Gillingham Football Club is a professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in the town of
Gillingham, Kent
Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the ...
, England. The only Kent-based club in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
, the "Gills" play their home matches at
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...
. The team compete in
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
, the fourth tier of the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
, in the
2022–23 season.
The club was founded in 1893 as New Brompton Football Club, a name retained until 1912, and played in the
Southern League before joining the Football League in 1920. After 18 unsuccessful seasons, Gillingham were voted out of the league in favour of
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
at the end of the
1937–38 season, and returned to the Southern League. The club was voted back into the Football League in 1950, when it was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs. Twice in the late 1980s Gillingham came close to winning promotion to the second tier of English football, but a decline then set in and in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
they narrowly avoided relegation to the
Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
. Between 2000 and 2005, Gillingham were in the second tier of the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
for the only time in their history, achieving a club record highest league finish of eleventh place in
2002–03.
The club originally played in black and white striped shirts but switched to blue shirts. The club crest has traditionally depicted the white horse symbol of the county of Kent. Priestfield Stadium has been the club's home ground throughout its existence; it once held up to 30,000 fans but in the modern era the capacity is less than half that figure. The club has twice won the championship of English football's fourth tier, in the
1963–64 and
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
seasons, under managers
Freddie Cox
Frederick James Arthur Cox DFC (1 November 1920 – 7 August 1973) was an English football player and manager. Playing as a winger, he scored 25 goals from 182 appearances in the Football League either side of the Second World War, and was on t ...
and
Martin Allen
Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and So ...
respectively.
History
:
:
Early years
![Gills1913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Gills1913.jpg)
The local success of a junior football side, Chatham Excelsior F.C., encouraged a group of businessmen to meet with a view to creating a football club which could compete in larger competitions. New Brompton F.C. was formed at the meeting, held on 18 May 1893.
[
] The founders also purchased the plot of land which later became
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...
.
[
] The new club played its first match on 2 September 1893, losing 5–1 to
Woolwich Arsenal's reserve side in front of a crowd of 2,000.
New Brompton were among the founder members of the
Southern League upon its creation in 1894, and were placed in Division Two. They were named Champions in the first season (
1894–95) going on to defeat
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
in a
test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
to win promotion.
In the seasons that followed, the club struggled in Division One, finishing bottom in the
1907–08 season,
avoiding relegation only due to expansion of the league. Whilst the club's league performance was disappointing, the side did manage a famous cup victory over
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
and held
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
to a draw before losing in the replay. In 1912 the directors passed a resolution to change the club's name to Gillingham F.C., and the team played under this name throughout the
1912–13 season, although the change was not officially ratified by the shareholders until the following year. The team finished bottom of Division One in the
1919–20 season but for a third time avoided relegation, due to the subsequent elevation of all Southern League Division One clubs to form the new
Football League Division Three
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
.
First spell in the Football League
In the first season of the newly created Football League Division Three, the
1920–21 season, Gillingham again finished bottom, and in the years to follow there was little improvement on this, the club continually finishing in the lower reaches of the bottom division. In 1938 the team finished bottom of the
Third Division (South)
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to o ...
and were required to apply for
re-election
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
for the fifth time since joining the league. This bid for re-election failed, with Gillingham returning to the Southern League and
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
being promoted in their place.
Gillingham quickly established themselves as one of the stronger sides in the league, winning a local double of the
Kent League and
Kent Senior Cup
The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association.
History
The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three- ...
in the
1945–46 season.
[ In the 1946–47 season the team won both the Southern League Cup and the Southern League championship, during which they recorded a club record 12–1 victory over Gloucester City.] The Gills also won the league title in 1948–49.
Return to the Football League
In 1950, plans were announced to expand the Football League Division Three (South) from 22 to 24 teams and, taking into account their local success in the interim, Gillingham were re-elected to the Football League with a landslide vote.[ The team spent eight seasons in Division Three (South) before the restructuring of the league system for the 1958–59 season saw them placed in the newly created ]Fourth Division
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
. They remained in this division until 1964, when manager Freddie Cox
Frederick James Arthur Cox DFC (1 November 1920 – 7 August 1973) was an English football player and manager. Playing as a winger, he scored 25 goals from 182 appearances in the Football League either side of the Second World War, and was on t ...
led them to promotion, winning the first championship in the club's history. The team finished the season level on 60 points with Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
, but with a fractionally better goal average
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
(1.967 against 1.948).
After relegation back to the Fourth Division in 1970–71, the Gills were soon promoted back to the Third Division in the 1973–74 season. After this the club seemed to find its level in Division Three, regularly mounting a challenge for promotion which ultimately fell short each time, coming particularly close to promotion in 1986–87 when they reached the play-offs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
only to lose in the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
to Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
. During this period the club produced future stars Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...
and Tony Cascarino
Anthony Guy Cascarino (born 1 September 1962) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland ...
, who was famously bought from non-league Crockenhill
Crockenhill is a village in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 1 mile south of Swanley and 4.5 miles north east of Orpington, adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London.
Etymology
Crockenhill is from Old English ''hyll'' ...
in exchange for a set of tracksuits.
In 1987, the Gills hit the headlines when, on consecutive Saturdays, they beat Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
8–1 and Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
10–0, the latter a club record for a Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
match. Just a few months later, however, manager Keith Peacock
Keith Peacock (born 2 May 1945, in Barnehurst) is an English former footballer and manager. He was the first player to come on as a substitute in the Football League.
Early life
He was educated at Erith Grammar School, now named Erith School. ...
was controversially sacked, and within 18 months the club had fallen into Division Four. The ensuing spell in the lower division brought little success, and in the 1992–93 Division Three campaign the Gills narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
.
Recent highs and lows
Beset with financial problems, the club went into administration in January 1995, and by the end of the 1994–95 season faced the threat of being expelled from the Football League and closed down. In June 1995, however, a London-based businessman, Paul Scally
Paul Damien Phillip Scally (born ) is a London-born businessman who served as the chairman of Gillingham Football Club between 1995 and 2022.
Career
Scally had become wealthy through the sale of his Metronote photocopier business in South Lon ...
, stepped in and bought the club. He brought in new manager Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday.
Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one ...
, who led Gillingham to promotion in his first season, finishing second in the old Division Three (now Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
). In 1999 the Gills made the play-offs but lost in the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
to Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
. The Gills were 2–0 up with less than two minutes left only to see City score twice, the equaliser in injury time, and go on to win 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...
. Soon after the play-off loss, Pulis was sacked for gross misconduct, and Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politic ...
appointed manager. In the 1999–00 season Gillingham qualified for the play-offs again, where they faced Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
in the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. The game finished 1–1 after 90 minutes, but, thanks to goals in extra time from substitutes Steve Butler
Steve Butler (born September 26, 1956, in Amarillo, Texas) won six national driving championships in United States Automobile Club, USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown open-wheel racing. Butler was highly regarded for his technical skills and perfor ...
and Andy Thomson, the Gills won 3–2 and were promoted to Division One for the first time.
Taylor then left to manage Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
, and Andy Hessenthaler
Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club Gillingham.
He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at ...
was appointed as player-manager. He led the club to their best ever league finish of eleventh in the 2002–03 season, but the following season saw the club narrowly avoid relegation on goal difference
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
. Hessenthaler resigned as manager in November 2004, and new boss Stan Ternent
Francis Stanley Ternent (born 16 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. He managed Blackpool, Hull City, Bury, Burnley, Gillingham and Huddersfield Town. He was a scout for Hull City until January 2017. As a manager, he won thre ...
was unable to prevent the Gills' relegation to League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
. At the end of the 2007–08 season the club was relegated again, this time to League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
, but an immediate return to the third level was secured via the play-offs after beating Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
in the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. In the 2009–10 season, however, the Gills slipped into the bottom four on the last day, and were relegated back to League Two, having failed to win a single away game in the league all season. This resulted in manager Mark Stimson
Mark Nicholas Stimson (born 27 December 1967) is an English former footballer and is currently manager of Hornchurch. He signed his first professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur in 1985, but was unable to gain a regular place in the team. I ...
having his contract terminated, and Andy Hessenthaler
Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club Gillingham.
He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at ...
was appointed as manager of the club for the second time. At the start of the 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season Hessenthaler was replaced by Martin Allen
Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and So ...
, who led the club to promotion as League Two champions in his first season in charge. However, shortly after winning League Two, Allen was sacked in what many saw as a surprise after a poor start to the season. The club remained in League One from 2013 up until 2022, with a best finish of ninth, achieved in the 2015–16 season. In the 2021-22 season, Gillingham were relegated back into League Two. In December 2022, Florida-based property tycoon Brad Galinson acquired a majority shareholding in the club, with Scally retaining minority ownership. In January 2023 the club confirmed that Galinson would also take on the position of Chairman.
Stadium
The Gills have played at Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...
throughout their existence. The ground was originally purchased by the founders of the club through an issue of 1,500 £1 shares. Sources differ on whether the ground was named after the road on which the land stood, Priestfield Road, or whether the road was named after the ground; if the latter is the case then the origin of the ground's name is unknown. The ground was extensively developed prior to the 1930s, but there was then little change until the late 1990s and the arrival of Paul Scally as chairman. Three of the four stands were demolished and rebuilt between 1995 and 2000. The fourth stand, known as the Town End, was demolished to make way for a new stand, to be named the Brian Moore Stand after television sports commentator Brian Moore, who was a well-known Gills fan, but the club's financial situation has not allowed the new stand to be built. A temporary stand was erected in 2003 and remains in place as of 2022. From 2007 until 2010 the stadium was officially named KRBS Priestfield Stadium as part of a sponsorship deal with the Kent Reliance Building Society
Kent Reliance is a banking services provider and trading name of OneSavings Bank plc, based in Kent, England. It was founded in 1898 as the Chatham & District Reliance Building Society, changing its name to the Kent Reliance Building Society in ...
. In 2011 it was rebranded again, this time, to MEMS Priestfield Stadium under another such agreement.
At its peak in the 1940s the official capacity of the stadium was listed as "between 25,000 and 30,000"[ but subsequent redevelopments, the removal of terraces and building of new facilities have seen this reduced to a current capacity of 11,582.] In the 2018–19 season, the most recent to be completed in full with full crowd capacity permitted, the average attendance at home matches was 5,128. The ground has also hosted home fixtures of the England women's national football team
The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first in ...
. The club's training ground is Beechings Cross, in Grange Road, Gillingham. In 2012 the club was involved in a dispute with the local council, who alleged that Gillingham owed over £30,000 in unpaid bills relating to the training facility.
Colours and crest
Although Gillingham have long been associated with the colours blue and white, the original New Brompton side wore a strip consisting of black and white striped shirts with black shorts. In 1913 the black and white strip was dropped in favour of red shirts with blue sleeves, emblazoned with the borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
's coat of arms. The striped shirts returned after World War One, before finally being replaced with the now-familiar combination of plain blue shirts and white shorts in 1931. More recent years have seen several variations on the blue and white colour scheme. In the late 1990s the team wore blue and black striped shirts, recalling the original New Brompton stripes. In the summer of 2003 it was controversially announced that the club's first choice shirts for the following season would be predominantly white, rather than blue. The announcement received such a hostile response from supporters that the white strip was replaced by one featuring blue and black hoops, which had originally been earmarked as the team's third choice kit. In March 2010 the club announced a return to the black and blue stripes for the 2010–11 season. In recognition of the centenary of the renaming of the club, the 2012–13 kit was red with blue sleeves and collar, and the club's crest was replaced by the town's crest. After winning the League Two title in 2012–13, the club gave season ticket holders the chance to vote on what colours the club would play in for the 2013–14 season, with the fans choosing to return to a blue and white kit. Blue and white, or blue with black stripes, have been used since.
The club's current crest is a shield divided vertically into halves of black and white stripes and solid blue, reflecting the club's original and modern kits. On the blue half is the county emblem of Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, a white horse rampant, albeit slightly altered from its normal form as its mane is stylised into the letters of the word "Gills". This side has been sometimes given a red or pink background, to coordinate with away kits featuring those colours. The club's motto, which appears on a scroll below the crest, is ''Domus clamantium'', the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "the home of the shouting men", a traditional epithet associated with the town of Gillingham. In keeping with the crest, the club's mascot, Tommy Trewblu, takes the form of a horse. He first appeared at a match against Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially kno ...
in October 1998.
The first sponsor's name to appear on Gillingham shirts was that of Italian home appliance
A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation.
Appliances are divided into three ty ...
manufacturers Zanussi
Zanussi () is an Italian producer of home appliances that was bought by Electrolux in 1984. Zanussi has been exporting products from Italy since 1946.
History
The Zanussi Company began as the small workshop of Antonio Zanussi in 1916. The 26 ...
, who sponsored the club in the mid-1980s. Subsequent sponsors have included Chatham Maritime, Medway Toyota, Cannon Tool Hire, Invicta FM
Heart Kent (previously Invicta FM) was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Kent from studios at John Wilson Business Park in Whitstable.
History
Invicta in the 80s
Originall ...
, Kool, Medway News
The ''Medway News'' was a weekly newspaper covering the Medway Towns in Kent, England. Established in 1855 as the ''Military Chronicle'' and ''Naval Spectator'', it relaunched as the ''Chatham News and Rochester, Strood, Brompton & Gillingham Adv ...
, SeaFrance, MHS Homes Group, Kent Reliance Building Society
Kent Reliance is a banking services provider and trading name of OneSavings Bank plc, based in Kent, England. It was founded in 1898 as the Chatham & District Reliance Building Society, changing its name to the Kent Reliance Building Society in ...
, Automatic Retailing, MEMS Power Generation, and Medway Council.
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Former players
Player of the Season
Gillingham's Player of the Season award is voted for by the club's supporters. It was first introduced in the 1968–69 season.
Club officials
''As of August 2022''
Management
Technical staff
Managers
For the first three years of the club's existence, team matters were handled by a committee. In 1896 William Ironside Groombridge
William Ironside Groombridge was secretary of the English football club Gillingham (known for much of his tenure as New Brompton) from 1896 until 1923. Although the roles were not as clearly defined in the pre-war era, he is regarded as having ...
, the club's secretary, took sole charge of team affairs to become Gillingham's first recognised manager. Former England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
international Stephen Smith was appointed as full-time manager in 1906, but left in 1908, with Groombridge once again taking on team responsibilities. Groombridge was associated with the club, as manager and secretary, for over 25 years. When the club was admitted to the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1920, Robert Brown was appointed as manager, but he resigned a month later before the season had even begun. His replacement, Scotsman
The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...
John McMillan, thus became the first manager to take charge of the team in a Football League match.
In 1939, a year after the club was voted back out of the Football League, Archie Clark took over as manager, and was still in charge when the club was elected back to the Football League in 1950. Clark remained in the job until 1957. Freddie Cox
Frederick James Arthur Cox DFC (1 November 1920 – 7 August 1973) was an English football player and manager. Playing as a winger, he scored 25 goals from 182 appearances in the Football League either side of the Second World War, and was on t ...
took over in 1962 and led the club to the Football League Fourth Division
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...
championship in the 1963–64 season, making him the first manager to win a Football League divisional title with the club. Basil Hayward was sacked in 1971 after the club was relegated
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
back to the Fourth Division in the 1970–71 season, but his successor Andy Nelson led the club to promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
back to Division Three
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
three years later before controversially resigning.
Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday.
Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one ...
took over in 1995, with Gillingham once again in the bottom division, and managed the club to promotion in his first season in charge. Three years later he led the team to the Second Division play-off final, but was sacked immediately after this after being accused of gross misconduct. Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politic ...
replaced him and took the club to a second consecutive play-off final, where Gillingham gained promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time. In 2013 Martin Allen
Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and So ...
became the second manager to lead the Gills to a divisional title in the Football League, as the team won the championship of League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
. The team is currently managed by Neil Harris, who was appointed in January 2022.
Chairmen
The following have been chairman of the club's board of directors:
Honours
Leagues
Third Division/Football League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
(Tier 3)
:Play-off winners: 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
:Play-off finalists: 1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, 1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
Fourth Division
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
/ Third Division/Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
(Tier 4)
*Champions: 1963–64, 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
*Runners-up: 1973–74, 1995–96
*Play-off winners: 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
Southern Football League
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...
*Champions: 1946–47, 1948–49
*Runners-up 1947–48
Southern Football League
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...
Division Two
*Champions: 1894–95
Kent League
*Champions: 1945–46
Cups
Southern League Cup
*Winners: 1946–47
Kent League Cup
*Winners: 1945–46
Kent Senior Cup
The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association.
History
The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three- ...
*Winners: 1945–46, 1947–48
*Runners-up (5): 1938–39, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1994–95, 2014–15
Statistics and records
Goalkeeper Ron Hillyard
Ronald William Hillyard (born 31 March 1952) is an English former football goalkeeper. He spent seventeen years playing for Gillingham, for whom he holds the record for the most matches played in all competitions.
Career
Born in Brinsworth, H ...
holds the record for Gillingham appearances, having played 657 matches in all competitions between 1974 and 1990, while the record for appearances solely in the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
is held by another goalkeeper, John Simpson, with 571 between 1957 and 1972. Brian Yeo
Brian George Yeo (12 April 1944) is an English former football striker. He spent almost his entire career playing for Gillingham, for whom he holds the all-time record for the most goals scored in the Football League.
Career
Yeo came through ...
is the club's all-time leading league goalscorer, having scored a total of 136 goals between 1963 and 1975. He also jointly holds the club record for the most Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
goals scored in a single season, having scored 31 goals in the 1973–74 season, equalling the record set by Ernie Morgan
Ernest Morgan (13 January 1927 – 3 October 2013) was an English professional football player and manager. He spent the bulk of his career with Gillingham, where he set a record for the highest number of goals scored in a single season which st ...
in 1954–55. The highest number of goals scored by a player in a single game at a professional level is the six registered by Fred Cheesmur against Merthyr Town
Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system.
The ...
in April 1930. The highest transfer
Transfer may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović
* ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film
* ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies
...
fee received by the club is £1.5 million for Robert Taylor, paid by Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
in 1999, and the highest fee paid by Gillingham is £600,000 for Carl Asaba
Carl Edward Asaba (born 28 January 1973) is an English former footballer who played as a forward in the Football League. He began his career with non-league Dulwich Hamlet, his goalscoring prowess earning him a move to Brentford in 1994. He p ...
, signed from Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
in 1998.
The club's record home attendance is 23,002, for an FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
match against Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
on 10 January 1948, a record which will almost certainly never be broken unless the club relocates to a larger ground, given that Priestfield Stadium's current capacity is approximately half that figure. The team's biggest ever professional win was a 10–0 defeat of Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
in September 1987,
although they had previously registered a 12–1 win against Gloucester City in the Southern League in November 1946. The Gills hold the record for the fewest goals conceded by a team in the course of a 46-game Football League season, set in the 1995–96 season, during which goalkeeper Jim Stannard
James David Stannard (born 6 October 1962) is an English retired football goalkeeper. Whilst playing for Gillingham he set a record for the lowest number of goals conceded in a 46-match season in the Football League, when he let in just 20 go ...
kept 29 clean sheets.
Rivalries
The 2003 Football Fans Census revealed that no other team's supporters considered Gillingham to be among their club's main rivals. Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
are considered to be the closest the Gills have to local rivals. Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
are seen by many fans as the club's biggest rivals, stemming from bad-tempered matches between the two teams in the past. While Swindon fans generally do not consider Gillingham among their biggest rivals, there was violence when they met at Priestfield in the 2005–06 season, their first meeting since a promotion play-off match in 1987. Following their promotion in 1989, Maidstone United became Kent's second League side. A rivalry with Gillingham developed over the following seasons, until Maidstone's financial troubles forced them to resign from the League in 1992. A minor rivalry between Gillingham and Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
has developed arising from the death of a Fulham fan who was killed during a clash between both sets of fans outside Priestfield Stadium in March 1998.
In popular culture
In 1956, comedian Fred Emney
Frederick Arthur Round Emney (12 February 1902 – 25 December 1980) was an English character actor and comedian.
Emney was born in Prescot, Lancashire,GRO Register of Births Mar 1902 Frederick Arthur R Emney 8b 725 PRESCOT1901 Census: ...
filmed a scene for his sitcom ''Emney Enterprises'' prior to the start of a match between Gillingham and Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
. The footage featured the overweight Emney, wearing a flat cap and monocle and smoking a cigar, dribbling the ball past the entire Gills defence and scoring a goal. The 2005 film '' Green Street'' makes use of action sequences filmed during a match between Gillingham and West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, although the dialogue states that the team playing West Ham is Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
to align with the narrative of the film. A film entitled ''The Shouting Men'', released in March 2010, centres on a group of Gillingham fans and features scenes shot at Priestfield.
See also
* Brian Moore's Head Looks Uncannily Like London Planetarium – webzine
An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...
devoted to the club, which previously existed from 1988 to 2006 as a paper fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
. Named in honour of the club's most famous supporter, the late commentator Brian Moore.
* Gillingham W.F.C. – independent women's football club formerly affiliated to Gillingham F.C.
Notes
References
External links
Official club website
*
{{Authority control
1893 establishments in England
Association football clubs established in 1893
Football clubs in England
English Football League clubs
Gillingham, Kent
Southern Football League clubs
Sport in Medway
Football clubs in Kent
Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom