Doubled & doomed In the Potteries…

Monday 24 March – Port Vale 2 – 1 Gills

If the Crewe game was a “must win game” and we lost it then this was a “really, really, really must win game” and we lost this too. The mood at the end was pretty subdued and we strolled out of Vale Park and down the hill resigned to our fate. If you play the bottom club who are virtually down and lose it doesn’t bode well for the last seven games… the fact that we contrived to create a stack of chances (and proceeded to miss them including a pathetic penalty) simply underlined why, baring a miracle, we’ll be accompanying the Valiants into League Two next season. To be honest we deserve it too. The icy wind, hail and flurries of snow blowing bitterly into our faces tested even the most stoical of the 234 Gills in away end as the team failed to perform again.

Beware of false messengers

As you may be aware the BMH team contribute a regular column to the Medway Messenger. This week’s effort, on the subject of Mr Paul Scally esq, was due to go in Monday’s edition of the paper, but was withheld as they `needed to check it out with our legal guys etc and no-one was available on Sunday`. When it finally did appear in Friday’s edition two things had happened – some major pruning (taking out references to an anti Scally campaign and the Facebook group amongst other things) and a subtle addition which described `unacceptable abuse during the game` – a comment I was neither responsible for nor agree with, and which, in my opinion, alters the whole tone of the piece. What follows is the article in its original form.

Should I believe in miracles?

It’s that time of the years again when all Gills fans pray for a miracle. We have 7 games left and have 39 points on the board. To survive we need at least 54 points that is 5 straight wins out of 7 (at least). Our run in is tough 3-promotion seekers 2 local derby’s, Bristol Rovers and Swindon.

The secret diary of Adam Scally aged 14 3/4

What a strange week it’s been.

Spitting out of dummy…..

Saturday 22 March – Gills 2 -1 Bournemouth

Hello and welcome everybody to this match report for the Bournemouth game.

Headitorial – March 2008

A Sad State Of Affairs…

Oh my god we’re fucked! Yeah, yeah, I know, we can still stay up but after the Crewe disaster do you really feel in your heart of hearts that we will? Hmm, me neither. Back on the 12th of January 2008 the Gills romped (yup, “romped”) to a splendid 3-1 win at Huddersfield moving up to 15th in the table – the highest of the season and seemingly banishing the nagging concerns regarding who would actually score any goals without the pace, promise and lethal strike rate of Chris Dickson. Dickson got injured during the Bournemouth game and returned to the Valley before Christmas leaving us scratching around for any goals we could cobble together, twice against Forest and Huddersfield we bucked the trend but the signs were there and after the win in West Yorkshire the Gills played thirteen League games, winning one, drawing three (all shite 0-0’s) and losing nine, scoring six goals (four by Crofts, all away, all in defeats) and conceding twenty-four. They then managed just one poxy goal (from a penalty) at home in six games (540 minutes).

Slip sliding away

I’m going to subtley tempt fate and suggest that for the third time in my thirty years of watching the club I’m witnessing a relegation season. It would only be the fourth in our 115 year history, which isn’t such a bad record though we’ve ridden our luck with re-election a few times, got booted out of the league before the war and would have been demoted in 1993 if the current rules applied. But it’s not as though we’re Oxford (relegated more often in the last 20 years) or bouncy yo-yo clubs like Southend or Palace, so we can’t simply shrug it off as one of the perils of hitching your life onboard one of the country’s less glamourous clubs.