2005–06 Gillingham F.C. season

Gillingham
2005–06 season
Chairman	Paul Scally
Manager	Neale Cooper (until 15 November) ; Ronnie Jepson
Stadium	Priestfield Stadium
League One	14th
FA Cup	First round
League Cup	Third round
League Trophy	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Byfield (13); All: Byfield (14)
Highest home attendance	8,128 (vs Southend United, 1st October 2005, League One)
Lowest home attendance	1,988 (vs Crawley Town, 6th December 2005, League Trophy)
Average home league attendance	6,926
Biggest win	3–0 (vs. Port Vale, 10 December 2005, League One); 3-0 (vs. Milton Keynes Dons, 31 December 2005, League One); 3-0 (vs. Swindon Town, 14 January 2006, League One)
Biggest defeat	0–6 (vs. Bristol City, 18 March 2006, League One)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2004–05 2006–07 →

During the 2005–06 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in League One of English football as well as the FA Cup, the League Cup and the League Trophy.

Season summary

Gillingham began the 2005–06 season in League One under the management of Neale Cooper off the back of relegation on goal difference from the Championship the season prior. As the club went through a poor run of form from late August through September the pressure was mounting on the manager who, on multiple occasions during that period, made his frustrations with the players known to the media after particularly poor performances. These included a disappointing 0-0 draw at home against Yeovil Town^[1] and the first round of the FA Cup in which Gillingham were knocked out by Burscough^[2] who were competing in the Northern Premier League (part of the seventh tier of the English football league system). By mid-November, Gillingham found themselves in the relegation zone at 22nd in the league table^[3] and Cooper made the decision to resign.^[4] The club's assistant manager since December 2004, Ronnie Jepson, took over the role. This was initially intended to be a temporary solution until a permanent successor was found however due to an impressive turnaround of form Jepson would go on to keep the role for almost 2 years.^[5]

Jepson was confident in his ability to turn the results around and keep Gillingham from a second consecutive relegation campaign with the squad that he inherited from Cooper.^[6] An immediate improvement in form was noticeable with Gillingham taking 13 points from a possible 21 in the league for the remainder of the calendar year compared to just 17 of a possible 51 that Cooper had acquired since the beginning of the campaign. By the turn of the new year, Gillingham found themselves at 17th in the league,^[7] comfortably out of the relegation zone. However, despite Jepson's initial confidence in the squad, a series of injuries and suspensions in Gillingham's forward lineup^[8] throughout the early stages of 2006 led to difficulties in the attacking third with youngsters Gavin Grant and Akwasi Fobi-Edusei filling in for injured Paul Shields and Matt Jarvis.^[9] Striker Darren Byfield, who missed two months in late 2005 with a knee injury,^[10] also missed some games in early 2006 after he was hit with multiple suspensions.^[11] Despite these setbacks, Byfield, who left Gillingham as a free transfer at the end of the season for local rivals Millwall despite Jepson being keen on keeping him at the club,^[12] went on to be the club's top goal scorer that season, netting 14 goals in all competitions including 13 in the league.^[13]

Final league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
12	Scunthorpe United	46	15	15	16	68	73	−5	60
13	Port Vale	46	16	12	18	49	54	−5	60
14	Gillingham	46	16	12	18	50	64	−14	60
15	Yeovil Town	46	15	11	20	54	62	−8	56
16	Chesterfield	46	14	14	18	63	73	−10	56

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

Results

Gillingham's score comes first^[14]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League One

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
6 August 2005	Colchester United	H	2–1	7,293	Crofts, Byfield
9 August 2005	Port Vale	A	0–0	4,931
13 August 2005	Scunthorpe United	A	1–1	5,007	Hessenthaler
20 August 2005	AFC Bournemouth	H	1–0	6,568	Browning (own goal)
27 August 2005	Nottingham Forest	H	1–3	7,228	Byfield
29 August 2005	Brentford	A	1–1	6,969	Harris
10 September 2005	Rotherham United	A	0–3	4,253
13 September 2005	Barnsley	H	0–3	5,283
17 September 2005	Oldham Athletic	H	0–1	6,259
24 September 2005	Tranmere Rovers	A	2–2	7,003	Byfield (2 including 1 pen)
27 September 2005	Chesterfield	H	1–0	7,472	Sancho
1 October 2005	Southend United	H	1–2	8,128	Pouton
15 October 2005	Yeovil Town	H	0–0	6,848
22 October 2005	Bradford City	A	0–1	7,729
29 October 2005	Blackpool	H	2–1	6,300	Hope, Harris
1 November 2005	Hartlepool United	A	1–3	4,522	Collin
12 November 2005	Walsall	A	0–2	4,785
19 November 2005	Hartlepool United	H	1–0	6,092	Shields
26 November 2005	Colchester United	A	0–5	3,801
6 December 2005	Doncaster Rovers	H	1–0	4,861	Flynn
10 December 2005	Port Vale	H	3–0	6,210	Harris, Jarvis (2)
17 December 2005	AFC Bournemouth	A	1–2	6,177	Harris
26 December 2005	Bristol City	H	1–1	7,786	Flynn
31 December 2005	Milton Keynes Dons	H	3–0	6,012	Johnson, Clohessy, Pouton
2 January 2006	Huddersfield Town	A	0–0	11,483
10 January 2006	Barnsley	A	0–1	7,090
14 January 2006	Swindon Town	H	3–0	7,300	Byfield, Flynn, Harris
21 January 2006	Oldham Athletic	A	0–2	5,783
28 January 2006	Rotherham United	H	1–1	6,107	Grant
31 January 2006	Swansea City	A	2–1	14,357	Byfield, Harris
4 February 2006	Chesterfield	A	1–1	4,652	Black
11 February 2006	Tranmere Rovers	H	1–1	6,803	Byfield
14 February 2006	Swindon Town	A	0–1	5,530
18 February 2006	Doncaster Rovers	A	0–2	5,738
25 February 2006	Scunthorpe United	H	1–3	6,029	Cochrane
11 March 2006	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	19,446	Bennett (own goal)
18 March 2006	Bristol City	A	0–6	10,932
21 March 2006	Brentford	H	3–2	5,745	Sancho, Byfield (2 including 1 pen)
25 March 2006	Swansea City	H	1–0	6,909	Byfield (pen)
1 April 2006	Milton Keynes Dons	A	2–1	6,432	Byfield, Black
8 April 2006	Huddersfield Town	H	2–0	7,014	Mulligan, Jarvis
14 April 2006	Southend United F.C.	A	1–0	11,195	Black
17 April 2006	Bradford City	H	2–1	7,281	Black, Flynn
22 April 2006	Yeovil Town	A	3–4	6,040	Black, Flynn, Crofts
29 April 2006	Walsall	H	0–1	7,757
6 May 2006	Blackpool	A	3–3	8,541	Byfield (2), Flynn

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	5 November 2005	Burscough	A	2–3	1,927	Jarvis, Saunders

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	23 August 2005	Oxford United	H	1–0	4,149	Jarvis
R2	20 September 2005	Portsmouth	H	3–2	4,903	Byfield, Ashdown (own goal), Crofts
R3	25 October 2005	Doncaster Rovers	A	0–2	6,874

League Trophy


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	18 October 2005	Crawley Town	H	2–0	1,988	Jackman, Collin
R2	22 November 2005	Wycombe Wanderers	H	2–2 (1–3 p)	2,111	Jarvis (2)

Player details

Includes players with at least one appearance in any competition^[13]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		League One		FA Cup		League Cup		League Trophy
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
13	GK	WAL	Jason Brown	41	0	39	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
17	GK	ENG	Tony Bullock	10	0	6	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
1	GK	ENG	Paul Crichton	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	DF	ENG	Danny Jackman	47	1	42	0	0	0	3	0	2	1
6	DF	TRI	Ian Cox	40	0	36	0	1	0	2	0	1	0
14	DF	ENG	Leon Johnson	30	1	28	1	0	0	1	0	1	0
18	DF	ENG	Chris Hope	29	1	24	1	1	0	3	0	1	0
5	DF	TRI	Brent Sancho	21	2	19	2	0	0	2	0	0	0
30	DF	ENG	Sean Clohessy	21	1	20	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
3	DF	CYP	Tom Williams	18	0	13	0	1	0	2	0	2	0
16	DF	ENG	Richard Rose	17	0	14	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
4	DF	ATG	Justin Cochrane	5	1	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	DF	ENG	Mark Corneille	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
7	MF	WAL	Andrew Crofts	51	3	45	2	1	0	3	1	2	0
21	MF	ENG	Matt Jarvis	41	7	35	3	1	1	3	1	2	2
10	MF	WAL	Michael Flynn	40	6	36	6	1	0	3	0	0	0
22	MF	ENG	Danny Spiller	34	0	32	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
25	MF	ENG	Alan Pouton	24	2	23	2	0	0	1	0	0	0
8	MF	ENG	Andy Hessenthaler	21	1	16	1	1	0	3	0	1	0
23	MF	ENG	Jon Wallis	20	0	17	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
15	MF	ENG	Mark Saunders	7	1	4	0	1	1	1	0	1	0
4	MF	ENG	Paul Smith	5	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
29	MF	ENG	Craig Stone	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	FW	ENG	Neil Harris	39	6	36	6	1	0	0	0	2	0
20	FW	JAM	Darren Byfield	32	14	29	13	0	0	2	1	1	0
26	FW	SCO	Paul Shields	19	1	17	1	0	0	1	0	1	0
8	FW	ENG	Tommy Black	17	5	17	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	IRL	Gary Mulligan	13	1	13	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	SCO	Steven Hislop	11	0	8	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
32	FW	ENG	Gavin Grant	10	1	10	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	FW	ENG	Frannie Collin	9	2	6	1	1	0	1	0	1	1
31	FW	ENG	Akwasi Fobi-Edusei	6	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	FW	ATG	Moses Ashikodi	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	FW	ENG	Steve Claridge	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0

Transfers

^[15]

Transfers In

Date	Position	Name	From	Fee
29 June 2005	GK	Tony Bullock	Dundee United	Free transfer
21 July 2005	DF	Tom Williams	Barnsley	Free transfer
22 July 2005	DF	Danny Jackman	Stockport County	Free transfer
3 August 2005	FW	Paul Shields	Forfar Athletic	£25,000
19 August 2005	DF	Brent Sancho	Dundee	Free transfer
19 August 2005	FW	Steve Claridge	Millwall	Free transfer
25 August 2005	FW	Steven Hislop	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Signed
9 December 2005	FW	Gavin Grant	Tooting & Mitcham United	Signed
15 May 2006	FW	Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu	Cardiff City	Free Transfer
23 May 2006	MF	Mark Bentley	Southend United	Free Transfer
23 May 2006	MF	Dean McDonald	Ipswich Town	Free Transfer
23 May 2006	DF	Duncan Jupp	Southend United	Free Transfer
1 July 2006	FW	Gary Mulligan	Sheffield United	Free Transfer

Transfers Out

Date	Position	Name	To	Fee
23 June 2005	FW	Mamady Sidibé	Stoke City	Free transfer
29 June 2005	DF	John Hills	Sheffield Wednesday	Free transfer
12 July 2005	DF	Dean Beckwith	Hereford	Free transfer
22 July 2005	MF	Paul Smith	Walsall	Free transfer
1 August 2005	GK	Bertrand Bossu	Darlington	Free transfer
4 August 2005	FW	Darius Henderson	Watford	£450,000
9 August 2005	GK	Steve Banks	Hearts	Signed
26 August 2005	FW	Steve Claridge	Bradford City	Free transfer
1 January 2006	DF	Tom Williams	Swansea City	Signed
1 January 2006	GK	Danny Knowles	Released	-
1 January 2006	FW	Iwan Roberts	Released	-
6 January 2006	GK	Tony Bullock	St Mirren	Signed
6 January 2006	MF	Mark Saunders	Folkestone	Free transfer
11 January 2006	FW	Steven Hislop	Livingston	Signed
19 January 2006	MF	Andy Hessenthaler	Barnet	Free transfer
1 April 2006	FW	Paul Shields	Released	-
11 May 2006	FW	Gavin Grant	Millwall	Free transfer
8 June 2006	FW	Darren Byfield	Millwall	Free transfer
26 June 2006	GK	Jason Brown	Blackburn Rovers	Free transfer
26 June 2006	GK	Paul Crichton	Cambridge United	Free transfer
29 June 2006	DF	Richard Rose	Hereford	Free transfer
1 July 2006	MF	Jon Wallis	Hereford	Free transfer

References

^ "Cooper fumes at Gills stalemate". BBC Sport. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
^ "Cooper feels let down by players". BBC Sport. 6 November 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
^ "League One table after close of play on 15 November 2005". 11v11. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
^ "Gillingham manager Cooper resigns". BBC Sport. 15 November 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
^ "Gillingham manager Jepson resigns". BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
^ "Jepson says squad is good enough". BBC Sport. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
^ "League One table after close of play on 31 December 2005". 11v11. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
^ "Jepson rues Gillingham absentees". BBC Sport. 22 January 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
^ "Jepson forced to use youngsters". BBC Sport. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
^ "Gills boss rues absence of trio". BBC Sport. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
^ "Jepson praises stand-in strikers". BBC Sport. 12 March 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
^ "Byfield agrees deal with Millwall". BBC Sport. 8 June 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
^ ^a ^b "All Gillingham football club players: 2006". 11v11. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
^ "Gillingham football club match record: 2006". 11v11. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
^ "Gillingham F.C. Club Details | Transfers". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 November 2022.

[1] "Cooper fumes at Gills stalemate". BBC Sport. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2022.

[2] "Cooper feels let down by players". BBC Sport. 6 November 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2022.

[3] "League One table after close of play on 15 November 2005". 11v11. Retrieved 28 October 2022.

[4] "Gillingham manager Cooper resigns". BBC Sport. 15 November 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

[5] "Gillingham manager Jepson resigns". BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

[6] "Jepson says squad is good enough". BBC Sport. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2022.

[7] "League One table after close of play on 31 December 2005". 11v11. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

[8] "Jepson rues Gillingham absentees". BBC Sport. 22 January 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2022.

[9] "Jepson forced to use youngsters". BBC Sport. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2022.

[10] "Gills boss rues absence of trio". BBC Sport. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2022.

[11] "Jepson praises stand-in strikers". BBC Sport. 12 March 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2022.

[12] "Byfield agrees deal with Millwall". BBC Sport. 8 June 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2022.

[AllPlayers-13] "All Gillingham football club players: 2006". 11v11. Retrieved 27 October 2022.

[14] "Gillingham football club match record: 2006". 11v11. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

[soctransfer-15] "Gillingham F.C. Club Details | Transfers". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 November 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]