NEW YORK NEW YORK ! Chapter 9 Two angry camels go stateside for a bit more razzamatazz than last time out - and looking for a better result into the bargain. Actually,for this game it was only ONE camel travelling from HELL (Gillingham) & back in pursuit of football entertainment- this time- going to the New York stadium, Rotherham ! Not quite the dazzling destination that bears the same name about 4000 miles west - but a lot more glittery than Brackley's ground in the last away game. It has to be conceded that Rotherham's New York stadium is genuinely as blingy as you'd expect from anything with to do with the U.S.A. It's a pity that Rotherham's manager, Steve Evans is not a Yank ( I'm grateful for the qwerty layout on my laptop to prevent any accidental misspelling ! ) - if Evans was an American, his loud mouth would be well suited to his flash surroundings - and a 'Big Apple'could easily fit into his ample gob. Gillingham's journey to South Yorkshire was to resume World Cup hostilities with Evans -- more on that in a second - but firstly I need to make a few announcements. 1. I love dogs - particularly Jack Russell terriers (honest) - but I wouldn't be prat enough to try to walk my dog THROUGH a small group of football fans waiting for the their coach to arrive to take them to their destination - and then suggest that I had more claim to occupy a postion on the footpath than those football fans!-I'm afraid that I would use common sense and deviate around them. 2. It has to be said that Evans is a charming man. It is a real shame that he has several convictions for different types of dishonesty - not all were guilty pleas. He is very much misunderstood by everyone else connected with football, and he can't help upsetting everyone with whom he comes into contact. 3. I think it is long overdue that I confess that I am NOT always right. Gillingham incurred the displeasure of the saintly Evans on Boxing Day 2011 - when he was manager at Crawley Town. The Gills dared to end the Red Devils 16 match unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory. Evans sulked much - stating that the Gills fans would be celebrating like we'd won the World Cup. I think Evans was still miffed that Santa Claus had overlooked him 24 hours earlier - ( naughty boy - no presents ), leaving him with no toys to throw out of his pram.... and didn't Evans realise that Gills fans celebrate as if they had won the World Cup after EVERY win ! New York stadium, Rotherham is a far cry from their old ground - which is a stones throw away from their new venue. The Millers have had plenty of money lavished on them recently.I think it's money from investors from the Middle East! I think our chairman is too busy replying to e mails to look for any Sheikhy investment. (alwaysright - behave) I remember a few years ago, visiting the old ground - that the tea bar behind the away end stand didn't have anything hot on offer(Fact). All that I could get was a cup of cold tea - without milk or sugar - or tea ! ( it's a line from another Monty Python sketch )... So in those days there must have been real trouble at mill ! In my last 'camel thread ( Port Vale ) I mentioned that Gills enjoyed certain similarities with their guests. Well it seems that I have found a cracking similarity between Rotherham & Gills - and it gives me the opportunity to further extol the virtues of our chairman...(indulge me - I kept out of the recent thread on him ) Rotherham was founded after the Norman Conquest. An absentee Lord was placed in charge of the town. He had a reputation of rarely visiting the place and provided no civic help and failed to build a castle for the residents. (( Paul Scally, Dubai, Medway Council, new stadium ?? )) I'm not sure if Mr.Evans deliberately sets out to antagonise ALL opposing teams and their fans - is he trying to make Swindon look more palatable to Gills fans ? Perhaps he should take note of the lyrics from a song by The Arctic Monkeys ( from Rotherham ) - the song is 'Fake Tales of San Fransisco' which contains the line " Yeah I'd love to tell you all my problem. You're not from New York - you're from Rotherham ." - but really he's a nowhere man, from nowhere land & going nowhere. ( a very slight tweak of a line from a Beatles track ) Other 'famous' people from Rotherham include the Chuckle Brothers. Now I'd pay good money to see a routine featuring Evans and our dearly departed ex-manager,Martin Allen --just whose bark would be worse than their bite ? But I don't think that the show would ever get to Broadway. I know for certain that the Gills chairman, Paul Scally would never go to watch the production. He would have a problem in a city that is very synonymous with Frank Sinatra. Can you imagine the reaction from New Yorkers when they ask Scally " Who are you & what do you do ? ", and he replies " I'm the Chairman of the Board ( another nickname for Ol Blue Eyes ) & I do things My Way." Mind you Evans would have similar problems. If he was asked about his low popularity in England, Evans would do well not to claim that he is hated more than Hitler in WW2 - because THAT honour was also the privilege of Francis Sinatra ( something to do with avoiding military duty and instead cavorting with beautiful women) - no chance there for Mr.Evans. Talking of entertainment -I suppose I'd better give a few words about the game. I thought that the Gillingham starting line up was a strong one ( I told you that I'm not alwaysright ) It wasn't long before it became obvious that, collectively we weren't good enough ( a phrase that is becoming all too common ) - Rotherham moved the ball very well - and their movement off the ball made so much room for their players, that it became very easy for the Millers to dominate the play. They stormed into a 3-0 lead inside 35 minutes - and easily deserved. Nelson in the Gills goal had no chance with any of them. It got embarrassing for all connected with Gillingham when the home fans were treated to Ole football as the Gills were unable to get the ball. Rotherham are no Brazil - but at times the football they played (allowed to play) was worthy of winning a World Cup. I was dreading the second half - would I need a calaculator for the score ? As it turned out Rotherham took their foot off the pedal - and Gills tried a little more - and damage was limited to just one more Rotherham goal - although they had many attempts to add to their tally. Gills attempts at trying to keep the Millers' keeper warm were very limited. Akinfenwa replaced Kedwell - and immediately linked up with McDonald - flicking on a header for Cody to latch onto and outmuscle the defender to score and give the Gills fans something to cheer. But that was about it until the last minute when Cody could probably have doubled his tally. So as far as it concerned the Gills fans, there would be no World Cup celebrations. So this camel returned home, hoping to cross the Pond (Dartford Crossing) a damned site easier than on the return from Shrewsbury ( 25 minutes to negotiate the crossing - nearly as fast us our progress towards the halfway line let alone the opposition goal ). I hear that The BBC are to resurrect The Clangers. I could nominate a few new characters wearing blue shirts. I know that there is a new Iron Chicken, but the Soup Dragon is still in charge - still doing it His Way. We could also offer one or two to fill the place of Graham Chapman in the Monty Python team -but some of the performances this season would not have amused any circus audience. Come fly with us on the next 'camel' roadtrip - to Notts COUNTY. It will be brb's turn to entertain you - whilst I get the sleigh and reindeers sorted for the trip to Tranmere on a Friday evening 4 shopping days before Christmas - we'll do anything to avoid Christmas shopping !
Why is it we seem to struggle against any team that has pace and can manage to keep the ball on the ground and touches of slick passing. More importantly why can't we play this way. As alwaysright has already stated, I missed this game due to other commitments but i did listen on Gills Player and it sounded like same ole. This is what happens when you don't keep faith in your own youngsters, for that i blame MA but come on PT has had long enough now to breath a sigh of change. Are we frightened of upsetting players? Why is Barrett keeping the captain's armband?...nothing personal but if it ain't working, fix it. Bring in change. A lot of fingers point towards Legge, to which i personally would disagree, I feel Barrett is the weaker link. Surely the worst goal line miss of all time, was justified reason for a one game miss. Although to be fair the squad line up did initially look better, another point already raised in the OP. But what have Davies and Dack done wrong? Good to see Hessenthaler get his five minutes. How did Daniels do? The next four games are vital as we near the half way stage...oh dear that includes Peterborough and Leyton Orient. I reckon Notts County could be our last chance of any decent point on the board and i hope i'm wrong, because if i'm right, we will not have enough points at mid-season to aid in avoiding the drop.
brb regarding Daniels - he was beaten in the air a few times. On the floor he was a little better -or rather as bad as the rest of the team. I 've said before, that collectively we aren't good enough to do a lot this season - we will be lucky to avoid relegation - we might just be the 5th worst team in the division -but I'm not so sure. If we do survive this season we have got to find a way of attracting better quality players otherwise the problems will not disappear and it won't be too long before we're going down again...... I repeat that I am philosophical about MY team - we are where we are for a reason - we are a small club that will always flit from L1 & L2-- unless there is significant investment - that is where the chairman comes in - to provide the funds or acquire the investment - if You are not happy with this you can always go glory hunting. I am no glory hunter - I will be at Notts County next week and at Tranmere on the Friday night before Christmas. " My name is alwaysright. I am a fan of Gillingham Football Club and I have an addiction."
alwaysright - just a view and wondering what you reckon, going back to my earlier point. If we are beaten in the air surely we need Legge not Barrett, that has been my observations when away from home. You say that Daniels is better on the ground, from what i saw in one game (Stevenage) that makes him better than Barrett. I reiterate for readers, I have nothing against Barrett just stating observations and what can be done to turn around these defeats. Yes, collectively as a team they are all to blame, but changes and repair work has to be attempted and tried to avoid decline surely. Last thing i want is to get relegated and say we never tried a particular equation to stop the rot. Also is there a reason why Legge was not on the bench...is he injured?
OK brb ( not just because of what you think about Barrett ) - and given that it was not an impressive display from anyone - Barrett was particularly poor - and definitely showed that he struggles with the movement - let alone pace of opposing forwards. I'm not sure who I 'd play at CB - is Simon King still available ( one good leg et al )
I have a question …….what have Rotherham done with their team since the end of last season to turn our victories against them into meaningless history. Answers please…..
They have invested in quality rather than quantity. Ben Pringle (M.o.M yesterday ) from Derby - great midfielder ! Agard from Doncaster Morgan a defender from Preston has been commanding for Rotherhan since his arrival from Preston. Dicko - very quick striker from Wigan - has brought some Premier league quality with him. Now - please don't keep asking me why we play in pink.
