Gills finally remember how to lose
Plus Art Loin and Son at the Three Sheets, The Rivals at Medway Little Theatre, our weekly events guide, and more
It was bound to happen eventually: Gillingham FC’s unbeaten streak ended with a home defeat to Harrogate. We’ve got analysis of what it means for the club from our Gills columnist Ben Hopkins, plus reviews of music and theatre from across Medway, our weekly events guide, and more.
Gills finally remember how to lose
All good things must come to an end, and Gillingham’s record-breaking 21 game unbeaten run came to an unspectacular end with a 1-0 defeat at home to Harrogate. But, we ask Ben Hopkins, this is just a blip en route to an ultimately successful season, right? Right?
21, 21 now defeated
In truth, the unbeaten run could’ve ended earlier in the month if not for a controversial late penalty equaliser versus Bromley. Or even had goalkeeper Glenn Morris not saved a penalty that would’ve put Newport 2-0 ahead within just ten minutes. The positive spin, and perhaps also the truth (or at least my version of the truth), from both those matches is that this Gillingham side have the fight-to-the-final-whistle determination and strength-in-depth to always have a shout at making a comeback.
Perhaps things could’ve been different against Harrogate. If the Gills defence hadn’t persisted with a policy of appeasement in regard to closing him down, maybe Stephen Duke-McKenna would’ve had neither the space or time to score. Certainly Harrogate didn’t look like doing much more once the second half rolled around.
But while Gills guiled and grinded to find an equaliser, their undoubted efforts didn’t result in much in the way of clear-cut chances. On a different day, Elliott Nevitt could’ve scored once, perhaps twice - but there’s no denying that from-out-of-nowhere thunderbolt, that screeching free-kick, that magical run that could turn a zero into a run was sadly missing. Gills have graft, craft and quality, but is there enough of the surprise factor that saw Jonny Smith score away to Newport?
A spell away for Gareth Ainsworth
After the game, it was revealed that manager Gareth Ainsworth will be absent for a “short amount of time” in order to undergo cardiac surgery, with his assistant Richard Dobson taking charge of the team in the meantime. We wish Gareth all the best for his recovery.
It’s hard to assess what impact a temporary change will have on the team. Dobson has been Ainsworth’s assistant for years across multiple clubs, so it’s evident that they must share a similar footballing philosophy and have spent countless hours planning how Gills should approach this season. So it’s likely to be a continuation of the same, although there’s always a chance that the players subconsciously react to being led by a different personality in a different way.
October is a pretty quiet schedule on the Gills league front, so in that regard, the timing isn’t so bad. At the outset of the season, perhaps MK Dons away is a game that gaining anything from would be a bonus, and no midweek league games makes the calendar less demanding in the coming weeks.
Seb v Nev
Naturally, that first defeat prompts people to think, what could be changed for the better? Elliott Nevitt has undeniably been a contributing factor in the team’s success so far: his work rate, chasing down defenders, and general niggly attitude making him a thorn in the opponents’ arse. But it also can’t be denied that he’s a striker who hasn’t scored in ten league games this season, following an already disappointing 2024/2025.
Newcomer Seb Palmer-Houden is the obvious challenger for his place in the team. With just two full seasons to his name, the 21-year-old is surely a prospect rather than the finished package. Barely seen so far due to injury, he’s now back in contention and probably the most likely contender to be the man who can provide the goals needed for a promotion challenge.
The others, as I say every month like some kind of depressed broken record, aren’t quite there. Josh Andrews looks vastly more improved but has scored just two goals, Sam Vokes provides immense experience and a direct alternative to Andrews but his senior years mean that he will be deployed sparingly, while Marcus Wyllie surely needs a successful loan away or to capitalise on an injury crisis to finally make his mark.
Someone has to get busy scoring, or Gills can get busy finishing 12th or thereabouts.
The Brian Moore end looks uncannily like a pile of scaffolding
You don’t need to have stepped foot inside Priestfield to have seen the state of the Brian Moore Stand - a “temporary” roofless structure that’s now approximately the same age as Seb Palmer-Houlden.
It has become a meme, but memes infamously avoid context. All the while Gillingham are in League Two, it’s rare that demand for away tickets goes beyond what can instead be comfortably slid into the corner of the Gordon Road Stand. While home fans often sell out the Rainham End, there’s nearly always enough spare seats in the Gordon Road and Medway Stand to fail to justify opening the Brian Moore.
As such, it’s in stasis: it’s rarely needed for away fans, and demand isn’t quite there for home fans either. So why spend millions developing something that’s not going to bring much money in?
The Harrogate game saw an experiment in which the lower tier was opened for home fans for a discount £5 ticket promotion. It was sold out (although clearly not all purchases resulted in bums on seats), looked better, and probably helped the atmosphere for the team. But my suspicion is that the club would need to be on flying form to regularly repeat that at sensible pricing in the months of bleaker weather to come.
Promotion would be the one thing that might change its fate for the better - but it’s not something that can be quickly altered if Gills have an upturn in their fortunes. Longer term change is possible, but it may remain essentially the same until it’s older than a Gillingham manager.
Next up
MK Dons, away, 4 October: Gills head to MK Dons tomorrow, backed by one of their biggest away crowds of the season. It’s not a great away day - miles from the station or much else of use, a tough opposition, and a flat atmosphere given the likelihood of there being approximately 22,000 unsold seats. But a win or a draw will get Gills back on track to hopefully avoid the now traditional October slump. If so, I’ll be celebrating with five black Budvars at the Euston Tap on my way home. If not, I’ll be commiserating with five black Budvars at the Euston Tap on my way home.
Cheltenham, home, 11 October: Cheltenham are essentially where Gills were before the Galinsons took charge. They’re currently bottom with one win and a goal difference of minus twenty from the opening ten games. They’ve just reappointed former manager Steve Cotterill which could spark a resurgence, but any team battling for promotion should have this down as a win.
Grimsby, away, 18 October: Grimsby are two places and three points below Gills as it stands. Jaze Kabia has scored five goals in ten games, the kind of return we need from… well, anyone. Their strong start was boosted by a memorable cup win versus Manchester United.
Salford, home, 25 October: Currently wedged between Gills and Grimsby, a visit from Salford caps a challenging month of fixtures. They have a former Gill in the shape of Haji Mnoga - memorable mostly for picking up two yellow cards and therefore a red within ten minutes of his debut appearance.
Review: Arf Loin and Son at Three Sheets to the Wind
As a band, The Singing Loins are a Medway institution. Their music has soundtracked the lives and good times of many of the people assembled in the unseasonably warm environs of the Three Sheets to the Wind beer garden this evening. The current expanded and expansive lineup has continued to build on their live legacy after the loss of frontman and lyricist Chris Broderick to cancer in 2022. But the aim of tonight’s performance by the once reluctant new front man Chris ‘Arf’ Allen and son Oliver was to give air to what they described as the forgotten songs from the early days of the Loins. The ones they did with just a voice, guitar, intermittent percussion and sporadic harmonica.
This performance was prefigured by a solo set from Oliver Allen that had an assured confidence beyond his years. This comes borne out of almost growing up in public, both as the young apprentice in the reconfigured Loins, as well as frontman-songwriter in his own outfits, Sunshine Pony Finger and The Spider Babys. Tonight’s set features strong singer-songwriter material. I was particularly impressed by new song ‘Early Doors,’ with its mixture of vocal melody coupled to angular chordal dissonance. There were a couple of niche covers thrown in, including a version of ‘Shut Me Down’ by Rowland Howard, late of The Birthday Party, as recommended to Oli by Lupen Crook, whose influence could be heard elsewhere on the two-step timing of ‘Falling Down on You.’ ‘Son of Arf’ continues to grow, and long may he do so.
Oliver hands his father back his appropriately labelled, increasingly damaged 12-string and moves to stage right, for bass drum, tambourine, harmonica and occasional keyboard. An introduction of purpose is made, and songs commence. These songs are selected mostly from the first Singing Loins album, but the set avoids the songs they do as the expanded band. Fan favourites such as ‘Rochester My Dear’ and ‘Little Devil Doubt’ are present and correct, and an a cappella Allen and Son rendition of the Kipling nautical ‘The Storm Cone’ was ripped into, with the lyrics being shared off a phone screen around a shared mic. ‘Poteen,’ sung by Allen solo in the old days, features Oli on guitar, and the pair miss a trick in not mentioning their ‘Drunk and Fed’ Loins-based homemade wine. One of my favourites, ‘Right Good and Proper,’ with its tongue-in-cheek lyrical references to Philip Larkin’s ‘This Be The Verse,’ gets a deserved airing, and the set closed with the encore they forgot to advertise, in the form of their Bowie-influenced rendition of ‘Port of Amsterdam’ by Jacques Brel.
It’s a testament to the songs of Broderick and Allen, and the warmth with which the Singing Loins are regarded in general, that, for all the talk of these being the forgotten songs, half the crowd were singing every word. It’s a testament to Allen that he has both the commitment to the songs to want to play them and the conviction in performance to carry it off. I hope they do it again. - Stuart Turner
Review: The Rivals at Medway Little Theatre
The Rivals is an ambitious choice for a directorial debut. This is a busy play with a large cast, big costumes and a superabundance of set changes, which all test the limited space of Medway Little Theatre. Running at three hours duration, there is a need to maintain pace and engagement, and this is largely successful, although the set dressing to indicate the frequent changes of location does slow things down.
Tom Masters, as Jack Absolute, is expressive and carries the audience’s attention through the convoluted machinations of the character’s love life. Jordan Lee’s Faulkland provides much of the physical comedy and gets most of the laughs, despite several unappealing aspects of his character to modern eyes. Christopher Parnell’s Sir Anthony Absolute is consistently strong, blustering and meddling with aplomb. So much of the verbal humour of the play rests on the delivery of Mrs Malaprop’s torturous befuddled use of the English language, but unfortunately some of these lines don’t land with the audience as they get a little lost in the pantomimic elements of the performance, which don’t capitalise on the humour to be gained from the character’s perceived innate dignity and intellect.
The cast combines the skills of seasoned performers. Barry Kearns is perhaps underused in the role of Sir Lucius O’Trigger, as well as providing opportunities for young actors to gain experience in minor roles. Pop art motifs decorate the set, reminding us that this is ultimately an intentionally frivolous play, and it is not to be taken too seriously. All of this, and a swordfight, make for an agreeable night’s viewing. - Moira Mehaffey
The Rivals is playing at Medway Little Theatre until 4 October. You can buy tickets here.
Events this week
🧪 Sat 4 Oct - Medway Fun Palace // Day of art and science activities. Pentagon Centre, Chatham. Free.
🎸 Sat 4 Oct - Tom Hingley // Former frontman of Inspiral Carpets comes to play at the Platform 3 Club. Oast Community Centre, Rainham. Tickets £22.50.
🤼 Sun 5 Oct - UKPW // Action-packed family-friendly wrestling returns to Rainham. Parkwood Community Centre, Rainham. Tickets £10.
🗣️ Wed 8 Oct - Medway Matters Live // Medway Council run event where you can hear from Leader Vince Maple and Chief Executive Richard Hicks before putting questions to them. MidKent College, Gillingham. Free.
🎶 Sat 11 Oct - Night at the Musicals // Fun-filled variety show, of young singers and dancers performing beloved musical numbers. Spotlites Theatre, Chatham. Pay what you can.
More Authority
For our midweek feature, our columnist Zahra Barri visited the Medway Culture Club carnival to hear about the work of the organisation, black history in Medway, and racism that still exists in our towns.
Footnotes
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