Brad Galinson was told that investing in football was a crazy idea but he's taken over Gillingham and fallen in love.

While fans sang the new owner's name at Priestfield last Saturday, he looked over at those same supporters and realised that his decision to invest in a team bottom of the Football League was the right decision.

Galinson, 53, speaking to the local media on Tuesday, said: "Investment banking friends of mine said there are better ways to get a return on your investment. They said 'are you crazy - do you know anything about football and by the way, isn't it called soccer?!'"

He and wife Shannon - who he describes as the brains behind their business operation and is now a director at the Gills - weren't put off and checked out "a tonne of teams" before finding the perfect match. The Galinsons have brought belief back to a club that until recently were hurtling towards non-league football.

Within a couple of weeks the club has a management structure in place and five new signings - with more incoming. No wonder the fans were singing Mr Galinson's name from the stands at Priestfield.

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"Looking at the fans, that was tremendous," he said. "It epitomised what this club is about, what it can be about. Chanting, flags, wanting to show pride in the team and it made us and our family want to perform even better for the fan-base.

"It was an unbelievable experience but for me, looking at those fans and watching them, that made me realise that this was the right spot, what we wanted to build. My youngest son couldn't believe it and he's been on twitter talking to the fans."

Mr Galinson is a fan of American sport, following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and having an avid interest in lacrosse, a sport which he has coached in and one his daughter O'Neill plays for her university team.

Investing in American Football was considered but it's is a world away from the English Football League in terms of finance. At the Gills his money has already made a big difference. It's been a dream of his for some time.

"I fell in love with English football for two reasons," he said. "One is the pyramid, it is unlike anything. (In America) you can win the play-offs or come in last place, you are still splitting the media dollars, there is not really anything at stake, this is pretty exciting, the David and Goliath, relegation and promotion.

"The other thing about football, unlike the US, is that it keeps going, it doesn't stop, there is always action, in our sport there are commercial breaks, there are huddles, this is so much more exciting and the pace is more rapid."

He didn't know Gillingham before being put in touch with the Gills in September last year. He cold-called then-owner Paul Scally and 15 minutes later discussions were under way. Two days before Christmas the deal to buy a majority stake in the club was complete.

"I did not know of Gillingham before," he said. "It was more (about watching) the US teams, and the likes of Man Utd and the big guys, we don't really get a lot of exposure other than the top Premier Leagues, but I learned about the other leagues and kind of fell in love with Gillingham.

"Kent is a beautiful area and the two weeks (since coming to England) have been overwhelming, busy, passionate, exciting, more than I had hoped for.

"People (who stop me) are mostly positive, saying 'thank you for coming', 'we love our club', 'thanks for giving us our club back' and 'can you tell me what striker we are going to sign and when?!'

"They are very friendly, just like you would expect from these fans, they want to be proud of their club, they want them to perform on the pitch and the hope is just something that is tremendous. Hopefully we can continue to give it."

It was Mr Galinson's idea to offer fans the unique chance to pay what they can for next month's match against Crawley Town. Most paid £1 while there was one who stumped up £30. The match sold out within 24 hours.

Cheap tickets obviously helped but Gillingham still has the pulling power as a club. Mr Galinson hopes he can keep filling the stands at ME7 and being a part of the community.

He said: "Some owners lose sight that we serve the fans, the fans don't serve us. The football club is the community, in the US, you have football, baseball, basketball, hockey, people like to go to the games but it is not the community.

"This thing here, they are meshed, the same thing, as it goes better on the pitch the fans are more excited, they spend more in pubs, spend more in businesses, you can't separate the two, that is huge part of English football. Just because I come from a different country I understand it, it is one of things that compelled me to want to be a part of this.

"There is nothing like English football clubs. I have owned and sold many types of businesses and I would say this is a category that is completely separate from anything, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It is a passion project, it is a long-term project, we are custodians of something that will go on way beyond us."