|
:''For a statistical breakdown by season, see Gillingham F.C. seasons'' Gillingham F.C. is an English football club based in Gillingham, Kent. The history of Gillingham F.C. covers the years from the club's formation to the present day. The club was formed in 1893, and played in the Southern League until 1920, when that league's top division was absorbed into the Football League as its new Division Three. The club was voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937–38 season, but returned 12 years later, when that league was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs. Twice in the late 1980s Gillingham came close to winning promotion to the second tier of English football, but a decline then set in and in 1993 the club narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference. In 2000, the "Gills" reached the second tier of the English league for the first time in the club's history and went on to spend five seasons at this level, achieving a club record highest league finish of eleventh place in 2002–03. The club has twice won the division comprising the fourth level in the football league pyramid: the Football League Fourth Division championship in 1963–64 and the Football League Two championship in 2012-13. == The early years: 1893–1920 == The local success of a junior football side, Chatham Excelsior F.C., encouraged a group of businessmen to meet at the Napier Arms pub on 18 May 1893,〔 〕 with a view to creating a football club that could compete in larger competitions. To do this, the club required an enclosed playing area where an admission fee could be charged, which Excelsior lacked.〔 New Brompton F.C. was formed at the meeting, incorporating a number of Excelsior players. The gentlemen also purchased the plot of land which would later become Priestfield Stadium,〔 〕 where a pitch was quickly laid and a pavilion constructed.〔 New Brompton's first team played their first match on 2 September 1893, with the new team, sporting Excelsior's black and white stripes, being defeated 1–5 by Woolwich Arsenal's reserve team in front of a crowd of 2,000. As a "curtain-raiser" immediately prior to this match, New Brompton's own reserves played a match against Grays, which was therefore technically the first match played by a team representing the club. New Brompton joined the Southern League upon its creation in 1894, being placed in Division Two because it was one of the last clubs to be invited to join the league. Upon joining the league, New Brompton turned professional, with the players agreeing to be paid 12 shillings per match, and promptly won the Division Two championship in the 1894–95 season. With a record of one defeat and eleven victories from twelve matches, the team concluded the season with a "test match" against Swindon Town, who had finished bottom of Division One. As 5–1 winners, New Brompton gained promotion to Division One the following season. In 1896 the club appointed its first manager when William Ironside Groombridge, who had previously served as the club's financial secretary, took charge of team affairs.〔 〕 Groombridge served the club, as secretary and sometimes manager, until well after the First World War. New Brompton struggled in Division One, generally finishing close to the foot of the table, but did reach the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in 1899–1900, losing 1–0 to Southampton. In the same season the club was forced to play a league fixture at the home ground of Woolwich Arsenal when Priestfield was closed due to crowd trouble in a match against Millwall.〔 〕 In the 1907–08 season, under the management of the former England international Stephen Smith, New Brompton finished bottom of the table, avoiding relegation only due to the expansion of the league, but did achieve a cup victory over First Division Sunderland, remembered for a hat-trick from Charlie McGibbon.〔 In 1912 the directors passed a resolution to change the club's name to Gillingham F.C., and the team played under this name throughout the 1912–13 season, although the change was not officially ratified by the shareholders until the following year. To coincide with the change, the team began sporting a new kit of red shirts with blue sleeves. The side again finished bottom of the division in the 1914–15 season, but avoided relegation for a second time when the league was suspended due to the escalation of the First World War. Once the competition resumed after the war Gillingham, once again wearing black and white, continued to fare poorly, again finishing bottom of Division One in the 1919–20 season. For a third time, however, the club avoided relegation, due to the subsequent elevation of all Southern League Division One clubs to form the new Football League Division Three. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Gillingham F.C.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|