During the 1984–85 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 53rd season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 35th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. Gillingham started the Third Division season with five wins in the first seven games and were challenging for a place in the top three of the league table, which would result in promotion to the Second Division. The team's performances then declined, culminating in a 7–1 defeat to York City in November which left them in mid-table. They then won 12 out of 16 games to go back up to second place, before a poor run in March meant that they again dropped out of the promotion places. Gillingham finished the season fourth in the table, missing promotion by one place.
Gillingham also competed in three knock-out competitions, reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup and the second round of the Football League Cup but losing in the first round of the Associate Members' Cup. The team played 56 competitive matches, winning 30, drawing 9, and losing 17. Tony Cascarino was the club's leading goalscorer, scoring 20 goals in all competitions. Keith Oakes made the most appearances, playing 54 times. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 8,881 for a League Cup game against Leeds United in September.
Background and pre-season
The 1984–85 season was Gillingham's 53rd season playing in the Football League and the 35th since the club was elected back into the League in 1950 after being voted out in 1938. It was the club's 11th consecutive season in the Football League Third Division, the third tier of the English football league system, since the team gained promotion from the Fourth Division in 1974. In the 10 seasons since then, the team had achieved a best finish of fourth place, one position away from promotion to the Second Division, in the 1978–79 season. The club had never reached the second level of English football in its history.
Keith Peacock was the club's manager for a fourth season, having been appointed in July 1981. Paul Taylor served as assistant manager and Bill Collins, who had been with the club in a variety of roles since the early 1960s, held the posts of first-team trainer and manager of the youth team. Dave Mehmet was the team's captain.
Having attracted the attention of a number of First Division clubs, the highly rated young defender Steve Bruce left the club before the new season to join Norwich City for a transfer fee of £135,000. In his place, Gillingham signed two experienced defenders, Keith Oakes from Newport County and Joe Hinnigan from Preston North End. The club also signed two players who were out of contract: Tarki Micallef, a midfielder who had last played for Newport, and Dave Shearer, a forward who had most recently played for Grimsby Town. Another forward, Paul Shinners, joined Gillingham from semi-professional club Fisher Athletic. The team prepared for the new season with friendlies against Brighton & Hove Albion of the Second Division and near-neighbours Maidstone United, the previous season's champions of the Alliance Premier League, the highest level of non-League football. The club also held an open day, during which supporters could obtain players' autographs and watch a specially-arranged training session. The team's kit for the season consisted of Gillingham's usual blue shirts, white shorts and white socks. The second-choice kit, to be worn in the event of a clash of colours with the opposition, comprised red shirts, black shorts and black socks. Home appliance manufacturer Zanussi signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with the club, meaning that the company name was displayed on the players' shirts.
Third Division
August–December
Gillingham's first game of the season was at home to Newport on 25 August; Oakes made his debut against his former club and Hinnigan also played his first game for Gillingham. The match ended in a 1–1 draw; Tony Cascarino scored Gillingham's first goal of the season. A week later, he scored again as the team gained their first win of the campaign, defeating Orient 4–2; Shearer made his debut as a substitute. Victories against Cambridge United and Wigan Athletic, in both of which Cascarino scored, meant that after four games Gillingham were top of the Third Division league table. On 18 September, Gillingham were defeated for the first time during the season, losing 2–0 away to Hull City, but then won their next two league games and were third in the table at the end of September.