Official Match Thread Gillingham v Southend United

[The Big Dady]

The Official Match Thread brought to you by ShrimperZone.com

So here we are the sixth away game of the 2019/20 season and Gary Waddock’s 3rd away game since he was appointed Caretaker Manager of the Mighty Shrimpers.

Our sixth away match is against Gillingham



It is now time for ALL of us to get behind Gary and the team whether you are at MEMS Priestfield Stadium, listening on the radio, or listening/watching on ifollow.

Gary Waddock’s Southend United League One Away Team against Gillingham



MEMS Priestfield Stadium is ready for action at 3.00pm Saturday 5th. October 2019, it looks like we are going to have a gloomy overcast afternoon for the game, with a gentle breeze. (Hope Waddock and the team brighten it up).






Our "temporary" scaffold stand seats in the open away end

The weather forecast for this afternoon at MEMS Priestfield Stadium



Current League away record after 5 away games

Won 1
Drawn 0
Lost 4
Goals scored 7
Goals conceded 13

League Positions Last Season

13th (2018/19) League One Gillingham
19th (2018/19) League One Southend United

League Positions Current Season

16th (2019/20) League One Gillingham
21st (2019/20) League One Southend United

Recent League Positions Change



Previous five Meetings

Southend United 2-0 Gillingham (L1 01/01/19 Att. 7,903)
Gillingham 0-2 Southend United (L1 13/10/18 Att. 5,584)
Southend United 4-0 Gillingham (L1 02/04/18 Att. 8,466)
Gillingham 2-1 Southend United (LTGr 29/08/17 Att. 1,549)
Gillingham 3-3 Southend United (L1 26/08/17 Att. 5,339)

Head to Head record

Southend United Wins: 40
Draws: 32
Gillingham Wins: 46


Come On You Yellows!​

 

[The Big Dady]

Managers Pre-match Views
​

Gillingham

Steve Evans talks to Gillingham’s OS before the game against Southend United

Steve Evans​

Steve Evans - “Ron Martin is a very experienced chairman and a man I know. He will do what he believes is right for the football club and will appoint him [his new manager] when he is ready.

“I am sure whoever leads Southend here will want to come and win a league game. It won’t affect what we do, we want to get three points on the board.”

Southend Caretaker Manager Gary Waddock – “As I’ve said before I’ll continue to do the job I’m doing until told otherwise but all I’m focusing on at the moment is preparing the team for the Gillingham game.”

Team News:

Gillingham are still without Matty Willock as they welcome struggling Southend United to Priestfield on Saturday afternoon. Willock continues to recover from a knee injury as Steve Evans' side look to bounce back from last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Oxford United.

Southend are without striker Charlie Kelman who will miss six weeks through an ankle injury, while defender John White will be missing for Saturday's visitors after suffering a broken arm.

The Shrimps, who head to Priestfield still mangerless after Kevin Bond left the Essex side, will be able to welcome back Simon Cox after he recovered from an ankle injury.

Full text can be found here:-
Link


Southend United

Gary Waddock talks to the Southend United OS before travelling to Gillingham

Waddock and Cox full of praise for 'Journey to the Gills' team

Duo visit Little Havens Hospice on Thursday​

Later tonight sees the start of 10 supporters’ journey to Gillingham ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet League One game, and caretaker manager Gary Waddock was full of praise for them when he visited Little Havens Hospice on Thursday.

Along with Simon Cox, the pair had a tour of the facilities and then conducted their pre-match interviews.

The walk begins at 11pm on Friday night, with the amount raised on Friday morning creeping past the £2,000 mark.

Waddock said: "For them 10 supporters to do what they’re doing is fantastic.

"The biggest thing is to raise awareness. For the supporters walking to the game, they’re doing that first-hand.

"It’s the first time I’ve been to Little Havens, you walk in and it’s a fantastic place, so the more people that can donate the better as that will only go to help.

"Football is important in our lives but when you come into a place like this you realise there is far more important things going on in the world than football. In our little world that’s the most important thing, but there’s bigger things going on outside of that.”

The Southend squad have altogether donated £300 to the cause and you can join them by contributing via this Just Giving page.



Simon Cox added: "We as players are donating to the cause as well. We’re going to put some money in and we wish them all the best.

"It’s a great thing to do and we’re grateful as a football club and support them and wish them all the best.

"When you walk around this place you see the staff are fantastic, I’ve met a few and they’re very passionate about their job. This probably isn’t the nicest place to come but they try and make it as happy as possible and everybody smiles around here.

"These guys are heroes in their own right and they come in with smiles on their faces every day, so we can take a lot from them.”

On the game against Steve Evans' Gilligham, Waddock said: "We can’t affect what has gone on, we can only affect the future and the future in our world is Saturday away at Gillingham.

"It’s vitally important we put in a performance which will give us a chance to pick up three points.

"If we can approach the game in the same manner as we did at MK Dons then we’ll give them a game, but we have to get them levels again."

Simon Cox said Blues need to work harder than they did against Accrington.

"What epitomised us against MK Dons was hard work," he added. "When you look at the difference between the work rate in the MK Dons game to Accrington, they are chalk and cheese. We came out with a great result at MK Dons so drawing on that we have to get back to firstly working hard for each other."


Full text can be found here:-
Link

Update


All the walkers have now arrived at Gillingham's Priesfield Stadium ahead of the game.

Well Done everyone involved, superb effort.


Gary Waddock talks to the Chris Phillips at the ECHO before travelling to Gillingham

Southend United caretaker boss Gary Waddock unsure if Gillingham will be his last game

Uncertain future - for Southend United's caretaker boss Gary Waddock ​

Gary Waddock is unsure if tomorrow’s clash at Gillingham will be his last as Southend United’s caretaker manager.

Chairman Ron Martin has stepped up his search for a new Blues boss this week with Henrik Larsson and Adam Barrett both firmly in the frame.

But Waddock - who has been in charge for the last five games following the departure of Kevin Bond - does not know when his spell will be ending.

“I haven’t got an update,” said Waddock.“As I’ve said before I’ll continue to do the job I’m doing until told otherwise but all I’m focusing on at the moment is preparing the team for the Gillingham game.”

Waddock started well in his caretaker role but suffered disappointing back-to-back home defeats in his last two games.

The Shrimpers were beaten by Accrington Stanley in League One and Brighton & Hove Albion’s under-21 team in the Leasing.com Trophy.

And Waddock is demanding an improved display.

“We have to make sure our attitude is right because in our last two performances the level hasn’t been good enough and we expect better from the group of players we have,” said Waddock.

“We have to get back to what we had when we won at MK Dons. We can’t affect what’s gone on, we can only affect the future.

“That’s tomorrow at Gillingham for us and it’s vitally important we put in a performance which gives us a chance to get the three points.

“If we approach the game in the same manner we did at MK Dons then we’ll give them a game but we have to get to those levels.”

Full text can be found here:-
Link

Come On You Yellows!​

 

[The Big Dady]

The Big Preview​

Gillingham vs Southend United


​

Overview...

Blues return to league action tomorrow afternoon as they make the short trip over the QE2 Bridge and into Kent to face Gillingham at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium.

Both sides haven’t been having much go their way in recent weeks, but having won on their travels last time out, Southend will be hopeful of picking up their second victory of the season.

Gillingham too will see tomorrow as a good opportunity to climb the table, though Blues have had their number in recent meetings, winning all of their last three.

Form...

Southend’s last away trip saw them pick up their first win of the league campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over MK Dons at Stadium:MK.

Blues weren’t able to build on that victory, however, following it up with a 1-0 defeat at home to Accrington Stanley which leaves them currently third from bottom in the table.

Gills have lost all of their last three matches without scoring a goal, last time out losing 3-0 on the road at Oxford. Gillingham have two wins and four draws from their opening 10 league games.

Last Meeting...

Tuesday 1st January 2019

Southend United 2-0 Gillingham

Mantom 40’, Moore 90’

Southend began the New Year with a 2-0 win against near-neighbours Gillingham with goals from Sam Mantom and Taylor Moore the difference at Roots Hall.

Mantom put Blues in front when his free-kick floated all the way through and into the net. Moore then sealed the win as Gills threw everyone forward with Moore scoring on the counter-attack.

Blues Team News...

Simon Cox is fit and available tomorrow having recovered quickly from an ankle injury picked up against Accrington Stanley last weekend.

Charlie Kelman also picked up an ankle knock against Stanley, but his injury has been found to be more serious with the young striker expected to be out for "a few weeks" following a scan.

John White is another absentee as he continues to recover from a broken arm which is expected to keep the Blues defender out for up to six weeks.

Gillingham Dangerman...

Alex Jakubiak is the Gills leading goal scorer so far this term with four goals from his nine starts this season, making him the one the look out for tomorrow afternoon.

The Watford-loanee had a difficult time out on loan at Bristol Rovers last season, going from the turn of the year to the end of the season without scoring.

But this season, Jakubiak has found his scoring boots once more, with strikes against Doncaster and Tranmere along with a brace against Blackpool.

Ref Watch...

Leigh Doughty will take charge of his first League One encounter tomorrow afternoon, being assisted by Stuart Butler and Samuel Ogles, with Daniel Cook filling in as fourth official.

This is Doughty’s first season refereeing in the Football League and so far across his eight games this season he’s issued 15 yellow cards and just the one red.

Doughty was refereeing in the National League last season, so it’ll be the first time he’s taken charge of Blues and it’ll be his first time taking charge of a third-tier match.

Away Fans Guide...

Blues fans will be very familiar with the surroundings at Priestfield tomorrow, with those travelling to Kent for the game being housed in the Brian Moore Stand.

The uncovered stand which is behind the goal to the right of the dugouts normally accommodates up to 1,500 fans with the stadium as a whole having a capacity of just over 11,500.

For more information on the ground, including info on travel directions, where to park and where to go for a pre-match drink, check out awaygames.co.uk’s guide by clicking here.

Tickets

Those looking to purchase on the day will be able to do so from the Gillingham ticket office, but please be aware that prices will increase on matchday by £2.

Full text can be found here:-
Link

Come On You Yellows!​

 

[The Big Dady]

Gillingham team

Bonham, Fuller, Ehmer, Ogilvie, O'Connor, Jones, Lee, Byrne, O'Keefe, Hanlan, Ndjoli.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks @The Big Dady

Any news on why Goodship didn’t even make the squad?

 

[The Big Dady]

Thanks @The Big Dady

Any news on why Goodship didn’t even make the squad?

Yep, Sam Manton is injured with a hamstring injury and Brandon Goodship is ill

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks mate. Flying over Iran at the moment with a ropy WiFi so sticking to SZ for news!

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Interesting that Hutch starts rather than Dieng or Hyam.

 

[The Big Dady]

I hate putting this up as I have to see this convicted criminal again, but just in case anyone else is interested...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1180468932815142913

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Interesting that Hutch starts rather than Dieng or Hyam.

Well I guess he offers set piece delivery, which is one more thing than the other two

 

[Blueronron]

Thanks mate. Flying over Iran at the moment with a ropy WiFi so sticking to SZ for news!

The wars finished SS, didn’t anyone tell you !!!

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Well I guess he offers set piece delivery, which is one more thing than the other two

Also I like those driving runs he makes from midfield which Hyman never does and Dieng very rarely.Doubt if we'll see Hutch play for 90 mins though.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

The wars finished SS, didn’t anyone tell you !!!

Which one?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

The Gills pitch looks in good nick.

 

[The Big Dady]

Sol Campbell not at our game he is watching Nottingham Forrest today, and no Henrik Larsson either. Wonder if any other candidates will be watching our game?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Sol Campbell not at our game he is watching Nottingham Forrest today, and no Henrik Larsson either. Wonder if any other candidates will be watching our game?

Presumably AB is busy with Millwall.

 

[The Big Dady]

Thanks mate. Flying over Iran at the moment with a ropy WiFi so sticking to SZ for news!

Hope you make it, were you going?.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

In other news Fulham have just drawn 2-2 with Charlton.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hope you make it, were you going?.

Thanks mate. Doha initially, then later on for a few days on a southern Thai island to get ratted sitting on a beach with a book

 

[The Big Dady]

Official Team Sheet