“I think of us as a family” these were the words of local Gillingham supporter Kris Delo from Herne Bay talking about members of his Facebook group ‘The View From The Medway’.
The group was created by the 37 year old in early April this year; its purpose is to bring fans together in a light-hearted community of fellow GFC supporters.
The View From The Medway (or TVFTM) currently has 364 members on Facebook and 136 subscribers on YouTube.
The View From The Medway was also set up to provide another outlet for fans to voice their opinions in a friendly constructive way as well as give supporters who are socially isolated a way to connect with fellow fans.
“It’s intended for fans to connect and share opinions, there might be some who are lonely and can’t get to games so they can get involved in the group instead” said Delo.
Kris was brought up watching some of the biggest matches in Gillingham’s history, including the playoff semi-final against Man City in 1999, while the fixture against Man City in 99 is something that most English football fans can remember, due to referee Mark Halsey making several controversial decisions; this was not a game that fuelled Kris’s passion for GFC.
“I was young, and games like this I didn’t really appreciate at the time.”
It wasn’t until he was 21 that Kris took an active interest in the club; this is due to Kris working and living in Ibiza at the time.
“I was in Ibiza at around 18-19, at that age I wanted to travel the world, I returned to the UK when I was 21, it was then that I really got involved with the club” upon returning, Kris started going to the factory (a bar within the club) and local pubs where he met fellow supporters who encouraged him to start going to games, inviting him to his first fixture against Rotherham in 2008.
Now a season ticket holder in the Medway Stand, Kris goes to every game he can attend, he regularly uploads on his Facebook group providing surprise interviews with club legends, which he added: “Is great engagement for the TVFTM YouTube channel” as well as creating interactive opinion polls inviting other supporters to share their opinions.
On Monday he regularly uploads exclusive videos from his series known as ‘The Monday Assessment’ which he hosts with friend Matthew Olsen, “Gillingham has become a Religion, it’s on my mind all the time” revealed Kris.
Reflecting on Gillingham in the community, Kris remarked on the positive reception he has received locally since creating the group: “Everyone has been really positive, I went into the local Cricketers and a guy who recognised me came and spoke to me, which was really nice, I’ve made lots of good mates.”
The View From The Medway was created not long after Paul Scally had given up control of the club to become a minority shareholder in December 2022.
In that season Gillingham were staring down back-to-back relegations out of the Football League and into the National League; which would have left Kent without a League Club, a sudden upturn in form which was attributed by the positivity injected into the club by new Florida based owners Brad and Shannon Gallinson ensured they avoided relegation.
Kris revealed how he felt inspired by Brad and Shannon’s leadership: “I took a lot of inspiration from Brad and Shannon, I think they changed the way I felt about the club, it felt like a community again; I cried when they were announced in the cup game at Leicester.”
When asked about upcoming shows, Kris added: “We had an interview with Guy Butters which was the Sunday just gone, on the 20th next month we have an interview with ex player and manager Steve Lovell, and we have a surprise guest making an appearance in November.”
Credit to Liam Treacy for this article.