2002–03 Gillingham F.C. season
| |||
During the
Gillingham won their first three games of the season in August, which placed them first in the
Gillingham also competed in two
Background and pre-season
![Footballer Mamady Sidibé](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Mamady_Sidib%C3%A9_1.png/170px-Mamady_Sidib%C3%A9_1.png)
The
Gillingham's first-choice kit consisted of shirts, shorts, and socks all in the club's traditional blue; the second-choice kit, to be worn when there was a clash of colours with the opposition and Gillingham were the team required by the rules of the competition to change, was all-white.[19] The team's pre-season games included one against Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League during which Hessenthaler gave game time to over 20 players.[20] Previewing the season, a writer for The Independent said of Gillingham's prospects that "finishing in the top half [of the league table] might be beyond them".[6] A writer for The Guardian predicted the finishing position of every team in the division and contended that Gillingham would finish 18th.[21]
First Division
August–December
Gillingham's first game of the season was away to Wimbledon on 10 August.[22] The match drew an attendance of only 2,476, less than half that of any other league game which Gillingham played during the season,[23][24] as Wimbledon's supporters almost totally boycotted the game in protest against a proposal by their team's owners to relocate the club to Milton Keynes.[25][26] Both Wallace and Johnson were carrying injuries and Sidibé was chosen to partner Guy Ipoua in attack;[27][28] Ipoua scored the only goal of the game to give Gillingham a 1–0 victory.[26] Johnson made his debut as a substitute.[27] The first game of the season at Gillingham's home ground, Priestfield Stadium,[22] took place three days later and resulted in a second consecutive 1–0 win, a goal from Paul Shaw securing victory over Derby County,[29][30] and a third 1–0 victory on 17 August against Millwall meant that Gillingham were the only team in the division to have won their first three games, putting them top of the table.[31][32] After this strong start, however, the team would only win one of their next ten league games.[22] After coming on as a substitute in every previous game, Johnson was included in the starting line-up for the first time in a 2–0 defeat to Leicester City on 31 August;[27][33] Wallace made his first Gillingham appearance in the same game as a substitute but he picked up another injury[34] and would be absent from the team for nearly a month.[27]
![Footballer Marlon King](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Marlon_King_vs_Antwerp_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Marlon_King_vs_Antwerp_%28cropped%29.jpg)
After losing their first game of September to Portsmouth,[22] Gillingham won a league match for the first time in nearly a month when they beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4–2 on 14 September despite finishing the game with nine players after both Mark Saunders and Kevin James were sent off,[35] the latter for a second caution awarded for excessive celebrating after his goal.[36] Four days later, however, Gillingham were heavily defeated, losing 4–1 to Nottingham Forest.[37][38] Increasing numbers of injuries meant that Hessenthaler was forced to bring several players from the club's youth team into the squad for the game against Sheffield United on 21 September, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[39][40] Wallace made his first appearance in the starting line-up in a 2–2 draw against Crystal Palace in the final match of September, as did Leon Johnson, a defender signed from Southend United.[41] Jason Brown, the team's goalkeeper, went off injured and was replaced by Vince Bartram, who had been the team's first-choice starter in the position for nearly four seasons before losing his place to Brown in the latter part of the previous campaign.[42][43] Wallace scored his first goal for Gillingham in a 1–1 draw away to Rotherham United on 12 October,[44] but after that game he would again be out of the team for six weeks.[27] Sidibé returned to the team against Watford on 19 October after over a month out of action and scored a goal within two minutes.[45][46] Gillingham won 3–0, their first victory in over a month,[46] which moved them up from 13th to 11th in the table.[47][48]
On 26 October, Gillingham played away to
January–May
![Football Nyron Nosworthy](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/NyronNos.png/170px-NyronNos.png)
Gillingham had originally been scheduled to begin 2003 with a home game against
The team's run of poor form ended with a 3–0 victory at home to Grimsby Town on 15 February, in which Wallace scored two goals inside the first 15 minutes.
Gillingham beat Watford 1–0 on 18 March with a goal from Shaw after which they were 10th in the table.[80][81] Four days later, they played away to Wolverhampton Wanderers; Bartram played in goal for the first time in five months.[27] The home team scored five goals before half-time and added a sixth in the second half; the BBC Sport report said that Gillingham had been "ripped apart" and James Copnall of The Daily Telegraph wrote that their defending was "non-existent".[82][83] It was the first time Gillingham had conceded as many goals in a game since a match against the same opposition in 1989,[84] but despite the defeat, they remained in 10th place.[85] The defeat was the first in a run of six games without a win for Gillingham; after a 2–2 draw away to Sheffield United,[86] they took a 1–0 lead at home to Ipswich Town on 29 March but conceded three goals and lost the match 3–1.[87] In the first three games of April, Gillingham failed to score any goals, drawing 0–0 away to Stoke City and losing 1–0 at home to Walsall and 2–0 away to Burnley.[22][88] The results left the team 14th in the table, 14 points below the play-off places with only three games remaining and therefore a maximum of nine more points available.[89] The scoreless run ended when a goal from Shaw secured a 1–0 win at home to Bradford City on 29 April.[22] After being held to a goalless draw by Coventry City, who had won only one league game in 2003,[90] Gillingham ended the season with a 2–1 victory at home to Crystal Palace.[91] Nosworthy, normally a defender but playing as a forward due to injuries to King and Wallace, scored both goals, his first for the team for more than three years.[91] The result meant that Gillingham ended the season in 11th place in the First Division, the highest finish in the English football league system in the club's history.[91][92]
League match details
Key
- In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
- H = Home match
- A = Away match
- pen. = Penalty kick
- o.g. = Own goal
Date | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 August 2002 | Wimbledon (A) | 1–0 | Ipoua | 2,476 |
13 August 2002 | Derby County (H) | 1–0 | Shaw | 8,775 |
17 August 2002 | Millwall (H) | 1–0 | Ipoua | 7,543 |
24 August 2002 | Norwich City (A) | 0–1 | 20,588 | |
26 August 2002 | Preston North End (H) | 1–1 | Saunders | 7,785 |
31 August 2002 | Leicester City (A) | 0–2 | 30,067 | |
7 September 2002 | Portsmouth (H) | 1–3 | James | 8,717 |
14 September 2002 | Brighton & Hove Albion (A) | 4–2 | Shaw (2), Perpetuini, James | 6,733 |
18 September 2002 | Nottingham Forest (A) | 1–4 | Hessenthaler | 16,073 |
21 September 2002 | Sheffield United (H) | 1–1 | Shaw | 7,497 |
29 September 2002 | Crystal Palace (A) | 2–2 | Perpetuini, Mullins (o.g.) | 15,699 |
5 October 2002 | Coventry City (H) | 0–2 | 7,722 | |
12 October 2002 | Rotherham United (A) | 1–1 | Wallace | 6,094 |
19 October 2002 | Watford (H) | 3–0 | 8,728 | |
26 October 2002 | Ipswich Town (A) | 1–0 | Sidibe |
24,176 |
29 October 2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) | 0–4 | 10,036 | |
2 November 2002 | Grimsby Town (A) | 1–1 | Saunders | 5,715 |
9 November 2002 | Reading (H) | 0–1 | 8,511 | |
16 November 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday (H) | 1–1 | T. Johnson | 8,028 |
23 November 2002 | Walsall (A) | 0–1 | 6,630 | |
30 November 2002 | Stoke City (H) | 1–1 | Shaw | 8,150 |
7 December 2002 | Bradford City (A) | 3–1 | King (2, 1 pen.), Wallace | 10,711 |
14 December 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday (A) | 2–0 | Smith |
17,715 |
21 December 2002 | Burnley (H) | 4–2 | Smith (2), King |
7,905 |
26 December 2002 | Millwall (A) | 2–2 | Saunders, King (pen.) | 10,947 |
11 January 2003 | Derby County (A) | 1–1 | Ipoua | 22,769 |
18 January 2003 | Leicester City (H) | 3–2 | Sidibe |
8,609 |
1 February 2003 | Preston North End (A) | 0–3 | 12,121 | |
10 February 2003 | Reading (A) | 1–2 | Wallace | 11,030 |
15 February 2003 | Grimsby Town (H) | 3–0 | Wallace (2), Hope | 7,158 |
22 February 2003 | Portsmouth (A) | 0–1 | 19,521 | |
25 February 2003 | Norwich City (H) | 1–0 | Wallace | 7,935 |
1 March 2003 | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) | 3–0 | Shaw, T. Johnson (pen.), Southall | 9,178 |
4 March 2003 | Nottingham Forest (H) | 1–4 | Wallace | 7,277 |
11 March 2003 | Wimbledon (H) | 3–3 | Shaw (2), Wallace | 7,884 |
15 March 2003 | Rotherham United (H) | 1–1 | Wallace | 7,284 |
18 March 2003 | Watford (A) | 1–0 | Shaw | 10,492 |
22 March 2003 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) | 0–6 | 25,171 | |
25 March 2003 | Sheffield United (A) | 2–2 | Osborn, Shaw | 15,799 |
29 March 2003 | Ipswich Town (H) | 1–3 | Smith |
8,508 |
5 April 2003 | Stoke City (A) | 0–0 | 12,746 | |
12 April 2003 | Walsall (H) | 0–1 | 6,972 | |
19 April 2003 | Burnley (A) | 0–2 | 14,031 | |
21 April 2003 | Bradford City (H) | 1–0 | Shaw | 6,281 |
26 April 2003 | Coventry City (A) | 0–0 | 14,795 | |
4 May 2003 | Crystal Palace (H) | 2–1 | Nosworthy (2) | 9,315 |
Partial league table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | Millwall | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 59 | 69 | −10 | 66 |
10 | Wimbledon | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 76 | 73 | +3 | 65 |
11 | Gillingham | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 56 | 65 | −9 | 62 |
12 | Preston North End | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 68 | 70 | −2 | 61 |
13 | Watford | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 54 | 70 | −16 | 60 |
Cup matches
FA Cup
As a First Division club, Gillingham entered the
In the fourth round, Gillingham were drawn at home to Leeds United of the Premier League in a match which was selected by Sky Television for a live broadcast, earning the club a fee of £265,000.[97][98] Even though the match was being shown on television, it drew a crowd of 11,093, the largest attendance of the season at Priestfield.[24] Leeds scored a goal early in the second half but were reduced to ten players when Mark Viduka was sent off for deliberately elbowing Hessenthaler.[97] Within two minutes, Sidibé scored for Gillingham and the match ended in a 1–1 draw, meaning that a replay at Elland Road, Leeds' home ground, was required.[97] Viduka opened the scoring after 11 minutes of the replay and Leeds added another goal in the second half. Gillingham staged a late rally; Ipoua scored a goal with four minutes remaining and in the closing seconds Hessenthaler had a shot on goal saved by goalkeeper Paul Robinson, but Leeds held on for a 2–1 victory, which eliminated Gillingham from the competition.[99][100]
FA Cup match details
Key
- In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
- H = Home match
- A = Away match
- pen. = Penalty kick
- o.g. = Own goal
Date | Round | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 January 2003 | Third | Sheffield Wednesday (H) | 4–1 | King (2, 1 pen.), Ipoua, Hope | 6,434 |
25 January 2003 | Fourth | Leeds United (H)
|
1–1 | Sidibe |
11,093 |
4 February 2003 | Fourth (replay) | Leeds United (A)
|
1–2 | Ipoua | 29,359 |
Football League Cup
![Stamford Bridge football stadium](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/London_Stamford_Bridge.jpg/220px-London_Stamford_Bridge.jpg)
As a First Division team, Gillingham entered the 2002–03 Football League Cup in the first round; their opponents were Torquay United of the Third Division.[102] Despite what BBC Sport called "a defiant display" from the lower-league team, a goal from Hessenthaler secured a 1–0 victory for Gillingham.[103] In the next round, Gillingham played Stockport County of the Second Division.[104] Gillingham fell behind but Ipoua scored an equaliser; the score remained 1–1 at the end of the regulation 90 minutes and so under the rules of the competition 30 minutes of extra time were played. Tommy Johnson scored what the media described as a "superb strike" and a "wonder goal" during the extra period to give Gillingham a 2–1 victory.[105][106]
Gillingham's opponents in the third round were Chelsea of the Premier League; it was the third time in four seasons that the two teams had been drawn together in a cup competition following FA Cup matches in 2000 and 2001.[43] The match took place at Chelsea's home ground, Stamford Bridge, and the home team scored after 20 minutes and then doubled their lead in the second half. King scored a goal for Gillingham, his first since his release from prison,[24] in the last minute of the game but his team lost 2–1 and were eliminated from the League Cup.[107][108]
League Cup match details
Key
- In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
- H = Home match
- A = Away match
- pen. = Penalty kick
- o.g. = Own goal
10 September 2002 | First | Torquay United (A) | 1–0 | Hessenthaler | 1,981 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 October 2002 | Second | Stockport County (A) | 2–1 ( a.e.t. ) |
Ipoua, T, Johnson | 2,396 |
6 November 2002 | Third | Chelsea (A) | 1–2 | King | 28,033 |
Players
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/PaulShaw.jpg/170px-PaulShaw.jpg)
![Footballer Jason Brown](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Jason_Brown_goalkeeper_coach_Arsenal_Ladies_Vs_Notts_County_%2820054335525%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Jason_Brown_goalkeeper_coach_Arsenal_Ladies_Vs_Notts_County_%2820054335525%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![Footballer Andy Hessenthaler](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/AndyHess2009.jpg/170px-AndyHess2009.jpg)
During the season, 27 players made at least one appearance for Gillingham. Hope made the most, playing in every one of the team's 52 games; it was the third consecutive season in which he had been ever-present for the team, taking his run of consecutive appearances for the team since he joined Gillingham in 2000 to 156.[110] Paul Smith played 50 times, and four other players made more than 40 appearances. Six players appeared fewer than five times; the teenager Andrew Crofts was the only one who played in just one game.[24]
Of the 15 players who scored at least one goal for the team, Shaw was the highest scorer with 12, all scored in league games. Wallace scored 11 goals, also all in the league; no other player scored more than seven times.[24]
No. | Player | Position | First Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
1 | Vince Bartram | GK | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
2 | Mark Patterson | DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
3 | Roland Edge | DF | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
4 | Paul Smith | MF | 45 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 4 |
5 | Barry Ashby | DF | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
7 | Nyron Nosworthy | DF/FW | 39 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 |
8 | Andy Hessenthaler | MF | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 2 |
9 | Marlon King | FW | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 |
10 | Guy Ipoua | FW | 33 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 39 | 7 |
12 | Paul Shaw | MF/FW | 44 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 12 |
13 | Jason Brown | GK | 39 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
14 | Leon Johnson | DF | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
15 | Mark Saunders | MF | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 3 |
16 | Richard Rose | DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
17[a] | Adrian Pennock | DF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
17[a] | Akwasi Edusei | DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
18 | Chris Hope | DF | 46 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 52 | 2 |
19 | Rod Wallace | FW | 22 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 11 |
20 | Kevin James | DF/FW | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 3 |
21 | Simon Osborn | MF | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
22 | Danny Spiller | MF | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
23 | Tommy Johnson | FW | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 3 |
26 | David Perpetuini | DF | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
27 | Jones Awuah | FW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
28 | Andrew Crofts | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
29 | Mamady Sidibé | FW | 30 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 4 |
30 | Nicky Southall | MF/DF | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
FW = Forward, MF = Midfielder, GK = Goalkeeper, DF = Defender
a. ^ Edusei was not allocated a squad number until late in the season and was given the number worn earlier in the season by Pennock, who had since left the club.
Aftermath
In terms of league standings, the 2002–03 season proved to be the peak of Gillingham's time in the second tier of English football. The following season, they finished 21st, level on points with 22nd-placed Walsall and avoiding relegation only by virtue of a superior goal difference.[111][112] Hessenthaler resigned as manager in November 2004 as the team again struggled near the foot of the renamed Football League Championship,[113][114] and at the end of the 2004–05 season Gillingham were relegated, ending a five-season spell in the division.[115] As of 2024[update], the club has never returned to the second tier of English football.[116]
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Works cited
- Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. ISBN 978-1-89946-820-1.
- Elligate, David (2009). Gillingham FC On This Day. ISBN 978-1-90541-145-0.
- Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2000). Rothmans Football Yearbook 2000–01. London: ISBN 978-0-74727-232-8.
- Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2001). Rothmans Football Yearbook 2001–02. London: ISBN 978-0-74727-260-1.
- Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2003). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2003–2004. London: ISBN 978-0-75531-227-6.