on a serious note, I really don't see us getting anywhere near what we thought we would have about three months ago for jack payne in terms of value now.
it's a shame martin allen had to go public so early and it may well have an effect on the team after all things Gillingham fc looked so togeather behind the scenes previously !
Sorry, I don't agree with this.
Martin Allen has been in and around football all his 40-odd years. He is definitely no mug.
It would indeed be extraordinary if he had a prized asset and then simply told the world "he's not good enough for us, we're getting rid!". Does anyone seriously think Paul Scally would watch his manager publicly devalue a promising player worth top money, without some reasoning behind it?
I will be astounded if we don't get a very good sum for him in January (or next summer if we miss a deadline

)
I think this because I suspect we already have a deal pretty much tied up. Either that, or we have had serious enquiries from more than 1 club, and we (MA, PS & Hess) wants a bidding war.
I also think this is why Jack Payne isn't being played at the moment. We (or a purchasing club) don't want him crocked before January).
The only thing that has hampered us is the non-arrival of David Wright. I'd imagine MA is fuming at whichever club was responsible. He might now just have to play Jack Payne for a few matches up to Xmas, or he might decide to stick with the 'safer' option of Lewis Montrose.
If my reasoning is wrong on this, then I can only assume MA has listed Jack because of some conflict ie Jack doesn't want to be 'rotated' or some similar reason, and that MA wants to show his authority to the squad.
I certainly hope my first hypothesis is correct.