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Article: What is going on with the striker situation? | Football, Gillingham

Discussion in 'Gillingham' started by GeminiSwiftgfc, Sep 10, 2011.

  1. GeminiSwiftgfc

    GeminiSwiftgfc Well-Known Member
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    Now I know we have talked about this many times before but it always seems to come about when a single person gets linked or a rumour pops up so I thought I'd have a crack at putting all my thoughts on the whole issue about the striker situation and hope you will add your own thoughts.

    As another week goes by and still there is no replacement for Birchall. I am now very concerned about the length of time it is taking for us to get any support for Kedwell, I personally do not think we'll see very much of Birchall this season even after he is back in training it will take time for him to get his strength back in his leg and get to full match fitness.

    Do we actually have any realistic targets?

    With Hess coming out and saying that the fact we are in League 2 players from higher leagues are not willing to drop down to this level, or something along those lines, what chances do we have of picking up someone of any standard any time soon? Or should we be looking, once again, at non league and hoping that we'll be able to get another hidden gem?

    Every time someone becomes available who would be able to do a job for us they get snapped up by another club, Lisbie to Orient (although I thought he was supposed to be on trial at a championship club it appears he was actually with them) Clarke from Swindon to Chesterfield (not too fussed about that one though) Wes Thomas from Crawley to Bournemouth and so on etc etc........

    How much are financial pressures behind the delay? What can we pay in wages? Can we afford any fee to take a player on loan?

    I also feel that the longer it takes to get a player in the MORE important it will be for that player to do well because with each day that passes and each point we may drop there is a growing frustration among fans that nothing seems to be done. Many are waiting, hoping, praying that the wait will be worth it and that our patience will be rewarded (as I feel it was in the summer) but should the signing be seen as a disappointment, which I am sure whoever it is will be to some (not on here so much but definitely on other sites), there will be more & louder calls for a change at the top. A view that I am not in favour of because I don't feel the regular changing of managers achieves that much.

    So who could possibly be out there that we could go for? I have thought about this and I have to say I don't believe we will get someone that is "prolific" like many people believe we should get. I feel that if someone is prolific that will look to be in a higher league and/or require too much money as mentioned before. But this doesn't mean we can't get any decent and that they couldn't be prolific for us a la Cody Mac or Chris Dickson in his first stint. If we are looking at someone in the Championship I believe the most likely origin would be West Ham, not just because of Ian Hendon but also location could be helpful too, there are 2 guys that could come in from there that I think could work. One has been mentioned by some fans and the other I believe would do a good job for us despite the fact that on paper he does not appear to have been that good, Frank Nouble is the first and Freddie Sears is the second. I would personally be happy with either and neither really seem to get a look in at West Ham and both would benefit from regular first team football and that is something we certainly can offer.

    My final thought, for now, is that we actually could do with bringing in 2 strikers and a pacey winger. Will that actually happen? I very much doubt it.

    UTG
     
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  2. WINDYROG

    WINDYROG Well-Known Member

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    Watching this space all the time is frustrating.....but a few rabbits were pulled out of the hat in the close season. Lets hope the magicians haven't lost their touch. :emoticon-0103-cool:
     
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  3. gillingham kangaroo

    gillingham kangaroo Active Member

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    There has got to be a loanee out there whe can hit the net a bit more often than Oli or Payne. Oli has scored 12 goals in 4 years and Payne yet to score.Obviously we wont get a prolific goalscorer but need someone who is going to assist Danny Kedwell to start scoring and hopefully chip in with 10 + goals himself(Luke Rooney ?).I think we could plant a tree just outside the box at the Rainham end and it would score more than Oli.
     
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  4. brb

    brb Guest

    Why do we put ourselves under such pressure, yes it was unfortunate the Birchall injury and in fairness there is not a lot any manager or Chairman can do about that, apart from question marks around the number of pre season friendlies but it was just an unfortunate injury that could have happened at any time.

    So what does Hessy do?
    He utilises the squad he's got, up until five games in to the season that was working fine, apart from a few obvious flaws but the fans were generally happy and the points were on the board.

    Then Rotherham and those obvious flaws were now starting to show signs of some great big cracks appearing and were the foundations of the team about to give, at 0-3 they certainly took a battering, next up Shrewsbury, albeit a dying seconds penalty, another loss at 0-1, so no goals now in two games.

    Speculation on a new striker coming in before our next game against Accrington, that speculation was not helped by alleged comments reported in the media, that Hessy was looking at a Championship striker who he did not want to name, in case someone tried to hijack the deal.

    Well the Accrington game is now up on us, so did the deal get hijacked or are we still waiting on further confirmation on whether it can go ahead?

    Please tell me this deal was not Lisbie, if it was, it was the worst kept secret in football, IMO the whole situation looks pretty dumb now, with all the message board speculation that went before. I mean no disrespect but choosing bottom of League One side Leyton Orient, over the Gills, are we really that bad! Or was this just another story blown out of all proportions - I want to make it clear I'm not having a go at Lisbie, I'm just completely laughing at this whole speculative scenario from start to finish.

    Finances may be tight (I don't know), however, 6 valuable points now dropped, hopefully we will not drop any more today, serious league two promotion contenders or nearly rans, we will know the answer in another 40 games or maybe less - although failure will have made this one costly season for the Gills, time to call in an insurance policy, you know plan b, even plan c maybe, have we even got one?

    What ever happens I'll still be there.
     
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  5. totsfan

    totsfan Well-Known Member

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    can't understand why Payne doesn't score for you'he was profilic at Sutton United,that's why Fulham came calling
     
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  6. bristol407

    bristol407 Well-Known Member

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    I think most supporters recognised that all the money went on recruiting the Summer intake. Gills have the biggest squad in League 2 and once you have spent the budget you cannot spend it again. So in the event of a major injury to Kedwell or Birchall it always meant manage with what we have got or borrow someone cheap. Unfortunately everyone seemed to forget how bad Oli is and how little Payne and Rooney have developed. They might still come good, and they will never get a better chance to break through, but at the moment it looks doubtful. So there will not be any replacements especially if Gills cannot afford an assistant for Hessy. A further loan signing if Nouble goes is the best that can happen unless there are a few moves outwards (Jack Payne to Reading for instance makes huge sense if he would fetch a decent fee).
     
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  7. GFCSTU

    GFCSTU Member

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