2023-24 Prediction League; Game 2 v Gillingham FC (away)

Div3North · 09-08-2023, 20:03

Gillingham FC

v

Accrington Stanley

2023/24 Prediction League; Game 2 (12.8.23) v Gillingham FC (away)

Saturday 2nd October 2010 @ The Crown Ground; Accrington Stanley 7 Gillingham 4; our goals by Sean McConville, Andy Parkinson, Charlie Barnett, Lord Sunbeds (2 x penalty), El Tel (Terry Gornell) and Jimmy Ryan …………… Gillingham’s fourth goal from 12 yards by YFB …….. and Mark Bentley scored the Gills’ first two goals, and was red-carded in the 2nd half! Attendance was 1932 ………… and me!

Just saying!

Friend of mine emailed me last Saturday evening after the day’s games were done …… He was playing hell about their appointed Ref, who - he claimed - had ruined his team’s chances of starting the season with a win …. Apparently his side’s skipper had parachuted in to the ground with the match ball, and their GK had worn (for the first time) his new strip of a very fetching lavender shirt, lavender shorts, lavender stockings and even lavender boots

And the Ref promptly booked their captain for descent, and then sent their keeper off for violet conduct ………….

While the Women’s World Cup is on, a themed Starter for Ten: the Philippines put out the co-hosts New Zealand 1-0 in the Group stages ………. but what was unique in the history of the WWC about the entire Philippines team, and their five substitutes as well?

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 a notable man in Kent history, it's said, as he led his warriors into battle screaming and shouting. In medieval times the part of Gillingham known as Grange was a limb of the Cinque Ports and the maritime importance of the area continued until the late 1940s. Gillingham (the village) was eventually swallowed up, and the name of the whole settlement changed to Gillingham. In the 1891 census its population was 27,809, and in 1901, it was 42,530; currently it’s 108,483

If you look up the history of the place you’ll find that there have been two disasters in the town and we’ve played them so many times (16!) that I’ve covered the interesting bits already …. however there was an unusual episode of Civil Disobedience ….. The Suffragettes, as you might have known, had decided to boycott the census as well as jumping in front of the King’s horse in the Derby (their motto was “If we don’t count, we’re not going to be counted”), and one Sunday night in April 1911 one Laura Ashworth (who had already been sentenced to prison after a rooftop protest - and force-fed to boot) hired a local Hall where 41 Ladies of Kent decided to stay the night, playing cards, dancing and singing, so that they wouldn’t be at home and couldn’t be Censused ………… sadly, it all went wrong, because they made such a racket that the Police were called, and the Census Enumerator turned up as well, and left the forms for them to fill in anyway ….. which they didn’t do …….

Airbus UK Broughton finished last season’s Cymru (Welsh, to you) Premier League (having been promoted from Cymru North the season before) rock bottom, with a record of P32 W0 D2 L30 GF18 GA100 and Points -4 (a deduction of 6) ……… somebody subsequently asked if that was the worst League Season anywhere, ever, and if not, whose season was? …………. And that’s your second Starter for Ten

Gillingham FC was founded in 1893 as New Brompton Football Club, a name retained until 1912, and played in the Southern League before joining the Football League in 1920. After 18 unsuccessful seasons, they were voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937–38 season, and returned to the Southern League. The club was voted back into the Football League in 1950, when it was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs. Twice in the late 1980s Gillingham came close to winning promotion to the second tier of English football, but a decline then set in and in 1993 they narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference. Between 2000 and 2005, Gillingham were in the second tier of the English football league system for the only time in their history, achieving a club record highest league finish of eleventh place in 2002–03.

They ended last season in 17th place with 55 points from a record which read P46 W14 D13 L19 GF36 GA49, making them the meat in a Walsall / Doncaster sandwich; their 36 goals were eight shy of the second-worst (Colchester). The local Gills Expert (BBC Radio Kent’s sports editor Matt Cole) said this just before the season started

“Gillingham looked destined for relegation at Christmas last season, firmly rooted in the bottom two having scored just seven League Two goals. The takeover by US owners saw badly needed investment in the January transfer window, and manager Neil Harris steered the team to the safety of 17th - courtesy of form that would have seen them promoted had they replicated through 46 games.

More signings this summer signify the club’s intention to compete at the top end of the table and there’s a new-found optimism among the club’s support, fostered by changes off the pitch too. Chairman Brad Galinson says consolidation is key and promotion would be “the icing on the cake,” but if they find the right attacking players this transfer window the Gills could well be in the mix to go up this season.”

They shipped out 12, most notably RW Scott Kashket to Sutton Utd and Scottish-born RMF Alex McDonald to Satanage; apart from RB Will Wright, everyone else who left went non-league ………… six came in - four across the back four (LB Max Clark from Stevenage, CB Connor Masterson from QPR (not going overly well yet for Gareth Ainsworth as manager, is it?), Irish CB Shadrach Ogie from the Orient, and LB Scott Malone from Millwall, and the other two were AMF Jonny Williams from Swindon and striker Ashley Nadesan from Crawley who we beat 4-1 in the FA Cup)

They’ve started well; a 1-0 win at Stockport on Saturday was followed (trumped?) by a 3-1 EFL/Carabao Cup win at Priestfield over Southampton from le Championnat ………. they’re in the EFL Troffy with Leyton Orient, Pompey and Fulham’s Mixed Ability u12s …………. So: our first League tester on the road!

And before I go; you know that I have a bit of a “thing” for the lower reaches of Scottish football, and you probably know that since 2014/15 season there has been a two-legged play-off between the winners of the Highland and the Lowland divisions (tier 5) (who play each other) and the team which finished 10th in League two ………. for the first four seasons the existing League side won (except 2015/16, when Edinburgh City confined East Stirlingshire to the Fiery Pit (2-1)), but of the four play-offs since 2018/19 the non-League team has won and been promoted every time ………. Cove Rangers, Kelty Hearts, Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic (that’s a football team?) and, last season, The Spartans (another Edinburgh club). The defeated League teams - in order - were Berwick Rangers, Brechin City, Cowdenbeath, and (last May) A N Other; final Starter for Ten, then: who did The Spartans put out of the League (and if you need a clue, I was - for one season only - a season-ticket holder of the Departed Club). Don’t ask ………

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 12th August ……. Good start last Saturday for the Stanley, but we need to do it Lots More to Lots of People …….. And the unique fact about the Philippines team which despatched the Black Ferns from the Women’s World Cup is that apparently not a single one of the team or the subs was actually born in the Philippines (although they were all qualified to play) ……….. And the very worst recorded League season was by Darwen in 1898/99; P34 Pts 9; scored 22, conceded 141 (and 141 is the highest number conceded in any English League season, and a GD of -119 is also the worst ever recorded) ………….. And finally, The Spartans Did It Unto Albion Rovers (known as “The Wee Rovers", and they probably did)

Good luck to everyone! …....... Keep the Faith! ….. And thanks for playing! …… And don’t forget we’re playing Barrow on Tuesday!