1988–89 Gillingham F.C. season
Gillingham 1988–89 football season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
During the 1988–89 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 57th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 39th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. Gillingham began the season well, with two wins in the first three Third Division games, but then lost ten consecutive league games to slip close to the bottom of the league table. In late October, after the eighth of these defeats, Paul Taylor was dismissed as the club's manager and replaced by Keith Burkinshaw. The new manager could not significantly improve the team's performances, resigning in April with Gillingham bottom of the table. Former Gillingham player Damien Richardson ended the season as the club's manager. Gillingham finished the season 23rd out of 24 teams in the division and were relegated to the Fourth Division.
1988–89 season | |||
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Chairman | Roy Wood (until February 1989)[1] Martin Lukehurst (thereafter) | ||
Manager | Paul Taylor (until 26 October) Bill Collins and Damien Richardson (caretakers, 26 October – 31 October) Keith Burkinshaw (31 October – 11 April) Keith Blunt (caretaker, 11 April –18 April) Damien Richardson (caretaker 18 April – 5 May, permanent thereafter) | ||
Third Division | 23rd | ||
FA Cup | First round | ||
League Cup | Second round | ||
Associate Members' Cup | First round | ||
Top goalscorer | League: Steve Lovell (14) All: Steve Lovell (17) | ||
Highest home attendance | 5,871 vs Fulham (26 December 1988) | ||
Lowest home attendance | 1,970 vs Fulham (10 December 1988) | ||
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Gillingham also competed in three knock-out competitions. The team were eliminated in the first round of the FA Cup and the second round of the Football League Cup. Gillingham progressed from the initial group stage of the Associate Members' Cup but lost in the first round proper. The team played a total of 55 competitive matches, winning 15, drawing 5 and losing 35. Steve Lovell was the team's top goalscorer for the second consecutive season; he scored 14 goals in Third Division matches and a total of 17 in all competitions. George Burley, in his only season with the club, made the most appearances; he was absent for only one game. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 5,871 for a league game against Fulham on 26 December 1988.