 Dover Athletic F.C. was formed in 1983 after the town 's previous club , Dover , folded due to its debts . The new club took Dover 's place in the Southern League Southern Division , with former Dover player Alan Jones as manager and a team consisting mainly of reserve players from the old club . Initially Athletic struggled , finishing second from bottom of the table in the 1984 – 85 season . In November 1985 Steve McRae , who had succeeded Jones a year earlier , was sacked and replaced by Chris Kinnear . 
