Priestfield experience - For the benefit of Bigtomfu

[manintheblackpajamas]

I "celebrated" my 18th birthday at Priestfield...
A handshake with Brian Horton, a signed ball and defeat to Halifax Town. A day to cherish.

Kept going back for more though.

 

[Hampster Gull]

I'm sure we played the scum in a pre-season friendly. Souless game if I remember no spice at all.

We did, i was there too. They had just signed a seria a player?

 

[Skaville]

There was definitely something a bit magical about Gillingham. It felt like you were in some kind of special, slightly mad club. The football was ATTROCIOUS, but it was important to stick with them. I remember the bad games over the good. A 3-1 defeat to Scunthorpe (I left at half time) and Gabbiadini smashing a hat trick for Darlington (?). So few highlights, I honestly can't remember anything in particular that was positive but I loved Ritchie Barker, Jeff Minton and Rod Thomas.

 

[veuve]

Shot journey,shot place,shot team,shot football ,but great loyalty and support by everyone that believed one day we would return.tomorrow is our day

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I "celebrated" my 18th birthday at Priestfield...
A handshake with Brian Horton, a signed ball and defeat to Halifax Town. A day to cherish.

Kept going back for more though.

We did everything but score a goal in that game, one of the rare genuine robberies at Priestfield. We deserved to win that game and managed to lose.

 

[Gwylan]

Wow - I wonder how many season tickets we sold each year. Had to be below 1,000.

I was one. I've been a ST holder at the Goldstone, Priestfield, Withdean and the Amex - wonder how many of us can say that? 600 of us? 700?

 

[Hampster Gull]

I was one. I've been a ST holder at the Goldstone, Priestfield, Withdean and the Amex - wonder how many of us can say that? 600 of us? 700?

Me

 

[BN9 BHA]

Hated the place, went to a fair few games the first season the Albion played there.
Gillingham is not my favourite place, no happy memories of watching the Albion there.

 

[manintheblackpajamas]

We did everything but score a goal in that game, one of the rare genuine robberies at Priestfield. We deserved to win that game and managed to lose.

I think the Halifax kit was worth a goal head start though. It was blindingly bright from memory.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Superb thread by the OP. Having confessed to having missed all our Div 1 games, I also confess that I didn't miss any of our P'filled games. No 'look at me', though, because Faversham is a quick tootle up the road to G'ham, and it would have been rude, etc. My life was a rollercoaster at the time, and the relative peace and quiet offered by a seat in the Gordon Road stand (!) was a joy. And then... this former silent attender, former snooty old snob, turned into a monster, with my ludicrous shorts and hat (pictured on in Scars and Stripes - luckily a blurred shot), ranting and raving.... the football was, as the OP says, dreadful, but the experience was majestic. And the importance to me has remained. No sneering about the 'modern' BHA from me. No grunting in the Railway Bell during the game....mocking our club and supporters. People like that have no place on NSC and should f-uck the f-uck off, frankly. Nothing to offer. Why do they actually bother?

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Gillingham wasn't about the football, it was about the club and the fans. For those who made the effort, it was a sobering experience but brought the club and the fans together and brought those fans closer together. Sum it up in one word - camaraderie. You can now look back and say the football is better now, but the relationship between the club and the fans (or those who supported it at Gillingham) I believe isn't.

 

[Commander]

Did most of the Gillingham games. The Cricketers was good, everything else was shit. Used to quite enjoy it in a strange sort of way though.


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[matbha]

Did most of the Gillingham games. The Cricketers was good, everything else was shit. Used to quite enjoy it in a strange sort of way though.


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Same here vowed after the first game I wouldn't go back ,but couldn't keep away missed 2 in total lol

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I felt like starting a new thread about this. Remember Attila and Paul? Attila played this song so many times at pissfilled. Brings tears to the eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBDhJr-MHaA

 

[surlyseagull]

My most memorable memory was travelling up the motorway with my old Dad on one of the buses(which were bl**dy uncomfortable ) and him saying "I think that fans bus in front is on fire" and sure enough it was .
When I look back I really don't know how we did it week in and week out ,travelling from Chichester area picking my Dad up in Worthing and on to Brighton, parking up and walking to bus depot and onto bus to Gillingham then the reverse trip back and believe you me the Withdean couldn't come soon enough and the people who moaned about Withdean couldn't have experienced Gillingham .
The shining light in Gillingham and the Withdean was the camaraderie and spirit off the fans as you knew that each and every Brighton supporter that were there were true fans regardless and would help the club survive.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

2. One of the visiting goalies had a yellow and black hooped jersey which made him look like a giant bee. At the time it was common for goalkeepers to be taunted with the 'Wooooooaaaaaaaahh! you're sh.. aaaaaaahhh!!' chant which for the giant bee’s benefit we changed to buzzing sound along the lines of 'zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZ! you're sh.. aaaaaaahh!!'

I remember this well. I think he was a Mansfield Town keeper. The crowd- insofar as there was one- behind the goal serenaded him with "Sting when you're winning" and "What a waste of honey"


I missed the first couple of games there. Then I think my Mum got fed up with having me and Dad mooching around the house on Saturday afternoons, so- to my astonishment- suggested we go up to a match. So we climbed aboard one of the Brighton & Hove Buses double deckers and headed on up. From there on in, we didn't miss many matches (though I did of course manage to miss the 4-4 Boxing Day draw), and ended up buying season tickets.

I recall the Pissfilled with very little affection, and remember a great sense of resentment that we essentially paid for one of their new stands. The rate we paid Scally for rent always seemed hugely excessive for their slum facilities. The absolute low for me was, I think, a 4-0 defeat to Darlington, when fatty Gabbiadini nabbed a hat trick.

Even now, all these years later, I still regard the town of Gillingham with no fondness whatsoever (and I say this as somebody who was born in Kent). It really has absolutely nothing to recommend it. Even Croydon has more going for it than Gillingham, and that's saying something. Crap pubs, awful transport links, ugly ground...of all the towns we could have ended up in, we washed up in the compost heap at the bottom of the Garden of England.

Different times.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Going to be honest here, I only went half a dozen times. Awful football, awful ground, crap journey.

I did introduce my son to the Albion at Gillingham though, he was 5 when I took him to his first game, and I believe that taking him there, and subsequently on to Withdean, means that the success that we are currently enjoying means so much more because of all the crap we've all been through.

Tomorrow, whatever happens, I will mainly be in dreamland.

 

[Return of the Rev]

I was one. I've been a ST holder at the Goldstone, Priestfield, Withdean and the Amex - wonder how many of us can say that? 600 of us? 700?

Me !

 

[Blue3]

I only missed one game at Gillingham that was a cup game midweek against Millwall, I used to go with my son and daughter we drove mostly once or twice on a double decker bus and quite a few time on the Liz Costa coach or the Junior Seagulls coach which broke down once if I remember and the team coach which was behind us was contacted as I think Matt Hicks was on it and he said don't worry we will stop and pick you up which the kids all thought was fantastic but it just sailed on by with Matt and several players waving as they did! I also remember several times meeting the players on the way back at Clackets Lane service station in the que for a burger, football wise less said it was pretty poor but I always got the impression the players cared, one good thing was it felt at the time like it was our club that we were the club, you got to know the players, back room team even the Chairman and with so few fans you got to know most of them as well, I remember the last ever game before we came to Withdean meeting several players Richie Barker, Nicky Rust and a few others they already knew Micky Adams was not going to be offering them a contract that was quite sad as I said I thought they cared, I also remember John Lees commentary was up in the main stand rickety old table in amongst the crowd again would wonder over and just have a chat when not broadcasting the whole thing was so relaxed not like now it's so professional polished fantastic it's good to remember where we have come from to where we are today

 

[Blue3]

I was one. I've been a ST holder at the Goldstone, Priestfield, Withdean and the Amex - wonder how many of us can say that? 600 of us? 700?

Me I was one of those and still a ST holder