Why is it we are labelled as a scummy club ,everyone that I talk to says oh you support gills what a scum bag club and also looking at league 2 forums other fans also call us scum . What's your thoughts on this guys
When you top of the table the green eyed monster starts to appear, it's true when people say everybody wants to beat the top team. We will have the last laugh at the end though UTG!!
To be honest I can honestly see why we could be seen to be scummy. Lets face it Gillingham is a bit like the manure heap of the garden of England! It's not the nicest place away fans will visit. Also when you get to the Priestfield as an away fan their put in the upper bit of the Brian Moore (when personally they should be given the bottom) expose to the elements. To add insult to injury we are loud passionate and some people cross the line to aggressive. Don't get me wrong I love the Gills but I can see why people don't like us!
It's not hard to see why, to be honest. No one can be impressed by the area around the ground, which is a complete dump, and we've got our share of neanderthal fans. I also think our passion (which is excellent) is seen by others as OTT and lacking in humour. I say all this is someone who now lives a long way from Kent, which does give a different perspective.
Yes I agree. We don't have a great rep, Gillingham town centre which is all most Away supporters see along with the dog **** minefield to the ground is hardly a modern or vibrant city centre. We had the Fulham thing a few years ago which still taints us (although let us not bring up or speak ill of the dead), lets not forget the fact we spent the last few months in the national press for being a racist club. I totally understand why people don't like us, but I wouldn't say we are hated. No other club calls us their main rival, the vast majority of our supporters are well behaved, I cannot recall seeing a Gills supporter thrown out of the ground for at least 5 years and in fact when I saw a drunk Gillingham supporter getting nicked outside the Medway stand before a game I was genuinely shocked! Let the football do the talking, we sit top of the league and we have loads of families, women and kids in our ground week in week out. If people want to believe we are scum let them. I am sure like most of us on here and almost everyone in the ground we live in Gillingham or Medway, work long hours and pay our taxes like normal people, we don't get in trouble with the police or go out stealing and fighting on a Friday night. We can be proud of our club and supporters.
Agree with a lot that throwoff says. The fact is that no other clubs supporters rate us as their rivals. We have never before rated on many peoples radar for love or hate. But we are now topping the table so everyone wants to have a pop at us. Couple that with the recent poor publicity, some of PDPS's antics over the years, and having Martin Allen here (who many, many supporters of other clubs absolutely loathe) then there are gonna be people trolling and stirring us on the web. If we were mid-table no one would be bothered with us. btw gavin. Did you get the "scummy club" remark from the Bradford fan on the L2 site? In the thread about martin Allen and why Chesterfield fans don't like him? I was a bit annoyed at those comments myself, but he seemed to be the only one with that opinion, so I'd hardly say it's a widespread belief. Oh, another thing. there is another thread on that site about best away fans and lots of supporters putting us up as the best away following at their ground.
No I got it from cheltenem fans who aswell hate MA and were saying hope he fails and we dint get promoted yeah I've read about the best away fans thread and that makes me proud to be part of that .I think alot of clubs are jealous of us and think we are going to fail
Also I don't live in Kent and in my office we have a varied number of different fans and the vast majority who I speak to have also said horrible club and horrible fans
To be honest being in deepest darkest yorkshire I get more questioning looks when I say I am a Gills fan. I don't think the "scummy" reputation travels north of London very much.
I was born in Gillingham, but moved away years ago! Only go there now to watch The Gills and see my Mum and sister! Only got this to say....The Medway Towns is an arse and Gillingham is half way up it!!!
Agree with BSG. Around here, apart from the City / United battle, there's no love lost between supporters of Bury / Rochdale / Oldham, not to mention Bolton / Burnley / Blackburn. So when I announce my allegiance I actually get some respect, and a lot of understanding - people up here respect the fact that you're still following your hometown club when it's so easy to jump on the City / United bandwaggon, though I have to say that City were my local club of choice when I moved up here in almost 40 years ago, and still are. Didn't someone once reckon that Gillingham was a lot of people's 'second' club, simply because we don't have any real local rivalries? Have to agree, though, that the town is a tip these days (and believe me I can speak with a degree of authority on the matter - just wait till you visit Rochdale) and the approach to the ground is unappealing, and that away fans are not well cared for, so I can understand visiting supporters coming away with an unflattering opinion about the place. That doesn't make the supporters scummy though.
Just some thoughts... To be honest, I talk to many lower league supporters and have never been met with this tirade of 'scummy club' -maybe they are just being polite and do not mention it. You might experience it with some of the club fans in the higher leagues. In regards to the area that Priestfield resides within I start with Medway, where I feel there is more local opportunity within it, than some outer areas which are just sole commuter towns to London. Surely that is a positive and not remnant of such comments. As for Gillingham itself like most town centres that are dying, maybe some quicker than others, if they have not already died in recent decades. Even retail parks are suffering in the current climate, just look more recently at the Argos and Comet announcements. Modern development has created the expectation, comfort and expensive luxury of places such as Blue Water these days or other similar but open aired huge complexes. Otherwise everything else is being done online. However, that affects the lower income end of a community who have no means of transport and are left with your pound and charity shops and the like and no longer have thriving town centres to seek their basic bargains. They maybe able to do online purchases but that is only if they are credit worthy. Also with the recession of recent years, people then had no high street to return too. Although no different to any other City or Town in the world, where development thrives and the inner community get forgotten in search of the deeper pockets. Just open your eyes on your travels and see the people living in doorways in some of the most plush areas in the world, where time has left them behind. Back home, opportunity is moving more recently in the direction of Peel Docks and will probably put another nail in the coffin in the heart of the centre of Town in which Priestfield borders. Hence the reason it might not be appealing. Away fans are then greeted to an eyesore at our decent respectable stadium, whereas there is more than adequate room to accommodate them in another area most match days. The answers might be in moving the Stadium, too which my heart is against. Even so that does not answer any social deprivation of an area, does it? Maybe someone could find the national statistics for ME7, they appear to be hidden in a mind field of information and links, appearing not to reveal any direct statistics to rid of this so called 'scummy' tag.
Normally when I arrive at Gillingham I come out the station at head straight down Balmoral Road. The other week I took a walk down the high street for the first time in about 6 years. It's so depressing to see. I really feel for anyone who has to use the high street on a regular basis.
Whilst I agree with this - have you been down to Margate and Ramsgate lately? - Now their town centres are really depressing- especially Ramsgate. The town centres have one of the highest per centage of closed shop premises in the country ( just under 30% ). Of course those figures disguise the number of charity and pound shops - which do not really bring in any money into the area. Anyway - I don't think that, as fans of Gillingham, we need to worry too much about the thoughts of so few away fans who bother to follow their team. ( 58 Burton fans was quite pathetic for a team unbeaten in their previous 8 games) It may be a case of jealousy at our league position - I don't see much criticism of our playing style - so these 'fans' have to stoop a bit lower to have a dig - when they would gladly trade places.
Like gfc123, I too moved away years ago. I returned a few years back (apart from going to the football) to have a look around. It was so depressing to visit places where I had grown up and played as a kid. I also echo the balanced viewpoint of BRB. Nowhere is what it once was.......It is good however, to still have a 'home town' team in the football league to support and support at this level is far more important and indeed valid than championing 'your favourite' premiership side. The Medway Towns needs something to make it feel good about itself and GFC has the ability to do that.
Feel more affection for the football club as actually born in Gillingham and sadness of how the town has gone!
