Gillingham have always done things their own way, especially under the chairmanship of Paul Scally, who bought the club for £1 in 1995. Received wisdom is to have a manager in place as a transfer window opens. Scally sacked Peter Taylor by phone on New Year’s Eve, appointed four equal caretakers from the existing staff and arrived from Dubai, where he lives, just in time to see them follow three defeats with a 3-1 win at Priestfield that lifts them from 21st to 19th in League One, a point and a place behind their opponents, Coventry City. He will now start interviews for Taylor’s successor with the window more than half shut.
It was a remarkable victory, with all their three goals in the last quarter-hour. Gillingham had started brightly, Cody McDonald and John Marquis forcing an early double save from Ryan Allsop. Then Jake Hessenthaler volleyed an overhead shot against the bar. He is son of one of the four, Andy, who has done two stints as manager, as Taylor has, and was back again as his assistant. But by half-time they were a goal down to Gary Madine’s penalty. Gillingham were the first club to face Coventry back at the Ricoh in September, losing 1-0. A repeat looked on the cards.
The other members of the caretakers’ quartet are Darren Hare (head of youth), Steve Lovell and Mark Patterson and, while they may have been singing from the same hymn sheet, possibly ‘Guide me, O thou great Redeemer’, the team, with plenty of possession, were on different pages. Inspiration came after 70 minutes when Jermaine McGlashan was sent on wide right for the defensive midfielder, Josh Pritchard, and the 4-1-3-2 formation was abandoned for a wing, a prayer and more pointed attack.
Allsop parried Bradley Dack’s shot and Marquis forced in before McGlashan, terrorising with his pace, won the extra points. First Ryan Haynes conceded a penalty, converted by McDonald for his 10th league goal of the season. Then McGlashan, receiving from Hessenthaler, scored emphatically himself. The chorus was all hallelujahs.
Hare, last in line for post-match duties, was thus first with a win to enthuse about. “The players showed they have all the values we appreciate,” he said. “When City were one up it looked as if they were trying to protect that lead.” Steven Pressley, Coventry’s manager, all but agreed. “To go from first-half performance to second is unacceptable. I’m disappointed and numb,” he said, notwithstanding his woolly sky-blue gloves. Hare added: “Since the manager left it’s been difficult for the players and difficult for us. We’re balancing plates a bit with our other jobs.” So the ball is in the chairman’s court, hands on or off.
The programme opened with his “exclusive thoughts” – most of his thoughts are exclusive – in which Scally wagged a finger at fans. “I regarded Peter Taylor very highly as a man and a manager. I believe he was doing a good job in developing the team, not only in style but in character but I was left with no alternative other than to terminate his employment. Peter unfortunately suffered serious personal abuse from supporters both at games and on different forums.” He said there was “no disagreement over budgets” and reminded fans “we are all striving for the same end result”. But elsewhere he aired disaffection with Taylor’s “five at the back with wing-backs not getting forward. I was cringing.” So maybe those thoughts were “excusive”.
For the record, when Gillingham were elected to the League in 1920, Robert Brown, appointed manager by William Ironside Groombridge, resigned a month later, before the season began.
