I’m usually pretty optimistic and positive. I try to see the best of things and at times, it doesn’t always serve me well. But that’s just the way I am. I even walked out of the game on Saturday accentuating the positive. We took on a team in form, played crap, got a man sent off, and still managed to avoid defeat. Based on what we’d witnessed on the pitch, a draw was a bloody good result. However, our poor form is just the tip of the iceberg. Right now, there seems to be a lot more wrong with the club than simply poor form.
It takes quite a lot for me to get disappointed and down, but after sitting back over the weekend and considering the situation our football club finds itself in, that’s exactly how I’m feeling right now.
I can’t remember the club being further distanced from its supporters than it is right now – and as fans, we don’t seem to be getting a lot of information from the club at all. The standard of football on the pitch at the moment is no better than what we’ve seen over the last two seasons, only we’re a division lower, and although we’ve shed the vast majority of our ageing big-money earners, we’ve also sold off our most important (and most valuable) players in the name of finance.
It seems that whenever we find a player who is able to do this club some good, we sell him off before he gets the chance. First Marlon King, then Paul Shaw, now Darius Henderson. Result? Two seasons with a shocking goals scored tally and a relegation battle, which we eventually lost in the second year.
Now we’re a division lower, and after just over a dozen games, there are concerns that the manager has lost the dressing room and the threat of a second consecutive relegation is looming large.
When you look at the reasons why and take all the little things that have happened down the years, they all seem to boil down to one thing. Finance. The chairman has cited the ITV Digital collapse as the reason for our financial problems, but EVERY other club had the same problem, yet they seem to be coping a lot better than we are.
Up and down the country, teams were strengthened and clubs went back to basics as they picked up the pieces following the fallout from the ill-fated TV deal. However, with rumours of a massive overspend on the Medway Stand, rumours of an underperforming banqueting and conferencing facility causing the chairman to call in a management company for a financial quick fix, plus rumours of player indiscipline and unrest within the club, the Gillingham fans are getting more than a little concerned – and I’m certainly one of them.
I don't think it's unfair to ask the club to tell the fans exactly what is going on at the club.
I know people from the club read this site, so if anybody from GFC can help me out by answering any of these questions, please email me at headley@gills365.co.uk and I’ll publish the answers on the site for the fans to read. These aren't confrontational questions, simply honest questions that the fans ask each other on a regular basis. So if anyone at GFC can help, then get in touch via the email above.
1.) Is Paul Scally actually preparing to leave the club?
2.) What is the REAL story behind the club’s finances?
3.) What has the appointment of Graham Hover ACTUALLY done for GFC other than add another name (and wage) to the payroll?
4.) Why are we talking about moving from Priestfield when we can’t even fill the stadium we have now?
5.) What will happen with season ticket prices next season?
6.) Exactly how much did the Medway Stand cost? And how much was it originally budgeted for? Have we massively overspent on the Medway Stand, as so many fans believe?
7.) Why hasn’t there been sufficient investment into the club’s core product, the team?
8.) Why, despite the appointment of a new physio and fitness coach, have we got almost third of our squad out injured?
9.) Why is the club charging season ticket holders £8 for what is going to amount to a reserve team fixture on Tuesday night against Crawley?
10.) Why haven’t we had an AGM in the last 12 months?
11.) Why haven’t the accounts been published?
12.) Why do we let away fans into home fan areas at home games?
13.) Why do we sign players who have failed medicals?
14.) Why was Steve Hislop not included in the squad for the Yeovil match?
15.) Why do we play long ball when we’re playing Neil Harris and Matt Jarvis up front?
16.) Why do we play Matt Jarvis in midfield, ever? (it’s unfair on the lad, as he’s not a midfielder)
17.) Why don’t we ever shoot from outside the area? (Tom Williams excepted)
18.) Why were fans asked to pay up to £37 to watch the home game against
19.) Why is Andy Hessenthaler being given a testimonial but Adrian Pennock seemingly isn’t?
20.) What is the club proposing to do to get us out of our current financial AND footballing situation?
These are all questions that I either have myself, or have heard from
From a personal point of view, I recognise that the club is in financial strife and there is work going on behind the scenes to put the club on an even keel. But I’d like to know what that work actually is, and why we’re still in such financial trouble when other clubs, such as
So if any club official does happen to read this, I am sure there are a good number of your die-hard fans who would appreciate as many of these questions being answered. Seeing as these people are the lifeblood of the club, it seems only fair to let them know what’s going on with their football club.