2001–02 Gillingham F.C. season

During the 2001–02 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, the second tier of the English football league system. It was the 70th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 52nd since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. It was Gillingham's second consecutive season in the second tier of the English football league system, to which the club had gained promotion for the first time in 2000.

Background and pre-season
The 2001–02 season was Gillingham's 70th season playing in the Football League and the 52nd since the club was elected back into the League in 1950 after being voted out in 1938. In the 1999–2000 season, Gillingham beat Wigan Athletic in the Second Division play-off final to reach the second tier of the English football league system for the first time in the club's history. In the team's first season at this level, Gillingham were seen by pundits as likely to struggle in the First Division and potentially finish 22nd or lower out of 24 teams in the league table, which would result in relegation back to the third tier,  but instead the team finished in 13th place.

Andy Hessenthaler was the club's player-manager, a position he had held since 2000. Richard Hill was assistant manager and Wayne Jones held the position of first team coach. Gillingham made only one new signing ahead of the new season: David Perpetuini, a midfielder, joined from Watford for a transfer fee of £100,000 just two days before the first game of the campaign. In his column in the first matchday programme of the season, written before Perpetuini was signed, Hessenthaler apologised to supporters for being unable to strengthen the squad and said that the club was finding it increasingly hard to compete for new players with other First Division clubs due to the wages which Gillingham could afford to offer.

Gillingham's first-choice kit consisted of shirts, shorts, and socks all in the club's traditional blue; the second-choice kit, to be worn when there was a clash of colours with the opposition and Gillingham were the team required by the rules of the competition to change, was all-yellow. Prior to the season, the club announced a new sponsorship deal with the ferry operator SeaFrance, which meant that the company's name was displayed on the players' shirts. The team's preparations for the new season began with a trip to Barbados, where they played a friendly match against the national team, followed by further friendlies in the UK. BBC Sport predicted that the team had "a tough season in prospect" and that they would "find it more difficult [...] as other teams become aware of their strengths".

August–December
Gillingham's first match of the season was at home to Preston North End, who in the previous season had reached the final of the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League but been defeated. Marlon King, Gillingham's leading goalscorer in the previous season, was missing from the team as he had been given a two-match ban as punishment for offensive comments made to the referee during a previous game. Marcus Browning scored twice, his first goals for Gillingham after more than 40 games for the club, in a 5–0 victory for the home team. It was the first time Gillingham had scored five times in a game since October 1999. Following a goalless draw away to Sheffield United, Gillingham won 3–0 at home to Barnsley, King scoring twice in his first start of the season. The result meant that Gillingham were third in the league table and were the only First Division yet to concede a league goal. After this strong start to the First Division season, Gillingham lost their next four league games and slipped to 17th place in the table.

Simon Osborn, a midfielder, joined Gillingham from Port Vale in early October and made his debut in a 2–0 defeat at home to Norwich City.

Also in October, Jlloyd Samuel, a young defender, joined Gillingham on loan from Aston Villa of the Premier League and went straight into the starting line-up for the home game with Walsall, replacing the injured Adrian Pennock.

Samuel made his final appearance for the club on 30 November in a 1–1 draw at home to Birmingham City.

Gillingham finished 2001 in 12th place in the league table.

January–April
Gillingham's first match of 2002 ended in a 1–0 defeat at home to Sheffield United.

On 5 March, 19-year-old Jason Brown made his debut for the club, replacing Vince Bartram as starting goalkeeper. Brown had joined the club a year earlier, but had never previously been able to displace Bartram from the team; Hessenthaler named him in the starting line-up for the match against Grimsby Town after Bartram had been criticised for his recent performances. Although Brown conceded an early goal, Gillingham won 2–1 with goals from Paul Shaw and Guy Ipoua; Hessenthaler described Brown's performance as "superb", and he retained the starting goalkeeper position for the remainder of the season.

Gillingham's final match of the season was away to Watford. At half-time the score was 1–1; Watford took the lead early in the second half but goals from Paul Shaw and Iffy Onoura gave Gillingham a 3–2 victory; in addition to scoring the winning goal, Onoura provided the assist for both of his team's other goals. The result meant that Gillingham finished the season 12th in the First Division.

League match details
Key


 * In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
 * H = Home match
 * A = Away match


 * pen. = Penalty kick
 * o.g. = Own goal

FA Cup
As a First Division team, Gillingham entered the 2001–02 FA Cup in the third round; in the random draw they were allocated an away game with fellow First Division team Wolverhampton Wanderers. A goal from Paul Shaw early in the second half secured a 1–0 win and only a series of saves by home goalkeeper Michael Oakes kept Gillingham from winning by a larger margin. In the fourth round Gillingham played Bristol Rovers of the Third Division. BBC Sport stated that Gillingham "dominated from start to finish" against their lower-league opponents, but despite this they won only narrowly, the only goal coming when Rovers' Scott Jones deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper to score an own goal.

Gillingham's opponents in the fifth round were Arsenal, who in the previous season had been beaten finalists in the FA Cup and finished second in the Premier League. Arsenal made a number of changes to their team for the match. Two of their key players, leading goalscorer Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, who would go on to win the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award for his performances during the season, were named only as substitutes. Twice Arsenal took the lead only for Gillingham to equalise, the second time with a lobbed goal from Ty Gooden which BBC Sport described as "sensational" and "stunning". After both Henry and Pires were brought on, Arsenal scored three goals to secure a 5–2 victory which BBC Sport said made the match look more one-sided than it had actually been.

FA Cup match details
Key


 * In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
 * H = Home match
 * A = Away match


 * pen. = Penalty kick
 * o.g. = Own goal

Football League Cup
As a First Division team, Gillingham entered the 2001–02 Football League Cup in the first round; their opponents were Oxford United of the Third Division. Gillingham conceded a goal in the first half and were losing until eight minutes from the end of the game when Marlon King scored from a penalty kick. The score was 1–1 at the end of the regulation 90 minutes and so, under the rules of the competition, 30 minutes of extra time were played. In the final minute of the extra period, Iffy Onoura scored to give Gillingham a 2–1 victory. Gillingham's opponents in the second round were fellow First Division team Millwall. King gave Gillingham a lead inside the first five minutes, but Millwall equalised and it appeared that extra time would be required again until Gillingham's Guy Ipoua scored a winning goal in the 90th minute.

In the third round, Gillingham played at home to Southampton of the Premier League. The away team took the lead early on with a goal from a penalty kick; both teams had an appeal for a penalty turned down by the referee before half-time. Southampton had a number of further goalscoring chances in the second half but did not score again until the 83rd minute when they made it 2–0, which proved to be the final score, meaning that Gillingham were eliminated from the competition.

League Cup match details
Key


 * In result column, Gillingham's score shown first
 * H = Home match
 * A = Away match


 * pen. = Penalty kick
 * o.g. = Own goal

Players
During the season, 25 players made at least one appearance for Gillingham. Chris Hope and Paul Smith made the most, both playing in every one of the team's 52 games; it was the second consecutive season in which Hope had been ever-present, taking his run of consecutive appearances for the team since he joined Gillingham in 2000 past 100. Browning, King, Ipoua and Shaw all made more than 40 appearances. Only two players appeared fewer than five times; the teenager Danny Spiller was the only one who played in just one game.

Of the 13 players who scored at least one goal for the team, King was the highest scorer with 17 goals in league games and 20 in total in all competitions. Iffy Onoura scored 11 goals in the league and 12 in total; no other player reached double figures.

FW = |Forward, MF = |Midfielder, GK = |Goalkeeper, DF = |Defender

Aftermath
The following season, Gillingham once again improved their final league position, ending the season in 11th place in the First Division. In terms of league standings, this would prove to be the peak of the club's time in the second tier of English football. In the 2003–04 season, they finished 21st, level on points with 22nd-placed Walsall and avoiding relegation only by virtue of a superior goal difference. Hessenthaler resigned as manager in November 2004 as the team again struggled near the foot of the renamed Football League Championship, and at the end of the 2004–05 season Gillingham were relegated, ending a five-season spell in the division. , the club has never returned to the second tier of English football.