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fan-of-mulligan · 3 years ago

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FOM BLOG: LEYTON ORIENT 2-0 GILLINGHAM - 2021 / 2022 - PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY

My Thoughts On Leyton Orient 2-0 Gillingham - Pre-Season Friendly - 2021 / 2022.

When Leyton Orient had announced there home pre-season friendly fixture against Gillingham, I was actually looking to go to the game because Brisbane Road isn’t far from Leyton Tube Station and this would have been a decent pre-season friendly fixture to go to (especially when Gillingham’s pre-season friendlies against QPR, Peterborough United, Dartford, Ebbsfleet United and Tunbridge Wells were all called off), However, Leyton Orient mentioned on there official website a month ago that there was a cap of 2,000 supporters and no away fans could go to this fixture, and it was only in the past few days where it was announced that Gillingham Supporters could go to Leyton Orient V Gillingham, But by the time that announcement was made, I had already ruled myself out of going to Brisbane Road, And I think quite a few Gillingham Supporters had also had other alternative plans made because away supporters couldn’t go to this fixture.

But whilst I didn’t go to Leyton Orient V Gillingham, I did take up the option of paying just £3 to watch the match on a live-stream, and although I am essentially relying on one camera angle, there was no technical issue’s with this one camera, and all I had to do was create a new account on The Leyton Orient Website, fill in the important details, And I was able to watch the live-stream of our latest pre-season friendly against Leyton Orient.

Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows………. Aaron Chapman, Harvey Lintott, Christian Maghoma, Max Ehmer, David Tutonda, Stuart O’Keefe, Trialist, Tralist, Olly Lee, Trialist, John Akinde Substitutes: Jamie Cumming (GK), Trialist (GK), Trialist, Jack Tucker, Rhys Bennett, Bailey Akehurst, Sam Gale, Kyle Dempsey, Ben Reeves, Daniel Phillips, Danny Lloyd, Vadaine Oliver and Gerald Sithole - Ryan Jackson, Robbie McKenzie and Alex MacDonald were all not named in the match-day for this latest pre-season friendly against Leyton Orient.

However, I was surprised to see Christian Maghoma start for Gillingham, especially when we have been told from Steve Evans that Christian Maghoma is surplus to requirements, two of the three players on trial in the starting line up we know are Mustapha Carayol and Rob Hall, Because both players played for Gillingham against Millwall On Tuesday Night, I am not sure on who the third player on trial is in the starting line up, But apparently, The Goalkeeper on the bench for Gillingham was Dion-Curtis Henry, who was last playing for Billericay Town In The Conference South.

John Akinde starts for Gillingham, And I thought that John Akinde was going to start for Gillingham when Gillingham sent A Gillingham XI Side Down To Ramsgate On Wednesday Night, John Akinde will get an opportunity to build up his match fitness and match sharpness levels before the season starts with this starting appearance for Gillingham against Leyton Orient, Because with Dominic Samuel and Tyreke Johnson both leaving the football club, Gillingham only have Vadaine Oliver, John Akinde and Gerald Sithole as our attacking options in the first team.

Kenny Jackett was appointed as Leyton Orient Manager in the off season, And Leyton Orient have signed Theo Archibald, Harry Smith, Tom James, Connor Wood and Paul Smyth, But it is the signings of Omar Beckles and Darren Pratley that really stand out for Leyton Orient and although I do think there are more signings to come, Appointing Kenny Jackett as Manager is probably Leyton Orient’s best signing, Because I think Kenny Jackett’s appointment could well see Leyton Orient challenge for a playoff position in League Two This Season.

Both Gillingham and Leyton Orient were out on to the pitch ready and waiting for kick off, I could hear The Gillingham Supporters cheer the players out on to the pitch and a good number of Gills Fans had made the trip to Brisbane Road, despite the short notice that away supporters could go to this fixture, hopefully, those who went to Brisbane Road are rewarded with a decent performance and a decent result - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

Gillingham make a very encouraging start to the match when Mustapha Carayol’s cross from the left side of the pitch in Leyton Orient’s Final Third is charged down by Tom James at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Rob Hall whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post, which is over-hit, And Max Ehmer was unable to keep the ball in play as the ball goes out of play for A Leyton Orient Throw On in there own final third.

Three Minutes Into The Match, And David Tutonda is penalised for a foul on Ruel Sotiriou, And Leyton Orient have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Dan Kemp has whipped in a high and hanging cross and Aaron Chapman was able to gather the ball with ease, and from here, Aaron Chapman kicks the ball long down-field, And John Akinde wins the aerial challenge to header the ball down towards Mustapha Carayol, And Mustapha Carayol takes a few touches in possession of the ball, works his way into a shooting position before firing a low effort wide of the far left post - although I do think that Lawrence Vigouroux would had saved Mustapha Carayol’s shot if the shot was on target - but something for Gillingham to work on though.

Six Minutes Into The Match, And Harvey Lintott manages to header Dan Kemp’s dangerous in-swinging cross clear and away from goal, And Stuart O’Keefe is penalised for a foul on Darren Pratley, And Leyton Orient have been awarded a free kick twenty five yards from goal, and from the resulting free kick, Leyton Orient had the chance to open the scoring, Tom James has a fired a fiercely driven effort towards goal which clears Gillingham’s Defensive Wall, but also clears the crossbar as well - I think Aaron Chapman would have had that effort from Tom James covered if that effort on goal was on target.

Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Leyton Orient create another decent goal-scoring opportunity to try and take the lead, Dan Happe kicks a long diagonal cross-field cross towards Ruel Sotiriou, who manages to get to the ball ahead of David Tutonda down the left side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Ruel Sotiriou gets the ball under control and passes the ball back towards Craig Clay, And Craig Clay whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross first time and the player on trial for Leyton Orient headers the ball wide of the far left post - AND THAT WAS THE CHANCE FOR LEYTON ORIENT TO TAKE THE LEAD!!!!!!! - Christian Maghoma and Max Ehmer couldn’t mark the player on trial, but I have to say that the defending from David Tutonda was suspect to allow the cross-field cross from Dan Happe to pick out Ruel Sotiriou inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area.

Ten Minutes Into The Match, And David Tutonda manages to block Craig Clay’s dangerous in-swinging cross and although Aaron Chapman manages to gather the ball, Aaron Chapman was unable to prevent the ball from going behind for A Leyton Orient Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Dan Kemp whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Mustapha Carayol headers the ball clear and away from danger at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Dan Kemp whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross inside the six yard box and Dan Happe’s flicked header towards goal is headed over the crossbar, but David Tutonda must have got the faintest of touches on the ball to header the ball over, Because Leyton Orient were awarded another corner kick, and from the third corner kick, Dan Kemp whips in another dangerous in-swinging cross, and Christian Maghoma manages to header the ball partially clear and away from goal, and the ball falls fortuitously into John Akinde’s Path outside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And John Akinde runs forwards in possession of the ball and looks to start a counter attack for The Gills, However, Hector Kyprianou times his challenge to perfection on John Akinde and manages to intercept the ball, Craig Clay then passes the ball out-wide to Dan Kemp down the left side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Dan Kemp whips in a low dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post, And David Tutonda on the stretch manages to clear the ball out of play for another Leyton Orient Corner Kick.

But it was from this corner kick where Leyton Orient took the lead, Dan Kemp whips in a high and hanging cross towards the far post and there was a mix up between Christian Maghoma and Goalkeeper Aaron Chapman and Dan Happe headers the ball back across the face of goal and Omar Beckles has fired the ball into the far right corner of the net to give Leyton Orient the lead, and both centre back’s have played a crucial role in ensuring that Leyton Orient take the lead - LEYTON ORIENT 1-0 GILLINGHAM.

Terrible mix up between Christian Maghoma and Aaron Chapman which allowed Leyton Orient to take the lead after a succession of corner kicks for the hosts, I do think that regardless of how well he performs for Gillingham against Leyton Orient that Christian Maghoma will be signing for another club in the next few weeks, but defensive error’s like that one, even though it is a combined error from Christian Maghoma and Aaron Chapman, isn’t going to help Christian Maghoma get the move he is hoping for, Because Christian Maghoma will surely be fifth choice centre back behind Jack Tucker, Max Ehmer, Rhys Bennett and Robbie McKenzie, who can play centre back if and when required to do so.

The next attacking opportunity see’s Leyton Orient looking to extend there lead further when Craig Clay almost manages to pick out Ruel Sotiriou with a threaded through-ball which thankfully was over-hit and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And In The Sixteenth Minute Of The Match, Leyton Orient were awarded a free kick when Christian Maghoma is penalised for a foul on Darren Pratley, And Leyton Orient have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Leyton Orient had the chance to go 2-0 up when Tom James whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Dan Happe’s looping header was comfortably saved by Aaron Chapman.

Nineteen Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had a half chance to try and find the equaliser, David Tutonda has possession of the ball for Gillingham in a left / central position on the pitch, And David Tutonda has passed the ball centrally towards Olly Lee, and Olly Lee takes one touch to control the ball and another touch to hit a very tame shot that goes wide of the left hand post - But Lawrence Vigouroux would have had Olly Lee’s shot covered if Olly Lee’s shot towards goal was on target.

Twenty One Minutes Into The Match, And Rob Hall has whipped in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and although Dan Happe wins the initial aerial challenge to prevent John Akinde from getting on to the end of Rob Hall’s cross, Mustapha Carayol had ghosted in at the far post to pull the ball back across the face of goal and John Akinde could not get on the end of Mustapha Carayol’s cross and Rob Hall was penalised for a foul on Connor Wood, And Leyton Orient have been awarded a defensive free kick.

Twenty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Aaron Chapman kicks the ball long down-field and John Akinde has won the aerial challenge to flick the ball on towards Olly Lee, But John Akinde’s header was too long for Olly Lee to get on to the end of, and Lawrence Vigouroux makes a routine save in goal for Leyton Orient, and in the same minute, Ciaran Dickson times his challenge to perfection on Ruel Sotiriou at the expense of conceding a corner kick for Leyton Orient - for reference, Ciaran Dickson was wearing Number 21, Mustapha Carayol Number 14, And Rob Hall Number 25 for the three players on trial for Gillingham - and from the resulting corner kick, Dan Kemp has whipped in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Hector Kyprianou’s header towards goal forced Aaron Chapman to make an important save to keep Gillingham in this match at 1-0 down.

Harvey Lintott was then through on goal down the right side of Leyton Orient’s Penalty Area, But Connor Wood had timed his challenge to perfection and Leyton Orient clear there defensive lines and we’re just starting to see a bit more from Gillingham, Even though Lawrence Vigouroux hasn’t been severely tested in-between the sticks, But In The Twenty Seventh Minute Of The Match, Rob Hall manages to win Gillingham a free kick within shooting territory, and credit must go to Rob Hall, Because there was no passing option available, and to win Gillingham a free kick when it looked very likely that Leyton Orient were going to intercept the ball and hit Gillingham on the counter attack has to be commended, and from the resulting free kick, Olly Lee and Rob Hall were both standing over the ball, And Olly Lee leaves the ball for Rob Hall to hit a curling effort towards goal which Lawrence Vigouroux had to parry away from goal and Leyton Orient manage to get the loose ball clear and away from danger - At least Rob Hall has forced Lawrence Vigouroux to make a save, maybe something for Gillingham to build on throughout the rest of the first half ???

Max Ehmer and David Tutonda have both had to clear the ball out of play for A Leyton Orient Throw On, on one occasion each, as Leyton Orient target the left side of Gillingham’s Defence, and from the third throw on, Tom James long throw for Leyton Orient is flicked on by Omar Beckles and Aaron Chapman is forced to make another save in goal for Gillingham to keep Gillingham in this match at 1-0 down, and Aaron Chapman is forced into action a minute later when Dan Happe’s long ball down-field almost picks out Ruel Sotiriou, but the long ball from Dan Happe is over-hit and runs through to Aaron Chapman.

Aaron Chapman kicks the ball long down-field and John Akinde wins the initial aerial challenge to flick the ball on towards Olly Lee, but John Akinde’s flick on is too long for Olly Lee to get on the end of and the ball goes out of play for A Leyton Orient Goal-Kick, The big problem Gillingham have got is the fact that neither Rob Hall or Mustapha Carayol are getting the ball down and taking players on and giving Leyton Orient something to be concerned about in the wide area’s of the pitch.

Thirty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Leyton Orient are causing Gillingham problems down our left side when Tom James takes on David Tutonda and whips in a dangerous low cross across the face of goal which Ruel Sotiriou cannot get on the end of and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, David Tutonda is struggling at Left Back, But David Tutonda isn’t exactly getting much help from Mustapha Carayol either, And David Tutonda is playing like A Left Wing Back to get higher up the pitch to try and close Tom James down earlier, David Tutonda is going higher up the pitch and Max Ehmer is playing as Centre Back who occasionally has to fill in at Left Back to cover the space in and behind David Tutonda.

Aaron Chapman then kicks the ball long down-field and Omar Beckles is penalised for a push in the back on John Akinde, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, much to the delight of The Gillingham Supporters In The Away End who cheered the decision to give Gillingham a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Gillingham had the chance to score an unlikely equaliser, Mustapha Carayol passes the ball short to Olly Lee out-wide down the left side of the pitch in Leyton Orient’s Final Third, And Olly Lee takes a touch to control the ball before firing in a dangerous low cross which Lawrence Vigouroux was able to save, all be it with some difficulty, Because all it needed was a faint touch off A Gillingham or Leyton Orient Player, And Olly Lee’s dangerous low cross could have ricocheted into the back of the net for 1-1.

But the next passage of play see’s Leyton Orient extend there lead to 2-0, Lawrence Vigouroux passes the ball short to Omar Beckles, And Omar Beckles runs forwards in possession of the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Ruel Sotiriou down the right side of the pitch, And Ruel Sotiriou cuts inside into a more central position on the pitch before passing the ball back towards Craig Clay, And Craig Clay passes the ball out-wide to Tom James, And Tom James takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball square towards Dan Happe, And Dan Happe takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Connor Wood, And Connor Wood passes the ball back towards Dan Happe, And Dan Happe takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball forwards towards Ruel Sotiriou, And Ruel Sotiriou was being double marked by Rob Hall and Ciaran Dickson, And Dan Kemp is on to the loose ricochet and passes the ball back towards Darren Pratley, And Darren Pratley passes the ball square to Dan Happe, Dan Happe then plays a one / two with Hector Kyprianou before taking a few more touches in possession of the ball and Dan Happe’s squared pass towards Omar Beckles is almost intercepted by John Akinde and Omar Beckles passes the ball square to Darren Pratley, Darren Pratley then runs forwards in possession of the ball before passing the ball back towards Dan Happe, And Dan Happe passes the ball inside centrally towards Hector Kyprianou on the halfway line, And Hector Kyprianou threads a through-ball through to Craig Clay, And Craig Clay manages to retain possession of the ball despite the attempted challenge from Mustapha Carayol, And Craig Clay manages to pick out Connor Wood with a cross-field cross pass down the left side of the pitch, And Connor Wood takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball down the line towards Dan Kemp, And Dan Kemp fires in a first time low cross and the player on trial for Leyton Orient manages to pick out the top right corner of the net with a neat first time finish and Leyton Orient are now winning 2-0 against Gillingham. - LEYTON ORIENT 2-0 GILLINGHAM.

If your A Leyton Orient Supporter, you will be talking about that passage of play and all the passing and movement in the build up to that goal, and rightfully so as well, But I have to say that the defending from Gillingham for that goal was poor, the player on trial for Leyton Orient was quickest to react to Dan Kemp’s low cross to stick the ball into the back of the net, and some of the challenges from a few Gillingham Players was very half hearted indeed, Leyton Orient are celebrating this goal on Twitter, But a bit of prospective is needed, Leyton Orient V Gillingham is only Gillingham’s Fourth First Team Pre-Season Fixture, Rob Hall, Ciaran Dickson and Mustapha Carayol are on trial, Christian Maghoma has hardly featured for Gillingham in pre-season, Although David Tutonda’s performance has been disappointing, David Tutonda has only played for Gillingham against Welling United in pre-season, and you can see how disjointed Gillingham are with a make-shift starting line up.

Look, the goal Gillingham have conceded is poor, the lack of intensity and the lack of putting in any type of challenge to try and disrupt that passing move for Leyton Orient is concerning, and Gillingham are also 2-0 down and we fully deserve to be losing as well, I would be very very concerned if that goal was conceded and Gillingham had Cumming, Jackson, Ehmer, Tucker, O’Keefe, Dempsey, Reeves, Lloyd and Oliver all starting, Because then you can point out that Gillingham have named close to what our starting line up would be against Lincoln City On The Seventh Of August.

Thirty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Connor Wood has fired in a low dangerous cross and Christian Maghoma on the stretch clears the ball out of play for A Leyton Orient Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Dan Kemp whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Christian Maghoma and David Tutonda between the two of them manage to clear the ball away from goal, Forty Minutes Into The Match, And Max Ehmer times his challenge to perfection on Ruel Sotiriou at the expense of conceding a corner kick - another error from David Tutonda, who really has struggled for Gillingham in the first half so far - and from the resulting corner kick, Dan Kemp whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and John Akinde headers the ball clear and away from goal, And Gillingham are trying to keep the score-line down to 2-0, and from what we have seen from Gillingham so far in this match, it is looking very unlikely that Gillingham will score against Leyton Orient.

And as we are reaching the closing stages of the first half, David Tutonda tried to pick out John Akinde with a dangerous in-swinging cross and Dan Happe headers the ball clear and out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And Hector Kyprianou manages to whip in a dangerous high and hanging cross and Max Ehmer manages to header the ball clear, But just as we start to reach stoppage time at the end of the first half, Tom James is penalised for a foul on David Tutonda, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, And Gillingham had the chance to half the deficit just before half time, and from the resulting free kick, Mustapha Carayol whips in a high and hanging cross and Dan Happe wins the initial aerial challenge and Darren Pratley clears the ball away from danger and that was the final noteworthy moment of the first half, and the half time score at Brisbane Road Is Leyton Orient 2-0 Gillingham.

HALF TIME: LEYTON ORIENT 2-0 GILLINGHAM

I uploaded the following status update on to Social Media,,,,,,, HALF TIME: LEYTON ORIENT 2-0 GILLINGHAM - Leyton Orient are winning 2-0 at the break with goals from Beckles and a player on trial for Orient, first goal see's a mix up between Maghoma and Chapman from Kemp's cross from a corner, the ball is headed across goal and Beckles scores. And the second goal see's Wood pass the ball down the line towards Kemp, And Kemp has fired in a first time dangerous cross, and the player on trial for Orient scores with a neat first time finish, Leyton Orient have been the much better side in the first half.

Gills started the match with some promise when Carayol wins a corner kick inside a minute, which unfortunately doesn't result in a goal-scoring opportunity, Carayol failed to hit the target with a low effort towards goal. James also fired a free kick over the crossbar for Orient, Leyton Orient then won four corner kicks in a row which resulted in Beckles opening the scoring, Olly Lee's low effort towards goal goes wide of the far post, and Carayol's ball across the face of goal does not pick out Akinde, Chapman saves Beckles Header From Kemp's Cross. 25 saw his shot on goal saved by Vigouroux, And I think Number 25 has been the best player out of the three players on trial who have started for Gillingham Today, Need to see much more from Gillingham in the second half, Because we have not tested Orient Defensively.

First Half Performance has been poor, Gillingham’s Starting Line Up is very disjointed with Rob Hall, Ciaran Dickson and Mustapha Carayol on trial, David Tutonda has really struggled for Gillingham in the first half, But he has hardly played for Gillingham in pre-season, Christian Maghoma starts in defence having not played for Gillingham in any of the previous pre-season matches, and youngster Harvey Lintott started at Right Back, John Akinde is getting no service or support, And Leyton Orient look like a side who have played four or five more pre-season friendlies and there further along in there pre-season preparations.

But the defending for the second goal was very poor, yes, Leyton Orient have had possession of the ball and they will understandably say it’s a great goal, But Gillingham let Leyton Orient keep the ball in Orient’s own final third, still, the lack of intensity and not putting a foot in is something to be concerned about, and we have to see an improvement for Gillingham in the second half, otherwise, Leyton Orient will win this match 5-0, Hopefully, we will see an improved performance and we will see Gillingham get something out of this match against Leyton Orient In The Second Half - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

Leyton Orient make a substitution at half time when Jayden Sweeney comes on to replace Connor Wood, no substitutions for Gillingham, So my guess is that Gillingham will make wholesale changes either after sixty minutes, or, after sixty five minutes of the match, But one thing we have got to see from the players who started this match is more intensity, more pressure put on to Leyton Orient’s Back-Line, and we need to see more service and support for John Akinde, Because John Akinde has ben on his own in attack for The Gills and hardly had a kick of the ball.

And Gillingham made a encouraging start to The Second Half when Rob Hall’s cross was charged down by Dan Kemp at the expense of conceding a throw on, and from the resulting throw, Harvey Lintott throws the ball short to Ciaran Dickson, And Ciaran Dickson takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Stuart O’Keefe, And Stuart O’Keefe whips in a low dangerous cross towards John Akinde, And Omar Beckles has cleared the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On with a headed clearance, And In The Forty Seven Minute, Jayden Sweeney is penalised for a foul on Olly Lee and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, which Gillingham do not really create a chance of note from, But Ciaran Dickson manages to win Gillingham a throw on in Leyton Orient’s Final Third, As Gillingham try to give Leyton Orient something to be concerned about defensively, and despite the improved performance at the start of the second half, Gills haven’t tested Lawrence Vigouroux to make a decent save in goal for Leyton Orient.

However, From The Resulting Throw On, Gillingham almost manage to take the lead, Harvey Lintott throws the ball down the line and as the ball bounces high off the turf, Olly Lee does exceptionally well to keep the ball in play by hooking the ball across the face of goal and Tom James chests the ball down before sliding in to desperately clear the ball off the goal-line, And Tom James almost scores an own goal for Leyton Orient, And 2-1 down would have brought Gillingham back into this match.

Fifty Minutes Into The Match, And Tom James’s dangerous in-swinging cross was headed clear by Christian Maghoma just when it looked likely that Ruel Sotiriou was going to get on the end of Tom James’ Cross and Jayden Sweeney was penalised for fouling Mustapha Carayol and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, which just relieves the pressure building on to our own goal, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ciaran Dickson tries to thread a through-ball through to John Akinde which John Akinde almost gets on to the end of, But Lawrence Vigouroux was able to gather the ball, all be it, with some difficulty, And In The Fifty Second Minute Of The Match, Max Ehmer kicks the ball long down-field and Omar Beckles wins the initial aerial challenge up against John Akinde, and as the ball drops back down from the air, Rob Hall has smashed a fiercely driven effort towards goal which hits the top of The North Stand - A Ambitious Effort Towards Goal From Rob Hall - Who I have to say is probably the best performing player out of the three players on trial for The Gills.

Fifty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Max Ehmer’s Long Ball Towards John Akinde was saved by Lawrence Vigouroux, And both Omar Beckles and Dan Happe have comfortably dealt with the threat from Akinde, mostly because John Akinde has been isolated and Olly Lee, Rob Hall and Mustapha Carayol haven’t got close to John Akinde to provide him with service or support, But In The Fifty Fifth Minute Of The Match, Gillingham were awarded a free kick when Darren Pratley had gone into the back of John Akinde, And Gillingham have the chance to create a decent goal-scoring opportunity here, and from the resulting free kick, Olly Lee whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross low towards the far post, and neither Mustapha Carayol or Max Ehmer can either direct the ball towards goal or direct the ball across the face of goal to pick out a team-mate, and the ball has gone out of play for A Leyton Orient Goal-Kick - I actually thought that Mustapha Carayol was in a great position to header the ball towards goal and that was the chance for Gillingham to get themselves back into this match at 2-1 down.

And In The Fifty Ninth Minute Of The Match, Gillingham had half hearted appeals for a penalty kick turned down, Gillingham have a throw on down the left side of the pitch and David Tutonda throws the ball long down the line towards Olly Lee, And Olly Lee wins the aerial challenge to header the ball inside Leyton Orient’s Penalty Area and Rob Hall is challenged by Jayden Sweeney, And Rob Hall does go down to the deck inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and despite the penalty appeal from John Akinde, play continue’s with Leyton Orient in possession of the ball - My first reaction was no penalty, had I been in the away end and seen that challenge from Jayden Sweeney from a different angle, I might have thought differently.

The game was just starting to break up with Stuart O’Keefe both winning and conceding a free kick, And David Tutonda has kicked two long balls down-field which was comfortable for Lawrence Vigouroux to deal with, Leyton Orient then bring on Theo Archibald for the player on trial in The Sixty Second Minute, And In The Sixty Third Minute, Harvey Lintott is penalised for a foul on Dan Kemp, And Leyton Orient have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Dan Kemp has whipped in a dangerous low cross and Aaron Chapman has gathered Dan Kemp’s low cross with some difficulty.

Sixty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Max Ehmer comes across to block Ruel Sotiriou’s attempted cross at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Tom James whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Christian Maghoma manages to header the ball clear and away from danger, and Leyton Orient are penalised for a foul on Ciaran Dickson, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick.

Seventy Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham make nine substitutions with Danial Phillips, Rhys Bennett, Danny Lloyd, Vadaine Oliver, Kyle Dempsey, Gerald Sithole, Nathan Akehurst, Ben Reeves, And Goalkeeper Dion Henry coming on to replace Aaron Chapman, Rob Hall, Ciaran Dickson, Mustapha Carayol, David Tutonda, Olly Lee, Max Ehmer, John Akinde and Harvey Lintott - I actually thought that Jamie Cumming had come on for Aaron Chapman and the mention of a player on trial coming on might have been an error from Gillingham’s Official Twitter Account.

Christian Maghoma and Stuart O’Keefe are both still on the pitch, Stuart O’Keefe is filling in at Right Back after the nine substitutions, And once play had resumed, Leyton Orient were awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Theo Archibald’s through-ball almost manages to pick out Ruel Sotiriou, But Dion Henry was quick off his line to make the important save to keep Gillingham in this match at 2-0 down, But despite being 2-0 down, Christian Maghoma and Kyle Dempsey have both had to make important clearances to knock the ball out of play for Leyton Orient Throw On’s, And Leyton Orient have this match precisely where they want it, with the ball going out of play and the match being broken up so that Gillingham cannot grab a foot-hold of the remaining minutes in this match.

Gillingham then win a few throw on’s in quick succession, With Stuart O’Keefe throwing the ball short to Daniel Phillips, And Daniel Phillips short pass back out-wide to Stuart O’Keefe being over-hit and the ball goes out of play for A Leyton Orient Throw On, Now Gillingham have just made nine substitutions, But that return pass from Daniel Phillips was very poor, Stuart O’Keefe playing at Right Back because Ryan Jackson and Robbie McKenzie are both injured does highlight the lack of options Gillingham have got at Right Back, even though Harvey Lintott, Robbie McKenzie and Rhys Bennett can all play at Right Back to provide cover for Ryan Jackson.

In The Seventy Sixth Minute Of The Match, Leyton Orient had the chance to go 3-0 up, and put this match well and truly beyond Gillingham’s Grasp, Jayden Sweeney runs forwards in possession of the ball for Leyton Orient Into Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, And Jayden Sweeney continue’s his run forwards roughly twenty five yards from goal before passing the ball out-wide to Theo Archibald, And Theo Archibald fires in a dangerous low cross first time and Rhys Bennett on the stretch manages to divert the ball out of play for A Leyton Orient Corner Kick, And had Rhys Bennett not made that clearance, then Ruel Sotiriou would have surely scored for 3-0, and from the resulting corner kick, Dan Kemp whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Rhys Bennett manages to header the ball clear and away from danger.

Seventy Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Kyle Dempsey is penalised for a foul on Dan Kemp, And Leyton Orient have been awarded a free kick within shooting territory here, and from the resulting free kick, Dan Kemp’s driven effort towards goal crashes against Gillingham’s Wall and Rhys Bennett then completes the clearance heading the ball further away from goal.

In The Eightieth Minute Of The Match, Leyton Orient make another substitution as Josh Clarke comes on to replace Dan Kemp, And Dan Kemp has been superb throughout this entire match for Leyton Orient, and when play resumes, Leyton Orient have the chance to go 3-0 up, Theo Archibald manages to shrug off the attempted challenge from Stuart O’Keefe before running inside into a more central area of the pitch, And Theo Archibald passes the ball inside centrally to Craig Clay, And Craig Clay takes a touch to control the ball before running forwards in possession of the ball, And Craig Clay’s driven effort towards goal goes comfortably wide of the far left post, But Leyton Orient are trying things, they look the more likely side to add to the score-line, And I think Gillingham are resigning themselves to defeat.

Leyton Orient are trying to stretch Gillingham in the wide area’s when Craig Clay’s Pass towards Josh Clarke goes out of play for a throw, and Jayden Sweeney’s pass towards Hector Kyprianou also goes out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, Stuart O’Keefe is then penalised for as foul on Darren Pratley In The Eighty Third Minute, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Theo Archibald’s dangerous low cross is saved by Dion Henry In The Gillingham Goal.

Gillingham then had a rare attacking opportunity when Danny Lloyd worked his way towards the byline, And Danny Lloyd has whipped in a high looping cross and Lawrence Vigouroux takes no chances and tips the ball over the crossbar, and Gillingham have been awarded a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Gillingham had a half chance to get themselves on to the score-sheet, Ben Reeves whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Christian Maghoma hasn’t connected with the cleanest of connections on the ball, And Christian Maghoma’s half connected effort towards goal goes wide of the far left post.

Vadaine Oliver is then penalised for a high foot and Vadaine Oliver hasn’t got into this match at all for Gillingham, This is particularly concerning because Vadaine Oliver hasn’t really got into either of our previous two pre-season friendlies against Millwall and Leyton Orient, And you just wonder without Jordan Graham, and the lack of attacking options Gillingham have got in there first team squad, How many goals will Vadaine Oliver score for Gillingham throughout The 2021 / 2022 Season ??? - Hopefully, Gillingham can sign 2-3 attacking players to really strengthen Gillingham’s Options in the final third.

Ninety Minutes Into The Match, And Christian Maghoma almost makes a dreadful error which almost see’s Leyton Orient have the chance to extend there lead further to 3-0, And in the next attacking opportunity, Gillingham were pushing for a consolation goal as Danial Phillips whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards Vadaine Oliver which Dan Happe manages to header clear and out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw On, Nathan Akehurst throws the ball down the line towards Gerald Sithole, And Gerald Sithole lays the ball off towards Danny Lloyd, And Danny Lloyd whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Omar Beckles and Jayden Sweeney between the two of them manage to get the ball clear and away from danger.

And the last noteworthy moment of the match see’s Dan Happe’s long ball down-field run all the way through to Dion Henry, and after a few minutes of additional time were played, Referee Craig Hicks blew the full time whistle, and the full time score at Brisbane Road in what can only be described as a one sided pre-season friendly fixture was Leyton Orient 2-0 Gillingham.

FULL TIME: LEYTON ORIENT 2-0 GILLINGHAM

I uploaded the following status update on to Social Media after full time,,,,,,,, FULL TIME: LEYTON ORIENT 2-0 GILLINGHAM - Gillingham put in a improved performance in the second half and gave Leyton Orient a much sterner test, But based from what I saw throughout the ninety minutes, Leyton Orient deserved to win, And Kemp was a player who impressed me today. Gillingham almost equalised when Lee's cross by the byline hits James And James had to clear the ball off the goal-line, 25 for Gillingham fails to hit the target with an ambitious effort towards goal, And 25 was probably the best player out of the three trial players who started.

Olly Lee's cross from a free kick towards the far post almost manages to pick out one of Ehmer or Carayol, But the ball has gone out of play for A Leyton Orient Goal Kick, Chapman saves a dangerous low cross from Kemp, Ehmer blocks Sotiriou's attempted pull-back out for a corner. Bennett on the stretch clears another dangerous cross out for A Leyton Orient Corner Kick, Clay's effort towards goal from twenty five yards out fails to hit the target. Lloyd's cross had to be tipped over by Vigouroux, and from the resulting corner kick, Reeves whips in a cross and Maghoma's half struck effort fails to hit the target.Gillingham need to sign a few players with pace in the final third, to give us something different in attack.

I actually thought that Jamie Cumming was in goal for Gillingham and not a goalkeeper on trial, And as for Dion Henry playing in goal for Gillingham against Leyton Orient, If Dion Henry is happy to sign for Gillingham as our third choice goalkeeper, And Gillingham signing Dion Henry doesn’t prevent Gillingham from strengthening in other area’s of the pitch, then I would sign Dion Henry, or, someone else to be our third choice goalkeeper, I just think that Gillingham need someone to provide cover and competition for Jamie Cumming and Aaron Chapman, plus, signing a third choice goalkeeper means that Gillingham do not have to rely on the emergency loan goalkeeper window should Cumming or Chapman pick up an injury - I just think back to the number of goalkeepers Gillingham had to sign on loan when Kelvin Jack was essentially injured for the entire 2006 / 2007 Season as to why Gillingham need to have at least two, ideally, three professional goalkeepers at the football club.

Ryan Jackson, Robbie McKenzie and Alex MacDonald were all not involved with the first team squad, And with Ryan Jackson and Robbie McKenzie unlikely to play against Norwich City On Tuesday Night, Rhys Bennett will most likely start at Right Back For Gillingham against Lincoln City on the opening day of the season, it would be difficult to throw young Harvey Lintott into his full league debut against Lincoln City, and Rhys Bennett’s experience will probably be preferred whilst Bennett will provide cover for Jackson’s absence due to injury.

As for the three players on trial, Ciaran Dickson, Mustapha Carayol and Rob Hall, were the three players who started for Gillingham, I cannot see Gillingham signing Mustapha Carayol, Because Mustapha Carayol just hasn’t got the pace that we want to see from a wide player, and the lack of pace was very evident against Leyton Orient, Rob Hall was probably the best performing player out of the three, And I am not sure about Ciaran Dickson, The Young Midfielder may well be highly rated at Rangers, But Gillingham have got Ben Reeves, Kyle Dempsey, Stuart O’Keefe, Alex MacDonald, Olly Lee, Danny Lloyd, Danial Phillips, and Robbie McKenzie and David Tutonda can cover in midfield if required to do so, And Henry Woods has been sent out on loan to Dover Athletic Until January, I just think that Gillingham can do with two or even three strikers, a pace wide player, And A First Choice Left Back before looking to sign another central midfielder.

I would like to see Gillingham also sign a third choice goalkeeper, but that’s a signing Gillingham need to make after all of our transfer business has been concluded, As for other players on trial, It appears that Connor Ogilvie was a unused substitute for Gillingham against Leyton Orient, And with news just breaking that Connor Ogilvie is close to signing for Portsmouth, then Gillingham’s very very slim chances of signing Connor Ogilvie have all but been extinguished, I always thought it was going to be a long shot for Gillingham to re-sign Connor Ogilvie, But this latest announcement that Connor Ogilvie is signing for Portsmouth is still devastating news, even if that news was expected.

Christian Maghoma is one player who is surplus to requirements at Gillingham Football Club, I just think that Rhys Bennett, Jack Tucker, Max Ehmer and Harvey Lintott are ahead of him in the pecking order, And Steve Evans might sign versatile centre back who can play in midfield to be Gillingham’s Fourth Choice Centre Back, I don’t think Christian Maghoma’s performance for Gillingham against Leyton Orient was going to see Maghoma in Steve Evans plans for this coming season, and Maghoma will leave before the transfer window slams shut to play first team football elsewhere - And I do wish Christian Maghoma all the best where-ever he ends up next.

Gillingham are going to have move quickly to bring in reinforcements before the season starts on The Seventh Of August, And If Gillingham were to sign A First Choice Left Back to replace Connor Ogilvie, A First Choice Right Winger to replace Jordan Graham, Two Strikers with pace, with one of the two strikers capable of playing anywhere in the front four, and a versatile utility player, I think most Gillingham Supporters would be happy with that business, and those five signings would bring Gillingham’s First Team Squad Up To Twenty Six Players, But With Christian Maghoma very likely to leave and Henry Woods out on loan, Gillingham’s first team squad would actually be twenty four players, But Steve Evans has been hinting at a first team squad of twenty or twenty one first team players, So time will tell on Gillingham’s Squad Size for this coming season.

If your looking for prospective and silver linings, then Gillingham have only played four first team pre-season friendlies and the team that lost against Leyton Orient for the most part won’t be the team that starts for Gillingham against Lincoln City on the opening day of the season, no injuries sustained in this fixture as well, But Ryan Jackson, Robbie McKenzie and Alex MacDonald not playing is a concern, and Vadaine Oliver largely being anonymous in the last two matches is also another concern, Leyton Orient fully deserved there win against Gillingham and Dan Kemp was probably the best player on the pitch as well.

I do think there are quite a few things to be concerned about, not all doom or gloom, But you can see area’s of the squad that need to be strengthened before the transfer window slams shut, and if Gillingham were to make those five signings mentioned above before the opening day of the season, there would be more optimism amongst The Gillingham Supporters, And this friendly against Leyton Orient has given us supporters clear idea’s on where the squad needs to be strengthened, and the lack of attacking options was there for all to see, and the lack of pace was particularly concerning, Another concern was just how superior Leyton Orient were and Gillingham were second best, our lack of pre-season friendlies can be taken into consideration, But that first half performance was very poor.

I would like to see Gillingham sign a third choice goalkeeper to provide additional cover and competition for Aaron Chapman and Jamie Cumming, I just think that Gillingham need to have three goalkeepers and to ensure that we do not have to rely on the emergency loan goalkeeper window if Jamie Cumming or Aaron Chapman were to pick up an injury, If Gillingham don’t have the finances available to sign a third choice goalkeeper, then at the very least, promote Tommy Crump from the youth team into the first team as our third keeper.

Not the performance or result we wanted or needed with just under a week to go before the start of the season, but maybe Steve Evans and Paul Raynor have seen what we have seen from this friendly and we’re in the closing stages to making quite a few signings before Gillingham take on Lincoln City before the season starts on The Seventh Of August, I couldn’t make it to Brisbane Road because of short notice on away ticket allocation, I am not going to Norwich City V Gillingham, But I am sure that everyone will be there when Gillingham play against Lincoln City on the opening day of the season - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!

#Gillingham #LeytonOrient #Football

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thebachrehash · 7 years ago

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I don’t mind being assertive, I’m a Wilhelmina model

Ladies and gents, it’s time for the prerequisite “Shout the Bach’s name from the balcony” intro. “Becaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

We immediately jump in with the always charming Chris Harrison handing out the first group date card reading, “Ready for my big day.”

Clay, Nick, Chris, David, Jean Blanc, Jordan, Connor, and Lincoln cheese grin their way to meet Becca at a mansion with her in a (gorg) white dress. She let’s them know that she wants to pamper the men like she was on her first date with Arie... because that went well. The men drop trou and Becca is officially ready to get back in the game. She calls Lincoln a block of muscle. Jordan, while doing the “pensive”, let’s her know that he is a male model, and that the largest tip he could give her any day is to put the confidence on in the morning before her panty hose. Not sure who’s wearing panty hose these days (besides my mom - hi, Kath!), but now we know.

The men roll out in their tuxes, to the poor man’s version of a Survivor obstacle course and are greeted by the poor man’s version of Ashton and Mila - Rachel and “not-Peter”, Bryan. They’re there to help host “Groomsday”, and they warn they will have to get dirtay.

In order to see if the men have what it takes to be marriage material, they will go through a strange obstacle course complete with standing in a cold tub of water and eating cake without their hands. Rachel (dirty, dirty girl) shouts it’s important to see, “what that mouth do.” Connor gets the largest kick out of it, as he sends it to Barstool.

Lincoln is in it to win it to reach his “beautiful princess” Becca. He is cheating. He is cheating blatantly. But, there are no rule keepers, this is the f’ing Bach. Well, there are no rule keepers except for tattle tale Chris who knows that he got in the bucket after him and left before him.

In a really messy battle for the finishline, Lincoln beats out Chicken David. He gets to plant a kiss on Becca and they take their wedding day picture. Seems innocent enough. If only it was.

Chris Harrison let’s them all know that EVERYONE will be able to attend the rest of the group date. Ya hear that Krystal.

So the men all convene at a round couch, and Lincoln steals his “wife” immediately as they “just got married”. He says something like, “she would only get the best from him when she gives her best and that makes them the best and he wants nothing more for her than the best.” Becca goes, “Hmmm, well that’s nice, I have something for you.” Thinking it’s the rose, Lincoln sits up all ready for Santa to come down the chimney. Instead, Becca brings a photo from their wedding day. It’s cute and Lincoln is very excited.

Lincoln returns to the men a smitten kitten and shares something about unicorns and Pegasus and a pot of gold, and prominently displays his prized possession, his photo of the two of them.

Connor is NOT having this. He thinks it’s a slap in the face that he would put this picture out. Bro, needs to chill a bit, but Lincoln is weird and being extra,

Meanwhile, Becca is bonding with the men.

Chris woos her in telling her that he wants to treat her the way he treats his mom and sister. David wants to be pushed intellectually and she couldn’t agree more. Clay is here for her and he wants her to get to know the real him.

Back at the couch, Lincoln is now kissing the picture of him and Becca. Connor throws it. Lincoln picks it up. Connor finally opens the door and frisbees it into the pool.

Lincoln, just a little dramatically, proclaims that his heart is broken. He starts to tear up, he was looking forward to sharing this with his mom. Picturegate has begun.

Back in the private lounge our Jean Blanc must be spraying some special, soothing scents onto Miss Becca. He lets her know that she is the missing part of his life and that she makes him feel so special. He takes all the courage from his ck one spritz, and tells her the only thing more beautiful than her smile is her lips. They smooch.

Before Becca can make it back to the other men, she is stopped by Lincoln. He lets her know that, not only did he lose his beloved picture, but he feels threatened physically. what.is.going.on

Becca pulls Connor aside on what has become a date in a pre-school. She is over it. She wonders if Connor is a roid-rager slash if this is his regular reaction. He agrees that it was way over the top. She said she’ll take some time to think about it, but it’s probably not the best time to get to know one another.

Becca gathers them all together and says it had definitely been an interesting and revealing night. Jean Blanc gets the group date rose. He tells her to pin it on the leather, “he don’t even care.” He’s so excited, it’s v. cute.

It’s time for Blake’s one on one date.

He’s pumped that he gets to roll out in a limo instead of on an ox. Small pleasures.

Becca fills him in that she has no idea what they’ll be doing as Chris Harrison planned this one. They get to the area that is a “little run down” and see Chris with a sledgehammer waiting for them. They’re asked to put on little work jumpers (Becca’s complete with a belt from Charming Charlie), helmets and Tims. Then, they’re both given their own sledgehammers.

They go inside and “TURN DOWN FOR WHAT?!”

This is where everything from Arie’s season went to die. Chris and, um what?!? Lil Jon let them know that they’re gonna get to destroy everything in the room. Immediately Becca climbs that racecar and smashes in the windows. This is FABULOUS.

Carrie Underwood would be proud.

I have zero idea why Lil Jon is there, but am so VERY happy that Blake is a “huge fan of his”. Sure you are Blakey boy.

The two of them proceed to make the whitest rap video ever, and Blake is so happy to see Becca so happy. I am cheese grinning my way through watching it.

Post wrecking crew, they sit down to dinner. They’re ridiculously comfortable with each other for just the first date. Blake shares his heartbreak over his most recent relationship where he thought he was with the one. In positive news, he said it was worth it, because now he knows what he wants, and knows that he is capable of loving like that. Becca empathizes. I am having a hard and fast therapy session with both of them. Through the pain, they have found so much strength that they never knew was in there. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Blake clearly gets the rose, and states to the camera: “I have no idea how Arie let her go.” I love him.

It’s time for the second group date of the week... “Love comes at you hard and fast.”

Well it comes hard and fast, except for poor Jason and Mike who are the only dateless men of the week.

The men for Group date #2 (Alex, Christon, Colton, Garrett, John, Leo, Rickey, Ryan, Trent, and Wills), board a school bus and head to a gym where they are greeted with some fabulous, tyrannical child actors.

Becca, in her 24387948th metallic outfit of the season, informs that the men that they are going to be playing some good old-fashioned dodgeball. But first, these children will warm them up a la suicides (can we call them that anymore?!?) and pelting them with 70 mph dodgeballs; all while calling them TRASHHHHHH and somehow still making fun of Arie. These kids are amaze.

They get set for the game, and the team with Becca all make the wise choice to hide behind her. However, Christon don’t give a F and proceeds to belt Becca a number of times. Spoiler alert: this doesn’t work out well for him in the end.

The men and Becca then move on to skyzone, where they’re to play a large game of trampoline dodgeball in front of a v. confused crowd, Chris Harrison, and Fred Willard. Why tho?

Poor, pretty haired Leo is flying through the air and is in all his stuntman glory. However, the rest of his team, complete with a former pro football player, suck to high heavens. He is continually the only man left standing. After three rounds, the green team wins and gets a trophy.

In probably his only soundbite of the season, Alex snarkly asks if it’s cool to display the trophy to the pink team. Somewhere back at the ranch, Lincoln is crying again.

Becca gets her alone time with the men. Garrett and her dork out together, Leo gets a little romantical, and she compliments Wills style while he almost tears up talking about his parents’ 50th anniversary coming up. They share a kiss, and I think he kind’ve gave her his varsity jacket.

But, it wouldn’t be a group date without a bombshell.

Pretty boy Colton fesses up that he had a former relationship with Weiner, Arkansas Tia. Becca is visibly shook and doesn’t really know what to think. Did he come on the Bach hoping it would actually be Tia? Is he a fame whore? Is he a whore?

So many questions.

In the end, she gives the group date Rose to Wills and his uneven scruff. He’s happy, and Colton is nervous he’s gonna get the boot.

It’s time for the cocktail hour, and Becca is trying to not question what the f is wrong with all of these dudes. She said she’s a lot more emotional than she thought she would be.

Clay pulls her outside to show her how he would celebrate scoring a touchdown. Somehow he makes this boring, but he does score a kiss. Me, and all of America, can name at least 10 other tight ends we would rather see on this show right now. I’m looking at you, Gronk.

Venmo John pulls her aside and they make out. Connor puts his tail between his legs and gives her a picture of him. It breaks the ice and i think they’re cool now.

Chicken David is having what seems like a decently lovely conversation when Jordan decides it’s time to parade around in his undies and a pink furry blankie. Jordan interrupts and Becca is questioning Jordan. Is this a joke?

Post convo, Chicken David confronts Jordan and stutters when telling him he was being disingenuous. Jordan chooses this time to not only correct him, but to inform David that he’s the one being in-genuine-titty.

For the record, Jordan would also like everyone to know that he doesn’t want to be misrepresented as 007 all the time. He likes to live life on the edge, but while doing so he likes to have well kept hair. He’s multi-dimensional. He doesn’t mind being assertive, he is in FACT a Wilhelmina model. And he’d like to think he’d score a little higher than a typical male model on “that” test.

So, he wouldn’t light the cig at the gas station while sipping on his orange mocha frappuccino? You be the judge.

Before handing out the roses, Becca lets Colton know that she needs more clarity before getting to know him further. She has to think a bit. Colton is scared he’s going home. Obvs, he would NEVER, well not until we can get Tia to come on a date and make this some good tv.

At the rose ceremony we say good-bye to Alex (and that SUPER sad tearful good-bye), Christon (that’s what you get for pelting her with a dodgeball), Rickey and Trent.

Power Rankings

1 - Blake (+2) - Solid connection, I heart him

2 - Wills (+2) - There’s something there... he’s chill, and a fab dresser

3 - Garrett (-2) - Dropping for air time and his scandalous likes on the gram

4 - Jean Blanc (+9) - Coming in hot and smelling good too

5 - Chris (+10) - Coming back hot from being the tattle tale in Episode 1

6 - Leo (+6) - Thiiiiis close to getting the group date rose this week

7 - Colton (-5) - Bringing the drama with the Tia card, and yet still having a v-card? There’s no way he’s going anywhere soon.

8 - Jason (+1) - No date, but played it calm and cool

9 - Lincoln (-3) - I mean, they got married, but I want him to go

10 - Jordan (+1) - Literally, NOTHING in common, but I’ll keep him for his confidence and commentary

11 - Clay (-4) - Yawning

12 - John (-2) - Cashed in on a make-out... I’m impressed

13 - David (-5) - He’s geeky, but trying

14 - Mike (+5) - Tim Riggins is due for some time next week

15 - Connor (+1) - picturegate is over?!?!

16 - Nick (+5) - Hanging in the background

17 - Ryan (-) - Get your banjo out and play it man!

#bachelorette #thebachelorette #becca #beccakufrin #chrisharrison #bachelorabc #bacheloretteabc

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muzzmurray · 7 years ago

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year in fic review (2017)

You can find all of the fic mentioned below on my ao3 account, savedby. If you’re looking for my football fic edition, you can find it here.

Year at a glance: Total number of completed stories: 32 Total word count: 77707

Overall Thoughts:

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? I wrote way more than I realized for this fandom, um, wow. There were a couple of months where I was writing like four or five fics and I have no idea how that happened.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Oh, the Vegas Golden Knights! Because when they signed two, I was joking around on twitter about how I could ship them now, and my friend was like ‘well, why don’t you’ and then that evolved into Sabaton and by extension into the Bold in Gold series, which was one of the most rewarding parts of my year for sure.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? these tornadoes are for you, which was Nick/Bob and written for the Cannon Fodder exchange. The combination of magic realism, humor and their general softness was really nice to write, and @frecklebombfic did a beautiful podfic of it.

Did you take any writing risks this year? Purely in terms of style, I wrote descent, in second person, which I know tends to polarize opinions. I love it, for whenever I want to write something that feels more immediate and intimate. I actually tried to rewrite it in third person, because the friend I was writing it for told me she wasn’t a big fan of second person, but it just wouldn’t work. It had to be written exactly as it is.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? I’d like to finish this chaptered Mcdrai magic AU fic that I’m working on and I’d like to continue writing the Vegas Golden Knights as their narrative unfolds, so the Bold in Gold series can become a sort of written history of the team and its fandom. Ambitious, but. We’ll see. I’m already working on the next part.

From my past year of writing, what was…

My best story of this year: armet. I think this was in the works the moment I realized that there was a possibility that Flower might go to Vegas and it ended up becoming exactly what I had hoped it would be.

My most popular story of this year: i still get jealous of your old boyfriends, judging by kudos, which is actually funny to me, because for the longest time I really hated what I wrote for that fic and I ended up posting it after having it written for a period of time.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: foundations, my Marleau/Thornton fic. I mean, it’s a niche pairing and a character study, so it’s probably as good as it’s going to get, but it’s basically peak me and my love for old men and their narratives.

Most fun story to write: world i can call mine , which was my Pod_together project with @frecklebombfic . Having her input on it was so essential (as it was in many of my fics this year) and I had such a fun time discussing Auston, Zach and Mitch, and poly with her. And her podfic ended up being perfect. It was just a great project.

Story with the single sexiest moment: Man, I don’t know, I’m an ace essentially floundering in the world of smut. But I did manage to post, like 4 explicit stories this year, which just goes to show you that you can be anything you set your mind to, kids. As it is, I’m nominating this line from wake me up come tomorrow

Oscar does, adds another finger only when he feels Adam completely relax into the first. He fingers him slow and easy, watching his face as it relaxes from discomfort to pleasure. Adam makes these noises too, cut off moans, helpless and involuntary. Oscar adds a third finger and he whines, high in his throat.

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: circumstance, which I hadn’t realized was still posted on anon until right now. So I’m owning up to it, I suppose. I’m not ashamed of it, because it still makes me laugh a lot on re-read, but please heed the warnings.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: your morning cup, my Tim Horton character study. I didn’t even really know anything about him when I decided I was going to be writing this fic. But as I researched and wrote, the story ended up being one of the most important things I wrote this year.

Hardest story to write: something like hope was an exercise in frustration, until I figured out how to frame it with quotes from Pekka’s Players’ Tribune article.

Biggest disappointment: I don’t really post things I’m actually unhappy with.

Biggest surprise: I was most surprised by how well fandom received Sabaton, because I figured it was something so niche that only a few people would actually click on, but it became one of my most popular stories. I’m really grateful for that.

Highlights + Wrap-up:

Favorite Opening Lines (4):

From tomorrow is going to be pretty pawsome

Ryan is halfway through his breakfast when he hears his front door opening. It’s 9am and he’s not wearing pants, so if he’s going to be robbed, he’s pretty much defenceless, unless he pelts the robber with some granola.

What still gets me is how real this ship became as the season progressed.

From Sabaton

There’re a few things Vadim expects to see when he lands in Las Vegas. His new teammate holding up a big sign with his name on it, decorated with footballs and pucks and glitter, isn’t one of them.

Am I still prissy about how badly they treated Shippy? Yes. Absolutely.

From LXXXVII

Sidney Crosby isn’t high on the list of people that Vadim expects to see in the hotel bar in Pittsburgh before the Knights game against the Penguins, and yet, there he is. Crosby is wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses and a hat, presumably as some sort of disguise. It only makes him stand out more.

He also seems to be getting closer, swapping stools whenever Vadim glances away, until they’re sitting elbow to elbow.

Ridiculous Sid is my favorite plot device and he was in full effect in this fic.

From your morning cup

Strictly speaking, there’s never been a hockey player called Tim Horton.

I just liked the way this commands attention when you read it. I think it when you have something so niche, you need the first paragraph to grab your attention, and I think I did well here.

Favorite Closing Lines (5):

From dust in your veins

Then, Geno pulls him into another kiss, desperate, his chest shaking under Sid’s hands and Sid thinks that maybe he won't have to separate them after all.

That he can have this – his heart beating rapid fire in his chest, and Geno’s steadying palms on the muscles of his back, and the ghost of ice above them both.

I love the removable heart AU (not to be confused with the escaping heart AU) because it just works so incredibly well for those sports narratives.

From knight

“You know, it’s actually a pun, because I used to play for the London Knights and-”

“Oh my god, please stop.”

From we were a house on fire

“I want.”

“It’s been years.”

“Want still.”

“...yeah, okay.”

“Like that?”

“Yeah. Just like that.”

I love how deceptively simple this is, with no dialogue tags, but it feels like it packs a lot of punch, cutting through the complexity of their situation.

From descent

The streets of Edmonton turn slick, coated with fallen snow. Daylight is scarce, and cold besides, and you wear a jersey that doesn’t mean much to you and you watch out for the boy that means everything.

At night your curl around Connor in your bed. He always runs hot, burning in your bones and warming you from the inside out.

He presses his mouth to the nape of your neck, and you blink, mind muddled with sleep, and you realize you don’t know which one of you is the one doing the protecting.

Ask me sometime about my thoughts about enforcers and their relationships with star players, and why end up romanticizing them so much.

From armet

“Fleuuuurrrryyyy,” the fans scream, without a hint of mocking, echoing off the concrete of the building, “Fleuuuurrrryyyyyyyy!” and it’s all he can do to smile through his tears, waving at these people who have crucified and martyred him over the years, but have loved him through it all.

His crease hasn’t changed. He pats the pipes, feels them steady beneath his palm, familiar. His teammates are all on the ice now, circling his goal, and he catches sight of Nealer coming forward with the puck. His face is grim and determined, and Flower remembers he’s got something to prove too.

He gives Nealer a sharp nod and crouches. Smiles.

He’s ready.

Flower’s game against the Pens in Vegas was emotionally devastating and I can only imagine how it’ll be when they play in Pittsburgh.

Favorite Lines From Anywhere (6):

From be your spine

The Bruins seem just fine without him, which is just a metaphor for his life, really. He notices the absence of Boston, but Boston is too big to notice he’s gone.

He limits his texts to Tuukka, and eventually they taper off, growing sparser and more impersonal as months go by. It’s understandable. Anton feels the absence of Tuukka like a phantom limb, but Tuukka is too brilliant, too beautiful, to be affected by Anton’s absence.

My first fic of the year was a homage to the journeyman player, the one who isn’t a star anywhere, the one that’s expendable. And this was one of the lines that summarized it pretty well.

From teddy bear

“I just want to be a cool dad, like Bozie! You’re the lame dad, Zach is the big brother figure and Leo is the grumpy grandpa. We all have roles to play!”

Matt bites back his first comment, and the second one. They’re both swearwords.

This whole sequence between Mo and Matt still makes me laugh really really hard.

From foundations

The Sharks are Joe’s team by virtue of wanting him more than anyone else did, but they aren’t his team like they’re Patty’s, who’s left pieces of himself in every crack in the Shark Tank concrete and who wears the jersey with more pride than anyone Joe’s ever known.

This fic hurts more now that Patty got traded.

From heart like a home

Roman is still sprawled across PK’s bed, entirely naked, reading one of PK’s magazines. His tanned skin glows in the soft yellow light of the bedside lamps. The sight never fails to make PK’s mouth go dry. As if sensing his gaze, Roman looks up, arching an elegant eyebrow, a stray curl falling across his forehead.

I want to eventually try to capture the various details of Roman/PK in a longer fic but for now this image of naked Roman will have to do.

From these tornadoes are for you

Bob is standing at the stove, muttering something to himself. He still looks like he did last night, little bolts of lightning racing across his skin, and when he turns around his eyes are still glowing pale in his face. It’s a little disconcerting, but Nick goes with it.

“What are you doing?” Nick asks, walking next to him to look at the pan and wincing. He’s careful not to touch Bob, doesn’t know what it’ll do to him. “Was this supposed to be scrambled eggs?”

I really enjoyed writing the whole scene of Bob releasing his magic in the woods, but what made me happiest to write was the morning after and how all that magic becomes somewhat of a hindrance.

From i still get jealous of your old boyfriends

“Are you telling me that Connor McDavid’s favorite show is My Super Sweet 16?” he asks incredulously. Mitch grins at him.

“Oh, no,” he says and Auston lets out a sigh of relief, “it used to be his favorite show. I think his favorite right now is Extreme Couponing.”

Connor and Extreme Couponing is the greatest love story I’ve written this year.

Fic Goals for 2017: I want to finish off the four WIPs that I didn’t manage to this year. Beyond that, I don’t have any particular expectations. I hope I can continue to enjoy writing in this fandom and that people will continue to enjoy my work.

year in fic review (2016)

#personal #writing

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dropbee7-blog · 5 years ago

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Cold Takes: A Look At Chicago’s Sloppy Win At San Francisco

We’ve all seen the “Hot Takes” from the last weekend’s games all over the net.

In this series, I’m letting some time pass, and after reviewing the game tape a couple of times, I’m going to share some “Cold Takes” about the Bears pulling out a tough win over the San Francisco 49ers and staying alive for a bye in the playoffs. I’ll also sprinkle in a few thoughts about our division rivals. These are just a series of my thoughts and observations about the game as well as the Bears in general up until this point, presented in no particular order.

My game ball goes to Danny Trevathan. Not only did he have a huge, game saving pick, he also played on whale of a game from the first snap to the last. Honorable mentions go to Roquan Smith, Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack, Eddie Goldman, Sherrick McManis, Deon Bush, Prince Amukamara, Kyle Fuller and last but certainly not least Leonard Floyd.

Leonard Floyd is the monster that we wanted out of him when we drafted him. These last six weeks, after he was fully healthy from the knee (from last season) and the hand, the man has been money. Literally. He’s about to get PAID.

Speaking of Floyd, if he starts this weekend I do believe we’ve got a couple of signature bets that get won... It will be interesting to see if the people who bet their sigs that Floyd wouldn’t start the entire season will “remember” that they did so.

No, before you ask, I am not the sig-bet police.

As usual, I’ve not got much to say about Mitchell Trubisky, mostly because everybody else talks about him a lot. Mitch had great numbers, but unlike what was reported on the radio, he had NOT seen the defensive holding flag when he launched that horrible throw into the end zone that was picked off. He just plain missed, and we got lucky.

THOSE types of passes are what we can’t have in the playoffs from Mitchell. He doesn’t have to win games by himself (he can HELP though), but he cannot allow himself to lose games. That was a Rex Grossman type throw, and we just need to not have any more of those.

Jordan Howard needs 176 yards to break 1,000 for the season (last time I checked). I’d like to see the Bears give Howard 40 carries and see if he can break that mark... because if they do that, and if he did, we win this ballgame this week. Minnesota is actually really struggling with the run (if you take out the LOLions & Packers games, because they can’t run on an NAIA team let alone an NFL team).

Richard Sherman’s explanations about the proper way to hit other players in the helmet when in a fight were interesting. Never punch, always swat with an open hand... they feel it more and you don’t hurt yourself. Sherman has a lot of experience doing this. I wonder why a lot of players think he’s a dirtbag?

We only dressed 4 WR’s, and when Anthony Miller and Josh Bellamy were ejected for fighting that left us with two wideouts for the rest of the game. For a lot of teams this would be a problem, but for Chicago? We just slotted Tarik Cohen and one of our pass catching tight ends out there and pressed on.

Think about this one, how things have changed. We only dressed four WR’s and one of them was Bellamy... and everybody was happy about it.

I asked the boys at The Chicago Audible Podcast (CLICKY) (formerly Da Bears Brothers Podcast) in their December 19 Q&A show (CLICKY) if they thought Joshua Bellamy had earned a multi year deal, and the fellas agreed that he had. Truth compels me to admit a bit of trolling here, I’m a long time listener and fan of the show, and over the history of the show the boys have not been noted as the biggest Bellamy fans... in fact, they pretty well universally had him cut during the pre-season roster episode.

So what do you good people think, does Joshua Bellamy deserve a multi-year contract along the lines of a Sherrick McManis deal? I think he absolutely does.

The more I watch Matt Nagy on tape... later after the game’s emotions settle down... the more impressed I am by how quickly he reads the defenses and throws changes at them.

This will probably make you roll your eyes, but I am dead serious. Matt Nagy slots in age between Drew Brees and Tom Brady. With what he has between his ears, if he can throw the ball AT ALL, he could be a winning quarterback in the NFL today. Make the read, get the ball out, boom. Of course, the first hit might put him in intensive care, but... hey, dreaming doesn’t hurt :)

BOOM!

Speaking of BOOM!...

Chicago Bears fans need to make BOOM! work, and we need to start in the playoffs. Seriously, this HAS to be a thing. Can you imagine the power and shock of 60,000 rabid Bears fans... and their players on the sidelines... doing the Matt Nagy BOOM!

I’ve been reading a lot of articles about Matt Patricia. We got the right Matt.

Green Bay has played a lot better since they fired their coach after losing at home to the hapless Arizona Cardinals.

I’m still laughing so hard it hurts... Green Bay lost at home to the Arizona Freaking Cardinals. The likely first team in the draft. With a healthy Aaron Rodgers. Excuse me, I’m about to die laughing.

Gasp. OK, got my breath back now. Whew.

Don’t look now, but Jon Gruden is still and idiot.

OK, there’s really only one huge thing to talk about with the 49ers and Bears, and of course it’s Robbie Gould. Robbie, a Bear forever no matter where and how long he plays, sure is missed, but even he admits he was needing a change his last year in Chicago. Personally, I think that change could have come by getting him a new position coach and coordinator to fix his mechanical issues and help him focus, but Ryan Pace decided to save some coin and cut him.

That’s worked out great for Robbie, but terrible for the Bears. Robbie has been even more automatic since he left than he was in his prime here. Of course, in San Fran land he’s kicking in much better conditions than Chicago, but still, the dude is on fire.

Bold prediction time. Robbie is a free agent, and appears to be happy in San Francisco... but he lives in Chicago, loves Chicago and the Bears need to upgrade in the kicking department. My bold (and very unlikely to come true) prediction is that Chicago eats the rest of Parkey’s contract and signs Robbie this off-season as a free agent on a 3-year deal. Robbie would rather live here with his family than out of an apartment out there...

Yeah, I know, that last one is more a pipe dream than reality, but a fan can hope.

As usual, I asked my fellow WCG contributors if they had any cold takes to share... you just know they did...

Eric C. Duerrwaechter

I sure do miss Robbie Gould. And the rest of the Bears’ fanbase certainly does as well. It bites not having a kicker who’s as automatic as Gould was during his prime, even through today. With that said, the objective should be touchdowns, not field goals. Yes, Ryan Pace and his staff should look into adding competition next year at the Kicker position. Then again, this offense is light years away from the old mindset of controlling the clock and settling for field goals if need be. Matt Nagy and this team want touchdowns, nothing less. And, well, I do not feel Parkey is nearly as bad as Connor Barth was for his time in Chicago.

It’s also comforting to see Mitchell Trubisky continuing to improve after his stinker against the Rams two weeks ago. As he displayed against the Packers just a week prior, Trubisky utilized his athleticism as a tool to buy time for his receivers to get open against zone coverage. He took a few sacks at San Fran against a decent front seven, yet he didn’t seem overly rattled when pressure was applied. Instead, he looked downfield, made quick decisions, and threw bullets with anticipation and accuracy. That is something I have waited to see consistently for a while now. Oh, and he is in the midst of a 7-game winning streak as the Bears’ starting QB. The last time any QB won 7 in a row? 2006, with Rex Grossman; a QB comparison that Trubisky has certainly outperformed.

And now, time to get a little hot...

Screw all the talk from ESPN and other pundits about needing an MVP caliber QB to reach the Super Bowl. Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl in 2000 with the Baltimore Ravens despite not even touching 2,000 yards in 11 starts while passing 12 TDs to 11 Ints. Joe Flacco won a Super Bowl in 2012 with a great defense while posting mediocre stats as a QB. Peyton Manning rode a great defense to the Super Bowl in 2015 despite having his worst year as a pro. He, Manning, threw 17 interceptions compared to just 9 touchdowns. And, just last year, a back-up in Nick Foles became the 2nd ever backup QB to win a Super Bowl. I would say Trubisky is better than any of those QBs were in the aforementioned seasons, and he’s good enough to win a Super Bowl with this season thanks to a scary Bears defense paired with a smart coaching staff.

Rant. Over.

Josh Sunderbruch

I don’t blame Ryan Pace for moving on from Robbie Gould at kicker. It needed to happen, and it was a decision based on performance (not pay). However, I absolutely do blame Ryan Pace for the parade of ineptitude that has made its way through the position since Gould was cut. Better kickers were available, yet Pace has provided the Bears with a motley collection that has gone 56/74 (<76%) since 2015.

Superfans

OK, Chicago Bears fans, there you have it. What do you think? Spill the beans!

Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2018/12/27/18157612/cold-takes-a-look-at-chicago-bears-sloppy-win-at-san-francisco-49ers-danny-trevathan-mitch-trubisky

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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robynqueenofstuff · 8 years ago

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Something I’ve Always Wanted To Say To Those Who Complain About A Lack Of Good Female Characters.

Yes we are just SHORT on good female characters, aren't we?

‘Takes a ginormous breath’

I mean besides Ellen Ripley, The Bride, Katniss Everdeen, Imperator Furiosa, Rey, [insert surname here] Princess Leia, [One of the greatest fucking characters ever] Sarah Connor to just name the most well-known few. We only have Hermione Granger [obviously], Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, Minerva Mcgonagoll, Molly Weasley, Lily Potter, Bellatrix Lestrange, Jyn Erso, Padme Amidala, Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Mara Jade, Jaina Solo, Tahiri Veila, Jan Ors, Nomi Sunrider, Lumiya, Juno Eclipse, Bastila Shan, Satele Shan, Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee, Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, Adi Gallia, Shaak Ti, Jaden Korr [Optionally female], Asajj Ventress, Aurra Sing, Zam Wesell, Steela Gerrara, The Seventh Sister, Satine Kryze, Shmi Skywalker, Darth Zannah, Mother Talzin, [The fucking Hapes Consortium places women higher over men] Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tiana, Jane, Rapunzel, Ariel, Cinderella, Megara, Lilo, Nani, Nala, Vanellope, Lady, Merida, Jessie, Dory, Helen/Elastigirl, EVA, Edna Mode, Joy, Sadness, Anna, Elsa, [Yes i think she's a good character but for different reasons than others do] Kida, Wendy, Alice, Judy Hopps, Kanga, Kala, Captain Amelia, Moana, Esmeralda, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Rita, Miss Bianca, Mary Poppins, Eglantine Price, Sally, Audrey Ramirez, Mittens, Maleficent, Ursula, Cruella De Vil, Queen Grimhilde, Yzma, Lady Tremaine, Queen Of Hearts, Madame Medusa, Mother Gothel, Honey Lemon, Go-Go, Chel, Marina, Eris, Tigress, Ginormica, Roxanne, Astrid, Valka, Ginger, Fiona, Fairy Godmother, Tzipporah and Miriam. Chihiro, San, Moro, Lady Eboshi Sophie, Kiki, Shizuku, Arrietty, Ponyo, Nausicaa, Princess Kushana, Kaguya, Sheeta, Marnie, Annie, Coraline, Anastasia, Mrs Brisby, Elle Woods, Dorothy, Matilda, Alicia Huberman, Violet, Corky, Alice Creed, Clarice Starling, Mrs Danvers, Janine Melnitz. Kylie Griffin, Junior Ghostbuster Catherine, [yeah there were already female Ghostbusters before that crappy movie] Lisbeth Salander, Mathilda Lando, Marge Gunderson, Judge Cassandra Anderson, Ma-Ma, [Madeline Madrigal] Regina George, Cady Heron, Clementine Kruczynski, M, [the one played by Judi Dench] Moneypenny,, Elle Driver, O-Ren Ishii, Julie Kohler, Yuki Kashima, Amelie Poulain, Lucy, Rose Dewitt Bukater, Joy ‘Ma’ Newsome, Grace Howard, Philomena Lee, Ofelia, Kara, [From Dragonheart] Sarah Williams, Maria von Trapp, Marion Ravenwood, Dr. Elsa Schneider, Evelyn Carnahan, Officer Anne Lewis, Dr Ellie Sattler, Paikea Apirana, Motoko Kusanagi, Carrie White, Arwyn, Eowyn, Galadriel, Yu Shu Lien, Jen Yu, Jackie Brown, Nefretiri, All the girls from St Trinians, Bliss Cavendar, The girls on the Roller Derby Team, [Maggie Mayhem, Bloody Holly, Rosa Sparks, Smashley Simpson] Sally Albright, Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, Claire Standish. Allison Reynolds, Kim Possible, She-Ra, [Plus the female characters in She-Ra and He-Man] Jem, Synergy, The Holograms, The Misfits, Penny Gadget, Jessica Jones, Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg, Anya Jenkins, Faith, Cordelia Chase, Drusilla, Emma Swan, Carol Peletier, River Tam, Xena, Lady Penelope, Roseanne, Dana Scully, Morticia Addams, Wednesday Addams, Lily Munster, Vastra and Jenny, Jessica Fletcher, Olivia Benson, Lilly Rush, Korra, Asami Sato, Lin Beifong, Opal Beifong, Suyin Beifong, Kya, Daria Morgendoffer, Jane Lane, Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright, Jo Grant, Donna Noble, River Song, Ace, Nyssa, Romana, Sarah Jane, Clara Oswald, [the majority of the Doctor Who companions are female] Madame Vastra, Jenny, Zoe Washburne, Kaywinnet Lee ‘Kaylee’ Frye, Lagertha Lothbrok, Claire Underwood, Uhura, Nurse Chappell, Nurse Abby, Captain Katherine Janeway, B’elanna Torres, Seven Of Nine, Kira Nerys, Jadzia Dax, Deanna Troi, Penelope Garcia, Kima Greggs, Evelyn Salt, Starbuck, Lois Lane, Katara, Toph, Mai, Azula, Suki, Ty-Lee, June, Serras Victoria, Sir Integra Hellsing, Dr. Girlfriend, Elektra Nachios, Alex Drake, Cameron, [Even if she's a cyborg she counts] Veronica Mars, ALL THREE CHARLIE'S ANGELS, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS, The female rangers in Power Rangers, Sabrina Spellman, The majority of characters from My Little Pony, Mabel Pines, Wendy Corduroy, The Crystal Gems, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline The Vampire Queen, Flame Princess, Princess Allura, Katie ‘Pidge’ Holt, Violet Baudelaire, Lucy Pevensie, Alice, [again] Nancy Drew, Annabeth Chase, Clarisse La Rue, Sally Jackson, Thalia Grace, Piper Mclean, Hazel Levesque, [I AM GOING TO GET SO MUCH SHIT FROM PERCY JACKSON FANS BECAUSE THESE ARE THE ONLY ONES I CAN THINK OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD] Daenerys, Arya, Margaery, Catelyn, Brienne, Olenna, Sansa, Susan Sto Helit, Liessa Dragonlady, Tiffany Aching, Hannah Wolfe, The female characters in Malazan Book Of The Fallen, Harriet The Spy, Althea Vestrit, Aerin, Sorcha, Daine, Sabriel, Maka Albarn, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, Liz and Patty Thompson, Meryl Strife, Milly Thompson, Winry Rockbell, Izumi Curtis, Riza Hawkeye, Mikasa Ackerman, Pepper Potts, Gwen Stacy, Black Cat, Wonder Woman [That’s a fucking no brainer], Batgirl, Batwoman, Supergirl, Raven, Starfire, Huntress, Black Canary, Zatanna, Catwoman, Hawkgirl, Mera, Katana, Talia Al Ghul, Enchantress, Poison Ivy, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Natasha Irons, Storm, Rogue, Ms Marvel, Emma Frost, The Wasp, Invisible Woman, She-Hulk, Gamora, Kitty Pryde, Psylocke, Valkyrie. Mystique, the female Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, Not to mention the girls from Fables, Rayne, Clementine, Amanda Ripley, Coco Bandicoot, Bayonetta, Ms Pacman, Valna, Yuko, Amu, Lena, Alex, Etna, Flonne, Jennifer, Raspberyl, Vulcanas, Usalia, Maya Amano, Ulala Serizawa, Yukari Takeba, Fuuku Yamagashi, Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, Rise Kujikawa, Naoto Shirogane, Ann Takamaki, Haru Okumura, Kyoko Kirigiri, Sakura Ogami, Aoi Asahina, Chiaki Nanami, Sonia Nevermind, Akane Owari, Fiora, Melia, Sharla, BB Hood, Morrigan, Felicia, Q-Bee, Lara Croft, Samus Arran, Aya Brea, Elizabeth Comstock, Ellie, Faith, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong, Garnet Til Alexandros XVII, Tifa Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough, Yuffie Kisaragi, Rydia, Rosa Joanna Farrell, Celes Chere, Terra Branford, Relm Arrowny, Rinoa Heartilly, Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, Ultimecia, Ashe, Fran, Freya Crecent, Eiko Carol, Yuna, Rikku, Lulu, Aqua, Zelda, Midna, Alice from Mcgee, Odessa Silverburg plus all the females in Fire Emblem, Vocaloid, Touhou and Sid Meir’s Civilization. Not to mention the option to play as female characters in most of the LEGO games plus the option to play as a female in Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins, Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft, Fallout, Saints Row, Fable, Terraria, Borderlands, Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights, Rock Band 2, Tardew Valley, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Fate, Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Town, Guilty Gear, Overwatch, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Dynasty and Samurai Warriors plus the enormous roster in League Of Legends, Every last female in Skullgirls, All the female Pokemon trainers, All the females from Magic The Gathering, Hit-Girl, Powergirl, Tigra, Lady Sif, Spider-Woman, Vixen, Witchblade, Lady Death, Stephanie Brown, Jem, Aeon Flux, Gwen, Morgana, Morgause, Nimueh, Maid Marian, Djaq, Lady Isabella Of Gisborne, Irene Adler, Carolyn Berek, Serena Stevens, Megan Wheeler, Kate Beckett, Nikki Heat, The girls from Women’s Murder Club, Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley, Temperance Daesee Bradley, Brenda Leigh Johnson, Joanne Kilbourn, Josephina ‘Jo’ Lupo, Catherine Willows, Alex Rovias, Alicia Claus, Jennifer Tate, Sarah Kerrigan, Joanna Dark, Catherine 'Ann’ Archer, April Ryan, Claire Redfield, Alis Landale, Alyx Vance, Heather Mason, Elena Fisher, Amaterasu, Shantae, Rosalina, Chrodechild, Chris Lightfellow, Ellen from Folklore, Jade from Beyond Good And Evil, Maya from Septerra Core, Miriam from The Guardian Legend, The female characters from Dead Or Alive, And even if you choose to play as a male character in games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age there are still a number of female characters to choose from such as Liara T,Soni, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Ashley Williams, Miranda Lawson, Kahlee Sanders, Samara, Morinth, Dr Kelly Chambers, Samantha Traynor, Morrigan, Leliana, Wynne, Shale, Flenneth, Cassandra, Even older games have ones like Jill Of The Jungle, Debra Dare, Lady Bug, Kangaroo, The heroine from Secret Of Mana, The female ninja from Ninja Warriors, Princess Rosella from King’s Quest IV. Even Princess Peach and Daisy can count as they kick total amounts of ass in the racing and fighting games Nintendo puts out. Aunt Entity, Sergeant Rita Vrataski, Polgara The Sorceress, Cutie Honey, Vicki Barr, The girls from The Babysitters Club, The ladies from The Sleepover Club, Princess Cimorene, Egwene al Vere, Elizabeth Swann, Tia Dalma, Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil, Kyra/Jack, Carolyn Fry, Mimi Kirogoe, Hana, [The mother from Wolf Children who is now one of my favorite characters ever] The girl from The Fox And The Child, Annalise Keating, Lady Macbeth, Cherry Darling, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, Cybersix, Elphaba, Samantha Barker, Karen Silkwood, [who was a real person] Meg Altman, Thelma Dickinson, Louise Sawyer, Shoshanna Dreyfus, Trinity, The girls from Charmed, Emma Swan, Regina Mills, Mina Harker from The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Pauline Hargraves, Max Caufield, Jodie Holmes, Samantha Greenbriar, Thea Queen, Squirrel Girl, Beatrix De Costa [Fire], Tora Olafsdotter [Ice], Wondergirl, Dazzler, Black Alice, Dove, Gypsy, Jade Canary, Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Darna, The Boss, Meryl Silverburgh, Mei-Ling, Naomi Hunter, Sunny Gurlukovich, Olga Gurlukovich, Fortune, Quiet, GLADOS, SHODAN, Velma, Daphne, Miss Ernst/Grand High Witch, Sailor Moon and the Sailor Soldiers, [Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Pluto,] Bulma, the majority of the characters in Orange Is The New Black, Leslie Knope, Ann Perkins, April Ludgate, Asuka Langley Soryu, Haruko Haruhara, Nana Komatsu, Nana Osaki, Lucrezia Noin, Lady Une, Dorothy Catalonia, Sally Po, Reyna, Zoe Nightshade, Meg McCaffery, Calypso, The females from The 100, Alicia Melchiott, Isara Gunther, Cosette Coalhearth, Miku Hinasaki, Leah, [from Diablo] Melody Farklight, The Totally Spies!, Mia Dolan, Kathy Selden, Vianne Rocher, Princess Ann, [Ann ‘Smitty’ Smith] Margaret Hale, Lauren Olamina, Sara Crewe, Mary Lennox, Jennifer Simpson, Christine Collins, [Who was also a real person] Turanga Leela, Tauriel, The ladies from Steel Magnolias, All the female Transformers, Farah, Annie Sawyer, Nina Pickering, Gabrielle, Saturn Girl, Sage, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, She-Thing, Scorpion, Songbird, Silk Spectre II, Spider Girl, Silver Sable, The ladies of the Wildstorm universe, Fault Zone, Solara, The Wink, Paragon, Lady Deathstrike, Madame Masque, Cheetah, Emerald Empress, All 20 superheroines before Wonder Woman, Alanna of Trebond, The ladies of The Lunar Chronicles, Catti-Brie, Alyx, [From the Adventures Of Alyx books] The ladies from Marvel's Runaways series, Veronica Layton, Marguerite Krux, Mako Mori, Blaze The Cat, Toby 'Kissy' Masuyo, April Ryan, Mona Sax, Fox, Ninja Princess, Papri, Lady Master Of Kung Fu, Reika Kirishima, The ladies from the Tales series, Noel Vermilian, Shield Knight, Petra from Emerald City Confidential, The ladies from Elsword, Anna Leonowens.[another lady from real-life but perhaps best known from The King And 1] Eliza Doolittle, Ree Dolly, Hushpuppy, Unicorn/Lady Amalthea, Aeryn Sun, Chiana, Mallory Kane, Pauline Hargraves, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Samantha Carter, The Tiger Woman, Barbara Meredith/The Black Whip, Hana Tsu-Vachel, Tessa Alvarado, Jo March, Liesel Meminger, Betty Barrett, Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug, Shelby Woo, Jaime Sommers, Molly Moon, Torchy Blane, Eliza Maza, Angela, Demona, Fox Xanatos, The girls from W.I.T.C.H, Mona The Vampire, The Worst Witch, Ms Frizzle, Carmen Sandiego, Leslie and Joni from Cluefinders, Ren Stevens, Jules Paxton and Jess Bhamra, [from Bend It Like Beckham] Hazel Grace Lancaster, Mara Of The Acoma, Aerin Dragon-Killer/Firehair, Angharad 'Harry' Crewe, The three sisters from Ballet Shoes, Anne Shirley, Lyra Belacqua, Kerowyn, Dashti, Sadie Kane, Zia Rashid, Samirah-Al-Abbas, Lydia Deetz, Juniper Lee, Gretchen, Spinelli, Alex Mack. Or female characters for really young kids such as Lizzie Mcguire, Andi Mack, Dora, Peppa Pig, Lola, Charlie, Looby Loo, Ramona Quimby, Pippi Longstocking, Star Butterfly, Meg Murray, Madeline, Angelina Ballerina, The lovely ladies of Balamory, Jemima Puddle-Duck, and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. Or females from Greek mythology like Gaia, Hestia, Demeter, Nemesis, Medusa, Nyx, Ananke, Rhea, Athena, Demeter, Persephone, Artemis or their Roman counterparts. Or the ladies from Norse, Finnish or Egyptian Mythology. Or historical female figures to look up to such as Elizabeth the 1st, Joan Of Arc, Queen Cordelia, Queen Gwendolen, Ethelfreda, Boudicca, Florence Nightingale, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Catherine The Great and Audrey Hepburn. You play as a female Avatar in Cooking Mama and all of the Imagine series, The Jurassic Park dinosaurs were all female, Minecraft allows female appearance through customized character skins EVEN BARBIE! THERE! I SAID IT!

But besides that entire fucking catalog, I find myself and the rest of the female population well under-represented.....Except of course for the huge fucking roster of female characters available.

#female characters #tv #film #video games #i haven't named a chunk of the female characters available in Star Wars Lore #the frigging female portraits in Harry Potter have stories behind them #Please tell me who i've missed out #feminism #when feminists whine #female representation #mic drop

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unfair-sports · 6 years ago

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The OSG Fantasy Report

Special shoutout to our OSG for these fantasy tips:

Pittsburgh -5.5 at Cleveland (46.5) I’m always a fan of stacking Big Ben and Antonio Brown. But do not confuse Cleveland’s record last season with having a bad defense. The Steelers have not gone into Cleveland and hung big numbers on their division rival. So the price you have to pay for the combo doesn’t come at a low price. However they are so good that they can break any matchup any week. ✅. So Antonio Brown is an excellent play and I can’t talk you off of him✅. They have years of a working relationship and will have very little kinks to work out. If Antonio is priced too high, pivot to JuJu Smith-Schuster. ✅James Connor✅ in the backfield can be some value with Bell missing week 1. Again, Cleveland was one of the best run defenses last season although they struggled with pass catching backs. So if he is a plug and play in Bell’s role with the price and machine that Pittsburgh is, he could present some value. There are other value backs gaining traction so he could go over looked as I usually do not enjoy playing offenses in division games. They know each other well. Cleveland is a mystery to me for week 1. Yes Josh Gordon can go wild. Yes Jarvis Landry can get 8-10 targets. I just think they are a little risky which sets up for great tournament plays of course. ✅With a new QB in place I always approach these week 1s with caution. Though I love David Njoku ✅at tight end. Mainly because of their new QB whom loved to throw to Charles Clay in Buffalo. Tyrod Taylor ✅checks in as an excellent play in all formats. His ability to throw with better weapons than he’s ever had mixed with his run ablilty has had him consistently hitting value for his price. Although I hate division games this isn’t the Steel Curtain he’s facing. Add him to your player pool. Cincinnati at Indy -3 (46.5) If there is one team I’ve stacked too much it’s the Cincinnati Bengals. How long can Andy Dalton play with a guy like AJ Green and be mediocre? I guess I should say I play Green too much. It’s not him that has failed me. It’s Dalton’s inability to get him the ball downfield. With that said any combo of AJ Green with Dalton or second year WR John Ross should be ok against one of the worst secondaries from a year ago inside of a dome. However I prefer AJ Green without the Dalton stack ✅. If Joe Mixon✅ is going to be a bell cow he too can be depended on to be in a position to run for 80-100 yards and see the end zone. If you a PPR site player Gio Bernard can add some value and a potential pass catching TD for a running back. If Andrew Luck is healthy and gets blocked for, TY Hilton ✅could enjoy success Sunday. 8-10 targets. A potential 100 yard game, and maybe 2TDs inside of his home dome where he is so much more effective. While I believe Marlon Mack is the guy, you could see a committee out of the backfield. This is a stay away from me. —both tight ends here can be of value. Tyler Eifert while he is still healthy. And Jack Doyle. ✅He played almost all of Lucks snaps in the preseason. And can be forgotten about. SF at Minn-6 (46) Finally some Jimmy G in my life again. However he comes out of the gate as a road dog against one of the better pass defenses from last season. Again, however this game is in a dome and once Jimmy G took over last season, the 49ers were at the top each week in plays per game. They moved at face pace and the game could shoot out. Jimmy G to Goodwin ✅can be a boom or bust stack but I’m thinking boom this week. Throw in Garçon ✅whom looked good last year with below average quarterbacks. Pairing him with George Kittle ✅for red zone TDS could pay off as well. I’m not a fan of Carlos Hyde and Matt Breida. But this is a well coached team with an excellent old school player and analyst turn GM. They will run the ball inside the 5. If you guess right between the two then kudos. But I am fading that situation. Minnesota will probably gain more ownership being 6 point favorites at home. And rightfully so. The faster SF plays the more chances Minnesota gets. My only hesitation is Kirk Cousins still needing to work on timing with Diggs and Thielen. Cousins enjoys pushing the ball up field. And this is usually only a week 1-2 issue for me. New QBs in a new system with new weapons. It just takes time. If you’re not worried about that then a full stack across multiple lineups are recommended.✅ Cousins-Diggs. Cousins-Diggs. Kyle Rudolph on his own to fill in TE. Even Dalvin Cook who was off to a great start before tearing his ACL last season. But Latavius Murray may split carries with him. Maybe even goal line work to ease Cook back. Splits are hard to roster. You’re guessing 50/50 Houston at New England -7 (51) Finally a 50 over/under. Deshaun Watson was lights out and I expect that to continue week 1. Can he be that efficient? Probably not. But I’m going to take a chance. ✅Deandre Hopkins can have a college QB and he still gets 10-12 targets or more and I will have Watson-Hopkins stacks ✅. Will fuller is a boom or bust play. But the biggest surprise is how much Lamar Miller was so much more effective with Watson in. He should see goal line work IF and that’s a big if Houston moves the ball upfield. New England’s pass defense grades out much better than their run D. New England is the for the first time in a long time bringing off season drama into week 1. That could fire up Tom Brady in a fast pace 50 over game. He’s priced high but “guaranteed” to have success. I just always see this with New England. They come out slow in September. ✅Everybody downs them and then they pick it up as the season progresses and eases into the top of a weak AFC East. Buffalo. The jets. Miami. Easy street. I would normally love Rex Burkhead as New England runs the ball inside the 5 and is an excellent value play. ✅ Chris Hogan is WR1 and is dirt cheap. He could see 10-12 targets.✅ Gronk is priced high and is like a WR. He went 8/89, 1TD here last season so by all means play Gronk✅. I’m not into the fringe play of Sony Michel this week as he is banged up. But it is Billichek. Anybody can catch or run a TD. Anytime. Tennessee -1 at Miami (45.5) Maybe I’m wrong but I’m fading Tennessee as I frequently did last season. I will say this however. They have a new coach. New pass catching back with Dion Lewis and with no Demarco Murray, Derrick Henry steps in as a RB1. But I’m not sure how they split these two backs. Until Mariotta shows me something in week 1 I’m off of this offense until I can figure them out. We should note that Mariotta is efficient once in the red zone and can get it done on the ground and get in the end zone. That’s why I would rather have him alone as oppose to a stack. But give my Tyrod Taylor over him all day. Miami is almost as unappealing. There’s always a butt. There was some weeks that But-Cutler was relevant to fantasy. And if you can work with cutler you can work with Ryan Tannehill. Landry is gone and Parker may miss week 1 which would firmly place a cheap Danny Amendola✅ high on the list in cash games and tournaments. He’s determined to make a statement after leaving New England. And could be placed in a large role and Tennessee’s pass defense is not the best although not the worst. For the price and volume you can take a chance if you believe Miami can move the ball and score 2-3 touchdowns. And if you believe that you can say the same argument for Kenyan Drake ✅who is being touted in the Pre season and was very usable in fantasy last season. I will have shares of Drake. But I don’t see a reason to chance it with Tannehill. Tampa Bay at New Orleans -9.5 (49.5) It would be hard for me to roster Evans and Godwin even with Famous Jameis. Now he’s suspended for the first four games. And we add a true back up. They will be playing from behind and could lead to some garbage time touchdowns. New Orleans is the spot to target starting with Drew Brees. He could spread the ball around and you have to place Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn, Jr. for the Big play capability. “They” say Alvin Kamara is due for negative regression when it comes to effiency. But sometimes “they” are wrong. If they get a lead, Mike Gillislee (while Mark Ingram is suspended) could take some carries. But the reason for the lead is going to be Brees-Kamara-Thomas-Gin✅ somehow. They are on a positive side of a 49 over under in the dome at home where they have been explosive. Jax -3 at NYG (44) This game has a low total. The cheap WR for Jacksonville may be chalk. I would rather take the guaranteed load of Leonard Fournette as oppose to the pass game. I’ve lived and died on Blake Bortles more than I would like to admit. This game is one of the lower totals. But I could see myself taking a shot on Dede Westbrook over Keenan Cole. While the Giants prospect may be better this year. I will not jump on that train vs The Jax defense. While I like the Barkley addition and Evan Engram to get better this is not an ideal offense to target. From a game theory perspective however, Jalen Ramsey may shadow Odell Beckham which could funnel targets to the tight as happened last season. My exposure will not go past Engram and Barkley. Buffalo at Baltimore -7 (41) If you can name the starting QB in Buffalo here then you can play him. The total is very low here. Long term we may have interest in Crabteee and John Brown in the future but maybe not here. But we do love Alex Collins✅. He is at a great price point to garner 100 yards and a touchdown or two. He’s a touchdown favorite at home vs. a bad team. KC at LA Chargers -3.5 (47.5) I’m very excited about the Chiefs this year. Hunt and Hill should be targets for big plays all season. Hill is risky this week vs a very very good Chargers secondary. He does feel that Mahomes can hit him in strides and this makes for the big play. One 80 yard TD strike along with 2-4 catches for 20 a more yards is decent. But if that’s what you’re banking on then maybe not. We want efficiency in fantasy and this is a defense you do not want to target. Hunt could also see plenty of work and is my preferred target here this week. The Chargers on the other hand we can target. KC projects to be one of the worst defenses this season and will be a target spot all year. ✅Play Melvin Gordon here while he is healthy for sure. He will get pass work. Goal line work and in between the 20 work. 20-25 touches. 1-2 touchdown upside is what we search for and this could be a prime spot for it. I’m less excited about Phillip Rivers as I never get him right. Kills me in excellent matchups, thrives when I fade him in tough spots. Regardless he to Keenan Cole is an excellent stack. -speaking of stacking. ✅ Sometimes you want to run a stack back with an opposing team. If you think the chargers have a lead maybe it forces mahomes to throw more. So you either target him and hill or hunt for garbage TDS or the Chargers defense for Turnovers if he throws too much. Im siding with the Chargers defense. ✅ Seattle at Denver -2.5 (42) Seattle is still not a team I like to target. I used to do the Wilson Baldwin connection. But until they show me something I’m off of this team. Especially as road dogs in the altitude vs a good defense. I may enjoy Denver’s long term success but with a very low over of 42 this isn’t ideal. If you’re forced into it on an afternoon slate Emanuel Sanders was a target monster with well below average QB play. So with an upgrade in QB with Case Keenum, whom also loves to target the slot, you can make a case for their stack. I would avoid the split RB situation until we see definite results. Washington at Arizona (even) (44) Don’t you just love games with no favorite. That’s Vegas saying “I give up” Washington got check down Charlie I mean Alex Smith in the off-season. I’m interested in seeing how this offense shakes out. I targeted Washington a lot the past two years. I successfully placed in tournaments with Kirk Cousins and Jordan Reed. With smith there who loves to check down, this week could be a Jordan Reed week ✅. If he’s fully healthy, and can find a connection with Smith, he has 80 yard 1-2 TD upside similar to Gronk but with a lighter price. I’m also interested to see if Adrian Peterson can cut thru holes behind a decent offensive line. But he will split with Chris Thompson and Fat Rob Kelley. I’m not interested in AZ much more. Always a butt. Larry Fitzgerald will have a plus matchup in the slot with Sam Bradford back in our lives. If you want to target older players you do it early in the season while everybody is healthy and fresh. David Johnson however is young and back and is an excellent play in all formats✅. He runs. He catches. He scores! Dallas at Carolina Dallas used to be a favorite target of mine with Dak and Zeek. This is because we know where the offense is coming from. I would not target any pass catchers here. Dak is playable but this will be a slow paced game. Dallas plays slow and run the ball. Carolina plays slow. Probably so Cam won’t have to throw so much 🤔. However Ezekiel Elliott is playable in all formats ✅week in and week out until further notice. Rumors say he is expected to get more pass game work. Which is now more than ever needed without Dez or Whitten. Carolina will be appealing for two things this week. Legs. The legs of Cam should provide fantasy upside ✅and is a great tournament play this week. Christian McCaffrey is expected to be more of a runner this year and not just a pass catching player. The likely chance that McCaffrey catches a TD pass and runs one could make the Cam-McCaffrey stack viable✅. Funchess or Olsen is more likely to catch a TD from Cam than Allen Hurns. But Cam is the kind of WB you don’t have to stack.

#fantasyfootball #fantasy #football #nfl #yahoofantasy #espnfantasy #espn

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axiomsofice · 5 years ago

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Atlantic Division Predictions: 19/20

Tampa Bay It’s a very easy choice to put the Lightning atop the Atlantic division, as they dominated the regular season in 18/19, and looked to have improved throughout the offseason. Coming off his first Vezina, Vasilevsky will return as the starter with a plethora of options at backup, as McElhinney, Domingue, Condon, and Wedgewood all represent reasonable quality as a second. The defence added Shattenkirk, as well as another year of growth for Sergachev and Cernak. The offence is even deeper after adding Maroon and the possibility for younger players like Cirelli and Joseph to increase their roles. There are even more intriguing depth options available, and I’d like to give shoutouts to a few favourites, Danick Martel, Gemel Smith, Alex Barre-Boulet, and Carter Verhaeghe, who could be among those to find room for this stacked roster. Toronto Although some might argue the Leafs have tread water this offseason, I believe that this will be the strongest iteration that Toronto has iced in years. Not much has changed in net as Andersen and Hutchinson return as first and third goalies, with Neuverth replacing Sparks in the backup role. The most notable change from last year to today is the defence corps, as Reilly, Muzzin, and Barrie give the Leafs three bonafide top 4 defencemen for the first time in years. With Dermott pushing to join that group, as well as a plethora of depth options like Ceci, Gravel, and Holl, and the potential for rookies Kivihalme, Sandin, and Liljegren looking to join the big club, the past concerns regarding Toronto’s rearguards seems to be a thing of the past. The strength of this team is the forward group, as the bottom six sports a new mix of centre versatility to compliment the top tier talent throughout. Boston The Bruins remain mostly unchanged from the group that brought them so much success in 18/19. In net, Rask and Halak form one of the league’s premier tandems and will likely split games evenly similarly to last season. The defence has a diversity of skill sets and should continue to be solid, especially as Grezlyk, Clifton, and Vaakanainen continue to push for more minutes. Similarly up front the biggest opportunity for growth comes with the development of younger forwards like Heinen and Bjork or prospects like Kuhlman and Frederic. Florida The Panthers return with a very similar roster to last season, save for three moves of note that give reason for hope. Joel Quennville joins as head coach to try to take this team to the next level. Adding perennial Vezina finalist Sergei Bobrovsky should undoubtedly help fill the vacancy left by the retired Luongo and the trades Reimer. Far too often the Panthers’ goalies were subjected to highlight reel goals due to inconsistent and porous defensive play, and as Anton Stralman joins the defence corps, Florida will have to be better in this regard to survive in the playoff race. These new realities might help insulate the current d-men, and could produce an environment conducive to the quality of performance of Ekblad, Matheson, and Weegar, to name a few. The changes are not guaranteed to have an effect, but the Panthers’ forward group is strong enough that the expectation should be a playoff berth. There’s a lot of talent up front, and this has the potential to be one of the league’s top groups if Borgstrom, Heponiemi, or Tippett can make an impact. Montreal The Canadiens only missed the playoffs by a point last season, so they’ll be looking for that little bit more in 19/20. It’s been a few years since Carey Price has played like the best goalie in the game over a full season, making it paramount for the Habs to get quality starts from Kinkaid or Lindgren. Another key to Price’s success is a full season of Shea Weber, as the defence is very much impacted by his strength. Veterans Petry and Chiarot join the captain in finding some synergy with the younger group of Mete, Juulsen, and Kulak. Limiting the goals against will be paramount to the success and overall identity of this team, as Montreal’s forward group would greatly appreciate the support. Lacking in true top end talent (for the time being), the Habs will rely on an abundance of depth at forward, as it will be hard for waiver exempt prospects like Suzuki or Poehling to make the team out of camp. With that being said it’s only a matter of time before that youth starts increasing their influence throughout the lines, and by the end of the season, for example, Kotkaniemi might have established himself as Montreal’s top centre. Buffalo The Sabres are looking to improve the consistency of their results, as 18/19 saw them race out to a strong start before fading into the lottery by midseason. Ralph Kruger joins as another head coach will try to turn the fortunes of this franchise around. Both goalies return as Hutton was a nice compliment to the developing Ullmark in a near even tandem. The biggest change is represented by the defence, as the Sabres added Miller and Jokiharju, joining Montour and Dahlin as infusions of talent acquired over the last two seasons. This is the best group Buffalo has employed in a while, and should be the primary source of optimism for fans. The forwards underwent more subtle changes, as the x-factor for Buffalo seems to be how much Middlestadt can improve his influence, as Eichel and Rodrigues slot quite nicely as first and third centres. The onus will be on some incoming complimentary players, Olofsson, Johansson, and Vesey to help the scoring depth and help augment the Sabres to playoff caliber. Detroit Steve Yzerman takes over as GM for a Red Wings team that is undoubtedly more concerned with the near future than the present. Bernier and Howard return as a veteran tandem that should help the defence develop thanks to their consistency. Similar to last season, we could hear Howard’s name come up in rumours around the deadline, but it’s safe to say that Detroit is developing or yet to acquire their goalie of the future. The defence corps should feature some youth, as Hronek and Cholowski both impressed as rookies in 18/19. The group will also feature veterans like Green, Nemeth, and Dekeyser to help keep other prospects like Lindstrom, Kaski, or Seider in the AHL developing for the time being. That mix of veterans and youth is consistent up front as well, as the Wings sport an abundance of veteran bottom 6 checkers who can play centre. At the very least Players like Filppula and Nielsen can be responsible middle men until or if Veleno, Athanasiou, or Rasmussen is entrusted with the task. Hirose appeared to be effective in his short stint last season, and alongside a more impactful performance from Zadina could really augment the offensive prowess of this season’s Wings. Ottawa The most important thing for the Senators’ 19/20 season is to develop enough bright spots that upon adding a top prospect from the stacked 2020 class, we might consider them a force to be reckoned with as soon as 20/21. Plausible positivity will be the sustaining force of intrigue for Senators fans. In net, Nilsson and Anderson seemed destined for a relatively even split of games. Despite the Senators forecasting as a non-playoff team, this might be Nilsson’s best chance to be a number one. The defence will be lead by a group of young players, Chabot, Wolainen, Lajoie, and Brannstrom, as veterans Zaitsev, DeMelo, and Hainsey will likely pair up with them in order to maximize stability. Chabot had a great 18/19, and his continued growth along with the other changes should lead to a much improved defensive position group. Up front the premise is simple. If the Tkachuk-White and Batherson-Logan Brown pairings can continue to build on the successes of their previous seasons it would go a long way for the Senators goals for number. Duclair, Connor Brown, Pageau, and Ennis will look to cement their spots in the top 9. Ryan adds some historic legitimacy to this offence and could develop a symbiotic relationship with some younger forwards if he can stay healthy. Tierny and Anisimov are the most likely to be showcased and moved at the deadline, and as serviceable centres they will certainly have the chance to play meaningful minutes if there are injuries or if Logan Brown doesn’t make the team out of camp as a centre. Personally, I am a fan of Rudolph Balcers, and given that the respectively injured and inconsistent Ryan and Duclair are ahead of him on my RW depth chart, he’ll most likely get the chance to play further up the lineup throughout the season.

#nhl #tampa bay lightning #toronto maple leafs #boston bruins #florida panthers #montreal canadiens #buffalo sabres #detroit red wings #ottawa senators

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thrashermaxey · 6 years ago

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Ramblings: Donato Digging Minny, Crosby Not Done (March 3)

Jake Guentzel can give much of the credit for his breakout regular season to Sidney Crosby. About 95 percent of Guentzel’s even-strength minutes have been with Sid the Kid on his line. The two linemates each earned four points (Guentzel 2g-2a, Crosby 1g-3a) in the Penguins’ 5-1 win over Montreal. Recent acquisition Jared McCann was the third man on this line, scoring a goal and adding an assist of his own. McCann has four points in his last three games, and he might be a player to watch if he can stick on this line.

Crosby has scored goals and multiple points in four consecutive games, and he has scored at a two-point-per-game pace dating back to February 9 (22 points in 11 games). In case you think Crosby is on the decline, this recent run puts him on pace for over 100 points. Point inflation has been affecting many players, but it’s still worth mentioning that with all his accomplishments, Crosby has not reached 100 points since the 2013-14 season and only once after the 2009-10 season. He’s also fifth in NHL scoring with 83 points (29g-54a).

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each recorded three points in the Oilers’ 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets. Draisaitl’s goal was his 40th of the season, which makes him the third player (after Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Kane) to reach that mark. Draisaitl also has 16 goals in his last 17 games, and he is on a 10-game point streak in which he has scored 15 points (8g-7a). The Oilers have missed on many players over the past 10+ years, but Draisaitl is not one of them.

The Oilers have tried numerous forwards with the McDavid/Draisaitl combination, but to no avail. At the moment it’s Zack Kassian’s turn, and at least there seems to be a spark. Kassian has now scored in back-to-back games and over his last 21 games has 13 points, including eight goals. At age 28 Kassian isn’t going to be much more than what we’ve already seen, but he’s been providing a little bit of value in “bangers and mash” leagues. Kassian’s 82 PIM places him in the top 10 in that category, while his 154 hits places him just outside the top 30. This is the time of year for roto leaguers to make ground in certain categories, and Kassian might be a sneaky option that won’t hurt your scoring too much.

Mikko Koskinen recorded the 30-save shutout in this game. Koskinen has started each of the last 10 games for the Oilers, meaning that newly acquired Anthony Stolarz has yet to start a game as an Oiler. Stolarz has appeared in just one game, which was in a relief appearance. As long as the Oilers still believe that they are still in the playoff race, expect their newly signed goalie to start every game.

Dustin Brown scored two goals in the Kings’ 6-3 win over Chicago on Saturday afternoon. Brown is now up to 16 goals and 37 points, which is nowhere near his 61-point comeback season last season. To a lesser extent, his downturn reflects that of teammate Anze Kopitar’s. And like Kopitar, hopefully you looked further back than last season’s numbers and didn’t draft him with the expectation that he would repeat last season’s numbers.

Jeff Carter recorded two assists on Saturday. This isn’t usually big news, but Carter had been held without a point in his previous nine games and is still without a goal in his previous 12 games. I was hoping that Carter would have been traded out of LA at the deadline to a better situation, but rumor was that he was threatening to retire if he was traded. It’s still possible that Carter could rebound to some degree next season, but there are a ton of other better options at center if you are pushing to win this season.

When I talk about “a better situation”, I mean that only the Ducks have a lower goals-for total than the Kings this season. Also, the Kings’ win on Saturday was their first win in 11 games, so these are lean times in LA.

In a losing cause, Brendan Perlini scored two goals. He had been held without a point in his previous 12 games, so it’s unlikely many fantasy leaguers were affected.

Tuukka Rask made 20 saves to backstop the Bruins to a 1-0 win over New Jersey. Rask has not been tagged with a regulation loss since before Christmas, having gone 14-0-3 with a 1.88 GAA and .933 SV% during that span. The Bruins were Flip Livingstone’s gold game pick in his Saturday game picks, so hopefully you were able to take advantage.

In his first game as a Leaf, Nic Petan scored his first goal of the season, which was his first goal in over a calendar year (February 23, 2018). Even though he’s now with a new team, he’s still not in a spot to produce with the Leafs’ big guns, having played just 7:45 in this game while lining up with Frederik Gauthier and Trevor Moore. It might take a trade to a team not in contention for Petan to receive the opportunity that he needs.

Mitch Marner and John Tavares each scored a goal and added two assists for the Buds in their 5-2 win over Buffalo. Tavares was welcomed back with a loud cheer from Leafs fans after taking a lot of abuse from Islanders’ fans on Thursday.

The NHL handed out two suspensions on Saturday. Adam Lowry was suspended two games for a high stick on Filip Forsberg, while Kurtis Gabriel was suspended one game for hitting Nolan Patrick from behind.

Since James Reimer is out of the lineup due to injury, Sam Montembeault made his NHL debut on Saturday. The rookie made 22 saves in an eventual 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes. His AHL numbers (3.16 GAA, .901 SV%) aren’t serving as proof that he’s NHL ready yet, so keeper leaguers should exercise patience. If the Panthers shop for another starting goalie in the offseason, then Montembeault will be in the AHL another season or two anyway. Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if the worn-down Roberto Luongo “retires” on LTIR before his contract expires.

Henrik Borgstrom scored two goals and added an assist for the Panthers, which all happened in just eight minutes of icetime. The Panthers’ prospect had been held without a point in his previous three games and without a goal in his previous 11 games. He’s also been held to less than 10 minutes in each of his last three games, so his icetime hasn’t really improved even with Derick Brassard being traded to Colorado.

From this game, why I like 3-on-3 overtime. What an incredible sequence.

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That’s now seven wins in a row for Darcy Kuemper. I’ll just reiterate what I wrote about him on Friday’s Ramblings. Somehow he’s still unowned in about half of Yahoo leagues.

For about the past two seasons, Oliver Ekman-Larsson owners at large have likely been left wanting more. Yet he’s been instrumental in the Coyotes’ current six-game winning streak. With a goal and an assist on Saturday, OEL has multiple points in back-to-back games and is now on a five-game point streak. He’s also been a plus-6 over his point streak, which is a bonus given his usual plus-minus numbers.

Jamie Benn’s return from injury to the Stars’ lineup was a successful one. The Stars’ captain posted a hat trick in a 3-1 win over the Blues. Benn had entered this game with just two points in his last six games and just two goals in his last 12, so this should at least keep the CEO happy for the time being.

John Klingberg also chipped in a goal and two assists for the Stars.

Ryan Donato’s fantasy value has immediately improved with a move to Minnesota. Including his third-period goal on Saturday, Donato now has at least a point in all five games he has played for the Wild, with seven points over that span. Donato had averaged just 12:30 of icetime this season in Boston, which is a number that has jumped to over 15 minutes with the Wild.

Here’s Donato’s goal in the third period. I’m as impressed with the amazing quality of the Twitter video as I am with the goal.

Ryan Donato with a cannon shot beats Smith five hole pic.twitter.com/W9vrQvSuSq

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) March 3, 2019

To compare, Charlie Coyle has been held without a point in his four games as a Bruin. Dating back to his time with the Wild, Coyle has now been held without a point in his last 11 games.

Although Kevin Fiala hasn’t recorded a point in his two games as a Wild, he was elevated to the Eric Staal/Jason Zucker line in this game. Fiala averaged just 15:03 in Nashville this season, but he has been on for at least 17 minutes in each of his two games with the Wild.

Just when you were losing faith in Devan Dubnyk, he has now strung together five wins in a row. Over that span he has a 1.59 GAA and a .950 SV%. It seems safe to use him again now that things have settled down for the Wild after a bad stretch.

Finally, congratulations to Jarome Iginla on his jersey retirement. It was amazing to watch him all the way back to when he was a junior player with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, a powerhouse junior team during the early to mid-1990s that during Iginla’s time also included the likes of Shane Doan and Darcy Tucker.

Here’s the jersey retirement ceremony from Calgary on Saturday.

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Of course, my favorite Iggy moment isn’t with the Calgary Flames (I’m a Canucks’ fan, you know). It’s the incredible pass to Sidney Crosby for the game-winning “golden goal” in 2010. Listen for Crosby yelling “Iggy!” You'll have to watch it on YouTube, though. The IOC won't let me embed it apparently.

For more fantasy hockey information, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-donato-digging-minny-crosby-not-done-march-3/

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yahoo-puck-daddy-blog · 7 years ago

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Puck Daddy Power Rankings: Capitals climbing to top

The Washington Capitals keep getting better and better this season as they climb the power rankings. (AP)

Hey everyone, we here at Puck Daddy are doing real power rankings for teams Nos. 1-31. Here they are, based on only how I am feeling about these teams, meaning you can’t tell me I’m wrong because these are my feelings and feelings can’t be wrong. Please enjoy the Power Feelings.

31. Ottawa Senators (Last week: 31)

This team got bounced to 31 last week because their owner is the worst, but then the team lost three games in a row, including getting shut out by the Panthers, so they get to stay in 31st. What a mess.

30. Arizona Coyotes (LW: 30)

Arizona didn’t get to move this week because while they’re doing a lot worse — one win since Dec. 3 — they at least beat the Capitals this week, which, haha.

29. Detroit Red Wings (LW: 29)

Two points on the three-game road trip they went on last week. Not great, which seems like it’s par for the course.

28. Vancouver Canucks (LW: 25)

Losers of four straight now, it really looks like any optimism people might have had around this team is and should be extremely out the window.

27. Buffalo Sabres (LW: 27)

26. Colorado Avalanche (LW: 26)

25. Florida Panthers (LW: 28)

Credit where it’s due: This bad team had three wins in the past week. And sure, they were against Arizona, Minnesota, and Ottawa, but hey, three regulation wins, right? They only had three regulation wins over their previous 11 games.

24. Montreal Canadiens (LW: 21)

23. Anaheim Ducks (LW: 20)

Dropping three spots here isn’t so much an indictment of the Ducks, but all the teams behind them playing really well in the last little while, and generally having had better seasons than Anaheim so far. I think they’re probably Better Than This overall but the hole they dug themselves with all those injuries is still there, y’know?

22. Calgary Flames (LW: 22)

21. Philadelphia Flyers (LW: 19)

Remember how the Flyers won six in a row? Yeah, they’re 1-2-1 in the four games since then. Feels right.

20. Carolina Hurricanes (LW: 23)

How ’bout those Hurricanes, with points in five of their last six, and eight of their last nine, and nine of their last 11, and 11 of their last 14? That ain’t bad, folks, and they’re doing this mostly with not-good goaltending. Man, this poor team. When’s the last time they had good goaltending AND a good group of outfield players at the same time?

19. Minnesota Wild (LW: 16)

18. Edmonton Oilers (LW: 24)

Four straight wins and five in their last six. And hey, they scored 22 in those six games, which is a good number from a team that couldn’t score when Connor McDavid was off the ice. McDavid only had points on eight of those 22 goals. That’s actually a huge improvement for the depth scoring. Sad.

17. New York Rangers (LW: 17)

Here are the real shot totals the Rangers have conceded for every game they played in December: 33, 44, 40, 28, 45, 30, 35, 35, 40, 48, 37. I ran the numbers real quick and that’s approximately roughly about a trillion shots against per game.

That seems like a lot! Remember when getting rid of Dan Girardi was gonna fix their defensive problems? Woops! Anyway, the fact that they’re 6-3-2 this month despite that whole thing is wild.

16. Pittsburgh Penguins (LW: 13)

15. Chicago Blackhawks (LW: 15)

14. Dallas Stars (LW: 12)

Points in four straight, but no one can seem to figure out how to make them score the three goals per game they should be scoring on a regular basis. Very weird team. Hard to figure them out.

13. New York Islanders (LW: 11)

12. Boston Bruins (LW: 18)

Four wins in a row for your friends the Bruins who, as I said in WWL, are playing great hockey overall these days. Giving up just four goals in those four games is a nice way to get some Ws together.

11. New Jersey Devils (LW: 14)

10. San Jose Sharks (LW: 9)

9. St. Louis Blues (LW: 7)

8. Los Angeles Kings (LW: 8)

The Kings have lost four of their last six, but that doesn’t wipe out the eight-game winning streak all the way, so here they are. They’re another team that’ve given up 31-plus shots in a ton of their recent games.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs (LW: 6)

6. Vegas Golden Knights (LW: 10)

I would like to use this space to say to all the Vegas Golden Knights fans who will email me about this not to bother because you’re not allowed to criticize this because it’s my feelings. It’s in the Geneva Convention.

Look, I get it. The last time they lost in regulation was on Dec. 1, and that’s a great streak. But hey remember when Columbus won like 16 straight last year? Of course not. Very few of you watched the NHL last year.

Anyway, they’re going to get better results more reliably with Marc-Andre Fleury in net, but like I said last week in Trending Topics, I continue to get a very Columbus-last-year vibe off these guys.

And frankly that’s a huge indictment of the rest of the NHL for giving away all these perfectly useful — or better — players for nothing. Because remember, Vegas left a lot of talent on the table in the name of 2018-19 cap flexibility; all those expiring contracts, etc.

Honestly, I don’t care if Vegas has the best record in the league at the trade deadline: It is George McPhee’s obligation as steward of this franchise to trade anyone on an expiring UFA contract with any value at all to the highest bidder. And because they’re doing all this winning, there should be plenty of bidders. It’ll piss off a lot of dumb people who don’t understand anything about what’s going on here, but it’s the only responsible thing to do for a Year 1 Franchise.

5. Winnipeg Jets (LW: 5)

One of these days this team will get its act together, and I’m extremely ready for that to happen, emotionally.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets (LW: 3)

3. Nashville Predators (LW: 2)

2. Washington Capitals (LW: 4)

Their only regulation loss since Dec. 12 was in Vegas right before Christmas and that was the second half of an all-road back-to-back. Wonder how many of those Vegas has caught opponents on this year. That’s something for someone with more internetting skills than me to look up.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (LW: 1)

Them still good.

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All stats via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

#_revsp:21d636bb-8aa8-4731-9147-93a932d2b27a #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_author:Ryan Lambert #_uuid:b0d61a1d-59d4-39ed-ac60-df4f59174a9e

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survivorkvaloya · 7 years ago

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Episode #4: “Things Are Getting Kinda Fishy Here And I Don't Like It” - Christine

IM. SO. HAPPY. RIGHT. NOW. Ok, well sort of. I'm sad Connor was the one that went home cause I adore him but on the bright side....he gave me the legacy advantage! So essentially at F6 I'm gonna be safe (if I make it that far) which means I might possibly be able to beat my placement from my last season! Connor if you're reading this thank you so much ily ❤ It's kinda scary though cause if this is out there, what other kinds of advantages are there? I've also noticed a pattern that Chelsea and Ryan have both been going to the majority of the rewards so I'm a little worried about that but we'll see. On the bright side, I'm finally in an alliance! I really like the group so hopefully we can do a little damage but for the meantime I'm excited!

Ok guys, I didn't think that I would be in such a good position but I??? Everyone seems to be falling to place for me right now. I think that everyone on my tribe likes me and if we lost once more (which would be really shit), I wouldn't be voted out. I have had a lot of things going on IRL and it's given me an excuse... because guess what America, I have an idol clue. I need to get the lowest score out of everyone to get a piece of an idol, which I need. Ryan has one piece and if I have the other one, we just need one more to make a full idol, which could be pivotal moment for us. I think we're strong mentors and I just want to get as far as I can while proving that I can fucking do this. Last time I sucked really sucked at this series and I want to prove that if I play the game I do, I can make it to the end based on making good moves!!

-sigh-

These people need to stop coming for me premerge.

for editing the music video challenge, ryan and I got a reward that was pretty useless. we have to get the lowest score next challenge to get it. we made a pact not to tell anyone, and what does he do that very night? tells willow. jackson. quilynn. I don't really care though. I made a joke alliance with him just to have some cross tribal communication. i want our tribe to lose so we can send someone home. this is getting boring

I don't like throwing comps. Its wayyy too early for that. I don't know what the heck Lauren's thinking right now, especially if the girls want Brett out, cause I know Brett wants to work with me and Lauren soooo yeah. I just wish Lauren talked to me about this kind of stuff instead of kinda going rogue. It scares me. I refuse to throw anything so sorry :)

I'm still waiting on immunity results, but I'm honestly hoping that we lose it. Ryan has confirmed to willow that the "majority alliance" of

JD & Liam

Andreas & Jack

Colin & Brett

Ryan & Jackson is real. I want us to be able to go to tribal and take out brett or jack before we have a swap or something and lose numbers.

So that challenge... Wasn't that hard. It was very much a 'whoever has no lie' kinda thing. But what really blows is that I had a 24000ish score and fucked up! I fucked up hard, like I forgot to put JD in the URL bar... Noob mistake, ended up with a like 11000 score, but in the end we won and most people here can still think that I'm lame in comps

ALSO. THIS LILY. Created an all girls alliance. WITHOUT ME. literally quilynn is in it BEFORE me. I’m the only girl on the tribe not in this fucking alliance I’m GONNA SCREAMMMMMMM

Hi I'm Jackson and this is my second confessional. Sooo I guess since the last time we did this, Jules and Connor were voted out and then we won immunity (right?) Socially, things have gotten a lot better for me though. Not gonna lie I felt pretty lost at the start of this swap, but I feel very comfortable now. I'm a lot closer with Ryan and trust him as my closest ally (along with Chelsea and probably Lily, who was not mad about Jules getting axed thank God). Chelsea has suggested that me and Ryan make an alliance with her and her mentor Gage for after the next swap/merge, which I think is a good idea, especially since Chelsea has an idol piece and we might win more collectively. Right now, I'm in an officially established alliance on Ersfjorden called "pool floaties" that includes everyone except for Danielle and Nicholas. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan. Liam gives me bad vibes and JD, who I'm almost certain has an idol piece, seems to be an extremely paranoid player. She probably only tried to push for the alliance because she's so eager to feel secure. Either way, I wouldn't mind voting Liam out if we went to tribal again. The Connor vote was basically the easy way out I guess, and I felt bad because it's clear being paired with Zoe put him at a huge disadvantage (part of our reasoning for choosing him was that he didn't have a partner to protect him or avenge him). But whatever so it goes. Anyway, Kaldfjorden is finally going to fucking tribal tomorrow. I'm extremely worried for Chelsea who tanked the challenge to get an idol piece, but I think the tribe is considering taking out a bigger threat (unless her intel is wrong). Personally I would prefer if Christine or Jack went, but the most likely option is Brett, which is fine I guess. I don't want to get too involved, but if Chelsea's looking like she's in trouble I may start having some conversations. Okay that's my thoughts have a good day

UPDATE: they're calling themselves The Rice Girls. with a spice girls picture. What did I do to deserve this!?!?! im ejecting.

So Willow is trying to figure out these idol pieces but she's a bit off. I got the into the box piece and chelsea got cassanova. We already combined them with chelsea's lowest score piece so she now has a full idol. Willow is my mentor so I want her to believe she is my number 1, but honestly it is chelsea. Together we have an idol and are able to work together even though we are also working with different pockets of people in this game. It also has me less worried as the odds are that currently she is the only person with a full idol. Hopefully tribal goes as planned and Brett will be gone.

We did that! Feels good to not have to scramble through another vote to send someone packing (and add on to my respectable collection of premerge votes.)

Guess who's got more good news :D I got a piece of an idol! I wish it was a whole one, but I'll take what I can get tbh. Also I'm bummed we lost immunity and I'm even more bummed it looks like Bretts leaving. I don't support this move at all, but I feel like I can't reject it cause I don't want them to think I'm part of the majority alliance they think exists since QuilLynn already suspects me and Lauren of being in it, which we aren't. I'm gonna try and see if I can push the target onto either Jack or Gage but we'll see. It's way too soon to make big waves and if there's a tribe swap next, I don't think it's gonna end well for us.

Alright so things are getting kinda fishy here and I don't like it...Apparently Chelsea told QuilLynn about the majority duos alliance which doesn't make sense cause why isn't Chelsea in our girls alliance? If she's willing to give out info wouldn't that make her trustworthy? I'm just....sketched out. I don't like this, at all. Hopefully a miracle happens and I can help Brett but we'll see.

So I feel pretty good. I keep telling people I'm nervous so I appear weak and non threatening later in the game we will see if it works. I've got an alliance with Lauren Christine willow and QuilLynn and love it. We are called the rice girls and we are gonna win this whole damn thing. By we I mean we are gonna get too 5 and I'm gonna win it all. Muh hahahaha #letsgo

I've started operation save Brett because it's literally my best option right now. I get the hype behind Big Moves™ but what the fuck! It's way to early for it. I know Brett will help me and Lauren in a heartbeat so this is the least I can do for him. QuilLynn keeps mentioning this phantom alliance which I honestly am starting to think doesn't exist but who knows. There's been no reference to whose in it or how many there are in it so I'm just sketched out...I could be shooting myself in the foot by doing this but I came into this game saying to trust my gut and my gut says to save Brett.

Hi okay so i'm sorry its been a while since I did one of these. SO, pretty much my strategy to play a pretty UTR game has been going according to plan. We voted out Jules and Connor unanimously, which was largely because they just couldn't interact socially with people. I'm happy Connor is gone because I knew he would probably slide by far, so i'm pleased he won't now. On my current tribe we have a lot happening, which is really reminding me of Mali. Theirs a side alliance of JD, Colin, and I but I don't think they 100% trust me which is fine. We also have an alliance chat of us 3 plus Jackson and Ryan which isn't a real alliance but whatever. Then we also have Danielle, Ryan, and I in an alliance chat for the sake of talking. Now, I have a feeling that if we can continue to win a lot of challenges, this group would more then likely take the next phase of the game rather easy. My student and I, Jack don't really talk strategy or talk much for that - which is kind of weird but whatever. I think our games are really similar which kind of works for me. I also think right now that people have slight ties to me which I'm 100% here for. I think when we need to work together we will, but I'm not about to throw my game away for him - BUT i'm going to tell him I would. Overall I need people to think I have a bond with them but that i'm just way too busy to do anything. Also sorry to hosts because it makes me not wanna do confessionals. But I know that the next vote will have me put in a place where I have to make a decision that I don't really wanna make. I don't know who I'd vote for, or If i'd become a target myself. ALSO - I finally won a challenge this season. I had been half assing my challenges this season and even sat out for lip syncing when i was free lol. I want people to not view me as a super threat. But I knew I didn't win yesterday my game would've been more damaged by voting someone out. So, here we are. It's a risk i'm willing to take. Anyways I expect us to switch into 3 tribes of 5 after tonight or 2 tribes of 7 after the next vote, and either way i'm fine because I'LL HAVE REACHED 200 DAYS OF TUMBLR SURVIVOR IN 2 DAYS WTF....... anyways don't know if I should be happy or not... anyways.... bye

These people are all so cutthroat where the fuck did you find these people

Episode 3 I knew to expect a music video challenge, so I didn't bitch too much at this one. Chelsea did all the editing but somehow didn't manage to film 5 seconds of her doing anything to put in the video? Christine, Willow, QuilLynn, and I were the only ones to star in it. No Lauren, no Gage, no Jack, and Lily was on reflection island. Come on, Lauren! I'm trying to help you out here by working with you, but by you being MIA and inactive, it's not helping me--and you seem perfectly fine with it. Fortunately, we won.

Episode 4 There was rice. I couldn't be bothered. We lost, but fortunately all the heat went to Chelsea because she couldn't bother to get 10 grains of rice from even one question, so...I should be fine for now. Lauren sucked again as well and it's so difficult because she doesn't seem to care that she's performing substandard and that doesn't make for that great an ally. Sigh. Christine, however, is the person I'm the most intent on working with, so I have to just roll with it. I also like Jack, but Chelsea has chosen to target him and I don't want to stick my neck out for the kid. Ultimately, I see the vote being 8-1 for Jack going home, but who knows what could happen in the next three hours. Jack leaving sends Andres to Reflection Island, and he's one of their better challenge performers, so hopefully we can clean this next immunity up easy. If Jack leaves, I'll be the only person with a partner on the other tribe. Lily's got voted out already. The rest are in their pairs. So cross your fingers that Jack leaving doesn't put a spotlight on me. Let Lily leave next instead. Most of the tribe seems interested in having a working relationship with me, so I feel like things will be okay. We'll see.

Well after like 4 challenges I finally have to go to a tribal, and I'm a little unsure. Haven't really talked to very many people, but I'm hoping others agree to vote out Chelsea who didn't participate in the challenge, since I at least did my fair share of the work.

Okay so I think the first thing I remember is Lily suggesting to QuilLynn to make an all girls alliance of me, QuilLynn, Lily, Christine and Lauren. So what I did notice about this was I was alright with it even though I wasn't sure about what I thought of Lauren and Christine just bc they dont reply to me a whole lot, and they might be in the majority alliance of 8ish. Anyway QuilLynn told me that Lily suggested it to her and I said yeah bc you should never really turn down an alliance. And when I said yeah I thought QuilLynn was gonna wait for Lily to talk to Lauren and Christine then create it or something, but nope QuilLynn just up and made the chat. I mean I love QuilLynn shes wonderful, but she probably should have waited and let Lily create the chat. I think it was good that Chelsea turned in a 0 for the challenge so that we could get the idol, but Im also trying to get Ryan to trust me so I told him I was upset that Chelsea was gonna get it. So then Ryan tells me about how everyone on his tribe has been added to an alliance chat besides Danielle and Nicholas, which literally confirms the majority thing we've been suspecting, so of course I went and told the alliance of me Gage, Chelsea, and QuilLynn. Anyway I told QuilLynn that we probably shouldnt tell the all girls alliance that there's a majority alliance bc we arent sure if we can trust Lauren and Christine. Then Lauren says in the all girls alliance chat that we should throw the challenge to get rid of a big threat, and I say that I've noticed Brett is a big threat. But then said that we shouldn't throw the challenge bc thats dumb af and its just gonna cause a mess. but anyway of course we actually do loose the challenge, and I think at this point everyone is alright with voting Brett which is good bc hes a big threat and he doesnt reply to PMs which is super annoying. But then Christine decides to be sketchy af and push for Jack bc hes UTR but then Lauren was like yeah I agree, and I was like wtf Lauren youre the one who originally wanted to throw to get rid of a threat. I like the idea of an all girls alliance but I just dont trust Christine and Lauren. Anyway then QuilLynn in order to defend wanting to get rid of Brett was like well hes in the majority alliance, and I was like yikes I told her to not say that since we arent sure about christine and lauren. and anyway they end up asking questions and stuff and now I sorta think they are with the majority. But we still hopefully got them on board to vote Brett so I really hope its Brett and not me. Other stuff has been happening like idols and shit but Im too tired to type up the rest of the confessional so I'll just do it later tonight maybe.

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fan-of-mulligan · 5 years ago

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FOM BLOG: GILLINGHAM SUPPORTERS SEASON PREVIEW FOR 2019 / 2020

Looking ahead to the start of The 2019 / 2020 Season, And With Gillingham kicking off the season with a long trip up north against Doncaster Rovers, I have asked several Gillingham Supporters for there thoughts and opinions on a number of different subjects, Including Gillingham’s Transfer Activity, Gillingham’s Home Form and how does everyone think Gillingham will line up for the opening league game of the season against Doncaster Rovers At The Keepmoat Stadium.

Answering these questions are the following Gillingham Supporters,,,,, Luke, Steven, BQGillsFan, Loonpotter, Simon, Stocky, Dutch Gundersen, Gary, Mark, Gills Debate, Matthew, RichardG, Nathan, Rob, Neil, RichardS, Shane, Smithy, Lewis and Gills In The Blood, - I want to thank everyone who has participated in the latest Gillingham Supporters Blog, as well as thank those who participated in The Gillingham Supporters Blogs throughout The 2018 / 2019 Season, It is because the involvement of everyone who has participated in the previous four blogs which made these blogs so successful, so once again, thank you, Now on to the questions and answers……..

1. GILLINGHAM HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN THE SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW (SIGNING JACK BONHAM, LEE HODSON, ALFIE JONES, CONNOR OGILVIE, STUART O’KEEFE, OUSSEYNOU CISSE, MATTY WILLOCK, MARK MARSHALL, ALEX JAKUBIAK, MIKAEL NDJOLI AND MIKAEL MANDRON) WHAT HAVE YOU MADE OF GILLINGHAM’S SUMMER TRANSFER BUSINESS SO FAR, AND ALSO, WHICH SIGNING ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT ???

Luke - Some decent signings in there but some I've felt slightly uninspired by. Not quite convinced by the fact so many have played their trade in Scotland as many other Gills signings from north of the border haven't turned out too well. Ouss Cisse looks like he could be an absolute tank in the middle of the park and O'Keefe seems to be a very good leader so probably those two as our midfield was lacking last season.

Steven - Willock

BQGillsFan - Think it's fair to say it has been a positive window for Gillingham. Steve Evans has a lot of experience at this level and knows the kind of players needed to bring a bit of fight and grit to a hopefully successful side. O'Keefe and Cisse epitomise that and I'm excited by those two. A couple of no nonsense midfielders that will add some much needed physicality and nastiness to the centre of the park.

Loonpotter - I've been hugely impressed by the activity in the transfer window.. but not just by the amount that have come in but the quality that has been added.. Ones l’m most excited about are probably Ndjoli, Marshall and Willock.

Simon - Whoever came in as manager was going to have to bring new players in with so many out of contract. I'm looking forward to seeing how this new team does this season. Most of the signings have league experience which is good. Not really sure who excites me most as I haven't really seen them play other than at Folkestone.

Stocky - I think the signings have been very promising and think we are just another 1/2 names away from having a really strong squad to challenge at the right end of the table this year. From pre- season appearances, I've been impressed with O'Keefe who I feel will add a lot of solidity in the middle of the park this year. I've also been impressed at the hold-up play of Mandron and his technical ability since coming into the squad.

Dutch Gundersen - Generally positive - exactly what people said would happen, Evans brings in lots of loans. O'Keefe and Bonham are the stand outs for me.

Gary - Last season we were picking up good and promising youngsters from sides like us. We have done the same with players from Premier League sides so I am excited to see what quality they can bring. We appear to have brought in players very competent in their positions and, if successful, we have often turned these loan spells into permanent deals. I am most excited about Willock as it has been a long time since we've had some flair at the club.

Mark - Most excited about Ndjoli. In general we seem to have opened the purse strings and gone up a level in terms of quality. I don’t buy the same budget as last year. I think Evans has had more than Lovell. I think we can thank MEMS for that.

Gills Debate - I think that we’ve done some good business in the transfer window. We’ve addressed some of the key issues, such as replacing Holy (by signing Bonham), and strengthening the midfield with the additions of Willock, O’Keefe and Cisse. From what I saw in the pre-season games against Charlton and Southend, I think that O’Keefe could be a very key player for us this season, in terms of being someone that’s going to get stuck in and win the ball back in midfield. I’m probably most excited by Ndjoli – I think that he looks raw, but he also looks like he’s got lots and lots of potential, and if he hits the ground running then I think that we could have a very useful player on our hands.

Matthew - Very good this year signing lots of good quality players. The most exciting player I am look to see do well is Mark Marshall. In the game against Southend he bossed the first half done that wing.

RichardG - I think pleasantly surprised. Theres some recognisable names at this level which we've had a history of missing for whatever reason. I'm most excited by Matty Willock and look forward to seeing what he can do, I still think we need a left back back-up and possibly a poacher.

Nathan - When Steve Evans comes into your football club, you know that you’re going to see some turnover. What we’ll have this year is real competition for places in most positions which is something you need in a team. Too often you felt under Lovell that if the 11 he picked couldn’t win a game, we didn’t have anyone on the bench who could come on and change things, unless Eaves had been left out! In terms of most exciting, it must be the new-look midfield – particularly Cisse, O’Keefe and Willock. That said, almost all the signings are exciting in their own way. Good luck picking the 11 for Doncaster.

Rob - I think it has been a great close season in terms of both the quantity and quality of players we have bought in. I'm looking forward to seeing the dynamic Willock play and think he'll be a great player. I suspect the best signing may well be O'Keefe who does the dirty work very well.

Neil - Evans has continued his record of signing lots of players as he’s done at his past clubs. He’s concentrated on wide attacking players and midfielders. Excited to see Willock play as he’s from Man Utd who are my 2nd team to Gills.

RichardS - Arguably the most exciting I have been as a Gills fan over a large number of years. Many excite me. Ogilvie we know is quality although I am not sure he will always play centre half where he's best. O,Keefe I think will be excellent bringing much needed experience and Marshall likewise. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing how Matty Willock gets on. I think the options are endless and gives real depth to the squad.

Shane - I have been impressed with our transfer business so far. Our signings look like promising prospects. I think having Steve Evans on board has helped because it appears he has contacts in the right places. I have been quite excited by a number of our signings. I am feeling optimistic for the coming season. The first time in a while.

Smithy - I personally feel it's been a good summer so far for signings, better than the last few. After losing Holy I thought it was important to get in a good quality keeper and I think we've done that. Cisse is the player I feel most excited about at the moment, along with Ndjoli.

Lewis - There’s definitely been a big overhaul. Evans is known for that, though, so it is and was pretty expected. I’m happy he’s changed the midfield up and I think the three central players (Willock, O’Keefe and Cissé) are top acquisitions that will help protect the defence a lot more. We needed some wide players and strikers, to replace Eaves, too, so a job well done for me in terms of where we’ve strengthened. We’ll see if we can replace Eaves’ goals in some way, I doubt we were ever going to get another striker that will score 20 goals, but I’m happy with it. In terms of who I’m most excited about, I’ll say Mandron. A bit left field, but he’s impressed me a lot so far. He’s pretty agile for a target man and if he can be a little bit more unselfish I feel like he’ll get plenty of goals.

Gills In The Blood - Willock initially excited me based on his upbringing but I’ll plump for Mark Marshall who is a proven winger at this level, or King Ouss Cissé who looks very accomplished so far.

2. NOT ONLY HAVE GILLINGHAM BEEN VERY ACITVE WITH INCOMING TRANSFER ACTIVITY, BUT ALSO, TOM HADLER, LOUIE CATHERALL, LUKE O’NEILL, RYAN HUCKLE, ALEX LACEY, AARON SIMPSON, BILLY BINGHAM, BEN CHAPMAN, DEAN PARRETT AND CALLUM REILLY HAVE ALL LEFT GILLINGHAM FOOTBALL CLUB, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ON THE PLAYERS WHO HAVE DEPARTED GILLINGHAM OVER THE SUMMER ???

Luke - Was disappointed that O'Neill wasn't given another deal as he offers more than just being solid at Right Back thanks to his dead ball ability. Also frustrated that Parrett or Reilly haven't really been given opportunities to improve under Evans. The way Evans has handled Parrett, Rees and Stevenson for me has been very poor and I don't agree with chucking them in with the youth team.

Steven - Sad seeing some faces go and give the youngsters more games.

BQGillsFan - There are some players I'd rather have kept, such as O'Neill, Holy and Eaves, but two of those decided they wanted to move else where so we had little control over those. There did need to be a slimming down of the squad and I think most of the departures are fair. Likes of Lacey, Bingham, Parrett and Reilly are undoubtedly decent players but too injury prone. Everyone else clearly didn't fit into Evans plans so best for everyone to part ways.

Loonpotter - I would just thank them and wish them luck whilst appreciating that we needed more than they could offer hence our position in the table... I would excuse Luke O’Neill from the above and I would have kept him personally…

Simon - Apart from Luke O'Neill (who we will miss for his free kicks mainly) I have no problems with the others leaving. Billy Bingham and Dean Parrett were too injury prone, Callum Reilly wasn't suited to Steve Evans' style and the rest weren't going to play in the first team anyway.

Stocky - I think the majority of those I agree with and have been replaced sufficiently. I would have kept Hadler from the released players as back-up. Bingham is a great player but frustratingly injured more often than not. Luke O’Neill chose to leave us but I would have kept him although Hodson isn't a bad replacement! I was surprised at Reilly being left to depart recently as he had featured in pre-season and felt he had performed well.

Dutch Gundersen - Only sorry to see Tom Eaves go. Not bothered about the rest - they were part of the team that struggled for most of the season. Holy seen as a blow, but only by those who have forgotten how much stick he used to get for simple errors.

Gary - I think its been harsh on players like Reilly and Parrett who seem to have been pushed out. These are players UNDER CONTRACT with families and we would be livid if the reverse occurred. It is clear they have been replaced by better players. Holy and Eaves deserve a chance to play for bigger clubs. I am concerned that letting THREE goalkeepers go leaves a lot on Bonham's shoulders with little experienced back-up.

Mark - If we are going to break the cycle of relegation battles we have to sign better players that means some have to go.

Gills Debate - I think that I was probably disappointed to see 3 of these players leave in particular – Tom Hadler, Luke O’Neill and Callum Reilly. Having seen young Joe Walsh play in pre-season, I’m not so disappointed to see Hadler leave now, as I think that we’ve got a very capable understudy to Bonham on our books, and someone that has got a lot of potential. Hopefully the move will be the best thing for Hadler as well, as he should now be able to play first team football consistently. I thought O’Neill did well for us over the course of the two years that he played at the club, so I’d have liked to have seen him stay, and while I don’t think Reilly did as well last season as when he first joined on loan, he was one of my picks for the players that I’d been impressed by in pre-season, and I think that the fact that he was left-footed gave us a bit of extra balance, so again I’d have liked to have seen him given further opportunities this season. I think the other decisions are all understandable, whether that’s because the players had problems with injuries (Bingham, Lacey, and to a perhaps lesser extent Parrett), or because they were younger players that wanted to play first team football.

Matthew - I was a bit disappointed to see some of them go. The main person I thought would be a shame that has left is Eaves who you have not mentioned. I really liked his fight even if we were winning or losing.

RichardG - Not too disappointed with those who have gone. Perhaps would have liked to have seen Hadler kept on as a reserve but Walsh has been getting good reviews.

Nathan - It's always disappointing when you see a crop of younger players released, but without seeing them week in and week out, its hard to say whether that was the right decision or not. On the senior players that have been shown the door, I can’t say I’m surprised and fully expect Rees and Stevenson to go too if they can be found clubs. Despite some great moments and a few brilliant individual performances (Lacey against Pompey, O’Neill’s equaliser at Luton) these first team players were too inconsistent. Surprised to see Bingham drop down to the Conference, but good luck to him and hope he can stay injury free.

Rob - It's sad to see Luke O'Neill leave as I felt he had been consistently good throughout most of his time at the club. His set pieces produced a number of goals and it was the first time in a good few years that I felt confident when we won a free kick. Callum Reilly's departure surprised me, considering he had played the majority of preseason.

Neil - Out of those who have left I think we could miss O’Neill for his free kicks, and Reilly who as a left footer added balance to the midfield.

RichardS - I was sorry to see Luke O Neil move on as I think he did well on the whole for us. I felt Alex Lacey had more to offer and Callum Reilly will be a loss. I do feel we have recruited better so for the others probably time to move on. Good luck to all off them though.

Shane - Most of the players who have departed didn't raise any eyebrows for me. A number of youngsters. Tom Hadler has been waiting for a chance for a few seasons and unfortunately it didn't work out for him. There had to be some first team players go to make room for those incoming. I was surprised to see Reilly depart. But he was obviously not in the new managers plans.

Smithy - I wasn't surprised by Parrett's exit, with the midfielders we've signed I didn't see him appearing much. I was also in two minds as to whether Reilly would also feature much, I am disappointed he's left though. As for the youngsters they need game time so I fully expected some departures and wish the ones that have left well.

Lewis - I was surprised by a couple, a couple were a shame, and a couple were expected. I think the likes of Simpson, Lacey and Bingham leaving, with all due respect, got rid of some dead wood. I was sad to see the likes of Chapman and Reilly leave, but that’s football. Apart from maybe O’Neill, there are no huge losses.

Gills In The Blood - I think we thank them all for their efforts while in and move onwards like they have or will. One or two I was a tad surprised about but on the whole the squad now looks more balanced and ultimately stronger.

3. WHERE DO YOU THINK GILLINGHAM WILL NEED TO STRENGTHEN THE SQUAD IN THE TRANSFER WINDOW ???

Luke - Only think if someone of real quality becomes available that we should look to add. Maybe a left sided player that can play more than one position would be useful or a recognised prolific striker but I doubt we can afford one of those. Some of the youngsters need to be given opportunities as some appear to be very talented.

Steven - I still think we need to strengthen striker and central defender or left back.

BQGillsFan - I'd say we need perhaps another full back and goalkeeper, but Evans seems quite set on giving the youngster Walsh a chance to be back up to Bonham so that's unlikely to happen. Otherwise I'm happy with giving the players we've already bought in the chance to establish themselves and we'll see come January what we may need.

Loonpotter - I think we,'re all set and ready now. I'd be happy as we are.

Simon - We still need a goalscoring striker unless Hanlan or Mandron etc bang them in!

Stocky - I still think we need another left back in personally and at least one more winger. Ideally I would say a proven striker however I can't see that happening.

Dutch Gundersen - Left back cover and new striker. For me the only man to replace Tom Eaves on the pitch and in our hearts is former Leeds United frontman, Arthur Graham.

Gary - People talk about needing a striker and the club still have an offer tabled for one but we have Hanlan, Ndjoli, Jukubiak and Mandron. We have an abundance of midfielders and 2 for each defensive position so a back-up keeper for me otherwise we have too big a squad. Particularly when Evans said it would be smaller!

Mark - A goalscorer. Someone to get 20 next season. They don’t come cheap and unless Hanlan really kicks on i don’t think we have that person. Yet.

Gills Debate - At the time of writing, I still think that we need a bit of extra cover/competition at left-back, to allow Fuller to compete with Hodson on his more natural right side and I’m also intrigued to see what comes of the bid that we’ve put in for the striker. I think that another winger would probably be useful as well, although I do think that the likes of Charles-Cook, Ndjoli and maybe Jakubiak, will be used from wider areas at times this season.

Matthew - I still think we need another striker to boast what we have already. I hope we can still get the higher league player we are still in for.

RichardG - Left back and poacher.

Nathan - It’s up top isn’t it really. When we signed Eaves, I don’t think there was anyone who thought he’d be a 20 goals a season machine. Hopefully one of the forwards we’ve signed will surprise us, but I still think we’re missing a proven L1 goal scorer. The problem is that someone like that is always going to receive better offers than we can provide so we’re taking chances on players who are hungry to prove themselves. We also need another GK and LB to keep up the competition for places.

Rob - I think we're pretty much there. I'd like to see another left back, not just as competition to Garmston but also to play when he inevitably gets injured. I would wonder about a backup keeper to allow the promising Walsh to play regular football on loan.

Neil - A left back as I can’t see Garmston playing 40+ games this season, perhaps a more central striker who has experience and has scored a few at this level before.

RichardS - With Tom Eaves departure it would be an insurance policy to sign another recognised front man. That said the rumours of another striker being approached might come good before the season starts which means the gap may have been filled. For me it's the only missing link.

Shane - I still think we may need to strengthen up front. I also think another goal keeper is a must. We cannot be relying on a first year pro if our number 1 is ruled out for a period of time.

Smithy - I still think we need to strengthen the forward line. I'm happy with what we've got but I would like to see a real out and out striker come in.

Lewis - In terms of what’s left, I think I we want a left back and another winger. I wouldn’t rule out a striker that can get goals, either, but left back and a wide man (ehem Jarvis) have to be a priority.

Gills In the Blood - I would love to still see us bring in a ‘proven’ frontman and another left back if I’m being greedy, but if not I’m not disappointed with what we have.

4. GILLINGHAM HAVE GOT THREE HOME LEAGUE MATCHES IN AUGUST (BURTON ALBION, BLACKPOOL AND BOLTON WANDERERS) WITH A LOT OF CONCERNING TALK ABOUT GILLINGHAM’S HOME FORM OVER THE PAST FEW SEASON’S, HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK IT IS FOR GILLINGHAM TO GET OFF TO A GOOD START IN OUR FIRST THREE HOME LEAGUE GAMES OF THE SEASON ???

Luke - It goes without saying that you should start as you mean to go on. Home form cost Lovell his job and Evans needs to ensure that Priestfield becomes a fortress or he may well suffer the same fate as Steve Lovell.

Steven - It's very important to start positively as it will encourage the fans to back Steve Evans and the team.

BQGillsFan - You can see the club desperately wants to get Priestfield rocking given the season ticket campaigns. Getting those first few wins early on will only get fans buzzing and raise the atmosphere, something that has been sorely missing in recent years.

Loonpotter - it's always important but I don’t think we can judge on the last couple of seasons as we have a completely different squad, and with that, a new mindset.

Simon - With Bolton's problems we should be able to secure 3 points against them, The Blackpool and Burton Albion games look more difficult on paper but I'd like to think we will take the game to them rather than sitting back and trying to break on the counter which works away but not at home.

Stocky - I think it is vitally important. Steve Evans has changed a lot of views since coming in due to his approach and mentality which has got fans believing again. The club have done their part by reducing prices and trying to install that togetherness there.

Dutch Gundersen - Vital to win all three to be honest. Fans memories are short, and a few wins will help cement Evans as a legend, and make us all forget that going to Priestfield was a deeply miserable experience last year.

Gary - I don't think a good start is essential. We have a LOT of new players that will need to gel. The home fans have had 2 years of dross so are likely to be a bit reserved, particularly as attendances are lower in August for the holidays. This may cause some tentative play and cost us points. That said, they also will be a fresh team without that prior worry so may hit the ground running. I expect many of our points to come in the middle part of the season.

Mark - It’s critical. Home Games have been dull for 2-3 seasons. Evans needs a great start at home. Three wins will shut the doubters up. I think he needs 3 as well.

Gills Debate - I think that you always want to start well at home as it allows you to build some momentum and a feel-good factor early on in the season, and that is probably especially important for us given the poor home record that we had over the last couple of seasons. The positivity/excitement seems to have been building over the last few weeks, and a good start at home should allow that to continue once the competitive action kicks off again!

Matthew - It is always important to start well at home and they are three massive teams but 2 wins and a draw would be nice for me.

RichardG - I think its important for the Evans regime. There was a lot of negative at his appointment but now there is a not of optimism amongst (most of) the fans. If we could get at least 7 points from those 3 home games that could make the atmosphere electric again like the old days.

Nathan - Home form was the undoing for Steve Lovell. Had we had a few more of our wins at home last season, he might still be here. It does feel that the home form over the last 2-3 seasons has really taken the wind out of our sails as a club and a set of fans. Gillingham fans are fickle at the best of times but 5-6 wins a season out of 23 isn’t good enough – the home form surely is the club’s priority. That said, I’ll judge Evans after our first 10-12 homes games not three. However, a win against Burton would be a real statement of intent. We need to make Priestfield an uncomfortable visit for away teams - I never want to hear what Evans said about Posh being walking to ‘walk right through us’. Bolton with all their troubles will be an odd game.

Rob - Vitally important. If we win the first few, then we can really start to believe and get behind the team. Lose the first few and people will be thinking it is "same old Gillingham".

Neil - Yes the home form has been very poor for the past 3 seasons, I hope we can turn it around. Early wins will breed confidence.

RichardS - One things for sure If we are going to kick on our home form must improve significantly on last season. I'm going to predict it will!! SE will be acutely aware of this and see it as a target for sure. I would like to see us winning 2 of the first 3 to set the standard.

Shane - Home form will definitely be essential this season. There seems to have been a dark cloud hanging over Priestfield the past few seasons. Good home form will hopefully fill the stands a create a great atmosphere which has been lacking in the last few seasons.

Smithy - Given all the new players that we've bought in I think they're going to want to show the home fans what they're about and I think as a club we've got a lot to prove this season so I think it's really important that we get up and going quickly and put on some good performances.

Lewis - It will be important because of the home form from last year. Evans struggled at home at Peterborough too so winning a couple at home early will give a big boost to the side in terms of turning around last year’s form.

Gills In The Blood - I think it’s a massive thing, and something that certainly needs improving. Will certainly be interesting considering Evans home record at Posh prior to his departure wasn’t great either.

5. GILLINGHAM HAVE BEEN DRAWN AT HOME TO NEWPORT COUNTY IN THE LEAGUE CUP FIRST ROUND, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON GILLINGHAM BEING DRAWN AT HOME TO NEWPORT COUNTY, AND DO YOU THINK GILLINGHAM CAN GO ON A DECENT CUP RUN IN THE LEAGUE CUP ???

Luke - We don't have a very good record in the League Cup and I can't see this year be any different.

Steven - I believe that a decent cup run will boosted the atmosphere of the Gills faithful.

BQGillsFan - A home tie against beatable opposition. Can't really ask for more than that. I can't imagine a cup run is something of focus to Evans this season and rightly so. It's all about the league right now.

Loonpotter - It’s an interesting first round.. lovely to be at home and with a good chance of going through also.

Simon - It was good to finally get a home draw and it will be nice to welcome Mike Flynn back to Priestfield. Newport have been a good cup side over the past couple of seasons so it won't be an easy game. If we can beat them and then get favourable draws in the next rounds there's no reason why we can’t go on a cup run.

Stocky - The game is definitely winnable although Newport have good cup pedigree from previous seasons. The aim for domestic cups in my opinion is always to try and get through to the rounds where the big boys come in. It'll be good to welcome Mike Flynn back to Priestfield.

Dutch Gundersen - No view on Newport. Don't see us going on any sort of cup run, I'm afraid. Burscough lingers long in the memory.

Gary - Newport , other than Flynn, have no real significance so will be just another hurdle in a competition we struggle in. That said, the first 4 home games are all very winnable and so too is this game. 5 home wins out of 5 would completely alter our season.

Mark - We should win that. Early cup run is nice to build the positive spirit. We all enjoyed Watford right?

Gills Debate - Personally, I was hoping for a reasonably local away tie at a ground that I hadn’t been too before and wouldn’t be going to this season in league 1 – Somewhere like QPR, Brentford or Cambridge United. However, I think that, while the game won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination, it does give us a decent chance of progression to the 2nd round, and the match will of course see the return of Michael Flynn to Priestfield. I don’t see any reason why we can’t go on a decent cup run this season in at least one of the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup game, and if we could have another game like the ones against Cardiff City and Watford in recent years, then that would be great!

Matthew - I think it will be a game were we can win. I do hope we have a good cup run this year but we have to focus on the league as well.

RichardG - Gills either do awful or fairly decent so could go either way, who knows!

Nathan - Of course, it will be good to give a warm welcome to Micky Flynn back at Priestfield but I can’t say I’m particularly excited by the prospect of a run in the League Cup! I’ll probably go along but for me, it’s always League first, FA Cup second and everything else a distant third.

Rob - Newport will be an interesting game against Michael Flynn's side with Mark Byrne having played for the opposition too. A good cup run is important although I'd rather it in the FA Cup!

Neil - That’s a good draw. At home for a change, and on paper should beat Newport, but it’s never easy.

RichardS - Always tricky but I expect us to win comfortably. That's probably the kiss of death if there ever was one.

Shane - I enjoy cup football. I think the draw against Newport gives us a good opportunity to go a little further in the cup. A nice little run could fund additional players in the second half of the season.

Smithy - I think Newport is a good first round tie, at home as well so I think that could be a good match. Potentially we've got a strong team so I can't see why we can't go on a bit of a run.

Lewis - I like Newport so it’s pretty cool, although I’d have preferred it to be away. It’s a tie we should win, which could set up a nice cup run, so we’ll see where it goes.

Gills In The Blood - As with every year, it would be nice to navigate the first round or two and then potentially play one of the bigger sides, and if that happens then happy days. Newport will be tough though.

6. WHICH PLAYER FROM LAST SEASON’S SQUAD CAN YOU SEE HAVING A MAGNIFICENT SEASON FOR GILLINGHAM DURING THE 2019 / 2020 SEASON ???

Luke - Can see Hanlan being the main front man this season. He finished last season so strongly, I'm hoping he can push on now and get 15+ goals this season.

Steven - I can see Hanlan and RCC improve a lot this season.

BQGillsFan - Is Hanlan too obvious an answer? For the sake of diversity (as I imagine a lot of people will say Hanlan), I'll go with Max Ehmer. He wasn't at his best last year but towards the end of the season he massively picked up when partnered with a ball playing CB in Ogilvie. If he continues a similar partnership with either Ogilvie or Alfie Jones then I expect Max to have a very strong season as the main leader in the team. Otherwise he'll likely lose his spot to Zakuani once Gabs has recovered.

Loonpotter - Elliot List and Hanlan, I believe are going to smashhh it this season.

Simon - Judging on the latter half of last season I think Brandon Hanlan could have a very good campaign.

Stocky - I think Ogilvie will carry on his good form at centre back and can see Hanlan tearing the league apart this year following the previous season with us. I feel we are lucky with some of the players that have been there a while with the effort they give such as Max and Byrner.

Dutch Gundersen - Hanlan.

Gary - I think the new signings have stepped us up a gear and last year's squad will struggle. List was fantastic and anonymous in many games although Evans could get much more from him, particularly with a better formation. Hanlan would likely to be the player that steps up a gear given how he gained in maturity towards the end of last season. However, he needs to beef up and I fear his chances will be more limited this season with much stronger competition up front.

Mark - Magnificent is a strong word. It’s a huge year for List, Hanlan and RCC. Can they kick on or not ? List in particular needs to show consistency to match his potential.

Gills Debate - I’m going to go with Max Ehmer. I think that he has done a very good job for us since he first arrived on loan in 2014, but that other than in 2016-2017, he has often been playing alongside either John Egan or Gabriel Zakuani, who were probably considered the 1st choice defender in that partnership for the majority of the time. I think that this season, Ehmer is probably now our 1st choice in that area, and having been given the captain’s armband by Steve Evans, I think that he could really excel.

Matthew - I think Barry Fuller will have another fantastic season. The fans love him here and will never get on his back.

RichardG - Hanlan if he links up with Mandron well. If he scores a few in the first few games that could do his confident the world of good. You could also change Hanlan for List.

Nathan - I’d love to see a brilliant defensive partnership between Ogilvie and Ehmer but I’m crossing my fingers more for Brandon Hanlan. He kept getting better last season and I think that no longer being under Eaves shadow will be a good opportunity to show us what he can do.

Rob - Brandon Hanlan. I think this could be a good season for him. When not stuck out wide, he really found his shooting boots towards the end of last season and I feel we could be getting around 15 goals from him this time.

Neil - Charles-Cook has featured in a lot of friendlies and I think he could kick on this season with more goals and assists.

RichardS - I'm going to plump for Brandon Hanlon. Has great potential and will be a popular bet for top scorer.

Shane - I think Hanlan will have a good season. Towards the end of last season he was performing well. The only disadvantage is I believe he is out of contact at the end of the season, so if he does have a good season we could end up losing him.

Smithy - Hanlan I think could have a good season if he pushes on and I think he's got good competition this year which could help his progress. I also think this could be a good year for Garmston if he can stay fit.

Lewis - With Tom Eaves gone, I think I a lot of people can agree it’s Brandon Hanlan’s time to shine. He got nine last year and he’ll want to improve on that for sure, and I think he will. He’ll be vital. He and Max Ehmer, taking the captaincy, will be huge.

Gills In The Blood - I’m hopeful that Brandon Hanlan will continue on where he left off at the back end of last term and prove to be an accomplished, more consistent, striker at this level.

7. WITH TOM EAVES SIGNING FOR HULL CITY, WHO IN THE CURRENT SQUAD DO YOU THINK WILL BE GILLINGHAM’S TOP GOAL-SCORER AT THE END OF THE 2019 / 2020 SEASON ???

Luke - Again probably Hanlan. Mandron looks more like a target man and Ndjoli may well be used from the side rather than up front. List could probably chip in with a fair few also.

Steven - I believe Hanlan could be there.

BQGillsFan - It will likely be between Mandron, Hanlan or Jakubiak, depending on who gets the most game time in that central role. I imagine it will be Mandron getting the nod from Evans with Hanlan likely playing out wide more often than not. And I'll spice up my prediction by saying he'll get 16 league goals in 2019/20.

Loonpotter - I would say Ndjoli or Hanlan for top scorer..

Simon - I'll go for Brandan Hanlan again.

Stocky - I think Hanlan will finish as our top scorer and that Mandron will chip in but will grab more assists than goals.

Dutch Gundersen - Hanlan.

Gary - If Ndjoli can get off to a good start he could have a good season. I think it will be a season where 3 or 4 players get close to 10 goals rather than than 1 getting 20.

Mark - Assuming we don’t sign someone then Hanlan.

Gills Debate - This is a tough choice, as I feel that our forward options could be quite heavily rotated by Evans, and the likes of Ndjoli may be used both out wide, and as an out and out forward. My pick though is Brandon Hanlan. I think that he got better and better throughout the course of last season, and started to look like an accomplished striker at this level. I think that if he continues his improvement in the current campaign, then he could hit up to 15 goals this season, which I think may be enough to be our top scorer currently, as I think we may share the goals out a bit more, as opposed to having one player that gets 20+.

Matthew - This is a hard one for me but I hope it is Mandron.

RichardG - I can see 2 getting 10ish in Hanlan and Mandron but not sure we'll get a 20 goal man yet...hoping to be surprised!

Nathan - As above, I hope it’s Brandon Hanlan. Of the new crop, they’re somewhat of an unknown quantity and unfortunately, I’m not one of these fans with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the lower leagues! Could Ndjoli surprise us, or even Mandron? Let’s see in May!

Rob - This is a tough one. I think Hanlan, Ndjoli, Mandron and the Watford guy will all get goals, perhaps around 10 each so it might be a close run thing. I doubt we'll see a 25 goal season from any of them but goals spread across the side.

Neil - I will go with Ndjoli but tough to know as we don’t know who will start up front yet. Mandron historically doesn’t score many, but he impressed me v Southend.

RichardS - Pure guess but I'll go for Mikael Mandron.

Shane - I believe Hanlan will score a few more goals than he did last season.

Smithy - I'd like Hanlan to come out on top of the goal scoring charts at the end of the season, but I think the goals are going to come from all over this season. Hard one to call for me.

Lewis - Definitely Hanlan. I believe he’ll kick on and net a few, leading the line and being the main man.

Gills In The Blood - Based on my answer to the above question, I’ll go with Hanlan, but I do think the goals will be spread around the squad a little more this season.

8. GILLINGHAM HAVE PLAYED AGAINST FAVERSHAM TOWN, DEAL TOWN, FOLKESTONE INVICTA, BEARSTED, DARTFORD, CHATHAM TOWN, CHARLTON ATHLETIC, MILLWALL, DOVER ATHLETIC, SOUTHEND UNITED, SHEPPEY UNITED AND WELLING UNITED IN PRE-SEASON - HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP GILLINGHAM’S PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE, AND FROM THE MATCHES YOU HAVE BEEN TO, HAVE THESE MATCHES GIVEN YOU MORE CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO THE 2019 / 2020 SEASON ???

Luke - Only been to the Dover game and we weren't particularly good in that match. If we play like that for the rest of the season then I will be very concerned.

Steven - Pre season has been very decent this season it improved the confidence of the team.

BQGillsFan - It's been a good balance of fitness focused and competitive focused matches in pre-season. Performances have been impressive for the most part, with a lot of the new signings putting in good displays. Overall a positive pre-season for Gillingham.

Loonpotter - I've been given a lot of confidence going into the season... it's all been about fitness but I've seen some really good play as well.

Simon - Never ever ever judge a team from pre season friendlies! I've been watching Gills since 1965 and good pre season results do not always indicate a good season!

Stocky - The only away pre- season game I went to was Faversham where the class was evident and it was more about getting minutes in the legs. Having attended the home fixtures, I thought we played well in periods although there were flat moments (as to be expected being pre-season) The formation looks interesting and attacking with it appearing that Evans wants us to press from the front. I'm confident we will have a good season based on what I've seen so far.

Dutch Gundersen - Some decent games for once, a genuine warm up. Not interested in the Welling score - was a v young team. Not been to any of the games.

Gary - I haven't seen any of these games.

Mark - Not been to a single Gills game. This summer i focussed on the Bundesliga. Five stadiums visited and i also went to see Hamburg SV in the second division. Over 45000 and non stop backing from fans. loved it. Reminded me of why I first fell in love with football. I know the atmosphere at Gills will disappoint me after HSV. I Also did the stadium tour at Dortmund. 35000 on a terrace and 87000 total. I love german football.

Gills Debate - I do think that a fairly big part of pre-season is about building fitness, about trying out different combinations, and about seeing what seems to work and what doesn’t, so I don’t want to read too much into any positives/negatives from the performances but I’ve been pretty happy with what I’ve seen overall in pre-season. I quite enjoy some of the games against some of the local Kent sides, but I was also pleased to see that Evans added the games against Charlton, Millwall, and Southend to test ourselves against opponents that are Championship/League 1 quality, and I thought that the performance against Charlton was very good.

Matthew - They have been good to get to know the players. As I only went to the home games it was nice to see them all play as a team at Prestfield.

RichardG - I haven't been to any pre-season games as not local but think pre-season has been ok. True test comes 1st day of season.

Nathan - Having only seen us against Faversham, there’ll be people far more qualified than me to tell us how we’ve looked over the pre-season. At the end of the day, you want to finish pre-season without injuries, with some wins under your belt and knowing as a manager who your best 11 are. We had some good run outs against better opposition (Millwall, Charlton) but also lots of opportunity for Evans and Raynor to see the young players. I live more in hope than anticipation, but I don’t think anyone can say this pre-season hasn’t been a good one. I think a few people seemed to be concerned about our performance against Dover and Southend, but it doesn’t worry me too much. It’s what happens on 3 August that matters.

Rob - We've played a lot of games! Playing double headers is an interesting idea and I'm glad the U23 games haven't been at the same time as the senior ones.

Neil - An odd schedule with games in consecutive days, and the heatwave made it very difficult for the matches at Dover and v Southend. I hope the players haven’t been overloaded, but it’s very scientific nowadays and they analyse the minutes played and distance run etc.

RichardS - Very hard to tell and I always feel pre-season is not an indication of what the season will bring. We've done ok and it has been good to give younger players a run out.

Shane - I haven't been to any preseason games. From what I have read and heard it has been a promising pre season. But it is always hard to judge because in previous seasons I have been optimistic and the season hasn't gone well. But thats the life of a gillsfan.

Smithy - We've had a good mix of pre-season friendlies this year with some good results. I think its been largely successful, especially in terms of seeing some of the younger players and thinking maybe a couple could be seen around some match days this year.

Lewis - It was ok. I’m sure Evans learnt a lot about his squad. We had a few meh results against the likes of Dover and Millwall but it was productive and plenty of players got minutes in legs which is the main thing. They’ve given me confidence because we played more than we usually would, which will have allowed the side to gel and learn each other’s game. That’ll be important with a lot of incomings.

Gills In The Blood - I’ve only been to what would be classed as first team fixtures over the summer and I’ve been impressed on the whole. The stand out was the Charlton victory, who weren’t far from full strength. Dover was a little underwhelming but was our third game in four days.

9. JOE WALSH, JACK TUCKER, BEN ALLEN AND ROMAN CAMPBELL HAVE ALL BEEN GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES TO PLAY FOR GILLINGHAM’S FIRST TEAM IN PRE-SEASON, WHICH YOUNG PLAYER CAN YOU SEE BREAKING INTO GILLINGHAM’S FIRST TEAM THIS SEASON ???

Luke - Really like the look of Jack Tucker at centre back and with Zakuani being out injured for longer than first expected, I think he could have a chance of breaking in. Think Joe Walsh could play in the Checkapaint Vans Windscreen Trophy so hopefully he can impress in those games too.

Steven - I can see Ben Allen breaking into the mould.

BQGillsFan - Walsh and Allen looked rather impressive in their pre-season outings, but I imagine they'll both only really get opportunities in cup games this year. Walsh will be back up to Bonham, whilst Allen is up against a very stacked midfield in order to make it into the first team. League game time likely going to be sporadic at best for the two of them.

Loonpotter - Ben Allen or Jack Tucker.

Simon - Probably Jack Tucker.

Stocky - I think due to the lack of wingers currently and his excellent performance against Millwall that Ben Allen seems the most likely and he certainly looks an interesting prospect. I feel Walsh will be sub keeper only, Tucker is 4th choice but has impressed when I've seen him play and can't really see Campbell featuring much.

Dutch Gundersen - I tip Noel Mbo every year, but can't now. The outstanding youngster is likely to be Barry Fuller. ;-)

Gary - Henry Woods. He looked very exciting in preseason last season and has had opportunities this season also. Evans appears to have given his first team game time so perhaps he could make that break although there are an awful lot of players to shift out the way first!

Mark - None of them but the keeper sounds like a prospect.

Gills Debate - I think that Joe Walsh will be our 2nd choice GK this season, so should be involved in the matchday squad on a very regular basis. I was impressed with how he played in the friendly against Millwall, and I expect that he’ll be given opportunities to play in the Checkatrade Trophy / Kent Senior Cup, which will hopefully give him the chance to show us what he is made of. I think that the other young player that is probably closest to pushing for a role in the matchday squad for our league games is Jack Tucker, as with Zakuani currently unfortunately injured, he is our 4th choice centre-back. I think that he’s another player with a lot of potential, and hopefully he’ll continue to get better over the course of the next 9 months or so.

Matthew - I think Ben Allen has been the star of the young group. But we will have to see if he has a part to play this season.

RichardG - Potentially Ben Allen, especially if we don’t sign any more wingers.

Nathan - I thought Jack Tucker looked good when I saw him play in the second half against Faversham but Evans and Raynor have been talking very highly of Ben Allen. In those positions, there is already competition for places, so I imagine we’d see few sub appearances from them unless we (God forbid) see a few injuries.

Rob - Tucker. Walsh will be in the most match day squads by being the backup keeper, but I feel Tucker could make it this year. With Zakuani out for so long and, I believe, on the verge of retirement, Tucker is the 4th choice centre back and may well feature in a fair number of games. Evans seems to rate him highly.

Neil - Well Walsh will be on the bench as reserve keeper, and I think Tucker could be involved too, with Zak’s injury giving him an opportunity. Campbell and Allen could play in the Football League Trophy and Kent Senior Cup.

RichardS - I said the same last season and it didn't quite materialise but I'm sticking with Jack Tucker. Will be decent given an opportunity I'm sure.

Shane - I have heard good things about those players. It would be good to see them given an opportunity in the first team. It is the only way they will properly learn the trade and gain vital experience.

Smithy - I was surprised we haven't signed a back-up keeper as yet, but I think taking a risk with Joe Walsh could pay off. I can't see him breaking into the squad just yet however. Jack Tucker on the other hand I think could be used a bit here and there if needed.

Lewis - I’m not sure if any will break in permanently but I’ve been impressed with them all. Jack Tucker has been excellent the most for me, he’s not looked at all out of place in the back four when featuring and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a few minutes this term.

Gills In The Blood - I’ve been impressed with Tucker for a couple of years now so I’ll stick my neck out and say him. Seems to certainly have all the tools to progress into an accomplished ball playing centre back.

10. GILLINGHAM TRAVEL TO DONCASTER ROVERS ON THE OPENING DAY OF THE SEASON, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR STARTING LINE UP (YOU CAN NAME THE BENCH IF YOU WANT TO NAME THE SUBS), AND WHAT FORMATION WOULD YOU PICK FOR SATURDAY’S MATCH ???

Luke - Will base it on the shape Evans has been playing so far as the 4-2-3-1 so the following:

Bonham

Fuller Ehmer Ogilvie Garmston

O'Keefe & Cisse

Marshall RCC List

Hanlan

Subs: Walsh, A.Jones, Hodson, Byrne Willock, Ndjoli, Mandron.

Steven - Bonham Hodson Ehmer Jones Fuller Byrne Willock RCC List Mandron Hanlan - 4.3.3.

BQGillsFan - 4-3-3 Formation: Bonham // Fuller - Ehmer - Jones - Ogilvie // O'Keefe (C) - Cisse // Hanlan - Charles Cook - Marshall // Mandron // Walsh, Hodson, Garmston, Byrne, Willock, List, Jakubiak.

Really struggled to leave out Ndjoli but someone had to drop out of him or Jakubiak

Loonpotter - Bonham

Hodson

Ehmer

Jones

Fuller

Cisse

O’keefe

Willock

List

Hanlan

Ndjoli

Simon - I've no idea how Steve Evans wants the team to play yet and I haven't seen enough of them to decide what the best line up would be, I'll leave it to Mr Evans.

Stocky -

Bonham

Fuller Ehmer Ogilvie Garmston

OKeefe Cisse

Hanlan Willock RCC

Mandron

Bench- Walsh, Hodson, Jones, Byrne, Ndjoli, Marshall, Jakuniak

Dutch Gundersen - 4 4 2 probably with a goalkeeper behind the defence. Not sure of the line up, not sure who is fully match fit etc.

Gary - Without seeing them it is hard but I would go 4-2-3-1:

Bonham

Hodson / Ehmer / Jones / Ogilvie

O'Keefe / Cisse

List / Willock (or Mandron) / Marshall

Ndjoli.

Mark - I'll leave that to Evans.

Gills Debate - (4-2-3-1) – Bonham, Fuller, Ehmer, Jones, Garmston, O’Keefe, Cisse, Marshall, Charles-Cook, Ndjoli, Mandron.

Subs: Walsh, Hodson, Ogilvie, Willock, Byrne, List, Hanlan

After tipping Hanlan to be our top scorer, I don’t really want to leave him out of my starting 11 for the opening game, but I do think that Mandron probably deserves the chance to start after a good showing against Millwall, and a very impressive performance against Southend in my opinion.

Matthew - I would pick 433 formation. I would go with Bonham, Garmston, Ehmer, Ogilvie, Fuller, O’Keefe, Willock, Charles Cook, Marshall, Mandron, Harlan. That is mine.

RichardG - Bonham, Hodson, Ehmer, Ogilvie, Fuller, O'Keefe, Cisse, Charles-Cook, Marshall, List, Mandron.

Nathan - Bonham, Hodson Ehmer Ogilvie, Garmston and in front of them Cisse and O'Keefe and then Willock. Up top Ndjoli, Hanlan and List. That said I can see Marshall over List or Mandron being in there too. Evans and Raynor have a few big calls to make!

Rob - 4-3-3. Bonham; Hodson, Ehmer, Jones, Garmston; O'Keefe, Cissé, Byrne; Ndjoli, Hanlan, List 10 continued) But really I don't think there's many places that are nailed down. There's plenty of options up front in a variety of positions as well as in midfield.

Neil - 4-2-3-1 formation: Bonham, Fuller, Ehmer, Ogilvie, Garmston, Cisse, O’Keefe, Ndjoli, Byrne, Cook, Mandron. Lots of different options for the front 4 players and I could see Hanlan / List start instead, not sure if Marshall and Jakubiak are ready yet tho. From what I’ve heard Willock isn’t travelling to Doncaster as he’s behind on fitness due to the virus he suffered with.

RichardS - Bonham, Fuller, Ogilvie, Ehmer, Hodson, Byrne, Cisse, Marshall, O,Keefe, Hanlan and Ndjoli. Subs. Mandron, Willock, Tucker, Garmston and Jakubiak. I'd start with a standard 4.4.2 with Marshall pushing on to move more 4.3.3 as the game progresses.

Shane - Bonham, Hodson, Ehmer, Ogilvie, Fuller, O'Keefe, Cisse, Byrne, Hanlan, Mandron, List

Smithy -

Bonham

Hodson-Ehmer-Jones-Garmston

Marshall-O'Keefe-Cisse-Ndjoli

Charles-Cook

Mandron

Lewis - (4-2-3-1) Bonham - Hodson, Jones, Ogilvie, Garmston - O’Keefe (C), Cissé - Ndjoli, Charles-Cook, List - Hanlan. Subs: Walsh, Fuller, Ehmer, Willock, Byrne, Marshall, Mandron.

Gills In The Blood - I would play at 4-2-3-1 of Bonham, Fuller, Jones, Ehmer, Garmston, O’Keefe, Cissé, Ndjoli, Charles-Cook, List and Hanlan. My bench would be Walsh, Hodson, Ogilvie, Byrne, Marshall, Jakubiak, Mandron,

11. WHERE DO YOU THINK GILLINGHAM WILL FINISH IN LEAGUE ONE FOR THE 2019 / 2020 SEASON ???

Luke - Somewhere in the top 24 I hope.

Steven - I believe that we can get 10th.

BQGillsFan - Don't say it... Don't say it... Don't say it................ Playoffs!!!

Loonpotter - I believe we'll finish between 6th and 10th..

Simon - I usually predict mid table, but I'll go top half just so 10th.

Stocky - 10th. I think we will challenge and have a good season but don't believe we have enough to creep into the playoffs at this time.

Dutch Gundersen - 14th.

Gary - I think we will have a good start (if Bury and Bolton compete), then tail off against the tougher teams before coming stronger and finishing 8th.

Mark - Just outside the playoffs. If we can win more at home then he’s done ok.

Gills Debate - In the top half, but not quite in the play-off positions – 9th/10th.

Matthew - I think we will finish in the top half of the table this season. What I have seen in pre season is great.

RichardG - 13th - hoping for higher but underpromise overdeliver!

Nathan - I think if we can finish 10th and a handful of wins away from the last play off spot, we could say we’ve had a good season. Last seasons relegation battle was unbelievable with 10 or 11 teams in the mix until the last few weeks, let’s just stay clear of that!

What I’d like is for Gillingham to not spend February until May constantly looking over our shoulder and dependent on other results. League One gets tougher every year and I hope a few of our fans don’t get carried away with their expectations. Pushed for an actual prediction, I’d say 12th.

Rob - Dare I say playoffs? Probably and hopefully top half.

Neil - 10th place. If we sign a goalscorer then who knows, maybe higher.

RichardS - I said 16th last year and we hovered around that for much of the season. Emm..I plump for 11th. Hopefully I'm being cautious.

Shane - My heart says push for the play off places. Head says 11th.

Smithy - 7th-12th fairly comfortably. I don't think we'll find ourselves towards the bottom four this season. I think it has the potential to be a good season.

Lewis - I think top 10. I’m not sure if we’ll reach the play offs but it would be nice to not have to worry about the threat of relegation in the run in. We could push - maybe not the top three or four, but possibly the top 6. We’ll see, but I’m optimistic.

Gills In The Blood - I think we’ll be fine in terms of not worrying about relegation, but unless we can unearth a 20 goal striker - whether that’s by bringing one in or finding one within the squad - I think we may come up short in terms of the Play-Offs so I’ve gone for 9th place.

12. AND FINALLY, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WISH TO ADD (EXAMPLE: IS THERE SOMETHING I HAVE NOT COVERED IN THE ELEVEN QUESTIONS ASKED ABOVE YOU WANT TO EXPAND UPON) ???

Luke - Somebody needs to nail the E from The Rainham End back down as it's been sticking out for the past 18 months. Also I'm not fully on the Evans bandwagon just yet, personally still need a bit more convincing frankly.

Steven - Nothing To Add.

BQGillsFan - I know the appointment of Steve Evans divided a lot of fanbase, but for the next 9 months just focus on getting behind the boys wearing the shirt. There's nothing to be gained from looking for Evans or the team to fail. Don't boo the team or the manager if we lose a few games. Don't start chanting Evans out just because we don't win every game. Just get behind the team and who knows, maybe we can celebrate a surprising success come May.

Loonpotter - No further comments your honour..

Simon - Nothing To Add.

Stocky - Up The Gills.

Dutch Gundersen - Nothing To Add.

Gary - Nothing To Add.

Mark - Ha ha how did you avoid a question on Evans as manager? Scally has gambled big time. I agree with Evans appointment but suspect many will relish any failure.

Gills Debate - Nothing To Add.

Matthew - No your questions have been great as always.

RichardG - Lots of criticism come in for Evans and I was not a fan of the appointment. However, he's brought some optimism to the club and something we've not seen for a while. Some credit for Scally too for backing him.

Nathan - One thing that has disappointed me in the last few seasons is how disrespectful some of our fans were about Steve Lovell, a club legend and Ady Pennock, a play-off final winner when things weren’t going well. When Steve Evans was linked with us, I was very much against and when it was made official, I was not ‘best pleased’, shall we say. The open Q&A with Evans and Raynor by the club was a master stroke and while by no means a full conversion, I left feeling very differently about the pair when I left than I did when I went in. I guess what I’m saying is, whoever is in the hotseat, let’s get behind them, get behind our players and each other as fans. And remember, it’s the hope that kills you. UTG.

Rob - I just hope Evans stays out of trouble this year. I know he's banned for the first few games but I hope that is all he misses. If he truly has changed character and stopped abusing officials and opposition staff then that's a positive sign. I'm yet to be convinced.

Neil - Up The Gills!!!

RichardS - Nothing to add other than let's get behind the team this season home and away and enjoy the rollercoaster that inevitably comes with our wonderful club. Up the Gills...

Shane - Nothing To Add.

Smithy - Up The Gills!!!!!

Lewis - Nothing to add, but thanks as always to Lee for asking me to participate in his blog again, and up the Gills!

Gills In The Blood - As always, thanks for the invite to get involved, and Up the Gills!!

Once again, thank you to everyone for participating in this blog, and if anyone who is reading this who wishes to participate in The Gillingham Supporters Blog throughout The 2019 / 2020 Season, then feel free to send me a message, and your more than welcome to participate in The Gillingham Supporters Blog, Hopefully, Gillingham can get off to the perfect start by picking up all three points against Doncaster Rovers in the opening match of the season - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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