The Official Stockport County Match Thread (Sponsored by Estrella Damm "for all your après ski needs")

[Gills1962]

Well had a few pre match beers talking to some Stockport fans they weren’t looking forward to the game due to their growing injury crisis
Saw our starting line up and told them the worst they’d do would be 0-0
Last night was dire lacking thought passion energy and urgency not sure half the time what we’re trying to do very messy playing out from the back and Turners kicking is hopeless lucky to get a point against an injury ravaged team who showed the hunger and desire we lacked the management and players need to think long and hard between now and Saturday unfortunately who knows what’ll turn up

 

[ME2blue]

There's just this overall flat, negative feeling about the squad. Like the players are terrified of expressing themselves. This started at the end of the SE tenure and has never recovered - regardless of NH, KM or SC.

No tough men, none of the players want to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in. Our midfield looks as light as a feather. No energy, strength, guile.

'We are Gillingham, no one likes us, we don't care'. That mentality has died. It's all too nice now.

In virtually every game the players are huffing and puffing. But they couldn't open up a tin of beans, let alone bog standard opposition. A team just thumped 4-0 by some dross the other end of the table.

Would just love to see a 2020's Gillingham team just go for it, all direct, bullying and nasty with it, rather than all the bumfluffies. Pissing about with all these fancy formations, prancing about trying to walk the ball into the net.

F*ck off.

 

[LancsGordoRoad]

Sometimes I go to Priestfield out of loyalty: I've been a supporter for 40 years and there have been worse spells than this, results wise. Usually it's in the hope of being entertained rather than bored, frustrated and disappointed for 90 minutes - and it feels like it could be a long time before that's a reasonable expectation. Not that I go there often either, but for the last three years(!) the Chats have been much more fun to watch than the Gills, for half the price.

Get what you`re saying, AC. Good to support a local team like Chatham - nice to see them doing so well. I go to quite a lot of games in Non-league & Championship but, like you, I suspect, there`s only really enough room in our footballing hearts for one team - for the majority on here, Gills are in the blood. Nothing can change that. It`s an enigma at times - as I genuinely don`t know how i`d feel, after initial delight, if GFC ever got to the Premiership ! Probably wouldn`t be able to attend many games ! Funny old game isn`t it. UTG

 

[gills69]

I haven't read this thread yet so please forgive me for any repetition etc. I will catch up later - if only to see if anybody saw anything positive in last nights game which I may have blinked and missed.

It was clear from the start that after their 4-0 thumping by Tranmere Stockport did not want to lose this game. Sadly it also seemed that SC decided that priority one was not to concede a goal. 541 at home ffs!

The Gills performance was akin to the absolute dross that we witnessed in the first half of last season. i.e Solid defensively, no ideas in midfield and a non-existent attack. In short - awful.

It comes to something when the only contenders for MoTM are 3 defenders.

Player ratings:

Turner [5]. He did what he had to do but his distribution was slow and often poor.

Hutton [4] through no fault of his own. If the team don't give him the ball he can't do anything with it.

Masterson [5]. OK, but as we seemed determined to play everything down the left his contribution was nearly all straight forward defending.

Ehmer [6] and Ogie [7and MotM] were kept very busy, defensively, and trying - mostly in vain - to find anybody moving in front of them.

M.Clark [7] was my third contender for MotM as he was solid defensively and at least tried to get things going forward.

Coleman [5] frustrated me. He seems to be playing so deep recently, almost as a fourth centre back and rarely gets out of his own half.

J.Williams [4] and Dieng [5, just] had no impact in midfield at all.

J.Clarke - doesn't look able to cut it at L2 level. [4] at best.

Walker looks like he'll be consigned to the vault of 'Gillingham forwards that no-one will remember' - hopefully sooner than later [3]. Sadly Nadesan is a candidate for this as well.

Honourable mention to Oli Hawkins who did more in his short time on the pitch than Williams, Clarke and Walker put together.

With luck memories of this totally forgettable game will be gone by Saturday.

 

[Trashbat]

I haven't read this thread yet so please forgive me for any repetition etc. I will catch up later - if only to see if anybody saw anything positive in last nights game which I may have blinked and missed.

It was clear from the start that after their 4-0 thumping by Tranmere Stockport did not want to lose this game. Sadly it also seemed that SC decided that priority one was not to concede a goal. 541 at home ffs!

The Gills performance was akin to the absolute dross that we witnessed in the first half of last season. i.e Solid defensively, no ideas in midfield and a non-existent attack. In short - awful.

It comes to something when the only contenders for MoTM are 3 defenders.

Player ratings:

Turner [5]. He did what he had to do but his distribution was slow and often poor.

Hutton [4] through no fault of his own. If the team don't give him the ball he can't do anything with it.

Masterson [5]. OK, but as we seemed determined to play everything down the left his contribution was nearly all straight forward defending.

Ehmer [6] and Ogie [7and MotM] were kept very busy, defensively, and trying - mostly in vain - to find anybody moving in front of them.

M.Clark [7] was my third contender for MotM as he was solid defensively and at least tried to get things going forward.

Coleman [5] frustrated me. He seems to be playing so deep recently, almost as a fourth centre back and rarely gets out of his own half.

J.Williams [4] and Dieng [5, just] had no impact in midfield at all.

J.Clarke - doesn't look able to cut it at L2 level. [4] at best.

Walker looks like he'll be consigned to the vault of 'Gillingham forwards that no-one will remember' - hopefully sooner than later [3]. Sadly Nadesan is a candidate for this as well.

Honourable mention to Oli Hawkins who did more in his short time on the pitch than Williams, Clarke and Walker put together.

With luck memories of this totally forgettable game will be gone by Saturday.

Broadly agree but (despite a lot of criticism) I thought Turner was the best performer yesterday. He dominated everything in the air and didn’t hesitate to come off his line. In the first couple of minutes he took the ball off their forward on a 1-on-1 and did well not to concede a pen. Agree that his distribution could be better, but I don’t think he holds on it it any more than any other keeper I’ve seen on opposing teams.

 

[The Surveyor]

I haven't read this thread yet so please forgive me for any repetition etc. I will catch up later - if only to see if anybody saw anything positive in last nights game which I may have blinked and missed.

It was clear from the start that after their 4-0 thumping by Tranmere Stockport did not want to lose this game. Sadly it also seemed that SC decided that priority one was not to concede a goal. 541 at home ffs!

The Gills performance was akin to the absolute dross that we witnessed in the first half of last season. i.e Solid defensively, no ideas in midfield and a non-existent attack. In short - awful.

It comes to something when the only contenders for MoTM are 3 defenders.

Player ratings:

Turner [5]. He did what he had to do but his distribution was slow and often poor.

Hutton [4] through no fault of his own. If the team don't give him the ball he can't do anything with it.

Masterson [5]. OK, but as we seemed determined to play everything down the left his contribution was nearly all straight forward defending.

Ehmer [6] and Ogie [7and MotM] were kept very busy, defensively, and trying - mostly in vain - to find anybody moving in front of them.

M.Clark [7] was my third contender for MotM as he was solid defensively and at least tried to get things going forward.

Coleman [5] frustrated me. He seems to be playing so deep recently, almost as a fourth centre back and rarely gets out of his own half.

J.Williams [4] and Dieng [5, just] had no impact in midfield at all.

J.Clarke - doesn't look able to cut it at L2 level. [4] at best.

Walker looks like he'll be consigned to the vault of 'Gillingham forwards that no-one will remember' - hopefully sooner than later [3]. Sadly Nadesan is a candidate for this as well.

Honourable mention to Oli Hawkins who did more in his short time on the pitch than Williams, Clarke and Walker put together.

With luck memories of this totally forgettable game will be gone by Saturday.

Convinced last night that Hutton had done something to annoy his team mates, Masterson in particular, as they continually ignored him.

I'm afraid Walker is demonstrating why he's not pulled up any trees at Burton.

Clarke was played out of position. His starting place showed how little faith Clemence had in Nadesan. When he came in Nadesan did nothing to prove Clemence wrong

 

[Therealwaldo]

Just a thought. There are lots of things in the way we play that annoy me. One of my biggest gripes is what seems to me to be the laughable half press. Take Clarke. Watch where he is in relation to a defender when the Stockport defence had the ball but not the player he’s nearest too. He’ll stand about 10 yards away. That defender gets the ball, then Clarke has to sprint to make up that 10 yards to challenge for the ball. By the time he gets there, the ball has long gone. Our positioning is so poor. Why not push right up on that defender ? It seems so basic but so alien to our players. That positioning problem seems to go right through the team. It’s why it’s so easy for the opposition to get the ball into our box and, because the opposition don’t play that way, why it’s so difficult for us to do so. What’s wrong with them ? Can’t they run ? Are they physically weaker than our opponents ? It’s beyond frustrating.

 

[LancsGordoRoad]

Do worry that once again we got distracted by an entirely fanciful attempt to sign a player that was never coming to us in a million years and not pursued more realistic options as a result.

I suspect you may be right, though there`d be no excuse for failing to have an adequate alternate contingency.

 

[The Surveyor]

Thinking back to Kenny's answers regarding our transfer activity in the window, Hurtado, we were told, was a very last minute signing when advised he was available. We were also told that Andrews availability came very late in the day as we'd originally planned to sign him in the summer. That leaves Walker as the only striking option who wasn't signed at the last minute.

Makes me wonder what the recruitment team's plan was for boosting our striking options given they'd had four months to identify and work on improving this area.

The recruitment team for whatever reason has failed to deliver the quality forward players a promotion winning team requires.

Perhaps we have been constantly outbid or targets don't want to drop to L2 or sustainability means we're unwilling to pay the asking price? Who knows.

Whatever the reason we have a couple of forwards in Nadesan & Walker who are the type of signings we would have expected under Mr Scally especially when you consider the money spent elsewhere.

Don't want this to sound like entitlement but it just feels this key part of the squad has by comparison to the defence & midfield been short changed.

 

[Tinker-]

I thought Jonny Williams battled hard and tried to make things happen but with the rest of the midfield just stood around it was almost impossible for him.
Dieng shouldn't be playing for us again, what a waste of money and probably high wages also.
He doesn't want the ball he jogs around trying not to receive it, when he did get it he just plays it back to the defence when he could turn and try and move us forward. How are we supposed to play out from defence with Coleman playing deep and Dieng only playing backwards?
He looks like a big physical, athletic player, the sort you want in the middle of the pitch but he puts in the most half hearted of challenges when he is close enough to the opposition. What is the point of him.

This is an area I thought we needed to strengthen in more than the forward line.
S, Williams obviously on the way out and Jeffries out injured plus Dieng who can't be bothered we needed at least one or two central midfielders who can run, move and pass the ball forwards to get us up the pitch and create openings for the forwards.
Look at Jorge, if someone is willing to run forwards and beat a player then it opens up the final 3rd and we will create chances from that. The attacking midfielders we have in Lapslie, Williams and Mahoney would benifit massively with a better central midfield who can create space for them to deliver. At the moment they are marked out of the game as we are so slow to move the ball through midfield the opposition are all back in their positions.

 

[LancsGordoRoad]

Convinced last night that Hutton had done something to annoy his team mates, Masterson in particular, as they continually ignored him.

I'm afraid Walker is demonstrating why he's not pulled up any trees at Burton.

Clarke was played out of position. His starting place showed how little faith Clemence had in Nadesan. When he came in Nadesan did nothing to prove Clemence wrong

Maybe Hutton was a little frustrated himself. Wasn`t he signed to address the need for getting balls into the opposition penalty area so that our aerial threat could go to work ? Hawkins and Andrews are ready made customers for Hutton`s service. Last night he had no customers, until a few minutes from closing time. Due to circumstances apparently outside of his control, Hutton had to play a style that was counter-intuitive, perhaps.

 

[Tinker-]

Maybe Hutton was a little frustrated himself. Wasn`t he signed to address the need for getting balls into the opposition penalty area so that our aerial threat could go to work ? Hawkins and Andrews are ready made customers for Hutton`s service. Last night he had no customers, until a few minutes from closing time. Due to circumstances apparently outside of his control, Hutton had to play a style that was counter-intuitive, perhaps.

I also think after the last few games the opposition has sussed that Hutton is the only player capable of creating chances for us and have marked him out of the game.

 

[EagerExile]

We're in transition and it shows. Harris's squad was horribly unbalanced - no pace, width or creativity. Now we're lacking steel and influence in the middle (especially with Sean Williams not featuring), we have fringe players who ideally would be gone (Clarke and Nadesan - and I'd include Lapslie too, who's been a massive disappointment), and our January recruitment upfront has proved unlucky.

In these circumstances it's really hard to judge Clemence. In my opinion, the team has made progress in terms of shape and patterns of play. Now it's all about how we manage the summer recruitment.

 

[GillsFan22]

What is Dieng for?

Did he touch the ball?

I accept that this probably won’t be a popular opinion, and it won’t happen as Clemence seems to have made his stance clear, but I personally would rather see Shaun Williams play instead of Dieng at the moment.

I think Williams became a scapegoat for many after Walsall away, which apparently he actually wasn’t fully fit for. However I always felt that whilst he could be quite frustrating at times, he was always wanting and willing to get on the football and try to pass it, something none of our midfielders seem willing to right now. None of them look comfortable in taking the ball off the defenders, and that’s something I always felt Williams was quite good with.

 

[Cuxton Blues]

I fear the season from here on out is going to be a struggle. Our forward line is national league quality, no better than Mandron and Kashket.

 

[Play up Brompton]

I wonder if Andrews is any good at wrestling as Stockport won every clinch last night. Swaby was appalling again. He is overweight and cannot keep up with the play. Reminds me of Colin Boswell who officiated from the centre circle.

 

[Tinker-]

I accept that this probably won’t be a popular opinion, and it won’t happen as Clemence seems to have made his stance clear, but I personally would rather see Shaun Williams play instead of Dieng at the moment.

I think Williams became a scapegoat for many after Walsall away, which apparently he actually wasn’t fully fit for. However I always felt that whilst he could be quite frustrating at times, he was always wanting and willing to get on the football and try to pass it, something none of our midfielders seem willing to right now. None of them look comfortable in taking the ball off the defenders, and that’s something I always felt Williams was quite good with.

Might be worth a look, same as MacKenzie who had a great start to the season but hasn't had a look in since.

 

[Cuxton Blues]

I accept that this probably won’t be a popular opinion, and it won’t happen as Clemence seems to have made his stance clear, but I personally would rather see Shaun Williams play instead of Dieng at the moment.

I think Williams became a scapegoat for many after Walsall away, which apparently he actually wasn’t fully fit for. However I always felt that whilst he could be quite frustrating at times, he was always wanting and willing to get on the football and try to pass it, something none of our midfielders seem willing to right now. None of them look comfortable in taking the ball off the defenders, and that’s something I always felt Williams was quite good with.

Worth another look for sure. He did pop up with some crucial goals

 

[HerrLjunga]

I accept that this probably won’t be a popular opinion, and it won’t happen as Clemence seems to have made his stance clear, but I personally would rather see Shaun Williams play instead of Dieng at the moment.

I think Williams became a scapegoat for many after Walsall away, which apparently he actually wasn’t fully fit for. However I always felt that whilst he could be quite frustrating at times, he was always wanting and willing to get on the football and try to pass it, something none of our midfielders seem willing to right now. None of them look comfortable in taking the ball off the defenders, and that’s something I always felt Williams was quite good with.

None of the current options are doing the business, even Coleman has gone off the boil. What irritates me is that there is quality there, they're all good players, they're just weak AF as a collective regardless of the combination employed.

 

[SteveTreacle]

None of the current options are doing the business, even Coleman has gone off the boil. What irritates me is the there is quality there, they're all good players, they're just weak AF as a collective regardless of the combination employed.

The performances against Notts County and some of the second half v Swindon shows that the players are more than good enough to score goals and win games in this division and should be more than good enough to reach the playoffs minimum. Last night and Saturday just smacked of negativity and I blame the manager/coaches and players. We need to snap out of it and pretty quick.

I don't absolve the owner and his directors of blame either as it's been obvious since the summer what the problem is and despite lots of talk, we haven't addressed it twice. I said when the transfer window closed that I was underwhelmed with the transfers in. Bringing in a Colombian kid with a handful of games at senior level and a player who has scored a handful of league goals, as well as an injured target man, was always taking a punt and smacked of the sort of desperation that saw us bring in Bonne and Nadesan in the summer. Sadly, at present, my worst fears are being borne out as we are looking as toothless as ever, which isn't to defend the players we do have as, as I say, Notts County shows that the players and manager are good enough when they apply themselves in the right way and more positively.