Football Season Guide

Gillingham will be hoping this will be their season after the previous campaign proved to be a false dawn. Brad Galison has now owned the Kent side for 18 months and it has been rather underwhelming so far. He proved to be trigger happy when sacking Neil Harris barely two months into the season and his successor Stephen Clemence lasted just six months before he was sacked at the end of the campaign. Mark Bonner has stepped into the hot-seat having been sacked by Cambridge United in November 2023. He did a superb job at the Abbey Stadium, winning promotion to League One, and will be hoping to repeat the trick at the Priestfield Stadium. He quickly got to grips with the job in hand, showing no sentiment with the surprising decision to put midfielder George Lapslie and striker Oliver Hawkins on the transfer list. Both had been first choice under Clemence. Midfielder Dominic Jefferies decision to reject a new contract offer will have disappointed but not surprised many. The middle of the park has been addressed with the addition of Armani Little from AFC Wimbledon, whilst winger Aaron Rowe and Jack Nolan have been brought in. Striker Elliott Nevitt appears to be a similar player to both Josh Andrews and the transfer-listed Hawkins but there is plenty of excitement about striker Marcus Wyllie, who was prolific for non-league Enfield Town. There is still work to do in the transfer market, a goalscorer is needed and the squad is currently lacking depth.