League 1 - Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 9:51 pm
Gillingham FC vs Ipswich Town
Saturday 8th January 2022 – 15:00
Preistfield Stadium
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
Just The start We Wanted...........
So the Kieran McKenna era is up and running and much to the relief of us all it started with a much needed win over Wycombe Wanderers and Three precious points. As McKenna said himself, it is all about the results and getting points on the board at this point of the season and thankfully it was mission accomplished, it may not have been Brazilesque football by any means but what it was was an instant improvement on what we have witnessed in recent Weeks/Months, I say that because from what I saw already we appear to have a game plan of sorts and a more attack minded mentality from back to front, seeing each of our Three Centre backs playing out of defence and surging forward to link with the attack is a clear stamp on tactics from McKenna and while at times it left us short at the back it was by and large pleasing to see. Already we looked more of a team, a unit, quite the contrast from what we had seen before which was Eleven players thrown together without really knowing what each other was going to do, it is very early days but promising none the less.
Winning the game against Wycombe has kept us just about in touch with the Play off places and while it will take a massive effort to get ourselves involved in the end of season lottery it most certainly is not beyond us. We have Twenty Two games left and going on historical statistics I would suggest we need to win Fourteen of them which would give us Seventy Four points, a total which should see a play off place secured, of course it is all pie in the sky right now and taking it One game at a time as suggested by the gaffer is clearly the way to go, the only game that matters is the next one.
If ever any proof was needed that being a manager is an absolute nightmare it is how us fans view things after each and every game, we all have opinions on how we played, who played well and who was poor, last night being a classic case in point. Speaking to friends, Family and fellow fans after the game confuses the hell out of me if I am honest. Take last night for instance some of the opinions I heard differ greatly, Hladky in goal, seen as steady by some, iffy by others and garbage by the odd one or Two, Lee Evans was by all accounts, anonymous and a liability or really good and didn't put a foot wrong, Luke Woolfenden an accident waiting to happen or the best thing since sliced bread, Norwood he either played really really well or looked disinterested for much of the game, it really is funny in some respects, we all have our own opinions and thoughts but let's spare a thought for the poor Manager who cannot win as whatever he does half the fan base will clearly not be impressed, it does however make for a great topic of debate.
For what it is worth I thought by and large most of the team did ok, for me Aluko, Edmundson, Penney, Evans, Donacien and Norwood all had good games, Hladky, Burns and Woolfenden did ok in patches, Burns started well, Woolfy finished ok and Hladky was solid for the most part, just that one ridiculous punch. That leaves Two players, captain Morsy was in my opinion excellent, if he could only curb his aggressive streak a tad and cut down on the yellows, of course we don't want to take anything away from his game but neither do we want him on the sidelines suspended any time soon. I felt he looked far closer to the player we all hoped he would be last night compared to recent games. Macauley Bonne is clearly struggling for a bit of form and a touch of good fortune, he just seems to be drifting in and out of games lately, unlucky with the offside flag and the header which the keeper knew nothing about but all too often he gets himself needlessly offside, makes the wrong runs and mouths off to the referee constantly, if ever anyone needed a goal it is he.
So taking it One game at a time brings us to Gillingham at the Priestfield Stadium, the game having originally been scheduled for Boxing day before the dreaded virus decided to meddle in affairs causing the call off at the request of the home side, they are on a torrid run of form right now and I feel Town will be strong favourites to play them at this time, no win in Twelve in all competitions is a disastrous run of form and it has seen the sink into the drop zone with only Doncaster Rovers & Crewe Alexandra beneath them, already there is a Four point gap between the Gills and safety so results are now imperative if they aren't to be cast adrift. They have scored a paltry Eighteen goals in Twenty Three games so far, again only Doncaster have a worse record. With Town's scoring power at is best it is hard to see us not getting the result based on their current form etc but as we all know this is League One and our record against them isn't the most reliable.
I am hoping it goes ahead, mostly so we can build on the win over Wycombe but also because they are a team struggling and I am confident we would secure another Three points here, getting the gap to the play off zone down points wise is a mental thing that can only help in the belief all is very much not lost and as has been pointed out games coming up against the likes of Gillingham, Bolton, Accrington, Doncaster, Wimbledon, MK Dons, Burton & Cheltenham really does give hope that we could be this seasons team to rise from the ashes and gatecrash the party. Oops, getting ahead of myself, One game at a time. Town win. 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
Gillingham Last 5 Matches – currently in 22nd place with 18 points
7 Dec Rotherham 5 - 1 Gillingham
11 Dec Fleetwood 2 - 1 Gillingham
18 Dec Gillingham pp. Crewe Alexandra
29 Dec Charlton pp. Gillingham
1 Jan Milton Keynes 0 - 0 Gillingham
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – currently in 11th place with 32 points
Dec Charlton 2 - 0 Ipswich Town
11 Dec Wigan Athletic 1 - 1 Ipswich Town
18 Dec Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Sunderland
29 Dec Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Wycombe
1 Jan Ipswich Town pp. Lincoln City
Match Referee – Alan Young
GILLINGHAM 1 IPSWICH TOWN 2