[Match Thread] Blades v Gillingham

[highpeakblade]

Blades Team News:

A few people on here might be happy to hear that Porter is a doubt with a slight knee injury picked up last week int cup, he's an 11th hour fitness test and is said to be 50/50 at the minute. Anyone who went to the game like me will know how well he played last week, despite missing a couple of sitters he gave us a new dimension, his work rate was immense and he was man of the match in my eyes so I want him fit for this one to partner Miller.

All others from last weeks Game are said to be fit and the only real absentee is Fabian Brandy who will be serving his 2nd of a 4 match ban not that we missed him last week.

Gills Team News:

Peter Taylor has brought in Crag Fagan who was without club in hope of bolstering his strike options and he is expected to play against us tomorrow, he's been without a club since the summer so who knows what his match fitness is like but he's not impress in recent years. Even Bury cast him off as not good enough and released him so erm, yes he's nailed on to score tomorrow

 

[Balham]

I will be there, making the pilgrimage from London and continuing my attempts to turn Mrs Balham's 6 year old nephew into a Blade, thus saving him from the dark side.

I'm hoping Porter plays. Given the choices in the front line, the team as a whole is better when he plays rather than anyone else; I'd like to see Miller starting but then Taylor given the last 20 or so minutes as I think he could too really benefit from Porter's unselfish play. It'd also be good to see Jahmal Smith on the bench, assuming he's fit.

King should be reporting for duty at Shirecliffe and doing some high intensity work in the gym as he really needs to get fit.

Balham's XVIII:

Long

McMahon Maguire Collins* White

Flynn McGinn Doyle Lappin

Porter** Miller

Subs: Willis, Hill*, Coady, Cuvelier, Smith, Baxter**, Taylor

*assuming Collins is fit. If not, put Hill in at CB and press the panic button for bench cover
**assuming Porter is fit. If not, Baxter in and Murphy on the bench.
​

If King's anything to go by, Fagan will be woefully unfit. He'll still have the legs on Collins and Maguire though ​

 

[highpeakblade]

I will be there, making the pilgrimage from London and continuing my attempts to turn Mrs Balham's 6 year old nephew into a Blade, thus saving him from the dark side.

I'm hoping Porter plays. Given the choices in the front line, the team as a whole is better when he plays rather than anyone else; I'd like to see Miller starting but then Taylor given the last 20 or so minutes as I think he could too really benefit from Porter's unselfish play. It'd also be good to see Jahmal Smith on the bench, assuming he's fit.

King should be reporting for duty at Shirecliffe and doing some high intensity work in the gym as he really needs to get fit.

Balham's XVIII:

Long

McMahon Maguire Collins* White

Flynn McGinn Doyle Lappin

Porter** Miller

Subs: Willis, Hill*, Coady, Cuvelier, Smith, Baxter**, Taylor

*assuming Collins is fit. If not, put Hill in at CB and press the panic button for bench cover
**assuming Porter is fit. If not, Baxter in and Murphy on the bench.
​

If King's anything to go by, Fagan will be woefully unfit. He'll still have the legs on Collins and Maguire though ​

I can see Coady being dropped from the line up and Flynny has improved over recent weeks to put himself back in the frame so I can see why you have thrown him in but I personally wouldn't drop Matt Hill after last weeks showing. Both full backs for me were the best they been in a while and worked both ends of the pitch very well.......Show if you want to include White in there then he has to go on the wing which tucks lappin back into the middle of the park with Doyle which means you have to drop Flynn and put Mcginn out there or vice versa.

 

[Ted Danson]

Didnt see anything of Porter last week but if he even contributes one good touch then its one more than King would have done. We might as well start with 10 men if King starts, he really is bobbins.

 

[Kenilworth]

Really need to get summat out of this one 'cos after Gills we have:

• Bristol City away (not won an away league match all season and a long time since we did - in the league, that is)
• Wallsall at home - that will be a tricky one - and the last of Brandy's 4 game suspension - Did he engineer that on purpose?
• Leyton Orient away - nil point there I guess, based on current form for both teams.

Serious danger of us being bottom of the league again by the end of this month, I suspect.
Mind you County have got Wolves (H), Shrews (A), Bradford (A) and Brentford (H) so we will have to go some - not beyond us, though, really is it?

Nigel certainly has his work cut out to start the climb to safety.
Weir certainly left us waist deep in thick do do, wearing only a T-Shirt, Bermudas and flip flops.

 

[dingledog]

Didnt see anything of Porter last week but if he even contributes one good touch then its one more than King would have done. We might as well start with 10 men if King starts, he really is bobbins.

I'm thinking you have too high a regard for Kings ability and application.

 

[highpeakblade]

I'm thinking you have too high a regard for Kings ability and application.

Problem is I reckon King still has ability in fact i'm certain he still has ability because on the very odd occasion you can see an experienced head with some of the stuff he does BUT.......the effort is not there what so ever. Put it down to match fitness or whatever but it does make you wonder now whether he's at that stage in his career where he needs other experienced / quality players around him to make him. We have a relatively inexperienced squad who aren't on the same wavelength as him and you can see his effort isn't there and he looks frustrated at times too by it all.

You can't hide behind fitness all the time because let's be fair Kitson wasn't the most fittest and spent percentages of games blowing out of his a**e but he still got up and put the ball in the net because he wanted it.

 

[Ted Danson]

I think Weirs departure had a big influence on King, he looked like he was trying in Weirs last game at the Lane when he scored and ran straight to Weir. I think Weir brought him in and was about the only one who wanted him so after hed left king probably feels like abit of an outcast IMO.

I dont think king will start another game unless injuries dictate it. Id much rather have an unfit Kitson than King too, atleast hed be getting us some pens

 

[Kenilworth]

Really need to get summat out of this one 'cos after Gills we have:

• Bristol City away (not won an away league match all season and a long time since we did - in the league, that is)
• Wallsall at home - that will be a tricky one - and the last of Brandy's 4 game suspension - Did he engineer that on purpose?
• Leyton Orient away - nil point there I guess, based on current form for both teams.

Serious danger of us being bottom of the league again by the end of this month, I suspect.
Mind you County have got Wolves (H), Shrews (A), Bradford (A) and Brentford (H) so we will have to go some - not beyond us, though, really is it?

Nigel certainly has his work cut out to start the climb to safety.
Weir certainly left us waist deep in thick do do, wearing only a T-Shirt, Bermudas and flip flops.

Were Fucked!