Dave Mehmet has passed away.
Former Gillingham player Dave Mehmet has passed away, having suffered a stroke.
A product of Millwall’s youth scheme, Dave was part of the side that won the FA Youth Cup in May 1979, beating Manchester City 2-0. The following night he played for the first-team in their final league game of the season, against Preston North End at The Den. After 114 league appearances for the Lions, during which he scored 15 times, he left in 1981 to link up with former manager Gordon Jago at Tampa Bay Rowdies, for a transfer fee of £120,000.
After a year in the States, he returned to England, with Charlton Athletic paying £80,000 for his services. He netted twice in 29 league matches for the Addicks and, having been released by the south London club, was signed by Gillingham, on a free transfer in March 1983. Gills’ manager Keith Peacock, his assistant, Paul Taylor, and the club’s chief scout, Ted Buxton, had all been at Tampa Bay Rowdies while Mehmet was there.
Dave scored for our reserves in a 4-0 win over Bournemouth and was then on target on his first-team debut, in a 3-2 defeat at Huddersfield Town. He went on to be named club captain and made 132 league appearances, scoring 39 times, during his time at Priestfield. He was our top scorer in 1983-84, with 16 league goals, four ahead of Tony Cascarino.
Mehmet’s final goal for Gillingham was a penalty in a 2-0 home win over Bristol Rovers in May 1986, our last match of the 1985-86 season, watched by a crowd of just 2,050.
The midfielder rejoined Millwall in July 1986 and left for the second time in early 1988, dropping into non-league, where he had spells with several clubs, including Fisher Athletic, Maidstone United and Barnet, and he was still playing in the Kent County League at the age of 40, when he was on the books of Stansfield O&BC during the 2000-01 season. His managerial career featured two stints with Fisher Athletic and time with Croydon and Beckenham.
Gillingham Football Club would like to express their condolences to Dave’s family and friends at this sad time.
