#the part Liverpool FC fans sing

[sigelfire]

You'll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm

Hold your head up high

And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm

There's a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind

Walk on through the rain

For your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

[slutfortrent]

idk if you are still taking requests but could you write something where trent is talking about the reader and refers to them as ‘my missus’ even though they aren’t married xx

me missus- trent alexander arnold

thank you so much for this req! loved writing it as always <3 hope you enjoy!

Hearing the title, ‘champions of Europe’ not only provoked many to become inexpressible, but it also created many to become characteristic in terms of pure excitement and joy. For Trent and Liverpool FC, they showed their happiness through dropping themselves to the ground and singing ‘you’ll never walk alone” forcefully with the crowd of fans.

To you, the emotion and enthusiasm you had for your boyfriend and his teammates was immense. You’d known from a very young age this was all Trent ever dreamt off, getting his hands on the polished silver trophy and blasting to all his friends and family that he were the champions of Europe. The journey hadn’t been easy going for him, the losses and major titles snatched out of his own did affect him. He was always surrounded with the mentality which most should be gifted with. To treat every game like it was a tough one. No doubt, this mentality is powerful and strengthening to a player, however the pressure can soon negatively hit one.

And so, to see your boyfriend tonight. His face gleaming with pride, eyes a shimmer of red from his emotion and the action of kissing a medal far too many times. Made you the happiest person ever. To see him and his team, be awarded with one of the highest ranking titles in the world. You had no words.

With everyone still trying to get their heads around the moment and what had happened previous, spiralled around the green turf, the need for interviewers and professionals stripping a thousand questions, came as an annoyance. Though it was inevitable, these talks were important for the players to respond to the fans and analyse their part in the game. Times like this, adrenaline pumping to a dozen, the thought was off putting.

Trent and Jordan Henderson had been two of the variety of players to be chosen for a chat. The pair stood side by side, attention far from the point. It seemed all Trent had his eyes set on were finding where you was hidden in the mass of the crowd. And for Hendo, all he wanted was to see his missus and children pummelling over to him in triumph for their father.

“Congratulations, Trent.” The interviewer begins, smiling at the scouser stood next to him.

“Thank you,” Trent responds, his vision glued to the swarm of fans, swaying their scarves in the air.

Through the bundle of people, players and their families congratulating the boys on their hard work. Trent believes to the left of Andy Robertson appears to be yourself. The distance amongst you two was so fair apart to recognise anyone. Regardless, he catches a glimmer of red with the undefeated 66 on the back, something which made his heart flutter impulsively each time. You’d made a trust with Trent. No matter what happens, you’ll be by his side supporting him through the highs and lows of his career. Seeing you now, conversing with his fullback friend he believes, makes him the happiest person ever.

“You are a European champion, and you’re not even 21 years old yet,” The interviewer states the incredible fact, holding the microphone in the direction of Trent, to whom has no words.

Fingers fumbling round the nape of his neck, a trait which brought him security during times were he felt fazed. His visibility of sight observing the atmosphere and endeavouring the whole night in. “It’s hard to put into words what’s just happened, and the celebrations that happen tonight will be cherished massively. Over the season we’ve had, we deserve it hugely over many teams and shown what a world class side we can be.”

The interviewer smiles at his response, watching as Trent eyes the atmosphere flooding the stadium as before. “How are you going to spend your celebrations? With the lads? Family?” He asks.

It was correct that Trent did eye you speaking to Andy and his family in the distance. Following from that conversation, you’d spoken to a few of the boys as you attempted to look for your man. Speaking to Ox, praising and applauding his talents, he guided you with a point over to where Trent was placed. Explaining he was speaking with Jordan to one of the numerous interviewers.

Following the guidance of Alex, you’d managed with a squeeze, to see the remarkable Scouser. Striding through the praises of many friends and family. The instant you spot the man, taking into account the dishevelled hair you knew wouldn’t match no other, you slowly unwrap your scarf which was settled around your neck, keeping you warm through the breeziness of the wind.

“Think I’ll just celebrate with me family and the missus. The players too of course. Me family couldn’t make it tonight, so ill facetime them later. Though, me missus came here tonight to support me, but I think she’s more enthused about the fact there will be a celebratory party.” Trent laughs at the thought of you and his words. Still trying his best to detect you on the pitch.

As you got closer to Trent, smiling and giggling to yourself at the selection of his dialogue. Fiddling with the Scarf in your hands, you prepare yourself to surprise the lad. Edging closer each step with as much tranquillity as possible.

“Thank you Trent, well played tonight. Congratulations once again, enjoy yourself.” The interviewer shakes Trent’s had in courtesy, eyeing his next player to interrogate.

You watch as Trent nibbles down at his fingertips, his head shooting side to side in the manner of looking for your presence. Rolling onto his tip toes to get a better glance at bundle of people scattered on the pitch, he considers asking one if they had seen or spotted you around the arena.

Your heart flutters at his mannerism, lip jittering out at his sweet behaviours. As you reach his figure, you grab the scarf that was ready in your hands, before positioning immediately round his head. He stumbles at the contact, a small gasp unleashing from his mouth.

“Guess who...” Whispering into the drum of his ear. Trent with a prompt, swiftly removes the clothed item blocking his vision, and turned backwards into the touch of yourself.

A smile instantly appears on his face, his eyes gleaming with euphoria at the companionship of yourself. He pulls you into his chest, arms wrapping round you with a strong grip. A wide, big smile displays at the current gesture happening between you and the scouser, your fingers threading through the curls tickling his neck.

The action lasts another minute, the pair of you just taking in each other’s existences. The moment was full bliss and cherishment, you couldn’t wait any longer to congratulate the talent, outstanding contributions and abilities of your man.

“Sweet,” With a final squeeze, Trent pulls away from your touch, eyes falling into union with yours. His pupils dilate at your features, soon pressing his lips to your own.

Succeeding a small quantity of kisses, not saying no to the physical contact. You had to congratulate him multiple ways, and this was the start of many. Pulling away, hands still snuggled against his cheeks, heat dominantly still radiating from the sweat of running around for 90 minutes.

“Congratulations lover, my gifted skilful scouser.” Hand reaching to fix a piece of fallen hair. “Played incredibly as always, proudest person in the world right now.” An evident blush rises onto his cheeks, the rosy twinge making you chuckle.

“Thank you baby, still can’t believe it. Doubt I will even wake up tomorrow morning and understand what the fuck is happening-“

Laughter howling at his comment, you notice a handful of the boys surrounding you both and taking videos and pictures of the moment between you two on their phones. Something for sure, would end up on either Robbo’s of Hendo’s Instagram with the captions: he’s taken my man or look at my boy all grown up.

“Baby? Hold on.” You smirk at him, eyes crinkling his choice of words. “Let me rephrase that for you. Shouldn’t it be, ‘me missus’ ?”

This gains a laugh to erupt from the scouser, head fixating towards the green turf in embarrassment. “Listen, with everything going on right now? You’re lucky for words to even spill from me mouth-“

“Shhh,” Pecking his smooth, plump lips. “Keep it coming. Want it to be my new title.”

[fadistans]

Blue Lock Characters and the International Football Teams They Would Support (plus some extra headcannons) Part 1

Isagi Yoichi - Barcelona FC

- He started liking football since he was really young, around their peak in the late 2000’s, and so he was like ‘Oh they’re winning i’ll support them! Messi is cool and amazing!’ etc etc

- He’s one of those football fans that has a closet full of football jerseys. He owns like one or two not-football-related shirts and if you ask him to casually hang out he will always appear in a football jersey.

- He also has a really wide array of jerseys from different clubs and leagues. He has at least one jersey from all the popular clubs. He doesn’t have his name on any of them except his Barcelona jerseys because he feels like it’s betraying his favourite team, so most of them are just really popular players or plain club name jerseys.

(Edit: I forgot Noel Noa existed when I made this so assume this part is in another universe or replace Messi with Noel Noa)

Bachira Meguru - Borussia Dortmund FC/Leicester City FC

- I think he’d like Dortmund because he probably started liking football around 2011 (around the time they won the Bundesliga ). Dortmund is pretty strong and they almost always make top 3? And so Bachira likes them because he hopes they’ll finally break through and beat Bayern again one of these seasons.

- I could also see him liking Leicester just because they’re so unpredictable? One moment they’re at the top of the Premier League table and next they’re at risk of delegation? He thinks that it’s really exciting so he supports them.

Kunigami Rensuke - Bayern Munich FC/ Liverpool FC

- I could see him liking Bayern because they’re always really strong and all their players are really good. He especially likes Robert Lewandowski and always talks about his 5 in 9 thing.

- I also think he’d like Liverpool. He thinks the players are really inspiring and I could see him singing You’ll Never Walk Alone to himself before a game. Since Blue Lock takes place around 2018-2019, I could see him bragging about their Champions League win.

Mikage Reo - Manchester City FC

- Since he’s pretty new to football, he chose to support Man City because he probably started around when Pep Guardiola got hired, and that was around when they started winning league titles. I also think his family probably has affiliations to the club so he probably has a lot of collector’s merch.

Edit 11/9/21 : I think he’s a man united fan now because i just learned his favourite player is ronaldo😭 Also idt he would support a club that his family supports because he doesn’t like his family.

Nagi Seishirou - N/A

- This man could not care less about watching football. Whenever someone asks him what team he supports, he just tells them to fuck off.

- ‘Who the fuck would just watch football when you can play it yourself’

- I don’t think he would even play FIFA tbh. I see him more playing shooter games like COD, than fantasy league games like FIFA or PES.

[louiskoessler]

Football Chants

Today I am going to talk about one important aspect of popular music in the football world: Football chants. During football games, the fans often sing chants in order to express their collective identity, to encourage the team you support, to celebrate a certain player or to clash the rival team with threats and insults. Football chants are very popular part of the football culture because you have football chants in every game and it’s really the key element to a great atmosphere.

Popular music is one of the most common and important sources for football chants simply because a vast majority of the fans already know the original song which is easier to remember due to the simple melody and because the songs are usually very upbeat and make you want to sing as loud as you can because after all, a football game is a celebration and a positive environment so you need to sing happy music. Some songs are then derived from popular music in order to fit into the football spirit such as “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes which became over the years, one of the most well-known chants sung, not only during football games but in all sports events as well, and is now mostly known as the “Popopo song” all around the world. Another example of how football fans can appropriate a popular song is “Freed from desire” which is sung during many occasions by different football fans over the British Isles under different form, the most well-know is “Will Grigg’s on fire your defence is terrified” which is known by every football fan.

A song can sometimes become so popular among a club and the fans that it becomes a part of the club’s identity, for example the cover of song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Gerry & The Pacemakers reached such popularity among the fans of Liverpool FC than the name of the song is now the official motto of the club’s coat of arms and is of course sung at every game.

[t-bonebunton]

Hello and welcome to “Beowulf Has Left the Building!” The purpose of this blog is really for me to share moments in my life that have been seemingly insignificant or slight at first glance, but turn out to send me in directions I never expected. I am almost 44 years old and for some reason, I think I should share some of these things and at least leave some sort of record. For me personally, it’s the small experiences that take place in the moment, that permeate and grow into greater understandings as time marches on. Oh yeah.... there will be poetry as well!

I didn’t grow up loving soccer. Where I am from, it was played by the more affluent kids from in town. I grew up in the rural county and we played basketball, baseball, and of course.... American football. No soccer loving socialist here! Or so I thought.... I’m pretty liberal, so I would laugh at that if someone said that to me!

Back to the oratory....

If I knew of anyone that played that strange sport called soccer, I made fun of them and would comment about how “I would rather watch paint dry!” Self-righteous to the core.

This went on for years and years and then early in January 2012, I was home sick on a Sunday afternoon and soccer was the only thing that was on that I hadn’t already seen. I was bored with marathon style police and home improvement shows, and the Dallas Cowboys were not on TV that day.

But that Sunday, something caught my attention....

It was the crowd....the chanting and the singing in unison was the thing I didn’t hear in American football...or the traditional “American” sports in general. The fans were also way closer to the field (“pitch” I’d later learn)...As I was laying there with a 100 + temp and trying not to cough up both lungs simultaniously, I perked up just a bit. I didn’t even know who was playing at first...Arsenal and Fulham, I found out after a few minutes. Ironically, Arsenal was playing in the first match I ever paid attention to, but would eventually become a hated rival! I refer to them as just “Arse” now, because who would pull for Arsenal? Ugggh.

I was 36 years old in 2012 and had never given soccer or football a second thought, other than the obligatory glance on ESPN during World Cup. Brazil and Holland seemed cool because of their uniforms (I would later know are called kits), but that’s about it. My friend Wellington had told me a story about visiting his home in Brazil, once during a World Cup qualifier, and hearing a collective roar through the hillside when they scored a goal that would send them on to the next round. Apparently, the folks in the village had pulled their tv sets out into the streets to watch the match communally. I always enjoyed that story, but didn’t really understand what that meant...The collective power of community and sport. In the poorest of areas, the hope of a nation can rest on one simple goal. I’ve grown to understand and appreciate so many things about the healing power of football over the past eight years.

But on that day in January, something awoke from inside me and I had an epiphany.... 36 years in the making. Every sport or sports team I followed has been assigned to me, or I liked them because of a family member or friend. This was like discovering this obscure band that no one else you knew had ever heard of.... but they were yours.... Finding “real” football...was like this.

I was entranced and mesmerized by the beauty, aggression, skill, balance, speed, and lack of scoring! I thought of this as a brilliant chess match...In later years, I love that the lack of scoring is a real problem for “Arse”, but I found it interesting that in traditional American sports, scoring is always the focus. In soccer, a 0-0 draw or a 1-0 (nil) win is just as enthralling because of the flow and strategic patterns of the game. I truly can’t explain that realization any better...it just came to me and with that observation, epiphany, the crowd chanting and singing, I knew I was hooked.... My 100+ temp seemed to break and I was sweating by the end of this prolific 1-1 draw.

Thank God for the internet and Wikipedia....that afternoon, I knew that I had to find a team....and by the grace of God, it was not going to be Arsenal! Their manager Arsene (accent mark somewhere hahaha) Wenger, looked like the old man, Mr. Burns, from the Simpsons. Probably a nice guy, but there was something about him I didn’t like.

I didn’t have a smart phone then and I was teaching English at a local high school. Before school every morning for two weeks, I read the Wikipedia of every team that was in the Premier League in 2012. I started with some criteria:

A. I wanted a team that wasn’t (to my knowledge) a household name in America. I learned later my team was VERY popular and hated! So, no Manchester United or Liverpool off the top. They are both American owned. My team is Russian Billionaire owned, it turns out, and very well supported globally.

B. They had to have a winning tradition (yep...no losers for me)

C. No red teams (my Knicks, Cowboys, Yankees, Duke Blue Devils are all blue)

D. Need to be in the southern or southeastern part of England (where my mom’s side of the family are from)

E. Must have a crazy intense fan base (I knew a little about hooliganism...Unfortunately my team had a past history with that ugly aspect in the 1980’s and more than I knew at the time.)

So with that criteria in place I narrowed it down to five teams...I have forgotten all five sadly, but three of them were Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur (who I fortunately didn’t pick), and Queen’s Park Rangers (who were relegated shortly thereafter). Look up relegation and what it means, if you are mildly bored. I did initially!

I wrote them down and had my 5-year-old son, Rowan, pick them one at a time out of my sweat-stained Yankees hat!

Then on that glorious and beautiful day in January 2012, with his last pick, Rowan picked the mighty Chelsea Blues out of that hat!

It was all over from that point forward...I watched “real” football obsessively from that moment on. I had 5 cable channels devoted to football and European sports, and I learned the chants and songs sung from the terraces at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea’s sacred fortress). I learned the rules by reading all I could (offsides was a struggle to understand), and the points system for the many leagues and tiers associated with global football. I will say, however, that the only way to really learn about football, is to watch a lot of football. I studied the history of Chelsea FC and became educated about the legends and current superstars associated with the club...countless Facebook and YouTube clips of Chelsea’s greatest moments.

This amazing trip I’ve been on, ever since that sick and near-death day in January 2012, has given me so many great moments...Ironically in the first year of my fandom, Chelsea raised the Champions League trophy (look it up) and became the first London based club to ever win it. It’s the quintessential competition to win...It’s like winning 5 Super Bowls at once!

There is so much more that I want to say about this, or about the major moment’s I’ve had watching football with my closest Chelsea loving mate, Andrew Barlow, my 4 Chelsea FC related tattoos, my Chelsea FC adorned office, but blogs are supposed to be short, I know. I’ll close by saying that no matter how old you think you are, you are never too old to change your mind-set about something and, yes, people won’t understand it, and people like “the old me” will make fun of you, but so what?! Your internal passion about something you love intuitively will always be greater than their fear of things they don’t understand!

Next week....Meeting Herbie Hancock in a gas station! Stay riveted!

[capitanogiorgio]

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 28, 35, 39, 41, 43, 44, 55, 58, 67, 68, 70, 84, 85, 87, 88, 91, 93, 99 : GOOD LUCK 👍

1. Three teams you like 

Juventus, AS Cannes (and Valenciennes FC) and Liverpool

2. Three teams you do not like 

Inter, R Madrid and Nice

3. A team you can’t tolerate and you do not even know why

idk… I usually have a rugh idea why I don’t like a team of football especially if it’s at a “can’t tolerate” level. So no idea.

4. A team that surprised you in recent years (negative way or positive way) 

Actually the Spurs. I’ve never followed them apart from reading results or other relevent articles. They’ve progressed and have a strong team. There’s also Liverpool who has come back being a serious contender for titles, Klopp’s has done wonders.

6. The thing you dislike the most about your club or NT 

For both Italy and France it’s the lack of patience of the fans (and I know I can lack some at times). For France NT it’s especially that kind of French mentality that I’ve seen countless times : if we win, we’re the best, we’d known all along we would win but the minute they lose everyone’s like “Of course, french in sports are always so inconsistant, overpaid brats, smh, I knew we’d lose.” and stuff like that and it drives me mad.

For Juve, it’s that lately, there’s this big clash with the spirit of the club and a huge “marketing ideal” for lack of better term : the new logo, billion years away from the historical one, the huge rise in seats prices and a disdain for the ultras who pretty much are the only one who sings at the stadium and it just look like a big enterprise being run for maximum profit forgetting parts of what is essentials to the club in the process.

8. The one time football made you so happy you couldn’t stop smiling for days 

The first time was Italy NT’s win in 2006. I felt invicible at 10 years old. I had spent a whole month being teased at, Italy being insulted at recess, some kids not speaking to me because I was the only one supporting Italy and being shamelessly vocal about it. I spent all that journey on my own, even my parents thought it weird and I was devastated french TV wouldn’t show all the games of Italy NT or when my parents didn’t let me watch because I had school in the morrow. I was also very sad because I was being transferred in another school when I knew nobody and I’d lose all my friends because the school was in the neighbouring city. I learnt that the day before Italy - Germany and gosh, I cried and I cried again at the late goals of Grosso and Del Piero. It helped lessen my dramatic 10 year old self. And then the final, when Italy won I was so happy. I had to hid the remote control so my parents wouldn’t turn off the TV because they didn’t understand the point of watching since France had lost but I argued. I couldn’t tear my eyes of all my heroes lifting that golden cup and the next day when I faced everyone at school that had told me Italy was shit and would never win all month long. Biggest smile on my face. Three days later my mom took me to the sports shop and bought me the 4 stars jersey and I still have it today.

The second was when Cannes, while in 4th division, beat Saint-Etienne right for my birthday in the round of 32 of the Coupe de France. It was super cold and it went all the way to the penalties and we won and it was the first time I saw the stadium full, completely full with about 12000 people. It was magical. At the end there was a pitch invasion and players celebrated with fans it was amazing. We went to win against Plabennec and then against Montpellier, another Ligue 1 club ! We went up until the quarter finals but ultimately lost to Guingamp. But that feeling was… Amazing.

9. The one time football made you so sad you cried for days. 

First there was Cannes getting sent to 7th division. I thought it was so unfair since the owners had done fuck all while the team gave their max. There was Alex leaving Juve the way it happened. And more recently it was Italy not qualifying for the World Cup and Gigi leaving Juve. Gosh that one was a hard blow I spent the whole week crying from his press conference to the game and after.

11. Five players you really admire purely based on football

Giorgio Chiellini (what ??)

Paolo Maldini

Thierry Henry

Eden Hazard (saw him twice when he was in Lille and it was already a recital)

Iker Casillas

13. Five most underrated players in your opinion

So many qzesrdtfygu ! Any GKs and Defenders go there. For having many OM fans in my acquatainces and being up to date with their club as a result, I’d say Hiroki Sakai is really underrated. Unpopular opinion but Pippo Inzaghi was constantly underrated for saying his goals are easy and he’s lucky and he doesn’t know how to play. I said what I said. Danijel Subasic, my good peeps and that’s the truth. Hm Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris ???? ANYONE ???? (that counts as a two for one package). And as a very great and Scouse philosopher once said : “Gary Neville is the most underrated player”

14. Five most overrated players in your opinion

Ronald, Titbot, Rami (and even more since the world cup win), Ratmos, Müller (sorry Garance)

15. Name 3 most despicable figures in football in your opinion (coaches, players, owners, companies, anyone…)

UEFA and FIFA tbh.

16. What makes your favorite coach better than other coaches?

He screams like a metal rock star ! And he’s super intense :

Also because he’s done a tremendous work winning 4 Coppa Italia, 4 Scudetti, getting to two UCL finals and keep the team hungry for more !

22. Favorite Left Back today

Me of course aqzesrdtfqzesrdtfyghj ! Ugh today ? I’d go with De Sciglio (he’s polyvalent)

28. Your dream eleven

Buffon, Maldini, Chiellini, Scirea, Gattuso, Pirlo, Giggs, Beckham, Del Piero, Inzaghi, Vieri

35. Favorite tactical formation

4-3-3 or 3-5-2. Although my first love in managing games was the 4-1-2-1-2. Or as I like to call it : 4-4-2 losange !

39. A moment in football that changed you as a person. (e.g injuries, trophies, or transfers)

It’s honestly quite a rollercoaster when you’re ten years old to see your heroes win the world cup and then learn a week later that your favourite team is going to Serie B. I didn’t understand. That was the first time I really read all articles and papers I could find on the matter, even going to the public library to look at the ones I couldn’t buy and try and read everything to understand.

There was also Riccardo Montolivo’s injury just before the 2014 World Cup and Laurent Koscielny’s injury before the 2018 World Cup. I saw both happening in front of my very eyes and I felt awful, I almost wanted to cry. Injuries at such a time are, truly, the worst thing. And Montolivo wasn’t left alone by injuries afterwards and it breaks my heart.

Also, that 2005 ucl final like. The d r a m a (tm)

41. A player you are ashamed of loving

No shame, no regrets, just love !

43. Your achilles’ heel. The player who is your weakness.

Gigi Buffon (and Pippo Inzaghi)

44. Which team did you support the last time two teams you hated played against each other?

None, I wished for a draw aqzesrdtfygu

55. Three players from past generations you wish you had seen

Gaetano Scirea, Giampiero Boniperti and George Best (and Lev Yashin)

58. Most undeserving winners you can think of

Portugal at Euro 2016. They had the crappiest run and yet…..

67. A rival player you wish had joined your team

MON-TO-LI-VO, Icare about nothing ! Otherwise, although he’s a milanista through and through, would have love Gattuso at Juve, see how it would have been.

68. The time you really thought about leaving football

I never wanted to left but I had breaks. It especially coincided when I was playing football myself and the club’s environement was shit. I received insults just because I was 100% at training and dared tackle the ball away from the starlette diva of the team and the coaches didn’t bat an eye. Spent a whole year like this before I had enough and changed club.

70.The best transfer decision your club made

Just saying but buying Andrea Barzagli from Wolfsburg for 300k was like. Genius.

84. A player you wish you could’ve known in real life because you really think you guys could’ve been best friends.

I’d go with Andrea Pirlo, my good bitch I love dearly

85. A player who you want as your partner (lover, boyfriend, husband)

Pippo Inzaghi or Alessandro Del Piero.

87. Five players who others find attractive but you just don’t see it

Max Allegri for Beatrice Icardi, Luka Modric, Griezmann,

88. A player you think you totally would have had a crush on if you were born in another generation

Probably George Best and Paolo Rossi

91. A player who you think has the worst sense when it comes to fashion

Pretty much all players who lived the 90′s and early 2000s. But like… Gigi Buffon always delivered….. looks™ lmao

93. Top 5 bromances that you swear by.

Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci bitch !

Pippo Inzaghi and Bobo Vieri

Dejan Lovren and Mo Salah

Rino Gattuso and the Dickheads™

France 98 is a whole bromance by itself

99. The 5 most attractive players in your club and NT

Juve : De Sciglio, Matuidi, Bernardeschi, Dybala and Chiellini

France NT : Samuel Umtiti, Raphaël Varane, Blaise Matuidi, Benjamin Pavard and Nabil Fekir

Italy NT : Salvatore Sirigu, Ciro Immobile, Mattia De Sciglio, Federico Bernardeschi and Giorgio Chiellini

Thanks !

[misssophiachase]

Domestic Bliss

Mini Drabble Prompt from @childoftimeandmagic: New roommates in a flat with five bedrooms. They feel like they’re the only two sane ones in the flat even though one’s OCD and the other is an uptight asshole. 

Thanks luv!!! This is a great idea, thanks for the reprieve. I’ve changed slightly hope you like it still. 

“Enzo!” Katherine bellowed from the bathroom. “What have I told you about leaving the toilet seat up?” 

“Oh did you say something? I thought it was just this whiny, high-pitched squeal that only dogs can decipher.”

“I’m surprised you even know the meaning of the word decipher.” Caroline took a quick look at the bedside clock flashing 6:30am before grabbing her pillow and placing it over her face while trying to block out the light and noise from outside her bedroom door. 

When she and her best friend Katherine had found themselves unexpectedly homeless a few months earlier they’d jumped at the amazing opportunity to live in a spacious loft in Brooklyn, it all seemed too good to be true and now she knew why.

Enzo St John and Klaus Mikaelson were childhood friends, like her and Kat, from London who had moved to New York six months earlier. The rest she wasn’t too sure about because they kept their working lives under wraps for the most part. 

Enzo and Katherine were already trading barbs on a daily occurrence and as much as Caroline wanted to hate Klaus for being an insufferable, arrogant ass too, she was intrigued. Not only because of that stubble, those lips and his disarming dimples but just the way he’d give her a cheeky and unexpected glance when their flatmates were fighting incessantly. He’d even throw an annoyingly gorgeous eye roll her way. Bastard.

It was Tuesday morning. Caroline was a social worker and largely spent her nights working as opposed to her flat mates. She put her earphones in and began to sing along with Ed Sheeran as she gathered her laundry together, not bothering to change out of her mini, denim shorts and Liverpool FC sweat shirt. The one reason she liked doing her laundry downstairs that time of the week was because no one was ever there so she could relax and multitask in peace. 

She walked out of the lift, laundry basket in hand while singing along to her favourite song ‘Don’t’ while wondering whether her ex Stefan ever listened to this song and thought about her. Although she was pretty sure it was wishful thinking because his hair was always at the forefront of his thoughts. 

“Messy break-up?” She was startled, her singing coming to an abrupt halt. Before her washing completely fell to the floor he leaned forward, catching it quickly before it could, his hand causing a few unexpected feelings. 

“Do you always eavesdrop half naked?” She muttered, grabbing the basket from him and making her way towards the washing machines, trying to wipe that picture from her mind. 

Of course Caroline knew he was gorgeous but she’d never seen him undressed. His bare chest was incredilbly toned, something that was begging for her hands to roam across freely. She shook her head, busily throwing in the items to distract her from his presence. 

“Last time I checked, this was a free country.”

“So, where’s your washing then?” She murmured, pouring in the liquid. Caroline never messed with routine even if someone was half naked, 

“It’s already washed,” he offered. “But I have a bit of a problem, if you must know.” She paused, curious as to why he’d need her assistance all of a sudden. 

She turned around, stifling a grin as he held out a bright, pink thong for her inspection. “I never thought pink was your colour.”

“I’m more partial to fluorescent yellow,” he chuckled, easing the initial tension. “Maybe if he’d just stuck to the code the washing would have turned an entirely different colour.”  

“Mixing colours, no matter what they are, is never a good idea,” her OCD side lectured, rifling her way through his clothing. “I hate to break it to you but your briefs will forever be pink.”

“Bloody Enzo! Do you always handle men’s underwear, love?”

“Only if they’re clean,” she scoffed, throwing his boxers at him. Klaus only just caught them in time. 

“Are you insinuating something?”

“Well, being half dressed is a little curious...”

“Says the girl in the Liverpool FC jersey,” he drawled. “You might as well take it off given just how terrible they are.”

“If that’s your way of getting women then you need to work on your techniques,” she huffed, annoyed that this asshole had decided to crash her washing. 

“You wish I’m just trying to educate you in the ways of football.”

“Football?”

“Your shirt,” he managed to reply, albeit through gritted teeth. 

“Oh yeah soccer,” she conceded, drawing even more ire from such a simple statement. 

“So, what you’re telling me is that you have no idea about what you’re wearing right now?”

“Only a Manchester United Fan would be so gullible,” she chuckled after a long pause. “But I’ll forgive you given we’re currently sitting top of the table.” He didn’t respond immediately because his mouth was fully agape, 

“And I thought Katherine and Enzo fighting over the toilet seat would be bad,” he muttered. “Why didn’t I include sport teams in your tenancy agreement?”

“Too late obviously,” she grinned. “Looking forward to whipping your ass then.”

“My ass?” she blushed immediately before he continued. “Just so you know I have sensitive skin.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

A rental advertisement appeared in the paper a month later for a new roommate given Caroline had moved into Klaus’ room. Enzo insisted on a hot, English blonde female and Katherine a hot, English brunette male. 

Klaus wasn’t too happy about living with his elder brother or younger sister but Caroline was a little distracting so he didn’t really mind too much.  

[weloseeveryweek]

You'll Never Walk Alone: A Football Hymn

Singing and English football seem to be a marriage made in heaven. They are sung in almost every match to create an atmosphere that supplements the actions on the pitch. One song, in particular, stood out the most. Whether you are a fan of Liverpool Football Club or not, you have probably heard of the song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. It has been the club anthem since the 60s and has been sung at the beginning of every match in Anfield until this date. It decorates the spectacular environment of the Anfield stadium, making the fan experience a magical feeling. The song also goes as far as other parts of Europe and the world when the Kop hits the stadiums with their scarves raising proudly.

I have heard the song since I was a kid as English Premier League is pretty popular in Asia. Even though we did not subscribe to a cable back then, radio stations would sometimes play club songs before or after the team wins. Now regarding this song, I have a tiny confession to make and I hope I will not get scones thrown at me. To be honest, I used to cringe every time the song "You’ll Never Walk Alone" was played back then even to the point of switching the stations if I was in charge of the radio. Now please do not take me wrong. There is nothing distasteful about the song as it does have a good melody in it. There is nothing wrong with the lyrics either. It is also not because the song is too old for me as I do have a good amount of love for oldies and I sometimes find myself singing along to the songs of The Beatles. I also have a huge love for sad songs too, the kind that breaks your soul even though I have not been through such circumstances. Sarah McLachlan’s Angel, Coldplay’s Fix You and Christina Aguilera’s Hurt are just a few of my favourite sad songs. However, like all songs in the world, every song is meant for different occasion and mood. And this song is no exception. The thing is, I never understood why Liverpool would use such a sappy song for their anthem. I mean, why they did not use or create an upbeat song, the one that pumps you up like the ones used in Manchester United or Chelsea? For someone that cheers for The Reds, I often complained and blamed the depressing tune for the reason of the team losing. Thinking back, it was kind of silly but bear in mind it was at the age where I would sing Britney Spears’ Oops I Did It Again without realising that it was about a girl toying with a guy’s emotions. And I swear if Ariana Grande’s Bang Bang was released during that time, I would sing that for 24/7 too. So you really could not blame that little kid. That little kid did not understand lyrics at all. 

Fast-forward to many years later, I found myself getting more into football, mainly the German League Bundesliga. I was more of a casual viewer of the Premier League back in the days but the through the influence of World Cup, football became a bigger part of my life. There is this hipster club called Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga that is full of young and restless players. Their style of playing called gegenpressing is one of the most breathtaking styles of football. Every time the Dortmund boys play, adrenaline rushes through my veins. With such a dynamic play, underdog appeal and a charismatic coach, Dortmund quickly became my favourite club. Just like any other fans, I spend my next few months watching them play and googling stuff about the players, coach and the club history. To my surprise, they too adopt the song 'You’ll Never Walk Alone’. That piques my curiosity about the song that I have avoided for years. I wonder, what is so special about this song?

So I hit to youtube, search for the song and start studying the lyrics. But this time, the song gives me a subtle feeling that I never had before, like chicken soup for the soul. And that results more and more googling. It turns out that the song was not made for a football anthem and it was not originally sung by a Scouser either. So yes, that was another mind-boggling moment for me. The song was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for a musical named Carousel. It was used in a scene where a character comforts the protagonist for her lost husband due to suicide. The song was covered by a few artist since but it was not an iconic song until a Liverpudlian Merseybeat group named Gerry and the Pacemakers covered it. That version hits number one on the UK singles and when Liverpool Football Club picks up it quickly became a favourite among the Kop stands. Although it was not initially made for a football anthem, 'You’ll Never Walk Alone’ has all the elements of a football game. It brings unity of the club, fans, and players together in a subtle way. The song implies the fans, players, and the club celebrates good times and suffers bad ones together, which is, the true definition of football. The song is so powerful even stretches outside the football field to the stands. It serves as a soul healing song to support the Hillsborough victims when they were accused by the press, the Dortmund fan that died in a stadium during the match with Mainz and also the Dortmund bus attack. With the influence of the football culture,  we could even hear it in other events such as during the evacuation of a terror threat at the Rock am Ring event. That is why the song has become a sporting anthem not only in Anfield but in Borussia Dortmund, FSV Mainz 05, Celtic FC, F.C. Tokyo and many more.

The amazing part of this song is that it actually brings different emotions when you hear it in different situations. The Gerry and the Pacemakers version, which often sang by Liverpool and Celtic fans has a soft melody that brings comfort and sentimental values to the club. It brings out the loyalty and love of the fans standing by the club especially during those heartbreaking defeats. Borussia Dortmund’s own version, which sung by their local band Pur Harmony brings a different twist to the song. The electric guitar in that version brings hope and confidence to the players. But the best rendition by far goes to the fan version from Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund fans during the 2016 Europa League semi-final, where both teams put away rivalry for a couple of minutes to chant this wonderful song together for the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy. The Kop and Schwarzgelben that have a reputation of creating the best atmosphere created a masterpiece that night. You can hear the song from all corners of the stadium. The atmosphere was haunting with thousands of red and yellow/black scarfs raised with passion. I believe every single person that were standing in that stadium had goosebumps that night. As for me, a spectator far away from the stadium could feel the emotion of the song. I could imagine myself sobbing uncontrollably if I were at Anfield in that moment. The match ended up with Liverpool winning 4-3. But the Dortmund fans did not end up empty handed as they gained a friendship with Liverpool. The song brings two sets of supporters together, making it one of the rare occasions that a half and half scarf is acceptable in the football world. Despite beaten by Liverpool, the German team went on to cheer for Liverpool to win the finals. It would not be surprising since both teams not only share a song and the love of Jürgen Klopp, they also share similar values of football. What makes it extra special about that match is Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund fans ended up being joint winners of the FIFA Fan Award that year. We often hear bromances between football players but never heard of bromances between football club. But if there is one, I guess Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool can be one.

If football is a religion, then 'You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is the best hymn that the sport ever adopted. And now I find myself listening to this song on a regular basis. I never thought I would fall in love with it and I certainly never imagine writing an essay about it. But I am glad that I understand the meaning of this song. As I patiently wait for the new season unfolds, I will chant 'Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart’ for both of my teams.

[torentialtribute]

Manchester United stunned by Newcastle’s £50m asking price for  midfielder Sean Longstaff

Manchester United is interested in signing Newcastle star Sean Longstaff

Ed Woodward quoted £ 50m fee in negotiations with Magpies MD Lee Charnley

They have their asking price on the £ 50m purchase of Aaron Wan-Bissaka United States of America, Chris Wheeler for MailOnline from midfielder Sean Longstaff

United chief Ed Woodward quoted the astronomical allowance in negotiations with Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley on the weekend. 50 million purchase of Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace although Longstaff only made his Premier League debut and had a total of 16 appearances for the club. ] Manchester United is shocked by Newcastle's £ 50 million valuation of Sean Longstaff "

50 million valuation of Sean Longstaff"

<img id = "i-b04bc6b872fc515c" src = "https://ift.tt/2G71K6E -0-image-a-35_1562883514665.jpg "height =" 422 "width =" 634 "alt =" Longstaff, shown during training last week, has only made nine Premier League appearances "

Longstaff, pictured during training last week, has only made nine Premier League appearances

United are reluctant to go above £ 20 million and the two clubs are too

Longstaff, 21, is desperately searching for Old Trafford after his representatives broke contract negotiations with Newcastle in March, but are in the dark We are still looking for some things, but we are patient & # 39. We are still looking for some things, but we are patient & # 39. We are still looking for some things, but we are patient & # 39. We are still looking for what matters, but we are patient & # 39.

[bewerken]]. said Solskjaer. & # 39; We don't have to pay too much.

United are reluctant to go above £ 20 million and the club can now step out of the deal

Solskjaer continued its players for the second time in three days at the WACA by a double training session on Thursday with the second training place for 12,000 fans

However, not everyone in Perth supported United and there was a banner about the famous cricket site brought with the text & # 39; Liverpool FC 6 x European champion & # 39;

Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial missed the session but United insisted that both players trained in the gym

Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James, and both players had to sing for their new teammates together with Scott McTominay as part of an initiation ceremony during a dinner in Perth on Wednesday.

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[ultrasfcb-blog]

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos - the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos - the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos – the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Ramos has a particular bond with the followers – as he confirmed after the semi-final win over Bayern Munich

It was the second that stated every thing concerning the relationship between Sergio Ramos and Actual Madrid.

There he was, the 32-year-old defender, veteran of greater than 150 caps for Spain, winner of nearly each honour within the recreation, in among the many followers, singing and celebrating with them.

The second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Actual Madrid and Bayern Munich had completed half an hour earlier on the Bernabeu, the Spanish group by to their third successive remaining after a 4-3 aggregate victory.

The Grada Followers – the supporters’ group who occupy the seats behind the South Finish aim – had been nonetheless there and when Ramos heard, he and his team-mates left the dressing room to hitch them.

Ramos jumped over the ads behind the aim, grabbed the microphone and led the remaining 2,000 followers to sing “Reyes de Europa, somos los Reyes de Europa!” (We are the kings of Europe!), a chant reserved for memorable Champions League victories.

Ramos even began one other Bernabeu favorite, “Cómo no te voy a querer” (How may I not love you).

It was a second that exemplified the deep connection he has developed with most Actual Madrid supporters.

Solely a choose few Actual Madrid legends have managed to construct such a exceptional emotional attachment with the followers.

Ramos has reached the degrees of ahead Raul Gonzalez, who celebrated with a bullfighting routine, and even the much-missed Juanito.

Juanito is a Actual Madrid legend. Tragically killed in a automotive crash on the age of 37 in 1992, followers liked him a lot that he is remembered on the seventh minute of each match on the Bernabeu with a music that merely consists of his nickname, “Illa, Illa, Illa, Juanito Maravilla” (Vel, vel vel, Johnny Marvel).

His feisty temperament, his want to win and love for the membership noticed the followers take him to their coronary heart.

It’s now the identical for Ramos, but it surely has not all the time been that approach.

The positional swap that noticed Ramos reborn

Ramos arrived from Sevilla for 27m euros in 2005 when he was simply 19.

“No defender on the earth is price all that cash,” Sevilla’s president Jose Maria del Nido famously remarked after the transaction was full.

Banners proclaiming affection for Ramos are commonly seen on the Bernabeu

Ramos’ lack of tactical self-discipline led a sizeable a part of the Bernabeu devoted to surprise at first whether or not he was severe sufficient for Actual Madrid.

At all times proficient and impressively match, one thing nonetheless appeared barely off to the eyes of the typical fan.

Ramos spent most of his first six years on the Bernabeu enjoying as an attacking full-back.

At instances he starred in moments of glory – such because the sequence of comebacks on the finish of the 2006-07 season that gave Actual Madrid one other La Liga title.

However he was additionally concerned in disaster – a superb instance being his defensive efficiency within the 6-2 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in 2009, the place he chased the shadows of Thierry Henry & co.

Nonetheless, Ramos’ place at Actual modified without end in October 2011.

Jose Mourinho used him as a centre-back in a match in opposition to Espanyol to cowl for the injured Ricardo Carvalho.

Ramos began the following seven matches in that place and Actual Madrid conceded simply as soon as.

“That was the important thing for Sergio to turn into the participant we all know as we speak,” stated Fernando Hierro, one other Actual Madrid legend from whom Ramos inherited Actual Madrid’s quantity 4 shirt.

“He’d performed as a centre-back earlier than, however simply as a stand-in. Due to these few matches in a row, he began to develop a tactical consciousness he did not have as a full-back, gained significance within the central axis of the group, turned extra vocal along with his team-mates. That transfer made him click on.”

The transfer turned him right into a extra targeted, reliable defender who turned a frontrunner on the again.

Ramos is a pure chief, a attribute that the majority of his coaches have been fast to focus on.

Sevilla’s Joaquin Caparros stated: “You may see he was a frontrunner since he was a child.”

Former Actual Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti even went a bit additional: “Ramos has every thing that Italian Paolo Maldini had: his persona, his technical abilities, his capacity to guide on and off the pitch.”

‘A defender with a striker’s soul’

After which there are the objectives.

Numerous them and never simply any sort of objectives, as Ramos has all the time discovered a technique to rating a number of each season. He is now reached 77 objectives in his profession, a quantity that would simply attain three digits earlier than he retires.

Ramos has scored a collection of essential objectives – scoring in two Champions League finals in opposition to Atletico Madrid

However the latter years of Ramos’s profession has seen him rating an unbelievable variety of essential, game-changing and, in some instances, season-defining objectives.

You may argue it began on the Allianz Area in Munich, in 2014, when Ramos scored two headers within the area of 4 minutes that noticed Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich lose another Champions League semi-final.

Then came his memorable equaliser after 92:48 minutes of the ultimate in opposition to Atletico Madrid that very same season, the one which led him to tattoo ’92:48′ on his physique.

“I am pondering of beginning him as a striker,” stated Ancelotti, solely half-jokingly.

Ramos scored once more in the 2016 Champions League final in opposition to Atletico, and within the subsequent Supercup remaining in opposition to Sevilla, then within the Membership World Cup semi-final and the ultimate.

Sergio Ramos – what he has received with Actual La Liga 4 Champions League 3 Tremendous Cup 3 Uefa Tremendous Cup 3 Copa del Rey 2

His equaliser at Barcelona’s Camp Nou throughout a key La Liga match final season – one other key aim within the dying minutes of the match – gave the group a much-needed draw to maintain pushing for a title they might find yourself successful.

That 12 months noticed Ramos rating 10 instances in 44 matches, exceptional numbers for a defender.

“Ramos’ objectives are illogical, however soccer is not logical,” noticed Ancelotti.

The assumption that Ramos will rating when the group wants a aim most is the rationale behind Ramos’ tribute music on the Bernabeu.

“Si marca un gol, si marca un gol, si Sergio Ramos marca un gol” (“Sure, rating one aim, sure, rating one aim, sure Sergio Ramos rating a aim” sung to the tune of ‘When the saints go marching in’).

It’s all the time chanted when Actual Madrid are about to take a set-piece.

Ramos describes himself as a “defender with a striker’s soul”, one which idolised no apart from Argentine striker Claudio Caniggia when he was youthful.

The person who can break Liverpool’s hearts?

Sergio Ramos along with his spouse – Spanish TV star Pilar Rubio – and two of his youngsters after the 2017 Champions League remaining

Ramos, a father of three who’s married to the Spanish TV star Pilar Rubio, is way from good.

He has been despatched off 24 instances, missed 5 penalties for Madrid, the newest simply two weeks in the past in Sevilla, and famously dropped the Copa del Rey trophy off the celebration double-decker bus, which then ran over it, again in 2011.

However even his shortcomings have turn into positives within the eyes of the followers, since they’re seen as by-products of his starvation to win and his authenticity.

His affair with Manchester United, who nearly signed him in the summertime of 2015, turns into a case of “Sergio noticed the sunshine” among the many followers and become another excuse to root for the skipper.

And in Kiev on Saturday he may additional strengthen his bond with the membership’s followers if he can hold Liverpool’s much-vaunted ahead line in examine.

Removed from good, Ramos has seen purple greater than 20 instances in his Actual Madrid profession

Mohamed Salah will attempt to make the most of left-back Marcelo’s tendency to push ahead.

Will probably be left to Ramos, who performs alongside Marcelo in Actual’s again 4, to cowl for the Brazilian and deal with the Egyptian star.

Ramos is just not as quick as he was once, and in a earlier encounter when Salah performed for Rome in 2016, the Egyptian confirmed that he was remarkably faster than Ramos.

Nonetheless, the Spanish defender has improved positionally the longer he has performed within the centre of defence and, in line with his personal phrases, he’s not afraid of Salah: “He is simply one among 11 gamers,” Ramos stated when requested concerning the striker.

Salah, then with Roma, and Ramos have met earlier than within the Champions League

Zinedine Zidane’s rotation coverage has helped Ramos attain the tip of the season in nice form, having been commonly rested in La Liga matches this season.

And maybe Liverpool’s deal with Ramos ought to be additional up the sphere.

The defender has not scored within the Champions League since he struck in opposition to Apoel Nicosia in a bunch match again in September. However who could be in opposition to him scoring on Saturday?

BBC Sport – Football ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/4451/

#Barcelona

[fan-of-mulligan]

FOM BLOG: GILLINGHAM 1 - 0 CHARLTON ATHLETIC

My Thoughts On Gillingham V Charlton Athletic………………

I Left My House at 12.50PM in the afternoon and I made sure I had the following things on me,,,,,,,, (Money, Keys, My Gillingham Season Ticket, My Samsung Galaxy S2, Spare Battery, My Gillingham Jacket, Spare Lids, My Gillingham Scarf, My Gillingham Bag, Football Programmes, A Packet Of Polo’s, Pad and Pens, and a 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola) - and I made sure I had everything on me before making the fifteen / twenty minute walk from my house to Rainham Train Station, and once I arrived at Rainham Train Station at 13.10PM, I brought My Return Train Ticket To Gillingham for £4, And just before leaving My House, I had posted the following status updates on Facebook And Twitter,,,, On My Way To Priestfield Stadium as Gillingham Take On Charlton Athletic, Hopefully, Gillingham can build on the draw in mid-week against AFC Wimbledon with a win today - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!

I then checked My Notifications On Facebook And Twitter whilst I was standing on the train, I got one message from A Charlton Athletic Supporter who said, just turn up & you’ll beat us, and I got a few likes to My Tweets On Twitter, and I arrived in Gillingham at 13.20PM and made my way towards the exit and put my ticket through the ticket barriers, there were plenty of Police Vans around Gillingham Train Station Already, anticipating what could be a feisty derby atmosphere between Gillingham and Charlton Athletic inside the ground, and unfortunately, around Gillingham Train Station and The Town Centre As Well, I personally don’t think Gillingham V Charlton Athletic is an antagonising match when you compare this fixture to Gillingham V Millwall For Example, But I suppose when you get a local derby match like this, you get idiots on both sides looking for confrontation, when really, our focus should be on the pitch as Gillingham and Charlton Athletic need the three points for very different reason’s.

Stephen met up with me at Gillingham Train Station, and straight away we spoke about The Nolberto Solano Gillingham Rumour’s which were all over Social Media On Friday Night, and what makes this rumour very believable, is the fact that Talk Sport actually broke this story, and there were many other stories which suggested that Gillingham wanted Adrian Pennock to remain in-charge for The Charlton Athletic Game and Nolberto Solano will take over as Gillingham Manager On Monday, And I do believe that this story has got a lot of traction and there have been calls for A Managerial Change From the Vast Majority Of Gillingham Supporters, and while Nolberto Solano has very little managerial experience, he clearly has ambitions to manage in England and he would see Gillingham as the ideal stepping stone for his managerial career.

Ian Hendon coming back isn’t an ideal choice as Assistant Manager, Surely, Nolberto Solano would have his own personal he would want to bring into the football club to form as part of his coaching set up, But I do think that Peter Taylor remaining in his role as Director Of Football would provide Nolberto Solano someone with managerial experience to fall back on, and it is important that Peter Taylor remains in the back-ground, now since these rumours have entered the public domain, these rumours have of course been denied, but that means very little, Because these rumours weren’t mentioned by A Supporter On Social Media, they were mentioned by Talk Sport, and there has to be something in this for the story to be mentioned in the first place.

As Me and Stephen were walking towards Priestfield Stadium, it was absolutely chucking it down, so we took shelter inside The Co-Op Briefly, Stephen went to buy A Drink, before we went outside to brave the hectic weather conditions and Stephen had no jacket with him, so we quickly made our way to Priestfield Stadium and arrived out-side the ground at 13.30PM, before heading inside The Ticket Office to get out of the rain, Charlton Athletic’s Team Coach had just turned up to the ground as well and Stephen mentioned that there were two or three Gillingham Supporters to Twelve Charlton Athletic Supporters at Faversham Train Station, but even if our home support isn’t going to be as high as we would have want it to be, Gillingham V Charlton Athletic is why we were so desperate to retain our League One Status This Season, these are the type of games we want to see Gillingham playing in, and Charlton Athletic are going to bring a very large and very vocal support to Priestfield Stadium, A Support which is going to be absolutely soaked if this downpour continue’s.

I queued up inside The Ticket Office For My Rochdale Ticket, which cost me £22, I did ask if Blackburn Rovers Tickets were going to be on sale, but so far, there are no Blackburn Rovers Tickets Available, Stephen mentioned to me after I brought my ticket that surely there isn’t going to be just one coach traveling to Blackburn Rovers and that there is going to be two Kings Ferry Coaches for that away day, Hopefully, there are going to be plug chargers on the coach, because traveling to Blackburn Rovers and back is going to be a long long day.

We went inside The Club Shop, mostly to keep ourselves out of the rain, and Me And Stephen both brought One Match-Day Programme Each For £3, and Diane gave Stephen a copy of The Cody McDonald Interview From The AFC Wimbledon Match-Day Programme On Tuesday Night, and we got speaking about The Nolberto Solano Rumour From Last Night, Dan mentioned another manager with no experience and it would be better to stick with Adrian Pennock, while Diane wants an experienced manager to come in and take over, I mentioned that this appears to be the market Gillingham are in at the moment, we’re either looking for someone who has been out of work for a long time and is looking for a way back in, or, A First Time Managerial Appointment, and it appears that Paul Scally is looking at the latter and looking for someone new to come in and take over from Adrian Pennock, even if the rumours are false and completely not true, A Charlton Athletic Win Would surely mean the end of Adrian Pennock’s Reign As Gillingham Manager, as that would mean just three points out of a possible twenty four for Adrian Pennock.

Now, of course there will be some Gillingham Supporters who object to talking about A Managerial Replacement while the current manager is in a job (Something I actually agree with personally), but these rumours were not mentioned by A Gillingham Supporter On Social Media, these rumours came from TALK SPORT and other national media outlets, so there has to be something in this, I guess the only way we are going to find out precisely what is going on is in Adrian Pennock’s Post Match Press Conference After The Charlton Athletic Game, and of course, we may well have to wait and see what happens on Monday as well.

Me, Diane and Stephen said C Ya To Dan and David, before exiting The Club Shop, and the downpour had just stopped as well, and we met up with Gary pre-match, who stayed inside his car to keep himself dry, and we spoke about just how there are so many off the field issue’s at the football club with The Centre-Plate Court Case, The Michael Anderson Situation, The Justin Edinburgh Employment Tribunal and The Gillingham Community Trust no longer working with the football club, and Gary mentioned how we are only in September, and there are so many off the field talking points, as well as discussions about Adrian Pennock’s Managerial Future At Gillingham Football Club and Gillingham’s League Position In League One, the four of us spoke of how Justin Edinburgh has not only been sacked by Gillingham, but Northampton Town have sacked him this season and that’s two League One Clubs who have terminated Justin Edinburgh’s Contract, and Gillingham and Northampton Town have both given Justin Edinburgh decent playing budgets to operate with as well.

Gary was speaking about The Gillingham Community Trust and the good work they were doing with the activities they were working on, but also, good work from The Gillingham Community Trust meant good publicity for Gillingham Football Club, and it is unclear how The Gillingham Community Trust will continue to function without being part of Gillingham Football Club.

The four of us also spoke about Arsenal V FC Koln, and specifically, How FC Koln Supporters were able to buy tickets in the home end at The Emirates Stadium, thankfully, it didn’t kick off, but we could of been talking about a completely different set of circumstances, obviously FC Koln haven’t been in Europe for a long long time so they traveled in huge numbers, and maybe what Arsenal should have done was increase the size of the away end if there wasn’t going to be a sell out amongst Arsenal Supporters, Some Arsenal Supporters also sold tickets to FC Koln Fans at ridiculous prices, Which raises so many questions, why were supporters allowed to sell tickets via third party ?? Why didn’t Arsenal give FC Koln A Larger Away Allocation ??? And how were supporters of the opposition allowed to sit amongst Arsenal Supporters ???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQce3KKLEUs - There Is This Video Clip On YouTube Of FC Koln Supporters singing and chanting at full time despite losing 3-1 against Arsenal, great atmosphere, great support, and when you compare FC Koln’s Support to the picture of Arsenal Supporters eating dinner inside The Emirates, you can see such a high contrast, This Liverpool Supporter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmNsWzHgxC8 - Mentions how The Top Six Premier League Clubs are tourist clubs and people come along to Liverpool or Arsenal for a day out, where as in Germany, they have safe standing, the atmosphere is still part of The German Game and Safe Standing is a talking point in English Football, and I would like to see Safe Standing Return, I even mentioned to Stephen that there are a generation of football supporters who have grown up and not stood at a football match before, and in some cases, some supporters have never watched live football before either.

Finally, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,,,,, Tomas Holy, Luke O’Neill, Ben Nugent, Gabriel Zakuani, Max Ehmer, Alex Lacey, Mark Byrne, Scott Wagstaff, Sean Clare, Conor Wilkinson, Tom Eaves SUBS: Steve Arnold (GK), Connor Ogilvie, Jake Hessenthaler, Jesse Starkey, Josh Parker, Greg Cundle and Liam Nash - And when it comes to guessing Gillingham’s Starting Line Up And Formation, This Was The Tricky Part, Because Gabriel Zakuani, Alex Lacey, Ben Nugent and Max Ehmer were all starting, And with four centre back’s and Connor Ogilvie on the bench, I thought, OK, This Is A Back Five With Luke O’Neill and Alex Lacey At Wing Back With Gabriel Zakuani, Ben Nugent and Max Ehmer in defence, with Mark Byrne in The Holding Midfielder Role with Scott Wagstaff and Sean Clare supporting Tom Eaves and Conor Wilkinson.

It could be A Back Six, With Four Centre Back’s, Luke O’Neill and Scott Wagstaff at Wing Back, Mark Byrne and Sean Clare In Midfield, and Conor Wilkinson and Tom Eaves In Attack, A Flat 4.4.2 Formation, with Scott Wagstaff and Sean Clare on the flanks, with Mark Byrne in Central Midfield with one of the centre back’s, and Alex Lacey is playing left back, we were completely at a loss as to how Gillingham will be lining up against Charlton Athletic.

How is this going to work up against A Charlton Athletic Side who are flying high in League One and full of confidence despite there 3-0 home defeat against Wigan Athletic in mid-week, we have no idea, Me And Stephen also spoke about Gillingham Last Season and Gillingham This Season, Last Season, when you asked the question, where are the goals going to come from, you looked at players like Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Cody McDonald, Bradley Dack, Josh Wright, and Max Ehmer chipped in with a few, of those five players, only Max Ehmer is still at the club this season, and when your looking at where the goals are going to come from, there is less confidence in Tom Eaves and Conor Wilkinson’s ability to hit the back of the net then Cody McDonald’s, With Gillingham signing Jesse Starkey the day before, I do wonder if Adrian Pennock is looking to sign another striker, someone who is different to who we have at the football club already ???

Me and Stephen had draw’s for The NoirCat Prediction League and a draw would be a very good result against Charlton Athletic, But Gillingham need to start winning games and winning quickly, and how great would it be if Gillingham were to pick up all three points against Charlton Athletic, and once this weekend is out of the way, we can then turn our attentions to all the managerial speculation and this speculation cannot have helped Adrian Pennock, his coaching staff and his players in preparation for the match against Charlton Athletic, I think there is much more to this story then we have heard so far, and I think there will be more information which will become public knowledge within the next week or two, I have nothing concrete to back that statement up, I think we will hear more, and possibly, there might be a statement after the game against Charlton Athletic this afternoon, A Statement which will either confirm or deny The Nolberto Solano Speculation.

Stephen decided to head on inside the ground and we would meet up after the game, hopefully, celebrating A Gillingham Win, And I Said C Ya To Stephen before catching up with James’s Dad, and the first thing we spoke about was the rumour which broke the night before about Nolberto Solano potentially being appointed as Gillingham Manager, Rumours That James’s Dad believed to be true, But it is the possible return of Ian Hendon which will irritate supporters, surely Nolberto Solano would have his own back-room staff that he would like to bring in, and we spoke about how Kent Online had to back-track on Justin Edinburgh’s Appointment As Gillingham Manager before Justin Edinburgh was officially appointed as Gillingham Manager just days later, there is also the possibility that these rumours are false, however, A Charlton Athletic Win could spell the end of Adrian Pennock’s tenure as Gillingham Manager, and we could be looking for someone else to be appointed as manager, it is less then ideal to be speaking about other manager’s linked to The Gillingham Job whilst Adrian Pennock is still in employment, but this appears to be where we are at this present moment in time, with the rumour breaking about Nolberto Solano the night before.

We then spoke about the player wages comments, James’s Dad thought that Our First Team Players Might Be On A Basic Wage Of £200 - £400 a week which is topped up with incentives, appearance fee, clean sheet bonus, goal bonus, and substitute fee, It does show the predicament that Gillingham Football Club are in at the moment and the money we can spend on players, and the money we clearly cannot afford to spend at this present moment in time.

I decided to head off inside the ground, So I Got My Season Ticket Out Ready, and I was searched before going through the turnstiles, and I Brought One Mars Bar for £1 and One Fifty / Fifty Match-Day Lottery Ticket, and I got speaking to Martin pre-match, and he was sceptical about The Nolberto Solano Rumours, pointing out that he lacks managerial experience and it would be better to keep Adrian Pennock at the club, Martin also thinks that Adrian Pennock needs help and he should call Peter Taylor down to the dugout to offer some advice and offer his experience to Adrian Pennock, Steve Lovell and Jamie Day on the sidelines, If Peter Taylor is committed to his role as Director Of Football, then perhaps, bring in an experienced coach who is willing to come in and assist Adrian Pennock in the dugout, someone like John Gorman for example, who worked alongside Andy Hessenthaler back in our Championship Days, which is a long time ago now.

We then spoke about the team selection, and we couldn’t make heads or tails of it, A Back Five looks very likely, a back six could well be how we’re lining up, Martin isn’t happy with Tomas Holy in goal, and I mentioned that with the exception of The 3-3 Draw Against Southend United, even though Holy still made some decent saves in that match, I think Tomas Holy has been one of our standout players this season, Martin had the opinion that Stuart Nelson should be starting, But Tomas Holy has got The Goalkeeper Jersey For The Foreseeable Future.

As for score predictions, we’re not confident, obviously we’re hoping for A Gillingham Win, But Charlton Athletic are flying and they will want to respond quickly after losing against Wigan Athletic In Mid-Week, and we know that Ricky Holmes is the player to watch out for, Player For Player, Charlton Athletic are an improvement on The Starting Eleven that Gillingham have named, But Charlton Athletic have the finances and the resources to bring in some quality players and there ambitions are clear for all to see this season, promotion into The Championship, Charlton Athletic want to get out of League One, Gillingham want to remain in League One, the ambitions of both football clubs are completely different, but that doesn’t mean that we should just accept defeat, maybe, just maybe, Gillingham can upset the odds against Charlton Athletic at Priestfield Stadium on A September Afternoon - at least the weather is improving.

Both teams came out of the tunnel ready for kick off and Martin and Colin took to there seats and I took to my seat, and the atmosphere was building nicely around Priestfield Stadium as Gillingham take on Charlton Athletic, Only Thirty Five Miles Separate Both Football Clubs, but before kick off, twelve points separate Charlton Athletic and Gillingham, and Charlton Athletic were third in League One coming into this fixture, Hopefully, Gillingham can upset the odds by picking up three points and our first league win of the season - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

And this match springs into life right from the get go, as Jake Forster-Caskey plays a short pass to Ricky Homes, who goes on a driving run forward in possession of the ball, and Ricky Holmes has gone past Mark Byrne, gone past Max Ehmer and contained his run down the left side of the pitch, and Ricky Holmes manages to run all the way towards the byline with Max Ehmer desperately trying to keep up with the talented Charlton Athletic Midfielder, and Ricky Holmes pulls the ball back across the face of goal and Gabriel Zakuani has managed to boot the ball clear down-field, and it is from here where Gillingham turn defence into attack, as Gabriel Zakuani’s clearance is flicked on by Conor Wilkinson, and Tom Eaves manages to retain possession of the ball ahead of Jason Pearce’s attempted challenge, and Tom Eaves plays the ball back to Conor Wilkinson, who gets to the loose ball ahead of Ahmed Kashi, and pokes the ball through to Sean Clare, And The Young Midfielder On Loan From Sheffield Wednesday goes on a driving run from the halfway line towards the edge of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area, and Sean Clare cuts inside slightly on to his favoured right foot, and Sean Clare’s effort on goal lacks the power to beat Ben Amos in The Charlton Athletic Goal - A Very End To End Fast And Frantic Start To The Match.

And this fast and frantic start is showing no sign’s of slowing down, as Tom Eaves manages to get through down the right side of the pitch - Charlton Athletic’s Left - And Tom Eaves dangerous in-swinging cross is cleared out of play at the near post by Jason Pearce, ideally, we would like to see Tom Eaves inside the penalty area getting on the end of those types of crosses, Goal-Scoring Opportunities are going to be a rarity for Gillingham throughout the entire match.

Three Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham got a huge let off as Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Appeal’s were turned down, Ben Amos kicks the ball long down-field for Charlton Athletic and Ben Nugent wins the aerial challenge up against Billy Clarke and Chris Solly wins the next aerial challenge up against Scott Wagstaff and headers the ball forward and Billy Clarke hooks the ball high into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Alex Lacey’s First Touch was less then convincing when the ball came back down again, and Tarique Fosu has managed to nip in there and intercept the ball and Alex Lacey nips in there to intercept the ball and play the ball back to Tomas Holy, but by doing so, Alex Lacey has brought Tarique Fosu down, and Referee Graham Salisbury has waved away those penalty appeals, that was a huge let off for Alex Lacey, because not only would have Charlton Athletic been awarded A Penalty Kick, But Alex Lacey might have been shown A Red Card As Well.

Tarique Fosu is penalised for his challenge on Max Ehmer on the halfway line, But Charlton Athletic create the first serious goal-scoring opportunity in The Fourth Minute, Charlton Athletic have A Throw On Down The Left Side Of The Pitch just inside there own half as Jay Dasilva throws the ball down the line, and Josh Magennis plays a one touch layoff into Jake Forster-Caskey’s Path, But The Charlton Athletic Midfielder cannot quite bring the ball under his control and Conor Wilkinson gets on to the loose ball, turns back on himself to retain possession, before taking several touches in possession of the ball before kicking the ball long down-field towards Tom Eaves, But Jason Pearce wins the aerial challenge, chests the ball down before playing the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who plays the ball inside to Jake Forster-Caskey, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball, and Jake Forster-Caskey plays the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who takes a touch to control the ball and Jay Dasilva threads the ball down the line towards Ricky Holmes, and Luke O’Neill slides in to try and intercept the ball, but Luke O’Neill cannot kick the ball into touch, and now Ricky Holmes is through down the left side of the pitch and Ricky Holmes is now through on goal down the left side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Right - and Ricky Holmes has the awareness to pull the ball back across the face of goal, and Josh Magennis’s first time effort is brilliantly saved by Tomas Holy, and the re-bound comes back to Tarique Fosu, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Tarique Fosu lays the ball off to Josh Magennis, who see’s his shot towards goal blocked by Ben Nugent and Mark Byrne headers the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Throw On.

Luke O’Neill, Alex Lacey, Ben Nugent and Gabriel Zakuani all were surrounding Josh Magennis, so one of them surely was going to make the block, but that was a great save from Tomas Holy to preserve parity, we’re only four minutes into the match, and if that save from Tomas Holy is what we have got in store for the rest of the match, then we are going to be in for a long ninety minutes inside Priestfield Stadium.

And that long ninety minutes comment looks like it is going to be proven right, as Charlton Athletic create another decent goal-scoring opportunity in The Fifth Minute Of The Match, Ben Amos kicks the ball long down-field for Charlton Athletic and Ben Nugent wins the aerial challenge up against Josh Magennis, and the ball falls kindly into Luke O’Neill’s Path, and Luke O’Neill takes a touch to control the ball, and Luke O’Neill tries to play the ball down the line towards Tom Eaves, But Luke O’Neill’s pass is poor and goes straight to Jay Dasilva, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Jay Dasilva runs forward in possession of the ball, and Jay Dasilva plays the ball forward to Ricky Holmes, who is forced to run away from goal towards the halfway line, and Ricky Holmes turns back on himself so he is facing towards goal, and Ricky Holmes plays the ball inside to Billy Clarke, and Billy Clarke takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an low in-swinging cross and Ben Nugent does really well to header the ball away from danger, and Jake Forster-Caskey wins the aerial challenge up against Sean Clare to header the ball towards Tarique Fosu, and Torique Fosu takes a touch to control the ball, before trying a speculative effort on goal from the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Tomas Holy dives at full stretch to his right to parry the ball away from goal and Luke O’Neill manages to clear the ball long down-field, and Tom Eaves has done enough to pressurise Jason Pearce to knock the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, On The Halfway Line.

Another really good save from Tomas Holy, who has already made two saves within the first five minutes of the match, and I am expecting Tomas Holy to quadruple that save tally by the time we reach half time, Max Ehmer is then penalised for his challenge on Ricky Holmes, A Player that every Gillingham Supporter had picked out as the player we need to watch out for from the opposition, and a player we have to try and keep quiet throughout the entire match, which is a lot easier said then done.

Seven Minutes Into The Match, and Alex Lacey’s challenge on Torique Fosu isn’t penalised and Charlton Athletic haven’t been awarded a free kick as the ball has gone out of play for a throw on, But A Minute Later, and Charlton Athletic are causing Gillingham problems yet again, and again, it is Ricky Holmes who has evaded two or three challenges and looking to create and score goal-scoring opportunities all by himself, and Ricky Homes driven effort towards goal is blocked by Ben Nugent and the ball runs through for Tomas Holy to gather, And In The Ninth Minute, Billy Clarke has A Free Kick Given Against Him for hand-ball.

The Match starts to go from end to end, Luke O’Neill has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch on the halfway line, and Luke O’Neill threads the ball down the line towards Sean Clare, who has the pace to go past Jay Dasilva and whip in an dangerous in-swinging cross, But Ben Amos was able to gather the ball with ease, and from here, Charlton Athletic were able to turn defence into attack very quickly, as Ben Amos rolls the ball out to Jason Pearce, who plays the ball forward to Jake Forster-Caskey, who takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before threading the ball down the line towards Ricky Holmes, who is being double marked by Luke O’Neill and Mark Byrne, and because of this, Ricky Holmes in-swinging cross hits the back of The Rainham End and Tomas Holy isn’t required to make a save on this occasion.

And From The Resulting Goal-Kick, Tomas Holy kicks the ball long down-field and Tom Eaves wins the aerial challenge to flick the ball on into Sean Clare’s Path, and Sean Clare is pushed in the back by Chris Solly, and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in an central position within shooting territory here, and from the resulting free kick, we all thought that Gillingham had opened the scoring, as Conor Wilkinson leaves the ball for Sean Clare to strike, and Sean Clare whips the ball over the wall and on target, and Ben Amos does brilliantly to tip the ball on to the crossbar, and Gabriel Zakuani reacts quickest with a diving header to stick the ball into the back of the net, and for a moment, I thought that Gillingham had opened the scoring, however, The Linesman Down The Medway Stand / Brian Moore Stand Side Of The Pitch had his flag raised for offside, and looking at the highlights, Gabriel Zakuani looks like he is in an offside position, a side on view from the highlights would have given greater clarity - But this is something for Gillingham to build on, and Charlton Athletic Supporters may have something to be concerned about defensively now.

A Minute Later, and Max Ehmer is booked for his reckless challenge on Ricky Holmes and it was a bookable offence, no arguments there from me, Thankfully, Chris Solly’s in-swinging cross towards the back-stick is over-hit and goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Ahmed Kashi is then penalised for his challenge on Tom Eaves.

Fifteen Minutes Into The Match, and Tomas Holy is called into action yet again, Charlton Athletic are enjoying a consistent spell of possession, and Billy Clarke plays a threaded ball in and behind Alex Lacey towards Chris Solley, who has managed to get to the byline and fire in an dangerous low cross which takes a slight nick off Ben Nugent who has dived in low to make a block with an out-stretched leg, and Tomas Holy has had to watch the ball very carefully into his grasp and held on to the ball at the first attempt, and that is precisely what Tomas Holy has done, this may well not the most difficult of saves that Tomas Holy has made in the match so far, but with the rain earlier, Tomas Holy could of easily spilled that low cross back into play for Josh Magennis to score a easy tap in.

A Minute Later, and Tom Eaves is chasing a lost cause and defending from the front to knock the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Throw On, And Jay Dasilva throws the ball down the line towards Josh Magennis, who wins the initial aerial challenge but headers the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, Seventeen Minutes Into The Match, and it is that man Ricky Holmes who is the creative spark for Charlton Athletic, and Ricky Holmes threads the ball through towards Josh Magennis, But Ricky Holmes threaded through pass is slightly over-hit and Charlton Athletic do not create a meaningful goal-scoring opportunity on this occasion, but the visitor’s are causing Gillingham plenty of problems.

Eighteen Minutes Into The Match, and Tom Eaves works his socks off down The Brian Moore Stand / Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch to retain possession of the ball and kick the ball against Chris Solly to win Gillingham A Corner Kick, great work from Tom Eaves There, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Sean Clare has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed clear by Jason Pearce, and Scott Wagstaff gets to the loose ball first and plays the ball out-wide to Sean Clare, who takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in another dangerous in-swinging cross, and this time it is Patrick Bauer who is heading the ball away from danger, and Luke O’Neill gets to the loose ball, and Luke O’Neill see’s his first time cross charged down by Jay Dasilva, But Gillingham have won A Throw On In Charlton Athletic’s Final Third.

And It Is From This Throw On Where Gillingham Create A Half Chance, Mark Byrne pretends to go for the long throw, but Mark Byrne throws the ball short to Luke O’Neill, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Luke O’Neill whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Patrick Bauer headers the ball clear to the edge of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area, and Jake Forster-Caskey gets to the loose ball ahead of Sean Clare, who is penalised for a high foot, and you now have to be careful with high foot challenges, especially as Sadio Mane was sent off for Liverpool for a high foot challenge a week ago, and Referee’s appear to be focusing on high foot challenges more and more now.

Twenty Two Minutes Into The Match, and our handball appeals against Ricky Homes went un-noticed as Charlton Athletic were awarded a throw on down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, Ricky Holmes has lived up to our pre-match expectations of being the player we needed to watch out for in this fixture, Three Goals In Seven Appearances already this season, and Ricky Holmes has created Charlton Athletic’s best goal-scoring opportunity of the entire match so far.

Twenty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Charlton Athletic created another goal-scoring opportunity, Jason Pearce plays the ball forward to Billy Clarke, who takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball out-wide to Chris Solly, who takes a touch to control the ball before threading the ball through to Torique Fosu, who brings the ball under his complete control and Torique Fosu plays the ball back to Billy Clarke, who controls the ball before playing the ball out-wide to Jason Pearce down the left side of the pitch, and Jason Pearce plays the ball down the line towards Jake Forster-Caskey, who threads the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who skips past challenges from Luke O’Neill and Tom Eaves, and Jay Dasilva plays the ball inside to Ricky Holmes, and Ricky Holmes plays a cross-field pass out-wide to Chris Solly down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - In The Final Third, And Chris Solly, takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Gabriel Zakuani manages to header the ball clear, and it appears that the ball strikes Billy Clarke on the arm, and despite the huge handball shouts from the back of The Rainham End, play continue’s, and Ricky Holmes first time driven effort is fired in low towards the bottom left corner of the net, and Tomas Holy dives low to his right to make the save and gather the ball at the second attempt - Another Save From Tomas Holy, who has had plenty to do in the opening Twenty Five Minutes Of The Match So Far.

Twenty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Luke O’Neill is penalised and shown A Yellow Card For His Challenge On Ricky Holmes, It’s going to be a long Sixty Four Minutes Plus Stoppage Time For Luke O’Neill, as he is going to be up against Ricky Holmes And Jay Dasilva with A Yellow Card, and the likelihood of Luke O’Neill coming through this game without picking up a second yellow card is looking increasingly unlikely, simply because Gillingham are under a lot of pressure from Charlton Athletic.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Charlton Athletic had a half chance to open the scoring, Chris Solly has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Josh Magennis has headed the ball back across the face of goal, and it looks like Luke O’Neill is going to shield the ball out of play for A Goal-Kick up against Ricky Holmes, But Luke O’Neill plays an awful pass into Max Ehmer’s path, who just about manages to kick the ball into Billy Clarke to win Gillingham A Goal-Kick - Very Lucky Gillingham, Very Lucky - Luck we are clearly going to need throughout the match, But Adrian Pennock, Jamie Day and Steve Lovell pay far too much emphasis on luck in there pre and post match press conferences.

Gillingham win a few throw on’s which do not amount to a serious goal-scoring opportunity, But In The Twenty Ninth Minute Of The Match, Mark Byrne can consider himself very unlucky to have conceded a free kick down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, as Mark Byrne slipped and brought Jake Forster-Caskey down the deck as Mark Byrne fell over, And Charlton Athletic are awarded a free kick in a really promising position on the pitch and Mark Byrne wasn’t shown A Yellow Card, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ricky Holmes has delivered an dangerous in-swinging cross and Ben Nugent has headed the ball clear and Mark Bynre has got to the loose ball first and played the ball forward to Conor Wilkinson, who has threaded an fantastic diagonal ball from left to right to pick out Tom Eaves, who just hasn’t got the pace to get past Patrick Bauer, and The Charlton Athletic Centre Back plays the ball back to Ben Amos.

Now if that was someone like Simeon Jackson, Dominic Samuel or Cody McDonald, they would have the pace to run through on goal, Tom Eaves just simply isn’t that type of forward, and Gillingham have got plenty of attacking options on the bench, as Greg Cundle, Liam Nash and Josh Parker are all available for selection, should Gillingham need to change things up in attack, There is also the possibility of Gillingham signing an unattached striker who has got a bit of pace on a short term contract, because Gillingham can sign Free Agents at any-time, and with Jesse Starkey signing the day before Gillingham V Charlton Athletic, I do wonder if there are other free agents we’re looking to sign on to a permanent contract ???

Thirty One Minutes Into The Match, and It Is Ricky Holmes and Jay Dasilva causing us problems yet again, this time, it is Ricky Holmes threading the ball through to Jay Dasilva on the over-lap down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch In Gillingham’s Final Third, Thankfully, Jay Dasilva’s in-swinging cross from the byline has hit the back of The Rainham End, and Tomas Holy hasn’t been severely tested, but Ricky Holmes and Jay Dasilva are causing Gillingham a lot of problems, and with Luke O’Neill already booked, he needs additional protection, and someone needs to come across to go two v one against Ricky Holmes, who is by far Charlton Athletic’s Best Player On The Pitch.

Thirty Three Minutes Into The Match, and Conor Wilkinson’s poor back header towards Mark Byrne has teed up A Goal-Scoring Opportunity For Charlton Athletic, as Jake Forster-Caskey is on to the ball and takes a touch to bring the ball under his complete control before seeing his effort towards goal blocked by Ben Nugent, and the follow up effort from Billy Clarke is low and on target and Tomas Holy does make the save, before throwing the ball out of play so that Mark Byrne can receive treatment.

And Mark Byrne is down on the deck for four minutes, both Jake Hessenthaler and Jesse Starkey are warming up and waiting to see if one of them is required to come on, thankfully, Mark Byrne is OK to continue playing, but only after having his head heavily bandaged, Mark Byrne also had to change his shirt and Gillingham were temporarily down to ten men, loud chants from The Gillingham Supporters Inside Priestfield Stadium eventually lead to Graham Salisbury waving Mark Byrne back on to the pitch, Sean Clare had dropped back into an more defensive midfielder role while Mark Byrne was standing on the sidelines.

Forty Minutes Into The Match, And Charlton Athletic created a really good passing move to try and open Gillingham Up, Jake Forster-Caskey plays the ball through to Josh Magennis, who plays the ball out-wide to Billy Clarke down the left side of the pitch, and Billy Clarke just about manages to keep the ball in play before passing the ball inside to Ahmed Kashi, who plays the ball back to Billy Clarke, and Billy Clarke plays a cross-field pass to Jason Pearce, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Jason Pearce runs forward in possession of the ball before threading the ball through to Ricky Holmes, who plays a neat one touch flick pass into Torique Fosu’s path, and Torique Fosu goes on a driving run into Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Mark Byrne, Sean Clare and Gabriel Zakuani are all standing around the quick Charlton Athletic Wide Player, and Gabriel Zakuani sticks with Torique Fosu toe to toe and slides in to make the challenge and concede A Corner Kick.

Charlton Athletic Supporters were appealing for a penalty and Charlton Athletic’s Twitter Feed mentions questions being asked from The Referee, But It Was A Great Challenge From Gabriel Zakuani, and one that needed to be timed to perfection, and from the resulting corner kick, Charlton Athletic create another goal-scoring opportunity as Jake Forster-Caskey has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Patrick Bauer has climbed highest to header the ball towards the far left corner of the net, and Tomas Holy has dived at full stretch to make another splendid save, Tomas Holy has had plenty to do so far and I am sure he will have several more saves he will need to do throughout the entire match.

Forty One Minutes Into The Match, and Tarique Fosu is penalised for his challenge on Scott Wagstaff, and from the resulting free kick on the halfway line, Sean Clare has completed wasted the resulting free kick as his cross / shot was no-where near on target, and far too high for anyone to header on target or back across the face of goal, I think I have put a commentators curse on that free kick, because I was saying to supporters around me how Sean Clare’s delivery from set play’s was very impressive against AFC Wimbledon On Tuesday Night.

Gillingham really are back’s against the wall against Charlton Athletic, as Gabriel Zakuani makes a last ditch clearance up against that man again Ricky Holmes, and Jason Pearce is on to the loose ball, and he plays the ball forward to Jake Forster-Caskey, and Jake Forster-Caskey takes a touch to control the ball before threading the ball down the line towards Jay Dasilva, who has once again hit an over-hit cross which has run out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, And Every Gillingham Supporter can breath a sigh of relief.

We’re now into the first of five minutes of stoppage time at the end of The First Half, and Ahmed Kashi is booked for his challenge on Mark Byrne, and from the resulting free kick, Sean Clare has tried to pick out Tom Eaves with a high ball down the right side of the pitch, and Jay Dasilva has headed the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From the Resulting Throw On, Mark Byrne has hurled in an dangerous long throw into the heart of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area and Jason Pearce has won the aerial challenge up against Conor Wilkinson, and Ahmed Kashi has kicked the ball long down-field and Scott Wagstaff gets to the loose ball on the halfway line and plays the ball back to Tomas Holy, and as Scott Wagstaff plays the ball back to Tomas Holy, His Hamstring has gone and that is Scott Wagstaff out injured, no-one around Scott Wagstaff, no reckless challenge, just one of those inexplicable injuries which you are at a complete loss in trying to figure out what went wrong and another injury delay, but unlike Mark Byrne, Scott Wagstaff cannot continue playing, and Josh Parker has come on for Scott Wagstaff just as we reach the closing stages of The First Half.

The Linesman Down The Rainham End / Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch infuriated every Gillingham Supporter as Tarique Fosu has dived to win Charlton Athletic A Free Kick, no contact from Ben Nugent, and a shocking decision from The Linesman There, And From the Resulting Free Kick, Ricky Holmes has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed clear by Ben Nugent, and Ricky Holmes takes a touch to control the ball and whips in a low in-swinging cross and Alex Lacey has thrown himself in-front of the ball to header the ball clear, But Referee Graham Salisbury had already penalised Billy Clarke for a foul, and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick.

And The Final Noteworthy Moment Of The First Half, Is Ben Nugent taking no chances and kicking the ball clear into row z, and depute there being plenty of goal-mouth action - with most of the goal-mouth action happening in and around Gillingham’s Penalty Area - The Score-Line At Priestfield Stadium remains goal-less.

HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 0 - 0 CHARLTON ATHLETIC

Tomas Holy has clearly been the busier goalkeeper, making saves to deny Josh Magennis and Tarique Fosu from scoring within the first five minutes, stopping Patrick Bauer from scoring a header at the end of the first half, and preventing Ricky Holmes from getting himself on the score-sheet, But The One Save That Ben Amos has made was to tip Sean Clare’s Free Kick On To The Crossbar and Gabriel Zakuani’s Header was ruled out for offside - I have yet to see a side on angle of that offside decision, but based on what I have seen from the highlights, it does appear that Gabriel Zakuani’s goal being ruled out for offside was the correct decision.

I got speaking with Colin and Martin at half time, and we spoke about some of the off the field issue’s surrounding Gillingham Football Club at this present moment in time, and there is a lot of importance on Gillingham Winning The Centre-Plate Court Case and Gillingham can really do with A FA Cup Run This Season because our finances and resources are very tight, and A FA Cup Run and drawing the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea away from home could bring in some much needed revenue, there also appears to be one or two other issue’s that need resolving, I just hope that The Centre-Plate Court Case goes in Gillingham’s Favour In November and we will hopefully hear some good news in-regards to Gillingham’s Finances in the near future.

But when you look at what Charlton Athletic can afford to pay and your looking at a few players on £6,000 a week, and you compare that to the wages that Gillingham are paying, and Gillingham are paying a fraction of the cost, and you can see that with the players Charlton Athletic are naming in there starting line up, player for player, Charlton Athletic are a step up on Gillingham, But the score-line is still 0-0, Gillingham are still in the game, but for how much longer ???, Because it was 0-0 against Oxford United at half time and Gillingham conceded three goals in eight minutes, that cannot happen again, but Charlton Athletic just look like they are going to score, and Ricky Holmes has lived up to very Gillingham’s Supporters Expectations Of Being The Player To Watch Out For.

As For The Nolberto Solano Rumours, Colin just didn’t believe that they are true, simply because there is very little money available and sacking Adrian Pennock, Jamie Day and Steve Lovell to bring in Nolberto Solano doesn’t make sense financially when there is little money available, now of course, A Defeat Against Charlton Athletic and Adrian Pennock may be relieved of his managerial duties and we would be speaking about a new managerial appointment after this very match, Clearly, anyone with experience and credentials are not going to be anywhere near in contention for The Gillingham Job, but the question is going to be, can someone come in who can do better then Adrian Pennock with the players we have currently got at the football club ??? - And for many supporters, that answer is yes, Nolberto Solano, someone else, anyone other then Adrian Pennock is a real possibility, I think The Managerial Situation is up for debate and I do think A Managerial Change is looking very very likely and we will have to wait and see.

With Josh Parker coming on for Scott Wagstaff, any tactical changes appear to be not forthcoming at this present moment in time, Luke O’Neill and Max Ehmer were both booked in The First Half and I think out of those two, Luke O’Neill is the likely player to be substituted, Luke O’Neill is up against one of the best Left Sided Wingers In League One and I think we will give it a while before looking to substitute Luke O’Neill, Connor Ogilvie is the only defender on the bench, so he will come on for Luke O’Neill at some point.

It is still looking increasingly likely that Charlton Athletic are going to pick up all three points, but the longer the game remains at 0-0, then Gillingham have got a chance, the first goal is absolutely crucial, Can Gillingham score The First Goal For The First Time In The League This Season ???, And Can Gillingham get there first league win of the season ???, well, we are going to find out in the next forty five minutes plus stoppage time - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

Neither Adrian Pennock or Karl Robinson made any half time substitutions for Gillingham or Charlton Athletic respectively, and one of those substitutions is going to have to be Luke O’Neill coming off at some point during the match, because Ricky Holmes and Jay Dasilva are causing him a lot of problems down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch, Charlton Athletic will also be looking to make changes if the score-line remains at 0-0 around the hour mark as well.

After The Re-Start, Max Ehmer’s long ball over the top towards Tom Eaves is over-hit and runs out of play for A Charlton Athletic Goal-Kick, And In The Forty Sixth Minute Of The Match, Jay Dasilva tries to thread the ball through for Ricky Holmes to run on to, But Jay Dasilva’s pass is over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, both teams are trying to get on the front-foot in the opening stages of The Second Half, and In The Forty Seventh Minute Of The Match, Max Ehmer takes a touch to control the ball in Gillingham’s Own Final Third, before hooking the ball clear and away from danger with an acrobatic over-head kick.

Fifty Minutes Into The Match, and Charlton Athletic win the first corner kick of the second half as Jay Dasilva goes on a driving run forward in possession of the ball and Luke O’Neill has no choice but to intercept the ball and by doing so, knock the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Corner, and from the resulting corner kick, Ricky Holmes in-swinging corner kick is headed up and under initially by Ben Nugent, and Max Ehmer gets to the second ball and plays the ball forward to Josh Parker, who goes on a driving run forward in possession of the ball and evading one challenge before passing the ball inside to Conor Wilkinson on the halfway line, and Conor Wilkinson does brilliantly to pick out Luke O’Neill on the overlap in Charlton Athletic’s Final Third, and Luke O’Neill tries to pick out Tom Eaves with an dangerous in-swinging cross, But Charlton Athletic Goalkeeper Ben Amos was off his line to gather the ball at the first attempt - Something For Gillingham to build on.

Fifty One Minutes Into The Match, And It’s Charlton Athletic who are on the front-foot, Chris Solly has possession of the ball for Charlton Athletic just in his own half of the pitch, and Chris Solly plays the ball forward to Ricky Holmes, who plays a one touch layoff into Billy Clarke’s Path, and Billy Clarke takes a touch to control the ball before trying to play the ball out-wide to the left flank, but Luke O’Neill has made an important interception to header the ball clear and Jake Forster-Caskey plays the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who tries to pick out Ricky Holmes with a long ball down the line, but Jay Dasilva’s pass is cut out by Mark Byrne, who pokes the ball forward to Conor Wilkinson, who tries to pass the ball back into Mark Byrne’s path, but the ball runs kindly into Jake Forster-Caskey’s path, and Jake Forster-Caskey plays the ball back to Jason Pearce, who plays the ball out-wide to Jake Forster-Caskey, and The Charlton Athletic Midfielder plays a long ball down the line towards Josh Magennis, who is up against Ben Nugent, and both players are competing against each other and Charlton Athletic Supporters want a foul awarded against Ben Nugent, who has no choice but to knee the ball out of play for a corner kick, I just think it was a good battle between Centre Back and Centre Forward, And Charlton Athletic have the chance to cause Gillingham more problems from the resulting corner kick.

And that is precisely what happens as Chris Solly plays the ball short to Billy Clarke, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Billy Clarke’s in-swinging cross towards the far post is over-hit and runs all the way through to Patrick Bauer, who manages to keep the ball in play, and pass the ball back to Ricky Holmes who evades the challenge before running into an central position on the pitch, and Ricky Holmes threads the ball through to Josh Magennis, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Josh Magennis see’s his effort on goal brilliantly saved by Tomas Holy, the loose ball falls kindly back into Tarique Fosu’s path, and Gabriel Zakuani manages to time his challenge to perfection and Sean Clare just boots the ball away from goal - anywhere will do for Gillingham - and another top draw save from Tomas Holy there, who is doing everything he can to prevent Charlton Athletic from breaking the deadlock.

Fifty Four Minutes Into The Match, and despite being on the back-foot, Gillingham have done something they have yet to do in the league all season, and that is score the opening goal of the game, Gillingham Have A Throw On Down The Right Side Of The Pitch On The Halfway Line, and Luke O’Neill throws the ball down the line and Josh Parker takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Luke O’Neill, and Luke O’Neill brings the ball under control, before playing a cross-field pass towards Alex Lacey, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field towards Tom Eaves, and Jason Pearce wins the initial aerial challenge and Conor Wilkinson cushions his header towards Max Ehmer, who plays the ball out-wide towards Sean Clare, who takes a touch to control the ball before running forward in possession of the ball, and Sean Clare threads the ball through to Max Ehmer who was close to the byline inside Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area, and Max Ehmer pulls the ball back across the face of goal and there was Tom Eaves to stick the ball into the back of the net with a first time finish, and Gillingham have taken the lead.

Ben Amos couldn’t quite keep the ball out with an out-stretched leg and Tom Eaves loves scoring in-front of The Rainham End, as that is Tom Eaves fourth goal of the season and his fourth goal in-front of The Gillingham Supporters In The Rainham End, And Tom Eaves loves celebrating in-front of The Gillingham Supporters In The Rainham End as well, the question now is, can Gillingham hold on for thirty six minutes plus stoppage time, because there is a long long way to go throughout the rest of this match ???

Charlton Athletic almost respond with an instant equaliser, as Jay Dasilva goes on an driving run forward for Charlton Athletic, and Jay Dasilva skips past Luke O’Neill, who cannot dive into a challenge, and Jay Dasilva tries to lift the ball over Tomas Holy, But Jay Dasilva’s lofted effort clears Tomas Holy and clear’s Gillingham’s Crossbar, if that chance from Jay Dasilva is a sign of things to come, then Gillingham are going to be in for a very long second half.

This Match is starting to go from end to end now, as Gillingham are looking to double there advantage while Charlton Athletic are trying to find the equaliser, In The Fifty Seventh Minute, Conor Wilkinson has tried to pick out Tom Eaves with a threaded through-ball, But Conor Wilkinson’s pass is slightly over-hit and runs through to Ben Amos, also Tom Eaves isn’t the type of striker who can run in and behind and play on the shoulder of the last defender, and a minute later, It Is Charlton Athletic who are looking like they are going to cause Gillingham further problems defensively, as Josh Magennis does brilliantly to retain possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - and Josh Magennis pulls the ball back across to Tarique Fosu, who is in a really decent position inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, thankfully, the ball ricochets off Tarique Fosu and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, But we’re still more then half an hour away before we can even start thinking about three points for The Gills.

From The Resulting Goal-Kick, And Tomas Holy has kicked the ball long down-field and Tom Eaves has won the aerial challenge up against Jason Pearce, who was penalised for pushing Tom Eaves in the back, and Tom Eaves is looking like a completely different player since he has opened the scoring, as Tom Eaves is starting to play like the battering ram of a centre forward we expected him to be like when we signed Tom Eaves in the summer, following his summer signing from Yeovil Town.

Sean Clare and Conor Wilkinson both stand over the resulting free kick, and It’s Conor Wilkinson who tries his luck from distance, and Conor Wilkinson’s effort on goal is charged down by Charlton Athletic’s Defensive Wall and Sean Clare plays the ball back to Mark Byrne, who plays the ball out-wide to Alex Lacey, who threads the ball down the line towards Sean Clare, and Sean Clare cuts inside into an more central position before whipping in an dangerous in-swinging cross which only just clears Patrick Bauer’s Head, and Ben Amos gather the ball at the first attempt was more then just a routine save.

This match is really starting to open up just as we’re reaching the hour mark of the match, Jay Dasilva has plenty of pace and he is getting in and behind Gillingham’s Defence, and Gabriel Zakuani has had to come across and make the block, but at the expense of conceding a corner kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Chris Solly has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Gabriel Zakuani manages to block Patrick Bauer’s Header On Target, the follow up effort from Tarique Fosu is then blocked by Ben Nugent, and the ball ricochets back into Ricky Holmes Path, and Ricky Holmes Curling Effort Towards The Top Left Corner is tipped over by Tomas Holy, and Charlton Athletic are awarded another corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Charlton Athletic came close to scoring again, as Chris Solly has whipped in another dangerous in-swinging cross towards one of Jason Pearce or Patrick Bauer at the back-stick and Gabriel Zakuani has made a crucial block and Gillingham just barely survive and manage to clear there lines, it’s going to be a back’s against the wall performance for Gillingham from here onwards.

Sixty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Ahmed Kashi is penalised for his challenge on Josh Parker on the halfway line, and Gillingham have the chance to cause Charlton Athletic problems defensively from the resulting free kick, Alex Lacey decides to play the ball short to Mark Byrne, who cuts inside from the left flank only to be clipped by Tarique Fosu, and Referee Graham Salisbury awards Gillingham another free kick, this time in a much better crossing position, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Conor Wilkinson has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Alex Lacey’s Headed Effort Is On Target And Is Parried By Ben Amos as Tom Eaves went flying into the aerial challenge up against The Charlton Athletic Goalkeeper, and the follow up effort from Ben Nugent is blocked, however, Ben Nugent’s Effort On Target would not have counted had it hit the back of the net, as a defensive free kick was awarded in Charlton Athletic’s Favour.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ben Amos kicks the ball long down-field and Josh Magennis flicks the ball on ahead of Gabriel Zakuani’s attempted aerial challenge and Billy Clarke gets to the loose ball ahead of Ben Nugent, and Ben Nugent completely side-swipes Billy Clarke, Charlton Athletic are awarded a free kick in a really promising position on the pitch, and Ben Nugent is booked for his challenge on Billy Clarke, correct decision in my opinion, and from the resulting free kick, Charlton Athletic were close to score an equaliser, Ricky Holmes stands over the resulting free kick, and Ricky Holmes curls the ball over Gillingham’s Defensive Wall, and narrowly, just narrowly wide of Tomas Holy’s Left Hand Post - Again, Charlton Athletic were close to scoring, and they haven’t been able to get back on to level terms, yet, and I say yet because there is still a long way to go.

And we got from Charlton Athletic almost scoring, to Gillingham almost doubling there advantage in The Sixty Sixth Minute, Tomas Holy kicks the ball long down-field and Patrick Bauer wins the aerial challenge up against Tom Eaves, and Max Ehmer kicks the ball high and long into the heart of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area and Jason Pearce this time headers the ball clear and Sean Clare wins the next aerial challenge and Chris Solly headers the ball clear and away from danger, and Sean Clare tee’s up Tom Eaves, who’s shot on the turn only just about clears Ben Amos’s Crossbar, With The Charlton Athletic Goalkeeper back-peddling to make absolutely sure that he wasn’t going to be chipped by Tom Eaves Effort On Goal.

Ben Amos’s Goal-Kick was less then impressive however, as Ben Amos has kicked the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On Down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, and Luke O’Neill has thrown the ball down the line towards Conor Wilkinson, who has shown good strength up against Jay Dasilva to retain possession of the ball, and Conor Wilkinson cuts inside into an more central position and whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross which Ben Amos is able to gather with ease.

And From Here, Charlton Athletic create another decent goal-scoring opportunity as Ben Amos kicks the ball long down-field and Ben Nugent wins the aerial challenge up against Josh Magennis, and Charlton Athletic Supporters were screaming for a free kick, But No Free Kick Was Forthcoming, Luke O’Neill and Ricky Holmes are both battling and scrapping for the loose ball, and Ricky Holmes manages to get the ball back, get to the byline, and even though Luke O’Neill, Gabriel Zakuani and Max Ehmer were all down that side of the pitch, Ricky Holmes pulls the ball back across the face of goal towards Billy Clarke, who see’s his effort blocked and then cleared out of play by Alex Lacey, I said cleared off the line in my notepad, and it looked very likely that was the case in the highlights as well.

And Charlton Athletic had another chance to score from the resulting corner kick, as Billy Clarke takes the corner quickly to Chris Solly - bad defending from Gillingham - And Chris Solly takes a touch to control the ball before standing the ball up to the back-stick, and Patrick Bauer’s Header is on target and headed off the line by Mark Byrne, and Conor Wilkinson gets to the loose ball and manages to kick the ball long down-field and away from Gillingham’s Goal, Charlton Athletic have also made there first substitution of the match as Joseph Dodoo comes on to replace Tarique Fosu, Charlton Athletic are replacing one attacking player with another in an attempt to try and get back on to level terms.

Seventy Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham look like they are going to hit Charlton Athletic on the counter attack, Josh Parker plays the ball back to Alex Lacey, who plays the ball forward to Conor Wilkinson, and Conor Wilkinson has the strength to retain possession of the ball and lay the ball off to Mark Byrne, who clips the ball out-wide to Luke O’Neill, In Charlton Athletic’s Final Third Down Charlton Athletic’s Left Side Of The Pitch, Luke O’Neill has managed to get himself into a decent position, however, his low cross was too close to Ben Amos, and the goal-scoring opportunity was spurned for The Gills, Gillingham are then awarded a defensive free kick as Joseph Dodoo is penalised for his challenge on Ben Nugent.

And In The Seventy Second Minute, The Substitution That I was expecting was made as Connor Ogilvie came on to replace Luke O’Neill, who has been up against it against Jay Dasilva and Ricky Holmes, But Luke O’Neill was walking on thin ice with that Yellow Card, and Connor Ogilvie will play at Left Back, so who is going to play at Right Back ??? - Does everyone move one across and Ben Nugent plays At Right Back, Max Ehmer and Ben Nugent are also on Yellow Cards, so one of our remaining substitutes may well have to be used to take one of those two off, and because of this, I cannot see Liam Nash playing for Gillingham against Charlton Athletic, I think we are likely to see one off Jesse Starkey or Jake Hessenthaler come on to freshen things up for Gillingham Defensively.

A Minute Later, And Mark Byrne’s Speculative Effort From Distance Deflects Off Jason Pearce and runs out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, Unfortunately, Gillingham do not create an meaningful goal-scoring opportunity from the resulting corner kick, as Conor Wilkinson’s in-swinging cross towards the back-stick is over-hit and goes out of play, A Minute Later, And Alex Lacey Wins Gillingham A Throw On Down The Right Side Of The Pitch, and Alex Lacey throws the ball down the line towards Josh Parker, who retains possession of the ball before dropping the ball off out-wide to Alex Lacey, who checks inside centrally and tries to pick out Tom Eaves with an dangerous in-swinging cross, But Ben Amos was able to gather the ball with ease, and from here, Charlton Athletic turn defence into attack, as Ben Amos plays the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who threads the ball down the line towards Billy Clarke, and Alex Lacey slides in to try and take out Billy Clarke, but The Charlton Athletic Number Ten goes on a mazy run down the flank and looks to whip in an dangerous in-swinging cross, but well done to Mark Byrne who manages to go toe to toe with Billy Clarke, get back, make the challenge and concede a corner kick.

And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Chris Solly has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Patrick Bauer has headed the ball back across the face of goal, and Tomas Holy takes no chances by punching the ball clear and away from Gillingham’s Goal At The Expense Of Another Corner Kick For The Visitor’s, and Thankfully, this time, Charlton Athletic were wasteful with the resulting corner kick, and Tom Eaves went on a decent run down the left side of the pitch as Gillingham look to gain some yards to try and relieve the pressure building on to our goal.

Seventy Six Minutes Into The Match, And Joseph Dodoo has tried his luck from Twenty Yards Out, And The Charlton Athletic Substitute see’s his low effort on goal saved by Tomas Holy, After that save from Tomas Holy, Gabriel Zakuani is now down requiring treatment and after a two minute stoppage in play, Gabriel Zakuani is unable to continue, And Jake Hessenthaler has come on for The Experienced Centre Back, and I can only assume that means that Max Ehmer will drop back into his natural central back role, while Jake Hessenthaler will play as The Central Defensive Midfielder, But Charlton Athletic show poor sportsmanship, because Tomas Holy threw the ball out of play for Gabriel Zakuani to receive treatment, Charlton Athletic do not give the ball back to Tomas Holy, and instead knock the ball out of play for a throw on instead.

Gillingham are now on the back-foot, Max Ehmer has made another decent clearance, but this is only a temporary reprieve, as Jay Dasilva passes the ball down the line towards Ricky Holmes, who has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick to try and pick out Josh Magennis, thankfully, Ricky Holmes dangerous in-swinging cross is over-hit and goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Charlton Athletic Make A Double Substitution In The Eightieth Minute, as Karlan Ahearne-Grant and Ezri Konsa come on to replace Jake Forster-Caskey and Billy Clarke, and then what was really strange was Referee Graham Salisbury booking Tomas Holy when Charlton Athletic are making a double substitution, the pressure shows no sign’s of subsiding as Josh Parker has a very soft free kick given against him, as Josh Parker is penalised for his challenge on

Karlan Ahearne-Grant In The Eighty Second Minute, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ricky Holmes dangerous in-swinging cross is well gathered by Tomas Holy who really is having an exceptional game in-between the sticks for Gillingham.

A Minute Later, And Jake Hessenthaler does brilliantly to retain possession of the ball for Gillingham down the right side of the pitch in Charlton Athletic’s Final Third, and Chris Solly is not only penalised for his challenge on Jake Hessenthaler, But Chris Solly is shown A Yellow Card As Well, Great Work By Jake Hessenthaler to win the resulting free kick, but before the free kick could be taken, A Few Idiot Charlton Athletic Spectators Decided to throw flares and smoke bombs on to the pitch, three smoke bombs were thrown on to the pitch and the fumes from these pyrotechnics are very dangerous to inhale, and we have just had The Terrorists Security Level Raised To Critical After what happened in London the week before, and supporters were searched before entering the stadium, clearly the searching wasn’t good enough to prevent some people bringing flares / smoke bombs with them inside Priestfield Stadium.

My sympathies go out to the genuine Charlton Athletic Supporters who had to breath in the fumes from these dreadful devices, and also, this could well see Charlton Athletic’s Away Support reduced or banned for future away games if this isn’t swiftly dealt with by Charlton Athletic Football Club, this always appears to be the way with local away games, where away support for local away games is fantastic, at least 2,000+, But because it is a local away game, incidents like these are becoming more and more likely.

After A Three Minute Delay, Conor Wilkinson’s Dangerous In-Swinging Cross Towards The Far Post Is Slightly Over-Hit and runs out of play for A Charlton Athletic Goal-Kick, A Minute Later, And Gillingham Win A Throw On Down The Right Side Of The Pitch, And Jake Hessenthaler throws the ball down the line towards Mark Byrne who cannot quite get to the loose ball, as Jay Dasilva has done enough to shield the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Goal-Kick.

A Minute Later. And Tom Eaves defending from the front forces Jason Pearce to play an over-hit pass out-wide to Jay Dasilva which resulted in Gillingham being awarded A Throw On Down The Gordon Road Stand / Rainham End Side Of The Pitch, Mark Byrne’s Long Throw Down The Line is too long and Conor Wilkinson cannot keep the loose ball in play, as the ball runs out of play for A Charlton Athletic Goal-Kick.

Eighty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Tom Eaves was penalised for his challenge on Ezri Konsa, and Charlton Athletic were enjoying an dominate spell in possession of the ball prior to that free kick being awarded, and it is from the resulting free kick where Charlton Athletic created an fantastic goal-scoring opportunity, Ahmed Kashi takes a touch and passes the ball square to Jay Dasilva, who takes a touch to control the ball, before hitting a high and diagonal ball into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Jason Pearce wins the aerial challenge up against Ben Nugent to header the ball down into Josh Magennis’s Path and Tomas Holy is off his goal-line to claw the ball away from The Charlton Athletic Striker, then the follow up effort from Ezri Konsa is brilliantly saved by Tomas Holy, and again, Ezri Konsa see’s his second attempt on goal saved by Tomas Holy and Gillingham are hanging on by the skin of our teeth, and Charlton Athletic can still pile the pressure on to Gillingham’s Goal From The Resulting Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Chris Solly has aimed his in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Jason Pearce cannot direct his header on target and Gillingham Survive another onslaught on to our own goal.

But that is only because Tomas Holy has made three excellent saves in quick succession, clawing the ball away from Josh Magennis and saving the follow up effort’s on goal from Ezri Konsa, you can point to poor finishing from Charlton Athletic, But Tomas Holy has done brilliantly to keep Gillingham’s Slender 1-0 Lead In-Tact, and the effort and commitment that Gillingham are putting in is taking it’s toll, as Sean Clare is now down requiring treatment and there was relief all-round Priestfield Stadium when Sean Clare got back on to his feat and Sean Clare was OK to continue playing.

However, The Fourth Official Put His Board Up To Show NINE ADDITIONAL MINUTES OF ADDED TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - And It’s Gillingham who have the chance to make the three points safe, as Mark Byrne has possession of the ball in Charlton Athletic’s Final Third Of The Pitch, And Mark Byrne cuts inside into an more central position to evade Ahmed Kashi’s Attempted Challenge, and Mark Byrne see’s his driven effort on goal blocked by Patrick Bauer and the ball runs harmlessly through to Ben Amos to make the save.

And A Minute Later, Josh Magennis is penalised for his challenge on Sean Clare, and Ricky Holmes is booked for needlessly kicking the ball away, A Booking which will see Ricky Holmes suspended for Charlton Athletic’s Next League Game As Ricky Holmes has accumulated five yellow cards already this season, However, Ninety Three Minutes Into The Match, And Ben Nugent is penalised for his challenge on Josh Magennis, And Ben Nugent is walking on a very thin ice, as Ben Nugent has already been shown A Yellow Card, And Charlton Athletic have been awarded a free kick in a very promising position on the pitch, thankfully, although Ricky Holmes has whipped in an fantastic in-swinging cross, The Linesman Down The Medway Stand / Brian Moore Stand Side Of The Pitch had his flag raised for offside, and this decision has relieved pressure building on to Gillingham’s Goal.

Ninety Four Minutes Into The Match, And Ben Nugent is again penalised for his challenge on Josh Magennis, as the aerial battle between centre back and centre forward continue’s, and I have got to say that Referee Graham Salisbury has been very lenient here, Another Referee may have taken the decision to send Ben Nugent Off, But It Is From This Free Kick Where Charlton Athletic Create Another Goal-Scoring Opportunity, as Ricky Holmes has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Jason Pearce’s Header goes wide of Tomas Holy’s Left Hand Post - as Jason Pearce tries to score at the near post or knock the ball down for one of his team-mates to try and score, and the onslaught on to Gillingham’s Goal is just one-sided, and such is the dominance in play, Conor Wilkinson is playing at Right Back to try and help Gillingham hang on to this lead, and it is from this side where Charlton Athletic continue to apply the pressure as Jay Dasilva has whipped in another sensational cross, and Tomas Holy is off his goal-line to gather the ball, great catch, and a catch which takes the pressure off Gillingham’s Defenders as we’re slowly running down the clock for Gillingham’s First League Win Of The Season.

But there is still time for Charlton Athletic to throw a spanner into the works and equalise late on, and before Charlton Athletic had the chance to score, a blatant foul by Patrick Bauer on Tom Eaves see’s no free kick awarded in Gillingham’s Favour, much to the dismay of every Gillingham Supporter Inside Priestfield Stadium, However, Play Continued as Charlton Athletic are pilling on the pressure on to Gillingham’s Goal, and Mark Byrne has managed to kick the ball clear deep into Charlton Athletic’s Half Of The Pitch.

And It Is From Here where Charlton Athletic create there goal-scoring opportunity, as Ben Amos has no-one around him so he can get to the loose ball out-side his penalty area, take a touch to control the ball before passing the ball forward to Patrick Bauer, who plays the ball out-wide to Jason Pearce, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field and Max Ehmer wins the aerial challenge up against Josh Magennis, and Erzi Konsa gets to the loose ball and plays the ball back to Ahmed Kashi, who plays the ball out-wide to Karlan Ahearne-Grant, who has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - and Karlan Ahearne-Grant has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Josh Magennis’s shot on the turn is routinely saved by Tomas Holy.

Ninety Seven Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham had the chance to make all three points safe, Patrick Bauer plays the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who runs forward in possession of the ball, and Jay Dasilva plays a driven ball forward into an more central position on the pitch and Ben Nugent times his challenge on Ricky Holmes to perfection, and Josh Parker gets to the loose ball ahead of Jay Dasilva, and Josh Parker chests the ball down to Mark Byrne, who runs across to the left side of the pitch and Mark Byrne delay’s his pass before finally playing the ball down the line towards Tom Eaves, and Tom Eaves takes a touch to control the ball, run into a better shooting position as Tom Eaves is up against Chris Solly, and Tom Eaves manages to get a shot off on goal on the edge of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area, just as Ahmed Kashi slides in to try and make a block, and Tom Eaves see’s his low effort on goal split by Ben Amos, who manages to make a recovery save to prevent Conor Wilkinson from scoring the re-bound.

There is still time for Charlton Athletic to get on the front-foot, as Jay Dasilva and Ricky Homes are linking up nicely down the left side of the pitch, and Jake Hessenthaler has timed his interception to  perfection to kick the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Throw On, Down The Gordon Road Stand / Brian Moore Stand Side Of The Pitch, Jay Dasilva’s Throw was taken too quickly, and Gillingham have been awarded A Goal-Kick.

Gillingham had the chance to make the points safe with a second goal, as Josh Parker breaks in possession of the ball, and Josh Parker threads the ball through to Tom Eaves, who is through and in on goal, But Tom Eaves is completely shattered, and Tom Eaves chooses the sensible decision to go towards the corner flag to run the clock down, and Tom Eaves is being double marked by Jay Dasilva and Chris Solly, and finally, after The Nine Additional Minutes Of Added Time have been played, Referee Graham Salisbury blows his whistle for full time and Conor Wilkinson and Josh Parker both collapse to the deck, and the celebrations can begin as Gillingham have finally won there first league game of the season.

FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 1 - 0 CHARLTON ATHLETIC

GILLINGHAM HAVE FINALLY WON THERE FIRST LEAGUE GAME OF THE SEASON!!!!!!!! Sorry for the all caps response, But that truly was a hard fought 1-0 win for The Gills, and every Gillingham Player has had to put in a proper shift to earn Gillingham those three points, In-terms of talent, this squad doesn’t have players like Bradley Dack or Cody McDonald, who you always knew were capable of scoring whenever we needed a goal, but while this Gillingham Team does lack some stardust, the effort, the commitment and the endeavour that Gillingham put in against Charlton Athletic was there for all to see, and that is all we can ask for from these players, give it everything you got, and if the players battle and give it everything and come up short then you can accept that.

The players got the applause that there efforts clearly deserved, Tom Eaves scored the winning goal, Mark Byrne put in a massive shift, Max Ehmer assisted Tom Eaves goal and Max Ehmer put in a solid disciplined performance as A Central Defensive Midfielder, Ben Nugent and Gabriel Zakuani headed and cleared everything and I thought that Gabriel Zakuani had opened the scoring in the first half, but he was flagged for offside, and Conor Wilkinson has played the entire match, and that will boost his match fitness and match sharpness levels, there is more to come from Conor Wilkinson, who is getting there slowly, But we do need to see more from Conor Wilkinson over the next few games or so.

But One Player rightfully was given a lap of honour and a standing ovation all by himself,and that was Tomas Holy, who had his name chanted from the back of The Rainham End and applauded from every Gillingham Supporter In The Rainham End, Medway Stand and The Gordon Road Stand, While Stuart Nelson is A Legend and A Goalkeeper who has been exceptional throughout his time at Gillingham Football Club, It is clear for all to see that Tomas Holy Is Gillingham’s First Choice Goalkeeper and he fully deserves to remain in the side, because Tomas Holy has been one of Gillingham’s Most Consistent Players This Season.

Finally, I can breath a massive sigh of relief, because Gillingham really do put us supporters through a roller-coaster of emotions, and we really do make it difficult for ourselves, I got speaking to Bekah after the game and it was nice to be celebrating A Gillingham Win, Bekah kindly asked me if I was going to Rochdale Next Week and I mentioned I was going to Rochdale, our next away game after Rochdale is Blackburn Rovers and that’s the one that every Gillingham Supporter wanted to travel go to as soon as the fixtures were announced, that one is going to be a long long day, and a long trip on the coach as well, Lisa came round and wanted to take a photo of the score-board, but it has gone blank, I Said C Ya To Bekah, before heading towards the exit with Lisa, Gary and James, and that was tough, and of course there has to be nine additional minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match to make things even more nerve wrecking, but Gillingham have got the win, and that is what was important.

No-one saw that result coming, But what a great win that was and we haven’t had many results on A Saturday Afternoon to smile about, but winning against Charlton Athletic is a great way to pick up our first league win of the season, and when I met up with Stephen and Gary after the game, that’s the first thing we spoke about, that we were not expecting Gillingham to pick up all three points against Charlton Athletic, I had this match down as a draw in NoirCat and so did Stephen and a draw wouldn’t be a bad result, but to get the win is amazing, especially in the manner in how Gillingham got the victory as well.

Gary Mentioned that we played for One Hundred And Five Minutes In Total, There was five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half, and nine minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half, which was closer to ten minutes according to Gary, as there was more time added on, There were so many exceptional performance from every single Gillingham Player, and of course, our focus is going to be on Tomas Holy, who was sensational in-between the sticks for Gillingham yet again, especially that triple save in the second half, and Gary made the point that had Tomas Holy made a error that led to A Charlton Athletic Equaliser, then everyone would talk about the goalkeeping error, and no-one would mention the saves that kept the score-line level at 0-0 before Tom Eaves opened the scoring.

And speaking of Tom Eaves, now there was a player who really did put in a shift up-front and Tom Eaves took his goal really well, and Gary mentioned that when Tom Eaves scored, he just looked liked a completely different player, Giving Charlton Athletic Defenders A Tough Time, putting himself about, being a pest up-front and putting in a traditional number nine performance up-front, That’s Four Goals For Tom Eaves and at the start of the season, Tom Eaves had ambitions to reach Twenty Goals, and they may well be unachievable aims, well, Tom Eaves has twenty percentage of that goal tally already and if Tom Eaves can get close to twenty goals then fair play, I actually thought that Tom Eaves would score between five to ten goals for Gillingham This Season, and Tom Eaves only needs one more goal to reach five goals and he is almost at fifty percent of the number of goals I thought Tom Eaves was going to score for Gillingham This Season.

And who knew that Max Ehmer could play as A Central Defensive Midfielder, because when we saw Gillingham’s Starting Line Up, I just thought it was A Back Five With O’Neill, Ehmer, Zakuani, Nugent, and Lacey with Byrne as The Defensive Holding Midfielder and Clare and Wagstaff would support Eaves and Wilkinson In Attack, it took ages for us to guess how Gillingham would line up and Max Ehmer was booked early on, but since that booking, Max Ehmer put in a strong display in the middle of midfield, and when Gabriel Zakuani was substituted because of injury, Max Ehmer slotted into the heart of defence, and there were so many sensational individual performances, It took four minutes for Mark Byrne to put that head bandage on, but from then onwards, Mark Byrne was everywhere, very tenacious, put himself about even tracked back fifty yards to make a block and concede a corner kick, and Gary had Mark Byrne down as A Potential Candidate For Man Of The Match, But we just cannot look past Tomas Holy, who was superb in-between the sticks yet again.

It really was a backs against the wall performance from The Gills, there were goal-line clearances from Alex Lacey and Mark Byrne, and when there was no-one in a position to make a block, Tomas Holy was Gillingham’s Last Line Of Defence, and boy he really did step up to the task, you can see how much effort the players put into the match because when the full time whistle went, they just collapsed to the floor, and that tells you just how much of a shift the players had to put in to earn those three points, because that was a team performance, that was a performance where the team recognised that we’re not going to be able to play Charlton Athletic off the park with skill and flair, but let’s put in more effort, and make sure that the team ethic can beat players of quality like Ricky Holmes, and that’s what Gillingham were able to do, mind you, Ricky Holmes was superb and Jay Dasilva was also a threat, and that’s why I think Luke O’Neill was substituted, because he was on A Yellow Card, and he was up against those two all game, any full back will struggle against those two, because Jay Dasilva is quick, and Ricky Holmes should be playing in The Championship.

Gary mentioned that this was Gillingham’s First League Win Against Charlton Athletic In Eighty Eight years - 23rd Of March 1929 to be precise - Gillingham did win 3-2 against Charlton Athletic in The FA Cup Back in 2004, but you have to go back to The 1920’s For Gillingham’s Last League Win Against Charlton Athletic, I just hope we do not have to wait another Eighty Eight Year’s For Gillingham to win against Charlton Athletic in the league.

We spoke about the pyrotechnics being thrown on to the pitch, and it always appears to be the case that whenever your traveling to a local away game, you get a few day trippers who pretend to be ultra’s and ruin the experience for there own supporters, because I was in The Away End When one of these pyrotechnics were thrown on to the pitch on the opening day of the season last season away at Southend United, and the same again for Peterborough United, the fumes from these devices are dangerous to inhale, but there could be A FA Punishment for Charlton Athletic, as well as reducing the number of away supporters who go to up and coming away fixtures, and that is only going to affect the genuine football supporter.

But if there is one person who isn’t going to be affected by three flares on to the pitch, and that is Tomas Holy, Have you seen The Slavia Prague V Sparta Prague Derby, The Rivalry for this game is very intense and Gary jokingly added that when Tomas Holy picked up one of the flares, that Tomas Holy should have hurled the flare back into the away end, Once again, we could only lavish and praise Tomas Holy’s Goalkeeping Performance In-Between The Sticks, and if Tomas Holy can keep this form going then he will be Gillingham’s Player Of The Season This Season.

Gary decided to head off, and Stephen headed off to The Factory to get something to drink, Stephen added that we can get some posts going on The Gills Debate Website and talk more about the match on Social Media, I Said C Ya To Stephen and Gary, While Me And Diane went towards The Player’s Entrance, Me And Diane were speaking about the up and coming match against Phoenix Sports In The Kent Senior Cup, and I mentioned that those who played against Charlton Athletic won’t play against Phoenix Sports, But Steve Arnold would be in goal, Ryan Huckle and Jack Tucker will play in defence along with Aaron Simpson, Midfielders Darren Oldaker, Ben Chapman and Jesse Starkey will be involved, And Greg Cundle, Liam Nash and Elliott List would all feature for Gillingham In Attack, so it would be a strong side, and plenty of our young players will be in the squad and it would be good to see them all feature and see what they can do.

As for travel plans, I mentioned to Diane that VCD Athletic and Phoenix Sports are right next to each other so it would make little difference out of who went through out of these two sides, Diane asked what time should we leave for Phoenix Sports, as rush hour traffic is likely to add further travel time, I mentioned that we should look into how long it would take to get there before making certain on what time we should be leaving, Faversham Town are out and Stephen wanted Faversham Town V Gillingham In The Kent Senior Cup as he missed The Pre-Season Friendly.

But our plans for The Kent Senior Cup Tie against Phoenix Sports were put on the back shelf, as Me and Diane were told that Phoenix Sports drew and there FA Cup Replay is on Tuesday Night, So The Gillingham Game needs to be re-scheduled for another time, I haven’t been to Phoenix Sports Stadium Before, and I haven’t been to Blackburn Rovers Before Either, and I will get to tick both stadiums off in the same season.

We spoke with Gabriel Zakuani and Scott Wagstaff to find out the extent of there injuries, Scott Wagstaff needs to see a specialist, so he will be having his fingers crossed for good news, and likewise, we had our fingers crossed for Scott Wagstaff as well, Gabriel Zakuani added he was fine, but thanked us for our concern for his well-being, We also said well done to Mark Byrne, Sean Clare, Josh Parker and Max Ehmer, before waiting for Goal-Scoring Hero Tom Eaves, and we congratulated him for his goal, and Tom Eaves was pleased to be scoring a winning goal this time, and as Tom Eaves is A Liverpudlian, Diane asked the question Everton Or Liverpool, and Tom Eaves supports Liverpool.

I got a phone call from Dad about where was I, I mentioned I was still at Priestfield Stadium waiting for the crowd to disperse before making a move, Dad mentioned that Mum wanted Fish-Cake And Chips, and that I needed to ring when I was finally on the train, I wasn’t going to wait round for much longer and as Tomas Holy was still doing his Post Match Press Conference, I decided to make a move, I said C Ya To Diane as I made my way back to Gillingham Train Station, managing to get back to Gillingham Train Station in time for The 18.15 Train, Once The 18.15PM Train arrived, I got on the train and I looked on The Gillingham Twitter Feed and Re-Tweeted The Post Match Press Comments From Adrian Pennock, Tom Eaves and Tomas Holy and I Re-Tweeted A Few Player Tweets As Well.

Once The Train Arrived In Rainham at 18.20PM, I got off the train, and headed towards George’s Plaice to buy One Small Portion Of Chips and One Fish-Cake, And One Small Portion Of Chips And Two Jumbo Plain Sausages for £8.70, while I was waiting for my order, I saw Rob’s tweet, and Rob Posted The Following,,,,,,, All the Players gave everything today, Total commitment and effort, delighted they got what they deserved, I replied with the following,,,, The Players have set the standard with that performance, I hope Gills use the confidence gained from today’s result to kick on.

I collected my order once it was ready, and headed towards the car park as Dad was waiting for me, I got in The Car and finally Gillingham had got there first league win of the season and we really needed that win that is for sure, I always stay back behind the games to get post match analysis from Gary and Stephen so I cannot say if there was trouble at Gillingham Train Station, and if there was trouble, then staying behind longer was a sensible decision.

All in all, great to get the win, great to finally win against Charlton Athletic in the league because eighty eight years without A League Win against Charlton is a long long time, great to see the players put in the effort, work ethic and defend by putting there bodies on the line, the challenge for Gillingham, is to build on this, and that means getting points against Rochdale and Scunthorpe United, win both matches would be fantastic, four points would be decent as well - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sportsleague365]

MANCHESTER CITY weren’t afraid to splash the cash this summer in order to get back to the top of English football. Pep Guardiola spent an incredible £220million in the most recent window in order to compete both domestically and in Europe. Man City’s squad cost an incredible £775million to createPA:Press AssociationNot even PSG’s star-studded squad can match Man City’s, cost-wiseRex FeaturesThe mega-money signings of Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, Danilo, Benjamin Mendy and Ederson really caught the eye. In fact, Man City‘s squad now cost more to create than ANY other side in Europe’s Big Five Leagues. The £220m net spend pushed their squad value to an eye-popping £775m – even higher than Paris Saint-Germain. PSG shattered the world record transfer fee to bring Neymar to the French capital from Barcelona for £198m. But despite that they’ve been overtaken to the No1 spot, with a squad value of £773m. Manchester United come in third on £713m, after their £60m spend this summer, with Chelsea – who spent £148m – in fourth, way back on £585m. Manchester City 5-0 Liverpool: Aguero, Jesus and Sane run riot after questionable Sadio Mane red card Man United can boast the third-most expensive squad in all of EuropeRex FeaturesMOST READ IN FOOTBALL DE BOER, NO MORE Frank De Boer SACKED by Palace after just FOUR Premier League matches in chargeCRYSTAL FALL De Boer's 77-day reign was a disaster... he shattered players' confidence, showed off in training and ignored good adviceFAN BAN VOW Chelsea fans face life bans if found singing anti-Semitic chants after Alvaro Morata shocked by new songSUNDAY LUNCH David De Gea heads out to lunch with stunning girlfriend Edurne Garcia as Manchester United star shields himself from downpourEURO STAR Neymar reveals he ditched Barcelona and Lionel Messi because PSG have a much better chance of winning the Champions League this seasonREDDY AND WAITING Manchester United want to sign BOTH Gareth Bale and Antoine Griezmann next summerFOX OFF Fiancee of Leicester ace Wes Morgan kicks him out of their mansion after learning he has a pregnant mistressWINDOW BOARDED UP January transfer window could now be SCRAPPED as top clubs seek huge football overhaulCHELSEA PRESSER Antonio Conte speaks to the media ahead of Blues' Champions League clash at home to QarabagBOER GAMES Ex-England boss Roy Hodgson to replace Frank de Boer after Dutchman is sacked at Palace'NOT ACCEPTABLE' Chelsea could face action over anti-Semitic part of new chant made for Alvaro MorataNOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE Man City boss Pep Guardiola snaps up Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown Watch PSG star Neymar's best moments against FC MetzBarcelona (£571m) and Real Madrid (£452m) come in fifth and sixth respectively - with the Galacticos even losing £7m in value - with Serie A giants Juventus in seventh on £427m. Liverpool's big spending this summer, including moves for Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain see them sit eighth on £397m - a rise of £74m. The Reds sit ahead of North London duo Arsenal (£378m) and Tottenham (£328m) who complete the top ten. Elsewhere in the top 20, Everton and Crystal Palace sit amongst giants including Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund. Chelsea move into fourth in the most-expensive squad stakesRex FeaturesStoke 2-2 Manchester United: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting double denies Red Devils all three points in Premier League thriller Keep up to date with ALL the football news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary. #ManchesterCity #BigFive #AntoineGriezmann

[walkonwalkonwithhopeinyourheart]

I went to Steven Gerrard's talk at the Belfast Waterfront Hall last night via /r/LiverpoolFC

I went to Steven Gerrard's talk at the Belfast Waterfront Hall last night

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to see Steven Gerrard do his first talk in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall last night. I didn’t know what to expect as I had always heard that Steven was a bit of a grumpy sod and always came across quite serious in interviews. The format of the evening was that Steven would be interviewed by a guy from LFC TV (whose name escapes me right now). They would also show pictures/ videos from Steven’s career and he would speak a little about each one. The interviewer said at the start of the evening that we would talk about the highs and also the lows. I thought I’d describe the points I can remember if anyone is interested.

Why Belfast?

He said he had received a lot of fan mail and support from Belfast and Northern Ireland so it was decided that his first talk should be here. Perhaps he told us what we wanted to hear but it was nice of him to acknowledge the fantastic support Liverpool receive from outside of Liverpool.

Getting to the first team

He was doing his apprenticeship and had finished cleaning the dressing room floors when he was handed the first team fixtures for the coming season. He was told that these were the fixtures he’ll need from now on. He admitted it was a massive step up to go into the dressing room and see all the players who he had watched. He remembers his first day of first team training when he “smashed” about six players (didn’t say who) to make a statement. When Phil Thompson waved at him to make his debut (against Blackburn I think) he felt physically sick. He came across as incredibly driven and stated that at that time he wanted to be the best player he could be and was relatively disruptive in the dressing room. He said that if someone was going to play ahead of him and he wasn’t happy about it he’d say as he didn’t care who upset to get to the top. Again he didn’t say who he upset. His life changed from then on.

Getting the Captaincy

He wasn’t expecting this. He felt bad that it was taken away from Sami Hyypia but stated that he thought the captain’s armband weighed heavy on Sami and that it affected his performances. A clip of Sami Hyypia was shown describing how he felt losing the armband. Although he was gutted, he realised Steven was the right man for the job and went over to Steven to congratulate him as Steven seemed quite awkward about it. Sami offered him any guidance and advice he needed to deal with the responsibility. Steven stated that it was everything he had ever wanted and it pushed him on to play better.

The Treble Winning Season

It is here that he felt like a proper Liverpool player as it was his first taste of success. He spoke a bit about Gary McAllister who at 34 was one of the fittest people he knew. He looked up to Gary and how he conducted himself, how he never made a bad decision in his life let alone on the pitch. He wished that Liverpool had signed him at 24 and not 34. Gary helped a lot of people in the dressing and was there for advice.

Houllier v Benitez

These men were completely different which took him a while to get used to. With Houllier, he would put his arm around you, speak to you with warmth, take your family out to dinner and get to know you as a person. Benitez was different. Steven felt that at the start, Rafa didn’t like him that much. He wouldn’t approach him or do the things that Houllier would do. Rafa kept the players at a distance and came across as cold. Steven said that he understands why he employed that tactic as it made him want to impress Rafa more. Steven confirmed that Rafa was one of the best tactically minded coaches he had worked with and would leave no stone unturned in his preparation. In addition, he mentioned Rafa’s right hand man – Paco. Steven said he’d never met anyone like him as he was more than just a fitness coach. He say stuff like – you’ll play 60 minutes on Saturday, you’ll not train for 2 days, then we’ll work on your legs, then we’ll do X,Y,Z. By Wednesday you’ll feel amazing. He was an incredibly smart man and whatever he said about fitness and conditioning came true. Steven said that Rafa and Paco were just perfect for each other.

Luis Garcia’s Chelsea Goal

The Chelsea lads bitched and moaned at him for years about the goal. His response was always if the ref didn’t give a goal, we would have got a penalty and the keeper sent off so want did they want?

Istanbul

He was surprised by the formation that Rafa chose. None of the players started well in the game and he felt distraught at half time. The dressing room was very heated and people were blaming each other. They calmed down and let Rafa speak then Steven spoke to the team. He mentioned the supporters and all the money they’d spent following Liverpool. He said what other fans would sing you off the pitch at half time being 3 nil down. He said they could still hear the fans singing YNWA from the dressing room and used it as motivation. The introduction of Hamann enabled him to get further up the pitch. A clip of Steven’s goal in the CL final was shown and he laughed saying Carragher did two turns in the lead up to the goal – something which he’d never seen before or since. Jamie likes to claim that he made that goal for him. The fifth penalty in the shoot-out was due to be taken by Steven. He admitted that was bricking it and was completely different to taking a penalty in a normal game. Standing there waiting to take his go was torture. He commended Xabi Alonso who was only about 23 at the time for taking the penalty in normal time. He had only recently become Liverpool’s penalty taker but to follow the ball up and score high was very difficult to do. Steven added that you find out a lot about your team mates in games that like. People like Carragher went through the pain barrier for the team. They were all mentally drained for about 3 weeks after that game and spent about week drunk as well. He also added that this game changed him as a player as he gained a lot of confidence which helped him through his career.

FA Cup final 2006

He joked and said he had to make up for Jaime Carragher’s own goal somehow as Jamie would never have gotten over it.

Xabi Alonso

As soon as he first passed a ball in training, he knew Xabi was different. His pass looked different, the way he kicked it was different and it sounded different. He was amazed that LFC got him for only £10m. When Xabi decided to move on, Steven as the Captain was informed first and he was very upset. He knew that despite the money we got for him, we’ve never find anyone else like him again. He was a massive loss to the club.

Luis Suarez

Didn’t talk as much about Luis – just to say he was absolutely gutted that he moved on.

The Chelsea slip

We were warned at the start of the evening that we would speak about the lows. This was the low that Steven himself wanted to speak about. The clip of him falling over was shown much to the audience’s discontent. He said it was just bad luck and although it still hurts him to this day if he had given the ball away or was dispossessed in that situation he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself. However, he wants to put in right somehow in the future. The audience gave him a lot of support during these few minutes.

Jurgen Klopp

He’s the type of manager that has the attitude – it’s my way or the high way and is very demanding. As soon as he finished with LA Galaxy, Jurgen got in contact and wanted a meeting with him to be involved in the club. He was also contacted by Klopp about playing in Australia against Sydney FC and knew a few months beforehand that he was going. This gave him a chance to train a bit. He said although his footballing mind is still there he can’t run as fast or be at the places he wanted to be. Steven, McManaman, Agger all treated it like a serious game and didn’t want to disappoint the Australian fans.

Leaving Liverpool/ LA Galaxy

Towards the end he was having discussions with Brendan Rodgers about reducing his time as a player. Steven said it was all stats/goals/ minutes and he wasn’t happy playing a bit part so he decided it would be better if he left as he was never a good sub. Whenever he was employed as a sub he felt pent up and was reckless whenever he got on the pitch. He laughed that it would be best for everyone if he moved on. He still loved football and felt like he had still a lot to offer. He couldn’t be around the city of Liverpool if not playing for Liverpool nor did he want to go up to the games. He decided the best thing would be to get as far away from Liverpool as possible and that’s when he chose LA. It was also a good time for him,his wife and kids to go somewhere where nobody knew them. Playing for Galaxy although not the same allowed him to heal.

Jordan Henderson

Steven said that Jordan is a hard worker and we have no idea how much he sacrifices for the club.

Friendship in Football

He said as a player, standing in the tunnel beside some teams he felt hatred towards other players. In the England set up, he pretended to like people. He started to form real friendships after being away from football which is why him and Rio Ferdinand are close now.

EDIT: Misspelling of Xabi & Luis

Submitted June 06, 2017 at 03:15PM by FunVonni via reddit http://ift.tt/2rQgLmR

[ultrasfcb-blog]

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos - the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos - the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos – the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Ramos has a particular bond with the followers – as he confirmed after the semi-final win over Bayern Munich

It was the second that stated every thing concerning the relationship between Sergio Ramos and Actual Madrid.

There he was, the 32-year-old defender, veteran of greater than 150 caps for Spain, winner of nearly each honour within the recreation, in among the many followers, singing and celebrating with them.

The second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Actual Madrid and Bayern Munich had completed half an hour earlier on the Bernabeu, the Spanish group by to their third successive remaining after a 4-3 aggregate victory.

The Grada Followers – the supporters’ group who occupy the seats behind the South Finish aim – had been nonetheless there and when Ramos heard, he and his team-mates left the dressing room to hitch them.

Ramos jumped over the ads behind the aim, grabbed the microphone and led the remaining 2,000 followers to sing “Reyes de Europa, somos los Reyes de Europa!” (We are the kings of Europe!), a chant reserved for memorable Champions League victories.

Ramos even began one other Bernabeu favorite, “Cómo no te voy a querer” (How may I not love you).

It was a second that exemplified the deep connection he has developed with most Actual Madrid supporters.

Solely a choose few Actual Madrid legends have managed to construct such a exceptional emotional attachment with the followers.

Ramos has reached the degrees of ahead Raul Gonzalez, who celebrated with a bullfighting routine, and even the much-missed Juanito.

Juanito is a Actual Madrid legend. Tragically killed in a automotive crash on the age of 37 in 1992, followers liked him a lot that he is remembered on the seventh minute of each match on the Bernabeu with a music that merely consists of his nickname, “Illa, Illa, Illa, Juanito Maravilla” (Vel, vel vel, Johnny Marvel).

His feisty temperament, his want to win and love for the membership noticed the followers take him to their coronary heart.

It’s now the identical for Ramos, but it surely has not all the time been that approach.

The positional swap that noticed Ramos reborn

Ramos arrived from Sevilla for 27m euros in 2005 when he was simply 19.

“No defender on the earth is price all that cash,” Sevilla’s president Jose Maria del Nido famously remarked after the transaction was full.

Banners proclaiming affection for Ramos are commonly seen on the Bernabeu

Ramos’ lack of tactical self-discipline led a sizeable a part of the Bernabeu devoted to surprise at first whether or not he was severe sufficient for Actual Madrid.

At all times proficient and impressively match, one thing nonetheless appeared barely off to the eyes of the typical fan.

Ramos spent most of his first six years on the Bernabeu enjoying as an attacking full-back.

At instances he starred in moments of glory – such because the sequence of comebacks on the finish of the 2006-07 season that gave Actual Madrid one other La Liga title.

However he was additionally concerned in disaster – a superb instance being his defensive efficiency within the 6-2 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in 2009, the place he chased the shadows of Thierry Henry & co.

Nonetheless, Ramos’ place at Actual modified without end in October 2011.

Jose Mourinho used him as a centre-back in a match in opposition to Espanyol to cowl for the injured Ricardo Carvalho.

Ramos began the following seven matches in that place and Actual Madrid conceded simply as soon as.

“That was the important thing for Sergio to turn into the participant we all know as we speak,” stated Fernando Hierro, one other Actual Madrid legend from whom Ramos inherited Actual Madrid’s quantity 4 shirt.

“He’d performed as a centre-back earlier than, however simply as a stand-in. Due to these few matches in a row, he began to develop a tactical consciousness he did not have as a full-back, gained significance within the central axis of the group, turned extra vocal along with his team-mates. That transfer made him click on.”

The transfer turned him right into a extra targeted, reliable defender who turned a frontrunner on the again.

Ramos is a pure chief, a attribute that the majority of his coaches have been fast to focus on.

Sevilla’s Joaquin Caparros stated: “You may see he was a frontrunner since he was a child.”

Former Actual Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti even went a bit additional: “Ramos has every thing that Italian Paolo Maldini had: his persona, his technical abilities, his capacity to guide on and off the pitch.”

‘A defender with a striker’s soul’

After which there are the objectives.

Numerous them and never simply any sort of objectives, as Ramos has all the time discovered a technique to rating a number of each season. He is now reached 77 objectives in his profession, a quantity that would simply attain three digits earlier than he retires.

Ramos has scored a collection of essential objectives – scoring in two Champions League finals in opposition to Atletico Madrid

However the latter years of Ramos’s profession has seen him rating an unbelievable variety of essential, game-changing and, in some instances, season-defining objectives.

You may argue it began on the Allianz Area in Munich, in 2014, when Ramos scored two headers within the area of 4 minutes that noticed Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich lose another Champions League semi-final.

Then came his memorable equaliser after 92:48 minutes of the ultimate in opposition to Atletico Madrid that very same season, the one which led him to tattoo ’92:48′ on his physique.

“I am pondering of beginning him as a striker,” stated Ancelotti, solely half-jokingly.

Ramos scored once more in the 2016 Champions League final in opposition to Atletico, and within the subsequent Supercup remaining in opposition to Sevilla, then within the Membership World Cup semi-final and the ultimate.

Sergio Ramos – what he has received with Actual La Liga 4 Champions League 3 Tremendous Cup 3 Uefa Tremendous Cup 3 Copa del Rey 2

His equaliser at Barcelona’s Camp Nou throughout a key La Liga match final season – one other key aim within the dying minutes of the match – gave the group a much-needed draw to maintain pushing for a title they might find yourself successful.

That 12 months noticed Ramos rating 10 instances in 44 matches, exceptional numbers for a defender.

“Ramos’ objectives are illogical, however soccer is not logical,” noticed Ancelotti.

The assumption that Ramos will rating when the group wants a aim most is the rationale behind Ramos’ tribute music on the Bernabeu.

“Si marca un gol, si marca un gol, si Sergio Ramos marca un gol” (“Sure, rating one aim, sure, rating one aim, sure Sergio Ramos rating a aim” sung to the tune of ‘When the saints go marching in’).

It’s all the time chanted when Actual Madrid are about to take a set-piece.

Ramos describes himself as a “defender with a striker’s soul”, one which idolised no apart from Argentine striker Claudio Caniggia when he was youthful.

The person who can break Liverpool’s hearts?

Sergio Ramos along with his spouse – Spanish TV star Pilar Rubio – and two of his youngsters after the 2017 Champions League remaining

Ramos, a father of three who’s married to the Spanish TV star Pilar Rubio, is way from good.

He has been despatched off 24 instances, missed 5 penalties for Madrid, the newest simply two weeks in the past in Sevilla, and famously dropped the Copa del Rey trophy off the celebration double-decker bus, which then ran over it, again in 2011.

However even his shortcomings have turn into positives within the eyes of the followers, since they’re seen as by-products of his starvation to win and his authenticity.

His affair with Manchester United, who nearly signed him in the summertime of 2015, turns into a case of “Sergio noticed the sunshine” among the many followers and become another excuse to root for the skipper.

And in Kiev on Saturday he may additional strengthen his bond with the membership’s followers if he can hold Liverpool’s much-vaunted ahead line in examine.

Removed from good, Ramos has seen purple greater than 20 instances in his Actual Madrid profession

Mohamed Salah will attempt to make the most of left-back Marcelo’s tendency to push ahead.

Will probably be left to Ramos, who performs alongside Marcelo in Actual’s again 4, to cowl for the Brazilian and deal with the Egyptian star.

Ramos is just not as quick as he was once, and in a earlier encounter when Salah performed for Rome in 2016, the Egyptian confirmed that he was remarkably faster than Ramos.

Nonetheless, the Spanish defender has improved positionally the longer he has performed within the centre of defence and, in line with his personal phrases, he’s not afraid of Salah: “He is simply one among 11 gamers,” Ramos stated when requested concerning the striker.

Salah, then with Roma, and Ramos have met earlier than within the Champions League

Zinedine Zidane’s rotation coverage has helped Ramos attain the tip of the season in nice form, having been commonly rested in La Liga matches this season.

And maybe Liverpool’s deal with Ramos ought to be additional up the sphere.

The defender has not scored within the Champions League since he struck in opposition to Apoel Nicosia in a bunch match again in September. However who could be in opposition to him scoring on Saturday?

BBC Sport – Football ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/4451/

#Barcelona

[ultrasfcb-blog]

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos - the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos - the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Actual Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos – the Actual talisman who can harm Liverpool

Ramos has a particular bond with the followers – as he confirmed after the semi-final win over Bayern Munich

It was the second that stated every thing concerning the relationship between Sergio Ramos and Actual Madrid.

There he was, the 32-year-old defender, veteran of greater than 150 caps for Spain, winner of nearly each honour within the recreation, in among the many followers, singing and celebrating with them.

The second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Actual Madrid and Bayern Munich had completed half an hour earlier on the Bernabeu, the Spanish group by to their third successive remaining after a 4-3 aggregate victory.

The Grada Followers – the supporters’ group who occupy the seats behind the South Finish aim – had been nonetheless there and when Ramos heard, he and his team-mates left the dressing room to hitch them.

Ramos jumped over the ads behind the aim, grabbed the microphone and led the remaining 2,000 followers to sing “Reyes de Europa, somos los Reyes de Europa!” (We are the kings of Europe!), a chant reserved for memorable Champions League victories.

Ramos even began one other Bernabeu favorite, “Cómo no te voy a querer” (How may I not love you).

It was a second that exemplified the deep connection he has developed with most Actual Madrid supporters.

Solely a choose few Actual Madrid legends have managed to construct such a exceptional emotional attachment with the followers.

Ramos has reached the degrees of ahead Raul Gonzalez, who celebrated with a bullfighting routine, and even the much-missed Juanito.

Juanito is a Actual Madrid legend. Tragically killed in a automotive crash on the age of 37 in 1992, followers liked him a lot that he is remembered on the seventh minute of each match on the Bernabeu with a music that merely consists of his nickname, “Illa, Illa, Illa, Juanito Maravilla” (Vel, vel vel, Johnny Marvel).

His feisty temperament, his want to win and love for the membership noticed the followers take him to their coronary heart.

It’s now the identical for Ramos, but it surely has not all the time been that approach.

The positional swap that noticed Ramos reborn

Ramos arrived from Sevilla for 27m euros in 2005 when he was simply 19.

“No defender on the earth is price all that cash,” Sevilla’s president Jose Maria del Nido famously remarked after the transaction was full.

Banners proclaiming affection for Ramos are commonly seen on the Bernabeu

Ramos’ lack of tactical self-discipline led a sizeable a part of the Bernabeu devoted to surprise at first whether or not he was severe sufficient for Actual Madrid.

At all times proficient and impressively match, one thing nonetheless appeared barely off to the eyes of the typical fan.

Ramos spent most of his first six years on the Bernabeu enjoying as an attacking full-back.

At instances he starred in moments of glory – such because the sequence of comebacks on the finish of the 2006-07 season that gave Actual Madrid one other La Liga title.

However he was additionally concerned in disaster – a superb instance being his defensive efficiency within the 6-2 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in 2009, the place he chased the shadows of Thierry Henry & co.

Nonetheless, Ramos’ place at Actual modified without end in October 2011.

Jose Mourinho used him as a centre-back in a match in opposition to Espanyol to cowl for the injured Ricardo Carvalho.

Ramos began the following seven matches in that place and Actual Madrid conceded simply as soon as.

“That was the important thing for Sergio to turn into the participant we all know as we speak,” stated Fernando Hierro, one other Actual Madrid legend from whom Ramos inherited Actual Madrid’s quantity 4 shirt.

“He’d performed as a centre-back earlier than, however simply as a stand-in. Due to these few matches in a row, he began to develop a tactical consciousness he did not have as a full-back, gained significance within the central axis of the group, turned extra vocal along with his team-mates. That transfer made him click on.”

The transfer turned him right into a extra targeted, reliable defender who turned a frontrunner on the again.

Ramos is a pure chief, a attribute that the majority of his coaches have been fast to focus on.

Sevilla’s Joaquin Caparros stated: “You may see he was a frontrunner since he was a child.”

Former Actual Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti even went a bit additional: “Ramos has every thing that Italian Paolo Maldini had: his persona, his technical abilities, his capacity to guide on and off the pitch.”

‘A defender with a striker’s soul’

After which there are the objectives.

Numerous them and never simply any sort of objectives, as Ramos has all the time discovered a technique to rating a number of each season. He is now reached 77 objectives in his profession, a quantity that would simply attain three digits earlier than he retires.

Ramos has scored a collection of essential objectives – scoring in two Champions League finals in opposition to Atletico Madrid

However the latter years of Ramos’s profession has seen him rating an unbelievable variety of essential, game-changing and, in some instances, season-defining objectives.

You may argue it began on the Allianz Area in Munich, in 2014, when Ramos scored two headers within the area of 4 minutes that noticed Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich lose another Champions League semi-final.

Then came his memorable equaliser after 92:48 minutes of the ultimate in opposition to Atletico Madrid that very same season, the one which led him to tattoo ’92:48′ on his physique.

“I am pondering of beginning him as a striker,” stated Ancelotti, solely half-jokingly.

Ramos scored once more in the 2016 Champions League final in opposition to Atletico, and within the subsequent Supercup remaining in opposition to Sevilla, then within the Membership World Cup semi-final and the ultimate.

Sergio Ramos – what he has received with Actual La Liga 4 Champions League 3 Tremendous Cup 3 Uefa Tremendous Cup 3 Copa del Rey 2

His equaliser at Barcelona’s Camp Nou throughout a key La Liga match final season – one other key aim within the dying minutes of the match – gave the group a much-needed draw to maintain pushing for a title they might find yourself successful.

That 12 months noticed Ramos rating 10 instances in 44 matches, exceptional numbers for a defender.

“Ramos’ objectives are illogical, however soccer is not logical,” noticed Ancelotti.

The assumption that Ramos will rating when the group wants a aim most is the rationale behind Ramos’ tribute music on the Bernabeu.

“Si marca un gol, si marca un gol, si Sergio Ramos marca un gol” (“Sure, rating one aim, sure, rating one aim, sure Sergio Ramos rating a aim” sung to the tune of ‘When the saints go marching in’).

It’s all the time chanted when Actual Madrid are about to take a set-piece.

Ramos describes himself as a “defender with a striker’s soul”, one which idolised no apart from Argentine striker Claudio Caniggia when he was youthful.

The person who can break Liverpool’s hearts?

Sergio Ramos along with his spouse – Spanish TV star Pilar Rubio – and two of his youngsters after the 2017 Champions League remaining

Ramos, a father of three who’s married to the Spanish TV star Pilar Rubio, is way from good.

He has been despatched off 24 instances, missed 5 penalties for Madrid, the newest simply two weeks in the past in Sevilla, and famously dropped the Copa del Rey trophy off the celebration double-decker bus, which then ran over it, again in 2011.

However even his shortcomings have turn into positives within the eyes of the followers, since they’re seen as by-products of his starvation to win and his authenticity.

His affair with Manchester United, who nearly signed him in the summertime of 2015, turns into a case of “Sergio noticed the sunshine” among the many followers and become another excuse to root for the skipper.

And in Kiev on Saturday he may additional strengthen his bond with the membership’s followers if he can hold Liverpool’s much-vaunted ahead line in examine.

Removed from good, Ramos has seen purple greater than 20 instances in his Actual Madrid profession

Mohamed Salah will attempt to make the most of left-back Marcelo’s tendency to push ahead.

Will probably be left to Ramos, who performs alongside Marcelo in Actual’s again 4, to cowl for the Brazilian and deal with the Egyptian star.

Ramos is just not as quick as he was once, and in a earlier encounter when Salah performed for Rome in 2016, the Egyptian confirmed that he was remarkably faster than Ramos.

Nonetheless, the Spanish defender has improved positionally the longer he has performed within the centre of defence and, in line with his personal phrases, he’s not afraid of Salah: “He is simply one among 11 gamers,” Ramos stated when requested concerning the striker.

Salah, then with Roma, and Ramos have met earlier than within the Champions League

Zinedine Zidane’s rotation coverage has helped Ramos attain the tip of the season in nice form, having been commonly rested in La Liga matches this season.

And maybe Liverpool’s deal with Ramos ought to be additional up the sphere.

The defender has not scored within the Champions League since he struck in opposition to Apoel Nicosia in a bunch match again in September. However who could be in opposition to him scoring on Saturday?

BBC Sport – Football ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/4451/

#Barcelona

[ultrasfcb-blog]

Real Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos - the Real talisman who can hurt Liverpool

Real Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos - the Real talisman who can hurt Liverpool

Real Madrid v Liverpool: Sergio Ramos – the Real talisman who can hurt Liverpool

Ramos has a special bond with the fans – as he showed after the semi-final win over Bayern Munich

It was the moment that said everything about the relationship between Sergio Ramos and Real Madrid.

There he was, the 32-year-old defender, veteran of more than 150 caps for Spain, winner of just about every honour in the game, in among the fans, singing and celebrating with them.

The second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich had finished half an hour earlier at the Bernabeu, the Spanish team through to their third successive final after a 4-3 aggregate victory.

The Grada Fans – the supporters’ group who occupy the seats behind the South End goal – were still there and when Ramos heard, he and his team-mates left the dressing room to join them.

Ramos jumped over the advertisements behind the goal, grabbed the microphone and led the remaining 2,000 fans to sing “Reyes de Europa, somos los Reyes de Europa!” (We’re the kings of Europe!), a chant reserved for memorable Champions League victories.

Ramos even started another Bernabeu favourite, “Cómo no te voy a querer” (How could I not love you).

It was a moment that exemplified the deep connection he has developed with most Real Madrid supporters.

Only a select few Real Madrid legends have managed to build such a remarkable emotional attachment with the fans.

Ramos has reached the levels of forward Raul Gonzalez, who celebrated with a bullfighting routine, and even the much-missed Juanito.

Juanito is a Real Madrid legend. Tragically killed in a car crash at the age of 37 in 1992, fans loved him so much that he’s remembered on the seventh minute of every match at the Bernabeu with a song that simply consists of his nickname, “Illa, Illa, Illa, Juanito Maravilla” (Vel, vel vel, Johnny Marvel).

His feisty temperament, his desire to win and love for the club saw the fans take him to their heart.

It is now the same for Ramos, but it has not always been that way.

The positional switch that saw Ramos reborn

Ramos arrived from Sevilla for 27m euros in 2005 when he was just 19.

“No defender in the world is worth all that money,” Sevilla’s president Jose Maria del Nido famously remarked after the transaction was complete.

Banners proclaiming affection for Ramos are regularly seen at the Bernabeu

Ramos’ lack of tactical discipline led a sizeable part of the Bernabeu faithful to wonder at first whether he was serious enough for Real Madrid.

Always talented and impressively fit, something nonetheless seemed slightly off to the eyes of the average fan.

Ramos spent most of his first six years at the Bernabeu playing as an attacking full-back.

At times he starred in moments of glory – such as the sequence of comebacks at the end of the 2006-07 season that gave Real Madrid another La Liga title.

But he was also involved in catastrophe – a good example being his defensive performance in the 6-2 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in 2009, where he chased the shadows of Thierry Henry & co.

However, Ramos’ place at Real changed forever in October 2011.

Jose Mourinho used him as a centre-back in a match against Espanyol to cover for the injured Ricardo Carvalho.

Ramos started the next seven matches in that position and Real Madrid conceded just once.

“That was the key for Sergio to become the player we know today,” said Fernando Hierro, another Real Madrid legend from whom Ramos inherited Real Madrid’s number four shirt.

“He’d played as a centre-back before, but just as a stand-in. Thanks to those few matches in a row, he started to develop a tactical awareness he didn’t have as a full-back, gained importance in the central axis of the team, became more vocal with his team-mates. That move made him click.”

The move turned him into a more focused, dependable defender who became a leader at the back.

Ramos is a natural leader, a characteristic that most of his coaches have been quick to highlight.

Sevilla’s Joaquin Caparros said: “You could see he was a leader since he was a kid.”

Former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti even went a bit further: “Ramos has everything that Italian Paolo Maldini had: his persona, his technical skills, his ability to lead on and off the pitch.”

‘A defender with a striker’s soul’

And then there are the goals.

Lots of them and not just any kind of goals, as Ramos has always found a way to score a few every season. He’s now reached 77 goals in his career, a number that could easily reach three digits before he retires.

Ramos has scored a series of crucial goals – scoring in two Champions League finals against Atletico Madrid

But the latter years of Ramos’s career has seen him score an incredible number of crucial, game-changing and, in some cases, season-defining goals.

You could argue it all started at the Allianz Arena in Munich, in 2014, when Ramos scored two headers in the space of four minutes that saw Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich lose another Champions League semi-final.

Then came his memorable equaliser after 92:48 minutes of the final against Atletico Madrid that same season, the one that led him to tattoo ’92:48′ on his body.

“I’m thinking of starting him as a striker,” said Ancelotti, only half-jokingly.

Ramos scored again in the 2016 Champions League final against Atletico, and in the subsequent Supercup final against Sevilla, then in the Club World Cup semi-final and the final.

Sergio Ramos – what he has won with Real La Liga 4 Champions League 3 Super Cup 3 Uefa Super Cup 3 Copa del Rey 2

His equaliser at Barcelona’s Camp Nou during a key La Liga match last season – another key goal in the dying minutes of the match – gave the team a much-needed draw to keep pushing for a title they would end up winning.

That year saw Ramos score 10 times in 44 matches, remarkable numbers for a defender.

“Ramos’ goals are illogical, but football isn’t logical,” observed Ancelotti.

The belief that Ramos will score when the team needs a goal most is the reason behind Ramos’ tribute song at the Bernabeu.

“Si marca un gol, si marca un gol, si Sergio Ramos marca un gol” (“Yes, score one goal, yes, score one goal, yes Sergio Ramos score a goal” sung to the tune of ‘When the saints go marching in’).

It is always chanted when Real Madrid are about to take a set-piece.

Ramos describes himself as a “defender with a striker’s soul”, one that idolised no other than Argentine striker Claudio Caniggia when he was younger.

The man who can break Liverpool’s hearts?

Sergio Ramos with his wife – Spanish TV star Pilar Rubio – and two of his children after the 2017 Champions League final

Ramos, a father of three who is married to the Spanish TV star Pilar Rubio, is far from perfect.

He has been sent off 24 times, missed five penalties for Madrid, the latest just two weeks ago in Sevilla, and famously dropped the Copa del Rey trophy off the celebration double-decker bus, which then ran over it, back in 2011.

But even his shortcomings have become positives in the eyes of the fans, since they are seen as by-products of his hunger to win and his authenticity.

His affair with Manchester United, who almost signed him in the summer of 2015, becomes a case of “Sergio saw the light” among the fans and turned into another reason to root for the skipper.

And in Kiev on Saturday he could further strengthen his bond with the club’s fans if he can keep Liverpool’s much-vaunted forward line in check.

Far from perfect, Ramos has seen red more than 20 times in his Real Madrid career

Mohamed Salah will try to take advantage of left-back Marcelo’s tendency to push forward.

It will be left to Ramos, who plays alongside Marcelo in Real’s back four, to cover for the Brazilian and take care of the Egyptian star.

Ramos is not as fast as he used to be, and in a previous encounter when Salah played for Rome in 2016, the Egyptian showed that he was remarkably quicker than Ramos.

However, the Spanish defender has improved positionally the longer he has played in the centre of defence and, according to his own words, he is not afraid of Salah: “He’s just one of 11 players,” Ramos said when asked about the striker.

Salah, then with Roma, and Ramos have met before in the Champions League

Zinedine Zidane’s rotation policy has helped Ramos reach the end of the season in great shape, having been regularly rested in La Liga matches this season.

And perhaps Liverpool’s focus on Ramos should be further up the field.

The defender has not scored in the Champions League since he struck against Apoel Nicosia in a group match back in September. But who would be against him scoring on Saturday?

BBC Sport – Football ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/4451/

#Barcelona