8300 there today and Gills seriously bottled it. We seem to have stage fright in front of larger crowds. I was very dissapointed with the Rainham end as they were well out sung by by Vale for the whole match. The new chap Gregory looked well out of his depth. Gills need to improve at home or they will start to drop down a bit and could even end up in the play offs. Programmes sold out !! Chips at nearly 8 quid for four small boxes with no tommy available. Not happy not coming back soon I know not everyone will agree with me and thats fine . I still havnt seen Gills win at home this season and before everyone has a go last season I saw almost all home and away games but with a family of five Im not paying those prices and will pick my games like the playoff semi which is as far as i reckon we will get . On the plus side I liked the look of Birchall and Legge other than that UTTER RUBBISH !!
I have to say Gregory did not do well when he came on but Legge was great he looks a decent player and a great addition to what we have at the back. I think Kedwell played well but yet against Burton did not do well (you could tell we were at home) I will write a bit more later.
It's really annoying that it looks like we have signed someone to replace Montrose who is the same type of player however Montrose was good at shooting but Gregory can't score from the look of it.
Well you have to credit Port Vale for being so clinical, they put away their chances, mainly on the road just like us. We are just not the same when at home and seem to play with fear whereas away from home we fear no one at all. Nelson 5- did not really make any saves as they put away their chances. Fish 6- Not his best game but was not bad. Legge 7- Looks a decent player and should be a great player for us, heading is great, even better in the air than Barrett due to height. Barrett 5- He done well but did not command as well as normal. Martin 5- He did get forward a lot and tried but not his best game like many of the Gills players. Whelpdale 6- Tried his hardest but nothing really come off for him, my rating may be harsh but he did waste a few chances where he could have done a lot better. Payne 6- He was not great, had a few shots which went wide. Frampton 6- He was OK, not great but is OK in his role would not be my option as he lacks pace. Weston 6- He kept running but nothing went right for him, he seems to do better when he comes off the bench. Kedwell 7- This was much better from him and he proved that he is good enough, he did have a few chances and a few he should be doing better with but that was a great goal and shows that he is a good striker, I will have to have another look at it to see how good it is. Burton 5- Did not do much, can't say much about him, yet another average home performance. Subs Gregory 2- That was completely awful, he looked very poor, hope he gets better as the passing was substandard. Lee 5- He was not on long enough to give a higher rating, his long throws don't seem as good as normal lately, maybe he needs to work on that but there were chances that he had where I would be expecting him to shoot from range with his great long shot but he kept moving and holding the ball trying to find a pass but wasted it. Birchall 6- He was decent, I would have started with him and I don't thin people should slag him off as I have heard people say things bad about him. He is a decent player but it is taking him time to get to his best. He was unlucky with a few runs. Overall we need to do a lot better but Port Vale done to us what we done to them earlier in the season and played without fear away from home and I have to say Tom Pope is so clinical.
It was not all that bad after half a dozen dire performances at home. Frankly the result could have gone either way but in the moments that mattered the central defenders and Nelson did not quite get it right and Vale were good enough to be able to defend a two goal lead. The worrying thing is that MA does not have a clue what to correct and until he selects a consistent team he aint gonna get any consistent results. I just checked out the home form at this stage last year and it was W7 D3 L1 which illustrates how things have deteriorated. Sure it is a different story away from home but there are 5000 supporters watching garbage at home and only 500 enjoying the excellent performances away. Allen needs to sort his own act out. The other promotion contenders are doing their best to help by squandering points, and as long as the team achieve a decent number of wins in preference to draws, Gills should still cruise to promotion but the warning signs are there and the recruitment policy seems bizarre. Come back Monty. 4 or 5 passes hitting the corner flags is a small price to pay for some really combative effort in midfield which was badly missing today.
As you say, Hoadie, Vale were clinical when presented with a couple of chances. Gills are just as efficient on their travels - where there is not the expectation of playing with an attacking style as you would want from a home team. Kedwell did take his goal well - and maybe Gills were a little unlucky in the 2nd half - but the team, at home for a number of weeks have not been creating enough chances - and today they failed to finish the chances they made, to ensure that they remain in the top three. I haven't been impressed with the inclusion of Frampton in the current side. He has been a weak link in the last three games - including the tremendous team performance at Southend. He plays as a centre back in a midfield position and too often is becoming a bit like Montrose. Today I was not impressed with the number of times that our centre backs both challenged an opposing player at the same time. A couple of times it was nearly costly, as at least one of them was out of position. I am not going to criticise Birchall ( just yet ) - as he has only just started to get a run in the side - but, as for Kedwell and his attributes he is not good enough as a main striker. Burton has class. He has scored more goals from open play and has a good touch on the ball - but needs a better partner than Kedwell. We need to try to acquire a 'natural' striker who is good enough for L2. I appreciate that is easier said than done - but I will go to Rochdale next week more in hope of a point than in expectation. If we lose then Exeter Rotherham and Cheltenham may fancy their chances of overtaking us before the end of theJanuary transfer window. on another note - If you throw a punch at a player's head - regardless of the fact that you failed to make contact - surely that is violent conduct and rewarded with a straight red - why then, did the referee not do so ( I think that it was by Pope ) ( not even a yellow card ) and if Hughes had been carded for his assault on Matt Fish, then his subsequent card would have been red. - It does seem that we have a poor referee whenever the team are not playing as well as expected.
Thanks for the three points, didn't go today but sounded a close match on radio, am sure we will both go up.
Was expecting a tough game which was the case. Although Gills lost, I was pleased with most of the match. Port Vale have a very strong forward line and if they can keep Pope will be hard to stop. The only slight disappointments were the two goals we conceded. Burton again at home was again poor, Barrett having a bit of a off day although he was facing Pope and Hughes. Also Gregory was awful when he came on, making the release of Montrose looking a poor decision, hopefully he will get better. I thought Legge was good again who looks a bargain, Kedwell showed he is not finished with a wonderfull goal. Weston was on fire first half shame second half, Port Vale worked him out and had two players on him. Overall after recent poor performances at home if we play like that at home from now on, I think we will win most games. Their keeper made 2 brillant saves near the end and i don t know how we did not score when it was cleared off the line.
Gioblues. Lewis Montrose voted man of the match in Oxford Mail following Oxford's amazing win at Bradford.
