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Over the seasons, Gillingham have built a reputation for making trips to the Priestfield Stadium extremely difficult for visiting teams, but last season, they couldn't be much more accommodating - and that strength at home seemed to have gone.
However, consecutive 2-1 home wins - firstly against Leeds United, then against Preston NE, have seen the Gills hit the top end of the table early on - and start to build their home reputation once again.
The main difference is the introduction of strikers Iwan Roberts and Darren Byfield. Both have shown great ability at holding up the ball - something Andy Hessenthaler's side sadly lacked last season - and have been deadly in front of goal.
The Gills have shown the ability to win games in different ways, too. While they were clearly the better side against Leeds, they ground out a result against a tough Preston side. Despite the scrappiness of the game against Craig Brown's men, the resilience shown by the Gills bodes well for the season ahead. If they can continue their good early start, the pre-season doom-mongers may be forced to amend their opinions very quickly indeed.
Gills fans won't be deluding themselves after a good start, but they have already seen a marked improvement on last season - and will be hopeful of an improved (and more entertaining) season ahead. Where they finish, of course, is still anyone's guess. After all (cliche alert!), it is a marathon, not a sprint.