25/04 - 20:00
With the new League One season just under a week away, just how close are the Gills to having a side capable of having a real shot at promotion rather than another campaign of nervous run ins and looking over our shoulder?
The Steve Evans summer has been one of (some may say surprising) positivity, with - as expected - a raft of new players arriving in ME7 as the larger than life Scotsman looks to remould and reshape a squad that finished 13th last time our but was, according to Evans himself swiftly after his appointment, ‘too easy to play through’.
The two glaring holes from last seasons make up are of course in the form of two Toms, Holy and Eaves. Giant keeper Holy moved onto Ipswich in the summer after two and a half years in Kent, while Scouse frontman Eaves has earned a move to Championship side Hull City after 40 goals in two years at Priestfield, but how much will they be missed?
Evans moved quickly to bring in former Brentford stopper Jack Bonham - fresh from an excellent loan spell at Bristol Rovers - so along with him and young Joe Walsh as back up it seems the gaffer is happy in that area, particularly considering he has brought in former Gills keeper Simon Royce as goalkeeping coach.
Replacing Eaves though is an entirely different matter for two reasons. Firstly because of the sheer volume of goals he scored as the Gills’ number nine, and secondly because players with that level of output generally tend to cost a few quid, despite us striking gold by pinching him on a free from Yeovil Town back in 2017.
Rumours of a bid for a player in a higher division seem to have gone quiet, despite no official update from the club, so the current players charged with taking up the scoring burden are Brandon Hanlan and Mikael Mandron (for me the only two natural central strikers) plus loan arrivals Mikael Ndjoli and Alex Jakubiak.
Will they be able to disturb the onion bag enough to see the boys in blue challenge at the top of the division? Only time will tell...
📈 Most League One goals fr. 2017/18:
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) June 6, 2019
38⚽: 🔥@Tom_Eaves_ 🔥
36⚽: Marquis, Taylor
35⚽: Pitman
33⚽: Henderson
30⚽: K Moore#Gills @TheGillsFC pic.twitter.com/eLYOfHwUoC
Strength in depth
In other areas of the pitch, I personally think we look more than adequately covered (aside from perhaps left full back) in terms of quality and quantity.
Defensively Evans acted swiftly to add Connor Ogilvie - a centre back not a left back according to the boss - on a permanent deal after two years on loan, and then brought in Southampton U23 skipper Alfie Jones (for me an upgrade on Alex Lacey) on a season long loan to compliment Gabriel Zakuani and Max Ehmer in the middle, and in wider areas Lee Hodson has arrived from Rangers to replace the outgoing Luke O’Neill, Barry Fuller will do his thing on either side and if we can get Bradley Garmston flying then he will be an asset in terms of getting forward and creating chances.
Midfield bite
The middle of the park is the area of the pitch that both Evans and his assistant Paul Raynor quickly identified as needing the most work, and they’ve diligently gone about adding more steel and bite to protect a defence that was left hopelessly exposed throughout 2018-19 but had the second best defensive record in the bottom half of the table throughout 2017-18.
Ousseynou Cissé and Stuart O’Keefe look like they have been added in an attempt to provide a more substantial shield to those behind them, and that could allow the athletic Matty Willock to drive the side forward into dangerous areas, where the likes of Elliot List, Mark Marshall (serial top six finisher with Bradford and Charlton over the last few campaigns), Regan Charles-Cook or whoever is selected (maybe even a certain Matt Jarvis if you believe all you read on social media) can get at opposition defenders with their pace and trickery.
Back to the front...
So then it comes back to the top end of the pitch, the difference maker if you will. Can those selected convert enough chances to have us pushing for a top six slot or even beyond?
It may be a case of getting the balance between defence and attack correct, spreading the goals more evenly around the squad and thus making the need to replace Eaves less pressing, and don’t get me wrong, I am very happy with the progress and changes I have seen over pre-season, but us football fans are always a little greedy aren’t we?
If we could eke enough money out of the Chairman to find maybe another left back and maybe a proven scorer (who knows this reported bid may still be accepted) then I think we could be in for a terrific season.
For more great coverage on Gillingham FC, please give Matt and the team at @GillsInTheBlood a follow on Twitter.
Happy to be writing for @playmaker_EN this season.
— GillsInTheBlood (@GillsInTheBlood) July 30, 2019
Check out this stat about our new keeper, full article out later today.. 👀
📈 Most league clean sheets (L1+L2; fr. 2017/18):
30⛔: Cairns
29⛔: 👊@JackBonham1👊, Pym, Brown
28⛔: Day
26⛔: McKeown
🔗: https://t.co/jQtS40o0IY
It was the 13th July that Steve Evans confirmed a bid had gone in for an striker from a higher division & he stated he was hopeful of news within the week, tops. Can anyone please shed any light on what’s happened.... @BenWattsSport @HM_Collier @KentOnlineGills 🤷🏻♂️#Gills #GFC💙
— GillsInTheBlood (@GillsInTheBlood) July 30, 2019
1-1 | ||
Kieran Sadlier 45' | Alex Jakubiak 30' |
