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1990-91 Div 4
Position 15th (out of 24)
David Crown from Southend was the big summer signing but injuries meant it was not until mid-October that he actually started a game. His return to the side did coincide with a decent run though as the team went 13 games with defeat. However too many of those games were drawn and they never really looked like becoming promotion contenders. Ten games without a win at the tail end of the season saw them eventually finish in 15th place.
David Crown
1991-92 Div 4
Position 11th (out of 22)
The season started with promise after a 4-0 win over Scuntorpe on opening day. But inconsistency was to be the Gills downfall. Beating Burnley the eventual champions 3-0 and 2nd place Rotherham 5-1 was evened out by losing at home to bottom placed Carlisle. The last game of the season at home to Halifax saw Steve Lovell score his 100th goal for the club in all competitions.
Steve Lovell
1992-93 Div 3
Position 21st (out of 22)
Losing at home to Swansea on opening day to a defensive mistake in the last minute rather set the tone for the season. After losing to Halifax at the end of October the team were bottom of the table and Damien Richardson had been sacked being replaced by ex-Newcastle defender Glenn Roeder. Results improved slightly but not by much and the rest of the season was spent hovering just above last place. With 2 games to go it was between the Gills and Halifax who would go down to the conference. As luck would have it Halifax were the opponents in the penultimate game and in front of a crowd of over 7,000 the Gills won 2-0 to avoid relegation by the narowest of margins.
Glenn Roeder
1993-94 Div 3
Position 16th (out of 22)
Glenn Roeder left the club during the summer to join Watford leaving his assistant Mike Flanagan to take over as manager. Defensively the team were better although it was not until the end of September before they won their first game of the season. They were never in any real danger of relegation this time round though and that was largely due to Nicky Forster who was the leading scorer with 18 goals. He unfortunately rejected any advances to sign a new contract and subsequently joined Brentford at the end of the season for a fee of £320,000.
Nicky Forster
1994-95 Div 3
Position 19th (out of 22)
This was to be yet another season of struggle at the wrong end of the table. However performances on the pitch were soon forgotten as in October the club was put up for sale by the owner Tony Smith and in January it got even worse as the club went into administration and the receivers were called in. One of the first decisions they made was to make manager Mike Flanagan redundant after a 4-0 away defeat at Mansfield and Neil Smillie was made acting player manager until the end of the season. Results improved slightly and in the end they finished well clear of relegation mainly due to the goals of Chris Pike. At the end of the season and after some lengthy negotiations the clubs new owner was unveiled as local businessman Paul Scally.
Neil Smillie
1995-96 Div 3
Position 2nd (out of 24)
Tony Pulis was anounced as the new manager during the close season and he wasted no time in bringing in a host of new players - Dave Martin, Leo Fortune-West, Simon Ratcliffe, Jim Stannard, Mark O'Connor and Mark Harris all joined in the summer (The transfer fee of £5,000 for Fortune-West was paid for by the Supporters Association). Dennis Bailey was signed from QPR for £50,000 soon after and the new team took the division by storm winning the first 4 games. By Christmas it began to look as though it was a two horse race beteen the Gills and Preston for the title and that's how it stayed until the end of the season with the Gills finishing as runners up. The success was based on a strong defence and the 20 goals conceded was a league record.
Leo Fortune-West
1996-97 Div 2
Position 11th (out of 24)
3 major signings during the season were proof that the club were looking to build a team capable of promotion. Andy Hessenthaler was signed from Watford for £235,000, Guy Butters from Portsmouth for £250,000 and in January Ade Akinbiyi joined from Norwich also for £250,000. Despite this they intially struggled in the league although it was a different matter in the League Cup. Premier side Coventry City were beaten 1-0 at Highfield Road after drawing the first game 2-2 at Priestfield. It was the first time the Gills had beaten a team from the top division since 1908. After Christmas results picked up and they eventually finished in 11th place.
Andy Hessenthaler
1997-98 Div 2
Position 8th (out of 24)
After a strong finish the previous campaign supporters were hoping for a promotion challenge in the coming season. And by the beginning of November it was beginning to look as though they would have their wish as the Gills were in 3rd spot. However they then went on a miserable run of 13 game without a win culminating in a 4-0 Boxing Day defeat at Bournemouth. That was as bad as it got though as they went on an unbeaten run which included wins at Watford and Bristol City. It wasn't quite enough though and they just missed the play offs on goal difference.
Ade Akinbiyi
1998-99 Div 2
Position 4th (out of 24)
The club broke its own transfer twice at the start of the season. First Bob Taylor signed from Brentford for £500,00 and then three weeks later Carl Asaba signed from Reading for £560,000. Things didn't click straight way though as they only won one of the first 10 games. After that they went on an unbeaten run of 17 league games and spent most of the season in the top 6. Taylor had taken a while to get the fans on his side after a slow start but they were totally won over after he scored all 5 goals in the away win at Burnley. The team comfortably qualified for the play offs and beat Preston over 2 legs to reach the final against Man City. In front of a record crowd for the division of 76,935 the Gills lost on penalties after being 2-0 up in the 88th minute.
Robert Taylor
1999-2000 Div 2
Position 3rd (out of 24)
After the disappointment of losing in the play off final, manager Tony Pulis was also sacked during the summer. Peter Taylor was appointed as the new manager with Steve Butler and Andy Hessenthaler as his player coaches. Another slow start to a season was soon forgotten as Bob Taylor embarked on a goalscoring spree with 14 in 13 games including 2 hat-tricks. Not only did those goals lift the team into the top 6 but it alerted Man City who paid £1.5 million to take him to Maine Road. Ex-Gill Iffy Onuora was signed along with Ty Gooden on New Years Day and they were to prove their worth later in the season although they took no part in the clubs best ever Cup run as the Gills reached the Quarter Finals for the first time losing 5-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. They did get to Wembley in May though beating Wigan 3-2 in the Play-Off final through goals from Onuora, Butler and Andy Thomson.
Andy Thomson