Hello and welcome to the all new and improved Match day Hub which is now the official place for Gillingham fans, I decided to update this so that you will know where to go and chat before and during the game. This is here to replace the match day thread and the Starting Line up Prediction, this is where you will now be able to post all your team predictions and score updates. You can now just spend your match day in one place if you are not at the game. This is the thread for the upcoming game, I always post this thread before each game so that you can express your views on the corresponding fixture and can talk between each other during the game, You can post your team predictions before the game, you may include the starting 11 plus the subs which you think will be in the team, no points awarded for your predictions it is just for fun, it allows you to start a healthy debate between each other about the team which we will play or what it should be. If you wish you can post updates freely about the game and chat between yourselves, you are also free to talk about other games bizarre or not. This is open to both Gillingham fans and also the opposition After the match I will allow you all to create a summary on this thread and I will also provide extra details on the game if they are required or if I want to point anything out. You can talk about what was good about the game and what could have been better. During the game I will update the score and the team sheets as soon as they are available, also at the end I will add the table to this thread as it stands. This is here permanently so you will not see the Match day thread or the starting line up prediction threads as this is them combined.
..............Gazza Evans, Essam, King, Jackman .......Payne, Montrose ....O-Lee, Miller, Obita ..............Vine Subs Hawkes Framps Whelpdale Kuffour Keds
BRB - I'm never one to question your judgement and please don't cite this as negative but the reasoning for leaving out Whelpdale (possibly one of our most in-form players) and Kedwell whilst playing Vine as a loan striker when he most certainly isn't match fit? I'll go for:- Gazzaniga Evans Essam King Jackman Whelpdale Payne O Lee Obita Kuffour Kedwell SUBS Hawkes Frampton Martin (Montrose if he's in contention) Miller Vine
When was the last time Vine played a competitive match??? Gazza Evans Essam King Martin Whelps Jackman Payne Obita Kedders Kuffs Subs Hawkes Framps Monty O Lee Vine/Miller
Tom-Tom - no problem mate, just another one of my crazy moments. That's two in a week. I couldn't make my mind up Whelpdale or O-Lee. So I was trying to think who would offer Miller the best protection. With Vine I only included him because I could, one of the things I came away thinking on Tuesday was we never looked like scoring, so who have we got? We are so inconsistent it is scary at times and I thought I would make it look a bit different for a change. Leaving room for Evans and Jackman to come forward. Our biggest miss by way and far is Tomlin, I expect more from Kuffour and Keds than I'm seeing, so I just thought what the heck and left them out of my virtual selection. Probably a bad inditement on my part, leaving out our current strikers for an unfit, unproven one but sadly that is how I am left feeling after the team build us up and then let us down again.
Those of you going to Bradford, hope you have a safe journey there and back. Hopefully you will be coming celebrating a win I will be checking for the scores while cooking the burgers at Kingsmeadow. I know it is still another week away to the Macclesfield game, but I am already starting to look forward in joining you to cheer on the Gills. Hopefully I will at last see them win (unlike my last two visits to Priestfield) and Keds on the scoresheet. Have a great weekend. Take care and best wishes. Regards Bernie
I guess it's a sticky one for Hess. He could change things up (which he has seemingly promised to do depending on what you believe), score a couple of victories and be labelled as a tactical genius, or he could make these changes, it could go belly up and he could come even more under fire. I'm always saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it" but this is the most "broken" and depleted Gillingham squad I have ever seen. So changes need to be made, but where? Until the addition of Obita, I was gunning for us to adopt a 3-5-2 formation with wing backs giving us some width, now I'm crying out for 4-4-2. We're heading into April and we've seen some of our best form produced by a squad riddled by injuries and suspensions and that itself is something to admire, but personally I feel it has come too little too late.
I think we will go with this, not sure, but I think this would be a good line up. Gazza Evans Essam King Jackman Whelpdale O.Lee Payne Obita Miller (He may play Kuffour, but I would rather see Miller, just hope he don't play Oli as I would rather see 2 strikers who can get goals) Kedwell Subs Hawkes Frampton Martin Vine Kuffour I would like to see this line up but I doubt we will see this, also I think Martin may be back in the team and also Oli and Montrose will feature somewhere in the team.
One doubt is King has a slight thigh strain, so he may not be able to play which is a shame, he has been so good lately coming back and playing so many games, I am well happy with him, however Frampton may play instead.
hoadie, do you ever see byond kedwell...he's not all that you know ! he may work hard, but it's not enough for us to get promotion if he doesn't score more or assist others and he certainly isn't captain material for gillingham fc. if vine turns out to be any good for us, plus kuffour can find form along with tomlin becoming fit, birchall cameback before the end of the season. i think danny kedwell would be 4th or 5th inline to start for me, with only miller & oli behind him. he needs to bring more to the table and just don't see it happening ! fair enough he may be mr gills, but that won't get us an extra 3pts !!!
I am not going to seriously stick up for him on that, at current he is not on his best form, he knows that he needs to get a few more goals, they have dried up again and this needs to change, however you say about Kuffour, but he has not been good at all over the last 2 months.
As a pacey young striker Miller gets my applause. The only problem with Miller was clearly evident from coming on in the Crawley game he has no strength. Despite me naming him within my selection, he should only play if the tactics afford him protection, without that, sadly he has no place. Love him but strength is a weakness that threatens his place. One thing I think has gone unmentioned from the Crawley game is Gazza. Firstly I will start by saying I am not having ago (just an observation), despite his slips, he is well afforded them after his previous popular performances, however (this is the observation bit..), Crawley I believe had sussed Gazza out (done their homework). I've mentioned in many previous match reports, that teams did not know how to handle Gazza's kicks. On this occasion an opposing player stayed close to Gazza during his kicks, which had the desired affect of causing a minor percentage of hinderance, the kicks were then mopped up by a Crawley team chasing down any such long ball, well probably every ball! Gazza is superb in what he does but it is only as effective as someone having the ability and Tomlin stamina to get on the end delivery. Obita was having to come inside, the tactical positioning was what? hence the end result all became ineffective. If someone affords themselves putting a man close to Gazza, we need to find a way of changing and taking forward any advantage. Otherwise as a unit we look weak and on Tuesday did. I believe this is where we missed Evans. Matt Fish whatever his defensive ability does not have the same wing back potential of Evans.
I think that is a fair judgement, have to say with Fish I am totally with you, Evans is younger and seems to be much better so Fish don't have a place in my team, he done well against Cheltenham and some of us thought that maybe we had misjudged him and maybe just maybe he could be a good player, but it just seems that he is not good enough at League level so I think Evans needs to be back in the team, hope Hessenthaler don't make the mistake and stick with Fish at the back
which is why hoadie, i said if kuffour can find his form. kuffour on his day is one of the best in this division, yet you pick kedwell every game plus one other ???
for me fish, martin and frampton should be no more than back up players, they have not convinced me more than once this season, they have and will cost us points, along with promotion !
I think you are totally correct on 2 of them, Frampton and Fish would be out the door if it was up to me, but Martin I am not sure on, he has not convinced me as a defender, tackling is poor to get 3 reds but he is good going forward so as a midfielder I would have him in my team, but not starting, just as a sub.
Not a long journey for me, but I'll be there with daughter and hopefully meeting up with BSG and LeedsGill - the Gills Northern Elite membership remains as 3½ (counting daughter as ½ as she doesn't post on this board, although she has bought the train tickets!!) What concerns me is the connection between your presence at a Gills home game and a defeat, although this season maybe that's stretching coincidence too far. What has happened to brb's lucky shirt?
28 Paulo Gazzaniga 16 Matt Fish 22 Connor Essam 03 Andy Frampton 12 Joe Martin 14 Jordan Obita 19 Lewis Montrose 08 Jack Payne 18 Danny Jackman 07 Chris Whelpdale 33 Jo Kuffour 11 Dennis Oli 05 Simon King 23 Rowan Vine 31 Ashley Miller 37 Oliver Lee Where is Keds? No Evans???? Vital game today, especially with Oxford (@ Cheltenham) and Crewe both also playing away.
So annoying that Evans is still not in the team, not even on the bench which pisses me off, did not want to see Fish, not surprised to see Frampton start, shame but we have to have him in, Montrose in is not good either, would never play Kuffour upfront on his own as I think he needs 4-4-2 with his height, I think I would have started Vine or Miller with him. It seems Kedwell is out with a training injury which he sustained on Thursday, doubtful at the minute for Tuesday, just heard from him and he don't know yet.