PETER TAYLOR SACKED AS Gills MANAGER!

[Garawa]

More to follow shortly.

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

This was a big shock to see this morning,as results had picked up a bit,and Scally`s programme notes a couple of weeks ago said he was happy with Taylor`s work,and he wouldn`t be going anywhere.Hessenthaler will take charge for Saturday`s trip to Port Vale,but I think no one wants him to be permanent Manager again.Who would you like to see as Manager?

[Garawa]

No names really stand out apart from ones WELL out of our capability of attracting! I was shocked, not at him being sacked but the fact it happened now when it would have been easier in games before!

[jasetheace]

Gills need a young up and coming energetic motivator. May I suggest Nathan Jones at Brighton. His stock has risen substantially and narrowly missed out on the top job at Brighton after steadying the ship during his brief caretaker reign.

[baronnight]

This has come as something of a surprise and makes me think there has been a falling out over the January transfer targets, I don't think we need to rush into a new appointment and would be happy to see Hess cover for the immediate future. Unlike many I don't consider the Hess period of management a disaster, 5 years in the Championship with no budget and second rate players was quite an achievement, 2 years finishing 8th in league 2 gave consistency after years of downward spiral.

[fan_of_mulligan]

My Thoughts on Peter Taylor's Sacking Today (going to be a long post)............

No Manager is unsackable and it appears that in football today, unless your at the top of the table or doing well and over-achieving then your going to get the sack because manager's and players get so little time to settle in, there is no time to build for the long term because everything is about today, and I have to say that the sacking culture in English Football now is something I am personally sick of, By the time Gillingham appoint there next manager then Gillingham will have had four manager's in four season's - Andy Hessenthaler in 2011 / 2012, Martin Allen 2012 / 2013 and the first eleven games of the 2013 / 2014 season, Peter Taylor, the rest of the 2013 / 2014 season and halfway through the 2014 / 2015 season and whoever we appoint now will be appointed for the rest of the 2014 / 2015 season and for how much longer then that we will not know ???

Again no manager is unsackable, but our last four season's in League One have seen Gillingham relegated twice under Mark Stimson's Management, we just about survived last season and who knows what Gillingham are going to do this season ??? - also I think the following question is one that needs to be taken into consideration as well ......... What happens if we make a managerial change now and in one year's time we're in the same situation we are in now, do we keep changing manager's to find a solution ???

League One is a very difficult and very challenging league, there are teams in this division with resources and finances that are way beyond our financial capabilities and while that doesn't mean we shouldn't have ambitions or asperations to aim higher, it is these lack of finances that are one of the contributing factors for why Gillingham are 20th in League One this season - maybe a different manager can do something different with the same group of players and hopefully the next manager can keep Gillingham up, but if we're struggling to stay in League One in The 2015 / 2016 season then will we sack him as well ???

I am also surprised that Peter Taylor has been sacked because just two weeks a go Paul Scally said that he had the right manager at the helm and I am also surprised at the timing of Peter Taylor's sacking as well, but attendances are at least 1,000 down on what I thought they would be this season, the atmosphere around Priestfield Stadium on a match day is very unpleasant and the comments on social media are a thousand times worse, I am not sure if Paul Scally reads what is mentioned on Twitter or Facebook, but he will have noticed the atmosphere inside Priestfield Stadium and the declining attendances this season - including our lowest ever attendance at Priestfield Stadium for a FA Cup First Round Tie as only 2,654 supporters turned up to watch that game.

Now I have always been someone who would rather back a manager then call for them to go, there were two exceptions to this, Ronnie Jepson after our 3 - 0 defeat to Southend United and Andy Hessenthaler after our 1 - 1 draw against Northampton Town which meant we missed out on the playoffs for a second successive season - We all wanted Andy Hessenthaler to succeed and it was those 4 - 3 defeats which cost us, and while Andy Hessenthaler is a legend as a player I don't want to see him appointed as Peter Taylor's successor.

Perhaps there was a inevitability about Peter Taylor's sacking because the atmosphere in and around Priestfield Stadium has been very unpleasant, The "Leave One Up Taylor, Leave One Up" Chants, the levels of abuse thrown at him from those who sit behind The Technical Area - I don't sit there but I know Andy Hessenthaler responded badly during The Chesterfield Game and I am always curious as to know who does sit behind the dugout simply because one person who sat there for The Peterborough United Game was charged with racial abuse - I am not condemning or applauding Andy Hessenthaler's comments back to the supporters behind the technical area, because that is unacceptable - I am always curious to know who sits there.

Whatever our opinions on Peter Taylor we should at least thank him for his efforts, while we question his tactics and decision makings during matches, I don't think Peter Taylor gave less then 100% to The Gillingham Managerial Position and maybe Peter Taylor felt that if this squad stayed up and stuck together then next year they would of been better for the experience.

I also think that whoever we appoint as manager has a good young nucleus of players that they can call upon, John Egan, Jake Hessenthaler, Bradley Dack, Aaron Morris, Josh Pritchard, Luke Norris, Brennan Dickenson and the three loan players Harry Lennon, Michael Doughty and Max Ehmer, that's why I think Gillingham's Next Manager should be someone who can sign and develop young players and I would put that requirement right at the top of the list along with engaging and bringing the supporters together.

This has been a frustrating and negative season, but Gillingham are only eight points behind Chesterfield in seventh spot and this division is really tight and we got some winnable games coming up (on paper), that's why I am surprised with the decision to make a managerial change because we don't want to be going into matches against Crewe Alexandra, Walsall, Oldham Athletic and Coventry City with no manager so Paul Scally must have someone in mind and will be looking to make a quick managerial appointment, also The January Transfer Window is open so we will need to move quickly to bring in the next manager and bring in the players that the next manager will want to sign.

Next Managerial Appointment is crucial though, we cannot drag our feet through the mud like we did when we appointed Mark Stimson and we cannot make a internal appointment, because I cannot see Andy Hessenthaler being given the managerial role at Gillingham Football Club, I am sure that a lot of manager's will love to take on the managerial role at Gillingham and we will get a lot of candidates applying for the position, but Youth Development and contacts to sign young players are both big requirements for me and what we need to focus on for Gillingham's Next Manager.

[Elgrande]

I never understand why fans who give players or managers dogs abuse get all offended if the manager or player gives some back. If you talk the talk and all that. As for a new manager maybe we could get someone deaf then he wouldn't notice the lack of atmosphere in the ground or react to some coward doubting his parentage or the origins of his mother!
I hope this time the fans aren't going to get distraught if it isn't a big name and turn on him / or her from the first game.

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

I thank Taylor for keeping us up last season,he steadied the ship.We should also thank Taylor for helping us reach the JPT Area Finals which we can still look forward to.This season with his own Team we were hoping to see some progress on the pitch in the League with him building his own young squad.I think Taylor`s own down fall was not letting his attacking players off the leash.The likes of Dack,Cody,McGlashan,Loft,Dickenson all can give more attacking wise,but the system Taylor played meant we have not seen the best of this young squad yet.The phone call with Scally does seem the be the biggest factor,as his record of 2 defeats in 9 showed we were recovering a bit.

[gillsfan1066]

Well, well ,well, what a surprise, Mr Scally did something earlier rather than later, thank you Mr Scally, now lets find the club a new manager who is young enough to be able to communicate with the players and not someone who wants to tell everyone about the game he managed back in 1883 against Singers FC .
Bit of a bitch to be fired on New Years Eve,but I guess better than being fired on Christmas Eve by e mail or reading about it on twitter.
Gillingham's players don't need to be molly coddled,they need to be told what to do,when to do it, trying to treat them as adults is a waste of time, there neither mature enough or care enough about the team,only thing they care about is the pay check, and that doesn't go just for GFC players it goes for 83 % of all players in professional football. I actually made that number up,started with 99% but that did seem a little high,lol.
Dear Ms Fanny Mulligan, I hope you had a wonderful New Year Eve Party,and didn't do anything you shouldn't. I heard from Mr. Lidbid that at last years prize giving two glasses of shandy and you were going to take on the whole Gills team in an arm wrestling competition, you little minx you.
Reading you letter printed above I don't agree with you that this division any tougher than any other division to get out of ,unless you have a team like Wolves that drop for a season,and basically keep there team together, and put 20,000 + butts in the seat each home game but if you look at Division One this year I don't exactly see any millionaire clubs in the running do you ?
The simple answer to you question do you keep changing manager till you get it right ,well duh, yes that's exactly what you have to do,whats the point of keeping Taylor around playing the same style of football and getting the same result. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
All this talk of building teams ,bringing in young players and a manager like Taylor develops them is I am afraid a bit of a pipe dream.
But look what he did with young England team. Do you think the 3 weeks a year he has them he actually did something to improve their games, thats a bit like saying Roy Hodgson has helped Rooney become the player he is, it's the club coaches that make the players not the England Managers.
I said in a post six or more months ago that Hessy would be the manager by the New Year, made it by one day, lol,lets hope he can motivate the team till Scally brings someone in and hopefully that will be by the middle of next week at the latest.
Thanks PT for keeping us up last year and then putting us in exactly the same position this year,even after you have bought in 101 players,in 18 months, nice going Chummily.

[fan_of_mulligan]

https://twitter.com/BBCKentSport/status/550670378419642368


Peter Taylor will be speaking to BBC Radio Kent about his sacking as Gillingham Manager at 4PM.

[fan_of_mulligan]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30657002

Here's the interview in full with Peter Taylor.

[Garawa]

Thanks for posting this Lee, I missed it first time and have been waiting to catch it on the iPlayer which still says "coming soon" now!

Elgrande I too hope the new guy is given full support by the crowd. Many didn't want Stimson, Hessy or Taylor and its been years since the whole crowd got behind the team. I just don't buy the excuse that you pay for a season ticket and it gives you the right to berate and abuse. Firstly, if there is even a 0.5% chance it would affect the side then don't do it, why jeopardise results?? Secondly, you don't should abuse at the chef in a restaurant, at the bus driver or at a Tesco checkout person so why is football unique??? Hell you would get nowhere in a car showroom either even though you would be shelling out the equivalent to nigh on 38 season tickets. Football fans need to get real and get behind the side and perhaps we might win more at home and increase gates giving us the better players and higher leagues everyone seems to want more than anything!

[gillsfan1066]

Footie died as we knew it when computers came into every kids front room, and XBox's arrived and games came onto phones and could be played anywhere. What 12 year old now days wants to walk to Priestfield on a cold January day to watch Gillingham play Port Vale,when he can sit in his front room and HE can play Barcelona or Manchester United ? Half the men that are there are only there to get away from the wife and kids for the afternoon. lol.
We used to get so much delight at shouting at the opposing players when they came to take a corner on the main stand side of the pitch at the Rainham end, and listening to the "big guys" swearing and then us saying swear words, haha that was half the fun for a 10 year old,hanging off the barbwire round the floodlight stand.
I guess we shouted insulting things at the Gills players and managers, but somehow I don't ever remember much more than a big groan coming from the crowd when they screwed up, hahaha,maybe a few obscenity's, but how could you be nasty to your own team, that was saved for the walk home. Of course I also remember everyday during the school summer vacation was a sunny day and full of fun,but I guess there were times it rained,lol.
Getting to the games and home was as much fun as going to the game,the walk there and back,took longer to do than the game took to play, but dam it was great to be arguing with your mates and getting covered in mud crossing the bomb buildings by the train station,finding a sheet of rusty corrugated iron to slide down the muddy bank,getting home with muddy torn jeans and an hour later than you were told to be home,Mum shouting look look turning you round to smack your butt and Dad saying how was the game to stop her,haha.
Ah the good old days,they are not coming back,standing at footie matches, playing in the streets,having friends that lived next door that you SPOKE to,who's door you knocked on and said Hi Mrs. Jones can Kenny come out to play, instead of texting or what ever is this months trendy thing to do .
Now days it's all about instant gratification ,NOW,NOW,NOW, no one wants the club to talk about building a team for the future,it doesn't happen like that any more, everyone will get behind the manager as long as he is WINNING, if he isn't they will turn on him in a heart beat,just like they do at every club in the league,Managers are hired to be fired,thats the name of the game.