I thought Nelson looked good and kicked well, Montrose had a good game or should I say half a game. Morgan was causing problems and I think would be a good signing. Reeves did not get great service but got into some good positions and had a couple of chances, worth a punt I think, he was causing more problems for the Darts than Kedwell. Gilligan was good, Whelpdale did not get into the game for me, even looked a bit disinterested at times then went off limping but did not look serious. Fuller looked fit and did OK,Essam another good game, Frampton was OK but looked to struggle when faced with any pace. Martin was OK. Jackman Birchall Payne all looked sharp. Not sure if we have a promotion winning team yet but it was nice to see the ball on the deck. UTG!!!
That's a relief - I'd hate it if any of them had become worse! Ok - let's be serious for a bit... Despite my criticism of Frampton & Fish, I am prepared to give them my support for the start of the new season. These friendly games are an indicator to the manager of what he's got in terms of quality & where he needs to improve. These changes need to be made early enough so as not to ruin chances of promotion ( sorry Hess - you were too slow on that last season ) I would have thought that Allen would have seen enough videos of last season matches - and would have a good idea about the shortcomings of the squad. I doubt if he would be surprised to see Frampton's struggle against pace. To a degree pace can be overcome - but a central defender would need to be more 'touch tight' to 'his' forward - unfortunately last season Frampton, Fish & Martin were nowhere near on too many occasions. Let's hope things change for these players ( or their replacements )
Hopefully some news on Damian Reeves, Dean Morgan and Ryan Gilligan within the next few days http://www.kentsportsnews.com/allen-uncertain-over-paynes-future-22-07-2012/ UTG!!!
This is how crap KSN really is.... Read that report, it says we have signed Stuart Foster, Charlie Allen and Ben Strevens!
I have sent KSN a message on their facebook inbox regarding their shoddy journalism! I doubt they will reply!
My views from Dartford - We played some good patches, to be expected with a friendly (the first one especially). Allen changed formation a lot, moved players around and saw what worked. As I recall - nelson - Looked more than good enough for our level, kicking is good, controls the area, some solid saves. fuller - Great to see him play and remain a phyiscal player after the injury, not the same as he was though, seems a little slower. This could of course be due to not playing for a year! martin - Still don't rate the man, same mistakes as last season. lee - Looked as good as before, makes a good captain, vocal leader and kept the ball on the floor, for me he is Captain. frampton - Stand out change in him, with his new hair cut and leaner build he almost looks ill!! But his pace has nigh on doubled and he controlled his area far better than last season. essam - Same quality, just seems a bit more 'mature' stuck to his man, didn't rush into tackles, looking much more finished. whelpdale - Went off injured late in first half but picked up the knock early on, once he got hit he was pretty much non existant, didn't look serious though montrose - Day and night from last year, I said many times last season there was a good player in him, his confidence seemed up, willing to run with the ball and when he did he proved he has the ability to take on players and win and find the pass. kedwell - seems to have lost a bit of weight, more agile and his work rate was as good as last season. reeves(trial)- Seeing as he hasn't signed I wont bother! morgan(trial) - Weston in disguise? 40% quality with a great chance in the first half, other 60% falling over the ball, himself, going to ground easily and not winning free kicks. I think if it were a league game he might of been carded for consitantly going down. subs. fish - I still don't think he should make the starting 11 but he was a threat going forwards, what I noticed more about his game was away from him, when he moved forward Jackman switched back to LB and the 3 remaining defenders shuffled along, Allen seems to have brought more tactical sense to the team, allowing a wing back to run without weakening the back 4. evans - Should be our left back over Martin, quicker, stronger and works a lot harder. payne - looked brilliant, if the move is off it doesn't seem to of changed his work rate or passion allen - didn't do much tbh but like his old man is a strong tackler, regardless of the family connections he looked like the kind of man we want on the bench, strong and brave going into challenges and looks like the sort of player we would want to bring on at 70 minutes a couple up and hold the win. gilligan - Didnt see much of him, cant expect he will be kept on. jackman - Played some clever football, as I said with fish, he was dropping back to hold the back line often, could of had a shot at goal late on but did the gracious thing and laid it off for Birchall, still our best player in my eyes (and I hated him 2 seasons ago! How players can change!) strevens - Scored a messy goal but had been getting into dangerous positions again and again leading up to it. birchall - Brilliant to see him play, I think he has the potential to score a lot this season, his speed is incredible compared to Kedwell and he should have had a goal in the second half, he went for the cheeky chip but something tells me if it had been a league game he would of buried it low into the corner rather than go for the goal! dack - quick and seems confident above his years, as soon as he came on for Whelps he was shouting at Montrose moving him to a new position and taking players on, be good to blood him this year.
Thanks for a good report ,Throwoff. Hopefully you can do some more during the season as its good to read reports from fans rather than newspapers.
Completely agree. Must admit I would like to see more articles of this nature on here, especially from members that have been to the game. Well done throwoff. The more detailed the better.
I will try! Off to the Royal Engineers match Wednesday night, will try to do something then, be interesting to see the starting 11 for it and how it changes from Saturday.
Whilst on the topic of twitter, I will see what I can do to set up an official not606 twitter account for our Gills board. Early days but I will see what I can sort out.
I would keep Morgan and Gilligan! The Northampton fan I work with and he is a season ticket holder says that Gilligan was one of the most consistent players over the last few years and disappointed he was released!
Sorry guys, bit late in coming back with any feedback from the game Saturday...which is just as well as I pretty much agree with everything that throwoff said. Stand out players in the first half were Essam and Montrose. Essam seems to have taken his end of season good form into the close season and now looks to have a mature head on his shoulders. Also thought Josh Hare, his replacement, showed some promise as well. Montrose surprised me with his assurance on the ball and the fact that 9 times out of 10 his passes were pinpoint. Call me a sceptic but I can't forsee that happening all the time however. In the second half it was Birchall that caught the eye, however he looked to drop off the front more often than not when I presumed he was more of a fox in the box type player. May just be pre-season combined with an eagerness to get involved. Gilligan looked OK too, although I'm not sure if Martin Allen is trying the former Northampton player out just in case Payne in fact does move on, meaning we will have a ready-made replacement.
Good to hear that Hare showed promise would be good. Also Montrose completing passes well that is good, not something he does often.
Like I said mate, I am sure he has a good player in him somewhere, and maybe Allen has the tactical sense and ability to make him realise his potential. I don't think Hess has much in the way of that, I also don't think he spent anywhere near enough time getting the players confident. I think we can all agree from what we have seen already, if someone it putting the shifts in and giving it their all Allen will recognise.
Yeah I think Montrose does have some quality as he actually looked good at Wycombe and when he joined I thought he was a good signing but maybe the position we played him in was not right for him, he seems more attacking then defensive from what I have seen.
I agree, I think he naturally wants to attack the ball and move forward, which under Hess's long ball defensive midfield game didn't work. Under Allen and keeping the ball on the ground (as we did at Dartford) he could be a different man.
