2011 Prediction League; Game 28 Gillingham FC (home)

Div3North · 22-01-2012, 16:48

Accrington Stanley

V

Gillingham FC

Prediction League – Game 28; v Gillingham (home)

Fair to say that Gills’ Manager Andy Hessenthaler isn’t a happy bunny

; last week after the loss 2-0 at Shrewsbury he said

"I'm certainly not happy and we didn't turn up today. Even in the warm up we didn't look at the races and that showed in the performance today. It's not acceptable”

Yesterday, after the 4-3 home loss to the Wombles, he said this

"I'm very shocked. To be 3-1 up with 20 minutes to go and lose the game is criminal. It is not acceptable, that's two weeks in a row. We cannot defend. We've lost two on the bounce. Twenty games to go, have I got to do something defensively? Yes I have.”

Ooops!

He did have the bonus of seeing his two recent signings on the score sheet; 30 year old ex Swindon, Torquay, Brentford, Bournemouth and Bristol Rovers’ striker Jo Kuffour (who hit 32 in 130 games for the Pirates as well as 7 in 13 on loan for the Gills earlier in the season while on loan (he wanted a move back to the London area, apparently

)) got his 8th, and loan signing striker Gavin Tomlin (29) – born in Gillingham, who played non-league as well as for Brentford and Yeovil, and subbed on for the Daggers at our place earlier in the season – scored his first two for Hess. Somewhat under-used is the summer “wonderkid” signing Adam Birchall (actually 27), who joined from Dover Athletic where he’d got 64 in 78 games, and who doesn’t seem to have featured since

………..Out went 21 year-old midfielder Luke Rooney, who moved to Swindon for a six-figure sum; once he refused a new contract at Gillingham he was dropped from the team, and although there was some sort of reconciliation, I doubt that his “I’m gutted to be leaving” speech was wholly sincere

………..

You can sympathise to a degree with Hess over yesterday’s defeat; you shouldn’t really be 3-1 up at home with 17 minutes on the clock and lose 4-3 …….. (mind you, who else remembers 21st December 1957 – Huddersfield, who were 5-1 up at 10-man Charlton, conceded 6 in the last 28 mins and lost 7-6?

) But actually, that’s the way their season’s going; a spell during November and December of 4 wins and 2 draws from 6 games was followed by 4 defeats in their last 5 – 2-0 at Shrewsbury, 2-1 at the Daggers, 3-1 at home to Stoke in the FA Cup Round 3 and 4-3 to Terry Brown’s Wimbledon yesterday; their only success was a home win against Aldershot on Jan 2nd by the odd goal in 1 ……….

26 League games has them with a record of W12 D5 L9; away, its P14 W5 D2 L7. Currently they lie 8th on 41 points; out of all the Cups - in the FA Cup they had a creditable run, beating Bournemouth 3-2 after a 3-3 draw away, and Leyton Orient 1-0 away, before the Stoke loss; in 6 cup games their tally is 9 scored, 12 conceded, in the League (26 games) it’s 44 scored, 35 conceded. They’ve managed 6 goals once (6-1 at Hereford), 5 once (5-2 at Torquay), two 4s (the Cobblers 4-3 and the Pirates 4-1, both at home) 5 threes and 4 twos; 8 times they haven’t scored at all

, and 11 times they’ve got just the one

………Invincible they certainly ain’t.

Those who remember the away game thread might also recall that I mentioned some indiscipline – Charlie Lee (25), who joined from Peterborough, had 3 yellows already by then (early September); well, now he’s got 12

, and has been banned for three matches already……………

Leading hitmen are ex-Wombles skipper Danny Kedwell with 11 (he got 58 in 119 for Wimbledon, not including the winning penalty in the BSP Playoff Final which got them their League status

), Jonathan Osei-Kuffour (see above) with 8, West Ham loanee striker Frank Nouble, who got 5 in an 11-game, three month loan spell before returning to the Hammers netting his first for them at Derby on New Year’s Eve, defender Danny Jackman (29), whose CV includes Stockport and Northampton (with 4), and ex Posh midfielder Chris Whelpdale, also with 4. Whelpdale will be 23 on Friday

, and has the distinction of having the same birthday as my wife (who won’t be

). 9 others have 1, 2 or 3

In 2008/9 we lost 1-0 away and 2-0 at home as they went up; in 09/10 we put them out of the FA Cup in round 3 by 1-0

, the winner coming from John Miles (who’s still at Stockport but who’s only featured some 3 times in their team); last season, they having been relegated, we whopped them 7-4

(I was there!

) but lost the return 3-1, and this season’s opener was a 1-1 draw – Luke Rooney’s 86th minute penalty rubbing out the advantage we’d got 3 minutes before via Ian Craney. In League terms, P5 W1 D1 L3 ………

Incidentally, the team that put them out of the cup on 19th January 2010 bears repeating, to show how things move on in our League;

Bouzanis (now Oldham), Kempson (no club – just left Grimsby), Edwards (Stevenage), Winnard , Lees (Leeds), Procter (PNE), Grant (Scunthorpe), Ryan (Scunthorpe), McConville (Stockport), Miles (Stockport), Symes (Bournemouth) (sub; Kee – Burton Albion); just shows that if you stay when everybody else goes, you end up as skipper

………… Nice one, Dean ……

The deadline for entries is, as ever, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 28th January. 7-4 again? Even more, just for Wynonie and DiG? 0-0? We’ve lost 1 in 11

, they’ve lost 4 in 5

; dissention in the ranks? Could well be that our head-to-head improves pretty soon ……………

Good luck to everyone ………… and thanks for playing!