Andy Hessenthaler got his final look at the Gillingham team in match action before the season starts on Saturday but choosing a starting eleven isn’t going to be straightforward.
Last season’s campaign was hampered by injuries and let’s hope that’s not the case this time around, although it’s not looking too clever at the moment.
Hess is waiting to see if captain Barry Fuller can shake off a knee injury in time for Saturday’s opener but it looks like he could be sitting that one out. Favourite to fill the right-back berth looks like being newcomer Tony Sinclair.
The Gills remain light in central defence. Garry Richards was back briefly against Croydon Athletic but is unlikely to be ready in time to face Cheltenham, as his fitness levels are well down. We all know about Simon King.
It must have been a blow for Gills fans to see Jack Payne sporting a neck brace on Saturday following a bump against Hearts on Thursday. He could well be okay and Hess commented, tongue in cheek, that he was just “a soft lad from Cliffe” during the after match interview on Saturday.
Jack looks like a tremendous prospect but if he isn’t ready then Kev Maher looks up for the challenge. He looked eager to impress against Croydon, got loads of time on the ball and didn’t waste a pass. He may not have won many fans over so far during his stay with Gills but it’s not too late.
Sat in the stands watching the action was Dennis Oli, who is definitely missing, while Curtis Weston and Stefan Payne were rested after collecting knocks.
Cody McDonald is still missing and he’ll be a big doubt now for Saturday. Scans suggest no breaks in his foot so it’s a case of waiting for the bruising to settle, so I’m told.
Young striker Andrew White pulled up early against Croydon with a hamstring and that’s him out for a while.
It was lucky Hessenthaler isn’t facing more injury woes after playing Croydon at Sittingboure on a pitch that makes my garden look like a bowling green. The hot weather isn’t helping but it certainly doesn’t encourage passing football.
Despite the poor surface the trialist Stanley Aborah looked comfortable. He’s here for a few more weeks and is desperate to get back into football after 18 months out. After speaking to him at Sittingbourne he seems like a nice lad and confident he could help the Gills if given the chance.
Four years ago he almost joined Middlesborough but the deal was scrapped after he got injured. He would be a luxury addition but personally I’d give him a go, even if it’s just short-term. Grab a copy of Monday’s Medway Messenger to read what he thinks of life at Gillingham.
Hess is mindful of his budget and knows he needs to off-load some players. Getting teams to take players off your hands is the hardest part though and so he could find himself in stuck with what he’s got for a while.
Returning back to the injury problems, let’s hope the young lad Dean Rance can recover quickly. He’s been hobbling about everywhere on crutches after suffering a crack to his foot. Hopefully he can recover quickly and prove his worth.
There were several people suffering injuries of a different kind at Concord Rangers on Tuesday night.
The club’s website should tell people to use mosquito repellent because I emerged with bites everywhere and Lance Cronin, who was stood patiently after the game waiting to be interviewed, was getting it worse. Sorry Lance!
The ground is next to a sewage-works so I dread to think what is floating through my veins right now.
I should say thanks to the Concord secretary Chris though, who got the tea and biscuits out for the press - all three of us. But I’m not sure everyone in Kent was so happy with the club. Sittingbourne apparently had a friendly organised against them for Saturday but Concord had double booked.
There is one last outing before the season starts at Faversham on Tuesday, but barring Garry Richards and Adebayo Akinfenwa, it’s unlikely Hess will risk any other first team players.
Hopefully on Saturday the replica shirts will be in the shops. The players looked very smart on Thursday during the official photo-shoot, especially Josh Gowling, who appears to have his own make-up artist. (see pic above).
A quick thanks to anyone that has been viewing the text updates on our CoveritLive service. The trial was an overwhelming success and we’ll be going for it throughout the season now, with updates from the match by myself and assistance from my colleague in the office. On Thursday we were swamped with Hearts fans, which took me by ausprise, and I’m not too sure they were happy that I described their kit as “purple”. I certainly got some abuse there from the “Maroon Army”.
Mark Bentley starts his column this week in the Medway Messenger newspaper. We’re still deciding on a title - maybe Benno’s Banter? If you want to put any questions to him, or comments, just email me at lcawdell@thekmgroup.co.uk and I’ll pass them on.
Roll on Saturday.
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