Today a goalless draw against Walsall at Priestfield - following on from the 2-1 win on our own turf against promotion chasing Peterborough United in mid-week. So nine games in and 12 points on the league one table, how is the man overseeing our team doing in my opinion... Well let us look back at MA, where we earned three points in the first eight games last season, if memory serves me correctly, we have a fourfold improvement. What about the defence...Egan, what more can I say, top draw stuff from the man playing in the number four shirt. Yes, sadly twelve goals conceded overall but only one in the last three games, or if you want to pick at stats, only two conceded in the last five if we count the Football League Trophy. And a team now packed with young talent, with the likes of the older and more experienced Captain Doug Loft to guide them. I love seeing his passion and challenging the ref on decisions. This all indicates a marked improvement and a team that is starting to gel. I heard the moaners today, you couldnât even escape them when going for a P at half-time but I have never been one to conform to opinion but say it how I see it. Yes, McGlashan needs to take up shooting practice, however, in fairness to him, the players need to be there when he arrives in the box. Hence, controversy again from me, when I genuinely say, I still believe Cody is missing someone for deliverance, Bayoâs the man but heâs at AFC, howâs he doing by the way, no worries, I actually know the answer to that question. Yes he scored again! I think PT can be boring at times but what he has delivered over the last two games has impressed me, the playerâs movement and passing is so much better, they actually seem to know now where their team mates will be and are keeping the ball on the turf. If Taylor and Hessy keep up this current rate of improvement, I reckon in the New Year we could seriously be looking at an outside play-off chance. I will not settle for second best and a mid-table finish, when I know the players in this team are capable and have the ability. Everyone has an off day, and Iâm sure a few players out there today will put their hands up and agree they could have done better. But with winter just round the corner, Iâm starting to see the daylight at the end of the tunnel where this team is going, weâve become organised and that can only help us stride forward if the men in charge can keep it together and in the right direction. We will never be top drawer, we donât have the money, but what we do have is young raw talent in the likes of Hessy and Dack, the future is looking bright, albeit we need to iron out a few flaws. Up the Gills
Happy where we are at the moment tally wise but still not looking like scoring many goals. At least we are looking a lot better at the back with Egan and Hause forming a good partnership. Egan reminds me of Hope and is a bargain who will be playing at a higher level, hopefully with us.
We are ticking over quite nicely and to think if we had won we would be on the same points as the playoff teams so that really puts it in perspective. I know it sounds silly but I'm kind of glad we can be annoyed at not putting back to back wins together rather than wondering where the next points are coming from as was sometimes the case last year. We're not setting the world on fire but oh well staying well away from that drop zone is all I care about this year before kicking on in the next.
Three letters can some up the start of the season for me... meh I can see the improvements we have made since last season, and the results are respectable in terms of where we are expected/are aiming to finish but I am uninspired to date. Not sure what it is, but I expect it has something to do with some of Taylor's more negative tactics, even the wins have left me slightly depressed. Watching Gillingham this season reminds of the Wiggenstein quote; "I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves."
Maybe I've been spending too much time at matches in the company of BSG recently, but I thoroughly agree. After the hapless performance against Barnsley things have started to improve, certainly in the defence. I am actually in favour of a team starting to build longer term strength from the defence, and so can't really complain too much on that score, but now we will just have to wait and see whether the improved defensive performances are a permanent feature, and how long it will take for the rest of the team, the entertaining part, to come to the party. It probably won't be an easy watch for a while, but let's hope as I think there are some creative juices waiting to flow in the midfield. In the meantime might I suggest, BSG, that in your prediction league dice throwing you ignore any number over 2 for the Gills and call it a 0. And actually the quote is from Wittgenstein... Think Wiggenstein might be a German cyclist.
