Strike a light! We're a striker light

Last updated : 27 June 2008 By Simon Head

Goals. They're the single most important aspect of any football match. Score more than your opponent and you've won. Concede too many over the course of a season and you're in trouble.

Sadly not only did we concede too many, we failed to score anywhere near enough, either. The combination wasn't a good one, and we were relegated as a result.

So, considering how important it is for any team to score goals consistently, it's crucial that any given side has a stable of reliable, committed and, if at all possible, talented, strikers at their disposal.

Unfortunately, not every club is that fortunate, just ask a Gills fan. Looking at all 92 league clubs plus the 24 Blue Square Premier clubs, Gillingham sat 101st out of 116 teams when it came to goals scored last season.

So, it's pretty clear that the Gills desperately need to see a major improvement in their goalscoring in the coming season. But so far the club has brought a grand total of zero new strikers to the club over the summer months.

In fact, we've seen our forward options decrease over the summer with the release of Leroy Griffiths. Leroy was used as an impact sub last season, but more often than not failed to make a sufficient impact, scoring just twice from 25 appearances, mostly from the bench.

So, what striking talent remains?

In fairness, the Gills do have two forwards with plenty to offer. Simeon Jackson is without doubt the most natural finisher at the club. He's small, pacy and looks more than capable of scoring 15+ goals next season. He's a cert for a starting role up front next season.

In addition, Dennis Oli has shown a high work-rate, blistering pace and the knack for scoring the odd goal, too. He's not prolific, and he also tends to do a lot of his best work out wide, but he's also an asset, albeit still a raw one, to the club.

But that's just two players. To be successful, GFC will need at least two more committed, half-decent goalscorers, and to be brutually honest, the other two forwards we have simply don't fit that category.

Gary Mulligan clearly wanted out of Priestfield, and has since come crawling back after failing to find a League One club that were prepared to make him an offer. We were contractually obliged to offer him a one-year extension, hence his inclusion in the squad. But while he does run about a lot and generally work hard on the pitch, he doesn't actually create a lot for his strike partner(s) and his goal return is nowhere near good enough to warrant a starting role up front.

Then there's Delroy Facey. He's big, he's strong, he has a powerful shot, but he's been a terrible signing for the club to date. A couple of superb strikes aside, his contribution last season was disappointing to say the least.

Facey was signed as a player with Premier League experience who could score the goals to help fire us to promotion, but what actually happened was quite different and if Mulligan's goal rate was poor, Facey's was even worse.

The former Bolton striker averaged worse than a goal every ten games before we eventually loaned him out to Wycombe. Hopes were high that they would actually take him permanently, but it seems his wages are far too high. Yet again, it seems we signed a dud on over-inflated wages.

Despite his poor goal record, Facey has attracted interest from a couple of clubs, but the Gills are unable to follow up the interest fully as Facey has gone AWOL and, according to stories in the press this week, isn't even answering his telephone.

Unless Facey: a.) answers his bleedin' phone and, b.) lowers his wage expectations to match his on-pitch performances, then we'll be stuck with another unwanted player on the books, contributing little and taking huge wages. We've been there before, haven't we?

So, to review, we have two strikers with promise, but little league experience, and two players with league experience, but no goalscoring ability, and arguably neither would have chosen to stay at the club.

Mark Stimson's search for a striker continues. It's all quiet on that front at the moment, with the club reportedly waiting to hear back from at least two potential signings.

With the amount of quality we have at the club at the moment, we need the club to deliver a striker who is better than those we already have. I think the success of our season may well depend on it.