A sleeping giant?......... Not really. (Gillingham F.C.)

Member Name: eyedo6789

Product:	Gillingham F.C.
Date:	04/03/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A very good stadium and a loyal set of supporters.

Disadvantages: Play a low skill level type of game.

I live less than a mile and a half from Gillingham Football Stadium and up until a couple of years ago lived within sight of it about 600 metres away but I've kinda given up going to watch them anymore because the results are mediocre or poor and more importantly the entertainment value is poor.

Gillingham, like many clubs, tend to have pretty good results at home but perform badly away. Although the results at home are decent they are generally low scoring matches and of low quality.

The main criticism I have of the team is that most of the defensive and midfield players seem to be almost frightened when they have the ball in their possession and just want to get it away from them as soon as possible, usually with a long ball of some description, either directly into the penalty area or "into the channel". In both cases it is nearly always easy for the opposition defenders to repel this.

Gillingham's style of play can be characterised by work rate, effort and closing down when the opposition have the ball. This can be effective in grinding out results but in my opinion does not make for good viewing.

The plus points about Gillingham FC are that despite its slipping down the divisions in recent times it still has a very loyal core base of fans that follow "The Gills" through thick and thin.

The stadium is not spectacular but modern, comfortable and pleasant to be in. The Blues Bar is excellent. Its built into the stadium and a great place for a pre match beer and a chin wag.

There is also some nice corporate hospitality and boxes if that is your kind of thing and if you can afford it.

Gillingham have excelled in the FA cup a few times when playing at home, often winning or at least pushing Premier League teams hard but haven't in recent years ever been able to push on into a Wembley Cup Final.

Gillingham did play at Wembley twice in the Final of "the play offs", in 1999 and in 2000, on both occasions it was to reach Division 1 (The old Division 2). In 1999 they lost to Man City on penalties having been 2-0 up with less than 2 minutes of normal time left but a year later they did get promoted to Division 1 after prevailing 3-1 after extra time against Wigan.

That era was definitely The Gills high point but since then things have slipped on the pitch whereby today they are in Division 2 (The old fourth division) although challenging near the top of it.

It is a shame really because Gillingham has a huge catchment area for fans, being the only League team in Kent with the nearest other team probably being Charlton Athletic.

There is a good sound foundation for success that can be built on with the modern stadium they have and the Chairmanship of Paul Scally, so who knows, perhaps one day Gillingham will be a force in the Premiership and maybe even in Europe!!

Gillingham FC trivia:

Famous current and ex players: Steve Bruce, Tony Cascarino, Mamady Sidebe, Brent Sancho (Trinidad & Tobago World Cup Finals Player), Andrew Crofts (Welsh International), Rod Wallace, Darren Byfield.
Famous ex managers: Tony Pulis, Peter Taylor, Keith Peacock, Stan Ternent.
Famous supporters: Oz Smith (wine critic and broadcaster), The late Brian Moore (Legendary ITV football commentator)
Original name: New Brompton (Brompton is an area that is now a mile away from Gillingham and famous for its military barracks and The Royal Engineers)
Ground capacity: 11,582
Gillingham have recently hosted some England Women's International games.

This review is also posted on www.ciao.co.uk
under my user name bella6789

Summary: A club with potential but entertainment value needs to improve.