League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

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What will the new era of McKenna start with?

Gills Win
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Town Win
10
100%
Draw
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Total votes: 10

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Frosty
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League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by Frosty » Mon Dec 20, 2021 6:10 am

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Image Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Image



Sunday 26th December 2021 – 15:00


Preistfield Stadium




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Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike



The End Of Yet Another Era............


The draw against Sunderland at a Packed Portman Road brought down the curtain on yet another Era as Interim boss John McGreal completed the stint left vacant by Paul Cook, I am starting to lose count of these bright new dawns, Hurst, Lambert and now Paul Cook, I was really upbeat and excited about Hurst & Cook, not so Lambert but in truth all of them have been disasters which have taken the club if anything, backwards. The one positive I take from the current situation is that none of those appointments were under the leadership of Gamechanger and our new owners, some may argue that where Cook is concerned but it was without question the last useless deed undertaken by a certain Marcus Evans.

On the face of it the appointment of our latest manager is something of a gamble, an unknown quantity with no managerial experience and barely out of nappies, hardly what any of us envisaged when the hunt was on and I can guarantee not One single Town fan would have put forward the name of Kieran McKenna to be tasked with returning our once great club to it's former glories but that is where we are and it is the route the new Owners & CEO feel is the right one for the club, let's face it going for experience has worked really well hasn't it so why not try a new approach.

Delve a little deeper into the background of Kieran McKenna and it could well be we have the next big and bright new thing on the managerial merry-go-round, he is clearly very highly thought of within the walls of Old Trafford with Jose Mourinho among others having nothing but good things to say about McKenna, add to that new Manchester Utd boss Ralf Rangnick was keen for him to stay on in his role as First team coach so it is fair to say we are getting a manager who was very highly regarded at the highest level. Let's also take a moment to understand this is not just a risk on the part of Ipswich Town, this guy informs us he see's it as a great opportunity to build something here and genuinely thinks we are going places so is prepared to put himself in the firing line at his very first attempt at management, without sounding biased I firmly believe the Managers post at Town is without question the toughest job in English Football right now.


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With the January transfer window bearing down on us I think it is fair to say we could well be in for another busy time as the new Boss looks to stamp his authority on things and he will no doubt have ideas on players he would like to bring in, clearly it won't be on the size of the Cook rebuild I can see Five or Six new faces arriving to freshen it up and dare I say it, improve us while a few will see their time at Portman Road ended almost as quickly as it began, not to mention some of the old hangers on who we couldn't offload. One players who's Town career looked to be over was that of James Norwood, however recent games under John McGreal may just have given Norwood a new lease of life and another chance, I won't lie, as an individual I do not like this guy at all and would be shipping him out, as a footballer he does score goals as the last Two games have demonstrated and it depends which way McKenna looks at it which will determine if Norwood remains here or not.


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I think it is fair to say Town battered Sunderland in the first half and it was that man Norwood who got us deservedly ahead right on the stroke of half time with a good header, but from the highlights and reports it was the returning Wes Burns that set's the team alight, he looked superb and caused the Black Cats all manor of problems, there is no doubt he has been greatly missed and should always be one of the first names on the team sheet. It would appear that the quality of the Football was much better too and gives hope for the future that we do have the nucleus of a good squad, certainly good enough to be much better than we were doing under Cook and his cronies.

As is the case with Town we could not maintain the momentum after the break as we let the visitors back into a game where they really had not had a sniff, it is our nemesis at the moment and is something McKenna needs to get to grips with quickly, the points we have dropped from winning positions would see us way out ahead at the top of the table. We did finish the game the stronger team but could not get that elusive second goal which would have seen the roof taken off Portman Road but I think most of the 29K crowd will have gone home relatively happy.

The first game of the new manager's reign see's us take the trip to Gillingham F.C. on Boxing day, never an easy place to go but a place where we should be capable of winning and getting the new era off to a positive and winning start, we never saw a new manager bounce under Cook or McGreal so maybe it's a case of Third time lucky here. It will be really interesting to see who McKenna goes with for his first starting team selection, personally I hope we see Walton, Donacien, Edmundson, Morsy, Burns, Chaplin, Aluko and Pigott as a hard core Eight, whether that happens remains to be seen, I think Norwood has played himself into contention too which may just sway the gaffer to go with Two up top, recent games have showed how better it suits us.

I think this is a game Town can and indeed will win, let's start on a positive train of thought and I will go 2-1 Town win. I hope more than anything that the new manager is afforded time to get things moving in the right direction, let's not lose sight of the fact this is a hell of a job to take on in it's current position and it's his very first game as a manager too, we ALL need to get behind him and support him.

I would personally like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a very "Happy Christmas" and a happy and healthy 2022, if the last Ten days have taught me anything it is to be aware that life can change very very quickly indeed and none of us know what is around the corner, Football is an escape from reality but is is just a game at the end of the day, and it is not life or death, that much is certain, so enjoy the festive period with your loved ones and cherish those moments. COYB'S !!!!!!!
Mike.



The Opposition – Gillingham



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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



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Form Guide






Gillingham Last 5 Matches – currently in 22nd place with 17 points



23 Nov Gillingham 0 - 2 Cheltenham


27 Nov Gillingham 0 - 1 Portsmouth


7 Dec Rotherham 5 - 1 Gillingham


11 Dec Fleetwood 2 - 1 Gillingham


18 Dec Gillingham pp. Crewe Alexandra




Ipswich Last 5 Matches – currently in 11th place with 29 points



23 Nov Ipswich Town 0 - 2 Rotherham


28 Nov Ipswich Town 2 - 1 Crewe Alexandra


7 Dec Charlton 2 - 0 Ipswich Town


11 Dec Wigan Athletic 1 - 1 Ipswich Town


18 Dec Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Sunderland





Match Referee – Alan Young


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GILLINGHAM 1 IPSWICH TOWN 2

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arana peligrosa
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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by arana peligrosa » Mon Dec 20, 2021 2:50 pm

Years back in Rochester would make the short trip to take in this game, you could hardly pass it by, but taking all things into consideration gave us the vote to win it. Should be McKenna's first game as team coach and a win would be a fine start.

The opposition seem easy to get at whether they're home or otherwise. We have the players that can exploit defensive weakness, only problem being they don't always take advantage of their opportunities.

Gillingham 1 ITFC 3

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by MasseyFerguson » Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:40 pm

While it is too soon to expect an obvious influence of the new manager this is a game we should be winning easily. I think we will win easily. Town by 3.
Last edited by MasseyFerguson on Tue Dec 21, 2021 6:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by ashfordblue » Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:10 am

I reckon Man Utd's Phil Jones CB could arrive here in Jan Window he's looking for rebuilding his career after being out injured through the 20 /21 season, plus a couple more could arrive to strengthen the defense, also 19-year-old Man U Under 23 captain Teden Mengi CB/RB McKenna will want players in he can trust.

Anyway back to the Gillingham game, we should win this if it goes ahead the players still need to play at 100% as they are still being evaluated performance-wise.

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by patthegimp » Tue Dec 21, 2021 3:39 pm

Welcome back Mike. Hope all is now well.
Expect us to win this one but not easily. 2-1 my prediction. January results, in-comings and outgoings will be interesting. Just need 2-3 decent loans whatever to change us into a tight hard to beat team.
Happy Christmas to everyone and here's hoping for a great 2022

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by shabba » Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:27 am

ashfordblue wrote:
Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:10 am
I reckon Man Utd's Phil Jones CB could arrive here in Jan Window he's looking for rebuilding his career after being out injured through the 20 /21 season, plus a couple more could arrive to strengthen the defense, also 19-year-old Man U Under 23 captain Teden Mengi CB/RB McKenna will want players in he can trust.

Anyway back to the Gillingham game, we should win this if it goes ahead the players still need to play at 100% as they are still being evaluated performance-wise.
I think Phil Jones would be highly unlikely - you’d imagine UTD would want some contribution to his high wages and ideally want him at a decent championship club. Think of it from UTD’s owners view, they would want him playing at a good level so they could attract an offer for him. I don’t think him going to a mid table league one club would then make anyone who could afford him take note.
He might even have to go abroad and take the route Tomori and the other Utd CB who went to Roma took.

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by mendipblue » Wed Dec 22, 2021 9:29 am

There is a chance this fixture may not go ahead what with the alleged covid situation at the Gills. Also you have to factor in the horrible manager Steve Evans who will try and manipulate his injuries situation to his advantage and not have the required 14 squad players to play the game.

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by ashfordblue » Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:06 pm

shabba wrote:
Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:27 am
ashfordblue wrote:
Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:10 am
I reckon Man Utd's Phil Jones CB could arrive here in Jan Window he's looking for rebuilding his career after being out injured through the 20 /21 season, plus a couple more could arrive to strengthen the defense, also 19-year-old Man U Under 23 captain Teden Mengi CB/RB McKenna will want players in he can trust.

Anyway back to the Gillingham game, we should win this if it goes ahead the players still need to play at 100% as they are still being evaluated performance-wise.
I think Phil Jones would be highly unlikely - you’d imagine UTD would want some contribution to his high wages and ideally want him at a decent championship club. Think of it from UTD’s owners view, they would want him playing at a good level so they could attract an offer for him. I don’t think him going to a mid table league one club would then make anyone who could afford him take note.
He might even have to go abroad and take the route Tomori and the other Utd CB who went to Roma took.
Shabba: I was thinking more of game time for Phil Jones when he hasn't played competitive games for Utd, we'll see what influence our new manager has with the situation, but I can't see Jones going to Roma this would not make sense at all, let's see how it all pans out

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by Bluemike » Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:30 pm

patthegimp wrote:
Tue Dec 21, 2021 3:39 pm
Welcome back Mike. Hope all is now well.
Expect us to win this one but not easily. 2-1 my prediction. January results, in-comings and outgoings will be interesting. Just need 2-3 decent loans whatever to change us into a tight hard to beat team.
Happy Christmas to everyone and here's hoping for a great 2022
Cheers mate, still a fair way off all being well but I'll get there.

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by Charnwood » Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:09 pm

Shame to say it but the game has been postponed at the request of Gillingham due to an outbreak of Covid within the club. !

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by shabba » Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:18 pm

ashfordblue wrote:
Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:06 pm
shabba wrote:
Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:27 am
ashfordblue wrote:
Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:10 am
I reckon Man Utd's Phil Jones CB could arrive here in Jan Window he's looking for rebuilding his career after being out injured through the 20 /21 season, plus a couple more could arrive to strengthen the defense, also 19-year-old Man U Under 23 captain Teden Mengi CB/RB McKenna will want players in he can trust.

Anyway back to the Gillingham game, we should win this if it goes ahead the players still need to play at 100% as they are still being evaluated performance-wise.
I think Phil Jones would be highly unlikely - you’d imagine UTD would want some contribution to his high wages and ideally want him at a decent championship club. Think of it from UTD’s owners view, they would want him playing at a good level so they could attract an offer for him. I don’t think him going to a mid table league one club would then make anyone who could afford him take note.
He might even have to go abroad and take the route Tomori and the other Utd CB who went to Roma took.
Shabba: I was thinking more of game time for Phil Jones when he hasn't played competitive games for Utd, we'll see what influence our new manager has with the situation, but I can't see Jones going to Roma this would not make sense at all, let's see how it all pans out
Phil Jones is linked with a loan move to Benfica - that’s the sort of move I’d expect as they could probably pay more to his wages than we could, it’s in a top level league (albeit in a worse level country football wise) and a team competing in Europe etc

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by MasseyFerguson » Wed Dec 22, 2021 9:42 pm

Please don't tell me this season is about to go to sh*t just when things were starting to get interesting for us. F*ck Covid.

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by shabba » Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:47 am

Trying to look on the positive side (no pun intended) - maybe it’s good the new man is getting his methods across to the players with extra time on the training ground.

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by Charnwood » Thu Dec 23, 2021 9:47 am

As much as I love Boxing Day footie I don’t think this is a poor outcome for us and I expect Kieron McKenna will be thinking the same way. The players and their families will have a better Christmas and KM and his team will have more time getting the team doing what they want in preparation for the game on Wednesday 29th. Fortunately we won’t lose ground on the majority of teams as there are many other games also postponed.

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by ashfordblue » Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:42 pm

It's off the Gills cant get a team due to covid

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by number 9 » Thu Dec 23, 2021 6:13 pm

Charnwood wrote:
Thu Dec 23, 2021 9:47 am
As much as I love Boxing Day footie I don’t think this is a poor outcome for us and I expect Kieron McKenna will be thinking the same way. The players and their families will have a better Christmas and KM and his team will have more time getting the team doing what they want in preparation for the game on Wednesday 29th. Fortunately we won’t lose ground on the majority of teams as there are many other games also postponed.
Well said. A blessing with a mask on. :wink:

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Re: League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

Post by arana peligrosa » Sat Dec 25, 2021 2:31 am

Shame the game won't go ahead as intended but there are multiple casualties around the League spectrum. Not always sure the. or any, players enjoy going out to play soccer one day after Christmas but for the fans at least it does, or seems to represent one of the standout round of fixtures of the seasonal roster.

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