August–December

Gillingham's first match in the second tier of English football was at home to Stockport County.^[17] Guy Butters scored the club's first goal at that level in the second minute of the game, but Stockport scored three times to claim the win.^[17][18] Hessenthaler described the result as "a wake-up call".^[14] Shaw and Hope made their debuts in the starting line-up and King made his as a substitute;^[19] Shaw was stretchered off in the first half after suffering an ankle injury which would keep him out of the team for the next six weeks.^[8][14][20] Andy Thomson replaced him in the starting line-up for the game away to Tranmere Rovers, which Gillingham lost 3–2.^[21] In both of the next two First Division games, at home to Portsmouth and away to Burnley, Gillingham took the lead but then conceded an equalising goal; each of the matches finished as a draw.^[22] The Guardian's correspondent wrote that Gillingham were the better team against Portsmouth although Hessenthaler said that his team's play had been "a little bit too predictable".^[23] After four games, Gillingham were 21st in the 24-team league table.^[24] The team won their first league match of the season at the fifth attempt, defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 at Priestfield with a fourth-minute goal by Junior Lewis,^[25][26] but then lost away to Grimsby Town. In the second half of September, Gillingham won at home to struggling Huddersfield Town, managed by former Gillingham player Steve Bruce,^[27] but then lost 3–0 away to Fulham, who continued a run of having won every First Division game since the start of the season. Hessenthaler commented "we just couldn't get near them ... quite frankly I'm pleased it was only 3–0".^[28][29] King was included in the starting line-up for the first time in early September but after failing to score in five starts he reverted to the role of substitute, with Thomson preferred as a starter.^[19]

Gillingham drew 4–4 away to Wimbledon on 14 October,^[30] the only match in the entirety of the First Division during the 2000–01 season to feature eight or more goals,^[31] which prompted Hessenthaler to say "We'll be straight back on the training ground to work on our defending as we keep getting punished by decent sides." His opposite number Terry Burton noted that the Gillingham team had taken on the qualities which Hessenthaler displayed as a player, saying "Their spirit epitomises what their manager is all about ... He gives 100 per cent and has taken that infectious enthusiasm into management".^[30] Gillingham then failed to score any goals in the next four league matches.^[32] Carl Asaba, the team's top goalscorer in all competitions at this point in the season,^[33] was substituted in the second of these games, a goalless draw at home to Barnsley, after injuring his hamstring;^[34] he would not play again for more than six weeks.^[19] Iffy Onuora, who had been a regular in the team in the second half of the previous season but had yet to start a game in the 2000–01 season, replaced him for the next five games but then reverted to being used only as a substitute.^[19][35] The goalless run came to an end with a 2–1 victory away to Sheffield United on 4 November, Gillingham's first league win for seven games and first away league win of the season,^[36] but the team then lost both their next two games 3–1.^[32] King scored his first goal for the club in the second of these defeats.^[32] Victory away to Blackburn Rovers in the last game of November, achieved despite Shaw being sent off, left Gillingham 14th in the table. Ron Clarke of the Sunday Times wrote that Blackburn had been arrogant in their approach to the game in the first half and allowed Gillingham to score two simple goals.^[37][38]

Gillingham began December with consecutive league defeats at home to Birmingham City and away to Norwich City,^[39][40] but then beat Preston North End 4–0 at Priestfield,^[41] beginning an unbeaten league run which would ultimately last for nine games.^[32] Asaba scored twice against Preston on his return to the starting line-up.^[21][41] The team's final game of 2000 resulted in a 4–1 win at home to Crystal Palace; Asaba scored the team's first hat-trick of the season but Shaw was again carried off on a stretcher after suffering another ankle injury, although on this occasion he did not miss any games.^[21][42][43] The attendance of 10,518 was the highest for any match at Priestfield during the season.^[33] An aggressive confrontation took place shortly before the end of the first half involving players from both teams which led to both clubs being fined by the Football Association four months later.^[44] The result left Gillingham 13th in the table at the end of the year.^[45]

January–May

Gillingham's first four league matches of 2001 were all drawn. The first two, away to Portsmouth and at home to Burnley, finished goalless, and Gillingham followed this with a 2–2 draw away to Crystal Palace and a 1–1 draw away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[32][46] Following the Crystal Palace game, Brian Scovell of the Sunday Telegraph described Gillingham as "one of the best organised sides in the First Division".^[47] King replaced Asaba in the starting line-up against Wolverhampton Wanderers, his first start since before Christmas, and scored his team's goal; he would go on to start every game for the remainder of the season.^[21] Gillingham extended their unbeaten league run with victories at home to Grimsby Town and away to Huddersfield Town, in both of which King scored the winning goal. Hessenthaler was extremely pleased with his team's recent performances and told the media "If we can now consolidate this year, our aim will then be to do what Crewe have done and see if we can stay in this division for the next four or five years".^[32][48] Huddersfield manager Lou Macari contended that Gillingham were "the kind of team capable of upsetting anybody in this division".^[49] The wins took Gillingham into the top half of the table in 12th place,^[50] but the unbeaten run came to an end in the next game with a 1–0 defeat at home to Queens Park Rangers.^[32] Gillingham lost their next two games, 2–0 at home to Fulham and 2–1 away to Sheffield Wednesday. Asaba scored against Sheffield Wednesday after coming on a substitute in what would prove to be his last appearance for Gillingham; he was transferred to Sheffield United in March.^[21][51]

Although the series of consecutive defeats ended with a 0–0 draw at home to Wimbledon on 6 March, it meant that Gillingham had only scored once in the last four matches and slipped to 15th in the league table.^[52] Onuora replaced Shaw against Wimbledon, his first start since November; Shaw had still yet to score a goal since his transfer to the club.^[32] On 10 March, Gillingham came back from 3–1 down to draw 3–3 away to Bolton Wanderers, King scoring the equaliser in the final five minutes of the game,^[53][54] and then won at home to Tranmere Rovers with goals from King and Onuora, who had now been the starting forwards for three consecutive matches and would remain so for the rest of the season.^[21][55] Hessenthaler signed another forward, Guy Ipoua, from Scunthorpe United for £25,000 (equivalent to £40,000 in 2021),^[56] but he was used only as a substitute for the remainder of the season.^[19] Shaw returned to the starting line-up against Barnsley on 25 March but was now used in a linking role between the midfield and the forwards rather than as an all-out attacking player.^[8] Onuora scored the team's second hat-trick of the season in a 4–3 win at home to Norwich City on 7 April and Gillingham then scored four goals for a second consecutive game as they defeated Sheffield United 4–1; Shaw scored his first goal for the club in the latter game.^[32][57][58] The next two games, however, resulted in defeats to Crewe Alexandra and West Bromwich Albion.^[32]

Victory in the game away to Nottingham Forest on 28 April would mean that Gillingham were sufficiently far ahead of the bottom four places that they could not finish in a relegation position. King scored the only goal in a 1–0 win which ensured that the team would be playing in the First Division again the following season.^[59][60] In the final match of the 2000–01 season, Gillingham played Blackburn Rovers, who had already clinched promotion to the Premier League, at Priestfield. Blackburn held the lead for most of the game, but King scored an equaliser in the last minute to secure a draw.^[61] Gillingham ended their first season in the second tier of English football 13th in the league table.^[62]

Match details

Key

Results^[32]

Partial league table

FA Cup

As a First Division team, Gillingham entered the 2000–01 FA Cup at the third-round stage in early January. The team played AFC Bournemouth of the Second Division and won 3–2.^[64] Hessenthaler suffered a serious knee injury and would not play again during the season.^[33][65] In the fourth round, Gillingham were paired with Chelsea of the Premier League, who had eliminated Gillingham from the competition at the quarter-final stage in the previous season.^[66] By half-time, Gillingham were 3–0 down to their higher-level opponents.^[67] In the second half Shaw and Onuora both scored to reduce the deficit to a single goal, but Gillingham could not bring the scores level, and in the final minute Chelsea's Eiður Guðjohnsen scored to seal his team's win. Gillingham were thus eliminated from the FA Cup by Chelsea for the second consecutive season. Hessenthaler commented that "We made it hard for ourselves with our performance in the first half. You could see the difference in the leagues then and their class but we're disappointed with the way we defended".^[67][68]

League Cup

Gillingham entered the 2000–01 Football League Cup in the first round and were paired with Torquay United of the Third Division. In front of a crowd of 2,743, the lowest attendance recorded at Priestfield during the season,^[33] Gillingham won the first leg of the two-legged tie 2–0. Torquay won the second leg at their own ground, Plainmoor, 3–2, but Gillingham progressed to the next round by an aggregate score of 4–3.^[69] In the second round, Gillingham played Manchester City, the first competitive meeting between the two teams since City defeated Gillingham in the Second Division play-off final in May 1999.^[70][71] Gillingham held their higher-level opponents to a 1–1 draw at Maine Road in the first leg, prompting Oliver Kay of The Times to suggest that City would struggle to win the tie overall,^[72] but Gillingham lost the second leg at Priestfield 4–2 and were thus eliminated from the competition.^[73]