Brackley (H) - 9 Nov 2013

[Garawa]

Brackley are 2nd in the Conference North with 28 points and have only lost once in their 18 matches this season.

The visitors have conceded just 9 goals in the league and cup before today, scoring 25 times.

Brackley top scorer is Stephen Diggin with 7 goals. Gary Mulligan has 6 goals in 43 appearances for the Northamptonshire club.

Gary Mulligan last scored at Priestfield on the 21st October 2008 in a 2-2 draw against Notts County.

The biggest name in the Brackley side is arguably Izak Reid who provided 1 goal (& 2 assists) from 23 appearances for Morecambe last season.

The Gills have progressed when they have met same or higher league opposition in Round 1 on the last 4 occasions but lost the last 2 against lower league opponents.

The Gills total home FA Cup record from all Round 1 ties stands at W 33, D 11, L 14, F 114, A 66.
The football league years record against non-league opposition is W 14, D 3, L 3, F 53, A 18 (Dover, Folkestone & Margate being the 3 victors)

3:00
Kick-Off

4:28
GOAL! Gillingham 0-1 Brackley

4:56
GOAL: Gillingham 1-1 Brackley: Dack

[Elgrande]

So about 3,000 Gills fans turn out for the FA Cup and I am sure most of them (listening to the Radio) had laryngitis. I take it a cup run is of no interest anymore then? I wonder if we make it to the third round and get a top side the "fans" will want a ticket. I wonder why I cannot be bothered anymore?

[Elgrande]

Oh and before I get dogs abuse I got home from work with 12 minutes to go!

[lidbid46]

I have to admit I didn't go today - the first home game I have chosen not to go to for perhaps ten years. I had several reasons, some of which I imagine were valid for other fans as well. Firstly, I haven't been feeling well for several days and whilst it would not have been bad enough to stop me going to a league game, I decided earlier this week that I could do without getting cold and wet today, particularly when I saw the long range weather on Tuesday. I imagine the rain was a factor for people who where wondering this morning whether to go or not. Next, I really couldn't see what enjoyment I would get out of today. If we had won easily, which we probably should have, then that would have been OK, but hardly that exciting. Any other scenario would be one that I would not enjoy and now, in retrospect, and reading Twitter etc. it seems that not many people enjoyed themselves. I would have liked to have seen Mulligan again, but that hardly seemed a big enough draw to persuade me to part with £15 for a ticket. Added to that, my son is away this weekend and many of the ST holders I sit with and chat to were not sure they were coming today either. So all in all it seemed reasonable to spend the afternoon with my wife and to look forward to the next home league game and another three points towards safety. If that makes me a disloyal fan, then so be it, and yes, I will probably be there if we get to the next round and have a home or close away match.

[gillsfan1066]

From the call I got from someone who was there, anyone who went deserved to have their money refunded, Scally, Taylor and the Gillingham players, your all, with one or two exceptions, a pathetic joke. Please don't tell me Brackley got UP for the game and we couldn't.
Scally the season is a third of the way through, you get a home draw in the FA Cup against a team 57 places below us in the pyramid, chance of a big payday as in MONEY just around the corner as in MONEY with a win and Taylor can't get this bunch of wimps excited enough to play.
Your bunch of wannabe players could not manage ONE shot on goal the whole first half ,lol, that's a squad with no interest at all , a bunch of local pub players could have managed one or two shots.
TAYLOR do us all a favor GO NOW, not MONDAY,NOT TUESDAY, TODAY, AS IN Sunday you are pathetic, don't embarrass yourself anymore. ONE corner the entire match, 2 off sides and 45% of the position, went to the Gills lol ?
You were playing a bunch of "has beens" and 100 quid a week players, almost armatures , and you have a team of PROFESSIONALS lol, don't make me laugh, you have a bunch of NO's, .....NO GOOD, NO EFORT, NO NEED TO BE AT GFC COME MONDAY MORNING, WITH ONE OR TWO EXCEPTIONS I hope Scally is in negotiations to sell you all to Brackley Town and bring that squad to replace you at GFC.
Sounds that we have the wrong McDonald playing for GFC, ship Cody McDonald off to Dover , lets get a few bucks for him, and we owe them a favor after the way we stole their manager, yeah THAT manager, 10/1 Gillingham's next manager, God help us.
Ethel get me another beer woman I want to let everyone know what I really think.

[Elgrande]

I suppose that is what has changed over the years. Going to the Gills used to be as much about the day as the football, meeting mates having a few beer and a laugh and then going and making a noise at the match. The second ever game I went to was Tamworth in the cup in 1969 and I bet there were more than 3,000 there. We won 6-0 and my love affair with the Gills and the cup was born. Over the last few years my love affair has turned to a like not because of the football, but because the day itself is no longer so enjoyable. The atmosphere and passion just seems to have gone and it is almost like fans now treat going to football the same as going to a concert. THey want to be entertained and they might then join in; whereas before it was about vocal support and hope the game was good and getting behind the team come what may. I imagine the amount of football on the TV is to blame as is the enforced change in the demographic of those that now go to watch.

[gillsfan1066]

I think we could sit here till Christmas saying why fans don't go, but I have always thought at the end of the day we are at best a forgettable average football team , if you were a supporter of say MKDons would you really be saying to your friends Gillingham are coming here Saturday, quick we must get tickets, I don't think so.
We have one good season every few years, a team that's rarely does anything to excite the fans and lets be honest you have to be dedicated to want to see this sort of doodoo week in week out against the same old, same old clubs ?
When we were in the Championship division we were averaging around the 8/9,000 mark and the fact we kept that number week in week out meant they were not fair weather fans, they just don't want to watch Gillingham play Port Vale or Stockport year in and year out, they wanted to watch us play BIG NAMES, Derby, Leeds Manchester City etc,etc. and to tell the truth I don't blame them.
Our home gate hovers around the 5500/6000 mark seems to be about the average for the "lesser clubs" in this division, but in an age where if it's not on the Iphone it's not worth having, I really don't expect things to change in the near future.
When we were kids Dad didn't spend 50 quid on a Manchester United shirt, a team you had never seen play live, you got a 2 pound 50 Gills shirt and begged for a few bob to go see the game.
Often members of the staff here drop in the office on there days off, bring their kids with them, the kids wearing Barcelona, Madrid , Roma , Man U shirts and these kids play alongside their heroes on the team on these dam computer games, scoring goals and being congratulated by Messi or Ronaldo, Ibisevic and Rooney, hell what more could a 9 year old want, being mobed by Ronaldo and half the R M squad when you score, but ask them if they saw Rooney score last week in the say Man U. Sunderland match and all you get is a blank stare.
In this day and age if your not in the Prem or Championship then you ain't s***, and if Scally is not prepared to bring in the rite manager, and SPEND some money on FOOTBALL players then we are doomed to bounce up and down between the Third and Fourth Division , like we have done since the first game I went to, way back early 60's.

[Robpthegills]

Elg, we were crap back in the day, but the price of admission reflected the standard of football you were watching.

Today is does not.

I did not go yesterday. No excuses, no genuine reasons other than ONE.

I did not want to spend 15 pounds of my hard earned money on watching a crock of shite. I have always watched a crock of shite being a gillingham supporter but I used to pay next to nothing to do so.

You pay 15 quid for our manager then to tell us after the game, he thought that Brackley were really up for it..................REALLY wow the fa cup and the minnows were up for it thats new.

Maybe you are lucky having work as an excuse not to have to go anymore. I wish I had a reason. I am fed up spending hard earned money and being bored stiff my sub standard football, poor tactics, and facilities that are falling apart. Paying 22 pounds to be in a nice stadium, tv's showing us half time reports, decent toilets and stuff was okay. The tv's no longer work, half the taps in the toilets dont work. Hot water is non existant. I do not mind NOT having these things, but the ticket prices suggest I should get them

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

We knew Brackley would come at us at 100mph,but we looked similar to what was described last week against Carlisle.Our attacks were so slow that Brackley had all the time to stop them.If any neutral had been there,they would have wondered who was the League side and who was the non League side.We had no creativity at all,and had our first chance in the second half.I said to my mate that if we score first we will win,but the longer the game went on you could sense that Brackley could nick a goal.They played some great Football,and their number 11 Glenn Walker was very good (worth keeping an eye on).They scored in the 69th minute which looked like a Martin own goal.I was having flash backs of Dover.Taylor made three changes bringing on Dack,Mousinho,and Akinfenwa,but what surprised me was he took off Davies and put Kedwell at CB.Unless Davies was injured why change a Defence that had currently kept a clean sheet? Was it a coincidence that we conceded so soon after? Nelson made two important saves in the game,so it could have been worse for us at this stage,but there was a nervy moment when Nelson spilt the ball and they nearly scored,but Mousinho cleared it off the line.The ref seemed to injure himself late on,so we had a lengthly stop in play.The board went up on 90 minutes and we had 6 added minutes,even in the 95th minute it looked bleak for us,but some how the ball fell to Dack who scored past Turley to send the small Priestfield Crowd mad.Im sure there was a feeling of relief,but equally
embarrassed as we did not deserve a replay.We nearly won it aswell when Akinfenwa went close and that would have been even more cruel for Brackley who deserved to win the game.

The only positive I can take from the game,is we`re still in the Cup.

[Garawa]

I am not going to try and gloss over a woeful performance with stats gillsfan but we had 9 corners not 1! It mattered not a jot, we should have been 3-1 down before they scored and perhaps it might shock them come the replay.

Elgrande I think Rob has it right. The days when the men went to football and the women went shopping are long gone. Whilst it still happens to a degree, people have far less time or have much more to do. The choice of going to the football for a game that possibly works out more than the average cost from a season ticket or spending the same amount for the family to go out is not hard to work out. If the team were doing well or the environment provided a good afternoon of entertainment, people wouldn't dream of missing the game but, in all honesty, we have been playing rubbish since around March and it cannot be justified. People wont give up their season tickets but won't go out of their way for anything else.

I agree with everything you say Elgrande however I wonder if the average age of the crowd is higher than in years before? When everyone met up before were they single blokes as I bet now many have families to contend with. I wouldn't have missed the game for any reason but then I don't pay for my tickets! Were I to be a season ticket holder I too would probably not have gone. £30 for two of us could have been used for a whole day out with the kids or simply not been spent and used to pay the bills!

[Elgrande]

£30 for a whole day out; I wish that was true. The club has made the decision to alienate the real fans, prices play a part, but it is more about the sit down, shut up, no noise please culture of todays football!

[Kezz]

One reason only for no noise! There was FA to cheer about! The only emotion I felt by the end was anger towards our team for wasting my time. Brackley deserved the win and I actually felt sorry for them when we drew. Not stop bleating about the 'old' days and move on.

[gillsfan1066]

WWWWHHAAAATTTTTT the FA, stop worrying about the old days. Listen you young whippppper snapper, when you get to my age looking back at how right the World was then, and how wrong the World is now is all we've got to do. Elsie get me wheel chair and stick this dam punk ass kid needs a dam good whoopin'.

[Kezz]

You are funny! What's the point of worrying about what you can't change? If you want to change things at GFC, put your money on it!

Nice to see you don't change though Chicago! Have you got any snow yet?

[Elgrande]

What was the emotion when they ran out though. Raucous noise, unadulterated support or Oh well here we go?