During the 1997–98 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 66th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 48th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. The team started the season strongly and by the end of October were challenging for promotion, but then went on a lengthy run of games without a win which saw them slip into the bottom third of the league table in December. Results improved in the second half of the season, and Gillingham were sixth in the table with one game remaining, which would be sufficient for a place in the promotion play-offs. Results on the final day of the regular season meant that they finished in a four-way tie for the final two play-off places and missed out as they had scored the fewest goals of the four teams involved; a goalbound shot from Nicky Southall in the final seconds of the last game of the season which could have given Gillingham a win and a play-off place instead struck the goalpost and rebounded away.
Gillingham also competed in three knock-out competitions, the FA Cup, Football League Cup, and Football League Trophy, but were eliminated in the first round of all three. The team played 51 competitive matches, winning 19, drawing 14, and losing 18. Ade Akinbiyi was the team's top goalscorer, with a total of 22 in all competitions. Paul Smith, a new signing at the start of the season, made the most appearances; he was the only player to play in all 51 games. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 10,507 for a game against Fulham in March. The game was marred by fighting between rival supporters which resulted in a Fulham fan dying.
Background and pre-season
The 1997–98 season was Gillingham's 66th in the Football League and the 48th since the club was elected back into the League in 1950 after being voted out in 1938. It was Gillingham's second consecutive season in the Football League Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system. The club had never reached the second level of English football in its history. Gillingham had finished the previous season in 11th place in the league table, six points below the promotion play-off places.
Tony Pulis served as manager for a third season, having been appointed in 1995 after chairman Paul Scally purchased the club. He signed several new players ahead of the new season, including three from fellow Second Division club Brentford: Paul Smith, a midfielder, who arrived for a transfer fee of , and Barry Ashby and Brian Statham, both defenders, who cost the club and respectively. Neil Masters, another defender, arrived from Wolverhampton Wanderers of the First Division for and Neil Moss, a goalkeeper, joined on loan from Southampton of the FA Premier League to cover for Jim Stannard, who was injured during the pre-season. Another midfielder, Mick Galloway, who had spent part of the previous season on loan to Gillingham from Notts County, now joined the club on a permanent basis for following County's relegation to the Third Division.
The club's first-choice kit consisted of blue shirts, shorts, and socks; the away kit, to be worn in the event of a clash of colours with the home team, was all-red. B.G. Foods of Sevenoaks signed a contract to become the club's new primary sponsor, meaning that their Kool brand appeared on the players' shirts. Gillingham prepared for the new season with a number of friendly matches, including games against Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers. Significant redevelopment work took place at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, with the opening of a new grandstand on the Gordon Road side of the ground. For the first time in its 104-year history, Priestfield would also serve as the home ground of another team during the 1997–98 season. After being forced to leave the Goldstone Ground due to financial difficulties, Third Division Brighton & Hove Albion signed a two-year agreement to groundshare with Gillingham. Their opening home game on 16 August against Macclesfield Town was the first Football League match to take place at Priestfield without involving Gillingham.
Second Division August–December
Gillingham's first Second Division game of the season was at home to Preston North End on 9 August; Ashby, Moss, Smith, and Masters all made their debuts. With the previous season's top goalscorer, Iffy Onoura, missing following a knee operation, Steve Butler was chosen to partner Ade Akinbiyi in the forward positions. The game resulted in a 0–0 draw, as did the next game away to Burnley a week later. Forward Leo Fortune-West came on as a substitute against Burnley but was sent off after less than ten minutes on the pitch. Jimmy Corbett, a 17-year-old attacking midfielder, made his debut as a substitute. The team's first win came on 23 August at home to Walsall; Statham made his debut. Gillingham lost both the last game of August and the first of September, after which they were 15th out of 24 teams in the league table, but wins at home to AFC Bournemouth and away to Bristol Rovers took them up to 9th.
Gillingham played five matches in October and won four of them, defeating Bristol City, Wycombe Wanderers, Wigan Athletic, and Plymouth Argyle; Akinbiyi scored twice in the first match of the month and once in each of the others, making him only the eighth Gillingham player to score in five consecutive Football League games. The victories meant that by the end of the month, Gillingham had climbed to fourth in the table, only two points off the two automatic promotion places. Fortune-West came on as a substitute and scored a goal in two consecutive games in October, after which he made his first start of the season and scored again, but he quickly lost his place again and did not start another game until March. Defender Mark Patterson, a signing from Plymouth Argyle, made his debut in a 3–1 defeat to Millwall on 1 November, during which Statham was sent off. The match was the first in a run of ten Second Division games in which the team failed to achieve a victory. Gillingham ended November with a 3–0 defeat away to Fulham and a 2–0 loss at home to Grimsby Town, after which they were once again 15th in the table.
Nicky Southall, a new signing from Grimsby Town, made his debut against Southend United on 13 December and scored Gillingham's goal in a 2–1 defeat; he would go on to make nearly 400 appearances for Gillingham in four separate spells with the club. Another goalkeeper, Mike Pollitt, made his debut in the same game, having joined the club on loan from Notts County. On 26 December, Gillingham's run of games without a win extended to 10 games with a 4–0 defeat away to AFC Bournemouth, the first time the team had lost by as wide a margin since the previous December. Gillingham's Adrian Pennock was sent off in the defeat, which left the team 17th in the table, only four positions above the relegation places. Gillingham's final match of 1997 was at home to Brentford on 29 December; Akinbiyi scored twice in a 3–1 victory, the team's first win in more than two months. It meant that Gillingham ended the year 15th in the Second Division.
January–May
Gillingham began 1998 with a second consecutive home victory, beating Burnley 2–0 on 3 January and rising to 12th in the table as a result. A week later they defeated Preston North End 3–1 to climb to 10th. On 8 February, Gillingham beat Watford, who were top of the table going into the game, 2–0 in a match which was broadcast live on Sky TV. Akinbiyi scored both goals, one in each half; goalkeeper Mark Walton, signed on loan from Fulham, made his debut. The transfer was initially processed as a loan due to a technicality and he was set to sign a permanent contract with Gillingham after the match against Watford, but the club refused to meet his salary request and he instead returned to Fulham. It was the first of four consecutive victories for Gillingham, all achieved without conceding a goal. After the fourth win, a 1–0 victory over Northampton Town on 24 February, Gillingham were 7th in the table.
Victory over Oldham Athletic on 3 March took Gillingham up to 6th in the table, putting them within the promotion play-off places, but they lost the next game 1–0 to Millwall and defender Guy Butters suffered a broken leg which would keep him out of the team for the rest of the season. On 21 March, Vince Bartram became the fourth loan goalkeeper to play for Gillingham during the season, joining the club from Arsenal following doubts over Stannard's fitness; Bartram's debut away to Blackpool resulted in a 2–0 defeat. A week later, Gillingham beat Fulham 2–0 at Priestfield with two goals from Akinbiyi. After the match, fans of the two teams fought outside the stadium; a Fulham supporter, Matthew Fox, was punched in the head by a Gillingham fan and died after falling and hitting his head on a kerb.
Gillingham drew three of the first four games of April, the other being a victory over Luton Town in which Akinbiyi again scored twice. After this run Gillingham were in 7th place, one position outside the play-off places, but victory over Plymouth Argyle on 25 April took them up to 6th with one game remaining. Gillingham's final match of the season at home to Wigan Athletic resulted in a 0–0 draw. The result, along with those of the day's other games, left Gillingham in a four-way tie with Bristol Rovers, Fulham, and Wrexham on 70 points; under Football League tiebreaker rules the teams were ranked in order of the total number of goals each had scored. Bristol Rovers and Fulham finished 5th and 6th respectively and clinched places in the play-offs, while Gillingham finished 8th as they had scored the fewest goals of the four teams. A shot by Southall struck the goalpost and rebounded away in the final minute of the game against Wigan; had he scored and his team held onto their lead for the remaining seconds, they would have qualified for the play-offs.
Match details Key
In result column, Gillingham's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match
pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal