People took more of an interest in it after that. There were a lot of little ones wanting to get involved and I think it’s just really important to enjoy football more than anything else – plus it was nice to have different faces at the grounds watching us for sure.”
Carlton has no immediate plans and doesn’t intend a coaching career beyond her playing days – but doesn’t rule it out either! “I’m going on holiday, I’m going to enjoy my time off,” she said. “It’s been a long season and I’m just going to see what happens but as of now I don’t have any plans. You either want to get into coaching or you don’t and I think for me, playing is the only thing I wanted to do. I don’t think I’ll be moving into that industry but who knows, you don’t know what the future holds so we’ll have to wait and see!”
And finally, having played two seasons at the Kuflink Stadium in front of a growing number of home fans, the skipper bows out with a message for all of you: “I just want to say thank you for the support over the last couple of seasons. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. And especially also to Damian Irvine and Will Tan at the club – they really step up for us and allow us to operate as we need to. I am sorry that we couldn’t bring home a trophy in my time but I hope the fans have enjoyed watching us the last couple of seasons.”
The club would like to wish Dan all the very best for the future and thank her for her fantastic commitment in her time at the Fleet.