Chapter 11 Two angry camels take on Christmas shopping. The adventures of two( normally ) wise men from the East as they travelled far - keeping faith with their beloved football team - and hoping to find somebody wrapped - not in swaddling clothes - but the shirt of Gillingham, who would be their saviour in L1 ( brb wouldn't mind how young they were ) So Ho HO Ho, its off to Tranmere we go, to visit Santa's grotto at Prenton Park,looking for something more precious than Gold, Frankinsence or Myrhh - 3 league points. For this trip we were joined by a couple of budding camels - grumpygit and son who would be able to marvel at our excellence at close quarters. Tranmere fans are to be commended for not 'Glory Hunting'. They could very easily drive through the 2.01 miles of the Queensway Tunnel and 'support' neighbouring Liverpool or Everton. I can think of only two reasons why they don't. 1. They can't afford the £1.60 toll 2. They fear that their car wheels will be nicked whilst parked in Liverpool..... Calm down, Calm down you scousers - only joking. Tranmere used to have an Old Hall and estate. This was allowed to fall into the hands of a peasant ( it's in the history books ) - who pulled down everything and made way for shops and houses...I wonder how much Priestfield Stadium is worth with planning permission. ( You notice I didn't call Chairman Scally a peasant. ) Although Tranmere is overshadowed by its' more illustrous neighbours, it says a lot about its' lack of separate identity, when it is still best known for football. I wonder if the same can be said about Gillingham ? Tranmere's away game this season at Bradford was played in mid October. It ended in a scuffle between respective managers ( No, not Steve Evans.) - so I don't suppose they're sharing Christmas cards at this time of good will to all men. Nothing wrong with a bit of passion - and no mistletoe was necessary !( I'm still not kissing grumpygit - especially now that I've seen him - his avatar is quite flattering ) Tranmere, formed in 1884 was born out of a connection between two cricket clubs - so it is only natural that the team should feature in the Football League's highest aggregate score - when they beat Oldham by a cricket-sized score of 13-4. Today we would have been happy to see NO goals. Making long journies a few days before Christmas hasn't proved very popular - even for the wisest of men ! - so it wasn't surprising that very few wise men from Kent bothered with this early Christmas party. I too was hesitant - maybe I was worrying too much about the return trip - would I be making it with as much enthusiasm as somebody being made to occupy the rear end of a pantomime horse ( sorry Tommy Trublu neigh offence intended.) Another worry as we arrived - would there be room at the inn ? - I had no real problem with having to use a stable - I've probably been in worse pubs - so long as it had a bar where we could fill up on Christmas spirits. But these 'problems' pale in significance compared to far more serious matters in life - as in the 7th minute of the game, the home fans broke into applause for Tranmere midfielder, Joe Thompson ( 24 years ) who is undergoing treatment for Hodgkins Lymphona - cancer. ..sincere best wishes for a full & speedy recovery. As it turned out the game was no cracker - short on real quality - but at least the performance of the Gills was quite pleasing - especially the result. It wasn't what I was dreading - something about as useful as torn up Christmas wrapping paper. They may not have sparkled like a bauble, but there were a few moments to give hope that this season might be a bit more jolly than was being dreaded a few games ago. The mood was not as dreary as the bleak mid winter weather. Even the travelling fans ended up in a spot of Carol singing. The Gills started brightly before the game became an even contest - although the Gills were producing the more likely chances to score - if only Cody could tuck away his one-on-one ( when he's not being pulled down ) things would be much better all round. Lowe should have better directed a free header to give the home side the lead - but went just wide. A few minutes later a cheeky quickly taken free kick was wasted by Akpro. The opening goal - a turn and shot from near the outer corner of the penalty area by Akinfenwa was a well taken chance on the stroke of half time. As you'd expect Tranmere came out in the 2nd half looking to get on level terms. This created room for the Gills on the counter attack - and they should have added to their score before Bayo's 2nd on 68 minutes.( a 'two bite' header from a cross to the far post - their keeper should have pushed out the first header instead of giving Bayo an early Christmas present of an unmissable second chance) Before that, on 55 minutes McDonald was unceremoniously pulled down just outside the penalty area - resulting in a straight red card for Tranmere's McNulty. Joe Martin's free kick went just over the bar. Gills then demonstrated their natural inability to play against 10 men and make it count. Tranmere had nothing to lose and reduced the arrears as Gills were content on defending a two goal lead. In the end the 3rd away win this season was just about deserved. So the faithful from Kent made the return journey - so that their loved ones wouldn't be Home Alone. We were grateful that we'd probably be tucked up in bed on what is known as 'Panic Saturday' - thankfully reference to Christmas present shopping and not the worry about league points. We wondered if there would be a repeat of The Great Escape on the television to draw some inspiration for L1 survival - either that or some help from a fairy God mother. I don't care what 'they' say - it's not a Wonderful Life (not with my neighbour) On the feast of Stephen they will be visited by (more than) 3 wise men from the Orient, whose light has been shining brightly from the East for much longer than just this Advent season. Merry Christmas everyone - I hope you all get what you need ( not necessarily what you want ! ) - sorry - THAT doesn't sound very jolly - but we should be grateful for what we've got ! To quote a well known expression " Smile things could be worse." ----------- So we did indeed smile, and lo and behold things did get worse.
Our last game before Christmas and nice of alwaysright to share our Christmas joy in Chapter 11. I was always dreading this journey and certainly will not be able to travel to the longer one...Carlisle...nothing to do with league status or teams...it is purely just too far being stuck on a coach for me. The recovery of achy muscles and feeling punch drunk from motion sickness the next day. A similar type of discussion which was had that surely also applies to the players if travelling up on the same day. No wonder we rarely win at our bogey team Tranmere, highlighting even further what a great win this was. Have we at last turned a corner a win in a match where i expected to bring back nought from merseyside, while the previous Saturday nearly beating the Posh all bar that last minute equaliser by them. Though I will not speak to soon, we all know the after affects the last time we had a fantastic win at Sheff Utd, pure roller coaster ride, with a few more twists and turns I'm sure. But at last sense has been seen, with the inclusion of Dack and Hessy in the starting line up now, for what I think is the last three games now. Cody and Bayo combined well...to think only some weeks back I was being critical of the big man. I'll have to be even more critical in future...lol...I'm sure some remember my past thoughts on Martin. Sometimes I get things wrong haha. But never on our youth. Jake Hessy is a pure delight to watch, his all round awareness and first half passing is superb. Dare I echo those dreaded words get him to sign pen to paper. Mr Chairman, we know you read the message boards, so i will say if this young man is not signed to a long term contract you must be mad. This is not anything to do with Hessy senior or any influence, I speak as I see and what I'm seeing I like and in some very tough tests too. Some my say i'm over excitable to which I would dismiss, I spent a whole season telling deafen ears of MA's faults. It was not all perfect by any stretch of the imagination. German concerned me a little maybe due to match time on the pitch and quite not being able to click. Cody attracts the usual loose challenges around the box but the night belonged to Bayo, the player I said at Notts County can't run when coming from the half way line and now goes and scores two goals. What a delight, what a celebration, made the journey all worth while, would not have wanted to miss that for the world. Finally made me proud, that every Gillingham supporter picked up the unofficial message and participated in the 7th minutes applause. Made me feel proud, it's what football is all about...one big family connected by the love of our game and respecting one another. ps. I will not do it here but I am going to do a personal write up on safe standing sometime. My views and my observations that I noted from this game. Also added in thought by conversations on the journey up. I will be highlighting how 'unsafe' all seater stadiums can be imho.
The Grumpygit & son ltd match report. Met Robson Green and Mark Benton on the coach. Went to Tranmere. We won. "Magic"
If you call that a 'camel' story - you can forget it. No research. No stupid/interesting/boring snippets. I cannot believe my aura has not rubbed off onto you. You are a disgrace to journalism. ps Happy Christmas & sincere good wishes for health & happiness in the future.
The dark overcast sky was reminiscent of a Bram Stoker novel, wind screaming from the Irish Sea was blowing the rain relentlessly into our weather worn faces. Oh sod that. we went. We won. Magic.
[video=youtube;4zFQSAgmLcw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4zFQSAgmLcw[/video]
Glad to see you got back safely - was that posted before you went to bed? Fair summary of the match in my opinion. At the end of the day the 3 points were more important than the performance which was more workmanlike than spectacular. The weather (always breezy, sometimes gusty, showery) should have mitigated against a longer ball game, but neither team really made that allowance. At least Gills longer ball game (at least the ones that stayed in play) was bordering on sensible - defensive boots out tended to be to the sides, and the longer balls up the middle were actually directed towards players. Those that went to Cody frequently resulted in potential damage - he worked really hard all match although was justifiably running out of steam in the last quarter - and those to Bayo also frequently ended up with Cody. The defence coped well with most of what Tranmere threw at them - there were a few abberations and some last ditch clearances, and there was often a lack of cover in wide positions which meant that Tranmere found a bit too much space down the wings, but on the whole the threat was well coped with. The midfield was also effective. I've been critical of many of Gregory's performances that I have seen in the past, so let it be said that he put in a solid performance. Dack and Hessenthaler give the midfield a bite and a degree of control that was noticeable by its absence earlier in the season. Not sure what happened in the run up to the Tranmere goal as it was at the other end of the pitch, but it was from a through ball that it seemed to me Nelson misjudged as he came rushing out and then seemed to stop when he realised that he was going to get to the edge of the area before the ball and the player, which then left him in no mans land. In the end it mattered not. On the basis of that performance I'm feeling a bit more comfortable about our prospects for survival - which has surely got to be the first objective - although the squad resources are beginning to get tested. Well done to all those who travelled up from Kent - whoever decides that these long distance away matches are played on Friday nights on the weekend before Christmas needs to do a bit more driving themselves on Fridays on motorways and A roads to understand what they're putting people through. Gills fans weren't alone in having a fair distance to travel. In L2 Rochdale had to travel to Southend, and Exeter to Chesterfield. Mad. Happy Christmas to one and all.
Tim I got in just before 5.30 am ! Of course I posted it before a couple of hours sleep - although it was almost fully prepared in a 'document' - ... I just had to edit out the bits that referred to our defeat ! ps if you look at one of brb's replies you'll see a video of the highlights - you'll see that Legge got done for pace.
Yes, see what you mean, although in a more perfect world he wouldn't have got caught on the wrong side of Lowe, and Nelson would have made a bit more of an effort - once Legge saw that Nelson was coming out and would have a better chance of doing something about Lowe he quite rightly got back to try and cover the goal. That's just an observation - not trying to place blame as Lowe is pretty handy.
