Tough start

[Garawa]

I think overall we can't be too unhappy about where we sit after August. 12th isn't bad considering our 6 games have been against all 3 sides that came down from the Championship, 2 sides on a high from promotion including away to the League 2 champions and 4 of the sides sit in the top 8. It surely gets easier from here but then I'm not sure we do well when that is the case.

[gillsfan1066]

Gillingham FC are the Gillingham FC that have been Gillingham FC for ever. A small shop on the corner of a road in Gillingham where the owner, his wife and kids all work and their happy to live upstairs and as long as they can pay the bills then the worlds all OK.
I watched the Chelsea v Bournmouth game on Canadian TV, and highlights of the Brighton game yesterday, to think we were playing them only a few years ago, and we have done NOTHING in the last 10 years and to be honest I can't see the corner shop becoming Sainsbury's any time soon.
With all due respect to Mr.Garawa I think his attitude is exactly what is wrong with Gillingham FC,and has been for years. Look at us,were in the lower half of the table, BUT NOT in the bottom four, wwooww hhooo, so everything is OK in our little corner of this great nation. Go Gills.

[Garawa]

Optimism is fine but don't lose the realism. At the end of the day, many Championship clubs would fail to be able to compete with Sunderland who only went down as they were in that downward spiral that is impossible to get out of. They have players on £70,000 a week that cannot get into the side! Bournemouth and Brighton are pure flukes, nothing more, fueled by an attractive place to live. We will never be that. Rank all the clubs based on their size and support and we are well down the pecking order. You are not going to suddenly start shooting rounds of 66 and San Marino are not suddenly become World Champions. That's life.

That's not to say these things are not possible occasionally - they are and they do happen but not over and over and therefore it's delusional to think we can beat the bigger and much better sides every game. If that was possible, we would be better than Man City. But my point really was that it is a good foothold and with "easier" games coming up, we can build on the 7 points gained which could lead to a play-off spot. Is that really a minimum requirement? Considering the calibre of players brought in I consider that to be an excellent return.

[Rimshot]

Sp how do you explain the likes of Wigan, Leicester, Huddersfield, Cardiff and many more ? These are clubs which have tasted the big time too. Wigan, a nice place to live ?
Sorry mate, but GFC is a reflection of its owner - just a pay cheque for the Scallys with no ambition beyond that. How many times have we heard his bullshit about ground development and foreign investors ?

[Garawa]

I agree with that, but I do feel the likes of Cardiff and Leicester are far bigger than us (the latter has always been in or around the top flight). Wigan is a bit of a mystery but perhaps sharing costs with a very good rugby side allowed them greater influence. This isn't to say with the right investment we cannot do the same but expecting the same is bit daft. Maidstone, Billericay et all all think they are upper EFL and have good investment but they aren't doing as well as they would have hoped because football is incredibly tough to sustain and only a lucky tiny few every so often get to buck the trend.

[Rimshot]

Ok but there are also plenty of Championship sides , places like Ipswich and Norwich, with relatively small populations and yet they have both tasted life at the top level and are ambitious enough to dream big again.

Scaly only takes risks with the club's money when there's a law suit to be lost and his own financial out-take is secure. It's no accident that our most successful managers have fallen out with him - there is simply no ambition for the club to succeed and under his ownership there never will be.

I still look for the Gills result but I no longer willingly contribute to his personal fortune. I'll probably make the odd away game but that's about it.

[gillsfan1066]

TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THOUSAND PEOPLE, of which one hundred and thirty five thousand are male who live in the Boro of Medway, and GFC can manage to draw about 5,000 of them for most home games. Population of Kent ONE MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND give or take a few, and GFC still manage to get 5,000 of them to a home game, and there the only REAL team in town.

[bunburygills]

Well Gillsfan, I didn't know the requisite to being a Gills fan was to be a man. You live and learn on this forum. Hang on a minute, isn't the CO of West Ham Karen Brady. Also, aren't Everton and possibly Wolves CO's women? I'm sure I've heard of more as well. Perhaps the equality revolution hasn't hit the Medway Towns yet or is that just one of Trumps acolites talking.

[gillsfan1066]

I guess all those big broads from the outback with their crocodile skin handbags (most killed the animal bare handed themselves) and desert boots on go to Aussie Rules Footy. In the UK the top Premier Clubs attract a 84% male crowd the other 16% are made up of children under 16 and women.
First division clubs where the mighty GFC play , attract a predominately all male adult audience with as FEW AS between 9 and 10% of attendees being women and children.
You think women attend Gillingham FC for a match because Sara Scally is getting a salary from GFC, or women buy GM cars because Mary Barra is the head of General Motors,or drink Pepsi because Indra Nooy is the CEO. ??
Come on you have been to GFC games before, how many women have you ever seen at a game ?

[bunburygills]

You've probably come up with a question. There's almost 135,000 of the population that are untapped supporters of the club. How about some bright spark in the club addressing this issue. Even 2000 of them would make a difference. Perhaps an area set aside for women to bring their kids away from some of the idiots at the game. Trial kids under 12 for free with their mums. Put on some decent healthy food for them. Do a large advertising campaign aiming at all the junior clubs in the area. Doing nothing gets you nowhere.