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Barry Fuller clocked up his 200th appearance for the Gills last weekend but remembers the day he signed like it was yesterday.
Fuller joined Gillingham on January 28, 2008, following manager Mark Stimson there from Stevenage.
Recalling the move, Fuller said: “I remember it well, under Stimmo. I nearly bit his hand off when he rang to tell me he was going in for me.
“There was a real strange atmosphere within the club at first. Stimmo brought in his own boys who he felt were best for him and the club, but we had some great times.
“I think the fans enjoyed that expansive football and we took it to a lot of big clubs at Priestfield, especially the year we were in League 1. We ended up going down on the last day but we beat most of those big clubs at home.
“Winning the play-off final (the following season) as captain was easily the biggest highlight of my time. It’s an honour and a privilege to have played 200 times for the club. Now I just want to play as many games as I can.”
Fuller repeated the feat of winning the League 2 play-off final as captain of AFC Wimbledon – during a six-year hiatus from Gills – but, for him, the person who deserves a medal the most is his wife.
He’ll be 35 next month and his three daughters are all excelling in their own interests, including his middle child who is on the books at Chelsea.
“My wife (Laura) supports me everywhere we go,” he said.
“She always has done since we have been together. She watches me and takes the kids to the other events.
“She has supported me through all the good times but also the bad times. What people don’t see behind closed doors, when you are out injured, you are grumpy and moody.
“When I was out for 12 months with a knee injury she was the one who kept me going mentally, telling me I would get through it.
“She now drives Evie to London two or three times a week for football, she is the rock of the family.
“She is the boss and what she says goes.”
His kids’ interests range from cheerleading to acrobatics and boxing, but football is never far from the agenda.
He said: “My wife was probably hoping that by the time I retire football would be out of her life but she now takes my daughter to football more than I do! Football is constantly in and out of her ears.”
Through his girls’ involvement in football, Fuller has seen plenty of the women’s game and has become a big fan.
He said: “I have taken a lot of notice of the women’s game and it is something that excites me. I have got three daughters and one of them who is football crazy and playing.
“The England women’s team have been brilliant for the sport in this country, they have lifted it massively and in five years, maybe when she is a teenager, there will probably be a good living there.
“We will just have to wait and see if she is still football crazy in a few years and wants to go down that path.”
Fuller had plenty of parental backing himself when he was younger. His dad Mick Fuller had the opportunity to play professionally for West Ham, but turned it down.
“He had a lot more difficult choices to make at the time and he probably made the wrong one,” said the Gills defender.
“But he made sure I stayed dedicated when I was coming through.
“He loves it, he comes to the games and enjoys it and is the harshest person towards me. He will be brutally honest about how I perform, but that is how I like it. It has been like that since I was 13 and joined a pro club.
“I would get in the car and his opinion of how I played was probably the most important to me.
“He has always been there to support me, he watches most home games and even though I am 34, he still tells me what he thought of my performance but I wouldn’t want it any different.
“He has been my inspiration for the football side since a kid and I looked up to him. My mum and dad’s support through youth football was so important.”
Fuller and his wife are having to put in that same dedication now with their own children.
It doesn’t look like Mrs Fuller will get much of a break from the game when the other half hangs up his boots anyway. He’s already in charge of Ashford United’s under-23s and runs his own football academy. He’s taken his UEFA B coaching course and hopes to go into it full-time one day. But for now, those legs are still going strong on the pitch.
He said: “I am getting a bit older, you’re clocking up games now towards your end total of your overall career. I just want to play as many games as I can and stay fit and healthy.
“I am playing for a local club and I have a lot of history here, I love putting on the Gillingham shirt.”
