It’s been a good start to the season for the Gills. After a opening day defeat at Portman Road the Gills have produced to impressive displays at Priestfield to earn two wins and, at the time of writing, they sit in third place in the Coca-Cola Championship.
Our home form will be crucial to our success this season – and our new attacking 4-3-3 lineup has done the business so far. The arrivals of Iwan Roberts and Darren Byfield have added strength and nous to our attack – and the benefits are being seen already. Both strikers have looked hugely impressive in their two home games so far, and both have scored in each home game. With the lively Patrick Agyemang flitting around behind our front two, our attack has a bit of everything – and it has caused defences no end of problems.
However, while this tactic may work well at home, it is not so clear whether it is a sensible move when the team are on the road. We went with 4-3-3 in our first match, away at Ipswich, and it didn’t really work. As is typical in away matches, the Gills had less possession and found themselves overrun in midfield areas, causing our midfield trio of Smith, Saunders and Spiller to tire in the intense heat as the game progressed.
I think the sensible move would be for Hessenthaler to adopt two different approaches to games, depending on whether they are at home or away. At home, where the onus is on the team to attack and score goals, the side should adopt a 4-3-3 formation. Roberts and Byfield should lead the line, with Agyemang, or possibly a fully-fit Tommy Johnson, filling that third role.
When playing away from home, however, I think the team would be much tougher to beat if we dropped Agyemang to the bench and went with four recognized midfielders. The balance needs to be there, so I’d probably pick Perpetuini to play on the left, Spiller on the right and pair Alan Pouton with Paul Smith in the centre. That would form a solid unit, with plenty of ability to defend and win the ball back. Perpetuini and Spiller should work well with their respective fullback partners, while Pouton should add more steel to the centre.
Defensively, we should keep the same four players together for as long as possible. Chopping and changing in advanced positions may be worth a look, but in defence, continuity is key. John Hills’ position at left back is safe. However, there are question marks over the remaining three positions in the back line.
Barry Ashby has come into the side and played well, while Chris Hope has looked a tad uncertain after a poor season last year. Leon Johnson and Ian Cox are waiting in the wings and both have good claims for a starting role, especially Johnson, who came into the side and played excellently at centre half towards the end of the season.
At right back, Nyron Nosworthy probably has the edge over Richard Rose’s promise and Nicky Southall’s experience, but Rose’s performance from the bench against Preston impressed hugely and the youngster may take some shifting from the side when Nyron returns from injury.
The key away from home has to be avoiding defeat. The personnel is now available to manager Andy Hessenthaler, so he should make full use of it. With clever use of the players at his disposal – and a fair wind on the injury front, the Gills could find themselves back up near that highest-ever finish of 11th place.