http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/northampton_town/9495447.stm Bayo has signed a 2 year contract to return to northampton. so another one bites the dust. thats our 30 goal a season striker force gone. kinda wish we'd have taken a punt on a few of these players and offered them 2 year deals with incentives rather than decent 1 years that we could back up for a second. hess you better bring in some top quality strikers as with barcham, palmer and the 2 top boys gone that only leaves weston who is capable of banging in 5 goals a season
So where are these quality leaders we are supposed to be bringing in, we can't even hold on to Barcham or Bayo. Looks more like bargain bucket again, absolute joke! Good luck to both those player's in the future.
Also in case anyone has not seen the latest news, Bradley Pritchard has opted to sign for Charlton. Please someone tell me we are not going to end up with a team of Dover players!
Strange move it can only be the money as I would hope we will be having a better season than Northamton based on last season, but who knows, maybe Bayo does! I need to see some movement with good quality players in. I liked Bayo but without a player like Cody with him I dont think he alone will be a problem to replace, but replace him with quality.
Do we actually have any money? How Bayo can snub us for a club that was nearly relegated last year and their manager had 1 win in 16 or something just says it all really.
guessing 2 year contract maybe a little more than we offered as well. knowing how scally likes to operate he would have only offered a 1 year contract. real shame but i have to agree with GFCSTU as i said on another thread that we would have had to find another cody/jacko mould stirker to partner him this way we arent restricted to certain strikers but can just bring in the best available. very very small silver lining
All i can say is gutted really. I know it is not even june yet but it looks to be a very long season already. Do we have any players left?
Er yes Lenny. And Hessy should also take the blame for the Cold Winter, the Drought, the economic situation, inflation, the problems in Libya and the fiasco surrounding sale of Olympic tickets. However sane people might question what sort of a straight jacket is being placed on Hessy so far as contracts are concerned. How can one of our best players, who was delighted to sign for Hessy a year ago, be better off playing for a team who achieved 16 points less than Gills last season? I was absolutely delighted to see some of the "average" performers jettisoned but we have to question how the manager can attract decent players with unrealistic contracts. Gillinghams gate income is the strongest in league 2. What is Scally doing with it? How much has he cut from his own rather generous fee? Is Mrs S still picking up her consultancy fee? Is the club paying the air fares back and forth to Dubai? Some searching questions need to be asked or we will not be able to afford Ancelotti when Hessy walks away which he must have every right to do.
Expect some additions from Dover shortly but not the one you really want. Very similar to when Stimson raided his former club but failed to get the good one (Steve Morison)
It’s a great loss to lose both Bayo and Barcham. But what really hurts is that Bayo has gone to a team that ended up well below Gillingham in the league. So much for Hessy’s words whilst referring to Cody and Barcham “.......It’s not about money for these two boys, it’s about football” I am wondering if the same could be said about Bayo. Obviously not! However, if you were in Bayo’s shoes, or should I say boots, what would you have done? Here is a player who is out of contract, with a family to support who is looking for his next wage packet. Would you accept a lower deal with Gillingham, or perhaps a better on with, ok, I know that it is only Northampton? It will be interesting to see where both Cody and Barcham end up. You have to question the business methods of the club. What do they want? I can only assume that they want a team built on loan players and non league signings and out of contract players. What chance have we got to sign any of the good ones that are out of contract? Virtually zero! The future of the club is built on hot air, wishful thinking and fingers’ crossed, dreams. This is not a basis on which to build a team with aspirations of promotion. Whilst we are looking for quality strikers we must not forget about our defence that started to leak goals at the most crutial part of the season. Hessy wants hungry players but also, don’t forget the fans who are also hungry for success without whom, the last one out can turn off the lights.
I have avoided posting on here up to now, happy to read other people's views without commenting, but the Hessy apologist on this board have angered me into responding. A few simple statements i) Anything less than promotion will be faliure (stated beginning of the season) ii) We didn't get promoted iii) The season was a failure iv) the management have to take at least some of the blame for the failure v) therefore Hessy HAS failed. We gave him all the support he could want last season, bringing in all the players he wanted, some good Cody, Bayo and some awful (the rest of them). He some how managed to take a team, who many said last season "were too good to go down" add two quality strikers and still manage the impossible in avoiding promotion. The excuse used above of: Scally is not backing Hessy; Scally is wasting money on air fares etc; Players have unrealistic expectation in term of contracts simply don't cut it. We all knew the situation, we had one season of high expense to get back up and Hessy blew it. Even the much mialigned Stimson got us up at the first time of asking, a feat which was npot achieved by the "more popular" Hessy. I am not suggesting that we get rid of Hessy, but certain poster *cough* Brizzie *cough* should stop making excuses for him. We are where we are and I think we should brace ourselves for a long term rebuilding process that may well involve us being in the basement division for a few seasons
Have to agree with baldeagle here. If I was Bayo, I would probably have left. When you see 2 of the best players leave with none coming in so far I'd be worried too. Plus for more money a week, why not. I know it's still earlier in pre-season to mention no one coming in, but other clubs have already been very active!
Spot on BSG. We had one of the largest and most expensive squads in div 2 last season, Hessy blow it. Scally has backed Hessy but we are paying for his failure to get us promoted. If all these players believed in Hessy, why are they all leaving? I fear we will end up with a load of conference league hopefuls next season.
I refer to “Bristol’s” post and agree with him in so far as to what type of straight jacket has Hessy fitted. The answer is a financial one with Scally being the sole keyholder to the locks. We simply could not afford to buy Cody because he had nearly a year left on his contract with Norwich City, who, I suspect wanted him back to sell on to another club so that could reinforce their stay in the Premiership.The interesting point is, what about the other players who are out of contract? I believe, but have no proof of this that Hessy went to the Chairman with his retained list but was told in no uncertain terms that the terms were both unrealistic in both financial and length of the proposed contracts. What is Hessy supposed to do? Walk away? No! The club cannot afford to get rid of him (and I am not suggesting that they do!) by buying up his contract. So we are left in limbo. Which means: A) A very limited budget for players B) A shrinking market for decent players who are out of contract (because of our limited budget) C) A growing list of decent players who will not want to come to the club. So, where do we go to from here? We can go for non-league players but there is a belief that if you use non-league players, then you will end up as a non-league side. However, not all players start out in the Premier League. We have got to “invest” in home grown talent and a good scouting policy. I know that it is not much to go on, but we have to start somewhere as funds are in short supply (just wait until last year’s accounts are published!) “Bristol” says that Gillingham’s income from the gate proceeds is best in the League. This may be due to the fact that the fans were (and rightfully so) expecting an instant return to League 1. This may not be the case in the new season when home financial restraints and limitations start to bite hard. Not everyone can afford the entrance fee to watch their team, let alone travel to the ground and hope to have something to eat and drink. I have not even mentioned taking along 1 or 2 children to the game as well. Gillingham fans are very loyal, but they are not stupid. The fans deserve better than this. They need to see the Club be positive in the transfer market. Let’s see players wanting to come and play for this great Club. Come 15.00pm on the opening day of the season, all teams are joint top and dare I say it, also joint bottom. It’s what happens after 15.00pm on that day that really matters, otherwise, the fans who supported Gills in their numbers will simply walk away. UTG
also got to agree with baldeagle, if cobblers offered bayo 2yr contract and we only offered 1, and hes seen all our best players leave without replacements, hes surely going to be doubting the ambition of the club. who would you rather partner in attack: leon mackenzie? or dennis oli/stefan payne? dont think theres a contest there really should also point out to the hessy-bashers that scally is in charge of offering contracts, even though last season was a disappointment im still happy for hess to be in charge
Carras, I don't think anyone is blaming Hess for the financial restricitons on the club next season. I was merely pointing out that Hessy was backed significantly by Scally last season but unfortunately we came up short. So to place all the blame of Scally for not backing Hess is unfair and he (Hessy) has to take some of the blame for the situation
Well said, BSG. The blame must be levelled and accepted by Scally, Hessy, coaching staff and the players. I don’t think that anyone can readily accept that this season was a success and I think that all concerned should be man enough to stand up and say that “we failed”. It’s not going to be any easier next season and to be honest it is more than likely to be more difficult. I am sorry to sound so pessimistic but that is the fact of the matter. Our only salvation is that most other clubs are in the same boat as ourselves and will also find it difficult. Coaching staff and the manager must instil into the players a winning mentality where losses and draws will not and cannot be tolerated. Gills FC is first and foremost a business and it’s business is football. Anybody else in other industries or business would be sacked for failing to meet targets. Gills FC, cannot afford to sack Hessy for financial reasons and secondly, cannot afford to hire yet another manager who possibly has not got a good track record to speak of. Round and round we will go. Regarding future players I am waiting for Hessy to sign a non-league player and then say “ I had my eye on the lad for some time now and I know that he will fit nicely into the team” or “The lad impressed me in training with his effort and he deserves his place in the team” I do not hold out much hope for the quality of future signings and the task ahead is going to most difficult but we have been there before so it will not come as a surprise. Let’s hope that a great team spirit is instilled into the team and that fortress Priestfield is once again something to be proud of and that coupled with a great away record we should be in Div1 without the need of entry via the playoffs – Simples! UTG
Millions of pounds spent on players and only finished 2nd, lets sack the manager. Most people would probably see this as a bit silly, yet it happened within 2 hours of the seasons end. Having money, not having money, it all adds up to didley squat if the players don't perform. You can blame Scally, Hess, the RBS but at the end of the day it was the players that lost against Barnet and macclesfield, maybe a total clear out is just what we needed.
