More dead wood offloaded

I'm disappointed to see young midfielder Craig Stone departing. He looked a little one-paced perhaps, but he looked like he had something about him and could have developed under Stimson. But it seems Stimson prefers the more energetic Stuart Lewis, so Stone has moved on. He's joined Ebbsfleet and I wish him well.

Two other players on the move are striker David Graham and midfielder Aaron Brown. My opinion on the pair is pretty mixed, to be honest, but I understand and agree fully with their departures.

I believe Graham is a striker with the quality to be hugely successful at League Two and League One level, but it seems there are questions over the player's attitude and application at times. Sheffield Wednesday fans seemed to have that view when we signed him, and it appears they may have been right. Under different management I think Graham could have delivered for us, but with Mark Stimson clearly adopting a "my way or the highway" approach to man-management, it seems Graham's on the highway, heading straight for Peter Jackson and former Gills caretaker boss Iffy Onuoura at Lincoln City.

Also headed to Sincil Bank is Aaron Brown. While I thought David Graham could have been a success with us, my opinion on Brown is vastly different. Brown's a big, strong-looking guy with what appears to be a decent engine. But there are crucial elements missing from his game, namely balls and heart.

I'm struggling to think of a professional footballer I've seen wimp out of tackles as often as Brown. He gets outmuscled far too easily for a guy his size and for someone who we were told would add quality to the side, he produced precious few moments of any quality at all. I'd be lying if I said I was sorry to see him go. Hopefully for his own career he'll improve at Lincoln, but as a Gillingham player, I reckon he's one of the worst signings I've seen in many years.

So, that's three players definitely out the door, and it sounds as if two more may be about to follow.

Efe Sodje had a successful loan spell at Bury last season and manager Alan Knill has been working hard to sign a centre half. The deal has been agreed, with the only stumbling block the player's ability to get released from his club. The player in question is more than likely to be Sodje, who has been told he is surplus to requirements by Stimson. Hopefully Efe can agree his release and move on. I quite liked him as an opposition player - he always played well against us - but he was a little cavalier at times, and never really showed the same form in a Gills shirt. I hope he does well for Bury, or wherever he ends up.

And finally, another player who failed to live up to his billing, Delroy Facey, could soon be shipped out of Priestfield. He's been incommunicado after going AWOL last week, and it's more than possible that Messrs Jackson and Onuora could well be in the market for Facey to join fellow Gills misfits Brown and Graham at Sincil Bank. We know from news reports that despite an abject season for the Gills, Facey has attracted interest from at least two clubs. One of them, Wycombe Wanderers, was put off by Facey's wage requirements. I'm hoping that whoever else is interested actually takes him.
I had really high hopes for Facey, but he has been a massive disappointment and, ultimately, a waste of money. If we can get him off the books, we'll have one of our biggest earners off the payroll.

We've not brought many people in - just one so far, in fact - but getting shot of our dead wood (and I'm not including Craig Stone in that) should hopefully allow us to strengthen in time for our pre-season programme.

Then maybe we can go into the new season on a real positive.