1. Tony Pulis 2. Martin Allen 3. Peter Taylor 4. Andy Hessenthaler 5. Mark Stimson Thats the order I think they should be no doubt others will disagree and feel free to share why. There will be other names from seasons 30 odd years ago but i personally dont have much memory regarding those.
I can only go by the time i've been a Gills fan so here's mine: 1. Andy Hessenthaler (First Spell) 2. Martin Allen 3. Stan Ternant 4. Peter Taylor (Current Spell) 5. Mark Stimson
In terms of achievement since I started going (the first manager I saw was Burkinshaw) I would put it as 1. Pulis 2. Taylor 3. Hessenthaler (first spell) 4. Allen 5. Stimson. But I would rather watch Taylors promotion winning side play football and certainly at home rather watch Stimsons side than Allens
You don't have to be as old as me to put Sir Keith, and Andy Nelson way up there. 1 Keith Peacock 2 Tony Pulis 3 Peter Taylor 4 Andy Nelson 5 Martin Allen Honorable mention for Gerry Summers who had 2 very good seasons before falling away. And Hess for keeping us in the Championship for 5 years. My top 5 all got us promoted except Peacock. But Keith Peacock's sides played tremendous attacking football and nearly got us up to the promised land of 2nd tier football for the first time in our history. And if play-offs were around for all his tenure, we'd have played in them in 3 or 4 of his seasons. Until PT finally got us up there we'd never really come close other than under Keith.
I always find stuff like this difficult, just how my mind works, different managers with differing abilities and which one's you are most favourable too, but putting that into a top five difficult. If you ever wanted to see passion grown a round a manager it would be Martin Allen but my own heart would struggle to place him a league of favourites, although I liked his weird humorous personality, I could relate to that behind all the pretentious side that sometimes let him down. Fondest memories probably like Sir Keefy, Gerry Summers but then before that I can remember the annoyance and upset as a young lad of Len Ashurst walking out on the club, no word of a lie I can remember one Gills supporter actually in tears over it. We thought we were on the adventure of new beginnings. Huh, welcome to Gillingham FC. Favourite...searching my heart...gotta be be Keith Peacock. Back in the 'good old days' before football turned modern and Brian Moore was a commentator and director. As for the rest, well they can all just fit in somewhere, glory never has been my expectation.
Ah, Len Ashurst and Tony Toms with all that 'hiking over the moors' boot camp style training It did seem like the dawning of a new era brb. And am I right in remembering that we also changed our strip to blue & white stripes at that time, which also seemed to lighten the whole feeling around the club then, from what seemed to me to be a very dreary all (drab) blue strip before that. I may be dreaming that, but it seemed like it to me. Not to be though. Sheffield came calling and that was that. And good man for ranking Sir Keith at the top
1. Tony Pulis - for promotion and laying the foundations of the best Gills team I have seen and ever will see 2. Keith Peacock - I wasn't around to experience his management, but have heard enough stories about our team back then to put him at #2. 3. Peter Taylor, for providing the greatest ever Gills season. Let's hope this 2nd spell does not end up dragging him out of the top 5! 4. Martin Allen - CHAMPIONS! And then wasn't given enough time. 5. Andy Hessenthaler - would be much higher if he'd finished his Gills management career after that 3rd season in the Championship!
I've thought for some time on this one and some of my decisions are based on winning, some on the quality of football (watch ability) 1. Freddie Cox 2. Keith Peacock 3. Tony Pulis 4. Andy Hess 5. Peter Taylor and so ends the voting of the English panel.
1) Tony Pulis 2) Freddie Cox 3) Keith Peacock 4) Andy Nelson 5) Andy Hess and honorable mentions for Gerry Summers, Peter Taylor and Martin Allen
1. Sir Keith, the most entertaining and best attacking football I have ever seen in my 37 years as a Gills fan. 2. Tony Pulis, took us from near oblivion to the verge of the championship, bought in some great players and transformed the whole attitude and mentality of the club. 3. Andy Hessenthaler, did a great job keeping the Gills in the championship for so many seasons. 4. Peter Taylor, to get a side promoted, via that incredible playoff final against Wigan that had suffered playoff heartbreak the year before should never be underestimated. 5. Martin Allen, title winning manager and made the Gills champions of division 2, say no more.
I am going to pick manager's who I have seen taken charge of Gillingham since I have been going to Priestfield Stadium, if I am allowed to pick a all time list then Tony Pulis, Keith Peacock and Freddie Cox would make the list..... 1. Martin Allen - Last Season was perhaps the greatest season for many Gillingham Supporters on here, we broke records and we were so solid away from home with 14 consecutive matches away from home unbeaten and you never think that your team is ever going to win silverware but to go up as Champions of League Two was a incredible achievement, just so disappointing that we didn't build on the feel good factor from last season into this season. 2. Andy Hessenthaler (First Spell) - To keep Gillingham in The Championship for five season's is an incredible achievement when you consider that the teams we were going up against probably had 4 - 5 times the wage structure we had, a few things that stick out for me was that I remember West Ham United expressing an interest in Andy Hessenthaler and they wanted Hessy as there manager and who can forget Andy Hessenthaler being sent off from the dugout and Hessy brought himself on as sub and then got booked in the same match. 3. Mark Stimson - Even though we suffered relegation in The 2007 / 2008 season Mark Stimson built the squad he wanted and we played Aston Villa in The Third Round of The FA Cup and only a dive from Ashley Young denied us a replay but we only lost 2 - 1 to a Villa Side who were challenging for Champions League Football, we got to the playoffs with a game to spare and beat Rochdale over two legs and then we beat Shrewsbury in The League Two Playoff Final with Simeon Jackson's header in the 90th minute, in the 2009 / 2010 season we picked up 44 points at home beating the likes of Swindon, Huddersfield, Leeds, Southampton, Millwall and we held Norwich and Charlton to draws, if only we picked up one win away from home or another draw then we would of stayed up that season. 4. Stan Ternent - came in after Andy Hessenthaler had resigned and I think we had 19 points from 20 games at that time as well, and from the next 26 matches we picked up 31 points and only went down on goal difference, Eugen Bopp scored that late goal for Nottingham Forest to send us down, such a shame he left at the time because you wondered what might had been had Stan Ternent stayed and was given the resources to build a side that can bounce back. 5. John Gorman - One match in-charge and one win, also John Gorman never wanted the job on the permanent basis after Andy Hessenthaler had resigned, plus I was left with Ronnie Jepson and I could not put him in after the signings we made at the start of the 2007 / 2008 season.
