Two minutes with… Gillingham

This season, ‘two minutes with…’ has been slightly re-vamped – all will become clear further on. I’m pleased to introduce the first installment with Gillingham fan, James.

Pre-match

Had you been to Underhill before?

No, this was my first visit to Underhill.

How did you get to the game?

I got the train down from Strood.

The match

Whereabouts in the ground did you sit/stand?

I stood in the North East terrace.

What did you make of the game?

The game was very good, high tempo and both teams I thought had a good go at it. The second half slowed right down compared with the first half but there was some fantastic football on show.

Who (from either side) do you think deserved to be man of the match?

Gillingham’s Deon Burton – he ran the show! His first touch was excellent all game, he held up the ball really well and capped off a brilliant performance with a goal!

Post-match

Was the score line a fair reflection on the game?

Yes I think so. The first half from us was excellent, we scored three good goals. Despite having some chances in the second half, the three goals were enough

Who do you play next, and how do you think you’ll get on?

We have Bristol Rovers at home. They are near the bottom so we should pick up the three points fairly easily. With the Rainham End behind us as well next week we should maintain the top spot.

Ratings

Cost of match day ticket

£13 for a Concession ––– 9/10                                                                

Purchases made at ground (food/drink/programme etc)

Programme, it was a good read ––– 9/10

View

Had a decent enough view, looking across the side of the pitch ––– 8/10

Quality of football

Very good football from us – we passed it around really well; Barnet passed it around well at times as well ––– 9/10

Overall experience

Very good experience, Barnet is a very good away day ––– 9/10

Total ––– 44/50

And you can follow James on Twitter, @Gillsjh

Fans’ season preview 2012/13 – part three

Gillingham

Michael – @mikeywoods89

8^th in League Two – “Just fallen short”

We lost a few players, in particular Paulo Gazzaniga who has joined Southampton, but we have brought in some good replacements and perhaps strengthened in areas that were otherwise weak last season such as the defence.

With the quality of players we have this season and Martin Allen in charge (hopefully he'll last the season), I expect us to make the play-offs as a minimum. I believe the highest we can aim for is 3rd but there are some strong teams in this league.

Rotherham and York are of particular interest – Rotherham because of the new ground and York because of the place itself, and it's a team I haven't seen us face before. Also looking forward to Burton Albion as it's the final game of the season and I have yet to visit Burton.

Morecambe

Jack – @MorecambeJack

15^th in League Two – "Room for improvement"

We have lost Lawrence Wilson our left back with a great attacking threat who I think we will miss terribly. We have brought in Robbie Threlfall as a replacement but it remains to be seen whether he can fill his boots. Garry Hunter was released, despite being Morecambe born and bred, but we have brought in Championship-level experience through Andy Wright from Scunthorpe.

Expectation is to stay in the league and with a reduced squad this year, anything more than that will be a success. We are going to heavily rely on youth this year and hope that we do not suffer many injuries. Showing relegation form over the last 7 months of last season, we really need a good start again this year to avoid being in a scrap at the bottom.

I think most Morecambe fans are looking forward to the Fleetwood games this year, as they become our nearest "rivals" once more. The York game also has some interest as we beat them in the play-off semis the year we got promoted (with a bit of controversy!). Other than that, I am looking forward to the Bradford games particularly at home on New Year's Day and our away game at Accrington which for the first time I can remember, is on a Saturday in spring rather than a cold Tuesday night in winter!

Northampton Town

20^th in League Two –

Oxford United

Jennie – @x_Jen_xx

9^th in League Two – “Disappointing, frustrating, inconsistent”

We've kept a lot of our key players, I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, because something needs to dramatically change in our squad! I’m glad that we've kept Constable and Craddock, so I’m expecting a lot more from them this season. We've signed a couple of players who could be vital for next season and have a couple more on loan, such as McGinty and Cox, which should hopefully get the players fighting for their places instead of becoming too complacent!

I think a lot of Oxford fans will expect us to be in the play-offs by Christmas and if we're not... then I think Wilder will be sacked. It's a shame because I do like Wilder, but we can't just keep finishing in mid table in League Two because people will just stop going. By the end of the season, I think realistically we would be lucky to get in to the play-offs, but anything less would be heartbreaking for the club. We have a new chairman so hopefully that should push the club forward. A play-off place will be good enough.

I’m looking forward to Wycombe away – bit of a local derby and it's always a game that we look forward to. Exeter away too, just because there's some old rivalry there from when we were in the Conference with them! I’m hoping for a good cup run going as we haven't had one in a very long time, but knowing Oxford, this will not happen this season either!

Plymouth Argyle

Edward – @ArgyleEd

21^st in League Two – “Difficult, stressful, successful”

Our biggest loss is Simon Walton who we let go to Hartlepool for personal reasons. Walton was never universally popular but in my opinion really came through for the club last season during difficult times. He was made captain after Fletcher became manager and I believe his leadership made a big difference to a young and inexperienced team that were really struggling. He was also our top scorer, they were mostly from the penalty spot but by keeping his head under pressure he scored several goals that turned out to be vital in our League survival. He was never as good as we thought he would be considering what we paid for him back in our Championship years and some fans always held that against him but I believe that in League Two he'll be missed. Other than Walton our only losses are the loan players who returned to their clubs, they all played a part in our improvement in the second half of the season, MacDonald, Hemmings and Tsoumou all gave us a greater attacking threat that what was provided by our permanent players.

Jamie Lowry was brought in not long after Walton's departure, he's got a poor injury record but fans of his previous clubs mostly think well of him and think he'll do a good job in League Two, unfortunately he has suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out for three months. I'm hoping to see Luke Young play a big role for us, he's only 19 but has shown a lot of promise despite mostly playing out on the wing which is not his best position, if he gets a chance in centre midfield I believe he could have a very good season. We really lacked a genuine goal-scorer last season, it was a position that needed sorting, I like Nick Chadwick and Warren Feeney but neither of them will score the goals to keep us out of a relegation scrap. Fletcher's solution appears to be Welsh striker Rhys Griffiths, he's got a fantastic record in the Welsh league (180 goals in 181 appearances for Llanelli) but no experience at a higher level and at 32 years old quite a bit older than most players who make the step up to League football. If he can reproduce anything like the coring form he's had in Wales it'll be a fantastic signing but if he can't then we'll be left with a real goal-scoring problem. Andres Gurrieri signed after being released by Burton, he impressed here on trial last summer (supposedly we couldn't sign him then due to his previous club wanting compensation) and Burton fans seem to think he was ok for them, I'm happy enough with the signing and he's not the only new winger, we've also signed Johnny Gorman from Wolves on loan until January. If they can replace what we had with Hemmings and MacDonald and allow Luke Young to play in the centre of midfield rather than on the wing I'll be very pleased. Our only other signing so far is goalkeeper Rene Gilmartin who was released by Watford who says he has signed to challenge Jake Cole for the number one spot rather than to be back up, Cole however was impressive for us last season and I'd expect him to at least start the season as number one.

I honestly don't know where we'll finish this season. I'm not expecting a promotion challenge despite our owner's comments on expectations and wage budget. We came very close to going down last season and at the moment I'm not convinced our team is much stronger, what we've lost has mostly been replaced but as yet the quality of the replacements is yet to be proven. Without the stress of administration and no wages and the experience gained last season I don't think we'll be in quite the same struggle as we were last season but I'm expecting to be paying more attention to the bottom of the table than the top. I don't think we'll get relegated but if we are to leave League Two at the end of the season it seems likely it would be into the Conference rather than League One. It's important for our fans to remember that rebuilding from the disastrous period in administration will take time and if we can't yet afford to immediately compete for promotion then we shouldn't try to, if spending within our means signing cheap, unproven players for now and having a few disappointing seasons then that's a price worth paying, I hope our fans don't demand we put our future at risk again if things don't go too well. Right now I'd be content with a mid table finish and a season without the constant worry of relegation, after four desperately stressful relegation battles in a row I think we deserve a relaxing year. I'm also hoping to see some more attacking football, our ultra defensive set up worked for us in the desperation of last season but it was not much fun to watch, Fletcher has said he'd prefer a more attractive style of football and I think we have the players to do it if they're allowed to and there's not the immediate pressure to get results that a relegation battle creates.

With all three of Devon's League clubs in the same division the obvious fixtures to look forward to are the derbies between us, Torquay and most importantly, Exeter. However, as I am not too confident about our chances there's a fair bit of worry mixed in with the excitement and as I'm not a season ticket holder I won't be able to get tickets for the away games and so will have to follow them from home which never helps the nerves. Living in London I usually look forward to our away trips to the capital and some shorter journeys to make, AFC Wimbledon will again be my local game so that's a game I'll definitely be attending.

Port Vale

Matt – @pvfc_matt

12^th in League Two – “A complete mess”

We saw a few of our key players take up offers from clubs elsewhere.  The main two were definitely last season’s top scorer Marc Richards and tough tackling midfielder Anthony Griffiths.

Richards leaving was always on the cards and once Chesterfield offered him a substantially better wage than what we could he was on his way; mixed views from Valiants as to how much he will be missed. The bigger and more surprising loss was that of Anthony Griffiths who decided to make the move to London to join Leyton Orient.  A tough tackling, fully committed, hard working midfielder who would put his body on the line for the sake of breaking up an oppositions attack.  His distribution was not always the best but was certainly a part of his game he had improved upon during the last season.

We have completed the ‘signings’ of six players to date, although these are still currently subject to the ongoing administration process.  At time of writing this we are under the belief that the Football League have authorised us to complete the deals whilst still in administration.  These players are:

Goalkeeper Chris Neal who played a full part in Shrewsbury’s promotion from this very league last season and will make a very adequate Number 1 for us.

Defenders Dave Artell, who captained Crewe to playoff victory last season and is a natural leader and Richard Duffy who played in League 1 with Exeter last season and comes to Vale with a lot of good reviews.

Midfielders Jennison Myrie-Williams who showed a lot of promise with his speed and trickery on the wing whilst on loan with us last season, Ashley Vincent who is another pacy winger and joins us from Colchester and finally Darren Murphy who we are lead to believe could do a similar job to what Griffiths has done for us in recent seasons.  Murphy was part of the Stevenage side which one back-to-back promotions from BSP to League One.

We also have Liam Dickinson who has agreed a deal in principle providing he can prove his fitness after fighting back from a broken ankle.  Hopefully Dickinson can prove to be the replacement to Marc Richards after scoring goals at this level for Southend, providing he proves to Micky Adams that his ankle is fully recovered.  We have also had Tadhg Purcell on trial following his release from Northampton and he’s been banging goals in for fun during our friendlies. All in all Vale fans are very impressed with the standard of players we have signed so far this summer after seeing plenty of dross and deadwood brought into our club on the ‘cheap’ in the past.

I’m not too sure how we will get on at the moment.  Back in July it seemed as though we had everything falling into place.  We had announced the signings of six players, all of which are so much better than the usual standard of player we bring in. Our preferred bidder was seemingly a signature away from taking control of the club and building on his vision to see us back in the Championship in the coming years.  There was a real buzz around Port Vale again (something we have not had for many years now) and there was genuine expectations of us fighting competitively in the top seven and finally getting ourselves back out of this league. Then everything just seemed to go stale and for weeks now there has been nothing positive coming out of the club.  It seems our ‘saviour’ Keith Ryder is struggling to complete his takeover with talk of him not having the funds to do so and we are now back to square one with our administrators re-opening the door to other prospective owners.  We apparently have two other bidders looking into buying us out of administration but this will mean the process beginning over and will almost certainly mean we start this season in administration. Despite this dark cloud hanging over us, we could still have a decent season providing the stories of the Football League allowing us to officially sign the players we have brought in during the summer are true, and providing the CVA we have in place stays in place for any new bidders and we are not hit with any further points deductions. If things take a turn for the worse with regards to the administration then who knows what this season will bring.  In fact I don’t even want to think about it.

Well we lost some of the closer games that Vale fans always looked out for. Crewe and Shrewsbury both went up and Macclesfield suffered relegation. These were all fixtures that saw a large away following from Vale and were always the ones to look for first. With the clubs that are in this league for this coming season, I think it has to be York followed closely by Torquay.  Never been to York’s ground so it will be another one ticked off the list plus I am told there is a cracking weekend to be had up there.  We always spend the weekend in Torquay and this season will be no different and can safely say it is one of the nicest places in the UK – there is nothing like an away win at the seaside!

Pre-Morecambe thoughts (17.03.12)

So for those of you that don’t know, from time to time I get the opportunity to interview the Barnet captain to get his thoughts leading up to our next home game. It’s been a great chance to showcase some of the skills I learnt whilst studying for a journalism degree, as well as doing something that not only interests me, but is also a passion of mine. I started helping out last season, when our captain was Glen Southam. This season, our captain is Mark Hughes. Here is my first instalment for Look Black n Amber – seen in the match day programme for the Morecambe game last Saturday.

"It seems a while since we played Rotherham at home, with a couple of away games in the meantime. I thought we started that game well, creating chances and we got the early goal through Byrner. At the end of the first half though, having such a narrow lead always means you’re prone to throw that away, and had we been further ahead at the break, I think we would have got all three points. With Ricky and Izale in the side, always going forward, we had a fair few opportunities to extend our lead. As it was, Rotherham had a good spell in the second half, getting that equalising goal, and once we got reduced to ten men the game clearly swung in their favour. It was definitely a game of two halves. At the end of it though, I think we were all happy to get a point – they put us under the cosh a fair bit – but I think we played well with a man down, especially given the way we capitulated against Bradford previously.

We went into the Gillingham game the following Tuesday feeling positive and confident. Again, I believe we started well and created chances – when you have players of our quality going forward, you’re always more than capable of getting goals! Again we went into the break with a narrow one-goal lead, despite having chances to kill the game off before half time. Gillingham are a good side going forward, and there always seems to be a hatful of goals in their games. Once they got their equaliser quickly in the second half, we flapped a bit. Our heads didn’t drop when they got their second, but after scoring a third in quick succession it was definitely game over! Like the rest of the squad, I was frustrated at the end of the game because we hadn’t played badly, in fact I think it was one of our better performances of late – the scoreline definitely didn’t reflect the way we played!

We went into Saturday’s game against Port Vale knowing we needed to forget about the defeat at Priestfield, and if we played half as well as that, would be likely to get a result. We hadn’t been in good form, so to win our first game since the end of January was such a relief, and a real confidence boost for the boys! It’s always nice to score a winner in the final minutes of a match, and given the manner we have been conceding recently, it was good to finally have that little bit of luck. Ben scored on his debut, but I’d like to say congratulations to Andy for getting his first goal for the club – he came off the bench and was in the right place at the right time, with his first touch of the game! Hopefully now they’ll both get a couple more goals as well.

With Ben in the side now, and a couple of the youngsters coming off the bench, there is definitely competition in the side for places. We didn’t know until Friday that Ben was joining us – I’m not sure how long he’d known either. He was on the bench on Wednesday for Stevenage, so it was a case of White Hart Lane to Vale Park in four days. But we were all delighted he managed to get on the score sheet in his first game, and I’m sure he was as well – particularly on his birthday! He just wants to get the opportunity to play first team football.

We are expecting a test today against Morecambe; they’re a big, strong side with tonnes of experience, whereas we are a much younger side with players wanting to prove themselves. That doesn’t make them better than us though. We won 1-0 in the reverse fixture so I’m sure they’ll be looking to put one over on us this afternoon. Hopefully Pricey doesn’t cause us too many problems after Obita scored for Gillingham in that midweek game, although he’ll be wanting to show what the club missed out on! Going into games, we always look at how we fared in the previous match, so to win and ‘do the double’ over Morecambe would be very pleasing. A win would see us hit the 40 point marker, which would also drag a couple of teams back into the scrap again.

Enjoy the game"

Mark Hughes was talking to Lucy Waldon

Two minutes with... Gillingham

A new feature for my blog is ‘two minutes with…’ – a brief interview with a fan from every club that visits Underhill this season. After missing the defeat to Vale, I am kicking off with Gillingham, Tuesday night’s visitors to North London. The representative is a good friend of mine, Mikey Woods (who you can find on Facebook here).

16/08/11
Barnet 2 – 2 Gillingham
(McLeod ’61 + ‘90+4 – Spiller ‘6, Payne ’73)
Attendance 2466 (away 1052)



How did you get to the game?
We drove up as we normally do. It usually takes around an hour to get to Barnet on the motorway which is convenient.

What did you do pre-match?
We stopped off at South Mimms services to get some food and arrived in Barnet in good time, so had a few pints in the Old Red Lion, a decent pub for away fans and very close to the away entrance.

Where did you sit/stand in the ground?
In the East Terrace, maybe not the best stand in terms of view but away fans are able to generate a good atmosphere there.

What did you make of the game?
From a neutral point of view, it was actually quite an entertaining game of football. In the first half, I felt Gillingham had to better of it, but Barnet came right at us in the second half, and looked to be on top for much of it. They certainly look a different side from the one struggling near the foot of the table last season.

Was the scoreline a fair reflection?
Obviously, I was frustrated to see Gills concede in the 94th minute but on balance, a draw probably was the right result.

Who, in your opinion was man of the match?
It was hard to single anyone out for Gills, and it's probably fair to say Izale McLeod was the best player on the pitch. Always a thorn in our side it seems.

Who have you got next and how do you think you'll get on?
At home to Plymouth next, could be tougher to call than people think. As Plymouth are struggling on and off the pitch, and fighting for points, I have a feeling this could end in a draw, I'm saying 1-1.



Thanks Mikey



My final word:
A draw was definitely the right result in the end. Both goals we conceded were something Barnet fans have become accustomed to - silly defensive lapses, unable to clear the ball from the penalty box when necessary. As it was my first game, it was interesting to see how the new-look Barnet squad would fare in comparison to last season. Man of the match for me was definitely Izale McLeod - with both the goals in the game (the second coming in the fourth minute of added time, with pretty much the last kick!). Deering and Marshall, again, looked threatening down the wings and are bound to frighten defenders this season.

League 2 season preview - part two

I thought I’d do something a little different and after completing the Twitter92 a month or so ago, I thought it’d be apt to see what my fellow League 2 supporters thought about their aspirations and expectations for their teams in the coming season. Here is part two (of four):

Burton Albion

Rob Dunn – Twitter

“I think we will be around the top half perhaps pushing towards the play off positions if we get a decent striker in. Many of our fans are not as optimistic but I feel we vastly underachieved last season and there's plenty of room for improvement.

Jacques Maghoma is the biggest player to look out for – a talented midfielder with skill in abundance. On his day he is unplayable and can produce great things. Jimmy Phillips is also one to watch, young, tricky winger with lots of promise, expecting a big season from him.

I'm looking forward to all our games, but especially places I haven't been before: Swindon, Plymouth and AFC Wimbledon. I've always enjoyed going to Oxford too.

As long as we don't have a huge backlog of fixtures again and a long list of crippling injuries, I'm fairly optimistic that this season will be a good one, with better quality football and without the worries of being embroiled in another relegation battle”.

Cheltenham Town

James Lewis – Twitter – Blog

“Personally, I’d be happy with a solid mid table finish, somewhere between 12th and 14th. We have a good enough squad, but don’t currently have the budget to really challenge the likes of Shrewsbury, Swindon, Bristol Rovers etc in terms of buying players. What’s making me feel positive though is that last year Accrington managed to get into the play offs despite small gates, a tiny budget, and no real star players. We were crying out of a striker, and have been spoiled with two. I think what we need now is a loan goalkeeper to really battle with Scott Brown for the number 1 spot, and a winger.

 Marlon Pack will be our key next season; signed after he impressed on loan from Portsmouth, I could see us getting a large fee for him later down the line. We have Russ Penn partnering him in midfield and they complement each other well. Then there’s Danny Andrew. Opinion has been slightly divided on him as he’s a little naive defensively, but he’s an excellent attacking left back. Josh Low is also a very important player for us, though most of you will already know about him! There’s also Darryl Duffy who will likely be our main outlet for goals. 

I’m looking forward to the games I can go to really! I don’t live in Cheltenham now so I can only go to a handful. Swindon at home is one – great local derby and Northampton away for the same selfish reason. In terms of games in general, Hereford at home – we need revenge for them giving us a hiding at our place in February, and of course there’s Crewe, who beat us by a humiliating and downright degrading 8-1 scoreline back in April.

Aspirations – in terms of positives, we’ve largely retained the core from last season. The year before we built pretty much an entirely new squad, but this time the players won’t need as much time to gel.  Spirit in the camp appears great and the players seem confident of the season ahead. Listening to some of the fans however you’d think there was no hope”.

Crawley Town

Louie Elmer – Twitter – Blog

“I genuinely think we can achieve promotion this season, and I think the key to that will be the tremendous fitness levels the players possess and the strength in depth as well.

Matt Tubbs is seemingly the obvious stand-out player to watch, with 40 goals last season. But Scott Neilson is particularly dangerous and the two central defenders, McFadzean and Mills were arguably one of the best pairings outside the Championship last season. Young Charlie Wassmer has a lot of potential as well.

I'd say games to look forward to are: Port Vale away (first game of the season), Wimbledon (home and away) and probably Swindon at home, as well as Barnet away (nice bank holiday away day). They're the ones that jump out at me.

To be honest I'm really glad practically all of our transfers are already done and dusted, giving the players time to blend in before the season kicks off- I think it goes to show, whilst he's not everyone's favourite, Evans really knows what he's doing”.

Crewe Alexandra

David Gallagher – Twitter

“I think we may have missed our chance last season by conceding too many goals. We've lost the league's top goal scorer and not signed anyone yet, so I think we'll finish in the top half, but that's about it. I think it'll take at least one more season before we're good enough to go up though.

New players coming through will definitely be ones to look out for; especially Nick Powell and Max Clayton, with Arsenal and Liverpool rumoured to be after both already. I think Shaun Miller will build on last season too.

Looking forward to Port Vale home and away, as always. The league has traditionally had quite a large number of northern teams, so I'll think we'll struggle away from home, even more than we did last year.

I'm looking forward to seeing how these young players turn out. The team is basically full of kids right through, with only a few experienced players. That said you'd expect us to struggle to improve on last season, but you never know”.

Dagenham + Redbridge

Matt Lees – Twitter

“Realistically, I think we have a good chance of promotion via the play-offs. With the departures of Danny Green and Romain Vincelot, next season will be quite difficult. Danny Green in particular was a huge part of everything good while he was at Dagenham. That said, we still have a good squad of players and John Still always manages to pull something out the bag.

D J Green. Another Danny Green, who at the end of last season showed he has quite some talent and may be well be the stand out player for 2011/12.

Three stand-out games for me: Barnet, Oxford and Southend away! Barnet because it's always a feisty game. Southend will be a fun game that's not too far away and Oxford because they were kind enough to let us secure promotion at their ground a few seasons back!

With Dagenham's limited budget I'd say everyone who runs the club has done a fantastic job in bringing in such talent and keeping positivity at the club despite relegation. Still being a league club for players and fans alike is amazing considering where we've come from in such a short amount of time, so I can only praise the fact the club are aiming to bounce straight back up into League One”.

Gillingham

Andy Manion – Twitter – Blog

Gillingham is one of the bigger clubs in League 2. At the start of last season the manager, Andy Hessenthaler, stated that if we weren't promoted last season would be seen as a failure - the target is the same this season. Anything less than promotion will again be seen as failure. Most fans expect promotion and with the new summer acquisitions this should be possible. Realistically promotion should be attainable, but whether it will actually happen is contentious. It will depend largely on managing to keep the squad fit. There isn’t a great deal of depth there and last season was largely injury plagued. However there is still optimism there and amongst the club there is still the belief that Gillingham is still too big a League 2 club. The optimists predict promotion – personally I reckon without further depth the club will once again fall short of expectations.

The biggest signing this summer was undoubtedly Adam Birchall. The former Dover Athletic player was prolific in the lower leagues. Not being blessed with any particular physical presence or speed he has good control, an eye for a goal and good vision. He has already impressed pre- season. The other players to look out for are Chris Whelpdale who impressed last season and possesses both skill and pace. He was a regular starter for Peterborough last season. The other Peterborough signing is also set to impress – Charlie Lee was notable last season in his Loan spell at Gillingham.

There aren't many big games in League 2 for Gillingham as there are no local rivals to speak of. Playing Swindon will be interesting given the controversy over the signing of Adam Birchall. (Swindon agreed a fee with Dover Athletic for him before Gillingham came in last minute and snapped him up, despite being bitter rivals with Dover). The other game to look forward to will be playing Southend United, both teams have a good following for League 2 teams and are fairly close to each other.

The season could go either way, whatever happens we should get off to a better start than last season but whether we can keep it up having lost our two main goal scorers from last season is hard to say. Overall there’s plenty to be optimistic about at Gillingham”.