Or at least it seemed to be v Accrington.(I hoped that a few hairdriers may have been thrown last week.) For the first 3 or 4 games we had some silky passing in our midfield - which supported Kedwell and scored a few goals.............. What's happened since ? v Shrewsbury we were poor. Today we were dreadful. In his post match interview Hess couldn't understand why Flitney was m.o.m ( and should have been last week.) might I suggest the sun must be in his eyes in front of the Medway stand. I have always had REALISTIC expectations of what GFC can achieve on their small budget - I'm no glory hunter and Gills4ever etc... But I would hope that we could either play to our limited strengths or change to try to see if we can improve. What we've had in the last two home games is NOT working. Plan A ( b,c,d ) appear to be hoofing the ball to the vicinity of Kedwell. He cannot cope on his own. If we are going to bypass the midfield why don't we deploy a 424 formation-even if only for a period of the game..... ( I DO NOTACTUALLY LIKE A LONG BALL GAME ) Our defence are basically capable. Maybe some of the squad should go up top to give the opposition something to think about. I will always continue going home and away -so my football budget is quite considerable. I would, however like to SEE some football ! GILLINGHAM TIL I DIE.
Have to say todays football was particularly awful, but Accrington were just as bad as us so a point was justified. Satrting off my rant.. Kedwell simply doesn't have the pace to play up there on his own because half the balls we're pumping up there are no where near him and the defender has a good couple of yards on him which was frustrating to watch. I noticed that at least when Stefan came on we were pressuring them into more mistakes as he could close them down quickly but it was still very poor quality football, (I don't know how our football has dropped so quickly but it needs sorting out!). Also a strong point for me was how poor imo Charlie Lee was, he looked half asleep at times which i hope is just an off day. Also i'm pretty sure we were playing a 4-1-4-1 formation which was far to defensive for a home game, i thought he could of adapted it to a 4-3-3 with whelpdale and rooney off of kedwell but he didnt and we seemed out of ideas on what to do next. A positive note at least, i thought Spiller looked good when he came on..
I agree with much of what has been said but I think the assessment of the quality of the game is a bit unrealistic. Accie played a quality passing game which was good to watch and the Gills were a shade behind them and might have been lucky to gain a point. The back 5 is solid with consistently good performances from Lawrence and Flitney but the midfield is being outplayed every week and the attack is non existent. The ready made excuse that "he is on his own" is probably disguising that Kedwell is not mobile enough but he is the best of inadequate alternatives. The fact is that there is so little pace in midfield and up front that the Gills are looking a midtable side at best. Lee and Whelpdale are capable of raising their game and playing at a higher intensity but they look disinterested. The rest of them are woefully short of pace and skill. Contrast this with poor penniless Accie who put a team of young unknowns out who had speed and mobility. Sub Craney looked superb (can we have him?) and we were fortunate he did not start. Hessy may be able to improve things but the pace and mobility problem is looking insurmountable for this bunch and maybe his best signing could be an assistant who can help him. Trying to find a positive to end on i would have to focus on a battling show from Jackman, pity he cannot get a bit of Usain Bolt in his legs.
Sad to hear that Whelpdale and Lee looked disinterested after the impact they had last year. Perhaps too comfortable on a contract? Hessy "Something's missing at the moment...." No s***! Like a powder puff forward line and a team of midfielders. I am not calling for anyones head and support what Hess has achieved.....but losing Birchall was ALWAYS going to have a monumental impact. If we do not bring in a SUITABLE stiker to play off Kedwell we can kiss goodbye to even the playoffs. Morecambe at the top and stuffing Crawley 6-0........where did that come from? Morecambe's attendance 2,054 If a ramshackle outfit like that can be where they are, what is now happening at Gillingham after such a good start? Aaaaaaaargh!!!!!!
Windyrog, I hear what you are saying about Whelps and Lee and there seems to be something amiss, not sure disinterested is the right term though, is it a case of Lee not being fully recovered from the "virus" and Whelps is still slighty hampered by his calf injury? Or possibly that the midfield is just too congested? I think the midfield can help themselves and Kedwell if they weren't all on top of each other. The balance of the team isn't right at the moment unfortunately, and wee seem to have all 5 midfielders in the same place. Funny you should mention Morecombe's result yesterday, a big well done to Morecambe by the way, it goes to show that football really is a funny old game and that nothing can be taken for granted. UTG
We were poor again, the midfield was terrible again only Jackman doing ok, we have got no pace at all. Kedwell looks fed up, chasing nothing balls. How many shots has he had at home so far, not many. Payne and Oli are not good enough. We need someone with pace and another striker. On the upside i dont think any team will run away with the title so there will be pleanty of lost points, so we should be able to stay near the pack.
Yes GIO the Morecambe V Crawley (Hottest favourites for a few seasons) is a case in point. It will be a long and hard season.
I must have been watching a different game. Jackman was awful. I think about 90% of his passes failed to reach a blue shirt. Lee did look disinterested and whelpdale just seemed to drift around a bit.
I thought Whelpdale looked tired and maybe not fully fit as well. I agrre with gio that Jackman was the pick of the midfield and that was mainly down to the others being much poorer then he was. That result should spur Hessy on to make a signing upfront at least.
