This is going to come across as a list rather then A Match Report, and given that I was infuriated with the manner of the debate this afternoon, I think I will go through my mini check list and see if anyone agree's or disagree's with the viewpoints I will put across.
DECLINING ATTENDANCES
Gillingham's Attendances are declining, In our previous home match against Coventry City, The Attendance was 4,880 and the attendance today was 5,246, However, AFC Wimbledon brought 963 supporters with them, meaning that Gillingham only had 4,100 supporters inside Priestfield Stadium For A Home League Game On A Saturday Afternoon, And Gillingham always got 5,000+ home supporters for A Saturday League Game and The Away Supporters would then top the attendance up to 5,500, or over 6,000 if we're playing a local team who are bringing over A Thousand Supporters To Gillingham.
I think one of the reason's why the support is declining is just how stale things are at Gillingham Football Club, Our Ambition is to remaining In The Third Tier Of English Football and I have no problem with consolidation and looking to build things slowly over a lengthy period of time, but if we're building over a lengthy period of time, what is Gillingham's Football Philosophy, Do we have a clear picture on the football we're looking to play, on the type of player we're looking to sign and how are we going to progress, because just to stand still you need to be looking forward and League One is getting harder and harder every season, Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers all bounced back into The Championship at the first attempt and Sunderland and Barnsley look very likely that they are going to be there or thereabouts at the end of this season, and the gap between League One and The Championship is getting wider and wider, The Premier League is The Super League Now, And The Championship Is Now The Premier League, But the third and fourth tier's of English Football are still the third and fourth tier's of English Football, and that financial gap is only going to get wider and wider.
Another reason for the declining attendances is that some supporters who might have come and watched Gillingham play are now watching the likes of Ebbsfleet United, Maidstone United, Dover Athletic, Dartford, Chatham Town, Faversham Town, Sittingbourne and Hollands & Blair FC, You can stand and move around the ground in Non League Football, Match Admission Prices are cheaper and more affordable, matches are more local in The County Division's if your looking to go to away games, and buying tickets for Gillingham Home Games has not exactly been easy, The Phone Line is always busy and I am not sure how good or how bad the online ticketing feature is (KFG Can comment on this) But not everyone is comfortable buying online and would instead prefer to buy over the phone.
There are also some of the continued problems, lack of parking spaces around Priestfield Stadium, Supporters who would prefer to stand and watch football being unable to stand, I know Block 4 In The Rainham End see's supporters stand, but having a designated standing section would be a huge benefit, the atmosphere would improve with a unreserved standing section towards the back of The Rainham End, and the atmosphere would then help the players out there on the football pitch.
LACK OF PLAYING BUDGET
Over the summer, Steve Lovell retained many of our first year pro's and second year scholar's, With Tom Hadler, Louie Catherall, Finn O'Mara, Ryan Huckle, Jack Tucker, Aaron Simpson, Ben Chapman, Darren Oldaker, Bradley Stevenson, Navid Nasseri, Henry Woods, Elliott List, Leroy Hlabi and Noel Mbo all being offered contract extensions, When your keeping hold of fourteen young players, your looking to have as much squad depth as possible - because there is No Emergency Loan Window Anymore - But Steve Lovell is clearly working with a limited budget and we're clearly hoping for two or three young players to step up and make it into The First Team and we're hoping to try and develop two or three more players like finding the next Bradley Dack, and if we're giving Fourteen Young Players Professional Contracts, then we're hoping that many of them can make it into The First Team, But there also likely to sign on for cheaper wages, because these players are young and they are looking to develop there career's with The Gills, and unfortunately, we just do not have the resources to sign six or seven proven established League One Players with hundreds of league appearances under there belts.
Over the summer, our signings can be split into two camps, Barry Fuller, Dean Parrett and Callum Reilly are all proven players, where as Josh Rees, Brandon Hanlan and Regan Charles-Cook are all players we have taken a chance on, Connor Ogilvie has also just re-signed on loan, and there is the possibility - and I have no reliable sources and this is only my own personal opinion - But Tottenham might have covered all of Connor Ogilvie's wages while he is on loan at Gillingham Football Club and Connor Ogilvie is essentially like a free signing, But Connor Ogilvie is our only loan signing and Gillingham haven't really used the loan system to our full advantage, perhaps that is because Gillingham were offered young players with no league experience on loan and Gillingham already had plenty of young players on there books with limited league experience.
You could make the case that maybe Steve Lovell could have released four of five of the young players listed above and sign two players of better quality with the wages that we managed to free up, Or we could have signed players that we currently do not have in this squad who would of been beneficial for The Gills (Example: Natural Wide Wingers) But I do think that the playing budget has been cut in the summer and that might explain why Scott Wagstaff and Lee Martin both left The Gills and we retained so many young players, with the hopes that we can develop these young players and see if we can sell them on for a profit.
Now Steve Lovell does know The Charlton Youth Team Very Well, after all, we did sign Regan Charles-Cook and Brandon Hanlan, and maybe Steve Lovell will look at Charlton Athletic's Academy and say to any promising young player - COME TO GILLINGHAM, And you will get game-time, Because I am sure that Charlton Athletic will be pushing for promotion into The Championship, and they have let many young players go over the summer, and if we have got someone in Steve Lovell who has worked with these players previously, he might be able to tempt more young players from Charlton Athletic to sign for Gillingham, I know this comes across as developing other teams players, but good contacts with Youth Team Clubs and enticing young players released by Premier League and Championship Clubs to sign for Gillingham can only be a good thing, especially if we can find another John Egan.