Mixed fortunes: 2012–2023
Widdrington's arrival signaled a move towards a new look Eastbourne team, with the last few members of the 2007–08 promotion winning team leaving the club at the end of the season. Matt Crabb, Matt Smart and Ben Austin departed,[41][42] leaving Darren Baker as the sole survivor of the team that won promotion at Stevenage in 2008.[43]
The 2012–13 season was Widdrington's first full-season in charge and was a season of transition. In total 41 players pulled on a Borough shirt as the new manager tried to find the right mixture. Borough ended the season as the team having scored the fewest goals, but having one of the tightest defensive records, which contributed to their finishing the season in 12th place.[44]
In the spring of 2013, Eastbourne were in talks with Kuwaiti European Holdings (KEH) over a potential take over of the club.[45] Despite negotiations collapsing at the latter stages, Borough pressed on with their plans to develop the club, establishing an academy which would act as a feeder to the first team.[46] Following an 18-month rebuilding process, Borough had a strong start to the 2013–14 season accumulating 10 points from 4 matches, which earned Tommy Widdrington the August Manager of the Month award.[47] Their early season form, however, faded and they experienced a dip in mid-season which saw them fall away from the top. Despite regaining some momentum after Christmas they were unable to recover and finished the season in 10th place on 58 points.[48]
During the early stages of the 2014–15 season, Len Smith, who had served as chairman of the club for more than 40 years,[49][50] stood down from his position with Eastbourne sitting at the top of the fledgling Conference South table after 6 games.[5][51] Halfway through the season, upon the news that the Football Conference would be allowing artificial pitches from the 2015–16 season,[52] Eastbourne announced that they would convert to a 3G pitch by the 2015–16 or 2016–17 season[53] At this point in time, the Football League still refused allowing 3G pitches and Eastbourne was among the first Conference-level clubs to announce plans to switch to the surface.[53] Eastbourne finished the 2014–15 season in 11th place.
2015–16 was Eastbourne's 50th anniversary season. Although they could only secure a 17th-place finish in the league, they won the Sussex Senior Cup for the third time in their history at the end of the season.[54][55]
Widdrington resigned from his post in April 2017 to pursue an opportunity at Coventry City,[56] leaving head coach Hugo Langton in charge for the last 5 games of the season.[57]
At the end of the 2016–17 season, Eastbourne appointed Bognor Regis Town manager Jamie Howell to take over the vacant managerial position, who had two days previously lead Bognor back to the National League South.[58][59]
In Howell's first full season at the club, Eastbourne registered an 18th-place finish. The following season, Eastbourne started positively and found themselves in the play-off spots with 4 wins, 4 draws and just one defeat after their opening 9 games. However, their form dropped and Howell was sacked by the club on 16 February 2019 with Eastbourne in 15th place in the table.[60]
Eastbourne appointed Mark McGhee to act as interim manager until the end season.[61] Despite winning just once in their remaining 11 games – this coming as a shock 6–0 victory against play-off chasing Dartford – Borough managed to retain their National South status for another year.
The start of the 2019–20 season saw Lee Bradbury take charge for a very brief period until October 2019. In November 2019 Danny Bloor was announced as the new manager.[62] In a season curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Borough finished 18th. The following season saw Borough flying high in the 3rd place, before the competition was prematurely cancelled for the same reason.
The 2021–22 season was Danny Bloor's first full season in charge, despite having been manager for almost two years. Borough continued in the same vein as the previous season, finishing the season in 6th position. They entered the play-off eliminator round but lost to Oxford City 2–0. Eastbourne followed this with an 8th-place finish for the 2022–23 season, narrowly missing out on the play-off spots.
