Window shopping!
No one means business like the Americans do, so when new Gillingham owner Brad Galinson flew in from Florida fresh from his promise of a “lucrative” transfer window, anticipation among the fanbase was high.
Mr Galinson was as good as his word. Striker Tom Nichols had already agreed to join at the end of December from League 2 rivals Crawley and by the end of the month Gills had signed 10 players, including Exeter midfielder Timothee Dieng and forward Oli Hawkins from Mansfield.
Off the pitch, Kenny Jackett arrived as director of football and club legend Andy Hessenthaler was back again - this time as head of recruitment after quitting as Dover boss. Once the new signings hit their stride, Gillingham’s first defeat of 2023, against Stevenage, and then an FA Cup ThirdRound exit, 1-0 at home to Leicester, were forgotten and they took seven points out of a possible nine - Nichols scoring in his first three games - to lift Gills off the bottom.
The first win of the Galinson era was a 2-0 home success against Hartlepool, a match where the crowd reception for the new owner reached fever pitch. It was then he realised his decision to invest in a team bottom of the Football League was the right one.
“Investment banking friends of mine said there are better ways to get a return on your investment,” Mr Galinson said. “They said ‘are you crazy - do you know anything about football and by the way, isn’t it called soccer?!’.
“It was an unbelievable experience but for me, looking at those fans and watching them, that made me realise that this was the right spot, what we wanted to build.”
Ebbsfleet made an unhappy start to the new year, losing 4-0 at Dartford for a second derby thrashing in less than a week in National League South. In the National League, meanwhile, Maidstone boss Hakan Hayrettin was sacked after two wins in 21 matches, with George Elokobi taking temporary charge.
Ramsgate manager Steve Lovell joined Hayrettin in seeking a new job after he was dismissed despite Rams sitting second in the Isthmian South East table. The ex-Gills boss was replaced by Jamie Coyle.
At just 28, Mitch Brundle became the youngest manager throughout the top six divisions in the country when he was named Dover boss.
It was the end of an era for Medway Rugby Club after longserving Taff Gwilliam quit his role as coach with the side bottom of Regional 1 South East. Gwilliam, a Medway RFC stalwart with more than three decades’ service as player and coach, said the squad needed “reinvigorating”.
In snooker, Ditton’s Barry Hawkins thrashed Mark Allen 6-0 in the Masters at Alexandra Palace - only to lose 6-5 against Judd Trump in the QuarterFinal.