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Ouch!
What should have been a glorious weekend of football showcasing the best of the lower leagues compared with the Premier League was soured locally twenty-four hours before the FA Cup Round 3 tie against Stoke. Firstly, reports that the game might not go ahead seemed unfounded although Sky Sports News managed to glean some information from the Chairman in an interview from the ground. Seemingly an issue regarding the need for a police presence inside the ground instead of just using the club’s own resources led to a stand-off as the club was reluctant to pay the often over-zealous charges placed on big events such as these. Whatever happened behind the scenes, the game was given the go ahead.
But that wouldn’t have been all that bad had the interview terminated at that point. Much has been said about the return of the now Stoke boss Tony Pulis who, arguably, laid the foundations for the side’s most high profile time when in the Championship and brought Andy Hessenthaler to the club. But it ended with an acrimonious parting of the ways that led to an ungainly bitter court battle. With more than a decade gone, many would assume that this was now ancient history given that the Gills have now dropped two divisions and Stoke have been guided into the Promised Land under Pulis. But Mr Scally always seems to conjure up those moments that contort the faces of Gills supporters into something quite horrific – he is the proverbial Marmite character, you either love him or hate him. For some reason I cannot explain, I always seem to end up with splinters in my derriere as I tend to always find myself somewhere in the middle and here I am again sitting on the fence! I think Mr Scally has done some fantastic things for the club and, I believe, he gets a bad press but sometimes I just wished he had a PR man to do the talking for him as it often leads him to alienating sections of the Priestfield faithful.
So with the game definitely on and a quip about being held to ransom had been aired, the interview turned onto the feud between the two men. Now I am not going to repeat what was said as I believe there is a least a part of the Chairman that possibly wishes he had not said what he did in the heat of the questioning – especially as Mr Pulis during his press conference inferred that it was water under the bridge. But there are times when promoting one’s club to the masses is far more important than dragging it into the gutter and, when the eyes of the nation are upon you, that was most definitely one of them! I am largely supportive of Mr Scally and I don’t think the name of Gillingham FC was particularly tarnished on this occasion but it certainly was a moment to make the most hardened fan cringe. Whatever went on all those years ago (and only the two men will know for certain as not all details were made public) a full house at Priestfield would almost certainly still applaud Mr Pulis’ arrival.
And applaud they did, the Stoke fans making so much noise that finally the home support had a reason to scream at the top of their lungs to make Priestfield the noisiest it has been for many years. So what about the game itself? Well everyone usually follows the cup at this stage and you probably already know but, for those that don’t, the Gills started brightly and opened the scoring, the stands seemingly shaking with the rapturous celebrations. The dreams of a shock were short lived as Stoke found a couple of goals from somewhere before wrapping up the tie 3-1. Maybe a striker or two might have been the difference but the score-line was no embarrassment from a side 8th in the Premier League and still in Europe. But news that Kedwell was injured (the only main regular striker available at the club) must mean that reinforcements are essential and needed this week.
Posted by Gillingham fan Gary Wade
Follow Gary on Twitter at @Gills_Stats
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