Ugly

King was warming up before the match. Looked like a fitness test. Fish was doing the same thing along with (I think) Connor Essam. Oli and S. Payne. No idea.

 

I thought Jack was OK in spells, but he was guilty of getting caught with the ball on several occasions, and against better teams it could have proved costly. If he's going to make it in the centre midfield,he's got to think and act quicker.

 

Was abroad, so couldn't make the game. Got back and watched the Football League show. The only comment that I can makwe off of the back of such brief highlights would be that Luke Rooney obviously went to the Paul Scholes school of tackling! Impossible not to give him a red card unfortunately. Hopefully he will learn from it.

 

Oli missed out due to a virus according to Hess, not sure about Payne but the rest I imagine is because there are fewer places on the subs bench now.

 

I like jack payne,works hard and has a touch of quality,but hes a bit lightweight and the bigger boys bounce him off the ball quite easily.Get on the weights jack and av 2 weetabix for breky.

 

I thought we just about shaded the match (watched a different game to the Cheltenham Manager), I would have given Martin MOM, but was also very impresssed with Frampton and Lawrence, and Payne and Lee will get better the more they play together, I liked Montrose though his first touch could be better, I am sure that Whelpdale and Kedwell will have much better games but both showed enough to make me think they will be a success for us. I will give Flitney more time, but he needs to improve his distribution for sure. Fuller may also need to improve otherwise Fish will be given a chance. As for Rooney, having watched the FL show I think there were worse challenges that only saw Yellow (Naylors V Brighton was much worse), but in my opinion the ref was awful but probably got the decision right, but I do think that he was weak in other areas and hope we dont encounter him again, what did i like was seeing Frampton pull Lawrence away after his yellow threatened to turn red, and I do think Frampton leadership and influence both on the team and referees will bring the best out for the team. We will play much better this season without question but 3 points is just the start we needed.

 

Agree ,Fampton looked a true leader,im sure he talked the ref out of booking lawrence a bit earlier .I know its early but i feel Framps will be our main man this season. Not a great team performance but the Hess has everyone fighting for the cause which is what weve been missing for the last few seasons.

 

I have to disagree, Montrose was one of the underperformers for me. Lee was immense in the middle, defence: solid, Flitney: not convinced either way, Weston: good, Rooney: unlucky, Kedwell: should have scored the header, worked hard, played well, unlucky not to have a penalty.

 

Rooney unlucky ???????????????

 

Why did the roon go in like that,had the lead,in their half,no rush.no panic.Hope the Hess hasnt hyped them up too much.

 

I have now watched the video of the Rooney incident several times...

The throw in was taken from the right, Rooney was nearest to the throw, it was a throw which was placed away from Rooney in to the box, however, Rooney with his speed was quicker than 3 Cheltenham players that it was placed between at distance.

The ref noticed Rooney coming in and was best placed to sight the incident, the ref stepped back realising Rooney's speed to the ball, the approaching defender realised his position was not at threat, hence let Rooney and the ball continue across the box.

The player that was eventually fouled was twice the distant from the ball compared to Rooney when he was coming in, however, the speed of the ball crossed the box quicker than Rooney anticipated being naive and although Rooney did reach the ball first, it at the same time placed nicely at the feet of the Cheltenham player who Rooney upended.

The fouled player immediately stood up right away, facing towards the ref, then he along with three other Cheltenham players turned and immediately surrounded Rooney, I believe it was this players reaction that the ref reacted to with a rush of blood as much as the original foul.

With Rooney's speed he was never going to be able to back out of the situation, although his real undoing was going in with two feet, after realising in a fraction of a second he was to late.

 

Lots of interesting analysis with plenty of different views on man of the match (which is a really good thing). It seems pretty unanimous that Kedwell is in for a hard lonely season but that the defence looks the most solid for a long time. There are lots of options in midfield and defence but hardly any up front, even less after Rooney's stupidity. Defenders of Rooney are not recognising that a two footed tackle is an auto sendoff. it is completely irrelevant if he gets to the ball first or who bumps into whom. He will be lucky to escape further sanctions after his reaction to the card. What a pillock!
I think the Montrose critics might not be recognising the distance he was covering, he produced the only real shots of the first half. The Lawrence critic must have been at a different game or maybe has never played football. It was important to get 3 points on the board because the next few games are not easy.

 

Just re-reading a few and I think peeps are being harsh on Flitney. I thought he looked solid, apart from his kicking. The critism of him punching the ball clear and clouting Martin and a Cheltenham forward is ludicrous, I don't care if he takes out seven players aslong as he gets to the ball clear, following that incident the Cheltenham players seemed more relucant to get wide and cross the ball in as they knew they would have little joy.

 

I had the weird feeling when I left Priestfield on Saturday, like we hadn't won! Because the last 30 minutes or so were so rubbish - mostly on the referee's part. Not that it was much of a surprise. How Cheltenham's forwards weren't carded earlier or their number 14 given his second yellow before he was hurridly rushed off the pitch is beyond me.

Despite the rubbish officials, I think we played well, especially considering it was the first league game. Defence looked solid (Fuller probably weakest as discussed) and midfield has a lot of potential. Personally Payne or Spiller would have been my man of the match. Payne distributed well and got himself into space to help other player out. Spiller got into some brilliant positions (with Lawrence putting in a couple of world-class balls).

I thought Flintney had a so-so game. Made a couple of really good moves and looked solid from set pieces and at back-passes. But there were a couple of times he went a bit kamekaze keeper which had me on the edge of my seat!

Rooney is in my opinion (and I know I'm in the minority) the biggest waste of space in the Gillingham squad. The tackle was appauling! We all know what happens if tackles like that hit the wrong spot, Fuller was lucky not to have his leg broken in the last game of last season! Rooney is immature and so desperate to prove himself that he's not doing himself any favours. The number of times he ran within five feet of Martin and demanded the ball when he had a defender at his back was rediculous. He should have been looking for runs down the line and into the box - not cramping Martin's space. The only upside I can take from the yellow card is that I won't have to see Rooney for 3 games!!

Weston was brilliant when he came on and it was nice to see Frampton keeping a cool head and his team under control.
And how nice to see a Gills team who aren't afraid to shoot long range! Not prissing around with it on the edge of the box!!

UTG!