Local history

At some point in the early 1890s, the members of a junior club, playing its games on a public ground, decided to aim for the big time. Entry to senior competitions meant having a ground of its own, fully enclosed so that gate money could be taken. It meant the issue of shares, to pay for the ground, the administration of the club and (maybe) the players. Chatham Excelsior had gone about as far as it could go in 1893, winning three trophies. It was Excelsior's players and committee men who were instrumental in forming the New Brompton Football Club Company Limited in 1893. An area of land off Gillingham Road was selected for the ground – there was no Priestfield Road in those days, just open spaces.

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A pavilion was built and the ground laid out ready for the first match of the 1893/94 season, a friendly with Woolwich Arsenal’s reserve team on 2 September. Arsenal won 1-5; the first team played its first ever Football League game that day. The new status of the club meant its entries to the F.A.Cup and the Amateur Cup were accepted. It lost in the first round of the F.A. Cup against Ilford but had victories over Maidstone United and the Royal Scots Fusiliers before losing to the Royal Ordnance in the Amateur Cup. The season was filled with friendly matches, with visits from Long Eaton Rangers, Burton Swifts, Swindon Town and Tottenham Hotspur amongst others. The Chatham Charity Cup was won, so there was one item of silverware to show for the players' efforts.

New Brompton was keen to join the new Southern League when it was formed in January 1894. The guaranteed fixtures against the leading clubs in the south meant that turning professional was essential. In the event, New Brompton’s relatively new status as a senior club was perhaps the reason that they found themselves in Division Two of the new League. Eleven wins in twelve matches gave them the first championship at the first attempt. Promotion to the First Division followed after a test match against the bottom club, Swindon Town.

New Brompton (and later Gillingham) finished bottom of the First Division of the Southern League on three occasions, yet always avoided relegation – something of a record perhaps. Although the club finished bottom in 1907/08, the Division was increased in size and it retained its status. Following the growth of the Borough of Gillingham, the club changed its name in 1912/13 but came bottom again in 1914/15, when outbreak of war led to the League being inactive for four seasons. After the war, the club was bottom again in 1919/20, though it was still elected to the new Football League Division Three, along with the other Southern League clubs. Success remained elusive in the Football League. After five successful re-elections, Gillingham was voted out of the League in 1938, Ipswich Town taking its place.

After five seasons back in the Southern League, winning the championship on two occasions, Gillingham was elected back into the Football League in 1950. Re-organisation of the old regional Third Divisions in 1958 found it in Division Four; the only way now was up. Gillingham's first and only championship came in 1963/64 when the club was promoted to Division Three, where it remained until 1989, apart from three seasons back in the lowest division. It was back to the basement in 1989/90.

Following receivership in 1995, new management has overseen unparalleled success for the club; promotion in second place in 1995/96, consistently better season-by-season finishes in Division Two, with promotion to what is now the Championship via the play-offs in 2000 and best-ever progress to the sixth round of the FA Cup.

After five seasons, Gillingham's fate was to be relegated on goal difference, with just one goal separating the team from to Crewe Alexandra. New boss Stan Ternent had taken over in December 2004, with the Gills languishing second from bottom and led a recovery that included just one defeat in the last 12 games. The draw on the final day of the 2004/05 season with Nottingham Forest was not sufficient for a miracle recovery and Ternent left the club a week later.

2005/06 found the Gills with new manager, Neale Cooper, who lasted only until 15 November. He left his deputy, Ronnie Jepson, a team full of new faces struggling to find consistent form in League 1. The team went quickly out of all the main cup competitions and struggled against the threat of administration but a run of six consecutive victories in March and April meant the club secured its League One status by Easter Monday.

2006/07 started with a home win but the next few games had the fans worrying that they might face yet another battle to avoid relegation. By the end of September, however, the Gills had clawed their way to a respectable mid-table position, despite struggling to hold on to a lead in most games and not yet keeping a clean sheet. Although victories were hard to come by in October, supporters were cheered by some good results in November and the Gills ended the month in 10th place, just four points from the play-off zone. The trend continued through December, with the hectic Christmas and New Year programme bringing two dramatic fightbacks and two thumping defeats - six points out of 12. January gave the fans little to cheer until the last game of the month, when a solid 2-0 home win gave them a rare double over Tranmere and lifted the Gills to 12th place. February was a time of missed opportunities. With the attack unable to score more than a goal a game at best and a home defeat against local rivals Brighton, the distance to the relegation zone was down to five points by the end of the month. March brought no respite, with victories and goals still hard to come by. A disastrous trip to Carlisle left the Gills still in 19th place and just six points clear of trouble. The next month was a different story. With only one defeat in the first three games, safety was assured by 14 April. Gills remained unbeaten until the last game of the season, when a dismal 2-0 home defeat by Yeovil made it easier for Ronnie Jepson to announce his retained list the following Tuesday.

2007/08 began with more speculation about plans for relocation to a new ground in Medway or Gravesham and some new faces replacing old favourites but with only one win from the first six games, manager Ronnie Jepson soon realised there was more to it than luck and tendered his resignation on 9 September, which was duly accepted by the chairman. After almost eight weeks of feverish speculation about his successor, during which caretaker managers Iffy Onuora and Mick Docherty struggled for consistency, Mark Stimson left non-league Stevenage to take control on 1 November.

Although Gills went went four league matches without defeat from the weekend before he arrived, the late surrender of a one-goal lead in the FA Cup at Barnet showed the new boss there is still much to be done. Good home form saw the club climb to 16th in League One by mid-December, despite slipping up against bottom of the league Port Vale. Off the pitch, Chairman Paul Scally announced a deal to sell Priestfield Stadium and lease it back to improve the club's trading position and position it for the move to a new stadium.

Christmas and New Year brought a memorable win against promotion contenders Nottingham Forest and two hard-fought draws but penalty shoot-out misery soon followed at Priestfield, as MK Dons took their chance to move towards a Johnson's Paint Wembley final. The gloom deepened around Priestfield after a rare double over Huddersfield (3-1 away, 1-0 at home) was followed by four games without a win and a place in the relegation zone.

With just four games to go to the end of the season, vital victories were snatched from the Gills in two successive away games by late, first-time, long-range volleys, both struck by central defenders. These disappointments were only exceeded by the misery of hosting Swansea City's promotion party, having thrown away another one goal lead and all the points.

If Gillingham has an "old enemy", it must be Swindon. Gills could have made survival that little bit easier by beating them in the last home game of the season but threw away another one goal lead just two minutes away from full time. Now they just needed to beat Leeds at Elland Road while Bournemouth failed to win at Carlisle and hope Cheltenham would oblige by losing at home to Doncaster Rovers.

While Gills took an early lead, they remained true to form and could not hold out beyond the 70th minute, eventually losing 2-1 and ensuring relegation for the second time in four seasons.

More club history can be found at www.gillinghamfootballclub.com.

Contributed by Roger Triggs
Additional material by Malcolm Bowman and Chris Kiff

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