[ 1 Mar 16 ] Fleetwood v GILLS Match Thread

[Garawa]

Very good point. But I guess form is based on confidence in this game so who knows what can happen if they go on a roll after a few good games. Something we can never know until they discover parallel universes!

[Rimshot]

I said a few weeks back I thought our results against the better teams suggested we were not genuine candidates for auto promotion and that I'd be happy if we finished in the play-offs. At the moment I'd be absolutely delighted and a little surprised if a crystal ball gazer saw a top six finish.
1066 is right on the money with his assessment of those games, they offered a real chance to bank a wallet full of points.

[Garawa]

Unless you're Gillingham who win the hard games and lose the easy ones!!! At this time the 3 points aren't going to rival sides around us at the foot of the table making each a bad 6 pointer to lose!! (He says somewhat facitiously)!!

[fan_of_mulligan]

I will do My Match Report in A Positives and Negatives post, this will be a long post.

POSITIVES......

I asked for a formation change and that is precisely what happened on Tuesday Night as Aaron Morris and Josh Wright both played as defensive holding midfielders with Rory Donnelly on the right, Brennan Dickenson on the left, and George Williams playing behind Luke Norris in a 4.2.3.1 formation that I have been demanding for and I have been demanding for a formation change for quite some-time away from home, so when Justin Edinburgh makes a tactical change, he should be given praise for making that change, even though the change in formation doesn't change Gillingham's recent run of successive 2-1 defeats.

Aaron Morris and Josh Wright - I thought that these two as a pair worked really well in the defensive holding midfielder roles, both players were among Gillingham's better players against Fleetwood Town and Aaron Morris is Gillingham's Most Improved Player This Season and Josh Wright has to play in every game between now and the end of the season, if we can sort out what is behind these two and sort out the four players playing in-front of them, then Gillingham can get there season back on track.

Luke Norris's Goal - Chris Maxwell rolls the ball out to Joe Davis who takes far too much time on the ball and Luke Norris intercepts the ball and places the ball into the bottom right corner of the net and there was nothing that Chris Maxwell could have done about that strike, this was Luke Norris's first starting appearance since The 1-0 defeat away against Blackpool and Luke Norris has had to be patient to earn his spot back in the starting eleven, and Luke Norris has taken that opportunity by scoring the goal to get The Gills back into this match, as we halfed the deficit.

With the half time score-line at 1-2, I was hoping that with the wind in Gillingham’s favour we could capitalise on that and Fleetwood Town would struggle to get the ball out of there own half, but the conditions second half weren’t as bad as they were in the first twenty minutes, although the wind was defiantly blowing towards Fleetwood Town’s Goal.

George Williams - The Young Fulham Loanee looks neat and tidy in possession of the ball, capable of picking out a pass and has the confidence and composure to go past a player, he hasn’t really tested Chris Maxwell between the sticks and spends more time outside the penalty area then looking to get on the end of things, but his performance has had more positives then negatives, I also thought that the young midfielder looked neat and tidy on the ball, hit a woeful free kick over but was one of the few players looking to create something for Gillingham.

A Top Save From Stuart Nelson - Shola Ameobi squares the ball to David Ball, who plays a first time through-ball for Ashley Hunter to run on to and Stuart Nelson remained as big as he could of as long as possible and turned Ashley Hunter’s shot on goal around the post to keep The Gills in this match.

Brennan Dickenson - Put in a performance which suggested that he has a point to prove and played exceptionally well on the left wing, with better service and maybe with Bradley Garmston playing at left back, we would of seen more from Brennan Dickenson, I would start him against Scunthorpe United if Justin Edinburgh decides to stick with The 4.2.3.1 formation, I don't want to judge Brennan Dickenson too harshly because this was his first start in a long time, but why not give him a run in the starting line up for the next 5-6 games to see what Dickenson can do on the left wing - that was the position Dickenson was supposed to be playing for Gillingham when we first signed him.

[fan_of_mulligan]

NEGATIVES......

Both Goals Conceded - After that save by Stuart Nelson from Wes Burns Free Kick, Fleetwood Town take the lead from the resulting corner kick and there is no way that Wes Burns In-swinging corner kick should of have gone all the way through and into the back of the net, why Luke Norris appeared to duck out of the way when he should of headed or cleared the ball away from danger and for me Luke Norris is the main culprit for the opening goal, obviously the team as a collective have failed to do there jobs defensively, but if your at the near post with the task of defending a near post cross, then header / kick the ball away from danger.

And just like The Chesterfield goal for 1-0, the first goal we conceded against Coventry City and quite a few others, Gillingham conceded a second goal when we're pushed so high up the pitch, Adam Chicksen's throw on to George Williams and George Williams plays the ball back out-wide to Adam Chicksen, who's first time cross towards the far post is headed clear by Amari'i Bell and Eggert Jonsson's first time defensive clearance goes straight to Aaron Morris, who's pass out-wide was going out of play until George Williams kept the ball in play and both Adam Chicksen and George Williams combine nicely, but George Williams dangerous in-swinging cross from the left side of the pitch is headed clear by Joe Davies, and Jimmy Ryan plays a fantastic ball down the line for Wes Burns to chase, and now Adam El-Abd is in the left back spot and Wes Burns pulls the ball across Gillingham's Penalty Area and Shola Ameobi scores a fantastic first time finish to double Fleetwood Town's lead and already Gillingham are 2-0 down after nine minutes.

The defensive line is far too high, and with Adam Chicksen too far forward, it means that the centre backs are having to defend in wide area's, but one ball down the wing from Jimmy Ryan has allowed Wes Burns to get to that ball and his first time cross is perfect for Shola Ameobi, who scores with an excellent first time finish, but Gillingham are gifting the opposition goals because we're incapable of defending, Fleetwood Town have already scored two goals, Chesterfield, Oldham Athletic and Doncaster Rovers have all scored two goals past Gillingham in 2016 and Wigan Athletic scored three goals, if you cannot defend, you cannot expect to win the vast majority of the football matches your playing in, because your forcing the midfielders and strikers to score three goals a game to win a football match and that isn't always going to happen.

Stuart Nelson's Kicking - The wind was atrocious as it was blowing towards our own goal and after the first few goal-kicks, Gillingham should of played shorter goal-kicks to either Max Ehmer and Adam El-Abd, or out-wide to Ryan Jackson and Adam Chicksen, this is what Chris Maxwell did for Fleetwood Town in The Second Half as Fleetwood Town's Back Four were in and around the penalty area meaning that there was a passing option, although Luke Norris, Rory Donnelly and George Williams all pushed high to try and force Chris Maxwell to kick the ball long.

The First Kick Out for Stuart Nelson lead to the free kick which lead to the opening goal and even though Josh Wright flicks the ball into Brennan Dickenson's path, Brennan Dickenson's return pass to Josh Wright was poor, but I thought that Josh Wright did extremely well to intercept the ball off Wes Burns as The Fleetwood Town Midfielder tried to thread the ball through to Shola Ameobi and there is no way that Fleetwood Town should of been awarded a free kick, Wes Burns could try his luck from distance from twenty five yards out and Stuart Nelson was required to use two fists to punch the ball out of play for a corner kick.

Rory Donnelly - For someone who has a chance of playing for Northern Ireland in The European Championships this summer, Rory Donnelly isn't exactly doing enough for Michael O'Neill to pick up the phone, OK Rory Donnelly played on the right wing against Fleetwood Town, but he hasn't scored for The Gills since the brace he scored against Doncaster Rovers, he should of scored that header against Chesterfield on Saturday - to be fair all strikers miss those type of chances - and I just think a spell on the substitutes bench will do Rory Donnelly some good.

Lack Of Pace At Centre Back - Max Ehmer and Adam El-Abd got in a mix up as Ashley Hunter intercepts the ball from Adam El-Abd and Shola Ameobi plays a return pass through to Ashley Hunter to run on to and I personally thought that Max Ehmer had fouled Ashley Hunter and would of been sent off for pulling Ashley Hunter back and Referee Jeremy Simpson chose the safer option to book Ashley Hunter for simulation, but the lack of pace at centre back is further exposed with Ryan Jackson and Adam Chicksen bombing forward and both Adam El-Abd and Max Ehmer come into the defenders defender category, and not a ball playing centre back, I would like to see another centre back play alongside these two, to cover Adam El-Abd's and Max Ehmer's lack of pace, but also give Gillingham the additional cover of a third centre back.

Obstruction - Ryan Jackson and Bobby Grant both fall to the floor and Bobby Grant is clearly obstructing the ball, this allows Jimmy Ryan to get to the ball first and The Fleetwood Town Midfielder shows great footwork to retain possession of the ball, but Elliott List lunges in and is correctly shown a yellow card, but a free kick to Gillingham for obstruction would of prevented this from happening in the first place.

Long Balls and Long Throws - Why don't players anticipate where the ball is going ??? why does everyone follow the ball like a fly to fly zapper instead of picking pockets of space where the ball is going to land ??? and why does Justin Edinburgh substitute the only striker we have got who has a chance of winning the ball in the air - keep Luke Norris on if we're going to knock it long - against Chesterfield this didn't work and we haven't got A Plan B or another way of playing, teams now know to defend against us and they know where to hurt us, the lack of any physical presence in both boxes is really hurting Gillingham at the moment.

Players don't get into the opposition penalty area - George Williams spends more time outside the penalty area then in it, Rory Donnelly, Elliott List and Brennan Dickenson are in all wide area's and if Ryan Jackson crosses the ball from the right Brennan Dickenson should be at the far post, and likewise if Adam Chicksen crosses the ball from the left, Rory Donnelly / Elliott List should be at the far post, this is where we miss Bradley Dack because he arrived in the penalty area late for the winning goal against Barnsley and there aren't too many players in the squad who can do that, I guess this is one of the weaknesses of 4.2.3.1 as your only playing with one striker up-front, but the defending and conceding some really bad goals is contributing to our downfall at the moment.

[fan_of_mulligan]

CHANCES FOR FLEETWOOD.........

Not long after Fleetwood Town had taken the lead, the hosts created another decent goal-scoring opportunity from a throw on as Amari'i Bell throws the ball centrally to Jimmy Ryan, who plays the ball out-wide to Victor Nirennold, who takes a touch to control the ball and has far too much time and space to pick out a cross to Shola Ameobi at the far post and Ameobi's header was straight at Stuart Nelson and Nelson was able to save and gather the ball at the second attempt, although the linesman on the far side had his flag up for offside.

Fleetwood Town have looked dangerous from a few free kicks as Wes Burns has fired a dangerous effort twenty five yards out from the left side of the pitch that flew over the crossbar - only just about did that effort from Burns go over the crossbar - and another free kick for Fleetwood Town see's Jimmy Ryan quickly square the ball to Victor Nirennold, and Victor Nirennold's high and hanging cross needed to be tipped over the crossbar by Stuart Nelson as Victor Nirennold's cross got caught up in the wind - mind you, I thought that Gillingham's Defending was very poor for that free kick, as we gave Victor Nirennold the opportunity to whip in another dangerous cross, Adam Chicksen wasn't tight enough on The Fleetwood Town Midfielder, and Gillingham were slow collectively for Jimmy Ryan's short free kick.

And from the resulting corner kick, Wes Burns plays the corner kick short to Shola Ameobi who plays the ball back to Wes Burns, the challenge from Max Ehmer was weak on The Fleetwood Town Goal-Scorer and Wes Burns snap-shot effort smashes into the advertisement board and thankfully not into the back of the net.

Not long after Gillingham had pulled a goal back, Fleetwood Town were awarded a very controversial free kick, as Jimmy Ryan's dangerous in-swinging free kick bounced right in-front of Stuart Nelson, who made a very uncomfortable save but kept the ball out of the net and this time Luke Norris does header the ball into a wide area, I thought Luke Norris also had fouled David Ball before the ball went out of play, but Referee Jeremy Simpson awards Gillingham a throw on deep in our final third which Ryan Jackson goes across to take.

Fleetwood Town again create another decent goal-scoring opportunity and again Gillingham are caught high up the pitch, Ryan Jackson’s long throw down the line is flicked on by Luke Norris and Eggert Jonsson’s defensive clearance allows David Ball with a out-stretched leg to win the ball off Aaron Morris in midfield and Shola Ameobi threads a first time through-ball for Ashly Hunter to run on to and Max Ehmer lunged in and he had to intercept the ball, Stuart Nelson does enough to force Ashley Hunter to run wide, but The Fleetwood Town Striker whips in a cross towards the far post and Wes Burns cannot header the ball into the back of the unguarded net for 3-1, had that effort gone in then it would have been game over and no way back for The Gills.

CHANCES FOR GILLINGHAM........

Aaron Morris intercepts the ball off Jimmy Ryan and runs forward in possession of the ball down the left side of the pitch before squaring the ball to George Williams on the edge of Fleetwood Town's Penalty Area and George Williams shapes up to shoot before cutting back on himself and playing the ball out-wide to Adam Chicksen, and Adam Chicksen takes a few touches on the ball before whipping in a dangerous cross towards the far post which would of have picked out Rory Donnelly at the far post, but Amari'i Bell headers the ball away from danger for Fleetwood Town.

Adam El-Abd's long clearance down-field should be easy for Fleetwood Town to deal with, but Eggert Jonsson has completely mis-kicked his defensive clearance and George Williams has possession of the ball in Fleetwood Town's Final Third, and George Williams plays the ball out-wide to Rory Donnelly, who has attempted a curling effort which is a simple back-pass back to Chris Maxwell, as there is no-where enough power or placement on Rory Donnelly's effort on goal.

Gillingham created a decent goal-scoring opportunity before half time which could of seen The Gills score an equaliser, Adam Chicksen's throw on down the left side of the pitch is thrown short to Aaron Morris who played the ball back out-wide to Adam Chicksen, and Adam Chicksen skips past Antoni Sarcevic's challenge before playing the ball inside to Brennan Dickenson, who goes past Eggert Jonnson's challenge inside Fleetwood Town's Penalty Area and Brennan Dickenson squares the ball to Luke Norris, and Luke Norris see's his first time shot on target brilliantly saved by Chris Maxwell and the follow up effort from Josh Wright was sliced wide of the far post when Josh Wright should of hit the target at the very least, although Gillingham do at least win a corner kick as the ball must of been deflected wide.

Adam Chicksen has a throw on for The Gills in Fleetwood Town's Final Third and Adam Chicksen throws the ball to Josh Wright, who squares the ball to Aaron Morris, Aaron Morris plays a short pass to George Williams who plays the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, Ryan Jackson uses his pace to go past David Ball and get to the byline and Ryan Jackson's cross only just about clears Luke Norris's head and Eggert Jonsson boots the ball clear and away from danger for Fleetwood Town.

From the resulting throw on after Luke Norris almost got on the end of Ryan Jackson's cross, Gillingham had a half chance to score, Adam Chicksen throws a short throw on to Luke Norris who mis-kicks the ball into Jimmy Ryan's path, and Jimmy Ryan looks to get things going for Fleetwood Town as I was fearing the inevitable counter attack, but Jimmy Ryan's through-ball is intercepted by Max Ehmer and with no movement in-front of him, Max Ehmer decides to go for goal from thirty five yards out, but Max Ehmer's effort fails to hit the target and doesn't test Chris Maxwell between the sticks.

George Williams has whipped in a dangerous free kick which has ricocheted off Marcus Nilsson inside Fleetwood Town's Penalty Area and Aaron Morris blocks the attempted clearance and Elliott List plays the ball out-wide to Max Ehmer who drills the ball across the six yard box and how no-one got a touch on the ball to divert the ball into the back of the net I have no idea, George Williams has possession of the ball and shows great trickery to not lose the ball and George Williams lays the ball off to Brennan Dickenson, who is taken out by David Ball, but Brennan Dickenson has whipped in a sensational cross and Elliott List is unmarked inside the six yard box and the youngster must of taken his eye off the ball at the last moment, because Elliott List didn't make any contact with the ball, such a shame that the young lad couldn't be a hero and score a crucial equaliser for The Gills.

This little spell is Gillingham's best spell of the entire match as Amari'i Bell's throw on is intercepted by George Williams, who see's his initial cross blocked, but the ball ricochets into Brennan Dickenson's path, and Brennan Dickenson runs straight into Jimmy Ryan and Gillingham are awarded a free kick right on the edge of Fleetwood Town's Penalty Area, unfortunately, George Williams - who has been one of Gillingham's Better Players in The Second Half - blazes the free kick over the crossbar and that effort on goal is a waste from George Williams.

TRAFFIC..........

I got on The Kings Ferry Coach at 11.20AM and because of traffic problems on The M6 and rush hour traffic in Manchester it made for a very a much longer journey to Fleetwood Town, a vote was made on the coach to scrap the second stop at the service station forty minutes away from Fleetwood Town and carry on our journey to the ground and we arrived at Fleetwood Town at 6.30PM.

The return trip saw part of The Motorway Shut and we needed to take a detour near The Britannia Stadium which added a good half a hour on to our return trip, I got back home at 4.30AM in the morning which just tells you how long it takes to get to Fleetwood Town and back, credit to everyone of The 107 Gillingham Supporters in the away end last night, I choose the seated section which gave a better view of the playing surface, although quite a few Gillingham Supporters were behind the goal.

PRE MATCH MUSIC...........

Most Common Football Walk Out Music tends to be songs like The Liquidator, but Fleetwood Town went with Thunder only happens when it's raining from The Corr's, the song suited the weather perfectly because it was chucking it down before kick off, but not the usual walk music you hear at a football match.

[fan_of_mulligan]

FURTHER THOUGHTS..........

I don't think we strengthened the squad and loan signings of Adam El-Abd, Adam Chicksen and George Williams has only added squad depth to a squad that needed everyone fully fit and available for selection and John Egan, Doug Loft, Bradley Dack and Cody McDonald all being out injured at the same-time are massive massive blows, because these four all start when fully fit and available for selection, John Egan is our best centre back, Doug Loft is our Captain, Bradley Dack is Gillingham's Key Player and Cody McDonald is our most prolific striker and in there absence the squad is much much weaker.

Once Adedeji Oshilaja wasn't able to come back straight away, Justin Edinburgh should of signed a centre back (maybe two) on loan until the end of the season, I personally think we have missed A Target-Man all season and do we really need three left backs in Chicksen, Dickenson and Garmston when other area's of the squad need strengthening, if Dickenson is now going to start at left midfield as Justin Edinburgh looks to change to a 4.2.3.1 formation, then I suppose Adam Chicksen provides cover / competition for both Bradley Garmston and Brennan Dickenson, but the squad looks light both physically and mentally at the moment, as our big players are all out injured at the moment.

Justin Edinburgh needs to look to use the loan market or the free agent market to bring in the players we need to strengthen the squad, our youth policy is one I like and I like how we're looking to sign younger players now, but we can do with a big centre forward and a ball playing centre back just to give our squad so much needed squad depth and freshen the squad up a bit, perhaps the money just isn't there because League One is so northern that the low attendances and no Cup Run means that we haven't got the money to sign the type of players required to make a difference - I thought we made the right decision to keep Bradley Dack and John Egan, but we put all our eggs into one basket with Adedeji Oshilaja, and that is a big mistake.

Our form in 2016 has been poor P10 W3 D2 L5 - Against Wigan Athletic and Doncaster Rovers Gillingham were 2-0 up and picked up one point instead of six, we were losing 1-0 at half time against Peterborough United before turning that match around to win, we responded quickly to Barnsley's equaliser to win 2-1, in those ten games Gillingham have conceded fourteen goals, compare that defensive record to Burton Albion and Burton Albion have conceded eight goals, and in the same time frame Burton Albion have kept six clean sheets - Burton Albion deserve promotion when they have conceded sixteen goals less then us, Gillingham have scored seventeen more goals then Burton Albion, but if you can keep a clean sheet then your not going to lose many games.