Looking for a late football stocking filler for Christmas? Read on… During Lockdown, many people took to social media, more often than not with skills to highlight their passion… and Gillingham fan Jim Norley was no different.

“I’ve created some digital art over the years and was thinking of new projects to keep me busy during the pandemic,” Jim explained. “There is a lot of great football artwork out there but as with everything in football it is mainly geared towards the top Premier League clubs.”

“Having thought about what I would like to see as a fan, I started to draw some of my favourite ever Gills players and soon realised there was a long list.”

“On speaking with my dad about the players before my time (and later a fan survey) I soon had a list of 175 ‘Legends’. Little old Gillingham has certainly had a number of great players!”

“I’d always planned to share the pictures with fellow Gills fans on social media and due to the length of the list I had, I thought it would be a good idea to post a different player every day to give fans a chance to react but also maintain the interest levels and keep it fresh.” 

And so, on Facebook and Twitter, Gillingham Legends was “born,” and Jim has been bowled over by the response… “The reaction has been fantastic, and I can’t believe how popular it has become. I never thought I’d still be going after nearly 18 months.”

We wondered how the featured players had reacted to being featured; “The feedback from the players featured has been amazing,” Jim admitted. “I think they have all been pleased to be regarded as a legend of the club and the older ones are delighted just to be remembered, which is one of the key things for me.”

“I think it’s important that any player that has played an important part in the club’s history deserves to be remembered. One of the most pleasing aspects of doing this is being in a position where I’ve actually been able to reconnect a few old teammates a few times now.”

“Most of the players/managers I’ve contacted have been via social media, email or post but I did manage to track down Martin Allen who emailed me his phone number asking me to call him to discuss. I was a little nervous about having to speak to ‘Mad Dog,’ but he was lovely to speak to and we had a good chat. I’ve sent him a few other pictures since and he’s been always been very complimentary.”

The images became so popular that Jim decided to move into print and published a book featuring many of the images. “The book was suggested by a few people, so I gave it a go… and it proved very popular selling over three hundred copies and I’ve just progressed from there with a number of other items including the most recent legendary match comic book.”

“I’m pleased with the outcome of all of them really but proudest of the original Gillingham Legends book. I also really like the ‘First match’ prints I’m now doing as they are very personal commemoration of each fans first ever Gills match, the match that got them hooked!”

We ended by asking Jim for his opinion of the Gills current plight; he said, “It’s easy to get caught up in the misery of the current situation at the Gills at the moment. Off the field matters aren’t helping obviously but having a small squad has backfired this season with the incredible number of injuries we’ve suffered.”

“I feel like we were playing quite well but have thrown away far too many points we should’ve got. The injuries to Oliver and Dempsey in particular are really hurting us at the moment.”

“Any team will find it hard without their two best players! The sooner they come back the better, we’re only two points off safety with twenty-four games to go so need to try and stay positive.”

If you’d like to win some of the @Gills_Legends merchandise including, simply answer the below question and send your answer to [email protected] before 3.00pm on Christmas Eve and we’ll announce the winner during our coverage of the Gills Boxing Day game with Ipswich Town at Priestfield…

Name the six Gillingham players that have scored for the club at Wembley Stadium…