At the Stadium of Light we had just two shots the whole afternoon while at a damp Hereford on Tuesday evening we managed only one shot on goal in the entire game. Something has to change very soon otherwise #projectpromotion will be #projectmidtable.
In yesterdays Kidderminster Shuttle the Harriers manager talked about Ryan Rowe and Nathan Blissett now being back at the club so that seems to be hinting at no more strikers coming in. Fair play really because I think he should be looking at what we already have rather than shipping in players no better than we already have or shipping out proven goal scorers like Anthony Malbon.
Malbs is not a happy bunny at all and who can blame him.
We know that he's capable of scoring some great goals but we also know that he has probably let his fitness go in recent months and that has been his downfall. Instead of Andy Thorn telling the press that he's overweight and needs to go out on lose to trim himself up he should be encouraging him to regain his fitness with us and maybe put him on a strict one to one fitness programme. That's all he needs and not the kind of treatment he's getting at the moment. As it is Anthony seems to be wanting to leave the Harriers now.
It just shows how situations at a football club can sour overnight. One day you're the darling of the North Stand and the next the new manager doesn't like you, ignores the fans and wants you out to bring his own inferior player in. A lesson to a manager and his chairman how not to behave.
I can't really see Malbon playing at Gateshead tomorrow and the same goes for another one that seems to be out of favour too. Lee Fowler has been rumoured to have been talking to the press about dressing room problems and his whereabouts isn't known at this time but he wasn't at either Sunderland or Hereford and he could be heading to Chester on loan. The press item was about the players not getting paid a bonus and that seems to have been confirmed now with the chairman Mark Serrell now telling the Shuttle that the players will be getting a bonus once all the Cup and Joe Lolley monies have been sorted out.
It takes just one dissenting player to force a mans hand so it seems. Pity the man couldn't come clean in the first place.
We have no known injuries following the Hereford game.
Gateshead are having a decent season once more and most of that is down to the new(ish) manager Gary Mills. He has made them into a solid team now after getting rid of some of the under performing and higher paid players like Adam Boyes and Richard Brodie. Ex harriers Adam Bartlett and Colin Larkin still play for them although Larkin has a groin strain at the moment and may not be available in time for our game.
They bought in teenage defender Jordan Holt from Notts County until the end of the season yesterday while JJ O'Donnell has had his loan from Luton extended until the end of the season. Gateshead sit two places above us in the table but we have two games in hand and there is only one point difference between us.
That fact makes this a game that we must win but it's going to be tough and I can only see a scoreless draw as an outcome. Can we just look like scoring please?
Breaking news: Jack Dyer has been recalled to Burton Albion so his loan spell with us is now at an end.
Teams:
Harriers from:
Lewis, N Vaughan, L Vaughan, Dunkley, Demetriou, Gowling, Storer, Fowler, Jackman, Angus, Byrne, Johnson, Malbon, Morgan-Smith, Blissett, Cieslewicz, Rowe, Aloi, Ladapo, Gittings, Gash.
Gateshead from:
Bartlett, Baird, Magnay, O'Brien, Chandler, Curtis, Clark, Larkin, Turnbull, Hatch, Cummins, Brown, Baxter, Walker, Marwood, Smith, Holt, Ramshaw, Sirrell, Maddison, Oster, Noble, O'Donnell.
Talk about the game here
Links to Gateshead websites here
Find Pubs around Kidderminster here
Find Hotels around Kidderminster here
