Many people may be happy with this news, Hess and Southall have gone after a lot of speculation all day. I find this sad but what is your thoughts. http://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10416~2764176,00.html At a meeting between the Chairman and manager Andy Hessenthaler today, it was agreed that the manager's contract would be terminated and he would step down from his role as team manager with immediate effect. The chairman would like to thank Andy for all his hard work and effort over the past two years and both he and Andy, whilst disappointed the club has not achieved its aims this season or last, want nothing but success for the club going forward.
Its on Sky news at the moment, sad news but the writing was on the wall. Who the hell will take us on though? will be interesting. Thanks Hess your still a star. Good luck. UTG!!
you've both missed the best bit in that hes been invited into a sort of direct of football role so we get to keep a lot of his best aspects in terms of finding players and utilising the loan market but hopefully we can get a manager in that can get us promoted. he had 2 bites at the cherry which is a lot more than most managers get and best of all after the stimpson kufuffle he reuinited the fans again which can only be a good thing thanks hess, just a shame you were unlucky with injuries etc but with was time to let someone else have a go!!
I like the bit at the bottom where Scally has offered Hess a place on the board, looks like he would have a lot of work at the club, but will he take it after being sacked still hope as it looks he has left on good terms, well I hope that is the case.
Only just gone on the site, Sky sports did not mention the board offer, Would be nice for him to stay on in that role, fingers crossed. UTG!!
It would be nice for him to take that role but he's spoken a couple of times this season on his ambition and as much as he loves the club I think he'll look elsewhere. Barnet perhaps?
who is going to be manager. Paul Allen, Tilson, or maybe Robson. We will have a lot of managers mentioned.
very sad to see this. I'd have given him until christmas next year. I just hope this doesn't mean we get a new manager in who 'needs to rebuild' and then spend another couple of years in this division whilst he tries to build his own team...
Good to see the club make such a decisive decision, it gives the new manager the maximum amount of time to turn things around. It is a shame that Hess couldn't make the impact that we all wanted him to make but the last two seasons failures showed he simply wasn't up to the job and full credit to him for admitting it and terminating his contract. I hope he does stay with the club with the role offered but suspect he will move on and good luck to him. As for the new manager I believe Lee Clark is still available but I suspect he is looking for a bigger club. Martin Allen or Mickey Adams would be worth a punt. ... ... ... Capello said he wanted one more job in the domestic game
I don't think Micky Adams would be the best option, rather Allen, I thought about him straight away but it will probably be Nicky Forster or maybe Liam Daish, but we don't want non league.
glad and sad at the same time, hess tried his best, but his best just wasn't good enough. no doubt hess has gillingham's best interests at heart, but we need a new view and breath of fresh air to come in and move gillingham fc forward ! really glad he has been offered a role with the gills and really hope he takes it, because these are areas he has been successful in...join the board hess
I'd just like to start by thanking Hess, he wasn't far off either season and brought in some talented young players which will hopefully be added to by the new manager and see us move on up the league. Secondly I'd like to thank Trigger because I have no doubt in my mind that he gave everything he could to the club. I wish him all the best in the future and hope he has a successful career in the future. Can't really say who I fancy as manager (Steve Bruce for a year would be incredible but highly improbable). I will say who I don't want though Steve Evans (thankfully will never happen) don't want Martin Allen either as he's shown that at the first chance he'll bugger off, I was surprised Barnet took him back. I will back whoever is next as manager, whoever it may be, and always try to see things from their point of view and understand any decision they make. Once again I wish to convey my sincerest gratitude to Hess and Trigger and wish them both all the best in the future with whatever life has to offer. UTG
Decisive action was required, I'm glad we can draw a line under this sorry saga. Well done Scally, you're the daddy.
Yeap, drinks are on me lads. I spoke to Scally and we decided enough is enough. Obviously I will be throwing my hat in the ring. What I lack in experience I more than make up in youthful exuberance!! Let's be honest I couldn't do any worse than Hessy. In all seriousness I would like to thank Hessy for spending a fortune over the last two seasons and trying most players that are available in the country we've moved on massively under his leadership. I wish him all the best with Dover next season.
This is a sad day in my view and one that I hope we don't, but strongly suspect we will, regret for the next few years. Presumably whoever comes in will be sacked if we finish next season lower than 8th or with less than 70 points given that we will have gone backwards? Keith Peacock is fondly remembered as 'Sir Keith' by many, but in the 'on demand' world we live in now he wouldn't have lasted 6 months. I hope that referee at Bradford with the unique interpretation of the offside rule can sleep easily tonight over the two points he stole from us, along with the play off place and Hessy's job. Similarly, I hope the entire squad, who have all failed to put in a proper shift at some point or another, can all take a long hard look in the mirror. I'd love to be proved wrong in 12 months time, but I fear we're about to revisit the late 80's/early 90's. No big time Charlies please Mr Scally. Anyone remember Keith Burkenshaw? Good luck Hess, you deserved better.
I half expected this would happen although I would like to have seen Hessy and Southall have one more shot at getting promotion. Still it is probably for the best to have a new management team and help the club move forward and upwads hopefully and forget about the past season. Just hope Keds stays!
Sad day and like others have said, I hope we dont regret it come the end of next season, Allen I have to agree would be off if a better offer came along, so not the man I feel, but god knows who is, are we going to have another two seasons where the new manager gets HIS team together, to then get the sack for not getting promotion? The thought of another season in this league fills me with dread, yet alone two! A worried Gills fan. UTG!!
Incredible stupidity by Scally just to sell a few season tickets. To sack Hessy is, in my opinion foolish but I can understand the arguments for doing it. To offer a Board position in these circumstances shows the judgement of a guilty man with the brain of a Medway seagull. Nobody will want the job with the predecessor "upstairs". A short study of the success of ManU managers with Matt Busby in the Boardroom would demonstrate that history will tell you when you are doing something daft (or David Pleat in the Spurs Boardroom). Hopefully Hessy will say no and depart with dignity. So we are expected to swallow a tale that a newcomer will understand better than Hessy the lessons of last season. I suspect Hessy would have a better insight into what went well, what went badly, who let him down, who has the physical capability of playing 40 games a year and what needs to be done to plot a promotion next year. Instead a newcomer will find his budget reduced by the cost of paying up the contracts on Hessy and Southall as well as some lesser cost for patterson to depart. Inevitably I would expect Darren Hare who has done such a great job with the youngsters, to wave goodbye at a time of his own choosing. After all he is Hessy's brother in law. On a more open minded note some economies will fall on Scally's lap. Spiller, Richards, Fuller, King and Weston, all sizeable earners, can depart freely with minimal impact on playing resources. This should at least ease the burden of paying the going rate for a new guy painlessly and leave enough in the budget to secure a left sided defender. BBC suggest a new youthful manager but I think not (even if Scally likes the idea because it is cheap). Hessy has assembled a cracking, but underperforming squad so the challenge is to get them performing at their potential and if Birchall comes back scoring that success might come easy whoever is in charge. It could be a bit harder if Jackman does not want to risk signing for a new guy For me the choice of new manager is a Gills person with intelligence and qualifications (I can only think of Iffy who is one of the best qualified in the business in terms of badges) or more likely the elder statesmen such as Stan Ternent and Brian Horton who have seen it all before and delivered. I reckon success can be achieved with a newcomer but it is much less likely now and the chance of a struggle next year is now possible. It will be interesting to see how many season tickets Scally can now sell. Not all supporters are as stupid as he thinks.
