We now have the lowest budget in the whole league - mmm?

[HarrowGill]

According to Evans if we had a natural finisher we'd be top 3! We also have the lowest budget in the WHOLE league.

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/sport/wed-be-flying-217112/

He's absolutely right; we've failed to put away some decent chances of late, and we almost came a cropper at home to Lincoln last weekend. We need a decent striker, and the solution to plug that gap in the short-to-medium term is to find and buy a decent striker.

The problem is this; Evans has spent his managerial team building a team around a group of midfielders (hence Cisse and Pringle), either purchased or acquired on loan, and then using a few key, reliable defenders and strikers both behind and in front of that midfield, sometimes acquired from Premiership teams.

The problem is, neither Ndjoli and Jakubniak have been consistently good enough and this shows in our patchy form. Perhaps he is suggesting that had Scally had given him more money, then he would have been able to invest in a proven goalscorer? Perish the thought!

 

[HarrowGill]

I'm starting to get bored and slightly fucked off with SE continual going on about the budget or lack of. Yes it might not be the biggest in the division and in fact is probably one of the lowest, but as SE states himself if "no-one is listening" then stop banging on about it FFS. He knew the score when taking the job if SE doesn't like it, FUCK OFF and go somewhere else.

SE said at the fans forum that his biggest and most important job was to replace Holy and the goals of Eaves and it was his job to spend every penny of the (small) budget wisely and make every penny count and the players he was going to bring in have to improve our starting XI. How many of his signings have improved us and how many actually start games regularly? Then before the window closed he said we hadn't spent all our budget. Whilst every signing is a gamble looking at our recruitment now a few months on, in general its been poor IMO.

Bonham- overall been a success and is on a par with Holy
Hodson- Not an improvement on Fuller.
O'Keefe- starting to show potential after an in and out start.
Willock- no- one knows.
Mandron- I like him but it seems SE was planning on sending him out on loan until a pep talk has got him a chance
Ndjoli- shown glimpses but looks lo lightweight for League 1
Jones- Looked classy early on but has been average for the last few weeks
Cisse- Been a bit part at best
Pringle- SE raved about his signing, then doesn't play him.
Marshall- Same as Pringle. Bit part player.
Lee-shown glimpses but SE has again had him in an out of the team.
Jakubiak- again showed early promise but now can't get in the team.
O'Connor- Has grown the more he's played and done well in general.

We can't keep chopping and changing, it now about getting a settled team, system and getting the best out the players we have, something SE doesn't seem capable of in general hence the constant chopping and changing.
Do I have faith in SE recruiting anyone in January to solve our goalscoring problems, no, as of his summer recruitment I would say only Bonham, Jones and O'Connor have been good/consistent enough to be regular starters. Think now it's time for SE to STFU about the budget and show he can get the best out of the players he has picked and signed.

Rant over

I agree, but only in part. Sure, he knew what he was letting himself in for, and that squad needs time to settle.

But, in fairness to SE, Scally is a persuasive man and he probably assured Evans that he would back him financially to build a team that can make the top four. And dare I say it; Scally has probably told him that featuring the play-off spots are a minimum requirement.

Moreover, Evans still needs to pick his best team and we still only have a limited squad. Compare and contrast with when he was at Leeds; they may have been in financial difficulty when he was manager there, but he had more than 40 players to build his team around, including youths and reserves!

Either way, it's very frustrating and I'm wondering whether Scally is now starting to have second thoughts about his project, which seemed fraught with risk and doom as soon as he appointed Evans.

 

[Jerryattrick]

Whether or not he has a big enough budget or not or whether he has a clinical finisher is irrelevant.

SE built the team and is in charge of training and tactics.

If the strikers are not clinical then we need to work on creativity and increasing the number of simple real chances created.

Leaving our wingers on the bench is wasteful, why have them at all? Garmston is a good left side midfielder as an option, List would have been better than our current strikers, Oldaker was worth keeping as an attacking midfield sub.

Ndjoli and Jakubiak can score but need a central striker to play off. Maybe try Max there lol, can it be worse? Or maybe we just need to be patient.

 

[Wayne.Kerr]

I'm starting to get bored and slightly fucked off with SE continual going on about the budget or lack of. Yes it might not be the biggest in the division and in fact is probably one of the lowest, but as SE states himself if "no-one is listening" then stop banging on about it FFS. He knew the score when taking the job if SE doesn't like it, FUCK OFF and go somewhere else.

SE said at the fans forum that his biggest and most important job was to replace Holy and the goals of Eaves and it was his job to spend every penny of the (small) budget wisely and make every penny count and the players he was going to bring in have to improve our starting XI. How many of his signings have improved us and how many actually start games regularly? Then before the window closed he said we hadn't spent all our budget. Whilst every signing is a gamble looking at our recruitment now a few months on, in general its been poor IMO.

Bonham- overall been a success and is on a par with Holy
Hodson- Not an improvement on Fuller.
O'Keefe- starting to show potential after an in and out start.
Willock- no- one knows.
Mandron- I like him but it seems SE was planning on sending him out on loan until a pep talk has got him a chance
Ndjoli- shown glimpses but looks lo lightweight for League 1
Jones- Looked classy early on but has been average for the last few weeks
Cisse- Been a bit part at best
Pringle- SE raved about his signing, then doesn't play him.
Marshall- Same as Pringle. Bit part player.
Lee-shown glimpses but SE has again had him in an out of the team.
Jakubiak- again showed early promise but now can't get in the team.
O'Connor- Has grown the more he's played and done well in general.

We can't keep chopping and changing, it now about getting a settled team, system and getting the best out the players we have, something SE doesn't seem capable of in general hence the constant chopping and changing.
Do I have faith in SE recruiting anyone in January to solve our goalscoring problems, no, as of his summer recruitment I would say only Bonham, Jones and O'Connor have been good/consistent enough to be regular starters. Think now it's time for SE to STFU about the budget and show he can get the best out of the players he has picked and signed.

Rant over

A very fair rant. Replacing Eaves one way or the other had to be SE's priority.

 

[Wayne.Kerr]

I certainly think that with a goal poacher we would be in the play off sector. Problem is that proven goal scorers are rarely available on frees (unless a club doesn't secure them on longer contracts and an Eaves leaves on a free). Otherwise you take a punt on an as yet unproven loanee (like Jakubiak) and hope to develop/improve scoring skills.

Jakubiak has been loaned out to 8 or 9 clubs without setting the world alight - another Wilkinson? Had he shown any promise either Watford would've pushed him up the pecking order or one of clubs he went to on loan would've snapped him up perhaps. Against Sunderland, he had one decent opportunity and fluffed it.

 

[markinkent]

A very fair rant. Replacing Eaves one way or the other had to be SE's priority.

To be fair to Evans he publicly stated that he didn't get either of his two priorities for Strikers. One I believe was Matt Smith at Oxford and not sure we ever found out the other.

We ended up with Mandron, Ndjoli and Jakuzbiak as new blood up front and they have really done much yet.

I think Evans knew strikers were important but if we can't afford the ones he wants then that's not entirely down to him.

 

[Wayne.Kerr]

To be fair to Evans he publicly stated that he didn't get either of his two priorities for Strikers. One I believe was Matt Smith at Oxford and not sure we ever found out the other.

We ended up with Mandron, Ndjoli and Jakuzbiak as new blood up front and they have really done much yet.

I think Evans knew strikers were important but if we can't afford the ones he wants then that's not entirely down to him.

He should have put striker as a priority ahead of defenders and midfielders.

 

[nibbles]

Some interesting comments. Largely backing what I have always said Evans will want more than Scally feels able to give.But in defence of Evans Scally almost certainly would have sold the club well to him. The ticket prices and his management were going to bring in more money. This was sold as a possible incentive to getting a much bigger budget.That or the sale of Dack.Evans almost certainly thought he would get more money from Scally. Right now he is trying to put pressure on Scally to deliver more.Simple as that it is also doubles as a defence for our lack of improvement results wise under Evans .
The bottom line is Scally like Boris Johnson is a bull s**ter.He has told Evans what he needed too at the time.Now it is up to Evans if he is willing to go on with what he believes is not enough. Or is he going to challenge Scally to deliver more funds or else?

The budget won’t have been any surprise to Evans.

 

[kettners]

I'm starting to get bored and slightly fucked off with SE continual going on about the budget or lack of. Yes it might not be the biggest in the division and in fact is probably one of the lowest, but as SE states himself if "no-one is listening" then stop banging on about it FFS. He knew the score when taking the job if SE doesn't like it, FUCK OFF and go somewhere else.

SE said at the fans forum that his biggest and most important job was to replace Holy and the goals of Eaves and it was his job to spend every penny of the (small) budget wisely and make every penny count and the players he was going to bring in have to improve our starting XI. How many of his signings have improved us and how many actually start games regularly? Then before the window closed he said we hadn't spent all our budget. Whilst every signing is a gamble looking at our recruitment now a few months on, in general its been poor IMO.

Bonham- overall been a success and is on a par with Holy
Hodson- Not an improvement on Fuller.
O'Keefe- starting to show potential after an in and out start.
Willock- no- one knows.
Mandron- I like him but it seems SE was planning on sending him out on loan until a pep talk has got him a chance
Ndjoli- shown glimpses but looks lo lightweight for League 1
Jones- Looked classy early on but has been average for the last few weeks
Cisse- Been a bit part at best
Pringle- SE raved about his signing, then doesn't play him.
Marshall- Same as Pringle. Bit part player.
Lee-shown glimpses but SE has again had him in an out of the team.
Jakubiak- again showed early promise but now can't get in the team.
O'Connor- Has grown the more he's played and done well in general.

We can't keep chopping and changing, it now about getting a settled team, system and getting the best out the players we have, something SE doesn't seem capable of in general hence the constant chopping and changing.
Do I have faith in SE recruiting anyone in January to solve our goalscoring problems, no, as of his summer recruitment I would say only Bonham, Jones and O'Connor have been good/consistent enough to be regular starters. Think now it's time for SE to STFU about the budget and show he can get the best out of the players he has picked and signed.

Rant over

Totally agree with this post 100% yes he knew what he was getting into - our club history is well known to everyone in the football league all the agents know how scally works so it would not have been a shock to Evans. I think Evans has wasted so much money and as you said he still had some budget spare when the season started plus another senior player who’s getting paid and he won’t include him in the squad. So I’m not buying this Evans bullshit - he’s been getting on my tits for weeks going on about this. Maybe something is brewing ... who knows

 

[markinkent]

He should have put striker as a priority ahead of defenders and midfielders.

I don't disagree with that, it does seem a bit strange that he signed Cisse, Pringle and Marshall and now none of them seem to get a look in.

I am sure he had hoped for more from Ndjoli and Jakubiak as well

I wonder if everything hinged on Dack going last summer, maybe that would have freed up a bit extra and we could have competed on wages with the likes of Oxford and Shrewsbury.

 

[chris who]

The budget won’t have been any surprise to Evans.

Given it has to be influenced by income and Scally reduced prices .But thus far has seen no significant upturn in crowd numbers. We have not reached the target of six thousand that I believe was stated. As has been said Scally would have talked up the club .There was many on here convinced that we were heading for the top of the league possibly including Evans .He many have been convinced by Scally of a increase in revenue which could result in a larger budget before the transfer window shut. Which is why he seemed convinced he would be able to sign a top striker before the end of August.
I personally think Scally over sold the club .That is something he has done repeatedly over the years over all sorts of issues. The balance of the squad depended on a replacement for Eaves .That never happened. Mandron was Wilkinson's replacement a player to cover the centre forward role. If you truly believe that Evans totally miss judged the squad that is your view.I happen to believe he was sold on the odds of a last minute increase in budget by Scally .When it did not happen nor did the forward that Evans repeatedly spoke of.

 

[Lark]

To be fair to Evans he publicly stated that he didn't get either of his two priorities for Strikers. One I believe was Matt Smith at Oxford and not sure we ever found out the other.
.

Kieron Agard.
He met with Evans and Scally and had the tour of the stadium etc but in the end chose to remain at MK Dons as he only lives around the corner from their training ground.

 

[Brexiteer]

Some interesting comments. Largely backing what I have always said Evans will want more than Scally feels able to give.But in defence of Evans Scally almost certainly would have sold the club well to him. The ticket prices and his management were going to bring in more money. This was sold as a possible incentive to getting a much bigger budget.That or the sale of Dack.Evans almost certainly thought he would get more money from Scally. Right now he is trying to put pressure on Scally to deliver more.Simple as that it is also doubles as a defence for our lack of improvement results wise under Evans .
The bottom line is Scally like Boris Johnson is a bull s**ter.He has told Evans what he needed too at the time.Now it is up to Evans if he is willing to go on with what he believes is not enough. Or is he going to challenge Scally to deliver more funds or else?

Chris on what basis to you back up your last paragraph? Do you have any concrete facts to base your assumption that Scally is a bull s**ter?
Evans has wasted a fair proportion of his so called very low budget the buck should stop with him!! He recommends the signings and he new in good time that Eaves was going.
He has no excuses, it's time for him to put up or shut up!!!

 

[markinkent]

Kieron Agard.
He met with Evans and Scally and had the tour of the stadium etc but in the end chose to remain at MK Dons as he only lives around the corner from their training ground.

That's the one. Thanks for reminding me. He doesn't appear in the top scorer charts so maybe we didn't miss out after all, mind you Gills don't have any players in the BBC list :-(

 

[chris who]

Chris on what basis to you back up your last paragraph? Do you have any concrete facts to base your assumption that Scally is a bull s**ter?
Evans has wasted a fair proportion of his so called very low budget the buck should stop with him!! He recommends the signings and he new in good time that Eaves was going.
He has no excuses, it's time for him to put up or shut up!!!

I find myself defending Evans .I don't like the man . But Scally and his investor ,the new ground and any number of other stories.I suggest that Scally almost certainly would have sold the most optimistic view of Gills to get the manager he clearly wanted.If you believe otherwise fine.Scally saved the club about 25 years ago.I and every other gills fan is grateful for that. But to suggest that Scally never paints a brighter or duller picture to all of us when it suits him I afraid I don't believe it.

 

[nitram77]

I mentioned in another thread that Sunderland spent £4m on a proven striker, the only thing proven is it didn't work. Eaves and McDonald never came to us with glowing reputations in the striker camp, yet both turned out to be excellent signings.
We don't have the money to sign a "proven" striker, we need to support what we can afford and hope they get better. There are posters who seem close to the club, it's time for them to forget their petty grievances and stop trying to sour people against the management and team.

 

[SE1_Gills]

Why would Scally oversell the club? If a manager was misled over a budget they would probably leave.

We've signed a load of players who aren't getting in the team. Should we have got one better player than two average players?

 

[kettners]

Why would Scally oversell the club? If a manager was misled over a budget they would probably leave.

We've signed a load of players who aren't getting in the team. Should we have got one better player than two average players?

He didn’t oversell the club SE 1-.evans has been going home and away to all the games for months with Rayner- they knew what SL had been dealing with and knew exactly what Scally was about .. if we know and the rest of the 4 leagues and every agent knows then I’m pretty Damn sure Evans would have known. Remember how embarrassing it was for Lovel when Evans was sitting next to scally in the stands knowing his job was going to this POS

 

[Jerryattrick]

He didn’t oversell the club SE 1-.evans has been going home and away to all the games for months with Rayner- they knew what SL had been dealing with and knew exactly what Scally was about .. if we know and the rest of the 4 leagues and every agent knows then I’m pretty Damn sure Evans would have known. Remember how embarrassing it was for Lovel when Evans was sitting next to scally in the stands knowing his job was going to this POS

Not that PS has form for that lol. Remember MA saying disrespectful to have PT in the stands - then MA sacked and PT gets job. Same thing later with AP in stand then gets job and SE in stand and then gets job.

 

[chris who]

Why would Scally oversell the club? If a manager was misled over a budget they would probably leave.

We've signed a load of players who aren't getting in the team. Should we have got one better player than two average players?

Saying you will get more funds if we sell more tickets or if Dack is sold and making Evans believe those things have a better chance of happening than they realistically were. The latest stats suggest that we are getting about a extra two hundred on the gate every game.But given the price reductions would that be more more?Hardly the pack Priestfield that Scally spoke of.