The Brad Who Cried Wolf - Why Gillingham, of All Clubs, are Pecking Up The Wrong Salary-Capping Tree

The Brad Who Cried Wolf – Why Gillingham, of All Clubs, are Pecking Up The Wrong Salary-Capping Tree

Brad Galinson is a man who only has Gillingham’s best interests at heart. Taking over the ownership of the Kent-based outfit in 2022, the American businessman and investor has poured large sums of money into the club in his three years of ownership, with the total figure thought to be around $80 million.

It’s start of a new era at Gillingham Football Club following the sale of the Club to the American businessman Brad Galinson.
https://t.co/U9OfuuNo9d #Gills pic.twitter.com/TmuF3yPqoc

— Kent Football News (@ksnfootball) January 18, 2023

The club needed it – relegated from League One the season before he purchased the club, the club was on a downward spiral, with League Two relegation a serious possibility for much of the season before results started to improve in the final few months.

But having made such heavy investments in the club, many would have expected to see tangible results by now. Instead, Gillingham linger in 17th, and with the owner still pumping money into the club while at the same time endorsing the introduction of an EFL salary cap, Gills fans are starting to question him – is he actually doing what’s right for the club? Or would Gillingham be better off under new leadership?

Money-Spinning Gillingham

Galinson has been a big supporter of the ever-strengthening movement for an EFL salary cap, something which, if it eventually rolled out across the Championship, League One and League Two, would effectively level the playing field.

In the Gillingham owner's words, "It keeps these community assets sustainable. No matter how responsible, irresponsible, smart or dumb the owner is, it keeps the league highly competitive, which is really important.”

“When you get promoted or relegated, it also allows you to be able to survive and not get stuck with either very high wages or very low wages, where you’re just going to come right back down and go back up.”

The movement in favour of a salary cap has grown stronger since the success of Wrexham, who, owned by the wealthy Hollywood duo of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have managed three consecutive promotions and are currently in the hunt for a fourth, underlining that heavy investment can kickstart significant surges through the football pyramid.

So, Gills, what to say right now? A few things. We knew it would take a few seasons to right what was inherited and to get our bearings. Injuries also huge issue.
Shan and I (and Joe and Gaz and Dobbo and everyone else) still love and support this team and the fanbase. Stick with…

— Brad Galinson (@BradGalinson) March 13, 2026

So why is it that despite heavy investment in the club since 2022, Galinson hasn’t been able to recreate such success at Gillingham? If it were just an issue of money, then the Gills would be in a similar position to Wrexham – that figure of $80 million is more than enough cash over a three-year period to see them competing in and around the play-off spots in the Championship.

However, the fact they sit just seven places above the relegation spots that would take them down to the National League makes it clearer than ever that money is not the overriding factor here – all it highlights is that Galinson’s ownership should be coming under more and more scrutiny.

Big Money, Small Returns

Granted, Wrexham’s unparalleled success since the arrival of their new owners has seen costs skyrocket for owners or EFL clubs, but the issues at Gillingham are much more than simply down to another club's success.

"We're hitting rock bottom here."#Gills manager Gareth Ainsworth reacts to his side conceding 10 goals in the last two games, after their 5-0 defeat to Cambridge United this afternoon.

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds 🔊 https://t.co/XQ3ayd4zED pic.twitter.com/aRTIcjMlP8

— BBC Sport Kent (@BBCKentSport) March 14, 2026

To put into context the struggles Gillingham are having, we need to use League Two table-toppers Bromley as a comparison. Though they top England’s fourth tier, the Ravens boast the second smallest payroll figure in the league, with their projected spend on player wages for the 2025/26 season around £2.4 million.

Conversely, 17th-placed Gillingham are spending almost double that (£4.3 million) and yet find themselves underperforming horrendously in the league, completely failing to deliver on the potential that came with Galinson’s heavy investment.

Bromley aren’t the only example of succeeding on a small budget either; Accrington Stanley are set to be spending the least on wages of anyone in League Two this season, paying out a measly £1.7 million over the course of the campaign. In spite of this, they actually sit three points and one place better off than Gillingham, who boast a wage budget almost three times larger.

Clearly, the amount a club is paying is not as directly correlated to success as once thought – so what is?

Transfer strategy is arguably the most important off-field aspect of any given team. If a club has a detailed plan for player profiles they want to bring, a target age, and key gaps in the team to fill, they will inevitably perform better than a side who employ a random, scattergun approach, often opting for well-known names over players who can genuinely help their cause.

Gillingham spent £215,000 in January, the most of any League Two side, and yet since the end of the January transfer window, the club has won just two games in nine attempts, making them one of the most out-of-form teams in the league.

It’s all well and good talking about the sustainability of community assets, but to be self-sufficient and a genuinely sustainable enterprise, a football club needs to develop and sell assets for profit, something Gillingham seem almost incapable of doing in recent seasons.

Cameron Antwi, Omar Beckles and Ronan Hale all joined for “undisclosed transfer fees” as well-known names, with Antwi a big fish in the small pond that is fellow League Two side Newport County, Hale moving to England from the Scottish second tier, and centre back Beckles a regular starter in League One, arguably making him the club's highest-quality January arrival.

But none of them have had the desired effect at the club – it seems Gillingham are targeting reputation over the actual impact and effectiveness a player will have at his new side, and it has clearly had a negative impact on results.

Of all 24 sides competing in England’s fourth tier this season, only two clubs, Walsall and Bromley, boast fewer sequences of 10 or more completed passes than Gillingham’s 47. It is a testament to the work Bromley have done that they top the table despite this stat, but the harsh reality is that their style of play means they rarely retain the ball. Gillingham’s attempted possession-heavy approach intends no such thing.

At a certain point, it seems that Galinson is willing to throw money around simply because he can. Starting right back Remeao Hutton is currently on £4,000 a week at the club, an eye-watering figure at League Two level, and it's not as if he boasts any kind of unique experience in bigger leagues.

Hutton has never played outside of League Two and, what is more, has failed to taste promotion with any of the previous outfits he has donned the shirt for, these being Swindon Town, Barrow and Stevenage.

Clearly, the issue is not in the lack of a salary cap but instead in the lack of a sense of where the club's money goes. No disrespect to Hutton, who is a more than acceptable player at League Two level, but he does not warrant that kind of salary unless he brings something different to the team, be it winning experience or a healthy attacking output, of which he possesses neither.

What is the Problem?

All of this adds up to a club owner who doesn’t actually have the best idea of what he is doing. Sure, chucking money at a problem can work sometimes, but on the majority of occasions, it amounts to throwing mud at the wall until it sticks – in other words, there is no guarantee the spending cash actually solves the issue.

Yet Galinson has constantly pumped cash into the club – the estimated figure of $80 million in investment since he took over needs repeating, as it is a simply staggering number – the club's running cost now rivals some League One clubs, as well as the very biggest budgets in League Two, such as MK Dons'.

He has also just recently given the club a $7 million interest-free loan in a bid to cover the $13 million in losses they have suffered since the businessman took over. With so much money available to spend, it is hard to believe that Galinson would want to restrict the influence he could potentially have on the club's future.

So to hear the wealthy owner support the implementation of a salary cap for all EFL teams, dubbing the current system as “functionally bankrupt", feels hypocritical. Typically, it is the owners, staff and players of the more cash-strapped clubs that appeal to the FA for an imposed salary cap.

To hear the same support come from one with such significant financial backing is odd. It feels like Galinson is trying to play both sides, hedging his bets until one wins out over the other.

Perhaps this is because he realises that his management of the team has been sub-par up to this point and that perhaps an imposed restriction on finances could allow him and the club to start from scratch and experiment with new approaches, strategies and more.

The fact that Bromley and Accrington Stanley are outperforming shows that teams can be successful without significant financial backing. Moreover, the fact that Gillingham are struggling despite this investment indicates that Galinson’s money is being poured into all the wrong places.

They may not be near the relegation zone – there is currently a 15-point gap between the Gills and 22nd-placed Crawley Town – but there is no doubt the club has been on a downward trend since Gallinson arrived.

The #Gills are close to announcing a new head coach, hopefully this week, with chairman Brad Galinson saying: “We think we've found the right person who is very exciting and that will fit our club, for the long term."

— Luke Cawdell (@KentOnlineGills) October 30, 2023

The last thing the American owner should be focusing on is the salary cap, and Gillingham are the last club that needs it – make a success of the club while you do have significant financial backing, not while you don’t.