Five years as boss caps great service to club
Jerry Gill celebrated five years in charge of Bath City yesterday.
The former full-back is City’s longest-serving boss since Tony Ricketts, the last manager he played under at Twerton Park, having overseen 217 matches since his appointment in October 2017, one shy of his appearances for the stripes.
Gill arrived as successor to Gary Owers, whose second spell ended when he was lured to Torquay United in September 2017.
Having been on the books of Trowbridge Town and Leyton Orient, Gill moved to Twerton Park as a player in December 1990 from Weston-super-mare, a few months after his 20th birthday. In five and a half years he played in the FA Cup first round three times, plus being part of the side which drew 0-0 at Stoke City in the third round in January
1994, a stage City haven’t reached since.
After departing in May 1996, Gill spent a year at Yeovil Town before enjoying a decent Football League career with the likes of Birmingham City and Cheltenham Town before retiring in 2010.
He took his first job in management soon after at a troubled Weymouth side destined for relegation from Conference South. Later admitting he regretted taking on the Terras gig, Gill was one of four managers in their 2009/10 campaign as he lasted 44 days at the Wessex Stadium.
Despite this setback, he worked in academies at Bristol Rovers, Kidderminster, Norwich (also as scout) and Wolves before stepping back into management.
Under his stewardship, City have reached the play-offs twice and seen average crowds rise from 690 to 1154.
His current win percentage stands at 44% with 94 victories, 49 draws and 73 defeats. During that time the Romans have scored 318 and conceded 264.