John Gill (football manager)
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John Gill (born 1964) is an Irish football manager currently in charge of First Division Dundalk FC.
As a player, Gill's career itinerary was that of the consummate journeyman. Gill played out the bulk of his career with Drogheda United, but also saw service with Kilkenny City, Bray Wanderers and Sligo Rovers.
Gill adopted his first managerial commission with Dublin junior side Lusk United, before a spell as assistant to Billy Walsh at Kilkenny City. Another assistant managerial role followed, with Gill serving as deputy to long-time friend and associate Dermot Keely at the newly-formed Kildare County F.C.
Gill's first (and to date, most successful) foray into senior management began in 2003, when Dublin City CEO Ronan Seery appointed him John Toal's successor as Vikings manager. Rated 20/1 outsiders to win the First Division title by some bookmakers, Gill's team clinched the championship and concomitant promotion to the Premier Division with a memorable 1-1 draw against second-placed Bray Wanderers at a packed Whitehall Stadium in November 2003.
Subsequent to City's elevation to the Premier Division, Gill controversially opted to retain the majority of the playing staff which had secured the First Division championship, augmenting the existing squad with players mostly culled from his former employers at Kildare County, a club which had finished three places below Dublin City in the First Division table. Gill did, however, succeed in coaxing Killian Brennan and Gary O'Neill back from English lower league football and premature retirement in the U.S.A respectively. These players would excel at City, subsequently earning themselves high-profile moves to Derry City (Brennan) and Shelbourne FC (O'Neill.)
Three consecutive defeats at the outset of Dublin City's 2004 Premier Division campaign constituted an immediate handicap which Gill's charges seemed ill-equipped to surmount. A 2-1 win over Bohemians at Tolka Park in April 2004 briefly hauled City off the foot of the table, but the popular Gill vacated his position after the club's elimination to First Division stragglers Monaghan United in the second round of the FAI Cup, citing work and family pressures.
Thereafter, Gill's involvement in senior football was restricted to occasional stints as a co-commentator on radio station Newstalk 106. Gill returned to eircom League management in the latter half of the 2005 season with an undistinguished period at Athlone Town. In November 2005, Gill was appointed manager of Dundalk F.C., in sucession to Jim Gannon, who departed in mysterious and acrimonious circumstances. Gill's suitability for the job was questioned by elements of the Dundalk support after a dismal start to the 2006 season saw the Lilywhites lose their first four games, but that aberration has since been corrected finishing second only to Shamrock Rovers loosing out by only one point and bringing the league title down to the final day of the season.
