Barry Fuller captained Gillingham to victory in the 2009 Football League Two play-off final and made his hundredth appearance for the club in 2010. Partially visible second from right is Nicky Southall, one of the longest-serving players in the club's history.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Gillingham, Kent, playing in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system, as of the 2023–24 season. The club was formed in 1893 as New Brompton F.C.,[1] a name which was retained until 1912, and has played home matches at Priestfield Stadium throughout its history.[2] The club joined The Football League (now called the English Football League) in 1920, was voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937–38 season,[3] but returned to the league 12 years later after it was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs.[4] Between 2000 and 2005, Gillingham played in the second tier of the English football league system for the only time in the club's history, achieving a highest league finish of eleventh place in 2002–03.[4] The club's first team have competed in numerous nationally and regionally organised competitions, and all players who have played 50 or more such matches, either as a member of the starting eleven or as a substitute, are listed below.
Jock Robertson, the team's captain when Gillingham first entered the League in 1920, made a total of 388 appearances, a club record which stood for over ten years until overtaken by Charlie Marks, although Marks' total of 434 appearances includes those made while the club played outside the Football League. GoalkeeperJohn Simpson was the first Gillingham player to make over 600 appearances. Another goalkeeper, Ron Hillyard, set a new record of 655 appearances in the early 1990s, although Simpson still holds the record for appearances solely in the Football League. The club's all-time top goalscorer, with 149 career goals, is Brian Yeo, who also shares the record for the most League goals scored in a season with Ernie Morgan.
Key
The list is ordered first by number of appearances, and then date of debut.
Appearances as a substitute are included. This feature of the game was introduced in the Football League at the start of the 1965–66 season.[5]
Statistics are correct up to the end of the 2022–23 season.
Unless otherwise noted, the nationality of a player is determined by the country/countries for which he has played international football, or if the player has not played international football, his country of birth.
Position
Playing positions are listed according to the tactical formations that were employed at the time. Thus the change in the names of defensive and midfield positions reflects the tactical evolution that occurred from the 1960s onwards.
Club career
Club career is defined as the first and last calendar years in which the player appeared for the club in any of the competitions listed below.
^Triggs, Roger (1984). Gillingham Football Club: A Chronology 1893–1984. Kent County Libraries. p. 1.
^Triggs, Roger (1984). Gillingham Football Club: A Chronology 1893–1984. Kent County Libraries. p. 7.
^Triggs, Roger (1984). Gillingham Football Club: A Chronology 1893–1984. Kent County Libraries. p. 13.
^ ab"Gillingham". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
^Watts, Nick. "1963 to 1988". The Football League. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
^Unless stated otherwise, appearances and goals taken from Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. ISBN1-899468-20-X.
^"Paul Smith". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
^"Nicky Southall". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
^Brown lists one appearance for Hessenthaler in the EFL Trophy in the 1996–97 season, which is missing from his Soccerbase record as Soccerbase at present only records data for that competition from the 1997–98 season onwards.
^"Max Ehmer". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
^"Barry Ashby". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
^"Chris Hope". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
^"Barry Fuller". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
^"Stuart Nelson". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
^"Cody McDonald". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
^"Vince Bartram". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
^"Mark Saunders". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
^"Nyron Nosworthy". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
^"Andrew Crofts". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
^"Mark Bentley". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
^"Danny Spiller". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
^"Bradley Dack". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
Clubs are grouped by their division in the 2023–24 season. Includes the Welsh clubs where lists have been created. 'POTY' = 'Player of the Year / Season'.