1995–96 Gillingham F.C. season
Third round | |||
League Cup | First round | ||
---|---|---|---|
League Trophy | Group stage | ||
Top goalscorer | League: Leo Fortune-West (12) All: Leo Fortune-West (15) | ||
Highest home attendance | 10,595 vs Preston North End (9 March 1996) | ||
Lowest home attendance | 1,866 vs Hereford United (7 November 1995) | ||
| |||
During the
Gillingham reached the third round of the
Background and pre-season
The 1995–96 season was Gillingham's 64th season playing in the Football League and the 46th since the club was elected back into the League in 1950 after being voted out in 1938. It was the club's seventh consecutive season in the fourth tier of the English football league system, which since 1992 had been named the Football League Third Division.[1] In the 1994–95 season, Gillingham had finished 19th, three places off the bottom of the division.[2]
In January 1995, after nearly a decade of financial difficulties, the club had been declared insolvent and placed in
Pulis significantly rebuilt the team ahead of the new season, with eight new players joining the club. Three new signings were announced at the same time as Scally's takeover and the appointment of Pulis:
Third Division
August–December
Gillingham began the season with a 2–1 victory at home to
The team held another
Victory over Scarborough on 18 November took Gillingham back into second place in the division.[30] A week later, the team played Fulham in a match noted for its aggression; two Fulham players were sent off and close to the end of the game Gillingham's O'Connor suffered a broken leg after a rough tackle by an opponent.[17] This incident led to a mass brawl involving almost every player on the pitch; both clubs were later fined by the football authorities for failing to control their players.[34][35] O'Connor would not play another game for more than a year after the injury and was forced to retire from professional football in 1997.[17] The scheduled game against Chester City on 9 December was postponed,[36] allowing Preston North End to move above Gillingham into second place on goal difference.[37] The team played away to Preston on 23 December in front of a crowd of 10,682, the largest attendance of the season for any match involving Gillingham.[23][30] The game between the two promotion contenders ended in a 0–0 draw. Gillingham's final match of 1995 resulted in a 1–0 victory over Plymouth Argyle; the year ended with Gillingham in second place, two points behind Chester City, although Chester had played one more game.[38] Gillingham would remain in the top two positions for the rest of the season.[30]
January–May
Gillingham began 1996 with consecutive wins over
On 9 March, first-placed Gillingham drew 1–1 at home to second-placed Preston; the crowd of 10,595 was the largest attendance of the season at Priestfield Stadium.[23] During the following week, with the team having only scored one goal in five games, Pulis bolstered his attacking options by signing striker John Gayle on loan from Stoke City.[46] Gayle scored the only goal on his debut in a 1–0 victory over Mansfield Town and scored again a week later in a 1–1 draw with Leyton Orient.[23] The next game resulted in a 2–0 defeat to Rochdale, after which Gillingham fell to second place in the table and were overtaken by Preston, who would go on to remain atop the division for the rest of the season.[47] On 6 April, Gillingham beat Hartlepool United 2–0. It was the 25th game of the season in which Stannard had kept a clean sheet, breaking the previous club record set by John Simpson in the 1963–64 season.[48]
After an unbeaten run of six games following the defeat to Rochdale, Gillingham went into the penultimate match of the season away to Fulham knowing that victory would clinch promotion to the
Match details
- Key
|
|
- Results[23]
Date | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
12 August 1995 | Wigan Athletic (H) | 2–1 | Foster, Fortune-West | 4,099 |
19 August 1995 | Lincoln City (A) | 3–0 | Bailey, Brightwell (o.g.) |
2,822 |
26 August 1995 | Cambridge United (H) | 3–0 | Bailey, Rattray |
5,093 |
29 August 1995 | Barnet (A) | 2–0 | Rattray, Naylor | 3,077 |
2 September 1995 | Colchester United (H) | 0–1 | 7,677 | |
9 September 1995 | Scunthorpe United (A) | 1–1 | Bailey |
2,423 |
12 September 1995 | Hereford United (A) | 0–0 | 1,740 | |
16 September 1995 | Cardiff City (H) | 1–0 | Fortune-West | 5,314 |
23 September 1995 | Chester City (A) | 1–1 | Martin |
3,886 |
30 September 1995 | Bury (H) | 3–0 | Bailey, Fortune-West (2) |
6,018 |
7 October 1995 | Rochdale (H)
|
1–0 | A.Watson | 7,782 |
14 October 1995 | Darlington (A) | 0–1 | 2,043 | |
21 October 1995 | Doncaster Rovers (H) | 4–0 | Bailey, Harris |
6,302 |
28 October 1995 | Hartlepool United (A) | 1–1 | Bailey (pen.) |
2,355 |
31 October 1995 | Exeter City (A) | 0–0 | 3,024 | |
4 November 1995 | Northampton Town (H) | 0–0 | 7,206 | |
18 November 1995 | Scarborough (A) | 2–0 | Green, Fortune-West | 1,546 |
25 November 1995 | Fulham (H) | 1–0 | Fortune-West | 7,608 |
16 December 1995 | Bury (A) | 0–1 | 3,045 | |
23 December 1995 | Preston North End (A) | 0–0 | 10,682 | |
26 December 1995 | Plymouth Argyle (H) | 1–0 | S.Butler (pen.) | 9,651 |
1 January 1996 | Leyton Orient (A) | 1–0 | Fortune-West | 7,090 |
9 January 1996 | Chester City (H) | 3–1 | S.Butler (3) | 9,186 |
13 January 1996 | Lincoln City (H) | 2–0 | Fortune-West, Ratfcliffe | 8,040 |
20 January 1996 | Wigan Athletic (A) | 1–2 | Green | 2,773 |
30 January 1996 | Mansfield Town (H) | 2–0 | Rattray, T.Butler | 6,111 |
3 February 1996 | Cambridge United (A) | 0–0 | 4,114 | |
10 February 1996 | Torquay United (H) | 2–0 | Smith, Ratcliffe | 7,116 |
13 February 1996 | Barnet (H) | 1–0 | S.Butler | 6,428 |
17 February 1996 | Hereford United (H) | 1–1 | Castle | 6,987 |
24 February 1996 | Cardiff City (A) | 0–2 | 3,028 | |
27 February 1996 | Scunthorpe United (H) | 0–0 | 5,547 | |
2 March 1996 | Plymouth Argyle (A) | 0–1 | 8,540 | |
9 March 1996 | Preston North End (H) | 1–1 | Harris | 10,595 |
12 March 1996 | Torquay United (A) | 0–0 | 2,406 | |
16 March 1996 | Mansfield Town (A) | 1–0 | Gayle | 2,698 |
23 March 1996 | Leyton Orient (H) | 1–1 | Gayle | 8,004 |
30 March 1996 | Rochdale (A)
|
0–2 | 2,098 | |
2 April 1996 | Darlington (H) | 0–0 | 6,419 | |
6 April 1996 | Hartlepool United (H) | 2–0 | Bailey |
6,263 |
8 April 1996 | Doncaster Rovers (A) | 1–0 | Bailey |
1,783 |
13 April 1996 | Exeter City (H) | 1–0 | Puttnam | 7,692 |
16 April 1996 | Colchester United (A) | 1–1 | Gayle | 4,953 |
20 April 1996 | Northampton Town (A) | 1–1 | Fortune-West | 7,427 |
27 April 1996 | Fulham (A) | 0–0 | 10,320 | |
4 May 1996 | Scarborough (H) | 1–0 | Fortune-West | 10,420 |
Partial league table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Preston North End | 46 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 78 | 38 | +40 | 86 | Division Champions, promoted |
2 | Gillingham | 46 | 22 | 17 | 7 | 49 | 20 | +29 | 83 | Promoted |
3 | Bury
|
46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 66 | 48 | +18 | 79 | |
4 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 68 | 49 | +19 | 78 | Participated in play-offs |
5 | Darlington | 46 | 20 | 18 | 8 | 60 | 42 | +18 | 78 | |
6 | Hereford United | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 74 | |
7 | Colchester United | 46 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 61 | 51 | +10 | 72 |
Cup matches
FA Cup
As a Third Division team, Gillingham entered the 1995–96 FA Cup in the first round and were drawn to play away to Wycombe Wanderers of the Second Division. Bailey scored as Gillingham held their higher-division opponents to a draw, meaning that a replay was required.[54] Gillingham won the replay 1–0 when veteran Wycombe defender Terry Howard scored an own goal.[55] In the second round, Gillingham played semi-professional club Hitchin Town of the Isthmian League and won 3–0.[56] The Premier League and Football League First Division teams entered the competition in the third round and Gillingham were paired with Reading of the First Division. Although Martin scored a goal to give Gillingham the lead at half time, Reading scored three times after the break to eliminate Gillingham from the competition. Gillingham finished the game with nine players after both Neil Smith and Martin were sent off and Pulis was also ejected from the technical area for arguing with the referee.[57][58]
Match details
- Key
|
|
- Results[23]
Date | Round | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 November 1995 | First | Wycombe Wanderers (A) | 1–1 | Bailey | 5,064 |
21 November 1995 | First (replay) | Wycombe Wanderers (H) | 1–0 | Howard (o.g.) | 8,585 |
2 December 1995 | Second | Hitchin Town (H) | 3–0 | Fortune-West (2), Ratcliffe | 7,142 |
6 January 1996 | Third | Reading (A) | 1–3 | Martin | 10,324 |
Football League Cup
Gillingham entered the
Match details
- Key
|
|
- Results[23]
Date | Round | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 August 1995 | First (first leg) | Bristol Rovers (H) | 1–1 | Naylor | 3,827 |
23 August 1995 | First (second leg) | Bristol Rovers (A) | 2–4 | Bailey, Fortune-West | 3,601 |
Football League Trophy
The 1995–96 Football League Trophy, a tournament exclusively for Second and Third Division teams, began with a preliminary round in which the teams were drawn into groups of three, contested on a round-robin basis. Gillingham were grouped with Cardiff City and Hereford United, both of the Third Division. In their first match of the tournament, Gillingham lost 3–2 to Cardiff.[60] As Cardiff had already drawn with Hereford, they were now guaranteed to top the group and progress to the next round and Gillingham needed to beat Hereford to finish second and join them. A 2–2 draw, however, meant that Gillingham's participation in the competition ended at the earliest stage.[61] The game drew a crowd of 1,866, the lowest attendance at Priestfield during the season.[23]
Match details
- Key
|
|
- Results[23]
Date | Round | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
17 October 1995 | Preliminary (southern section) | Cardiff City (A) | 2–3 | Freeman, Foster | 1,034 |
7 November 1995 | Preliminary (southern section) | Hereford United (H) | 2–2 | T.Butler, Foster | 1,866 |
Players
Stannard made the most appearances of any Gillingham player during the season; he played in 53 of the team's 54 matches, missing only one game in the Football League Trophy.
Player | Position | Third Division
|
FA Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Andy Ansah | MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Andy Arnott | FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Dennis Bailey
|
FW | 45 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 10 |
Kevin Bremner | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Steve Brown
|
FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Steve Butler | FW | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
Tony Butler | DF | 36 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 7 |
Richard Carpenter | MF | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
Steve Castle | MF | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
Joe Dunne | DF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Leo Fortune-West | FW | 40 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 15 |
Adrian Foster | FW | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 3 |
Darren Freeman | FW | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
John Gayle | FW | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
Richard Green | DF | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 |
Mark Harris | DF | 44 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 2 |
Billy Manuel | MF | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
Dave Martin
|
MF | 31 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
Gary Micklewhite | DF | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
Dominic Naylor | DF | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
Alan Nicholls | GK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Mark O'Connor | MF | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
Dave Puttnam | FW | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
Simon Ratcliffe | MF | 41 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 4 |
Kevin Rattray | MF | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 3 |
Neil Smith | MF | 37 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
Jim Stannard | GK | 46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 0 |
Glen Thomas | DF | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
Alex Watson | DF | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
Paul Watson
|
DF | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
FW = Forward, MF = Midfielder, GK = Goalkeeper, DF = Defender
Aftermath
The club's players and officials celebrated promotion with an open-top bus parade through the streets of Rochester, Chatham, and Gillingham.[68][69] Following promotion, Pulis again overhauled his squad ahead of the upcoming season in the Second Division, and several players who had played significant roles in the 1995–96 season moved on. Martin, who had captained the team to promotion, and Naylor both left the club after a single season and joined Leyton Orient.[70] Gary Micklewhite, one of the few players to have been with the club before Pulis' arrival and to have remained a regular in the team during the 1995–96 season, retired from professional football and joined non-League club Slough Town.[71] Gillingham signed a number of new players, including spending a new club record fee to sign Watford's Andy Hessenthaler, who would go on to have a long association with the club as player and subsequently manager.[72][73] In the 1996–97 season, the team secured a mid-table finish in their first season at the higher level, finishing 11th in the Second Division.[74]
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Bibliography
- Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. ISBN 1-899468-20-X.
- Elligate, David (2009). Gillingham FC On This Day. ISBN 978-1-9054-1145-0.
- Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (1996). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1996–97. London: ISBN 978-0747277811.
- Sewell, Albert, ed. (1995). News of the World Football Annual 1995–96. London: Invincible Press. ISBN 9780855432331.
- Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.