John Seager's 30 for 30: Day 7

A Cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years

Day 7:  28^th May 2000: Gillingham’s Play-off Success

Evening all,

As the old saying goes; ‘all good things must come to an end’, and for the 1999 – 2000 season with Gillingham it was an excellent climax to a season i will never forget.

First of all we went on a promotion party to Wrexham which didn’t happen and there were over five thousand Gills travelling back which was seen by me as the worse away journey back EVER!!!

Then during the playoffs we had the ‘Hess’ Miracle against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. Where during the 5^th minute of added time, player – and soon to be manager – Andy Hessenthaler scored a screamer to send the game back to Priestfield Stadium on a knife edge – but Stoke fell apart during the second leg and for the second successive season, Gillingham are going to Wembley.

The game was played on the 28^th May 2000, and the atmosphere surrounding the match was a lot more different than the game nearly 12 months before.

People who i was travelling with were much more confident that we can do it this time and i was even thinking about how do we celebrate the journey back should we win. Even though we were up against a decent Wigan side I was confident that we will win.

On the day itself, we outnumbered the Wigan fans on a ratio of 4 to 1. So we were more vocal during the game and that played a part during the build upto kick off.

Once the game kicked off though we dominated the first half, and just after the half way point we took the lead with a goal i think that should have never counted. The ball was crossed in and Iffy shot towards the goal but the ball did not go pass the line. But the Linesman did give the goal. So although we were 1-0 up it felt that it was a goal given to us that we didn’t deserve. Was it a sign that good things were going our way.

But during the second half, Wigan got back into the game with an excellent goal from Simon Haworth and Wigan began to control the game hoping to score a second goal. However they in fact down to 10 men after Kevin Sharp received a red card for a second yellow card foul. Wigan had to play the whole period of extra time with 10 men, yet another sign that we could come out on top today?

But at the start of extra time, it was a disaster as Wigan won a penalty and scored to make it 2-1. I was down but i did not give up hope and i got behind the team to get back into the game. Although we had chance after chance it seemed that we would not get back into the game.

But then it was one of our super subs which got the gills back into the game. Steve Butler scored his last ever goal for the club as he headed a cross from Godden into the back of the net. I was relieved but still concerned that the game would go to penalties as this may bring back bad memories from 12 months ago.

But within four minutes i was jumping for joy as the other super sub Andy Thomson scored Gillingham’s most famous goal to win s the game and get us promoted. I could not believe that we retook the lead with a little over two minutes left in the game.

Once the final whistle went, there was a lot of joy and screaming mainly from me as we secured promotion to the old first division.  And the journey back home was one where a lot of drinking and partying was done on the train back to Kent.

It was an excellent way to end a remarkable first season as a season ticket holder with the club.

And i could not wait to renew and continue the journey again as the gills go into a new territory which the club have never been in before. 

John Seager's 30 for 30: Day 6

A Cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years

Day 6:  20^th February 2000: A trip along the Kings’ Road

Evening all,

As part of the same season with Gillingham, it was a memorable run we had in the FA cup that season. Although it was a difficult start we had against the likes of Cheltenham Town, Walsall and the now defunct Darlington, we then came to face to some big premier leagues sides.

Both Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday were in the lower half of the Premier League table at the time. Both games were played at Priestfield and on both occasions the Gills blew them away to the delight of the home fans. The Sheffield Wednesday game was also featured on the BBC programme ‘Match of the Day’ which as a gills fan it was really historic to watch seeing your team play on television.

The draw for the quarter finals came up and we got Chelsea away at Stamford Bridge. The date set was the 20^th February, which for me was kind of a family outing in more ways than one.

My granddad was a massive Chelsea fan, i remember on a number of visits to seeing him and my grandma in Seal – just on the outskirts of Sevenoaks – he would talk about the good old days of Chelsea. He did also promise me one day that he would take me to see Chelsea play at home at the bridge. Sadly though in 1997, he suffered a heart attack whilst living with my auntie in Ashford just before his birthday. And i never got the opportunity to go to a game with him.

So it felt kindly weird whilst on the coach on the way upto the bridge that i felt a presence next to me on the coach. There wasn’t a person sitting next to me on the coach and i have never thought about or never spoken to someone about spirits from the other world. But it did feel that someone was sitting next to me on the way upto the game.

What made it even weirder was that the space where i was sitting in the Chelsea west stand, the space next to it was not used during the whole game but as with the coach it did feel that someone was sitting in the seat. I them immediately felt that it could be the spirit of my granddad watching the game with me. Looking back it did feel weird but if it was true then he definitely kept his promise to watch a game at the bridge with me.

And if did watch the game with me he would be jumping for joy every time Chelsea score a goal, all five of them.

Tor Andre Flo getting in on the act during the game. 

We were totally played off the park, although we did hold them to 1-0 lead at half time, i think we were there to enjoy the day in the sun and to see some quality players play the game of football. In fair reflection it would have been nice to score but we didn’t.

After the game, the players came over to the fans for a decent send off back to Kent; I went home hopeful that we can continue this memorable season. 

John Seager's 30 for 30: Day 5

A Cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years

Day 5:  14^th August 1999: What a difference a view makes

Evening all,

A lot of changes happened during the summer of 1999, especially for me and for Gillingham FC, Gills got rid of their long serving manager Tony Pulis and changes were made on and off the pitch as Priestfield Stadium was being rebuilt as part of the future of the club under the ‘Scally’ era.

But the main thing for me was that i turned 17. And normally for people at that age they ask for either a big birthday party or money towards driving lessons as a birthday present.

But all i asked for as a 17^th birthday present was to buy a Gillingham FC season ticket for the new season. I bugged and begged my parents throughout the whole month of July to get one in time for my birthday; i also worked as a waiter in order to help with the costs as well. And to my delight on my birthday I was whisked upto Priestfield to buy my first ever season ticket for the club.

I could not wait for the first game on the 14^th August, and when it came what i saw from the view, made me totally fall in love for the first time.

When I sat down for the first time in the seat, it gave me a decent tactical view of what was going on when the Gills were defending and attacking as well. And being at the back of the stand, it was the normal place where the gills fans are the loudest and the more vocal as well. Something which i grow accustom to during the days of the old stand during the previous season.

But the game though was a difficult game to watch, it seemed that the Gillingham side i saw was totally different from the one i saw at Wembley a couple of months previously. It was a tactical scrap against Bristol Rovers and they won the game 1-0 with a strike from prolific goal poacher Jason Roberts.

After the game initially i felt that it was not the right thing to do but then i thought that the season is not decided after one game but the view i had from that seat made me feel the need to get behind the team and help them improve over the season.

It turned out later to be as season which i will never forget.

13 years later, I still have the same seat and i still have the same buzz every time Gillingham plays at home. Although i have sat in other seats in the stadium – including the press box – i still consider it my seat and as long i am still around i will always have that seat. 

John Seager's 30 for 30: Day 4

A Cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years

Day 4: 30th May 1999 - Gillingham's Play-off Disaster 

Evening all,

If you were to ask many fans of Gillingham what will be the one game that they will remember. The game had everything that you would expect from a game of football; pure exhilaration, excitement, tension, disappointment and a feeling that you have been part of something historical.

I had all of those feeling from one trip to Wembley Stadium when Gillingham played against Manchester City in the play off final.

The date of the game was the 30^th May 1999, but for me the fun started a couple of weeks before hand.

Basically Gillingham had a fantastic season; they finished in the middle of the playoffs after just finishing outside them the previous season.

Even i went to a few of the key games, especially Notts County away on the final day of the season. Where we won to confirm our playoff spot and relegated County as well.

So we got Preston North End in the playoffs, i couldn’t go to both of the games as i was helping my mum during the first leg and i had school work to do during the second leg.

But i listened to both games on the radio and when the final whistle went at the end of the second leg; i could not hold my joy of going to Wembley for the first time.

But how did we get the tickets i hear you cry, well we queued up for 3 hours in the early morning – starting at 5am – and eventually after a lot of bickering and arguing of where we want to sit, we got them.

On the day itself, it was a carnival atmosphere on the way upto London and again on the tube upto Wembley.   

Once we got there, the atmosphere involving both the Gillingham and the Manchester City fans was totally mesmerising and when he teams came out of the tunnel for the start of the match, it was one of those moments where the hairs of the back of your neck stood out.

But the game in the first half was typically cagey from both sides. Although both sides had chances to break the dead lock, the game was starting to look very nervy and it still could go either way.

During the second half, Gillingham had more of the possession but with 10 minutes to go Carl Asaba broke the deadlock after being put through by Paul Smith. It was totally unbelievable, to score at Wembley against a decent side like City, could it happen?

Gillingham could have made it 2-0 afterwards after Robert Taylor had his saved shot hit the post. But he wasn’t denied a second time as a few minutes later, Asaba played a ball to Taylor who coolly put the ball pass weaver into the back of the net. I believed at this point that we could do it and cause the biggest upset in the football league that season.

But with less than a minute left, City then jumped back into life.  First Kevin Horlock got them back into the game and then deep into a fifth minute of stoppage time – i still don’t know how he added 5 minutes at the end of the game – Paul Dickov scored to take the game to extra time and his goal celebration at the end is forever haunted in the minds of Gillingham fans – including me – to this day.

I was devastated at this moment but i was hopeful that we can get away with this and win the game on penalties. But sadly it wasn’t to be as the game did go to penalties but City’s keeper saved 2 of our penalties including the deceive one and then proceeded to celebrate with the City fans in what was the end one of the most memorable games i have or will ever witness.

It was a sad journey home afterwards but i still enjoyed the experience and i was hopeful that we can rebuild and return again the next season. Little did i know that was to be true but there were a lot of changes in the way in order for this to happen.

To be continued....

John Seager's 30 for 30: Day 3

A Cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years

Day 3: August 23^rd 1997 – My first ever Gillingham game.

Evening all,

The game of football is our national pastime and to remember your first ever game is a special memory which will stay with you for the rest of your life. For me though it is slightly different.

I have been to a few Football matches during my early teen years, mainly involving the football club where i live Sittingbourne FC. This was when they were on the brink of playing in the Conference – I even was at Central Park where they won the Southern Division title in a 4-2 win over Clevedon Town in 1993 – but i aspired to watch different levels of football as i had no chance of going to see Liverpool games as i was living in Kent, I saw a promotion to see a few match with the local football league side Gillingham FC. And i decided to go and watch them.

It was part of promotion with a national newspaper and they were offering football fans free tickets to go and see Football league games across the country for free. So i decided to take up the offer to go and see Gillingham FC play against Walsall at the Priestfield stadium.

The Date of the match was the 23^rd August 1997. I went with my mum – as i was too young to go to football on my own – and my brother David. And we were sat in the Gordon road stand, which was just recently built during the summer of 1997.

What can i remember about the match itself?  Well it wasn’t the best game to go and watch but there was plenty of action and goals from new midfielder Paul Smith and Striker Ade Akinbyi gave Gillingham a 2-0 lead before Walsall got a goal back in the second half  but they couldn't equalise and Gillingham won the game 2-1.

After the game, I felt that i enjoyed the experience of watching football at Priestfield and i felt that i wanted to go back for more matched during the season.

I did go back for a number of games during the rest of the season. I didn’t go to many Tuesday night games though as this would clash with my school work.

Looking back, i didn’t realise at the time how much this club would be part of my life. But i believe that everything that has a long association with in life needs to have a genesis – a starting point. And for Gillingham, this was my start of a long association with them. 

John Seager's 30 for 30: Day 2

A Cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years

Day 2: July 24^th 1995 – Schools’ Out then in again.  

Evening all,

Someone famous once said ‘school days – especially secondary school days – are supposed to be the best times of your life’. But for me at the early point of my secondary school career, it certainly was not.

It all came to a peak on the 24^th July 1995 – although my birthday i felt at this point of my life, i needed a one of the best birthday presents of my life so far.

After leaving my primary school i had a tough choice to make of what secondary school to go to. Although i did fail my 11 plus tests, i still feel that i can make a huge contribution at my new secondary school. But which one do i choose?

After much deliberation, i decided to join the same school which my brother was in St John School for Boys. It was familiar ground for me as my last year of my primary school was spent on the site of St. John’s as a massive fire destroyed much of my old primary school.

But life at the school was very difficult. During the first year of the school I was picked on my at least 6 people because of the way i looked. It did get me down but i couldn’t fight back as I’m not that kind of person to fight back. And to my dismay when I tried to fight back, i was the one punished by the School.

It got worse during my year 8 as St. Johns merged with the next door Rowena Girls School to form the Sittingbourne Community College.

The constant bullying continued to happen but this time it got worse. On a number of occasions i was taken out of lessons and made to help one of the Assistant Head teachers in their offices. This continued on throughout the whole year. Also when i did try to fight back, i felt that the teachers at the time from SCC punished me as I was the one fighting back.

It came to a point where i was not happy not just with my life at school but my life itself.  I totally believed that if this continued onto the next year, i would have committed suicide because of the constant bullying from everyone.

So i had a chat with my mum to ask her if i can switch school to the nearest one where i was living to which happened to be Fulston Manor, the one i turned down back in year 7.

A meeting was arranged for the 24^th July 1995. It was my birthday so which made me even more nervous but i was determined to persuade them that moving there was the only option for me.

On the day itself, we met with the then Headmaster Mr Herbert, who seemed like he was a nice man but he and SCC did have reservations about me moving to fulston because the apparent problems from SCC could happen again here at fulston.

But he was willing to give me a try and approved me moving to the school. Naturally i was ecstatic when i was told that the move can happen. I knew then that it would be difficult adjusting to the school but i was willing to do this in order to save my life.   

It did feel ironic that the meeting was being help on my birthday so naturally looking back; it was a belated birthday present but it was a present that was needed at the time.

Looking back now, i rarely talk about my time with SCC; it has changed me because i still have issues relating to meeting people. Although i am getting some help with this, i think that this period of time has made me think twice about everyone i meet and i doubt that i will ever be able to recover. 

Ironically enough some of the guys that did bully me, i have made friends with them on social site Facebook and they have apologised for their behaviour towards me. So it does prove that over time people do change. However it does also prove that some people don’t change as well. 

John Seager's 30 for 30: Day 1

A Cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years

Day 1: December 31st 1992 - A night of change in the South East. 

Evening all,

As a child you get to stay up late for only special events. When i was young i was only allowed to stay up to watch various football matches involving Liverpool FC and England at the world cup in 1990. I was heartbroken when England lost to Germany on penalties at Italy 1990.

But also I was allowed to stay up late to celebrate the New Year. Seeing all of the fireworks going off around my area was nice to see especially at the beginning of a new year.

But on the night on the 31^st of December 1992, it was a night i could not wait for.

Ever since moving to the town of Sittingbourne in Kent in 1987, there was one television programme in the evening which i was glued to and as a family we would sit down and watch together every weeknight. It wasn’t a soap programme like ‘Eastenders’ and ‘Coronation Street’.  It wasn’t even a game show like ‘The Krypton Factor’. It was none of these; it was a local news programme.

Television South – or TVS for short – made a programme called ‘Coast to Coast’, it showed off the local news from the Kent area every weeknight at 6pm. You also got to know all of the familiar faces like Mike Debens, Liz Wickham and legendary weather reporter Ron Lobeck.

It was a programme you had to watch if you heard something good or bad happening in the area. The BBC coverage for the area was not as well covered by TVS as they have to cover the London area as well.

But when i heard that Coast to Coast was to be taken off the air due to a franchise change at ITV, i felt very sad because it was a programme which i was an avid viewer and gave me a small inspiration to hopefully one day work for them. I remember one lesson in my primary school, the teacher asking ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’  I put my hand up and said, ‘I want to work on television working for Coast to Coast’.

But at the same time i was exciting as there are not many franchise changes at ITV. It was big news at the time. So on the flip side of the coin; I was excited about the possible changes which could be made to the area.

So for the final time, i sat down and watched the last programme. It nice to see all of the familiar faces returning for one night and also remember all of the it was good to see all of the big stories that have had happened in the region and i felt it was a nice way to end the show especially with the band of the royal marines band from Deal ending the show.

The night continued with TVS’s final programme, Goodbye to all that, coming from Southampton. It was really interesting to see other programmes made my TVS and a general reflection on how this company made programmes not only for the south by for the ITV network and beyond.

At the end of the night and on the strike of Big Ben which saw in the New Year. The new company took over. It was called Meridian and although it seemed that there a few changes on screen, i was really hopeful that they can keep the excellent news coverage which Coast to Coast had over the area since 1982.

Looking back at the programme now, it is weird to see how many people from the programme and TVS have gone onto bigger and better things. Alan Rook – who read the headlines at the start of the programme – was at one point Head of News at ITV Central. Philip Hornby – who was the producer of the final Coast to Coast – is now the political reporter for ITV Meridian. Oddly though, working as the technical co-ordinator for the news programme was a gentleman by the name of ‘John Seager’ how weird is that????  

Looking back now, and seeing how this has changed me, i still remember this night like yesterday. I feel that if i did not watching the programmes or take a keen interest over this evening, i will not be in the position where i am today. And i feel that looking back over the coverage of news since 1992/1993; i feel that Coast to Coast was part of the ‘golden age’ of local news coverage. I just hope we get something like this kind of programme again soon. 

John Seager's 30 for 30

A cunning look back of 30 days which have changed my life over the past 30 years


Prologue: Why i am Doing this.


Evening all, I did say on my Twitter/Facebook accounts that i was planning something massive, and here it is.


As part of my build up for my 30th birthday celebrations, I will be sharing with you all 30 days that have changed my life to the man I have become today.


And it all started from this, a work colleague asked me what different are you doing for your 30th birthday this year. 


And this got me thinking, what different and unusual things i can do to show people how important the 30th birthday milestone is in my life.  And after watching the excellent ESPN series 30 for 30, i felt that i can pick 30 days which have changed my life and explain it in full detail on how it changed me. 


So i came up with picking 30 days from my whole life which have changed my life for the better and for the worse - as well as life is all about being up one minute and down the next - And telling the whole story of that day and how it has changed me. 


This series of blogs will be going back to the days when i was at school going though 2 different Universities and even my career as a Journalist as well. you also might get to see a few pictures from that period as well - if your lucky.


Day 1 will be posted on the 24th of June with a new day added on here every day till the 23rd of July - my last day as a twenty odd year old person.


So keep an eye for the 24th of June and enjoy reading about my 30 for 30.

Hi guys just got this new official blog up and running.

Got some huge plans for this over the next coming weeks.

so watch this space....