CARL ASABA left Gillingham in March 2001 with a fee of just £92,500 taking him to Sheffield United. The circumstances surrounding his departure could have been better, but BBC Radio Kent's Matt Davison prefers to remember the good times: 

Although Gillingham made a big loss in terms of net transfer fees on Sarbs, it could be said that the £600,000 we spent on the player in the summer of 1998 was the best £600,000 we ever spent. The player is worth plenty more than that, and you can't put into words the amount of pleasure Carl gave Gillingham fans in his two-and-a-half years with the club.

He made the children of the Medway Towns want to be him. He was total class and for the year he played alongside Robert Taylor he was part of what was probably the greatest striking partnership Gillingham Football Club has ever had, and it's such a shame that injuries denied us almost a year of his services.

It would be unfair to pick out too many individual matches of Carl's career, but his contribution to the Wembley play-off final in 1999 won't be forgotten. It was his goal with ten minutes to go that had most of us convinced we were going up, and his wonderful back-heel in the build up to the second goal was almost as memorable as Bob Taylor's strike itself. And let's not forget that we were 2-0 up when Asaba was substituted. That grin on his face as he went to his seat will stay with me forever.

Carl also scored three hat-tricks for the club. The one in the 4-1 win over Cardiff was crucial at the time and it broke his heart to score three goals against his beloved Crystal Palace on Boxing Day last year.

Carl started his league career at Brentford, who signed him from non-league Dulwich. He then joined Reading for £800,000 before coming to Gillingham a year later.

It's sad that he left in bitter circumstances, with accusations of greediness branded at the man. In time, I'm sure any supporters who hold a grudge against Carl will remember the happy times and his contribution to this club and when he does eventually play against Gillingham, he deserves a welcoming from the fans, not hostility.

It will be interesting to see how he gets on at his new club, Sheffield United, but scoring the winner in the Sheffield derby is a good way to win over your new club's supporters.