Ipswich Town vs Gillingham FC 
Saturday 5th February 2022 – 15:00
Portman Road
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
No Steel In Sheffield............
Following the disappointing defeat at Hillsborough I found myself pondering something that has often crossed my mind, why is it when every time we lose a game there has to be this sense of investigation, why is it we can't just have an off day and lose a game with the need for some in depth inquiry or conspiracy theory ? We weren't very good on the day and gifted them the goal, human error by an individual yet again. For some reason we then see comments on how weak the squad is, how poor certain individuals are when a few days or weeks before they are integral to the team, McKenna has been found out, yes that had been written by the know it all scribes who call themselves fans, the honeymoon period is over was another classic, we lost a bloody game of Football with virtually all our Midfield missing and two newbies in the team for crying out loud, let's just accept and realise we still have a way to go, McKenna has been here Five minutes undoing the mess left behind, and most importantly, we aren't going to win every damn game, win the next two very winnable games and we will have won Six from Eight under the boss, a 75% win ration, unheard of unless you manage Manchester City.
The game itself showed Town a long way from their best, little penetration resulting in virtually no chances created and nothing on target, on the day I didn't think we got it right formation wise ( a learning curve for a new Manager, not a reason to hang him !), we were overrun in Midfield and probably should have changed it at Half Time, El Mizouni and Bakinson actually both had periods in the game where they did well, not that you would know it reading some of the post game comments but these Two have never played together, One has hardly played all season and has limited experience while the other has not been allowed to have his feet touch the floor since he arrived here, not excuses, just facts, I think we should be far more annoyed with skipper Morsy than either of these Two who gave their all without punching someone. Aside from the Midfield issues I just felt the whole performance was flat and lacked any grit or steel, and yet even then but for a defensive error we would have sneaked away with an unlikely draw.
One thing I think is only right to remark on is the recent improvement in the performances of Luke Woolfenden who has never really impressed me with his laid back attitude and his habit of making big and costly errors, but in fairness the last few games have seen Luke as probably the better of the back Three, suddenly he looks a bit more assured and comfortable on the ball and his reading of situations and covering of team mates has really stood out for me so well done Luke and long may it continue, it definitely appears that he has taken to the style of play McKenna wants better than most.
The defeat along with other results has made our chances of a top Six finish look even more remote as we are now looking at a Nine point gap with other teams also having games in hand, however a glance at our upcoming fixtures gives a little glimmer of hope, quite a long list of very winnable games, the big question is can we win them ! Clearly we couldn't at the start of the season but things are definitely different now and I would say it is still not beyond the realms of possibility for us to creep in the back door, it will however require us to go on the sort of run that doesn't happen very often, winning 75% of our games would comfortably be enough and as it stands we have a good chance of that in the next few fixtures, let's see where we are come March.
The first of those "winnable games" sees the lovable Gills in Town, it is only a few weeks ago we took them apart at the Priestfield to help bring on the sacking of the gobshite we all love to have, Steve Evans. Evans has now been replaced by Neil Harris who will need to galvanise a team in trouble if they are to survive. Gillingham currently find themselves One off the bottom in 23rd place with only Doncaster Rovers below them, more concerning is the Eight point gap to safety, they did however win their last game, a single goal victory at home to Crewe Alexandra but still the situation looks bleak for them. Both ends of the pitch have been a real issue for them, shipping goals at One end while failing to find the net consistently is a recipe for disaster and I for One think they are doomed.
This is a no brainer, it really should be a Town win, it also has to be a Town, no game is easy as we keep being told but they won't come much easier than this so we have to make sure there is no silly slip up's here, even with One or Two missing we have the ammunition to get this done and get it done well, we put Four past them last time and while I am not sure we will manage that again I do envisage a rather comfortable home win, failure to do so and I might just lead a post match inquisition on this occasion. Home win for me and the start of our incredible run !!!! It ain't over till the fat man sings, oh sorry Evans has gone. 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.
In January 2022 Evans was sacked and replaced by Neil Harris.
Last season Gillingham finished one place above Town in 10th place.
The Manager – Neil Harris
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – currently in 9th place with 41 points
8 Jan Gillingham 0 - 4 Ipswich Town
15 Jan Bolton 2 - 0 Ipswich Town
22 Jan Ipswich Town 2 - 1 Accrington
25 Jan AFC Wimbledon 0 - 2 Ipswich Town
29 Jan Sheffield Wed 1 - 0 Ipswich Town
Gillingham Last 5 Matches – currently in 23rd place with 22 points
15 Jan Gillingham 1 - 3 Burton Albion
22 Jan Wigan Athletic 3 - 2 Gillingham
25 Jan Gillingham 0 - 0 Shrewsbury
29 Jan Gillingham 2 - 7 Oxford Utd
1 Feb Gillingham 1 - 0 Crewe Alexandra
Match Referee – Stephen Martin
IPSWICH TOWN 2 GILLINGHAM 0
Will look out for you tomorrow.
) 
, but the foul? Why?
…. It’s so dull …. How about a nice cerise colour ? 
