Tag Archives: Gillingham

19th October 2002- New Division One, Gillingham 3 Watford 0

Gillingham kicked off, the referee whistled them to a halt, Gillingham kicked off again. It was their only moment of hesitation. Less than two minutes in, and the ball arrived in the penalty area via Nosworthy and a flick from Ipoua…and suddenly the hugely impressive Sidibe was in, poking the ball past Alec Chamberlain to give Gillingham an immediate lead. And we couldn’t recover our composure…a fine move from the left five minutes later, and Saunders slid a pass across to Hessenthaler on the right of the area, stretching to fire across and narrowly wide. Immediately, Smith nearly lobbed Alec Chamberlain from long range, his effort landing on the roof of the net, and we were all over the place….

http://watford.fcdb.info?s=32548&id=4520

21st April 2002- New Division One, Watford 2 Gillingham 3

Nigel Gibbs final competitive Watford appearance and Gianluca Vialli’s last programme notes.

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http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4505

BSAD report: One final first team outing for Nigel Gibbs – applauded on arrival by everyone in the ground, including the Gillingham players – was worth the price of admission alone, even if he was required to spend ten minutes looking awkwardly out of place at left back. A broad grin on hitting a pass so firmly that even Anthony McNamee couldn’t catch up with it betrayed his enjoyment of the occasion, and it was an enjoyment widely shared. Nigel Gibbs has been a great player for Watford Football Club for twenty years. There need be no further explanation.

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1st May 2001- New Division One, Gillingham 0 Watford 3 and Gianluca Vialli agrees to become new Watford Manager

http://watford.fcdb.info?id=4452

Those who made the journey for this essentially meaningless fixture, wedged awkwardly between two deeply emotional occasions and prior to the mind-scrambling managerial announcement, were rewarded for their efforts. Eventually. It was worth the wait.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=2001-05-01

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-1/01-may-2001/

Evening Standard, 1 May 2001

Evening Standard, 2 May 2001

Daily Telegraph, 3 May 2001

Guardian, 3 May 2001

17th October 2000- New Division One, Watford 0 Gillingham 0

I hate Gillingham. In an admiring sort of way. They’re a pain in the arse, obviously. We haven’t beaten them since the invention of the combustion engine and, on last night’s evidence, we’ll have seen a few more inventions come and go before we beat them again. They know how to make themselves unpopular, that’s for sure. Perhaps they’ve burst our bubble at an appropriate moment, though.

On the subject of our forwards, Gifton on an off-night plays depressingly more like a Harlem Globetrotter than Michael Jordan; and with a wall of blue meanies facing them, even Tommy Smith back in a central role couldn’t jinx a way through.

http://watford.fcdb.info?s=32168&id=4416

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8th February 1998-Division Two, Watford 0 Gillingham 2

Less than 18 months after the article about the Rookery was published (see page 5) it became the official home end because far more than 13,500+ Watford supporters wished to attend. This rise was, of course, because of our promotion to the Premier League.

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20th September 1997- New Division Two, Gillingham 2 Watford 2

http://watford.fcdb.info/index.php?page=matches

Sunday Mirror, 21 Sep 1997

BSAD: In a season crammed full of joyful moments, one more for the list of fond memories. Anyone who’s visited these pages regularly over recent months will know of my boundless admiration for Richard Johnson, a player who’s sweated blood and oozed class for Watford since the end of last season. So there will be few more heart-warming scenes than this – a terrace of fans belting out “Johnno, there’s only one Johnno” as our hero, wearing a smile so wide he’s probably done himself an injury, is hugged by his team-mates. At f***ing last.

https://www.soccerbase.com/matches/results.sd?date=1997-09-20

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-2/20-september-1997/