Gillingham (H) match thread
 

First game in league 1, who would have predicted it!!!

Are the ultras putting on a special welcome to the players ?

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Hope so they really make the atmosphere on the Wham, many of us owd farts are incapable of creating one these days. Should be a great day hope for a magic turnout for this history creating game K.T.F.

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the atmosphere certainly improved at the clayton end last season. wish my back would allow me to stand there for a couple of hours as it seems buzzing overthere.

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Can't wait for this. Hopefully we get off to a great start to the season. Quite a few people have us nailed on for relegation - long may this remain a gross underestimation!

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[QUOTE=Tom D;1215362. Quite a few people have us nailed on for relegation - long may this remain a gross underestimation![/QUOTE]

when was the last time we actually were not nailed on for relegation. along with morecambe we are down before a ball is kicked in anger.

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Anyone know how Gillingham have done in pre season?
Have they made many signings?
Where did they finish last season in league one?

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You can find the answer to all these questions (& more) in D3N's intro on the prediction league thread DavO :)

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Officials:
Referee - Anthony Backhouse
Assistant Referee 1 - Barry Gordon
Assistant Referee 2 - Graeme Fyvie
Fourth Official - Joseph Johnson

Re: Gillingham (H) match thread
 

Gillingham fans not optimistic

Accrington Prediction | GillsConnect.com Message Board

Do we know if Eaves is out injured for them?
Big loss if that’s the case

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Aint shocked they only wanted 200 tickets after reading that.:eek:

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Don't forget folks, the league highlights show has switched channels, from tonight it will be on Quest - 9pm till 10.30

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Cheers Di i had no idea.:confused:

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HT... &^%#*^&(*%(&^%#$&*%&)(*&%^$&%^$%)(*)*&(^$%&... no highlights in that.... :(:(

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Mmmm...0-2 at half time! Half time team talk called for.
C'mon the Reds, you've done it afore now, you can do it again.

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Oh dear... :(

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Very poor display today, dunno why but not good to watch, last 20 mins was only time we were on top, probably cos Gillingham were sitting on a 2-0 lead. we did improve with introduction of subs but they were brought on too late, nowt new there is there?:rolleyes:

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Big Ben MOTM anyone?

Scotty didn’t do it for me.... Seany did well though.

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We all said Ben.

Re: Gillingham (H) match thread
 

Maxted - thought he was poor today for their goals, did make some decent but expected saves
Johnson - poor game, offered little going forward
Sykes - out of his depth today
Hughes - was poor in patches but more concerning he didn’t lead as much as I would expect him to with a first time starter along side him
Richards Everton - MOTM, tried , did his all in the left back position
Clark - very poor game by his standards, didn’t beat his man often enough, final ball was not good enough, went missing first half
Connelly - poor first half, grew into the game
Brown - very poor first half, never really won his midfield battles
McConville - like Clark had no impact in first half, physically seemed a yard slower than the rest
Kee - some good hold up play but didn’t have a real chance all game
Jackson - very movie and put the effort in but didn’t have a real chance all game

Subs

Finley - thought he was poor and didn’t inspire any confidence based on that performance
Zanzala - didn’t get a single chance , difficult to impact the game with less than 10 mins to go
No 3rd substitute - poor from Coleman

Overall , poor tactical set up and performance.
Worth mentioning Charles Cook and Hanlan out wide for Gillingham, they have got 2 good players there
Zakuani an absolute rock at the back for Gillingham

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It was a very frustrating match for the Stanley players and supporters today.:(
Callum pulled out of a tackle 40 yards out and their lad then waltzed past a couple more defenders before setting up his team mate to score the opener.
I am sure that Callum will have learnt a lesson there today. Having said that, if Callum had gone in to that tackle hard and got the opposing tackle that occurred in the second half, (which should have earned a RED CARD), then Callum could be in hospital tonight with a broken leg!:eek:
With the loss of Janoi and Jimmy Dunne our defence looked quite unbalanced and unsure of themselves. We also failed to dictate any real spells of play in midfield.
Billy worked hard as usual with very little help from the referee once again. I thought that the ref got worse as the match proceeded. He allowed The Gills to get away with too many little pushes and failed to show the Red Card when it was needed! :mad:The Gills players used their experience and took advantage of the lenient refereeing when they eventually came under some pressure in the last twenty minutes. We should have a had a penalty late on which would have given us a consolation only.
We just weren't good enough today but I am certain that the lads will only get better when the season settles down after the transfer and loan windows close. Also the 'new defence' will learn to play better together as they get matches under their belts.
I really wish that we could get Jimmy Dunne back for another season.:rolleyes:
Finally, I thought that Sam Finlay looked quite good when he came on in midfield.:)
KEEP THE FAITH:theband:
ON STANLEY ON:jimbo::jimbo::jimbo:

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Agree about the ref he was very poor, but that display it wouldn't have made a great deal of difference if he had been great, imho

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I thought Finley did pretty well. Made an immediate impact.

I see the grumbles about the ref have resurfaced. Coincidentally we lost. The only decision I thought he got wrong was not booking Jackson for his dive for a penalty.
Billy wasn’t good enough against their pretty solid defence, after a decent start. He looks like he’s lost a fair bit of weight though.

I’ve not seen Sykes before but he looked ok to me.

Maxted also looked ok, but maybe he could have done better with their 2nd goal?

As per this time last year it’s question marks over our central midfield.

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Finley put himself about when he came on, Zanzala also for the few mins he was on. J.C. to me still has much to learn about use of subs. dunno why hes been doing the job long enough.:confused:

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We were brought down to earth today. Pity, the expectation levels were high and there was a decent crowd. Thought Gills played well and were better organised. Much to think about for our management team. Maybe 3 at the back as in the 2nd half is the way to go ?

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Ref was okay today, I don’t think it was a red card any more than McConville penalty appeal was lame at best.

We can’t be relying upon favourable referees to win games, need to do it ourselves.

Every league and every game is the same, you win the midfield battle you generally win or draw the game.
Not once did we win the midfield battle, that was the main problem today although a poor central defence and iffy goalkeeper didn’t help matters.
In some respects, one could argue their chances came from losing the midfield battles which put the defenders in a difficult position.

Give Sykes credit for one thing, his tactical yellow card was clever.
He was caught ball watching and out of position and the Gills striker would have been clean through.

Let’s all hope Coleman can find some rough gems before Fridays deadline.

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no excuses Gillingham were the better team on the day, we had two shots kick off the goal line by defenders with their goalie beaten that's as good as it got for Stanley, though not at all despondent our time will come

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I thought Clark and Connelly were both very poor today hope this league isn't a step too high for them, I feel it is.... hope JC can get a GK in this week for all our sakes

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We've become so used to winning that defeat comes as a bitter pill.
Sometimes you have to take it on the chin & accept that the best team won.
The Gill's were stronger, quicker & more skilful today & deserved the points.
Their movement, especially off the ball, was lightning quick & their passing fast & accurate.
Stanley by comparison were nervous, pedestrian & oh so predictable, especially on set pieces.
Our forwards were never in the game today, largely due to the Gill's domination of midfield.
There were times in the first half where our defence was all at sea & the marking for their goals was abysmal. The scoreline could have been much worse.
No one in red had a good game today, but those who are pointing the finger at Maxted for this defeat are quite frankly deluded.
Last season we played like a League 1 team. Today we looked very much League 2.

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I was not at the game, and can only read about it, but I just wonder if that some of the players made more mistakes and had a worse game than the referee.



Possession- 60% Stanley 40% Gillingham.
Shots- 17 Stanley 11 Gillingham.
Shots on target-4 Stanley 5 Gillingham.
Corners- 8 Stanley 5 Gillingham.
Fouls- 10 Stanley 19 Gillingham


These are press association stats.

Re: Gillingham (H) match thread
 

Agree completely with this post.

Very sensible in my opinion.

:)

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Lord S.. if he will forgive the familiarity !, has just echoed my thoughts precisely, particularly where our weak inefficiency in midfield was concerned. . In comparison with the Town's powerhouse they were in the most part slow, ponderous and lacking in ideas !., and dare i say it looking a trifle past their best !.
The game was for sure a reality check for The Reds. I'm certain JC will see it as such and sooner or later will redress the situation !.

But wasn't it disappointing ?.

ON STANLEY ,...ON TO GREATER THINGS !.

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Taught a lesson today by a very good side hope we learn from it our midfield was frankly shocking 2 in the middle were overran and completely out played why was the new left back Wood overlooked Ben Everton played ok but he is much better at centre half thought Hughes looked a tad slow for this level maybe his time to be dropped as come first game positives were Finley looked ok 2 shots cleared of the line another day they go in.

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did not go yesterday but no one has been promoted or relegated yet. only time will tell but i go think there is a possibility of coley being too quick to keep some of last years players. would have liked to see a few older heads in the side who have been in div.1 for a few seasons.

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Poor result :mad:, but Stanley are joint 14th on points :rolleyes:!

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Think Coley got it spot on in his post match interview, can't be downhearted about yesterday - yes, the first half we were outplayed but we improved a lot in the second.
The lads worked their socks off but it didn't quite work against a side who for the most part were quicker & more experienced than our lads. They also used their experience to pull the wool over the ref's eyes on quite a few occasions
But it's only the first game & I'm still confident that we'll do ok this season - however, comments from someone further along than us such as 'Come on Coley, put a footballer on' disgusted me - couldn't see who it was but if that's what they call supporting their team, well . . . . . .

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That was likely "Sarcasm" Di, cos most of em sure didn't look like footballers specially first half.

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No need to shout stuff like that though Cashy, the lads were struggling - surely it's our job to get behind them while they're on that pitch & save opinions for post match discussions with your mates
Some folk have short memories, those same lads were haled as heroes last season & yet, one bad match & the knives are out

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Thats a fair point, but can understand some getting peed off with that display though.

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No easy games in this league.

As disappointing as yesterday was, I don't think too much needs to change to put things right. We had a good amount of possession, a couple of chances were cleared off the line and we showed that a change in formation meant we could adapt and at least look like we had a chance of scoring. Just thought we lacked some 'identity' - whatever that means! :D

Thought Finley looked good, made a few things happen with passes going forward. Our wingers were often double marked - centre midfield needs to recognise this and get closer to the play, make themselves more available and knock the ball just past a player to open things up.

No wholesale changes for next weekend, maybe a slight tweak in formation and make sure we start on the front foot.

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To be honest TomD i think our mid-field needs additions, hard for J.C, before deadline day, but badly needed is my view.

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Like I said Cashy ( and it was good to share some quality time with you yesterday! )..
Midfield yesterday were just not good enough to make any impression on Gillinghams setup .
They were outplayed in every department and bereft of any attacking ideas which made for an easy afternoon for their opponents.. Both our Captain and Scott Brown sad to say both looked not quite ' fit for purpose '... as far as the superior demands of League 1 go anyway. .

But it is early days... and I am busy vigourously polishing the lenses of my rosy red spectacles for future games riding on the STANLEY Rollercoaser !.

ON STANLEY ! ... ON TO GREATER THINGS !!.

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Always regard it as a pleasure when i encounter you and AlfredE ,mate.;)

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Good analysis Tom D. It probably wasn’t as bad as we thought at the time.

Obviously there’s always room for improvement but if we want to make the biggest strides I’d be looking at replacing Hughes, Brown and Kee....or, maybe lessening our reliance on these three.

I think if we consider Parker and Zakuani. Parker was much better than Hughes faced last year and it showed, Kee never faced a central defender who managed him with such ease.
Brown....I’m less sure about. Last year he really upped his game and it made a huge difference. But can he do it again and at a higher level?

Clearly there’s loads of question marks about what our best defence is but Sykes, Rogers, Big Ben, Johnson etc are all good enough or likely to improve.

Seamus, Clark and Sean will do ok providing they have some quality alongside them.

Anyway, that’s my current view and I reserve the right to do a massive u turn! Coley and the players usually prove me wrong.

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The bottom line for me is very simple.
We’ve lost Chapman Dunne and Donacien from our starting line up.
We’ve stepped up a league with a weaker side.
That will be joined by Kayden this week .... why on earth we played the lad I do not know.
Lord only knows what will happen if we suffer injuries / suspensions.
The next four days are critical.

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If Kayden goes then we will get good money for him hopefully freeing a bit of money for some targets of Coleman,s also is there a young striker from Ireland signing for us just something I heard maybe someone on here knows.

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Also whats very simple to me, is we will get money that you said we would never do twenty eight.?

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You know twenty eight is full of s*** as much as everyone else Cashy mate I wouldn't bother with him

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Are you taking about 2 mill ?
No I don’t.

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Be specific.
What have I said that is full of **** as you so eloquently put it ?

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Cashy
Be honest.
Do you think our side Saturday was weaker stronger or on a level with last season ?

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I hope my good friend Cashman , who is nothing but honest on all occasions, won't mind me interjecting here... but whether we were a weaker, stronger, or ' on a level side than what we all enjoyed watching last season was surely decided for those watching by the quality of the excellent opposition which Gillingham presented.
As previously posted, I came away with the immediate opinion that Stanley's midfield and both wingers were simply not in the game, and that this was perhaps the main reason for the scoreline.
However, having had a few moments to consider this decision my revised opinion is that the four players mentioned were not weaker, stronger or on the same level, but were simply not allowed to perform because they were overwhelmed by opponents so obviously superior to themselves .
Perhaps if you were to save this question for a couple of months then everyone on the forum would be rushing to discuss the issues involved.

ON STANLEY !... ON TO GREATER THINGS !!.

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Well if that’s the case we are in for a rocky ride because Gillingham are nowhere near the best sides in this division.

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As Davo once put it, people should reserve judgement until we’ve played 10 games at this level!!!
Things should have settled down by then !!

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I think it's unfair to say Sykes was out of his depth on Saturday as everyone else looked exactly the same. The entire team did not start well and Gillingham overloaded us in the midfield. Sykes did what he had to do as a defender, and it was an average display overall from all of the defence. Same with Johnson, he was average and I'm sure he'll learn from his mistake as he looks more mature now and looked good in pre-season matches.
Ben was a worthy MOTM in my eyes and played well in his position.
The defence didn't play so bad as a back four, the goals came from 2 individual errors does anyone else not agree?
I think they now know what pace to expect next week at Bristol and will be up for the game right from the first whistle. Up the Stanley and bring on Sat!! :)

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I agree Twenty Eight. You have hit the nail on the head here......:)
Maxted is probably a bit more predictably consistent than Chapman but Chapman's longer reach could well have effected a save for the second goal on Saturday. Losing the best two defenders from last season in Dunne and Donacien hasn't just meant losing 50% of our defensive quality but more likely we have lost 60%. Replace that 60% with only say 40% and now I would suggest that our defence is only 80% of the capability of last seasons back four. Add to this that we are playing another league higher and it clearly shows an increased weakness.
I do believe that young Sykes will get better and I would personally prefer to see Big Ben along side him at centre-back even though he was possibly our best player on Saturday at left back. His height and pace is need in the middle against bigger, fitter, stronger and faster forwards! Will Wood, like Sykes should improve and could be the answer to the left back issue and I would give him a run of matches to give him experience at this level.
I think that the step up a division is also showing our physical limitations in centre-midfield. There is an old saying..."A good Big Un will always beat a good Little Un!"....... We need somebody in there with much more of a physical presence but also with mobility and creativity.
Up front if we do lose Kayden, which is very likely I suppose, then Zanzala could be a good replacement for him. Like Sykes and Wood he is still young and raw but with a good run of matches and with a show of confidence from the management I do believe that he too will improve.
We have only lost one match and all is not quite doom and gloom yet....
Every summer Coley and Jimmy have had to rebuild their squad and team. A bit less so this summer but like Dav 007 always says, I think we need to give it 10 matches to settle down.

ON STANLEY ON:theband:
KEEP THE FAITH:mosher:

Re: Gillingham (H) match thread
 

Football is all about opinions.
Healthy debate is great.
What I do not understand are the comments from the likeS of Lord Love.
Pathetic.

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Not being funny or nasty Twenty eight after 1 game how do you know they are nowhere near a top side personally I thought they were very good they have brought in new players and reading their managers post match comments he was pleased with how the new lads played, having said that as I said in an earlier post a bit of luck and we could have had a draw a couple more new faces that can gel quickly and I think we will be ok we aren't a bad side overnight yes we have lost key players but nothing on the scale of previous seasons.

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The table won’t lie Andy.
If Gillingham are up there happy to eat a huge slice of humble pie.
Comparatively speaking their squad is shallow.
I hate saying this ..... but I thought we made them look good.

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Have to agree with twenty eight on this, our performance did make gillingham look very good i thought,

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This is the biggest concern from Saturday.

If Gillingham end up having a promotion push, then we should be okay.

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a team that struggled for a lot of last season as well. thought we might get something out of the game as we should have been on a high after promotion. {remember newport away a few seasons ago**. promotion was gained last season due to having a good team ethic with a few top division 2 players in the side. our problem at the moment is we are still a division 2 side playing a division higher. going to be coleys hardest few days as a manager trying to recruit players when the main carrot money cannot be used.

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Well just back from Barbers who is a rovers season ticket holder, and he told Gillingham were not a bad side at all last season, and knowing he aint a bullshiner, i will take his word fer that.

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Andrew Scott 18 years old was right then beat twenty eight to it.

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Let’s revisit.
Have we strengthened ? Absolutely.
Gillingham a good side ? Absolutely not.

Re: Gillingham (H) match thread
 

Twenty Eight, a man of experience like yourself should know there are no absolutes in football.
The bottom club are capable of beating the league leaders on any given day.
From my perspective, most teams in league 1 are of a similar standard & the difference between success & failure is often a mystery.
I can well imagine other teams last season thinking 'Will Accrington Stanley win the league? - Absolutely not!'

Re: Gillingham (H) match thread
 

66/1 with Bet365 currently ...

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I’ve tied my colours to the mast. Gillingham are a poor side.