My personal favourite season with the Gills, was 1973-74. It was the season that we won promotion from the Fourth Division for the second time. I remember it as exciting and successful. The team had a blend of youth in Dick Tydeman and David Peach, and the expericence of Damien Richardson, Brian Yeo and Alan Wilks
I am sitting here with Andy Bradley and Roger Triggs "Home of the Shouting Men." just to bolster my memories. The usual team sheet that year read Gidson (in goal), Lindsey, Peach, Coxhill, Galvin, Jacques (Captain.), Tydeman, Jacks, Richardson, Wilks, Yeo, with the additions of Knight, Hill, Aitken, Quirke and Wiltshire throughout the season.
The year didn't start that well with an away loss followed by a home draw, but then the fireworks started with the 7 - 2 dismantling of Scunthorpe United, and a 5 - 1 win over Doncaster Rovers. I remember that for much of the season we were in a minor competition at the top of the league with Peterborough United and Colchester United. The latter proved no match for us as we beat then 4 - 1 at home, and 2 - 0 away, and 4 - 2 in the League Cup. Peterborough were more of a match for us though - we beat them 1 - 0 at home with a penalty but lost the away match 4 - 2, and the chance of the top spot, on the last day of the season. I attended all of the home games that season and a record number of away games for me. One of the other main memories of that year was the miner's strike that caused the moving of games to early Sunday afternoons to save on floodlights. I remember a cold, but bright February Sunday up at Lincoln City where we won 2 - 3. We also just got a single of paper with the teams on in lieu of a programme.
It was the season where Brian Yeo equalled Ernie Morgan's record of 31 goals in a season and the record as the nation's leading marksman for that year. Brian was a natural striker, always there in the right place when the ball came to him. The team hit a new best total of 90 league goals for the season.
David Peach was renowned for storming out of defence on the left side of the field, up to the half way line and letting go an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the net. It was a great shame, but no surprise when he was sold to Southampton in January, for £50,000.
The manager for that season was Andy Nelson. Most of us had our breath taken away, when at the end of the season after steering us back to the Third Division, he left to manage Charlton Athletic.