This evening sees 17th-placed Gillingham make the long journey north to the Alexandra Stadium. Both squads see familiar faces to the opposition fans with the Alex having Donervon Daniels and Mikael Mandron in their squad while Gillingham have Vadaine Oliver in theirs.
This Season:
This season sees them start with defeat against Hull City before a 4 game unbeaten run (including 3 wins) against Wigan Athletic, Blackpool, Shrewsbury Town and Oxford United with them losing their last 5 league games (all without scoring) against MK Dons, Portsmouth, Fleetwood Town, Ipswich Town and Sunderland.
They would beat Southend United and Coventry City (on penalties) in the first two rounds of the EFL Cup before being knocked out by Stoke City in Round 3 and have drawn Woking in the first round of the FA Cup at the weekend. In their EFL Trophy group, they currently sit 3rd having beaten Crawley Town and lost to Ipswich, they play Arsenal’s Under-21 in the final group game.
Transfers:
Gills have made 15 signings this summer, 9 on permanent deals and 6 season-long loans, with defenders Ryan Jackson, Robbie McKenzie, Christian Maghoma, Zech Medley and Declan Drysdale (the last 2 on loan) all arriving. Midfielders Jacob Mellis, Alex MacDonald, Kyle Dempsey, Trae Coyle, Scott Robertson, Josh Eccles and Thomas O’Connor (the last 4 on loan) while forwards Jordan Graham, Dominic Samuel and former Alex player Oliver.
They have let 13 players leave permanently while 2 more have left on loan deals.
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 22
Gills Wins: 19
Draws: 8
Biggest Alex Win: 4-1 at the Alexandra in November 2004
Biggest Gillingham Win: 4-0 at Priestfield Stadium in December 1962
Last Meeting:
Gillingham 3-0 Crewe Alexandra, 12th March 2016
Dominic Samuel gave the hosts the lead in the 12th minute before a Jon Guthrie own goal doubled the lead just after the hour-mark with Josh Wright getting the final goal in the final minute.
Alex: Garratt; Turton, Davis (Kirk 46), Nugent, Guthrie; Cooper, Fox (Bingham 64), Jones, Bakayogo; Haber, Hitchcock (Ainley 64)
Gills: Nelson, El Abd (Garmston 46), Morris, Ehmer, Dickenson, Loft (Hessanthaler 63), McGlashan, Williams, Wright, Norris (Donnelly 81), Samuel
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: Bertrand Bossu, Phil Kite, Steve Mautone
Defenders: Gary Armstrong, Don Campbell, Darren Carr, Donervon Daniels, Sam Davies, Geoff Hudson, Peter Johnson, Ian Macowat, Ben Nugent, Efe Sodje, David Wright
Midfielders: Billy Bingham, Justin Cochrane, John Crabbe, Phil Handford, Danny Hollands, Terry Nicholl, Les Riggs
Forwards: Harry Anstiss, Bill Baldwin, Febian Brandy, Chris Dickson, Jack Doran, Peter Henderson, Francis Joseph, Mikael Mandron, Lee Matthews, Fred Morris, Vadaine Oliver
Officials:
The officials for this game have been announced here with Kevin Johnson the referee, Paul Graham and Anthony Moore are his assistants with Mark Cunliffe the fourth official. The following Crewe games have been refereed by Johnson in the last 5 years:
Opposition View:
I asked Gillingham fan and journalist Lewis Browning for his thoughts going into the game and looking at the season ahead.
What do you think of your season so far?
It’s been a season of two halves – literally. After five games we were sitting pretty in fourth with three wins and a draw on the board, but we have lost our last five without scoring. Performances have been OK – we have probably deserved more, but football is a result business, and we aren’t getting them right now. It could turn messy quickly.
Quite a few! Stuart O’Keefe and Jacob Mellis are both out for the season, and Jack Bonham and Tom O’Connor are also both injured. Alex MacDonald is suspended after getting sent off at the weekend, and we have six loanees fit, so one of them will have to miss out too.
What position do you feel you should have strengthened during the last transfer window?
We have a really decent squad on paper. Although we have a few players that can play there, we’re lacking experience at centre-half and it’s showing massively. I also said at the time we should have bought in natural cover for Jacob Mellis in the number 10 role, which we didn’t do, and we could now suffer as a result of his injury.
What would be the team that you would pick for the game if you were in charge?
I’d like to see us use a back three when everyone is fit. We have some ‘essential’ players, such as Connor Ogilvie, Jordan Graham, Dominic Samuel, and Kyle Dempsey, and then a number of players that can fit into other positions.
If you want an XI, all fully fit (bar O’Keefe and Mellis), it would be as follows in a 343: Bonham – McKenzie, Drysdale, Ogilvie – Jackson, Dempsey, Robertson, O’Connor – Graham, Samuel, Coyle.
Who is the danger man for yourselves?
Jordan Graham. It’s weird saying an attacking player is our danger man given we haven’t scored in five games, but it’s crazy that this lad isn’t a Championship player. We’re lucky to have him – everything goes through him. He’ll take his man on from out wide, get to the byline and put a cross in almost every time. You’ll notice it on the night of the game.
What would be a successful season for Gillingham this term?
I think play-offs. After last year’s push and missing out potentially because of PPG I think everyone expects better this year given we have a better squad on paper. But the division is tougher and our poor run hasn’t helped us. At this rate we’re sliding down the table, but anything less than top six and I’ll be a bit disappointed.