http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford_messenger/sport/2013/january/16/tony_burman.aspx? I was just tweeting this article to my twitter account and happened to notice the third comment made by 'Ron' - do not normally bother taking any notice of this guy but for once I tend to agree with him of sorts, although certainly not with the very last line. Either that or is he just picking up vibes out of not606!
You do realise that that the only reason he's written that is because it's the polar opposite of what the club is doing. While he may have a point this once it's not because he has either the clubs' or Essams' best interest at heart (after all he does think that Steve Evans is a model model manager). For what ever reason Martin Allen does not see Essam, or Jackman, as part of his plans and then, sentiment aside, it's best for him to move on and not just to sit doing nothing.
I agree, 'Ron' posts that view and although polar, it is in the heart of many questions. As for Essam, Jackman and Payne, I guess we can only wait to see what the future holds for them and our club to judge MA accordingly several seasons down the line (or sooner).
Ron is funny at times but this one is correct as he is totally against anything Gillingham or Martin Allen does. I know it is a drop which is not good for a player like Essam but I think that would be a good drop and in the interest of him as he would be in a team which is improving a lot and I would be happy if he went there.
Connor can get into a league 2 side I have no doubt, maybe he can go higher but right now, and I will say it again and again. PROMOTION IS THE ONLY GOAL! He does not fit into that mission, if he ends up flying high and we let him go maybe we can kick ourselves, if we are in the Championship ourselves by then will we care? People like Payne who Ron is claiming cannot be let go WILL be tempted away by the 10k wages of the Championship and we are far better letting him go now when we can make a few quid than when his contract runs down and we get nothing. Promotion promotion promotion, nothing else matters, 1st with a trophy or 3rd by the skin of our teeth I could not care less. Just get out of this league.
The lad needs to play football in order to improve and he is simply not getting it at Gillingham. There are at least four "better" centrebacks at the club (in the manager's opinion), so it would be uneconomic to keep him. Allen as made it clear that Essam is a good prospect but we can't afford to keep him and therefore is letting him go, it is the best interest of the club and the player. On a side note I would like to say the all those saying "if I was a manager..." I would say that there was a very good reason why you are not!!!
I would personally say Essam is fourth choice now as my own opinion as Davies is better than him but saying that I would have not brought in the likes of Legge and Barrett and that would have been a big mistake as they give us the experience we need at the back and make us much stronger as a unit. I did want to see the paring of Davies and Essam or one and someone else but then we would have lacked experience . I can see where MA is coming from now however I would have loaned him out for the rest of the season as I think the would be been in our best interest.
1. Barrett has done well ............ ( although he got done by Pope for the 1st goal ) 2. Legge has looked good ...........( although he lost out to Hughes in the build up to the 2nd goal ) 3. Simon King was young ( and relatively inexperienced ) when he was voted Player of the season 4. Lioinel Messi has won the Ballon D'or 4 times ( He's only 25 ) Don't get me wrong - from what I've seen I like both Barrett and Legge....... but Whilst they are 'experienced' compared with No.3 & 4 it doesn't mean that they can't make mistakes. Also - despite the 'inexperience' of King & Messi, they are ( or in King's case - was - before injury ) good enough to win accolades. I also accept that the priority is to get promotion out of L2, and will concede that players like Barrett & Legge are ideal for that purpose in L2. BUT I'm a little disappointed that we are not keeping 'natural talent' such as Essam. If we are promoted to L1 we will need 'quicker' defenders. Frampton is very slow and Barrett won't win many races. We have let go of young 'naturally talented' players like Jarvis, Gazzanigna & Bertrand. Now we add Essam to that list - with the distinct possibility of including Payne. I understand that we are a 'selling' club - and need to balance the books - but if we keep losing players upon whom our future should be built, then I fear that when we stop producing these players, there may be no future for the club. I honestly feel that, in releasing Essam, we might just be losing the next Steve Bruce ( what happened to him ? )
I think Legge will be good enough in League 1 and I would hope Barrett would still be good enough but both together may not work so that is why I would have Davies next to one of them, probably Legge but that is why I would loan out Essam now as that would have been the best option.
Anyone who regularly reads the posts on Kent Online you will notice a pattern!! If 'Ron' posts you can always be sure that 'superkeds' 'gfc101' and Clive loves gills' are never far behind! Same person with different user names! Ron had a few posts removed last week and the football club was contacted due to the libellous comments! Some have suggested he is a Millwall fan, or a disgruntled ex-employee of Gillingham!
I have always noticed that them lot all post aswell, seems stupid that he uses the same names all the time.
MA has obviously found a formula that is to employ every experienced 32-33 something, I wonder why other manager's never learned that trick, the future will hold the answers.
I have no particular desire to disagree with someone who is 'always right', but I cannot see any relevance in mentioning the transfers of Jarvis, Gazzaniga or Bertrand when talking about Essam. All clubs in our league have to sell good players to make a profit, Jarvis was the best player in our team when he was sold and has since played in the top division and for his country we got a good deal in monetary terms for him, including the sell on fee that has helped finance this season. For Gazzaniga we offered an exceptional fee for a player of limited experience and again the club was right to sell. Bertrand is an entirely different situation he was stolen from us, but Chelsea were then forced to offer a deal for which we are now being well rewarded. Essam is a young player who played half season and did OK, looked to most of us like a decent prospect, but we still conceded plenty of goals with him (and Gazza) in the side. Over the summer Davies appears to have impressed our new manager more and has moved ahead of him in the managers eyes, whether that is right or wrong is the sort of decision he was employed to make, but the fact that we dont have clubs breaking down the door trying sign him, suggests he not the only manager who has 'reservations' about his ability. They may all be proved wrong but of what I have seen Davies looks to have the better chance of emulating Bruce as he reads the game better, for my liking Essam made too many 'last ditch challenges' which suggest he is caught out of position too easily, (though to be fair it could also because he was baling out his partner something Barrett has not required too often). Don't get me wrong I too have concerns about not giving young players a chance, but the progress made by the likes of Jarvis (and Jackson, Crofts and Noseworthy!) Should show young players that they can make progress via our team and I hope our manager doesn't put all his eggs in the over 30s basket.
AshfordGill I mentioned Simon King & Messi as examples of players who were ' old enough if they were good enough ' - regardless of their experience. I repeat that I have liked most of what Barrett & Legge have done for the Gills. I highlighted that, despite their level of experience, they too can make mistakes. I am glad that you have mentioned Davies. Do we add him to the list of young players who will not be given the chance - despite probably being good enough - just because he is not in brb's age group ( 32-33 ) I am not complaining too much - because we are still in a healthy position in the league - but I don't think that we are properly looking to the future if we throw away young players who should be part of our future. I understand that, until recently we have had to be a selling club - but with the transfer windfalls that we've had over the last year or so, we can now be a bit more choosy about the future of our brighter prospects. edit - when I say brb's age group - you do realise that I mean the age of the players - rather than our resident octogenarian further edit - As you say players like Jarvis, Jackson, Crofts & Noseworthy ( as well as Gazza & Bertrand ) do prove that youngsters can progress to the top via GFC. But in the case of Essam, imho I would have preferred to have retained him ahead of another cb ( Frampton ) - given that we had plenty of 'experience ' in that department with the other centre backs in the squad.
What has happened? brb, Throwoff and always can usually be relied on to talk some sense yet they are signing up to the folly of having a crack at promotion with oldies and they suggest it is only promotion that matters. Arrant nonsense. We want to go up and stay up rather than tumble back down again as the oldies expire. Just look at the teams that go up and prosper (say Crewe or stevenage, packed with youngsters) and compare it to the teams that go up packed with oldies who plunge back down again. Now that is not to say that a blend of youth and experience is unwanted but it is to say you need a mix of players who will improve year on year. The average age of the squad has spiralled upwards with MA's shortsighted outlook, hardly surprising for a bloke with 9 clubs in 9 years who has demonstrated no ability to build a long term squad. Worse still, he has dished out long term contracts to some of the geriatrics so it is impossible to ditch them after promotion. How could he give a two and a half year contract to Barrett? His form soon took a dip once he had his long term deal. MA MAdness.
bristol407 - I must either protest at your accusation or apologise for not making my point clearly ! In the various threads relating to our younger players, where I have contributed, I thought that I made it clear that I was very much in favour of using those youngsters who have proved themselves - such as Payne, Davies & Essam. I repeat that if they are good enough, then they are 'old enough'. I will give credit to Martin Allen for bringing in Barrett & Legge - who have done well. There is an element of disappointment that Essam and now Davies are not being used - as these, imho are good enough and should be the future of the club. HOWEVER there is a tendency to use 'older' players in L2 for the purposes of getting promotion - without looking much further ahead. I hope that clears things up a bit more for you.
bristol407 - er where have I said that? quite the opposite I am totally against signing up these older players with experience in place of youth and although I would love promotion as much as the next supporter, I certainly have not said to the best of my knowledge only promotion matters. I thought I had been the most vocal on this subject in disagreeing with Mad Dog's style, even prompting reactions from Lenny. So much so I have had to restrain my comments from going on an all out attack! So it appears you have me and alwaysright in the wrong category. quote: MA has obviously found a formula that is to employ every experienced 32-33 something, I wonder why other manager's never learned that trick, the future will hold the answers. Now here was me thinking that ^^^^ was sarcasm at its best.
Having read all the comments here again I think that most of us are singing from the same sheet. Pleased with our league position and the progress made, but concerned that too many short term fixes are being put i place that may result in promotion this year but are equally likely to lead to a struggle next year, if any players are signed this window they must but be good enough and young enough to make a difference for the foreseeable future. I do worry that too many of our youngsters are being moved on as the club needs to have good young players not only to play for the team but also to make money (as in Jarvis etc). I do think Legge is a good signing (Flanagan would have been better due to his age), and I would like to see Dack and Miller around the first team squad as well, I have often thought in the tight matches this season that 15 mins with Millers pace might help open up tired defences, but in the end MA is the man in charge, and whilst his 'tinkering' in the first half of the season bought great results I think that a more settled team in the run in may serve us better, and personally I don't want more players added to the squad this month, I want us to use the talent we have at our disposal who have already shown they are good enough to win promotion and lets go and finish the job.
