Ipswich Town vs Gillingham FC Preview & Matchday Thread
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 2:20 am
Ipswich Town vs Gillingham FC
Tuesday 27th October 2020 – 19:00
Portman Road
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
Deja Vu From Last Season ? ..........
Defeat at Lincoln City on Saturday passed made it Two defeats on the bounce and led to grumblings in some quarters that things maybe starting to go the same way as last season when after a positive start we started to lose our way and slip back into the pack. For me I think any talk of that nature is utter tosh at this stage, yes we lost but it was much improved on the howler ridden display of Four days earlier at Doncaster. Agreed the first half definitely saw Lincoln in the ascendancy for a fair part of it but for me after the break it was Town looking the better side and playing the better football, all that was missing was a clear cutting edge in the Final Third so to lose it the way we did was galling and unjust, again in my opinion.
Nothing will change my mind that the penalty which ultimately won them the game should never have been given, not only for the Two fouls on Bishop just prior to the incident which weren't given but even the so called foul by Toto was for me laughable, I am adamant the guy played for it and thanks to a joke of a Ref he was successful. Having said all of that we weren't anywhere near at the level we have played in some of the early games this season but it is also true to say that the opposition weren't bad either, hence the reason why they currently sit top of the pile. I don't think us sitting in Fourth place and a mere Three points off the top is to much cause for concern at the moment, especially as we enter a week with Two winnable home games against Gillingham & Crewe to come, Six points there and we could very well be back to the top again.
There has been some train of thought that Toto Nsiala is back to being the liability of last season, again I think it is unfair on the guy, yes he has conceded Two penalties in Two games but we can argue on forever and a day about the one at Lincoln, I don't think Paul Lambert will apportion blame to him at all and for that reason I don't see him losing his place, his passing can be erratic when trying to play the long balls but it's just a shame a lot of his good work goes without mention, like the block for instance which took the shot onto the post on Saturday, it was great defending and yet nobody saw it, or decided against mentioning it. There could well be changes to the line up though as the games roll by thick and fast, I don't expect to see Jack Lankester start again against Gillingham while John Nolan is now banned following his Red card, I can see Bennetts & Huws coming in.
AS for Tuesday's game we welcome Gillingham to Portman Road for the second time this season, the first visit saw Town's kids stroll to a 2-0 win in the EFL Cup and a repeat of that would do very nicely indeed. The Gills sit in mid table with Ten points from their Eight games played and after a decent start to the league campaign they have had a bit of a blip with Three successive 2-0 defeats against Fleetwood, Portsmouth & MK Dons, clearly scoring goals has become an issue for them so it may only take One to get the job done, Town do need to be inventive in and around their box though and we need to see more efforts on goal, I am sure it will come, especially as players return from injury and full fitness but for now we need to concentrate on not breathing on the oppositions Strikers for fear of them falling over like they have been pole axed. Town win for me. COYB'S.
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.
On 21 May 2019, Steve Evans was announced as the new manager of Gillingham and began his role on 1 June 2019.
Last season Gillingham finished one place above Town in 10th place.
The Manager – Steve Evans
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – currently in 4th place with 16 points
3 Oct Milton Keynes 1 - 1 Ipswich Town
10 Oct Blackpool 1 - 4 Ipswich Town
17 Oct Ipswich Town 2 - 0 Accrington
20 Oct Doncaster 4 - 1 Ipswich Town
24 Oct Lincoln City 1 - 0 Ipswich Town
Gillingham Last 5 Matches – currently in place with points
3 Oct Shrewsbury 1 - 1 Gillingham
10 Oct Gillingham 3 - 1 Oxford Utd
17 Oct Milton Keynes 2 - 0 Gillingham
20 Oct Gillingham 0 - 2 Portsmouth
24 Oct Gillingham 0 - 2 Fleetwood
Match Referee – Anthony Coggins
IPSWICH TOWN 1 GILLINGHAM 0