Gillingham is a word which makes some Albion fans shiver, while others look back on the two-season exile in Kent with a touch of fondness.
The mid-1990s was, without question, the darkest period in our club’s history. The former regime of Archer, Belotti and Stanley had presided over the Goldstone Ground’s sale to developers, without securing a new home.
The off-field chaos was mirrored on the pitch but Albion managed to survive – just. The summer of 1997 and the mooted new lodgings for the club were Broadfield Stadium in Crawley, Corals Brighton & Hove Greyhound track, or Gillingham’s Priestfield. Unsurprisingly, the board plumped for the ground that was furthest away and just 2,336 hardy souls – most of whom travelled the 74-mile journey by road – were in attendance for Albion’s first league game against Macclesfield Town on August 16th.
It took until the sixth ‘competitive’ match for the stripes to register their first victory in Kent. Defenders Mark Morris and Stuart Tuck were on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win over Rochdale, watched by a pitiful crowd of 1,544.
With just a solitary triumph at ‘home’, The Argus and the club decided to lay on some buses to ferry supporters to a Valentine’s fixture with Doncaster Rovers, comfortably one of the worst teams to ever play in the Football League, for a game that was christened ‘the heart of football’. Their chairman had previously conspired to burn down their main stand and a Sunday League goalkeeper was drafted in one Saturday when they were short. Rovers finished the campaign having conceded 113 goals, and 15 points adrift of Albion in 23rd.
On Saturday 14th February 1998, a very healthy crowd of 6,339, many in yellow fireman’s helmets, enjoyed what can only be described as one of the worst games to feature Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club. If a trading standards officer had been present at Priestfield that day the contest would have been abandoned. It was a turgid 0-0 draw. On a positive note, the Mobile Club Shop made its debut outside the ground.
Eleven days later manager Steve Gritt, who had heroically led his team to safety a few months earlier, paid for the poor results with his job.
Club legend Brian Horton stepped in for what turned out to be a year at the helm.
During the 1998 close season, chairman Dick Knight announced Albion were returning home to Withdean Stadium, as early as September.
Unfortunately, there would be a delay as various forces combined to hinder the much-wanted move back to Sussex. But, the general air of positivity was affecting the team on the pitch as the overhauled squad started to improve. Attendances increased as supporters realised their enforced exile was coming to an end, peaking with nearly 5,000 for the visit of Leyton Orient.
The final stats for the two seasons at Gillingham read: played 49, won 11, drew 14… and lost 23.
The 100-odd weeks spent in Medway galvanised the hardcore support who mobilised for the impending battle to secure a permanent home.
What no-one knew was just how long that would take…