Hole in the middle

We aren't strong enough in midfield.

In short, we simply don't seem to have enough bite or quality in midfield areas to compete consistently, home and away.

Mark Stimson's style of play seems to revolve around getting the ball out wide and attacking from the flanks, but that requires the centre midfielders to provide the service to the wide men - and in the majority of matches I've seen this season, only one player, Curtis Weston, has looked in any sort of form in that role - and he can't do it alone.

Andrew Crofts, one good early performance aside, is increasingly looking like a player whose potential is largely being wasted. A strong, combative operator with an eye for goal on his day, the Gills captain's performances have been all too often labelled with the word 'anonymous' by Gills fans, and that's a worry. At this level Crofts should be dominating proceedings and taking games by the scruff of the neck, but like last season, games seem to pass him by. He clearly has ability. He's a regular in the Wales squad, and has got the qualities to play at Championship level. But we simply aren't seeing that quality on a regular basis - and that's a major reason for our inconsistent form.

But Crofts isn't the only concern. Mark Bentley hasn't looked the same player this season either - both myself and a colleague reckon he's looked rather leggy in recent outings - and out wide our policy of playing an attacking player on each wing may reap rewards at home when the emphasis is on attack, but on the road, when you need to be more compact and disciplined, we've looked rather weak down the flanks. With Nicky Southall farmed out on loan and apparently out of the picture at Priestfield, the club does not have a single genuine wide midfielder at the club.

We've got Charlie Daniels, a loanee who has looked good at home, but lightweight away; Dennis Oli, a converted striker; Tyrone Berry and Albert Jarrett, two totally unproven wingers and, putting a square peg in a round hole, Adam Miller, a centre midfielder/support striker. None are genuine wide midfielders, and that is a major problem with Stimson's squad - we simply don't have the appropriate personnel to fulfil each of the required roles in the side.

The result is inconsistency. We've got the attacking players to produce results at home, but we don't have a strong enough midfield to keep things tight when we're playing away.

Stimson has said that he's on the lookout for a striker, but what we really need is strength in midfield. With a stronger, more balanced midfield quartet, we'll not only defend better as a team and pick up more results away from home, we'll also have look a better unit going forward too.