Gillingham
1973–74 season
ChairmanClifford Grossmark
ManagerAndy Nelson
Fourth Division2nd
FA CupFirst Round
League CupSecond Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Brian Yeo (31)
All: Brian Yeo (32)
Highest home attendance12,297 vs Peterborough United (3 April 1974)
Lowest home attendance3,864 vs Doncaster Rovers (29 September 1973)

During the 1973–74 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 42nd season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 24th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. Gillingham lost three times in the first ten games of the season, but the team then began a run of 20 league games without defeat; by the end of 1973, Gillingham were second in the league table. In mid-February, they lost a Fourth Division game for the first time in more than four months, after which two consecutive wins in mid-March took them to the top of the table. Although Gillingham slipped from first place, they remained in the top three, and a victory over Colchester United on 20 April ensured that the team would be promoted to the Third Division at the end of the season. In their final game of the season on 1 May, first-placed Gillingham lost to second-placed Peterborough United, who overtook them to win the championship of the division.

Gillingham also competed in two knock-out competitions, losing in the first round of the FA Cup to Cambridge United and in the second round of the Football League Cup to Carlisle United. The team played 49 competitive matches, winning 26, drawing 12 and losing 11. Brian Yeo was the team's top goalscorer; he scored 31 goals in Fourth Division matches and 32 in all competitions. His 31 Football League goals in a season equalled the club record set by Ernie Morgan in the 1954–55 season. George Jacks and Dick Tydeman made the most appearances; both played in every game of the season. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 12,297 for a game against Peterborough United on 3 April 1974.

Background and pre-season

The 1973–74 season was Gillingham's 42nd season playing in the Football League and the 24th since the club was elected back into the League in 1950 after being voted out in 1938.[1] It was the club's third consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system, to which Gillingham had been relegated in 1971 after finishing bottom of the Third Division.[1] In the 1972–73 season, Gillingham had finished 9th out of 24 teams in the Fourth Division.[1]

Andy Nelson was the club's manager, a position he had held since 1971.[2] Peter Shearing assisted him in the role of trainer-coach.[3] The management team retained a largely unchanged squad from the previous season, signing only Dave Coxhill, a midfielder who had been released at the end of the previous season by Millwall of the Second Division.[4] In June, Damien Richardson became the first Gillingham player to represent his country in a senior international match, when he played for the Republic of Ireland in a friendly away to Norway.[5][a] Gillingham prepared for the new season with four friendlies in August, against Luton Town and Sheffield Wednesday of the Second Division, Brighton & Hove Albion of the Third, and semi-professional team Sittingbourne.[6] The team's kit for the new season was all-blue, a departure from the club's traditional blue shirts and white shorts.[7]

Fourth Division

August–December

Gresty Road football stadium
Gillingham began the season with an away game at Gresty Road, home of Crewe Alexandra (pictured in 1998).

Gillingham's first match of the season was away to Crewe Alexandra on 25 August.[8] Due to injuries sustained in pre-season, Alan Wilks and Keith Lindsey, both regular starters in the previous season, were absent from the team; Gillingham lost the match 1–0.[9][10] Both players returned to the team a week later for the first game of the season at Gillingham's home ground, Priestfield Stadium. The game against Newport County resulted in a 1–1 draw;[11] Brian Yeo scored Gillingham's goal, his 100th Football League goal for the club, making him the second Gillingham player to reach this milestone.[12] Gillingham won their next two matches, including a 7–2 win at home to Scunthorpe United on 12 September, the highest number of goals scored by the team in a Football League match since 1951.[8][13] Yeo scored a hat-trick to take his total to five goals in the last three games and break the record held by Brian Gibbs for the highest number of Football League goals scored for Gillingham.[8][12][14]

Gillingham ended September with another high-scoring win, defeating Doncaster Rovers 5–1;[8] at the end of the month Gillingham were 10th out of 24 teams in the Fourth Division league table.[15] The team lost for the third time in the first ten league games of the season when they were defeated 2–1 by Exeter City on 6 October,[8] after which they had dropped to 13th in the table,[16] but then began a run of 20 league games without defeat.[8] A week after the defeat to Exeter, Gillingham beat Bury 3–0, and in their next game they beat Chester 4–2.[8] Yeo scored twice in both games, taking his tally of league goals for the season to 12 in 12 games.[8] Coxhill made his first appearance in the starting line-up in a 1–1 draw away to Scunthorpe on 23 October and was a regular starter for the remainder of the season.[11] At the end of October, Gillingham were in seventh place in the Fourth Division table,[17] one point below the four promotion positions.[18]

During November and December Gillingham played nine matches, winning seven and drawing two.[8] The team began November with a 1–0 win away to Reading and followed this with victories at home to Torquay United and Workington.[8] The final game of the month was a 2–2 draw away to Mansfield Town.[8] Yeo scored in all four games, including twice against Torquay; against Workington, Wilks scored Gillingham's second hat-trick of the season.[8] Gillingham won their first four matches of December,[8] including a 4–1 victory on 8 December over Colchester United, who had been top of the table ahead of the game;[19] the attendance of 8,411 was more than 1,600 higher than any other home game to that point in the season.[20] On 26 December this figure was eclipsed when a crowd of 11,313 saw Gillingham defeat Northampton Town 3–1 with another hat-trick from Yeo.[8][21] It was the first attendance of more than 10,000 at Priestfield since a game against the same opposition in 1971.[22] Gillingham's final match of 1973 was at home to Swansea City on 29 December and ended in a 1–1 draw,[8] which left Gillingham second in the Fourth Division, one point behind leaders Colchester.[23]

January–May

Priestfield Stadium in Gillingham
In January 1974, Priestfield Stadium (pictured c.1986) hosted a Football League match on a Sunday for the first time.

Gillingham began 1974 with two consecutive draws and then beat Darlington 3–1 on 12 January;[8] it was the last game that highly rated defender David Peach played for the club as he was transferred to Southampton of the First Division for £50,000 (equivalent to £550,000 in 2021), a new record for the highest fee received by Gillingham for a player.[20][24][25] In his absence, Glenn Aitken became the regular starter at left back.[26] On 20 January, the first Football League game to be played at Priestfield on a Sunday took place; playing on Sunday had been prohibited until January 1974 when the Football League agreed to allow Sunday matches for the first time, and Priestfield was one of twelve grounds to host a game on the first available Sunday.[27] At the end of January, Gillingham were still second in the table, now three points behind Colchester United albeit with the advantage of having played one fewer game.[28]

Gillingham began February with victories over Lincoln City and Hartlepool to take their unbeaten league run to 20 games,[20][29] but then lost 3–2 away to Bury,[30] their first defeat in the Fourth Division since the previous October.[8] Gillingham won their next game, defeating Exeter, and remained second in the table at the end of the month.[8][31] The team's first game of March was a goalless draw away to Northampton, the first game in which Gillingham had failed to score a goal since the previous October,[20] although the single point they gained for the draw brought them level on points with first-placed Colchester.[32] Gillingham remained behind the league leaders only on goal average despite losing their next game 2–0 away to Stockport County.[20][33] The team then won two consecutive games 1–0, Richardson scoring the winning goal in both matches,[20] after which they were top of the Fourth Division table.[34] They then lost two consecutive games and ended March back in second place, three points behind Colchester.[20][35]

Gillingham began April with a home game against Peterborough United; Peterborough were third in the table going into the match, behind Gillingham only on goal average.[36] The game between the two promotion-chasing teams drew an attendance of 12,297, the largest crowd of the season at Priestfield.[20] A goal from Lindsey gave Gillingham a 1–0 victory,[37] but the team drew their next two games and Peterborough overtook them to move into second place. On 20 April, Gillingham defeated Colchester 2–0, Yeo scoring both goals; the result meant that third-placed Gillingham could no longer be overtaken by any team outside the top four and were thus guaranteed promotion to the Third Division at the end of the season.[38] Yeo scored his 31st league goal of the season in the 2–0 win over Lincoln on 24 April, equalling the club record set by Ernie Morgan in the 1954–55 season.[39] Despite playing in both the remaining games of the season, he failed to score the goal which would give him the record outright.[8] The team's final game of the season was away to Peterborough United;[8] immediately before the game, Gillingham were top of the table, one point ahead of second-placed Peterborough, although Peterborough had the advantage that they had two more games still to play after the match against Gillingham.[40] Gillingham lost the game 4–2, meaning that Peterborough overtook them and won the Fourth Division championship;[41] Gillingham finished the season in second place, three points behind Peterborough and two ahead of third-placed Colchester.[42] It was only the second time in 42 seasons in the Football League that Gillingham had gained promotion to a higher division.[1]

Match details

Key


Results[8]
Date Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
25 August 1973 Crewe Alexandra (A) 0–12,091
1 September 1973 Newport County (H) 1–1Yeo3,971
8 September 1973 Swansea City (A) 3–0Lindsey, Yeo, Tydeman2,144
12 September 1973 Scunthorpe United (H) 7–2Yeo (3), Wilks, Richardson (2), Tydeman4,610
15 September 1973 Darlington (H) 0–15,446
18 September 1973 Rotherham United (A) 1–1Yeo3,660
22 September 1973 Hartlepool (A) 1–2Jacks1,383
29 September 1973 Doncaster Rovers (H) 5–1Yeo, Wilks, Richardson (2), Peach (pen.)3,864
3 October 1973 Rotherham United (H) 1–1Yeo5,330
6 October 1973 Exeter City (A) 1–2Peach4,744
13 October 1973 Bury (H) 3–0Hill, Yeo (2)4,527
20 October 1973 Chester (A) 4–2Peach, Yeo (2), Richardson2,055
23 October 1973 Scunthorpe United (A) 1–1Jacks2,402
27 October 1973 Stockport County (H) 2–1Peach (pen.), Wilks5,757
31 October 1973 Bradford City (A) 0–02,567
3 November 1973 Reading (A) 1–0Yeo8,082
10 November 1973 Torquay United (H) 2–1Yeo (2)6,201
14 November 1973 Workington (H) 4–0Wilks (3), Yeo6,804
17 November 1973 Mansfield Town (A) 2–2Yeo, Peach (pen.)3,004
1 December 1973 Brentford (A) 3–0Richardson (2), Galvin5,570
8 December 1973 Colchester United (H) 4–1Richardson, Wilks (2), Jacks8,411
22 December 1973 Doncaster Rovers (A) 2–1Tydeman, Jacks1,878
26 December 1973 Northampton Town (H) 3–1Yeo (3)11,363
29 December 1973 Swansea City (H) 1–1Jacks9,977
1 January 1974 Newport County (A) 3–3Jacks, Wilks, Peach5,888
5 January 1974 Barnsley (H) 1–1Richardson6,825
12 January 1974 Darlington (A) 3–1Richardson, Peach, Yeo2,204
20 January 1974 Crewe Alexandra (H) 3–0Yeo, Richardson (pen.), Jacks11,478
3 February 1974 Lincoln City (A) 3–2Wilks, Yeo (2)7,154
10 February 1974 Hartlepool (H) 3–0Potter (o.g.), Wilks, Yeo8,754
17 February 1974 Bury (A) 2–3Swan (o.g.), Coxhill8,813
23 February 1974 Exeter City (H) 2–1Yeo, Wilks7,994
3 March 1974 Northampton Town (A) 0–08,583
10 March 1974 Stockport County (A) 0–21,940
17 March 1974 Chester (H) 1–0Richardson7,541
23 March 1974 Torquay United (A) 1–0Richardson2,748
26 March 1974 Barnsley (A) 1–3Richardson4,916
30 March 1974 Reading (H) 0–17,340
3 April 1974 Peterborough United (H) 1–0Lindsey (pen.)12,297
6 April 1974 Workington (A) 3–3Richardson (2), Jacks1,176
13 April 1974 Mansfield Town (H) 2–2Lindsey (pen.), Yeo7,872
15 April 1974 Bradford City (H) 2–0Yeo, Wilks7,720
20 April 1974 Colchester United (A) 2–0Yeo (2)10,007
24 April 1974 Lincoln City (H) 2–0Yeo, Tydeman9,094
27 April 1974 Brentford (H) 1–0Hill9,337
1 May 1974 Peterborough United (A) 2–4Lindsey (pen.), Wilks17,569

Partial league table

Football League Fourth Division final table, leading positions[18]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Peterborough United 46 27 11 8 75 38 1.974 65 Division Champions, promoted
2 Gillingham 46 25 12 9 90 49 1.837 62 Promoted
3 Colchester United 46 24 12 10 73 36 2.028 60
4 Bury 46 24 11 11 81 49 1.653 59
5 Northampton Town 46 20 13 13 63 48 1.313 53

Cup matches

FA Cup

As a Fourth Division club, Gillingham entered the 1973–74 FA Cup in the first round but were beaten 3–2 by Cambridge United of the Third Division.[18][20]

Match details

Key
Results[20]
Date Round Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
24 November 1973 First Cambridge United (A) 2–3 Richardson, Tydeman 4,831

Football League Cup

Gillingham entered the 1973–74 Football League Cup at the first round stage and were paired with fellow Fourth Division team Colchester United. Gillingham won the match at Priestfield 4–2 to progress to the second round, where they were drawn to play Carlisle United of the Second Division, again at home. Gillingham were beaten 2–1 by their higher-division opponents and eliminated from the competition.[18][20]

Match details

Key
Results[20]
Date Round Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
29 August 1973 First Colchester United (H) 4–2 Peach, Quirke, Wilks, Yeo 3,991
10 October 1973 Second Carlisle United (H) 1–2 Richardson 7,871

Players

During the season, 19 players made at least one appearance for Gillingham. Two, George Jacks and Dick Tydeman, played in all 49 competitive matches. Five others, Richardson, Wilks, Yeo, Joe Jacques, and Mike Gibson, each made over 40 appearances. Two players, Kevin Johnson and Ken Rogers, each made only one appearance; in Johnson's case it was the only appearance he made in a Gillingham shirt.[43]

Yeo finished the season as the team's top scorer, with 31 goals in the Fourth Division and 32 in all competitions; the former figure made him the season's top goalscorer across all four divisions of the Football League, the first time a Gillingham player had achieved this feat.[44] Richardson was Gillingham's second-highest scorer, with 16 goals in the league and 18 in total, and Wilks also reached double figures, scoring 15 times in total. Jacks was voted the club's player of the year by Gillingham supporters;[45] both Yeo and Peach were voted into the Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year for the Fourth Division by their fellow professionals.[46]

Player statistics[20]
Player Position Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Glenn Aitken DF1500000150
Dave Coxhill MF3011000311
Dave Galvin DF3411000351
Mike Gibson GK4101020440
Kenny Hill DF2420020262
George Jacks MF4681020498
Joe Jacques DF4201020450
Kevin Johnson MF10000010
Graham Knight DF2301000240
Keith Lindsey DF3740020394
David Peach DF2771021308
Dave Quirke MF2000021221
Damien Richardson FW431611214618
Ken Rogers FW10000010
Ian Thorpe GK50000050
Dick Tydeman MF4641120495
Alan Wilks FW431410214615
Dave Wiltshire DF20000020
Brian Yeo FW433110214632

FW = Forward, MF = Midfielder, GK = Goalkeeper, DF = Defender

Aftermath

Two days after the final match of the season, Nelson resigned as the club's manager to take over at Charlton Athletic of the Third Division.[47] The club moved quickly to replace him with Len Ashurst, manager of Hartlepool, who was introduced to supporters at a promotion celebration event at the Central Hall in Chatham on 6 May.[48] In his first season in charge, Gillingham finished 10th in the Third Division,[49] but in October 1975 he unexpectedly resigned to take the manager's job at Sheffield Wednesday, sparking a two-year dispute between the two clubs over financial compensation.[50] Gillingham would spend fifteen seasons in the Third Division before being relegated back to the Fourth in 1989.[51]

Footnotes

a. ^ The club has in the past claimed that goalkeeper Freddie Fox made his one appearance for England in 1925 while registered with Gillingham.[52] Although it is possible that he was still with Gillingham when the team selection was announced, he had left the club to join Millwall by the time the match actually took place.[53]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 110.
  2. ↑ Rollin & Rollin 1999, p. 174.
  3. ↑ Triggs 2001, p. 291.
  4. ↑ Triggs 2001, p. 96.
  5. ↑ Elligate 2009, p. 103.
  6. ↑ Bradley & Triggs 1994, p. 424.
  7. ↑ Triggs 1999, p. 103.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Dunk 1974, p. 254.
  9. ↑ "Blues News". Gillingham Vs Colchester United Matchday Programme. 29 August 1973.
  10. ↑ "Bournemouth's Dismal Start". Daily Telegraph. 27 August 1973. Retrieved 23 August 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 Dunk 1974, p. 255.
  12. 1 2 Triggs 2001, p. 344.
  13. ↑ Elligate 2009, p. 143.
  14. ↑ Meredith, Bill (13 September 1973). "Shilton Beaten – By Stepney". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 August 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 30 September 1973". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  16. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 6 October 1973". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  17. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 31 October 1973". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 237.
  19. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 7 December 1973". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Brown 2003, p. 83.
  21. ↑ Oxby, Robert (27 December 1973). "Fans Flock Back – 10,000 Locked Out at Newcastle". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 August 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Brown 2003, pp. 81–83.
  23. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 29 December 1973". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  24. ↑ Triggs 2001, p. 250.
  25. ↑ "Osgood out for two to three weeks". The Times. 15 January 1974. p. 8. Retrieved 3 August 2022 – via Gale.
  26. ↑ Triggs 2001, p. 40.
  27. ↑ Elligate 2009, p. 22.
  28. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 31 January 1974". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  29. ↑ "Gillingham in Sure Form". Daily Telegraph. 11 February 1974. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ "Palace defeat companions of dishonour". The Times. 18 February 1974. p. 9. Retrieved 3 August 2022 – via Gale.
  31. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 28 February 1974". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  32. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 3 March 1974". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  33. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 10 March 1974". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  34. ↑ "Richardson puts Gillingham at top of table". The Times. 18 March 1974. p. 10. Retrieved 3 August 2022 – via Gale.
  35. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 30 March 1974". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  36. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 2 April 1974". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  37. ↑ "Valuable Points to Chelsea". The Guardian. 4 April 1974. Retrieved 28 August 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ Green, Geoffrey (22 April 1974). "Bursting bubble of the double". The Times. p. 9. Retrieved 23 August 2022 – via Gale.
  39. ↑ Elligate 2009, p. 68.
  40. ↑ "League Division Four table after close of play on 30 April 1974". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  41. ↑ "Peterborough make sure of championship". The Times. 2 May 1974. p. 10. Retrieved 23 August 2022 – via Gale.
  42. ↑ "League Division Four end of season table for 1973-74 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  43. ↑ Triggs 2001, p. 175.
  44. ↑ Rollin 1988, pp. 124–127.
  45. ↑ Triggs 2001, p. 171.
  46. ↑ Triggs 2001, p. 352.
  47. ↑ Elligate 2009, p. 77.
  48. ↑ Elligate 2009, p. 81.
  49. ↑ Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 238.
  50. ↑ Elligate 2009, p. 160.
  51. ↑ Rollin 1990, p. 253.
  52. ↑ "Gillingham FC History (1893–)". Gillingham F.C. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  53. ↑ Elligate 2009, p. 91.

Works cited

  • Bradley, Andy; Triggs, Roger (1994). Home of the Shouting Men: Complete History of Gillingham Football Club 1893–1993. Gillingham: Gillingham F.C. ISBN 0-9523361-0-3.
  • Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Nottingham: Soccerdata. ISBN 978-1-8994-6820-1.
  • Dunk, Peter, ed. (1974). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1974–75. London: Queen Anne Press. ISBN 978-0-3620-0171-6.
  • Elligate, David (2009). Gillingham FC On This Day. Durrington: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9054-1145-0.
  • Rollin, Jack (1988). Soccer Records, Facts and Champions. London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 978-0-8511-2360-8.
  • Rollin, Jack, ed. (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91. London: Queen Anne Press. ISBN 978-0-35617-911-7.
  • Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (1999). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1999–2000. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0-74722-166-1.
  • Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1983). Encyclopedia of British Football. London: Collins Willow. ISBN 978-0-0021-8049-8.
  • Triggs, Roger (1999). Images of England: Gillingham Football Club. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-75241-567-3.
  • Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-75242-243-5.
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