Our current form Away is brillant. Last 6 games is W W W D D W. Our home form is awful. Last 6 games is D L L D L W. How can these be so different? Yes this is enough points to go up but we cannot keep winning away, we will have to start winning reguarly at home. The reason that I am worried is that we won t make the top three. Where has it gone wrong at home? The main reason seems to be we are scoring first away but not at home. Why is this? How many times have we seen the starting line up at home and though thats a surprise and then we concede.M Allen also relieses this and trys to change it but has not quite worked well enough to get the win. To be fair I have also questioned the away line up and been proved wrong!
were good on the counter passing the ball quickly and moving around to make space, you get the chance to do this away from home. at home the oppo have a tendancy to sit back and invite pressure and we just seem to run out of ideas very quickly in this situation. however i do see cody (if he returns as the player he was) being the key to this as his movement was always first rate and he'll pop up here there and everywhere creating space for others and then turning for a return ball
Well Exeter have just done us a favour - by losing at home v Torquay ( 0-1 ) - now we need to capitalise on it against Northampton
3 points tomorrow night..10 points clear of 4th with a game in hand!! Despite the recent home results still in a very strong position!
Yes.....it seems that every other club in this division is doing their utmost to help us!!! And still we have a pants home record...Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
^^^ This makes the game v Northampton pivotal for what may happen in the remainder of this season. We can almost forget the recent (too long) dip in home form. If we concentrate on winning this game it will put us in a 'very comfortable' position. 10 points ( plus a potential extra one for our goal difference ) will be difficult for the chasing pack in the play-off places to overhaul - and, of course, puts quite a bit of distance between us and the team currently in 3rd place. I believe that a win tonight will give us fresh confidence for the last 18 games, and greatly help in the mentality in the remaining home games. Sadly I also believe that a defeat will transfer any confidence to the teams just below us. Such a result may start to make us more nervous on our travels, where there will be more pressure to win as opposed to 'just' playing for a point - that would otherwise be all that we would need to 'guarantee' promotion if we could only win most of our remaining home games.
Problem with being at home?????????? Home "Support" (if that's what you want to call it). Too quick to get on the back of certain players, the team, the manager and anyone who wants to not be negative. It's been like this for a number of years now. I understand that that the relationship between players and fans is symbiotic in that if the team plays well it lifts the fans which in turn lifts the players and so on but it works in reverse too and unfortunately the players seem to react to the negativity from the crowd far easier and quicker than they are able to lift the crowd. The problem at home could be that there are just more people expecting constant fantastic flowing and big wins all the time and even when we do win many people still moan about every little thing. Nothing is ever going to be perfect especially not at Priestfield.
We better win tonight this is just getting to scary for us and teams will get too close soon and then it will be a horrible end to the season.
Hoadie this is exactly what I mean. There is just way too much desperation in your post and this manifests itself into way too much negitivity and has a detrimental effect on the team. the way people go on you would think we were 2nd bottom having played a game more than other teams not 2nd with a agame in hand.
It is absolute folly to draw too much comfort from Gills league position. Four games ago Wimbledon were comfortably clear of the drop zone. Today they are bottom. In those last four games they collected 8 points. In Gills last four games we have collected 7 points. There lies a warning about what is happening.
Something I never do is boo or jeer players on the pitch, I think alwaysright will stand testament to that statement, as we sometimes travel to away games together. I believe a lot of this booing within football stadiums not just Priestfield has materialised due to modern day football, sterile football stadiums and 24 hour TV football, creating a new generation of supporter with Premier expectations (I did not say league, please think about what I mean). However, I not only back those players on the pitch but I generally tend to think of those that have given good service, also receive my backing off it, that gets me in a lot of trouble but they are human after all, it is employment to support their family, they generally cannot voice out loud in the same manner that we can. Yet people support Martin Allen's actions off the pitch, so I ask a question to all, is this not a different but similar form of booing, discarded like a piece of rubbish (hypothetically) and out of interest what other employment does this happen in with such frequency? I ask before people answer that question, just read and think a bit deeper into that statement and not just the face value of words to understand what I mean. Because I say this, when the fans were booing at home last Saturday, I had to ask myself a question who were you actually booing? The players on the pitch? The system because of the players not being able to part take part? or the Man in Charge? Because I honestly did not know what that 'boo' statement was meant to be highlighting? Seems like we have a live for today mentality or is it just tunnel vision.
brb, I'm assuming that by "Yet people support Martin Allen's actions off the pitch" you mean the releasing/selling of players like Payne, Essam and Jackman? If I'm wrong then this will make no sense. I assume this because of the " discarded like a piece of rubbish" bit. I really don't know how to responds but I'll try. Unfortunately someone is going to be left out seeing as you have more players than places available in your squad. MA seems to have been extremely fair to the players that are not in his plans but being open, upfront and honest with them from the very start. Whilst I may not agree with decisions I can't disagree with the way he handles them, I think he's been fair to say the least. Let's look back at your views on when Rooney was sold, I know this wasn't under MA but bare with me, you were very vocal about how wrong the decision was but since he left he's done what? Nothing at Swinedon, nothing at Burton and nothing at Rotherham, now he's been told he's not wanted and.......... No one seems to want him. So you must surely now concede that getting rid of him (and getting money for it) was in fact the right decision. The boss see's these people day in and day out and if he doesn't think that they are right for the team then it's best to move them on. The very nature of professional footballing that players get moved around it's not just a MA thing or a Gills thing. As for another form of employment where it happens as frequently, have you ever been in catering? Highest turn over of any industry. Being a football manager can't be easy, everybody "knows better". MA is never going to get every decision right, although I wish he could, and he'll never keep everybody happy. Hess kept the same players all the time and got moaned at for it, MA changes the squad all the time and gets moaned at for it. I really think you need to cut him some slack, if only because he's the Gills manager. He's not doing that bad a job all in all.
Agreed......if we win tonight, MA will go from 'Being a really naughty boy to being the Messiah...........'
Gemini - in response to your first paragraph you are understanding me correctly. Obviously I have highlighted my previous points well. Now turning to your next paragraph, you comment: MA seems to have been extremely fair to the players that are not in his plans but being open, upfront and honest with them from the very start. How do we measure that. I think if I was to see that on a regular basis as comments from players, then I would have to accept. I did see Davies praise MA in the media but with a wiser head on my shoulders than the young player, it was something when I saw it, I felt yes, those comments were to be expected considering the situation outcome, say in comparison to Essam. I think I did also see some media comments from Jackman in regards to a comment made from the beginning of the season again fair enough. But as you know I look at finer detail such as this tweet restricted by the 140 character rule: Danny Jackman ‏@djjackman2000 Ive got total confidence in the lads and am sure #GFC will go up as champions. I'd like 2 take this opportunity to wish the chairman,players. Not suggesting he did not treat him fairly in the human capacity but more so in a selective one. You worked out my previous thoughts Gemini, I am sure you can work this one out quite comfortably (tweet) -emphasis on the last full stop. So how do we measure something, in the same way praise can actually be followed by goodbye. I have said before I like MA's style but then I felt that style started to show a new depth. I don't know anything about tactics, I hold no coaching certificates but I know a lot about the management of people. In regards to Rooney his reputation will go before him and follow him where ever he goes but then again do we not possess a manager with similar traits with certain supporters of other clubs - I don't know, I don't read the stuff but somehow it still gets brought to my attention, I think Cheltenham was the last club name I saw mentioned. Same comparison again but with Rooney I will say it up front, that I feel he would do well under MA, because he would give him the kick up the backside he needs. Remembering I always said the problem was Hessy was to nice from a spectators view, again how do we measure that behind the dressing room door. I will cut MA all the slack he needs, opinions eh?
With regards to players praising MA when they've left the club I'll ask you a couple of things brb if I could. Has anyone left a job and praised their manager? Especially at a time not of their own choosing. If MA had truly discarded them like a piece of rubbish then they'd be training on their own, be no involvement with the team what so ever. Surely you must have come across, at some time, a situation where there has been a change of manager and for whatever reason some members of staff don't get on with them and/or their methods? Or vice versa. It's unfortunate but it happens. With regards to looking at the finer detail maybe your looking too close and seeing things that aren't there. If Jacko was not happy with how MA treated him he could have been critical of him in his tweets? Fans would have backed him I'm sure of it. Although that could just be a measure of Jacko as a person but I've not seen 1 player be critical of MA when they've left outer club.
You make your points well. In regards the term 'rubbish' I mean supporters as well as managers in general but not quite in that context of the word. Maybe I should not have used the word 'rubbish' with hindsight but just the former word to that 'discarded' purely because that is what it feels like to me. Therefore I retract the latter word in my original post.
This will only be the case if we win and Oxford beat Burton tonight. If Burton win then they will jump up to third and our gap to third will remain 7 points. This is due to Northampton, Exeter, Cheltenham and Burton all being joint on 45 pts.
You said on another thread that you "can feel the devil in me today", seems like I am feeling the devil's advocate in me today.
That's good. Believe it or not, I'm on a self restraining order mate, so I shouldn;t worry. I'm going to make up for it though, next away trip with alwaysright he's going to get to hear about it
