Crewe (H)

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

I think Crewe at home on Saturday gives us a fantastic chance to make ourselves practically safe.A win would put us on 48 points,needing 4-5 points at the most to stay up.Crewe have been leaking goals for fun,and currently sit 22nd in the League.But I think we have to be wary of them,as they seem to like playing at Priestfield where they have won the last three games.Both times they have been a struggling Team.I would like to think we will be set up well to attack them and score a couple past them.They have Aneke on loan from Arsenal who has been scoring most of their goals,so we will have to mark him well.If we play like we did against Coventry then we should have no problems though.

[Garawa]

The home games against Crewe, Tranmere and Shrewsbury on paper look like fairly good home wins. Full points from those and none others would leave us on 54 points. I don't see many coming from the away games if any at all but we cannot rely on these fixtures as these are the sort we generally lose. The Bradford point was a very satisfying one indeed and any picked away can help offset a wobble from these. 3 points Saturday would be huge as it's not just 3 points but it stops Crewe from being yet another side that can get within 5 points of us.

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

We do tend to slip up in games where we expect to win,which is the usual Gills way.I think we have atleast 2-3 wins in us,so will be safe this season.The good thing aswell this time is we also pick up points away from home,and the odd away win here and there.

Team? I think Taylor will play an attacking Team against a side that leaks a lot of goals.Cody and Bayo will surely start together,Gregory should come back in the side,and I think Dack and Hess will both start.Harriman could be back,but I think he may only be ready off the bench.

Nelson
Hewitt,Legge,Barrett,Martin
Gregory
Lee,Hessenthaler,Dack
Akinfenwa,McDonald

Subs:Baxter,Harriman,Linganzi,Smith,Weston,Fagan,Pigott

[Garawa]

So a large bug has swept through the club and ruled a number of players out of tomorrows game. Great, just when we thought we saw the finishing line in sight!

For stats about tomorrow's game, click here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=936

[gillsfan1066]

There must be a rule that if more than 3 or 4 players are sick the game is cancelled, I suggest Scally bungs some local quack a few quid and lets get those sick notes written and dropped off at FA head quarters by midnight tonite, we must not loose this game.

[lidbid46]

That was horrible! As soon as I saw the team on Twitter I was worried. The midfield without Hessy or Dack is just not creative enough and I always worry these days when Legge and Barrett are paired together - they just don't have the pace when players are running at them. The first goal will be repeated again and again if they are exposed like that. Weston should only be used as an impact sub in my opinion. I thought Beyo was excellent and Cody played as he usually does, but they are so isolated, with a huge distance between them and between the midfield that they are never going to be able to put enough pressure on a defence. Crewe were pretty hopeless themselves, but they got lucky with their first goal and then just used their power to boss the game. When we equalised I honestly thought we would just take the game by the scruff of the neck and win the second half quite comfortably. Why didn't that happen? Most of you who know me know that I don't criticize Gills., am always positive and have been a passionate Gills. fan for years. But right now I feel that all those things have changed. So here goes with a rant. What on earth is PT thinking when he stands there with his arms folded, not communicating with the players or his staff, seemingly unaware of the need for a plan B? Will someone please explain why Hessy is not the first name on the team list? I don't buy this 'he needs a rest, he's only young' nonsense. At his age he should be able to play every weekend without any difficulty. The game today was crying out for him. What was the plan today? Just booting the ball aimlessly towards Beyo, hoping something will happen is not good enough. How have we kicked on from last season? Look at Rotherham; why is that not us? I think we will survive this season, (although not if we play like we did today in the remaining games), but then what? Is all we have to look forward to next year another season like this one?
At the moment, I really don't feel as though I want to keep doing this. I have had a ST for years and have always renewed automatically, as soon as the next one becomes available. I am itching for the new season to start by the beginning of June and drive my family mad singing Gills songs throughout the summer. I just feel that ebbing away and have almost made up my mind that if we get relegated I will not bother renewing for next season. But now, after today, I am even wondering whether I want to renew even if we stay up. I know I will carry on going to games, but I think I may pick and choose instead of blindly going to every match without any thought. I really hated today and for the first time ever as far as i can remember I left five minutes early. Someone please make me feel more positive about things as I don't like this feeling at all!!

[gillsfan1066]

The Latin term for it is Gillsaflippingitus, you have had this for 40 + years, it's like shingles starts off as chicken pox, sits in the system for years and then booooommmmm crops up when you least expect it .
I guess I am kind of lucky I don't have to suffer like you guys, spending a bloody fortune year in year out to watch the same old crap that's been dished out for ever with the occasional great year A PROMOTION and a few magical wonderful years we spent in the Championship .
Don't worry old mate, take a couple of BIG glasses of scotch, go cuddle the wife and call me in the morning if you don't feel any better.

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

I could see this result coming,as Crewe seem to have a lot of joy in recent years at Priestfield.This was their 4th straight win in Kent,and it was the 4th straight game against Crewe down here with a sending off in it.It was a really slow start from us,and to concede so sloppily that early on was frustrating.Aneke their main threat had a simple finish.I thought from just before our equaliser to Half-Time we looked the better side.Linganzi who I thought had a good 50 minutes scored a header for us to equalise,and we then could have took the lead when Barrett`s header was saved,and Cody came close twice.For me the turning point in the second half was Bayo`s header straight at their keeper.He had a chance to put us ahead,but his header was weak and their keeper saved.A minute later Crewe went 1-2 up and Aneke again scored their second,poor marking again by our defence.From then on Crewe always looked like adding to their lead.Cody did come close when his freekick went just past the post,but Crewe added a third when Pogba`s little backheel went in.In injury time Cody`s header was well tipped over,and that was the game over.

I`m disappointed that we have missed out on a good opportunity to be just about safe,and now have the pressure on games against the top 7 to help get us over the line in the near future.The goals we conceded were poor,and we should have done better today.

[gillsfan1066]

Time to bring in someone like Gary Holt from Falkirk, a young manager who played around the leagues and seems to be doing good things in Scotland. Give the guy a 3 year contract and stop bringing in these re tread managers, who go from team to team living on their past successes. The present Manager of GFC proved today he is about as much use as t*ts on a boar hog , what a joke, someone run and get him an umbrella incase it rains for next weeks game.

[lidbid46]

Sorry, but I don't feel better this morning! I am not looking forward to the rest of the season - yesterday seemed like a complete waste of time which I could have spent doing any number of things, such as cuddling my wife! If I am not looking forward to going to the games like I have for the last x number of years, then it has just become a habit which perhaps is time to break; at least for a while. I know some of you have expressed thoughts like this before which I have been somewhat scornful of, but now I can see what you meant.

[gillsfan1066]

Maybe it should have been 4 glasses of Scotch and a little more than a cuddle with the wife ? When I first left England with Sir Francis Drake on the Golden Hind, I used to watch and support anything that was English Football, dam even Scotland or Welsh matches, now here I am today, snow falling outside for the 90th time this year, below freezing so no chance of playing golf, really got nothing to do and in 2 minutes Spurs and Sthm'ptn starts, followed by Villa and someone and I don't give two hoots, going through the channels to see if Little House on the Prairie is on, or maybe something exciting like a travel show to Venice or the Swiss Alps.
Watched the Chelsea game yesterday and I have had my fill of Premier soccer for the weekend, to much soccer on tv (yes I know I have an on/off button) and the same teams playing 7 days a week either in Prem, Championship, Europe or replays of all of them, actually got a bit enthusiastic yesterday when they showed Midd'lbor against QPR . Guess I need another hobby outside of golf, Mildred get me another glass of Scotch woman and where's that nightie you wore on our honey moon?

[Garawa]

I agree with you Lidbid, this team would cave in very quickly if we went at them from the start. They were desperate to get the goal quickly to avoid that but we battled back but made too little of it. Perhaps the bug saw players playing below par? At this stage of the season how many times have we lost the "easy" game only win the hard one? We are going to have to do that now and maybe Rotherham will be an "easier" given that their place is all but cemented in the play-offs?

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

I was feeling very positive about safety on Friday night,but I`m a bit worried now after yesterday.We have to hope we can carry on our good record against Rotherham at Priestfield,and nick something from the MK Dons game,Peterborough game,and Orient.A win and the odd draw will have us so close,thats why the defeat yesterday hurts as we could have been just 4 points off 52 points.The fear for us is the run of fixtures against the top 7 coming up,and three of them away from home.

[Rimshot]

This is the same old remedy for the same old problem, I'm afraid. Until Scally is replaced by someone who has more in mind than just taking money out of the club this is our place in football. Ambition-less also-rans.