Saturday sees the start of the SKYBet Football  season and for Gillingham fans after years of hope, there seems to be genuine optimism that the new season could be their year.

A big force behind this optimism are the events of the last seven months at Priestfield when under the ownership of the Galinson’s and the rejuvenated Neil Harris, the Gills went from almost relegation certainties to one of the form teams in the second half of the season. 

KSN has been talking to Brad Galinson ahead of the new season and in this first part of our chat with the man many credit with the club renaissance, we focused on what has happened since the club finished 2022/2023 in mid table safety.

Talking to us at the Clubs media day, Mr Galinson admitted that the Club has been busy behind the scenes. “We took on what we thought were small projects during the summer and all of a sudden, they’re not done and the season starts on Saturday!” the Gills owner admitted before adding, “don’t worry though we’ll probably get there before our first home kick off (against Southampton in the Carabao Cup next Tuesday) and it really is quite exciting.” 

“Pre-season for me has been interesting because my inclination has been every time that we’ve played a friendly, I naturally see it as a “league” game – did we win? Did we score? But what it really is of course, is getting different players on the pitch, getting fit and running around and not so much about the score, so for me it’s been interesting to see the build-up and how you get someone from off-season to fit and ready for the League!” 

“It’s quite different to the sports that I’m used to in the States. It is similar in the sense of getting fit but everything about the English Football League is different to America,” Mr Galinson conceded. “It’s the promotion and relegation, it changes everything! In America, all we knew were the “closed” Leagues where if you win the Superbowl, you’re happy but you’ve got the same amount of money as anyone else as its split evenly.” 

“It wasn’t until coming here and experiencing whats truly at stake in English football that you realise in America it doesn’t mean anything and here it means everything, and it literally is a whole different ball game.” 

It’s been reported widely that during the Club’s recent trip to Italy, neither Galinson or his wife Shannon could go anywhere in Como without seeing Gills fans. “It was pretty exciting!” he confessed.

“Shan and I actually turned on our out way to dinner as the fans had taken over a bar on the corner and they were there with their shirts off on a very hot day, with their banners, drinking and singing. So, we decided that we’d walk or march to the stadium with them the next day, and we literally were able to lead a march to the stadium. Not too sure what the tourists and the locals in Como thought of it all, but it was pretty exciting and exemplifies everything the Club stands for!” 

Tomorrow, our chat with Mr Galinson concludes as the Gills owner looks forward to Saturday and the start of the new season and what it means to an American in Medway.