1991–92 Gillingham F.C. season

English football club season April 2022 Gillingham 1991–92 Damien Richardson Bernard Baker Fourth Division 11th FA Cup First round League Cup First round Associate Members' Cup First round David Crown (22) David Crown (24) 7,328 vs Brentford (29 November 1991) 2,300 vs Maidstone United (10 December 1991) 0000ff 0000ff 0000ff ffffff ffffff _blackstripes ffffff ffffff ffffff 000000 000000 _black_stripes _black_stripes 1990–91 1992–93 During the 1991–92 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Fourth Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system. It was the 60th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 42nd since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. The team began the season with a 4–0 victory over Scunthorpe United but their form was inconsistent; not until February did they manage to win two consecutive league games. After a season spent largely in the middle of the league table, Gillingham finished 11th out of 22 teams in the Fourth Division. Gillingham also competed in three knock-out competitions. The team were eliminated in the first round of both the FA Cup and Football League Cup. Gillingham progressed from the initial group stage of the Associate Members' Cup but lost in the first round proper. The team played a total of 51 competitive matches, winning 17, drawing 14 and losing 20, although a win and a draw were expunged when Aldershot were expelled from the Football League in March. David Crown was the team's top goalscorer, with 22 in the Fourth Division and 24 in all competitions, not including an expunged goal. Paul Clark and Steve Lovell made the most appearances, playing in every game. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 7,328, for a game against Brentford in the FA Cup. Background and pre-season The 1991–92 season was Gillingham's 60th season playing in the Football League and the 42nd since the club was elected back into the League in 1950 after being voted out in 1938.Rollin 1993 231 It was the club's third consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system.Rollin 1993 231 In the previous two seasons since being relegated from the Third Division, Gillingham had finished 14th and 15th out of 24 teams.Rollin 1992 233 In the 1991–92 season, the Fourth Division unusually had an odd number of teams due to league expansion and re-organisation, beginning the season with 23 members.Rollin 1992 23 At the start of the season, Damien Richardson was the club's manager, a post he had held since April1989.Bateson Sewell 1992 300 His assistant manager was fellow former Gillingham player Ron Hillyard,Triggs 2001 158 and Alan Walker was the team captain.Gillingham Vs Scunthorpe United Matchday Programme Priestfield Profile 17 August 1991 Richardson signed two veteran players, both aged 32, prior to the start of the season. Karl Elsey, a midfielder who had played for Gillingham between 1985 and 1988, returned to the club on a free transfer from fellow Fourth Division team Maidstone United.Triggs 2001 110 Paul Clark, a defender who had played nearly 400 Football League matches, also arrived without a transfer fee, having been released by Southend United of the Second Division.Triggs 2001 89 The club adopted a new kit design in its traditional colours of blue and white; the shirts were plain blue, replacing the previous season's unusual design featuring diagonal white stripes, and were worn with white shorts and socks.Rollin 1992 232Gillingham Vs Shrewsbury Town Matchday Programme Team Photograph Season 1990/91 28 August 1990 The away kit, to be worn in the event of a clash of colours with the home team, featured black and white stripes,Rollin 1992 233 the first-choice colours worn when the club was formed in 1893.Triggs 1999 12 The team prepared for the new season with a number of friendly matches, including a 4–1 victory over a West Ham United team which included a mix of the First Division team's regular starters and reserves.Gillingham Vs Scunthorpe United Matchday Programme Matchpoints 17 August 1991 Three days later, Steve Russell, goalkeeper for Gillingham's youth team, found himself in the unusual position of playing two complete games in one day; having played for the youth team in the morning, he was selected for the first team against Dover Athletic in the afternoon after Harvey Lim failed a last-minute fitness test. Fourth Division August–December thumb|right|alt=Priestfield Stadium|Gillingham's first game of the season was a home win at Priestfield Stadium against Scunthorpe United. Gillingham's first match of the season was at their home ground, Priestfield Stadium, against Scunthorpe United;Rollin 1992 234 Elsey and Clark both made their debut and Elsey scored the opening goal in a 4–0 victory.Rollin 1992 234–235 After a draw away to York City and a weekend with no scheduled game due to the uneven number of teams in the division, Gillingham lost for the first time in the league with a 2–0 defeat away to Hereford United on 4 September,Rollin 1992 234 finishing the game with ten men after Lee Palmer was sent off.Gillingham Vs Barnet Matchday Programme Matchpoints 21 September 1991 Gillingham defeated Scarborough 2–0 on 7 September with two goals in the last six minutes of the game,Rollin 1992 450 after which they were 10th in the league table, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0501878051/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=9308adcd The Times 11 April 2022 Gale Weekend Football Results and Tables 9 September 1991 30 subscription but then gained only one point from the next five games to slip to 19th.Rollin 1992 234 https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0501887222/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=c9f0b2b7 The Times 11 April 2022 Gale Weekend Football Results and Tables 7 October 1991 34 subscription The run included defeats to Wrexham, Blackpool, Crewe Alexandra and Chesterfield,Rollin 1992 234 although they were able to hold second-placed Barnet to a 3–3 draw. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A116693602/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=acbfa4e4 The Times 11 April 2022 Gale Barnet's brave new world; Football 23 September 1991 Keith Blackmore subscription The performances of Lim in particular were questioned, so Richardson signed goalkeeper Keith Branagan on loan from Millwall, but Branagan was injured in a reserve team game and only played one match for the first team before returning to his parent club.Triggs 2001 63 Gillingham ended their winless league run on 12 October, beating Halifax Town 3–0; David Crown scored twice.Rollin 1992 234 Two weeks later Crown scored the team's first hat-trick of the season as they beat Northampton Town 3–1 at Priestfield;Rollin 1992 234 midfielder Neil Smith, recently signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, made his debut.Rollin 1992 235 After impressing with his performances during the loan spell, he joined the club on a permanent basis for a transfer fee of UK 40,000 1991 eq yes £ -4, which was reported to have been financed by the payment which the club received from Sky Sports after one of Gillingham's games was broadcast live.Triggs 2001 301 Gillingham extended their unbeaten league run to six games with draws against Carlisle United, Cardiff City and Maidstone United,Rollin 1992 234 after which they were 13th in the table. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0501898838/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=6b649f20 The Times 11 April 2022 Gale Weekend Football Results and Tables 11 November 1991 39 subscription The game against Maidstone, Gillingham's local rivals, drew an attendance of 6,716, Gillingham's largest home crowd of the season for a Fourth Division match.Brown 2003 101 The team's unbeaten run came to an end with a 4–3 defeat away to Mansfield Town on 23 November. Gillingham defeated Aldershot 3–1 on 30 November,Rollin 1992 32 ending a run of seven games without a win in all competitions,Brown 2003 101 and then drew twice more, against Rotherham United and York City.Rollin 1992 234 Crown scored in all three matches to take his total of league goals for the season so far to 13, nearly half the total scored by the entire team.Rollin 1992 234 The team's final match of 1991 was on 26 December against the same opponents they had faced in the first game of the season, Scunthorpe United;Rollin 1992 234 Gillingham lost 2–0,Rollin 1992 456 which left them 15th in the league table. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0501911360/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=dca8e27e The Times 11 April 2022 Gale Boxing Day Results and Tables 27 December 1991 28 subscription January–May thumb|right|alt=Ninian Park stadium|Gillingham's victory at Cardiff's Ninian Park in March would prove to be the team's last league win away from home for more than 18 months. Gillingham began the new year with a 2–1 victory at home to Hereford United on 1 January. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0500001129/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=38defa76 The Times 3 May 2022 Gale Yesterday's Results, Tables and Goalscorers 2 January 1992 21 subscription The team beat Walsall 4–0 on 11 January, Crown scoring his second hat-trick of the season, but then conceded four in a defeat to promotion-chasing Burnley.Rollin 1992 122 A win over Doncaster Rovers on 1 February left Gillingham 13th in the table. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0501923545/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=3d98ba60 The Times 11 April 2022 Gale Weekend Football Results and Tables 3 February 1992 26 subscription On 15 February, the team followed two consecutive goalless draws by beating Rotherham United, who were fifth in the table, 5–1 at Priestfield; Steve Lovell scored the team's third hat-trick of the season.Rollin 1992 234, 444 It was the first time that Gillingham had scored five goals in a game since September 1989.Brown 2003 99–101 A week later, Gillingham won 1–0 away to Walsall, the first time during the season that the team had won two consecutive league matches, however their unbeaten league run ended with a 3–1 defeat at home to Lincoln City on 29 February.Rollin 1992 234 On 3 March, Gillingham achieved a 3–0 victory over Burnley, who had not lost for seven games and would go on to win the Fourth Division championship; Crown scored the first goal, the first of four consecutive league games in which he scored.Rollin 1992 122, 234 A week later, defender Richard Green, recently signed on loan from Swindon Town, scored twice on his Gillingham debut as the team defeated Cardiff City 3–2 at Ninian Park.Rollin 1992 234 It would prove to be Gillingham's final league win away from home until October 1993, a run of 30 consecutive away league games without a victory.Elligate 2009 48 The team failed to win in the next three games but ended the month with consecutive home victories over Mansfield Town and Wrexham,Rollin 1992 234 which took them up to 10th in the league table.Rollin 1992 234 Another loan signing, Watford's Rod Thomas, made his debut against Mansfield.Triggs 2001 318 Three days before that game, Aldershot were expelled from the Football League after the club went into liquidation;Rollin 1992 19 all their results up to that point in the season were expunged from the league table, meaning that Gillingham lost the four points they had acquired from a win and a draw against Aldershot.Elligate 2009 33 https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A171103338/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=3d1d1783 The Guardian 6 April 2022 Gale Soccer: League puts official seal on demise of Aldershot 27 March 1992 Don Beet subscription On 11 April, Gillingham defeated Blackpool 3–2 at Priestfield despite finishing the game with nine players. Both Crown and Lim were sent off, leading to defender Joe Dunne taking over in goal; Dunne was selected because he had played Gaelic football as a youth in his native Ireland, which Richardson felt would help with his ability to catch and handle the ball.Elligate 2009 62 It was the team's only win in five matches played in April, during which they lost away to Scarborough and Barnet and at home to Crewe Alexandra.Rollin 1992 234 Gillingham's final match of the season was at home to Halifax Town. Lovell, who had scored only four league goals before Christmas, scored twice in a 2–0 victory, giving him seven in the last nine games of the season and a total of sixteen for the season.Rollin 1992 234–235 His second goal against Halifax was his 100th for the club.Elligate 2009 76 Gillingham finished 11th out of 22 remaining teams in the Fourth Division, 12 points below the promotion play-off places;Brown 2003 101 a review of the season published in the Rothmans Football Yearbook stated that "Gillingham's consistency was simply one of being an average team in the middle of the table".Rollin 1992 27 Match details Key In result column, Gillingham's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal ResultsRollin 1992 234 DateOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance17 August 1991Scunthorpe United (H)4–0Elsey, Crown, O'Connor, Beadle3,48024 August 1991York City (A)1–1Crown2,3244 September 1991Hereford United (A)0–22,5447 September 1991Scarborough (H)2–0Arnott, Lovell3,37514 September 1991Wrexham (A)1–2Elsey1,60217 September 1991Blackpool (A)0–23,03521 September 1991Barnet (H)3–3Eeles, Crown (2)4,86428 September 1991Crewe Alexandra (A)1–2Trusson (pen.)3,1265 October 1991Chesterfield (H)0–12,83512 October 1991Halifax Town (A)3–0Crown (2), Beadle1,43519 October 1991Doncaster Rovers (A)1–1Lovell1,46826 October 1991Northampton Town (H)3–1Crown (3)2,5442 November 1991Carlisle United (A)0–01,6725 November 1991Cardiff City (H)0–02,6419 November 1991Maidstone United (H)1–1O'Connor6,71623 November 1991Mansfield Town (A)3–4Lovell, Crown, Arnott3,28730 November 1991Aldershot (H)3–1M16 aCrown, Arnott, Smith2,56614 December 1991Rotherham United (A)1–1Crown3,13721 December 1991York City (H)1–1Crown2,71126 December 1991Scunthorpe United (A)0–23,8831 January 1992Hereford United (H)2–1Lovell, Smith3,3924 January 1992Lincoln City (A)0–12,16911 January 1992Walsall (H)4–0Crown (3), Elsey2,71518 January 1992Burnley (A)1–4Walker8,9081 February 1992Doncaster Rovers (H)2–1Smith, O'Connor2,3668 February 1992Northampton Town (A)0–03,00711 February 1992Aldershot (A)0–0M16 a2,98615 February 1992Rotherham United (H)5–1Lovell (3), Dempsey, Crown2,48622 February 1992Walsall (A)1–0Dempsey2,98729 February 1992Lincoln City (H)1–3Lovell3,1603 March 1992Burnley (H)3–0Crown, Beadle, Lovell3,7297 March 1992Rochdale (A)1–2Crown1,94110 March 1992Cardiff City (A)3–2Green (2), Crown8,52114 March 1992Carlisle United (H)1–2Crown2,78917 March 1992Rochdale (H)0–02,32221 March 1992Maidstone United (A)1–1Lovell3,26428 March 1992Mansfield Town (H)2–0Lovell, Beadle2,68231 March 1992Wrexham (H)2–1Lovell (pen.), Green3,0784 April 1992Scarborough (A)1–2Crown1,17411 April 1992Blackpool (H)3–2Lovell, Crown, Beadle3,68418 April 1992Barnet (A)0–24,04920 April 1992Crewe Alexandra (H)0–12,92825 April 1992Chesterfield (A)3–3Thomas, Lovell, Green2,1092 May 1992Halifax Town (H)2–0Lovell (2, 1 pen.)2,413 a. M16 Result expunged following Aldershot's expulsion from the Football League Partial league table 1991–92 Football League#Fourth Division main WDL left auto Football League Fourth Division final table, positions 8–13 PR 8 WRE Rochdale POR Cardiff City BRE Lincoln City GIL Gillingham BUR Scarborough CHE Chesterfield 18 13 11 57 53 17 15 10 66 53 17 11 14 50 44 15 12 15 63 53 15 12 15 64 68 14 11 17 49 61 complete Rollin 1992 595 Cup matches FA Cup As a Fourth Division team, Gillingham entered the 1991–92 FA Cup in the first round and were paired with Brentford, who were top of the Third Division. The match at Brentford's Griffin Park stadium ended in a 3–3 draw after Gillingham had trailed 3–1 with less than 20 minutes remaining, necessitating a replay at Priestfield.Rollin 1992 661 https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A171123868/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=89b5118b The Guardian 11 April 2022 Gale Soccer: Gillingham sting back the Bees 19 November 1991 subscription The second match drew an attendance of 7,328, the largest recorded at Priestfield during the season.Brown 2003 101 Captain Walker scored a goal, following on from two he had scored in the initial match, but Gillingham lost 3–1 and were eliminated from the competition.Rollin 1992 661 https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A116619349/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=5691f408 The Times Louise Taylor 11 April 2022 Gale Brentford prove to be too strong; Football 27 November 1991 subscription Match details Key In result column, Gillingham's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal ResultsRollin 1992 661 DateRoundOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance18 November 1991FirstBrentford (A)3–3Walker (2), Smith5,83826 November 1991First (replay)Brentford (H)1–3Walker7,328 Football League Cup Gillingham entered the 1991–92 Football League Cup in the first round and their opponents were Portsmouth of the Second Division. The tie was played over two legs, with the first at Portsmouth's Fratton Park ground and the second at Priestfield.Rollin 1992 624 Teenaged forward Peter Beadle came on as a substitute and scored for Gillingham in the first leg but his team lost 2–1.Rollin 1992 626 Seven days later, Portsmouth won the second leg 4–3 and thus won the tie by an aggregate score of 6–4, ending Gillingham's participation in the League Cup.Rollin 1992 626 Match details Key In result column, Gillingham's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal ResultsRollin 1992 624, 626 DateRoundOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance20 August 1991First (first leg)Portsmouth (A)1–2Beadle4,80127 August 1991First (second leg)Portsmouth (H)3–4Crown, Walker, Beadle5,114 Associate Members' Cup The 1991–92 Associate Members' Cup, a tournament exclusively for Third and Fourth Division teams, began with a preliminary round in which the teams were drawn into groups of three, contested on a round-robin basis. Gillingham's group also contained their local rivals Maidstone United as well as Fulham of the Third Division. Gillingham's first match resulted in a 2–0 defeat away to Fulham;Rollin 1992 642 as the Third Division side had already beaten Maidstone they were now guaranteed to top the group and qualify for the first round proper, leaving the game between the two Kent-based teams to determine the second qualifier.Rollin 1992 641 Gillingham defeated Maidstone 4–2 in front of a crowd of 2,300, the lowest attendance at Priestfield during the season,Brown 2003 101 to reach the first round. The random draw for the first round paired Gillingham with Fulham again.Rollin 1992 643, 644 The game again took place at Fulham's Craven Cottage ground and the result was identical to the earlier meeting between the two sides, Fulham winning 2–0 to eliminate Gillingham from the competition.Rollin 1992 644 Match details Key In result column, Gillingham's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal ResultsRollin 1992 641, 643, 644 DateRoundOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance29 November 1991GroupFulham (A)0–21,10810 December 1991GroupMaidstone United (H)4–2Smith (2), Crown, Haylock (o.g.)2,30014 January 1992FirstFulham (A)0–21,483 Players thumb|right|upright|alt=Footballer Peter Beadle|Peter Beadle (pictured in 2020) scored seven goals during the season. Twenty-eight players made at least one appearance for Gillingham during the season. Clark and Lovell made the most; both players were ever-present during the season, playing in all 51 games, including the two which were expunged following Aldershot's expulsion from the Football League in March. Lim, O'Connor, Walker, and Crown all made more than 40 appearances. Two players, both goalkeepers, played only once during the season. Branagan made one league appearance in October and Tim Dalton played in one Associate Members' Cup game. Both left the club without making any further appearances.Brown 2003 118, 127 Thirteen players scored at least one goal for Gillingham during the season. Crown was the top goalscorer, with 22 goals in Football League matches and a total of 24 in all competitions; these figures do not include a goal which he scored against Aldershot. Lovell, the team's top scorer for the previous four seasons,Triggs 2001 348 scored 16; no other player scored more than 7. +Player statisticsBrown 2003 101PlayerPositionFourth DivisionFA CupLeague CupAssociate Members' CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAndy ArnottMF 19+22+120002023+22+1Peter BeadleFW 33+2520220037+27Austin BerkleyMF 3000003060Keith BranaganGK 1000000010Tony Butler footballer DF5000201080Richard Carpenter footballerMF 3000001040Paul Clark footballerDF 42+2020203049+20Brian Clarke footballer, born 1968DF 110000020130David CrownFW 36+122+120212142+124+1Tim DaltonGK 0000001010Mark Dempsey Irish footballerDF 30+2220003035+22Joe DunneDF 110000000110Tony EelesMF 14+1120202020+11Karl ElseyMF 27+1320201032+13Richard Green footballer DF124000000124Lee HarrisonGK 2000000020Harvey LimGK 39+2020202045+20Steve Lovell Welsh footballerFW 42+21620203049+216Eliot MartinDF 22+1000102025+10Mark O'Connor English footballerMF 39+2320202045+23Tim O'Shea footballerDF 30+2020202036+20Lawrence Osborne footballer MF5000000050Lee PalmerDF 11+1000100012+10Andy PolstonDF 2+100000204+10Neil Smith footballerMF 26+22+121003231+25+1Rod Thomas English footballerMF 8100000081Mike TrussonMF 101002000121Alan Walker footballerDF 40+2123211045+25 FW = Forward, MF = Midfielder, GK = Goalkeeper, DF = Defender Superscript figures represent appearances and goals in the two games against Aldershot which were expunged when the team was expelled from the Football League. Aftermath Walker was voted into the Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year for the Fourth Division by his fellow professionals, the first Gillingham player to be honoured in five years.Triggs 2001 352 He did not receive the club's player of the year award, however, which went to Clark.Bateson Sewell 1992 353 Several players left the club at the conclusion of the season, including Beadle, who joined Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League for a transfer fee of UK 300,000 1992 eq yes £ -4, a new record for the highest fee received by Gillingham for a player.Rollin 1993 231Triggs 2001 326Triggs 2001 55 The teams in the Football League First Division, the highest level of the sport in England, broke away at the conclusion of the season to form the new FA Premier League; as a result, the Football League was reduced from four divisions to three, placing Gillingham in the new Third Division.Bateson Sewell 1992 5https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/199293-premier-league-first-season-sky-sports-man-utd-champions How the Premier League breakaway happened: The first season of 1992/93, as told by its heroes Andrew Murray FourFourTwo 19 April 2021 29 November 2021 After a mid-table finish in the 1991–92 season, Gillingham struggled the following season and, by October, the team were close to the bottom of the Third Division; Richardson was dismissed from his job as the club's manager.Elligate 2009 155 Glenn Roeder was appointed as his replacement in a player-manager capacity. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A170977376/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=582bf816 The Guardian 6 December 2021 Gale Soccer: Roeder lands Gillingham job 27 October 1992 subscription The team's performances remained poor and, with two games remaining, Gillingham still faced the possibility of finishing bottom of the division and being relegated out of the Football League. Victory over Halifax Town in the penultimate match of the season, however, ensured that Gillingham would stay in the Third Division,Elligate 2009 75 https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A116996824/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=8a9b9990 Sunday Times 6 December 2021 Gale Safety first for the Gills; Football Vince Wright 2 May 1993 subscription and the team remained there until they gained promotion to the Second Division in 1996.Elligate 2009 72 References Works cited Bateson Bill Sewell Albert News of the World Football Annual 1992–93 Invincible Press 1992 978-0-85543-188-4 London Brown Tony The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record Soccerdata 2003 1-899468-20-X Nottingham Elligate David Gillingham FC On This Day Pitch Publishing 2009 978-1-9054-1145-0 Durrington Rollin Jack Rothmans Football Yearbook 1992–93 Headline Publishing Group 1992 978-0-74727-905-1 London Rollin Jack Rothmans Football Yearbook 1993–94 Headline Publishing Group 1993 978-0-74727-895-5 London Roger Triggs Images of England: Gillingham Football Club Tempus Publishing Ltd 1999 978-0-75241-567-3 Stroud Roger Triggs The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club Tempus Publishing Ltd 2001 978-0-75242-243-5 Stroud Category:Gillingham F.C. seasons Gillingham Fc Season, 1991-92