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2004–05 Gillingham F.C. season

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Gillingham
2004–05 season
ChairmanPaul Scally
ManagerAndy Hessenthaler (until 23 November)
multiple caretaker managers (23 November – 7 December)
Stan Ternent (from 7 December)
Championship22nd
FA CupThird round
League CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Darius Henderson (9)
All: Darius Henderson (9)
Highest home attendancetbc
Lowest home attendancetbc

During the 2004–05 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. It was the 73rd season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 55th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. It was Gillingham's fifth consecutive season in the second tier of the English league system, to which the club had gained promotion for the first time in 2000.

Gillingham began the season with two victories in their first three games, but results rapidly declined thereafter. Between the start of September and later November, the team won only once in 14 games, and after a 4–1 defeat to Crewe Alexandra which left them in 23rd place in the 24-team league table, Andy Hessenthaler resigned as the team's manager, a position he had held since 2000. Stan Ternent took over as manager in early December and results improved slightly, but at the end of 2004 Gillingham were still within the places which at the end of the season would result in relegation to the third tier of English football. In the last 15 games of the season, Gillingham only lost twice, however the run included 9 draws. Going into the final game of the season, Gillingham were in 21st place in the table and could still be relegated. A 2–2 draw against Nottingham Forest, combined with the results of two other games, meant that Gillingham finished in 22nd place and were relegated, ending a five-season spell in the second tier.

Gillingham also competed in two knock-out tournaments, but in both the FA Cup and the Football League Cup they were eliminated at the earliest possible stage. Gillingham played 48 competitive matches, winning 12, drawing 14, and losing 22. Darius Henderson was the team's top goalscorer with 9 goals. Paul Smith made the most appearances, playing 43 times. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 10,810 for the final home game of the season against Cardiff City.

Background and pre-season

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The 2004–05 season was Gillingham's 73rd season playing in the Football League and the 55th since the club was elected back into the League in 1950 after being voted out in 1938.[1] In the 1999–2000 season, Gillingham beat Wigan Athletic in the Second Division play-off final to reach the second tier of the English football league system for the first time in the club's history.[2] In the team's first three seasons at this level, they finished in mid-table, ending the season in 13th place out of 24 teams in the 2000–01 season, 12th place in 2001–02, and 11th place in 2002–03. In the 2003–04 season, however, they finished in 21st place, level on points with 22nd-placed Walsall and avoiding relegation to the third tier only because their goal difference of -19 was one better than Walsall's -20.[3][4][5]

At the start of the season, Andy Hessenthaler was the team's player-manager, a position he had held since 2000.[6]

Prior to the new season, the second tier of English football, previously called the Football League First Division, was renamed the Football League Championship.[7] Previewing the season, The Sunday Telegraph reported that a leading bookmaker gave Gillingham odds of 200/1 of becoming champions of the division, the longest of any team; the newspaper noted that Gillingham "face[d] a hard season" but that they might "hang on to live another day".[8]

Football League Championship

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August–December

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Footballer Darren Byfield
Darren Byfield (pictured in 2011) scored twice in the first three games of the season.

Gillingham's first match of the season was away to Ipswich Town; both Byfield and Roberts made their debuts. Byfield provided an assist for Paul Smith to score Gillingham's first goal of the campaign, but Ipswich scored twice to win the game.[9] Hessenthaler described both the goals which his team had conceded as "sloppy".[9] Gillingham's first game of the season at their home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was against Leeds United, who had been relegated from the top-tier FA Premier League at the end of the previous season after 14 years at the highest level of English football. The attendance of 10,739 was the largest for a game at the stadium since the previous September. Byfield scored a goal after just four minutes and Roberts added a second; Leeds scored in the second half but Gillingham held on for a 2–1 victory.[10] Hessenthaler told the press "For endeavour, desire and commitment I thought we were tremendous. If we do that every game we won't be in the bottom three like everyone expects us to be this season."[10] Four days later, the same two players scored in another 2–1 victory over Preston North End;[11] Mark Saunders suffered a broken leg[11] and would not play again during the season. After losing to Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers without scoring a goal in either game, Gillingham finished August with a 2–1 victory over Burnley, in which Roberts and Byfield once again scored the goals.

On 20 November, Gillingham lost 4–1 away to Crewe Alexandra,[12] a result which left them in 23rd place in the table.[13] Three days later, Hessenthaler resigned as manager, but was retained as a player.[14] His former assistant, John Gorman, took over in a caretaker capacity but resigned himself a week later to take the manager's job at Wycombe Wanderers.[15] Player-coach Iwan Roberts, team captain Paul Smith, and youth team coach Darren Hare were collectively put in charge for the next game,[16] a 3–1 defeat to Cardiff City on 4 December.[17] Three days later, the club appointed Stan Ternent as manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract.[18] Ternent, who had more than 25 years of managerial experience,[19] had been dismissed as manager of Burnley six months earlier.[20]

Gillingham's last game of 2004 was a 3–1 victory over Coventry City on 28 December; Ian Cox became only the second Gillingham player of the season to score two goals in a game. Despite the victory, Gillingham remained in the relegation places at the end of the calendar year.[21]

January–May

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Footballer Jay McEveley
Jay McEveley (pictured in 2007) joined Gillingham on loan in the second half of the season.

Gillingham began 2005 with a goalless draw at home to Reading in a game played in very poor conditions on New Year's Day.[22]

Going into the final game of the season, away to Nottingham Forest, Gillingham were two points above the bottom three places but could still be relegated depending on their own result and that achieved by other teams. After conceding a goal in the first half, Gillingham scored twice and were winning with six minutes of the game remaining; a victory would ensure that they escaped relegation regardless of the outcome of other games.[23] On the 85-minute mark, however, Gillingham conceded a second goal and, despite having two late goalscoring opportunities, they could not regain the lead; the game ended in a 2–2 draw.[23] As Crewe Alexandra won their final game and Brighton & Hove Albion secured a draw, Gillingham's failure to win meant that they were relegated.[23] In a reversal of the previous season's conclusion, Gillingham finished the campaign in 22nd place, level on points with 21st-placed Crewe but with a goal difference which was one worse than that of their rivals.[24]

League match details

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Key

  • In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
  • H = Home match
  • A = Away match
Results[25]
Date Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
7 August 2004 Ipswich Town (A) 1–2 Smith 23,130
10 August 2004 Leeds United (H) 2–1 Byfield, Roberts 10,739
14 August 2004 Preston North End (H) 2–1 Byfield, Roberts 7,073
21 August 2004 Stoke City (A) 0–2 13,234
27 August 2004 Queens Park Rangers (H) 0–1 7,391
30 August 2004 Burnley (A) 2–1 Roberts, Byfield 11,574
11 September 2004 Sunderland (H) 0–4 8,775
15 September 2004 Coventry City (A) 2–2 Agyemang (2) 11,966
18 September 2004 Reading (A) 1–3 Byfield 13,867
25 September 2004 Brighton & Hove Albion (H) 0–1 8,365
28 September 2004 Leicester City (H) 0–2 6,089
2 October 2004 Plymouth Argyle (A) 1–2 Henderson 13,665
17 October 2004 Sheffield United (H) 1–3 Bromby (o.g.) 6,964
19 October 2004 Millwall (A) 1–2 Nowland 10,722
23 October 2004 West Ham United (A) 1–3 Byfield 25,247
30 October 2004 Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) 1–0 Jarvis 9,112
2 November 2004 Watford (H) 0–0 7,009
6 November 2004 Sheffield United (A) 0–0 16,598
13 November 2004 Derby County (H) 0–2 8,015
20 November 2004 Crewe Alexandra (A) 1–4 Henderson 6,128
27 November 2004 Nottingham Forest (H) 2–1 Henderson (pen.), Johnson 8,784
4 December 2004 Cardiff City (A) 1–3 Johnson 10,623
11 December 2004 Wigan Athletic (A) 0–2 8,451
18 December 2004 Rotherham United (H) 3–1 Hope, Jarvis, Vernazza (o.g.) 8,576
26 December 2004 Brighton & Hove Albion (A) 1–2 Crofts 6,420
28 December 2004 Coventry City (H) 3–1 Byfield, Cox (2) 8,734
1 January 2005 Reading (H) 0–0 8,570
3 January 2005 Sunderland (A) 1–1 Henderson 27,147
15 January 2005 Plymouth Argyle (H) 1–1 Crofts 8,451
22 January 2005 Leicester City (A) 0–2 23,457
5 February 2005 Watford (A) 0–2 15,188
12 February 2005 Millwall (H) 0–0 9,127
19 February 2005 Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) 2–2 Henderson, Flynn 24,949
22 February 2005 West Ham United (H) 0–1 9,510
26 February 2005 Wigan Athletic (H) 2–1 Henderson (2) 7,209
5 March 2005 Rotherham United (A) 3–1 Flynn, Sidibé, Henderson 4,367
12 March 2005 Leeds United (A) 1–1 Hope 27,995
15 March 2005 Stoke City (H) 2–1 McEveley, Smith 7,766
19 March 2005 Ipswich Town (H) 0–0 9,311
2 April 2005 Preston North End (A) 1–1 Smith 15,054
5 April 2005 Queens Park Rangers (A) 1–1 Flynn 16,431
9 April 2005 Burnley (H) 1–0 Henderson 9,447
16 April 2005 Crewe Alexandra (H) 1–1 Southall 10,315
23 April 2005 Derby County (A) 0–2 27,481
30 April 2005 Cardiff City (H) 1–1 Jarvis 10,810
8 May 2005 Nottingham Forest (A) 2–2 Melville (o.g.), Sidibé 24,800

Partial league table

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Main article: 2004–05 Football League § Championship
Football League Championship final table, bottom positions[24]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
20 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 13 12 21 40 65 −25 51
21 Crewe Alexandra 46 12 14 20 66 86 −20 50
22 Gillingham 46 12 14 20 45 66 −21 50 Relegated
23 Nottingham Forest 46 9 17 20 42 66 −24 44
24 Rotherham United 46 5 14 27 35 69 −34 29

Cup matches

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FA Cup

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As a Championship team, Gillingham entered the 2004–05 FA Cup at the third round stage; their opponents were Portsmouth of the top-tier FA Premier League. Portsmouth scored early in the second half and won 1–0 to eliminate Gillingham from the competition. Ternent told the media ""We have gone out with our heads held high because we had a lot of injuries and it was always going to be tough because Portsmouth are a strong team."[26]

FA Cup match details

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Key

  • In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
  • H = Home match
  • A = Away match
Results[25]
Date Round Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
8 January 2005 Third Portsmouth (A) 0–1 14,252

Football League Cup

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As a Championship team, Gillingham entered the 2004–05 Football League Cup at the first round stage; their opponents were Northampton Town of League Two, two levels below the Championship.[25] The match drew an attendance of 3,108, by far the lowest of the season at Priestfield. Northampton scored two goals in the first half and, although Mamady Sidibé pulled a goal back for Gillingham early in the second period, they were beaten 2–1 by their lower-level opponents and eliminated from the competition.[25]

League Cup match details

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Key

  • In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
  • H = Home match
  • A = Away match
Results[25]
Date Round Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
24 August 2004 First Northampton Town (H) 1–2 Sidibé 3,108

Players

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Footballer Paul Gallacher
Paul Gallacher (pictured in 2010) was one of four goalkeepers to play for Gillingham during the season.
Footballer Matt Jarvis
The future England international[27] Matt Jarvis (pictured in 2012) made 30 appearances.

During the season, 34 players made at least one appearance for Gillingham. Smith was the only player to make more than 40 appearances, playing 43 times. Byfield, Sidibé, Chris Hope, and Nyron Nosworthy all played in at least three quarters of the team's 48 games. At the opposite end of the scale, nine players made fewer than five appearances, including Dean Beckwith, whose two appearances as a substitute constituted the entirety of his Football League career. Darius Henderson was the team's top goalscorer with nine goals. It was the second consecutive season in which no Gillingham player scored ten goals; prior to this there had only been one season since the club's return to the Football League more than 50 years earlier when no Gillingham player had reached double figures.

Player statistics
No. Player Position Championship FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 Steve Banks GK 26 0 1 0 0 0 27 0
2 Nyron Nosworthy DF 37 0 0 0 0 0 37 0
3 John Hills DF 23 0 0 0 0 0 23 0
4 Paul Smith MF 41 3 1 0 1 0 43 3
5 Barry Ashby DF 22 0 1 0 1 0 24 0
6 Ian Cox DF 31 2 1 0 1 0 33 2
7 Nicky Southall MF 33 1 1 0 0 0 34 1
8 Andy Hessenthaler MF 17 0 1 0 0 0 18 0
9 Darius Henderson FW 32 9 1 0 0 0 33 9
10 Patrick Agyemang FW 13 2 0 0 1 0 14 2
10[a] Michael Flynn MF 16 3 0 0 0 0 16 3
11 Tommy Johnson FW 8 2 0 0 0 0 8 2
12 Bertrand Bossu GK 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
13 Jason Brown GK 16 0 0 0 1 0 17 0
14 Leon Johnson DF 8 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
15 Mark Saunders MF 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
16 Richard Rose DF 18 0 1 0 1 0 20 0
17 Andrew Crofts MF 27 2 1 0 0 0 28 2
18 Chris Hope DF 37 2 1 0 0 0 38 2
19 Iwan Roberts FW 20 3 1 0 1 0 22 3
20 Darren Byfield FW 38 6 1 0 0 0 39 6
21 Matt Jarvis MF 30 3 0 0 1 0 31 3
22 Danny Spiller MF 22 0 0 0 1 0 23 0
23 Matt Bodkin FW 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
24 Adam Nowland MF 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
24[a] Jay McEveley DF 10 1 0 0 0 0 10 1
25 Alan Pouton MF 12 0 0 0 1 0 13 0
26 David Perpetuini MF 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
26[a] Jonathan Douglas MF 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
28 Dean Beckwith MF 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
29 Mamady Sidibé FW 35 2 0 0 1 1 36 3
30 John Robinson MF 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
30[a] Paul Gallacher GK 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
31 Dean Marney MF 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0

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

a. ^ Player was allocated a squad number which had been worn earlier in the season by a player who had since left the club.

Aftermath

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A week after the final game of the season, Ternent resigned as manager, less than six months into his two-and-a-half-year contract.[28] Neale Cooper was appointed to replace him for the team's first season back in the third tier of English football, but he also lasted less than six months in the job, resigning after a series of poor results, culminating in an FA Cup defeat to semi-professional team Burscough. As of 2024, Gillingham have never returned to the second tier of English football.[29]

References

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  1. ^ Rollin & Rollin 2000, pp. 34–35.
  2. ^ "Second time lucky for Gills". BBC Sport. 28 May 2000. Archived from the original on 3 March 2003. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. ^ "League Division 1 end of season table for 2003–04 season". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  4. ^ Milledge, Adrian (10 May 2004). "Walsall pay heaviest penalty". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  5. ^ Elligate 2009, p. 84.
  6. ^ Rollin & Rollin 2004, p. 189.
  7. ^ "Division One renamed The Championship". The Guardian. 10 June 2004. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Team-by-team guide to the Championship". The Sunday Telegraph. 1 August 2004. p. 80. Retrieved 23 October 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Ipswich 2–1 Gillingham". BBC Sport. 7 August 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Gillingham 2–1 Leeds". BBC Sport. 10 August 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Gillingham 2–1 Preston". BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Crewe 4–1 Gillingham". BBC Sport. 20 November 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  13. ^ "League Division 1 table after close of play on 20 November 2004". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Hessenthaler steps down at Gills". BBC Sport. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  15. ^ "Gorman appointed Wycombe manager". BBC Sport. 30 November 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  16. ^ Roberts, Iwan (10 May 2005). "Diary of a footballing nomad". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  17. ^ "Cardiff 3–1 Gillingham". BBC Sport. 4 December 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Gills unveil Ternent as manager". BBC Sport. 7 December 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  19. ^ Fletcher, Paul (6 March 2003). "Ternent ready for Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Gills plump for Ternent". The Guardian. 7 December 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  21. ^ "League Division 1 table after close of play on 31 December 2004". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  22. ^ Fo, Norman (2 January 2005). "Little too late as Gillingham resist". The Independent. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  23. ^ a b c "Nottm Forest 2–2 Gillingham". BBC Sport. 8 May 2005. Archived from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  24. ^ a b "League Championship end of season table for 2004–05 season". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  25. ^ a b c d e Rollin & Rollin 2005, p. TBC.
  26. ^ "Portsmouth 1–0 Gillingham". BBC Sport. 8 January 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Gillingham pride at Matt Jarvis England call-up". BBC Sport. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  28. ^ "Ternent quits as Gillingham boss". BBC Sport. 15 May 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  29. ^ "Gillingham FC Stats and History". FBRef. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.

Works cited

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