With the pre-season starting I am beginning to look at the team as it stands now, are the players we've brought in better than the players who have left. At the start of the 17/18 season we had...….Wagstaff, Martin, Hess and Clare, I know Clare was a loan but he was also a important part of the team. The old guard have been replaced with Parrot, Cook, Rees, are these players better than we have lost? personally I hadn't really heard very much of any of them. Hopefully they will not suffer the same injuries as Wagstaff and Martin, but will they have equal or better creativity. I am looking forward to seeing as many of the pre-season friendlies as possible in the hope of witnessing something special.
I don't know if he read my post first but someone from the Football League World seems to have given me a answer. https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/is-there-another-long-season-ahead-for-gillingham/
Good question grumpygit. I said last season, i would rid most of our squad and it would be better to bring in uknown ability and hope to find a gem. Im not in the same camp as most Gillingham fan twitter users, i do not believe we have to spend money to build a decent squad. Some will argue that point but i will suggest look no further than Accrington. Gazza and Cas other examples. It's an insult to youngsters to suggest otherwise. The one name that you mentioned that i was not over happy about being let go was Wagstaff, at least he showed some balls. Anyone still want to argue you need to spend money...Shrewsbury went from a club near the bottom to contend at the top, a manager that knew non league football, even Stefan Payne playing for them, as their boss said, itsi not what you spend it's what you do on the training ground and getting value for money. Hopefully Lovell can make us the next Shrewsbury and be in contention for the season, even if on a shoestring.
As I said before I don't really know much about the new guys, they do all sound like forward thinking players so we could/should score more goals, the flip side is we might concede more also. How will they handle themselves in league 1, unfortunately the pre-season games won't give us a good indication as the opposition are all non-league. Finishing in midtable is all I am hoping for at the moment, let's hope the team prove me wrong and make a fight for a top 6 finish.
I was fairly well aware of Parrett beforehand. I even put a post on here a couple of years ago I hoped that we would sign him when he was released by Spurs only for Stevenage to sign him instead. He will be an acquisition fans will like very quickly for the work he does on and off the ball. Also very handy at set pieces. The other two are unknown quantities for me but I doubt we've finished our business in terms of signings. Martin and Wagstaff are both losses for their ability but I would expect the Welsh Wizard knows what he's doing with this squad and how he wants them to play next season.
