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The Gillingham Years







The Birdman

New member
Nov 30, 2008
6,313
Haywards Heath
Probably in a minority but quite enjoyed our two season up there! Decent trip up plenty of pubs and plenty of options of where to sit or stand. Not sure i would have wanted a third season but pretty glad we had a couple of years up there.:thumbsup: Any others miss the old place?
The pubs in Gillingham miss the Brighton fans.:drink:
 




BN9 BHA

DOCKERS
NSC Patron
Jul 14, 2013
22,681
Newhaven
Probably in a minority but quite enjoyed our two season up there! Decent trip up plenty of pubs and plenty of options of where to sit or stand. Not sure i would have wanted a third season but pretty glad we had a couple of years up there.:thumbsup: Any others miss the old place?

And you moan about the AMEX :wozza:
Decent trip? Eh ?
It was horrible, horrible trip, horrible town, horrible football and a horrible ground.

I only went to games in the first season we played there, that was enough. The only highlight was the ' Love of Football ' match v Doncaster.
 


Sheebo

Well-known member
Jul 13, 2003
29,319
And you moan about the AMEX :wozza:
Decent trip? Eh ?
It was horrible, horrible trip, horrible town, horrible football and a horrible ground.

I only went to games in the first season we played there, that was enough. The only highlight was the ' Love of Football ' match v Doncaster.

Don't feed the troll :)
 








Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Hated the place, the drive, most of the results, the stadium. Not a good word from me. Pikeysville.
 




ewe2

Well-known member
Mar 14, 2008
2,738
Hailsham area
Hated the place, the drive, most of the results, the stadium. Not a good word from me. Pikeysville.

I agree ,except there was a "We are in this together" feeling ,i felt amongst us,and i met some lovely Brighton fans during that time .
 


Mr Banana

Tedious chump
Aug 8, 2005
5,491
Standing in the way of control
4-4 Emblen hat-trick. Rodney Thomas handball. Pink paper season ticket. If you really, really couldn't find anyone to give you a lift, going on the lovebus and having to wait on the layby outside Gillingham for what seemed like 48 hours for a police escort to the ground. Dunno how many times I listened to You've Come A Long Way, Baby and New Forms by Roni Size on that journey. Half the time my cassette walkman was running slow on low batteries and they still sounded like the most mental thing ever to my untutored, oversized lugs.
 






Ninja Elephant

Doctor Elephant
Feb 16, 2009
18,855
4-4 Emblen hat-trick. Rodney Thomas handball. Pink paper season ticket. If you really, really couldn't find anyone to give you a lift, going on the lovebus and having to wait on the layby outside Gillingham for what seemed like 48 hours for a police escort to the ground. Dunno how many times I listened to You've Come A Long Way, Baby and New Forms by Roni Size on that journey. Half the time my cassette walkman was running slow on low batteries and they still sounded like the most mental thing ever to my untutored, oversized lugs.

3-0 down at half time as well, Colchester the opponents that Boxing Day. I was a ballboy, thanks to Liz Costa, and I handed the ball to a young Kerry Mayo. It was an emotional moment, and the clear highlight of the day. I loved it, aged 11/12 on the Costa Express. The chippy in the town centre was fantastic and I always enjoyed the atmosphere of the journey there and back. I don't remember which game it was, but waiting for the bus to turn up to take us home after one game someone started singing "we're so s*** it's unbelievable" and it took off in a big and light hearted way.

Obviously the club couldn't have survived had we stayed there, but it was a character building two years!
 


I have very fond memories of the Gillingham years. Now... 16 years after it ended. The passing of time has made the negatives dwindle in the memory (terrible long drive, appalling football, drinks kiosk was even worse than the goldstone, parking got trickier in second season as more fans started to attend and it always seemed to be cloudy when I crossed the border from Sussex to Kent).

football is way more fun when it's all about the banter and off-field experience (cricketers pub).

I've watched us regularly at all 4 grounds (slightly too young to have watched at The County Ground!) and in priority I can honestly say that the most fun was at Withdean, then The Goldstone, then Priestfield and so far the Amex comes last. I hope that may change.
 






dejavuatbtn

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2010
7,573
Henfield
Yeh, miss the camaraderie of it all. A group of us would meet at Hickstead, see how many turned up and took the appropriate number of cars. Park near the ground and off for a fry up at a greasy spoon. Dodge the dogshit on the way back to the ground. Did the usual praying for a point and drove home bewildered at just how bad things were and would it ever get any better.
Overall part of our history and i hindsight glad to have been part of the support we had there. I think I only missed 3 games.
 


Skaville

Well-known member
Jun 10, 2004
10,234
Queens Park
Can't say I do. Attended the majority up there but missed out on the 4-4. Rubbish journey, average pubs and dire football. It was certainly a different era. I remember smoking tropical cigarettes in the Rainham end.
 








The Birdman

New member
Nov 30, 2008
6,313
Haywards Heath
We started at the cricketers but decided to find another pub about 30 minutes away. We walked in with about thirty of us and it was full of like minded Brighton fans the landlord was very friendly and we adopted it. The had good food and Beer again the Landlord was very sorry to see us return to Brighton they said they took more money from Brighton fans when they played at Gillingham than the Gills. I can't remeber the name of the pub but it was in the middle of a terrace street with a nice beer garden .
I think the new stand at Gillingham was paid for by Brighton.
 




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