Gillingham (H) match thread

[cashman]

Also whats very simple to me, is we will get money that you said we would never do twenty eight.?

[Lord Love Rocket]

Originally Posted by cashman

Also whats very simple to me, is we will get money that you said we would never do twenty eight.?

You know twenty eight is full of s*** as much as everyone else Cashy mate I wouldn't bother with him

[Twenty Eight]

Originally Posted by cashman

Also whats very simple to me, is we will get money that you said we would never do twenty eight.?

Are you taking about 2 mill ?
No I don’t.

[Twenty Eight]

Originally Posted by Lord Love Rocket

You know twenty eight is full of s*** as much as everyone else Cashy mate I wouldn't bother with him

Be specific.
What have I said that is full of **** as you so eloquently put it ?

[Twenty Eight]

Cashy
Be honest.
Do you think our side Saturday was weaker stronger or on a level with last season ?

[yonmon]

Originally Posted by Twenty Eight

Cashy
Be honest.
Do you think our side Saturday was weaker stronger or on a level with last season ?

I hope my good friend Cashman , who is nothing but honest on all occasions, won't mind me interjecting here... but whether we were a weaker, stronger, or ' on a level side than what we all enjoyed watching last season was surely decided for those watching by the quality of the excellent opposition which Gillingham presented.
As previously posted, I came away with the immediate opinion that Stanley's midfield and both wingers were simply not in the game, and that this was perhaps the main reason for the scoreline.
However, having had a few moments to consider this decision my revised opinion is that the four players mentioned were not weaker, stronger or on the same level, but were simply not allowed to perform because they were overwhelmed by opponents so obviously superior to themselves .
Perhaps if you were to save this question for a couple of months then everyone on the forum would be rushing to discuss the issues involved.

ON STANLEY !... ON TO GREATER THINGS !!.

[Twenty Eight]

Well if that’s the case we are in for a rocky ride because Gillingham are nowhere near the best sides in this division.

[football19]

As Davo once put it, people should reserve judgement until we’ve played 10 games at this level!!!
Things should have settled down by then !!

[accyfan21]

Originally Posted by DAV007

Maxted - thought he was poor today for their goals, did make some decent but expected saves
Johnson - poor game, offered little going forward
Sykes - out of his depth today
Hughes - was poor in patches but more concerning he didn’t lead as much as I would expect him to with a first time starter along side him
Richards Everton - MOTM, tried , did his all in the left back position
Clark - very poor game by his standards, didn’t beat his man often enough, final ball was not good enough, went missing first half
Connelly - poor first half, grew into the game
Brown - very poor first half, never really won his midfield battles
McConville - like Clark had no impact in first half, physically seemed a yard slower than the rest
Kee - some good hold up play but didn’t have a real chance all game
Jackson - very movie and put the effort in but didn’t have a real chance all game

Subs

Finley - thought he was poor and didn’t inspire any confidence based on that performance
Zanzala - didn’t get a single chance , difficult to impact the game with less than 10 mins to go
No 3rd substitute - poor from Coleman

Overall , poor tactical set up and performance.
Worth mentioning Charles Cook and Hanlan out wide for Gillingham, they have got 2 good players there
Zakuani an absolute rock at the back for Gillingham

I think it's unfair to say Sykes was out of his depth on Saturday as everyone else looked exactly the same. The entire team did not start well and Gillingham overloaded us in the midfield. Sykes did what he had to do as a defender, and it was an average display overall from all of the defence. Same with Johnson, he was average and I'm sure he'll learn from his mistake as he looks more mature now and looked good in pre-season matches.
Ben was a worthy MOTM in my eyes and played well in his position.
The defence didn't play so bad as a back four, the goals came from 2 individual errors does anyone else not agree?
I think they now know what pace to expect next week at Bristol and will be up for the game right from the first whistle. Up the Stanley and bring on Sat!!

[choirboy]

Originally Posted by Twenty Eight

The bottom line for me is very simple.
We’ve lost Chapman Dunne and Donacien from our starting line up.
We’ve stepped up a league with a weaker side.
That will be joined by Kayden this week .... why on earth we played the lad I do not know.
Lord only knows what will happen if we suffer injuries / suspensions.
The next four days are critical.

I agree Twenty Eight. You have hit the nail on the head here......
Maxted is probably a bit more predictably consistent than Chapman but Chapman's longer reach could well have effected a save for the second goal on Saturday. Losing the best two defenders from last season in Dunne and Donacien hasn't just meant losing 50% of our defensive quality but more likely we have lost 60%. Replace that 60% with only say 40% and now I would suggest that our defence is only 80% of the capability of last seasons back four. Add to this that we are playing another league higher and it clearly shows an increased weakness.
I do believe that young Sykes will get better and I would personally prefer to see Big Ben along side him at centre-back even though he was possibly our best player on Saturday at left back. His height and pace is need in the middle against bigger, fitter, stronger and faster forwards! Will Wood, like Sykes should improve and could be the answer to the left back issue and I would give him a run of matches to give him experience at this level.
I think that the step up a division is also showing our physical limitations in centre-midfield. There is an old saying..."A good Big Un will always beat a good Little Un!"....... We need somebody in there with much more of a physical presence but also with mobility and creativity.
Up front if we do lose Kayden, which is very likely I suppose, then Zanzala could be a good replacement for him. Like Sykes and Wood he is still young and raw but with a good run of matches and with a show of confidence from the management I do believe that he too will improve.
We have only lost one match and all is not quite doom and gloom yet....
Every summer Coley and Jimmy have had to rebuild their squad and team. A bit less so this summer but like Dav 007 always says, I think we need to give it 10 matches to settle down.

ON STANLEY ON
KEEP THE FAITH

[Twenty Eight]

Football is all about opinions.
Healthy debate is great.
What I do not understand are the comments from the likeS of Lord Love.
Pathetic.

[andyd]

Originally Posted by Twenty Eight

Well if that’s the case we are in for a rocky ride because Gillingham are nowhere near the best sides in this division.

Not being funny or nasty Twenty eight after 1 game how do you know they are nowhere near a top side personally I thought they were very good they have brought in new players and reading their managers post match comments he was pleased with how the new lads played, having said that as I said in an earlier post a bit of luck and we could have had a draw a couple more new faces that can gel quickly and I think we will be ok we aren't a bad side overnight yes we have lost key players but nothing on the scale of previous seasons.

[Twenty Eight]

The table won’t lie Andy.
If Gillingham are up there happy to eat a huge slice of humble pie.
Comparatively speaking their squad is shallow.
I hate saying this ..... but I thought we made them look good.

[cashman]

Have to agree with twenty eight on this, our performance did make gillingham look very good i thought,

[DAV007]

Originally Posted by Twenty Eight

Well if that’s the case we are in for a rocky ride because Gillingham are nowhere near the best sides in this division.

This is the biggest concern from Saturday.

If Gillingham end up having a promotion push, then we should be okay.