2020/21 Prediction League; Game 18 v Gillingham FC (away)

Div3North · 13-12-2020, 22:15

Jill Ingham Fussball Klub

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Accrington Stanley

2020/21 Prediction League Game 18; v The GillPintQuartGallons (away)

It may be a true-ism, but it's true for all that; at this time of the season the EFL clubs cull more managers that Sainsbury's do turkeys ........ six were terminated in November, and two more quit for better prospects (although I'm not too sure about Richie Wellens' thought processes (W4 D1 L4 in all competitions won't fend off a Gary-Mauling), and John Useless-Sheridan is on (League) P8 W2 D1 L5 ... and in December, so far (actually, today) two managers in the EFL and one in the Bananarama have got Christmas at home with the Family - Stuart McCall at Bratfud (AGAIN), David Dunn at Barrow (157 days, and 2 wins in 22 is always going to end badly) and Peter Beadle at Barnet ......... Paul Hurst and Jonathan Woodgate are 4-1 for Bratfud, with Phil Parkinson 6-1, and every unemployed manager (Sol Campbell, Sam Allardyce) on the list too .... Hurst (fives) and Parkinson (six-to-one) are also on the Barrow list, but behind favourite Graham Alexander (fours) ....... and my bet for "next for the chop" is Chris Wilder at the Blades (one point from 12 games probably deserves being put out of its misery)

And a huge "well done" to Lord Coley of Hyndburn on winning Manager of the Month again; richly deserved ............... Starter for Ten, then; how many times in all has Lord CofH won MotM (League Two and League One)?

The town of Gillingham - soft "G", so a "J" sound - is in Kent; it is not to be confused with Gillingham - hard "G" - which is the most northerly town (despite the borough population only being 11,700) in Dorset .......... both towns have a footie team; Gillingham Town FC (the Dorset one) is nicknamed "The Gills" and play in the Dorset Premier League, currently lying 4th, with 15 points (five wins) from 7 games - 9 points behind Merley Cobham Sports (8 wins in 8) but 15 above Wareham Rangers, who are bottom of the League on P8 L8 GD -25 Pts Nul .............. Gillingham FC (the Kent one) is nicknamed "The Gills" and plays in League Un of the EFL, where they currently lie 12th on a record of 7 wins, 2 draws and 7 defeats, giving then 23 points .... Confused? You will be ............

Anywhere in Kent, of course, creates the "What's the difference between a Man of Kent and a Kentish Man (or Maid)?" argument;

1. Do you know?

2. Do you care?

The more you explore the origins of the divide between the Men and Maids of Kent and the Kentish Men and Maids, the less certain things become. The easiest way to decide on which side you fall seems to be to take a map of Kent, locate the River Medway as it winds from Weald to sea, and then check if you were born to the east or west. If you originate from east of the Medway, tradition has it you are a Man (or Maid) of Kent. From the west? Then you're a Kentish Man or Kentish Maid. Case closed? If only.

While the River Medway divide is the most commonly cited distinction between the two camps, other theories have been put forward over the years. And how could the English miss the chance to get the question of class in there somewhere? In 1735 the Reverend Samuel Pegge said the two names were more a social status, saying a Man of Kent is "a term of high honour", while a Kentish Man "denotes but an ordinary man". It appears above all else that Men of Kent may have been the greater propagandists, because one tale also tells of how the tribes of the east of the county refused to allow William the Conqueror to pass through without granting them to retain certain old rights and privileges en route.

So now you know!

The name Gillingham is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is said to have been named after a warlord, Gyllingas—from the old English gyllan, meaning "to shout". He was apparently a notable figure in Kentish history, as he's said to have led his warriors into battle screaming and shouting (rather like Mel Gibson but without the woad)..... Cue the National Anthem of The Ancient Britons (to the tune of "Men of Harlech";

"What's the use of wearing braces, vests or pants or boots with laces,
Spats or hats you buy in places down in Brompton Road?
What's the use of shirts of cotton, studs that always get forgotten?
These affairs are simply rotten: better far is woad.
Woad's the stuff to show, men; woad to scare your foemen:
Boil it to a brilliant hue and rub it on your back and your abdomen.
Ancient Briton never hit on anything as good as woad to fit on
Neck, or knees, or where you sit on -tailors, you be blowed."

At the time of the Norman Conquest (by Alan Ayckbourn - c1976) - Gillingham was a small hamlet. After William le Conkerer did for Harold from an offside position at Pevensey, Gillingham was given to his half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux - who, as well as Bishopping, made tapestries in his spare time. Odo rebuilt the parish church at Gillingham ("Odo he didn't!" "O dess he did!") and constructed an Archbishop's Palace on land bordered by Grange Road, the ruins of which could still be seen in the last century. Gillingham itself, at the time, was a small hamlet, built around the parish church and surrounded by large farm-holdings

Sur l'autre main, of course, Mr Gyllingas might, for all I know, have been screaming for his Mummy to save him .......... Maybe he was the role-model for Gilbert O'Sullivan's character from "The Gondoliers", the famous Duke of Plaza Toro;

"In enterprise of martial kind, when there was any fighting,
He led his regiment from behind, (He found it less exciting).
But when away his regiment ran, his place was at the fore, O-
That celebrated, Cultivated, Underrated Noble man,
The Duke of Plaza-Toro!"

The name of the town means "homestead of Gylla's family", from Old English ham ("village, homestead") and ingas ("family, followers"), although it was first recorded in the 10th century as Gyllingeham. In medieval times part of Gillingham was a limb of the Cinque Ports, and the maritime importance of the area continued until the late 1940s; a large part of Chatham Dockyard was in Gillingham - the dockyard started there, and, until it was closed in 1984, two-thirds of the 'modern-day' dockyard lay within the Borough boundaries. The dockyard itself was established by Queen Elizabeth I on the site of what is now the gun wharf, transferring to the present site about 1622

On the football front, the local success of Chatham Excelsior F.C., encouraged the creation of a club which could compete in larger competitions. New Brompton F.C. was formed at a meeting on 18 May 1893; the founders also purchased the plot of land which became Priestfield Stadium (where they still play, of course) The new club played its first match on 2 September 1893, losing 1–5 to Woolwich Arsenal's reserve side in front of a crowd of 2,000. New Brompton were among the founder members of the Southern League in 1894, and were put into Division Two.

In the seasons that followed promotion to the top tier of the SL the club struggled in Division One, finishing bottom in the 1907–08 season, avoiding relegation only because of expansion of the league. In 1912 the directors passed a resolution to change the club's name to Gillingham F.C. (effective in 1913). They finished bottom of Division One in the 1919–20 season but for a third time avoided relegation, due to the hi-jacking of all Southern League Division One clubs to form the Football League Division Three.

In their first season in Division Three (1920–21) - and exactly 100 years ago - Gillingham finished last with 8 wins, 12 draws and 22 defeats, giving them 28 points, conceding five against Luton and Norwich and 6 against Merthyr Town; they were re-elected though, as were Reading and Brentford, but in the years to follow there was little improvement, the club continually finishing in the lower reaches of the bottom division. In 1938 the team finished bottom of the Third Division (South) and were required to apply for re-election for the fifth time since joining the league; they failed, with Gillingham returning to the Southern League and Ipswich Town being promoted in their place. In 1950, plans were announced to expand the Football League Division Three (South) from 22 to 24 teams and, taking into account their local success in the interim, Gillingham were re-elected to the Football League with a landslide vote.

In 1987, Gillingham made history as a result of their games on consecutive Saturdays against Southend and Chesterfield ...... Second Starter for Ten; what caused those two games to go into the history books?

In 2000 they made the Second Division playoffs, where they beat Stoke (3-0 and 2-3), moving through to the Final at Wembley, where they did Wigan 3-2 aet (half-Desmond after 90 mins) to reach the second tier (Division One) alongside champions (PNE) and Runners-Up (The Dingles) ....... They finished their first season there in a decent 13th place, 13 wins and 16 draws giving them 55 points, and they remained in the Championnat (which by then it was) until the 2004/05 season, when they GreasyPoled in 22nd place, with 50 points (along with Notts Forest on 44 and Rotherham on 29), going down on GD (-20 plays -21) and saving Crewe; both had identical W12 D14 L20 records, but Crewe scored 66 to Gills 45, and conceded 86 to the Gs 66 .............

They ended last season in 10th place, playing 35 games for 51 points and a 1.46 PPG figure ........... they came to ours at the end of October, and took the points with a minimum win (1-0); the return fixture didn't take place ..... we last beat them 4-3 in January 2012, and don't forget that we thrashed them 7-4 in October 2010 but (whisper this) we haven't won in our last five meetings (2 draws, 3 losses) and we've only scored one goal in those five games ...............

13 left in the summer, including French striker Mikael Mandron to Crewe, fellow striker Brendan Hanlan and German-born CB Max Ehmer to Brizzle, Barry Fuller to Dorking Wanderers (I think Dorking Wanderers is still a criminal offence), Ben Pringle (known to his mates as Sour Cream and Chives, or "Chives" for short) who's now at the Globe (stadium, not theatre), RMF Regan Charles-Cook, now at Ross County, and Tommy Lamb and Harry Laing, both of whom have gone Stateside to Eckerd Tritons, who play in the Sunshine State Conference Division II .... in came, among a group of 9, RB Ryan Jackson from Colchester, striker Vadaine Oliver from the Cobblers, CMF Jacob Mellie from the Trotters, Alex McDonald - who I think is the one who tore us apart some years ago when Plymouth beat us 4-0 at ours - from the Stags, and CB Christian Maghoma from DR Congo, who joined from nowhere

They're having a funny season; lost their first game, then won 3 and drew one, then lost five, then won 4 and drew one, and lost on Saturday, 2-1 at Donnie ........ out of the FA Cup in Round 2, losing 3-2 at home to Exeter; out of the Milk Cup in Round 3, 1-0 at Stoke; and out of the Troffy, 2-0 at Cambridge .......... leading scorers (all competitions) are Jordan Graham, Vadaine Oliver and Domenic Samuel, each with 6 ..... and they're still managed by That Nice Mr Evans ........... and of their seven wins, NONE are against sides in the Top Ten - and we're in the Top Ten!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 5.30pm (half past five on a Tuesday? What sort of time is that to play a match?) .... and Lord Coley has, by my count, won six MotM awards - four in League Two, and two in League One (plus Manager of the Year in May 2018) ...... and the reason why the Gills' consecutive 1987 wins against Southend and Chesterfield were remarkable is that they beat Southend 8-1 and TwistySpires United 10-0 .......... I wish!

Good luck to everyone! .......... Stay safe and keep well! ............ And thanks for playing!