They joined the Sussex County League Division Three in 1984. In 1989 under the management of Mr Paul Hubbard, whose reserve team manager was a certain Rod Flavell, and the Chairmanship of Mr Michael Walker, they won Division Three and were promoted into Senior footballfor the first time in their history. By 1991 with Hubbard and Walker both departed, there were a couple of flirtations with relegation back into Intermediate football. A huge cash injection by the now head of the FDM company Mr Rod Flavell in the mid-1990s led to an upturn in fortunes, promotion to the top league of Sussex county football, and a John O'Hara Cup Final victory. Big money was being spent on a quest for a league title and promotion to the next tier of the football pyramid. In the 1999–00 season, they reached the 4th round of the FA Vase. However, the following season Flavell's business took a downturn and he stopped paying players, a move that ultimately led to most of them leaving the club. New chairman Greg Hadfield saw Saltdean United achieve its best performance in the FA Cup qualifying rounds, before resigning shortly afterwards. With only youth team players available, Saltdean were unable to win a match and quickly found themselves well adrift at the foot of the table. Hubbard returned to the club where he had started his managerial career to briefly halt the slide between 2001 and 2003. His emigration to Spain in 2003, however, signalled further free-fall. For the 2011–12 season, they are members of the Sussex County League Division Three. They finished the 2007–08 season rock bottom of Division Two and were relegated back into intermediate football after 18 years in senior football, with a new manager in place for the 2008–09 season, ex-Hurstpierpoint manager and Whitehawk coach Paul Stevenson. In 2011 they won the Division Three Cup Final at Fort Road, Newhaven, beating Rottingdean Village 1–0 with Steve Green and Wayne Bolingbroke at the helm.
Ground
Saltdean United play their home games at Hill Park, Coombe Vale, Saltdean, Brighton, BN2 8HJ.
1. Players that have played/Managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level. 2. Players with full international caps. 3. Players that hold a club record or have captained the club.
Jay Lovett – played for Brentford
Glenn Burvill – played for Aldershot, Reading and Fulham
