Finally, he has signed. | Vital Football

Finally, he has signed.

I can absolutely guarantee you that Gills have signed a real gem in Ike. He's a decent lad who broke into the first team with us barely aged 16 and had been a regular in the squad ever since. For the last season and a half at least he has been one of the first names in our starting line up.

Footballing attributes:

Strong;
Fast;
Powerful;
Good in the tackle;
Works well with another player on the right with either of them on the overlap;
Reads the game well;
Very hard to defend against;
Can be the 'legs' for an older winger playing on the same side as him;
Just developing his eye for goal (scored in his last- so far- game for us);
Excellent crosser of the ball.

Off pitch attributes:

Polite;
Friendly;
Honest;
Happy to chat with fans;
Local;
Intelligent (he has a deferred university place);
All in all a smashing lad.

I am sorry he has left Chats, but really happy for Ike. He was always going to move on to bigger and better things, but I am delighted he has been part of our success the last few years. I am also relieved that Gills are loaning him back for the remainder of the season as we push for a second successive promotion that would take us into the Isthmian Premier should we achieve it.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about pop along to a Chats game when Gills aren't playing. Perhaps 15th February vs Sheppey United. If you do come to that game leave plenty of time to get parked and into the ground as last season it attracted 1,876 spectators at Step 5 of the non league game, level 9 overall.

I am hoping that under Brad Galinson that there will be many tie ins with Gills and Chats. It was beginning to look a lot like the two clubs could have been meeting in league matches in a couple of seasons bearing in mind the trajectory we were on.

Happily that won't happen now. Chats are still on an upwards one. Hopefully Gills have reached their lowest ebb...
 
Pledge said:
I can absolutely guarantee you that Gills have signed a real gem in Ike. He's a decent lad who broke into the first team with us barely aged 16 and had been a regular in the squad ever since. For the last season and a half at least he has been one of the first names in our starting line up.

Footballing attributes:

Strong;
Fast;
Powerful;
Good in the tackle;
Works well with another player on the right with either of them on the overlap;
Reads the game well;
Very hard to defend against;
Can be the 'legs' for an older winger playing on the same side as him;
Just developing his eye for goal (scored in his last- so far- game for us);
Excellent crosser of the ball.

Off pitch attributes:

Polite;
Friendly;
Honest;
Happy to chat with fans;
Local;
Intelligent (he has a deferred university place);
All in all a smashing lad.

I am sorry he has left Chats, but really happy for Ike. He was always going to move on to bigger and better things, but I am delighted he has been part of our success the last few years. I am also relieved that Gills are loaning him back for the remainder of the season as we push for a second successive promotion that would take us into the Isthmian Premier should we achieve it.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about pop along to a Chats game when Gills aren't playing. Perhaps 15th February vs Sheppey United. If you do come to that game leave plenty of time to get parked and into the ground as last season it attracted 1,876 spectators at Step 5 of the non league game, level 9 overall.

I am hoping that under Brad Galinson that there will be many tie ins with Gills and Chats. It was beginning to look a lot like the two clubs could have been meeting in league matches in a couple of seasons bearing in mind the trajectory we were on.

Happily that won't happen now. Chats are still on an upwards one. Hopefully Gills have reached their lowest ebb...
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Thanks for that .How tall is he? Any good in the air ?
Is he physically strong enough to step up to first team action in the next 12 months?
I saw Chatham play Stowmarket earlier in the season (fa trophy game)a close game that Stowmarket won .I can't remember him that day but hardly a surprise.
 
Pledge said:
I can absolutely guarantee you that Gills have signed a real gem in Ike. He's a decent lad who broke into the first team with us barely aged 16 and had been a regular in the squad ever since. For the last season and a half at least he has been one of the first names in our starting line up.

Footballing attributes:

Strong;
Fast;
Powerful;
Good in the tackle;
Works well with another player on the right with either of them on the overlap;
Reads the game well;
Very hard to defend against;
Can be the 'legs' for an older winger playing on the same side as him;
Just developing his eye for goal (scored in his last- so far- game for us);
Excellent crosser of the ball.

Off pitch attributes:

Polite;
Friendly;
Honest;
Happy to chat with fans;
Local;
Intelligent (he has a deferred university place);
All in all a smashing lad.

I am sorry he has left Chats, but really happy for Ike. He was always going to move on to bigger and better things, but I am delighted he has been part of our success the last few years. I am also relieved that Gills are loaning him back for the remainder of the season as we push for a second successive promotion that would take us into the Isthmian Premier should we achieve it.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about pop along to a Chats game when Gills aren't playing. Perhaps 15th February vs Sheppey United. If you do come to that game leave plenty of time to get parked and into the ground as last season it attracted 1,876 spectators at Step 5 of the non league game, level 9 overall.

I am hoping that under Brad Galinson that there will be many tie ins with Gills and Chats. It was beginning to look a lot like the two clubs could have been meeting in league matches in a couple of seasons bearing in mind the trajectory we were on.

Happily that won't happen now. Chats are still on an upwards one. Hopefully Gills have reached their lowest ebb...
Click to expand...

He sounds a real catch with those on and off pitch attributes which is often so lacking with some of todays footballers. Looking forward to seeing him play and giving him a real Rainham End welcome for the first time.
 
chris who said:
Thanks for that .How tall is he? Any good in the air ?
Is he physically strong enough to step up to first team action in the next 12 months?
I saw Chatham play Stowmarket earlier in the season (fa trophy game)a close game that Stowmarket won .I can't remember him that day but hardly a surprise.
Click to expand...
I would guess he is about 5' 9. He is good in the air. I think he is physically strong enough to play in league 2 now. Obviously he needs some time in full time training. He had been on trial with Gills twice under Steve Evans I think, but the first time was a Gills caused catastrophe. I heard he was meant to play in a reserve game but the memo didn't reach the coach, so he didn't play. Not sure about what happened the second time.

That Stowmarket game was the low point for us this season. We lost at home to Walton & Hersham in an FA Cup replay in midweek and then to Stowmarket in the Trophy. That was our last home defeat.

Up to Saturday just gone we had won 24 straight home league games, going back to November 2021. We drew 2-2 vs Three Bridges on Saturday after being 2-0 up at half time. We also lost at Beckenham the midweek prior.

This combination of results saw us drop from top to second in the Isthmian League South East Division, but we have a game in hand over Ramsgate who are top by one point and over Beckenham who are third another point behind. The next couple of teams both have one game in hand over Chats but are 10 points behind.

I mention this because Ike didn't feature against Beckenham or Three Bridges. I am not saying we are a one man team, we are far from that. However Ike has been massive for us and rarely has what you'd call a mare. Come to think of it, he didn't play away at Ramsgate on January 2nd. That means he has missed all of the games we've dropped points in this year.

Come watch us vs Sheppey on the 15th (Wednesday). Hopefully he will start.

He will, however have to get used to playing and training on grass. At present the vast majority of both are on 3 or 4g pitches for Ike.
 
Pledge said:
I would guess he is about 5' 9. He is good in the air. I think he is physically strong enough to play in league 2 now. Obviously he needs some time in full time training. He had been on trial with Gills twice under Steve Evans I think, but the first time was a Gills caused catastrophe. I heard he was meant to play in a reserve game but the memo didn't reach the coach, so he didn't play. Not sure about what happened the second time.

That Stowmarket game was the low point for us this season. We lost at home to Walton & Hersham in an FA Cup replay in midweek and then to Stowmarket in the Trophy. That was our last home defeat.

Up to Saturday just gone we had won 24 straight home league games, going back to November 2021. We drew 2-2 vs Three Bridges on Saturday after being 2-0 up at half time. We also lost at Beckenham the midweek prior.

This combination of results saw us drop from top to second in the Isthmian League South East Division, but we have a game in hand over Ramsgate who are top by one point and over Beckenham who are third another point behind. The next couple of teams both have one game in hand over Chats but are 10 points behind.

I mention this because Ike didn't feature against Beckenham or Three Bridges. I am not saying we are a one man team, we are far from that. However Ike has been massive for us and rarely has what you'd call a mare. Come to think of it, he didn't play away at Ramsgate on January 2nd. That means he has missed all of the games we've dropped points in this year.

Come watch us vs Sheppey on the 15th (Wednesday). Hopefully he will start.

He will, however have to get used to playing and training on grass. At present the vast majority of both are on 3 or 4g pitches for Ike.
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I now live near Stowmarket so it is unlikely that I will see another Chats game in the near future.However I have a few friends that attend games one fairly regularly but I rarely speak to him.Will try to get a closer link with him or . Is Mark S still doing the community stuff ? If so tell him Chris the Gills fan sends his regards.
 
Just had a look back and Ike made his Chats debut as a sub aged 16 years and 4 months (1 month either way) on 21st September 2019. On the 5th October 19 he got his first start in a league game.

He was then involved plenty in the curtailed 19/20 season.

He was very much a big player in our promotion season last year, having plenty of starts. He was also used as an impact sub numerous times as we got 100 points, scored 122 league goals and finished with plus 102 goal difference. We finished runners up. He won our young player of the year award.

Don't worry about crowds. Ike has played in front of 1,876 for Chats, which is a crowd not many 18 year olds will have experienced.

He has obviously been rested a few times in between. He has had a few injuries, but these seem to have mysteriously coincided with him going on trial to clubs at a higher level, including Gills. ;)

Opposition players and fans have often commented on how good he was. My stock response was "he's usually rubbish, you've just seen him on a rare good day!"
 
chris who said:
I now live near Stowmarket so it is unlikely that I will see another Chats game in the near future.However I have a few friends that attend games one fairly regularly but I rarely speak to him.Will try to get a closer link with him or . Is Mark S still doing the community stuff ? If so tell him Chris the Gills fan sends his regards.
Click to expand...
Nope, Mark jumped ship to Deal Town taking all his clients with him. He is now their shirt sponsor.
 
Solent Knight said:
He sounds a real catch with those on and off pitch attributes which is often so lacking with some of todays footballers. Looking forward to seeing him play and giving him a real Rainham End welcome for the first time.
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He is.

I am hoping the clubs have agreed a sell on percentage, but conflicting sources give different answers to that question. He's the sort of player who might go the way of the philosophy Peterborough had for years: Sign 'em cheap as a gamble and then possibly reap the rewards later.
 
As I posted in the other thread when his name was first mentioned, I'm glad the Gills have picked him up. I'm no great judge of players but my son knows of him from schools football (Ike was a standout player for the Howard) so I looked out for him when I watched the Chats a couple of times, and I thought he looked a good prospect. From what I gather he was in the very successful Palace academy, maybe didn't have quite the right attitude but got back on track at Chatham aged 17 and deserves a chance of full-time football.

More generally, we'd all welcome more local players in the team - provided they're good enough obviously - and after missing out on a few over the years (Smalling, Boyd, Oztumer and May for example) I'm pleased we're looking. And it has to be helpful that relations with CTFC are good, particularly as a loan destination if the Chats can get into the Isthmian Premier or beyond.
 
Hampshiregills said:
Welcome to Priestfield Ike. I hope you have a great career in front of you.
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Hopefully he has good people around him for advice.
If he genuinely has the talent and his attitude is right, he should be ok.
Only time will tell.
In his favour, we will only have one or possibly two in front of him next season, so he may have a chance of breaking into the squad.
 
shotshy said:
In his favour, we will only have one or possibly two in front of him next season, so he may have a chance of breaking into the squad.
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One or two ?
McKenzie, Wright and Alexander. Admittedly one or two might move on or play in other positions. At present he is probably fourth choice. On the plus side he must have been convincing. So I would expect Alexander to have real difficulty winning a new deal .
If indeed his expires at the end of the season?
 
AbsoluteCarnage said:
As I posted in the other thread when his name was first mentioned, I'm glad the Gills have picked him up. I'm no great judge of players but my son knows of him from schools football (Ike was a standout player for the Howard) so I looked out for him when I watched the Chats a couple of times, and I thought he looked a good prospect. From what I gather he was in the very successful Palace academy, maybe didn't have quite the right attitude but got back on track at Chatham aged 17 and deserves a chance of full-time football.

More generally, we'd all welcome more local players in the team - provided they're good enough obviously - and after missing out on a few over the years (Smalling, Boyd, Oztumer and May for example) I'm pleased we're looking. And it has to be helpful that relations with CTFC are good, particularly as a loan destination if the Chats can get into the Isthmian Premier or beyond.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that he was at Maidstone. Not heard mention of Palace. As I've stated above he made his Chats' debut aged 16 and 4 months. It certainly did not take him until 17 to get on track. As soon as he got in Chats team it was clear he was a prospect and a good lad. He very quickly moved ahead of other young players we had thought of as prospects.
 
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