Going for glory | The story of Brad Galinson’s takeover of Gillingham

On December 23rd 2022, it was announced that Florida-based businessman Brad Galinson would become the new majority shareholder and chairman of Gillingham Football Club.

The Gills have fallen upon torrid times in recent years. A lack of investment in the team, losing several key players and a disconnect between the fans and the board resulted in the club’s relegation from Sky Bet League One last season and Neil Harris’ side are struggling in the battle to stay in the Football League this campaign.

Galinson’s takeover has brought about excitement and optimism amongst supporters and his impact has already been significant. But how did they get to this point? And what does Gillingham’s new American owner have planned for Kent’s only Football League club?

Paul Scally’s ownership

The takeover brought Paul Scally’s ownership of the club to an end after 27 years, making him the second longest-serving owner of an EFL club behind Middlesbrough’s Steve Gibson.

Scally purchased the club for £1 in 1995 with the club almost hours away from liquidation, taking on debts of up to £2 million. With the Gills struggling at the bottom end of England’s fourth tier – known as Division Three at the time – success under the new regime was almost immediate. A brand new squad was funded and with the appointment of Tony Pulis as manager, they were promoted to Division Two in Scally’s first season in second place, prompting a surge of confidence amongst the fans.

Gillingham fan Matt, who runs popular YouTube channel Gills In The Blood TV, said: “When he initially took control the response was fairly similar to what we have had with Brad Galinson; excitement, hope for the future and a fairly swift turnaround in terms of fortunes on the pitch.”

The latter is exactly what would transpire, as Gills would climb up the table and make the playoff final in 1998/99, facing Manchester City at Wembley Stadium; their first appearance at the national stadium in their history. Playing out what is widely considered an all-time classic, Pulis’ men led 2-0 after scoring twice in the final ten minutes, but two injury time strikes drew City level. The game went to a penalty shootout, with City coming out victorious 3-1 and gaining promotion to the second tier.

Despite controversially dismissing Pulis as manager after the defeat which led to a legal dispute over his contract, Scally would lead Gillingham to playoff victory a year later, with two goals in the last six minutes of extra time giving them a 3-2 win over Wigan Athletic. It was the first time the club had been promoted to England’s second tier in their 107 year history.

The club would continue to progress both on and off the pitch. The team established themselves as a mid-table team in Division One and became one of the founding members of the newly-branded Championship in 2004. Scally also oversaw a radical redevelopment of their ground Priestfield Stadium, transforming it into an all-seater stadium with three permanent stands and one temporary, with a capacity of 11,582.

This new found investment and dedication to the club led to their meteoric rise up the leagues, but their downfall was just as dramatic. The overspending by Scally on the stands and facilities, as well as the loss of significant anticipated income following the collapse of ITV Digital, saw the Gills relegated from the second tier in 2004/05 and three years later landed themselves back in the fourth division, rebranded as League Two. They would be promoted the following season, but would suffer immediate relegation by goal difference the next year.

After three more seasons in League Two, Gills would win the league title – their first in almost 50 years – and would then drift between mid-table and the bottom end of League One for nine years. It was during these years when Scally had built a reputation of controversy and many public disputes, most notably between other clubs regarding player transfers and handing out several bans to journalists and the chairman of the Gills Independent Supporters Club for criticising the club’s ownership and poor performances on the pitch.

Eventually, financial trouble struck the club and a transfer embargo was imposed in July 2021, restricting them to signing just free agents and loanees. Several key players including Jordan Graham, Jack Bonham and Connor Ogilvie left the club and ultimately the club were relegated back to League Two last season in 21st, winning just eight games all season. Their problems from the previous year followed them into this season, as after 20 games, the club lay in the relegation zone, having won just twice and scoring six goals at that point.

Ben Andrews, the founder of popular Instagram fan page Gills Live, spoke of how supporters were left feeling hopeless about the club’s survival chances this season. He said: “Before the arrival of the Galinson’s it was almost as if we had already set ourselves up for relegation to the National League as a fanbase. It really was quite depressing watching us at that point as we knew that as soon as we conceded a goal the game was over.”

In August 2022, Scally announced he would be taking a step back from the club due to the abuse he had suffered from disgruntled fans, appointing Paul Fisher as co-chairman to oversee the running of the club, whilst he searched for for the right person to come in and invest in the club. On the 23rd December, with the club second bottom of League Two and struggling to find the back of the net, let alone grabbing three points, Florida-based businessman Brad Galinson completed his takeover. He acquired a majority share, with Scally staying on as a board member and minority shareholder.

“I think there is generally always a little bit of trepidation because it is a step into the unknown,” added Matt.

“But on the flip side I think most supporters were at the point where we simply had to roll the dice as it was declining and not improving under the previous ownership.”

So who is Brad Galinson? And why Gillingham?

Galinson’s instant impact and future plans

Galinson’s aims for Gillingham over the next few years are certainly ambitious and ones that have been made by several EFL owners in the past, with many resulting in absolute failure. But his first two months at the helm have shown how serious he is about achieving his goals.

In his announcement video alongside his wife Shannon when his takeover was confirmed, Galinson promised ‘an aggressive January transfer window’ and make funds available to manager Neil Harris in his quest to reshape the squad and turns their fortunes around immediately.

His promise would be kept, as Gills added a number of players to their team, including prolific goalscorers Tom Nichols and Oli Hawkins, exciting midfielder George Lapslie, experienced heads Timothee Dieng and Aiden O’Brien and up and coming talent Ike Orji, who had been attracting interest from higher ranked clubs.

The aggressive approach in January has already had a significant impact on the team, with Gills picking up six wins out of their last eight games, lifting them out of the relegation zone, sitting in 20th place and seven points clear of the two relegation places that they have lied in and around for most of the campaign.

“We had the best transfer window in England in my opinion,” said Andrews. “We went from a squad that was probably National League level, to a team that could be in the playoff picture if it was the beginning of the season.

“We brought in some real quality players and they have made a huge impact in not only helping us score more goals and win more games, but bringing more out of the existing players in the squad.”

The short-term improvements to the club on the pitch is only the start of many ideas Galinson has for Gillingham. He has hinted at investing into the local area to stability and support to the community and the club, as well as aiming to get the club to the Championship in the next five years, setting up a B team and redeveloping the stadium and following the success in January, it has certainly brought excitement back amongst the fans that these targets can be met.

Gills In The Blood TV’s Matt said: “First and foremost I think we need to fill the Priestfield first before we start thinking of a new stadium, but at the same time it is just so refreshing to be having those types of conversations. Whether that type of ambition can actually be achieved remains to be seen, but he has delivered on absolutely everything so far.”

“I am very excited and optimistic about the future of the football club,” Andrews added. “Neil Harris recently mentioned that he wants the club to be promoted to League One next season and I think that is very much possible with Galinson in charge.

“I definitely see his targets of reaching the Championship and redeveloping Priestfield as realistic; we’ve already seen a big rise in attendances and with 300,000 people in Medway we could definitely sustain Championship football. A lot of people can see that this club has a lot of potential, we just needed someone to unlock that for us.”

It has almost become a broken record with new owners of EFL clubs when it comes to their ambitions for their respective clubs. Promises of reaching the Premier League in five years have been heard all too many times and has unfortunately resulted in clubs entering into dire straits due to these owners not acting competently to achieve their goals, as we have seen with the likes of Charlton Athletic, Leyton Orient and the now expelled Bury.

But what’s different with this new ownership is there has been immediate action. Galinson’s investment in the squad in January and the improvement in form already has been dramatic. Gillingham were able to pull away from the bottom two and finish the season 17th, 12 points clear of relegation and if Neil Harris has the funds made available to him again in the summer, it would be hard not to consider them a serious challenger for promotion next season.

Galinson’s ambition is clear and he has been able to bring back the connection between the club and the fans and also a sense of optimism and excitement in such a short space of time. No doubt if they continue on their current path, the future is bright under Brad Galinson for Gillingham Football Club.