Ipswich Town vs Gillingham FC Preview & Matchday Thread
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:51 pm
Ipswich Town vs Gillingham FC
Thursday 26th December 2019 – 15:00
Portman Road
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
Getting To Crunch Time.......
Easy to say but I kinda knew we would get very little from our trip to Portsmouth last Saturday, it was just a game I didn't fancy us in and that is the first time this season I have felt that, unfortunately that is exactly how it panned out with Town again stuttering through a frustrating Ninety minutes in which we rarely looked on top or likely to get anything, yes we created two or three decent second half chances which we again failed to convert, this is becoming a bit of a recurring theme and on this occasion it was mainly James Norwood who could be looked upon as the main culprit, one glaring miss from all of Two yards really was harder to miss but that is the way it is going for us right now.
I feel we really are getting to crunch time now where this poor run of results are concerned, it has to end and it has to end now, these next Two games are ones we should be winning and failure to do so will see things starting to turn against the manager and team, I think at the moment they are still just about keeping most people onside but Paul Lambert appears to want to make it as hard for himself as he possibly can, the chopping and changing of the team is getting way to frequent and way too many changes every game, Cup games I totally get and agree with but it has crept into the league games on a big scale now too and we are taking half a game to get used to each others play etc by which time we are behind in games and chasing a lost cause. With the amount of games we play you are never going to keep the same Eleven every game, the odd change is acceptable but Four, Five, Six, Seven is crazy and is counter productive, the Goalkeepers slot needs nailing down and my choice is Tomasz Holy, he's our damn player after all and the better keeper, the strikers need to be allowed to form a partnership and in Norwood & Jackson we have one, suddenly keane needs to be shoehorned into the team and I have seen oil tankers turn quicker than him, same with the wide men, pick Two and keep with it, the swapping and changing helps nobody. The games against Gillingham & Lincoln are very important now, we need Six points and something resembling a settled side, should we attain both much of the negativity will recede as quickly as it has appeared and things will be looking good again, however, failure to deliver in these two and the bad run will becoming something of pandemic proportions and could hang around for weeks and weeks, that is a dangerous place for this club to be going.
A Golden Opportunity........
Without being disrespectful to Gillingham FC a home tie on Boxing day with a bumper crowd behind should surely be our golden opportunity to stop the rot and get back to winning ways, we've already won at their place in the league while our second string proved way too good for theirs at home in the Leasing.com trophy so we know we have the beating of them and what could be better than ramming it down that fat loud mouthed boss of theirs throat once again. Football, as we all know is very much a confidence game and all it takes is one win to turn things on their head, we just have to get the job done here, be at it from the off and hopefully Two good halves of on the front foot Football instead of the obligatory One which we usually get served up, we are better than them, it's that simple so come on lads go out and show it.
We all think we know the best Eleven and formation but of course most of our selections would differ in some way, for me I favour the 3-5-2 as it has far more attacking options, however with Chambo suspended following his red card at Portsmouth we have to go 4-4-2 here, my line up would be - Holy, Donacien, Wilson, Woolfenden, Garbutt, Edwards, Downes, Nolan, Georgiou, Norwood & Jackson, sadly I think we know we won't get that line up, he will still try to go 3-5-2 with Nsiala, Keane & Judge no doubt involved, it could work of course but not my choice if I am honest.
Whatever formation and line up he goes with they have to deliver, this cannot be anything less than Three points, there can be no hard luck stories or excuses on this occasion and while I am the first to highlight things when we are hard done by I don't want to be hearing it on this occasion, be at it, go for it, want it more and grab the chances that come our way, if we do that we will get the rewards we so need at this time. Town to win it for me, and dare I say it, handsomely. COYB'S........MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL.
The Opposition – Gillingham
The local success of a junior football side, Chatham Excelsior F.C., encouraged a group of businessmen to meet with a view to creating a football club which could compete in larger competitions. New Brompton F.C. was formed at the meeting, held on 18 May 1893.
The founders also purchased the plot of land which later became Priestfield Stadium. The new club played its first match on 2 September 1893, losing 1–5 to Woolwich Arsenal's reserve side in front of a crowd of 2,000. New Brompton were among the founder members of the Southern League upon its creation in 1894, and were placed in Division Two. They were named Champions in the first season (1894–95) going on to defeat Swindon Town in a test match to win promotion.
In the seasons that followed, the club struggled in Division One, finishing bottom in the 1907–08 season, avoiding relegation only due to expansion of the league. Whilst the club's league performance was disappointing, the side did manage a famous cup victory over Football League First Division Sunderland and held Manchester City to a draw before losing in the replay. In 1912 the directors passed a resolution to change the club's name to Gillingham F.C., and the team played under this name throughout the 1912–13 season, although the change was not officially ratified by the shareholders until the following year. The team finished bottom of Division One in the 1919–20 season but for a third time avoided relegation, due to the subsequent elevation of all Southern League Division One clubs to form the new Football League Division Three.
In the first season of the newly created Football League Division Three, the 1920–21 season, Gillingham again finished bottom, and in the years to follow there was little improvement on this, the club continually finishing in the lower reaches of the bottom division.
In 1938 the team finished bottom of the Third Division (South) and were required to apply for re-election for the fifth time since joining the league. This bid for re-election failed, with Gillingham returning to the Southern League and Ipswich Town being promoted in their place.
Gillingham quickly established themselves as one of the stronger sides in the league, winning a local double of the Kent League and Kent Senior Cup in the 1945–46 season. In the 1946–47 season the team won both the Southern League Cup and the Southern League championship, during which they recorded a club record 12–1 victory over Gloucester City. The Gills also won the league title in 1948–49.
In 1950, plans were announced to expand the Football League Division Three (South) from 22 to 24 teams and, taking into account their local success in the interim, Gillingham were re-elected to the Football League with a landslide vote.
The team spent eight seasons in Division Three (South) before the restructuring of the league system for the 1958–59 season saw them placed in the newly created Fourth Division. They remained in this division until 1964, when manager Freddie Cox led them to promotion, winning the first championship in the club's history. The team finished the season level on 60 points with Carlisle United, but with a fractionally better goal average (1.967 against 1.948), which was the tightest league title finish in Football League history.
After relegation back to the Fourth Division in 1970–71, the Gills were soon promoted back to the Third Division in the 1973–74 season. After this the club seemed to find its level in Division Three, regularly mounting a challenge for promotion which ultimately fell short each time, never more so than in 1986–87 when they reached the play-offs only to lose in the final to Swindon Town. During this period the club produced future stars Steve Bruce and Tony Cascarino, who was famously bought from non-league Crockenhill in exchange for a set of tracksuits.
In 1987, the Gills hit the headlines when, on consecutive Saturdays, they beat Southend United 8–1 and Chesterfield 10–0, the latter a club record for a Football League match. Just a few months later, however, manager Keith Peacock was controversially sacked, and within 18 months the club had fallen into Division Four. The ensuing spell in the lower division brought little success, and in the 1992–93 Division Three campaign the Gills narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference.
Beset with financial problems, the club went into administration in January 1995, and by the end of the 1994–95 season faced the threat of being expelled from the Football League and closed down. In June 1995, however, a London-based businessman, Paul Scally, stepped in and bought the club. He brought in new manager Tony Pulis, who led Gillingham to promotion in his first season, finishing second in the old Division Three (now Football League Two).
In 1999 the Gills made the play-offs but lost in the Division Two play-off final to Manchester City. The Gills were 2–0 up with less than two minutes left only to see City score twice, the equaliser in injury time, and go on to win 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out. Soon after the play-off loss, Pulis was sacked for gross misconduct, and Peter Taylor appointed manager. In the 1999–00 season Gillingham qualified for the play-offs again, where they faced Wigan Athletic in the final at Wembley Stadium. The game finished 1–1 after 90 minutes, but, thanks to goals in extra time from substitutes Steve Butler and Andy Thomson, the Gills won 3–2 and were promoted to Division One for the first time.
Taylor then left to manage Leicester City, and Andy Hessenthaler was appointed as player-manager. He led the club to their best ever league finish of eleventh in the 2002–03 season, but the following season saw the club narrowly avoid relegation on goal difference. Hessenthaler resigned as manager in November 2004, and new boss Stan Ternent was unable to prevent the Gills' relegation to League One.
At the end of the 2007–08 season the club was relegated again, this time to League Two, but an immediate return to the third level was secured via the play-offs after beating Shrewsbury Town.
In the 2009–10 season, however, the Gills slipped into the bottom four on the last day, and were relegated back to League Two, having failed to win a single away game in the league all season. This resulted in manager Mark Stimson having his contract terminated, and Andy Hessenthaler was appointed as manager of the club for the second time. At the start of the 2012–13 season Hessenthaler was replaced by Martin Allen, who led the club to promotion as League Two champions in his first season in charge. However, shortly after winning League Two, Martin Allen was sacked in what many saw as a "surprise sacking" after a poor start to the season.
Peter Taylor returned for a second spell in charge, but following his sacking in December 2014 he was replaced by Justin Edinburgh which saw the Gils finish in 12th place.
The 2015–16 was his first full season in charge, Edinburgh led the Gills to a second-place position at Christmas, after a 3–0 victory against Millwall. Gillingham had also managed to defeat League favourites Sheffield United, with a 4–0 victory on the first day of the season. However, after a run of bad injuries to crucial players, Gillingham slipped to a ninth-place finish in League One, after losing on the last day of the season, against Millwall.
Edinburgh was sacked on 3 January 2017, along with his entire coaching team, with the club placed 17th in League One.
Last season Gillingham finished in 13th place.
On 21 May 2019, Steve Evans was announced as the new manager of Gillingham and began his role on 1 June 2019.
The Manager – Steve Evans
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – currently in place with points
23 Nov Ipswich Town 2 - 2 Blackpool
26 Nov Ipswich Town 0 - 0 Wycombe
7 Dec Coventry City 1 - 1 Ipswich Town
14 Dec Ipswich Town 1 - 2 Bristol Rovers
21 Dec Portsmouth 1 – 1 Ipswich Town
Gillingham Last 5 Matches – currently in place with points
16 Nov Gillingham 1 - 0 Lincoln City
23 Nov AFC Wimbledon 1 - 0 Gillingham
7 Dec Gillingham 1 - 0 Sunderland
14 Dec Fleetwood 1 - 1 Gillingham
21 Dec Gillingham pp. Milton Keynes Dons
Match Referee – Craig Hicks
IPSWICH TOWN 1 GILLINGHAM 0