[ 21 Apr 18 ] GILLS v Blackpool Match Thread

[Garawa]

- Blackpool edge the wins 13 to 10 (13 draws) but have only won 1 of the last 7 meetings. The Gills have won 2 of them.
- Blackpool have won 6 of their last 12 league games after managing 1 win in 14. The Gills have 1 win in 11 league games after managing 7 wins in 11.
- Blackpool have won their last 3 league games (all at home) scoring 10 goals and conceding 1. On the road they are winless in 3 (2 defeats) scoring 1 and conceding 5.
- The Gills have won 2 and drawn 1 of the last 3 home ties with Blackpool but the visitors won on their visit before those (January 2000).
- Just 2 clean sheets have been kept in the last 14 meetings with Blackpool and the home side has scored in all bar 2 of the 36 matches.
- Blackpool have scored 12 goals in their previous 5 league games, equalling the total scored in the 13 before. The Gills have scored 2 goals in 7 league games but scored 3 in the second half of the game before them.
- Blackpool stay behind for the shortest period in League 1 when conceding a lead. On average each of the 30 leads conceded before today lasted 26.9 minutes. The Gills have averaged 40.5 minutes for each lead.

15.01 Kick Off [ 4 - 1 - 3 - 2 ]
Tom Hadler starts in goal to make his club debut.

15.04
Blackpool hit the cross bar.

15.29
GOAL! Gillingham 0-1 Blackpool: Vassell
Blackpool have lost 4 times when scoring first in the league this season. Only Rochdale, Peterborough and Fleetwood (5 each) have lost more.

15.34
GOAL! Gillingham 0-2 Blackpool: Delfouneso

15.48 Half time 0-2 (47:01)
Blackpool have won 10 of the 13 league games they led at half time in the league. Away from home they won 4 and lost 1. The Gills recovered to win 2 and draw 5 of the 16 they were losing.

16.06
The second half kicks off.

16.07
PENALTY! Tom Eaves concedes a penalty for a push in the box.

16.08
Tom Hadler sees the penalty hit the post.

16.43
GOAL! Gillingham 0-3 Blackpool: Mellor

16.55 FULL-TIME 0-3 (96:05)
Gills set a new club record for fewest home league wins in a Football League season. They have failed to score in 4 successive home games for the first time since February 2010. The game was the worst home defeat since March 2017.

Attendance: 5,580 (346)
Position: 17th
Referee: Craig Hicks
Match Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdXYbxG7p3Q
BBC Match Report: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43762538

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

Hoping for a response to the poor performance on Tuesday.It`s a lovely day for Football.With only 4 wins in 21 at home it would be nice to get a home win and push up the table a bit.

[Garawa]

Utterly awful.

A new club record for fewest home league wins in a Football League season.
No goals scored in 4 successive home games for the first since February 2010.
Worst home defeat since March 2017.

Byrne and Parker were attrocious. That's all that can be said about that.

[gillsfan1066]

I thought we had found a manager in Lovell when he grabbed the Gills players by the scuff of the neck and dragged them out of the relegation zone, putting the Gills within a couple of wins at a shot of the playoffs, but it appears once he got a two year contract and a nice pay rise, he decided to stop managing and become the players best buddie.
Guaranteed most times when the boss kisses problem players asses and plays the same players week in week out even though they are not performing 100%, only one thing happens, the tail wags the dog ,not the dog wagging the tail.
Gillinghams performance has been terrible ever since the win against mighty Northampton, I think we have taken 8 points out of a possible 36 , that would get most managers fired ,as in unemployed, as in calling Torquay or Chester offering their services.
So here we go again, starting next season with the sports magazines saying something like..................
After firing manager Ady Pennock early in the 2017/18 season, with the Gills in the relegation zone ,acting manager Steve Lovell came in and changed the face of the Gills franchise from the lovable losers to a mid table team capable of playing anyone tight away from home, but for some reason a disaster at home in Priestfield Stadium.
Unfortunately from mid February to the end of the season the inexperienced Lovell seemed to lose the team, Gillingham again escaping relegation by only a couple of points for the second season in a row, when in February they looked as if they might be pushing for a promotion play off spot under Lovell.
Once again for the start of the 2018/19 season Gillingham FC start the season with Manager Lovell on the hot seat, a poor run of results could well see another managerial change at GFC.

[Goalmouth]

As succinct as ever Gillsfan, just be thankful you're not in a position to make the trip to Priestfield and witness what we did yesterday. Over the last few seasons I've been to fewer and fewer games and it occurred to me yesterday I haven't seen the Gills score a goal this season. The performance was one of the worst I've witnessed in 50 years of watching the Gills. I'm puzzled as to what has happened to the team that was beating the likes of Portsmouth on their own patch not so long ago. Unlikely as it seemed a month ago I'm afraid we'll be in league 2 next season, and after the display yesterday the team could have no complaints if it did make the drop.

[gillsfan1066]

For the fans sake I hope we don't get caught up in the pack of relegation candidates. I don't care about the players,the manager or the owner,I hope we get rid of half the first team players and they end up playing 2nd Division football ,or better still National League football, and spend the rest of their football lives with one end of a rope in their hand going over their shoulder and the other end of it tied around their ankle kicking themselves in the ass with every step they take.
You know things were "not right" at GFC when our best two players for years left, and what the hell Tom Eaves little game is I do not know, but it's beginning to get real boring and I believe he has another year left on his contract, God help us, guess he thinks he is to good for the Gills ??
The only good thing is that most of the teams below us seem to be playing each other, and then a couple of them have games against the teams fighting for playoff spots,and luckily Bristol are not one of them, but Plymouth may well be, although they got thumped by Noth'mpton yesterday, and they have to play Scunny and Roth'ham, so could be out of contention by the time they visit the fortress known as Priestfield Stadium.
I will tell you the truth I am so dam mad that this team rolled over and gave up 2/3rds of the way through the season, I could easily be a Dover supporter next year , at least they are playing for something and TRYING to win promotion, and I hope they do.

[Rimshot]

I saw my first Gills game 60 years ago. I think I'm finally cured though as I really couldn't care less if we get relegated or not. Everyone knows I have been saying for years that while the man in charge only cares about personal income, nothing will change.
It was ironic that Bradley Dack was voted League One player of the year this week, a guy we sold as soon as he was worth more than the price of a Scally law suit.
I believe we will be in L2 next season but whether that's the case or not I won't be putting any more of my cash into Scally Towers or Dubai's airlines. I'm done.

[Garawa]

And many will feel the same. I don't blame Lovell. I do feel that the second play-offs (did we really even talk about them) were a no-go, players felt as if the season was over. Lovell had helped them get out of jail and got them into mid-table. Job done, foot off the gas and no panic is setting in, every pass is slightly under or over-hit and there is no momentum to get back to where we were a few weeks ago.

[gillsfan1066]

Scally won the bloody law suite and costs, we should have had 750,000++ quid to spend on players, not new racing camels for the Scally compound in Dubai.

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

An awful game in sunny conditions.Their keeper has had quite a few clean sheets,but he wont get many easier than on Saturday! I don`t think he had to save anything.Luckily they missed the penalty or it would have been worse.