Pre-Season 2024/25

The defence for me is a massive concern.
From those highlights we were lucky not to concede again.

 

Silent .

 

Preseason games don’t matter do they? All about the fitness? I don’t understand the meltdown.
I hope GA knows what he’s doing because if we start the season poorly, potential to lose first 2 league games and be out of the cup, he’ll be gone.

 

We've gone a goal down in all 3 games so far, 2 of them within 5 minutes. It needs addressing ASAP.

 

If only we could have predicted where the weak spots would be. At least then we could have signed a couple of decent centre halves in the window.

Oh, wait ......

 

Playing at wing back though? Could explain those gaping holes in defence….

 

Oh, will that's me convinced then.

Gillingham's very own Simon Parkers opinion is now clearly fact.

 

He must have it in his contract. That’s the only reason I can see why he takes every one.

 

Haaaahaahaa…. You got me then

 

Do we have another friendly in Austria or are we coming back home?

 

Returning today.

 

Doesnt sound like Sunderland have sold as many as we’d have thought for Tuesday. Still plenty of seats left in end blocks I’m told.

club prob shot themselves in foot by organising Marseille game on a Sat so close. If you are a Mackem, would you rather watch their reserves vs us midweek or a decent CL side on a Saturday? (Im assuming they’ll go full strength vs Marseille, rather than us?).

 

I know it's a day out at the coast but apparently only 3,000 Makems turned up at Blackpool after a reported 5,000 were set to travel.
Fantastic support for a friendly regardless.

 

I was talking to some Mackems the other night out here in Spain. They'd been to watch their team play Elche in the same venue where we trained last summer.
They weren't particularly bothered about the Marseille game and less than complementary about Bradford as a city.

 

I am concerned about our lack of friendlies. We've got two left were we need to be playing our pretty much first 11 otherwise they'll have had little experience of playing together.

Many clubs seem to be having 5 or 6. We've basically had one so far.

 

I wonder if we have a behind closed doors friendly lined up, because I agree the actual football time seems light.

 

Not sure where this concern about lack of friendlies is coming from. We played 2 games and a behind closed doors game before travelling to Austria, another game whilst there and have 2 more games this week. That will be 6 in total which doesn't seem any different to what other clubs are doing. I wouldn't be surprised if there's another behind closed doors game arranged for next week as well. I do agree though that GA needs to start fielding his best 11, but that has been difficult so far given the injuries to pretty much all of our right sided defensive players.

 

Same frailties as last season under Alexander. Nothing seems to have changed.

 

Not that many “ frailties” the four cluster of matches apart he did well with another managers team

 

Alexander achieved the absolute bare minimum last season in that he picked up enough points to have achieved a play off place if he had been here all season. The team had very little bite and scored less than 1.5 goals per match under him, conceding 1.25 per match.

Recruitment has been poor, with only two added from last season's squad (Byrne & Sacrcevic) who are realistically starters, no signing (Wright returning apart) for ten weeks. Inability to move on McDonald & Oliver and our most consistent centre half gone.

Where is the promised extra investment in the squad, where is the indication, let alone the evidence, that we have improved the squad enough to push the top three ? Where has David Sharpe made a difference ?

I fear much of the same next year, and don't see David Sharpe being here when the next window opens. We have more or less stood still, and there are too many teams in this league who have over taken us in recruitment. Top three will be Chesterfield, Port Vale & Notts County.

Same old same old, despite Rupp finding his voice.