Manager Mark Stimson’s tactics in the transfer market will be governed by prudence, with the club looking to reduce their wage bill for next season and beyond.

A number of players are set to be released, while those who Stimson wants to keep at the club may be offered reduced terms in their new contract offers.

Some of the big contracts handed out by the club in recent seasons have proved misguided, with two of the club’s bigger earners, midfielder Kevin Maher and striker Mark McCammon, both on good deals, despite struggling to maintain a regular spot in the Gills’ first-team squad.

And Stimson’s comments in the local press this week suggest he’s recognised this issue and will be looking to offer more incentive-based deals in future.

John Nutter’s contract had a extension clause built in, based on the player reaching a certain number of first-team appearances during the season. It meant the fullback needed to first win, then keep, his place in the side in order to guarantee himself the offer of a new deal in the summer.

The club had already secured the futures of Andy Barcham and Curtis Weston with the pair signing new contracts earlier in the season, but for many of the other players in the squad there may only be the offer of a reduced deal, if anything at all.

Captain Barry Fuller, centre half Garry Richards, promising youngster Tom Wynter and wide man Dennis Oli all look near-certs to receive contract offers from the club, while Mark Bentley, whose ability to fill in at centre half has proved invaluable this season, may also be offered another year.

Midfielders Adam Miller and Stuart Lewis may face differing situations this summer. While Lewis fell out of favour at Priestfield, Adam Miller, frozen out and loaned out to Dagenham earlier in the campaign, returned to play a major part in the run-in. Miller may be offered a new deal, while Lewis’ future looks less secure, as does that of goalkeeper Simon Royce, who has struggled to displace the younger Alan Julian as the Gills’ starting goalkeeper.

The likes of James Walker, Rashid Yussuff, Jacob Erskine, Andy Pugh and Luis Cumbers have failed to make the grade and may be released, while Stimson has ruled out the possibility of loanee Chris Dickson receiving a contract offer.

Meanwhile, Rene Howe’s future at Priestfield may depend on Gillingham’s ability to persuade Peterborough to let the big striker leave on a free transfer.

Last night was the must win game of Gillingham’s final fixtures and, despite a valiant effort in a thrilling match, they fell short of the desired result.

An Alan Julian penalty save preserved hope while Chris Dickson showed exactly why he has gone from hero to zero in a pulsating second half.

Following last Saturday’s humiliation at Millwall, Garry Richards, who will miss the rest of the season, was replaced by Josh Gowling, Curtis Weston returned in midfield at the expense of Stuart Lewis and Dennis Oli partnered Rene Howe up front.

A must win match could not have had a worse start for the home side with Brighton taking an early lead. Adam El-Abd firmly met a Elliott Bennett corner to head the visitors into the lead in front of their 1,200-plus supporters. Buoyed by their early success, Brighton went on to dominate the first half as Gillingham struggled to retain a foothold in the game.

Darren Dennehy failed to appear for the second half and Tom Wynter was somewhat surprisingly preferred as replacement rather than Mark Bentley.

Gillingham found an equaliser in the opening minutes of the second half. Adam Miller collected a pass from Howe, ran into the box and fired home from 12 yards providing the home side with the lift they needed.

Brighton, and Glenn Murray in particular, had numerous opportunities to regain the lead but the Seagulls’ sure shot of recent weeks was misfiring badly. Simeon Jackson entered the fray as a 60th minute substitute for Miller, who perhaps was withdrawn on the back of a yellow card.

An opportunity for Gills’ leading scoring presented itself almost immediately. A long ball saw Jackson in the clear but his attempted lob was blocked by keeper Brezovan on the edge of the box.

Twenty minutes remained when Chris Dickson was given his chance to regain the esteem of the home support and a golden opportunity presented itself ten minutes later. A Danny Jackman free kick evaded everybody and fell at the striker’s feet to the left of the goal, but with the whole 12 x 8 to aim it, he rolled the ball onto the far post and the chance was lost.

Dickson further riled the elderly folk in the Gordon Road Stand when he failed to make a run down the line leaving John Nutter with nowhere to go. His attempted clearance was charged down into the path of Murray who was hauled to the ground by Gowling, the central defender receiving a red card for his trouble.

It felt that Gillingham’s season now hinged on the spot kick. Murray, whose profligate shooting had kept the game alive, surely could not miss again. Alan Julian dived left, but as his left hand trailed it was enough to get a vital block on the ball and as the ball was cleared it was mass jubilation all round.

In the time added on Julian was twice reading the riot act to Dickson as his languid use of the ball added pressure on the 10 men and it was clear that Gillingham were more than happy to settle for the point they had.

In different circumstances, and perhaps for the neutral it was, this would have been a classic with all the thrills and spills necessary for such an encounter, but for the majority of the home support it would have been agony, ecstasy and finally a realisation that a point might not be enough.

We will know the answer when the big boys have been and gone, but we have to believe that if Orient and Tranmere can do it, so can we.

Chris Dickson netted his first goal in a Gills shirt since his return to the club on loan, but his eighth-minute strike was cancelled out by a good strike from the edge of the area from Tamira Mkandawire with 18 minutes remaining.

Gillingham lined up in an attacking 4-3-3 formation, with Dickson joined by target man Rene Howe and top scorer Simeon Jackson as the home side looked to follow up on their encouraging win last weekend.

And thanks to Dickson’s goal, they got the dream start inside the first ten minutes. Simeon Jackson broke down the right channel, cut inside his defender and unleased a powerful low shot that Jamie Jones could only parry. Dickson followed up and tucked away the rebound.

At that point Gillingham were dominant, but despite their encouraging start, Orient gradually came back into the match, dominating the midfield area with their five players easily out-manouevring Gillingham’s midfield trio with some slick passing.

While the Gills looked to play more direct to their three dangerous front men, Orient preferred to use a short passing game which, despite an atrocious playing surface at Priestfield, they did to good effect.

But despite Alan Julian being called into action only a couple of times during the match, Orient claimed a deserved equaliser, albeit through controversial means.

Chris Dickson was clearly and blatantly blocked off right in front of the dugouts, but referee Darren Sheldrake mystifyingly gave a free kick against the Gills striker.

The long free kick was delivered into the box, Garry Richards failed to clear and Mkandawire smashed home a cracking shot that left Julian helpless.

The crowd, and the Gillingham bench, were incensed by the original decision. Indeed, just minutes later Ben Chorley was booked for an identical block on Jackson, highlighting the referee’s inconsistency.

Adam Miller won a free kick after treading on the ball and falling over, leading to both sets of fans singing “You don’t know what you’re doing” at referee Sheldrake.

But despite the eccentricities of the officials, Gillingham can only blame themselves for allowing Orient back into the game. The midfield area, so impressive on Saturday, was overrun against Orient, especially when Sean Thornton was introduced as a second-half Orient substitute. The former Doncaster Rovers playmaker dominated the game from the moment he came on, demonstrating the type of player Gillingham lack in the middle of the park.

At the final whistle, fans were left to contemplate whether it was a point gained or two points dropped by the Gills. Unfortunately, considering the league position of the opposition and the great start Gillingham made to the match, it can only be considered as two points dropped.

With our the first edition of the feature taking place at the weekend’s match with Bristol Rovers, there could only be one person to watch – returning striker Chris Dickson.

Chris was selected in the starting XI for the match and Gills365′s Forum members shared their views on his performance after the match.

Our readers use Gills365′s very own scoring criteria, known as the Grumpometer rating system, to rate the featured player’s performance. We then remove the highest and lowest scores and average the rest to achieve a player performance rating for that particular match.

Chris received a respectable score of 5.3 on Gills365′s Grumpometer rating for his debut against Bristol Rovers. The fans were clearly encouraged by what they saw and believe that there is still plenty to come from Dickson as the season progresses.

Here’s what the fans thought of his debut performance against The Pirates on Saturday (with rating score in brackets):

“Perhaps he was trying a little too hard to impress, and chose the wrong option quite a few times, giving the ball away in the process. But he was a constant threat…”

Headley (5)

“If he plays like he did today in every game between now and the end of the season, I’m confident he’ll score goals for us.”

ReSeat82 (5.5)

“He looks a yard quicker than most of our players. However, he was trying too hard on occasions…”

elliottthegillsfan (5)

“Did OK, looked a bit short of being fully match fit. Will only get better in the next few games.”

symongills2 (5)

“Didn’t think he was entirely match fit but showed enough to thik there will be more to come. I think he will try and live up to the hype and expect the specatcular to occur some time soon.”

josephteency (5)

“He looked like he was enjoying himself. I think there is alot more to come from Dickson over the coming weeks.”

Kent_UckyFriedGills (5)

“Showed a few signs of what we know he can do, his run and cut back for Howe was great. Went for an overhead kick when should have passed but because he’s never worked with most of these players we should give him time to settle in.”

mgills101 (5)

“Once he has had a chance to get to know his team mates better should improve, main plus point is his goal scoring threat…”

1963vBury (5)

“He looked a little rusty and looked like he was trying too hard at times. Personally, I thought he linked up better with Jackson than with Howe. Overall, a good start and hopefully won’t be long before he’s back firing on all cylinders. Also looked like he was pleased to be back.”

frediculous_biggs (5)

“His introduction, whilst a bit OTT as some kind of Messiah, galvanised the home support to create a much improved atmosphere.”

baldangel (6)

“His signing has certainly given the fans a boost and changed the atmosphere today and he looked like he really wanted to score.”

Katie (6)

“Tried too hard to be a crowd pleaser and on 2/3 occasions shot wildly when he should have passed . However this was understandable on his return and I expect him to be better on Tuesday.”

OldBanker (5)

“He did well considering he hasn’t played much recently, a few flashes of the class we know he has.”

dennisbaileyfanclub (5)

“Notice how that buzz of expectation goes up as soon as he gets the ball.That of course,why the fans here love him and expect so much. He had an above average performance and always looks a threat.”

vinney (5.5)

“I thought he generally played well, was a handful for the Rovers defence and created a few great chances. Yes he tried a little too hard to please at times but generally a good debut and look forward to seeing more from him in the coming months.”

Brad (6)

“[He was a] bit too keen to shine and against other teams he will. Rovers knew what to expect from him. His movement was good and he gives us a different threat.”

Jolley (6)

“Got himself into the right areas and with a bit of luck with one of first touch flicks around the last defender he would have scored. Worked hard which is something both Charlton and Rovers had criticised him for.”

Mr Bigglesworth (5)

“Very encouraging start and work really hard. Linked up well with the other forward combinations. I wasn’t sure if it was “trying too hard to impress” or something else called “greed”. I guess we can work that out over the course of more games.”

phillygumbo (5)

“I thought he played well – we need someone who will shoot on sight. We all too often decide to try and pass it in. I thought he seemed happy to be back and was sprightly, and as noted provided the assist for the goal. I think he would have been subbed normally as he looked a little tired (notice the lazy kick at the defender to get the ball in like the 85th min) but he has it in him to create something.”

Zoidy (6)

“Showed glimpses of good play, but appeared to me to tire towards the end, but given the level of expectation on him a good start and bodes well for the future.”

jtbeast (5.5)

“Needs time to get with it again here but the lift he gave the crowd alone means he did his job in a more than competent manner. While it’s nice to have a striker prepared to shoot on sight sometimes a pass is the better option. That said he seemed to galvanise Jacko as well. Good movement and he worked the Rovers defence.”

Spitfire (6)

“Decent work rate, will get better with match fitness. What I really like about Dicko is that he’s different to what we’ve got, a bit tricky and confident enough to try the extraordinary.”

brendonplace11 (4)

Player Focus Rating: 5.3

Enough of the stats, as this was the ludicrously labelled homecoming of a Messiah, the Prodigal Son, but in fact no more than a mere mortal, Chris Dickson, the subject of the most drawn out transfer deal in the history of the club. Six months of conjecture and a falling-out between the clubs concerned ended when the striker finally pulled on the Number 15 shirt for this game against his previous loan club, Bristol Rovers.

If Dickson failed to score on his return his presence had a galvanising effect on the Priestfield crowd. Gone was the negativity of the past couple of games and with it a welcome respite for Mark Stimson who was able to call on the services of Rene Howe to partner the returning hero.

In a first half in which the home side made the majority of the running it was Howe that failed to profit from a Dickson pass when he weakly shot straight at Rovers’ keeper Rhys Evans, who would have fielded harder back passes in his time.

Dickson who was busy, but at times appeared to be trying almost too hard, set up another chance for Howe who skied over the bar just prior to the break.

The second half was so one-sided it is hard to believe that the home side had to wait until time added on to seal the points. Howe tested the Rainham End rather than the keeper before he was replaced in a double substitution that brought Jackson and Dennis Oli into the game.

As the chances mounted, Gillingham got closer and closer to a breakthrough without actually managing it. A Danny Jackman free kick was inches wide, Dickson was even closer with a header and with time running out Jackson saw his shot pushed onto the post by Evans. When the resultant corner was blasted into the roof of the Rainham End by Andy Barcham, it appeared that another afternoon was about to come up blank for the home side.

The Rovers’ keeper had been a major irritant with his time wasting and when the board showed just three minutes of added time it seemed less than generous, but it was enough. Adam Miller found Jackson with a long pass and from the edge of the box the Canadian drilled the ball into the bottom corner to cue a celebratory run to his manager on the sidelines. As the rest of the squad joined the celebrations the feeling that unity had returned to the club was almost tangible.

Chris Dickson’s return might not have yielded a goal, but it may well have produced something even more important in the fight against relegation, a sense of togetherness that permeates from the terrace to the boardroom, ironically something that was almost demanded in his programme notes from the chairman himself.

Jackson had been rested by manager Mark Stimson, who opted to pair new loan signing Chris Dickson with Rene Howe, back in the side following a spell out injured.

But after Gillingham saw a host of chances go to waste, Stimson threw on Jackson, Dennis Oli and Andy Barcham in an attempt to secure the three points and his positive approach paid off with Jackson’s late, late winner.

In truth, Gillingham should have been out of sight by stoppage time. Rene Howe wasted the best chance of the game in the first half, shanking over the bar from six yards after excellent work out wide by Dickson has presented a golden chance for the big striker.

Dickson went close with a couple of chances, the best of which saw his flicked header from a Danny Jackman free kick fall just wide of the post – while Jackson, introduced mid-way through the second period, saw a shot cannon back off the upright as the Gills cranked up the pressure on the visitors.

Then, in stoppage time and with the fans wondering if it wasn’t going to be their day, Dickson picked out Jackson on the edge of the box with an incisive pass. The Canadian striker shimmied, cut inside the defender and fired a low shot past Rhys Evans in the Bristol Rovers goal and sent the Priestfield crowd into delirium.

The Gills had plugged away throughout the game and never stopped trying to create. Misplaced passes and near misses were a feature of the game, but Gillingham also tried to keep the ball down and pass it. They played some good football at times, moving the ball about the park well, but just lacked that one piece of quality where it mattered – until Jackson conjured his party-piece in the last minute of stoppage time.

FULL-TIME REPORT

Those words, from Gillingham manager Mark Stimson, sum up the Gills’ new signing Chris Dickson.

Stimson was in upbeat mood in his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s League One clash, where he spoke about his attacking options heading into an important double-header of home games, with Dickson joining Simeon Jackson, Rene Howe, James Walker and even Curtis Weston in the Gills attack.

Check out the video below to hear Stimson’s thoughts ahead of this weekend’s crunch match at Priestfield.

The reason I bring this up is because it was at the ground on Monday morning, the news of the Chris Dickson signing was broken to me, not too long before it hit the internet. And I must say I was chuffed to bits, not only was I photographing the club I follow, the end of a very long drawn out saga had been concluded. The signing looks to be a promising one, if he can recreate the form of 11 goals in 14 games it will be a sure sign of staying up, especially seeing as our goals have dried up in the last games we’ve played. But with time to reflect, a few things came to mind as to why the loan has happen now rather than before. Phil Parkinson has never liked us, no one can deny that and before now he has rested on these morals and refused to sell or loan us our target. But what triggered a turn of stance and had Dicko heading down to Priestfield? Only after Charlton’s defeat to Bristol Rovers when I was studying the table it dawned on me, I think its down to Parkinson’s fear that Charlton may now fail to get automatic promotion. They are now 5 point behind second placed Leeds who have two games in hand over them and now the Charlton gaffer is relying on Leeds and Norwich to drop points, and who have these two clubs got in the final run in of games? Yes you guessed it, GILLINGHAM.

Now this is a win win situation for Mr Parkinson, because if things go well and Dickson bags the goals for us and we manage to nick points of teams up in the promotion mix, it puts Charlton back into chase and if Charlton win the clashes with these team too, that five point deficit will soon be a points advantage.

But back on to talking about Chris Dickson, getting the chance to go to Beechings Cross the following day meant I got to look at the player closely, a first glimpse to see if that old Dicko is ready to go straight off against Bristol Rovers at home on Saturday. What I saw was interesting because personality wise he seemed to fit in with the players, as if he had never left the club, which was weird considering that a huge majority of the squad weren’t even here the first time Dickson joined on loan. The two players I think were at Priestfield back in 2007 and were on the training pitch today who have worked with Dicko before were Mark Bentley and Dennis Oli, so to see Dickson become “at home” with the entire team was a sure sign that things are gelling quickly. His fitness looks strong and will be ready to play a strong part but not necessarily the whole 90 minutes on Saturday. But his sharpness in front of goal looked a bit off, maybe a run in with the squad will get things going.

On another note, I and like many other lower league supporters have stadiums we would love to visit to watch our team play in, some long for the lights of Wembley, some want to visit grounds of Ex high profile clubs, such as Elland Road, The Valley and Carrow Road. For me it is somewhere a bit different, a bit north, in fact it’s north of the North. Yes, I long to visit Brunton Park, Carlisle.

Carlisle, which is only 10 miles south of Gretna, is the longest trip we can make up the country and strangely I think it will be the place where we get our first away win, it will be the most unusual situation that we will get the win or am I just being hugely optimistic?

As a Guinness advert once said “Good things come to those who wait.”…. and I and all other Gills fans have waited long enough, lets get this away win.

Up the Gills

The Charlton striker made a huge impact on the Gills during his first loan stint, scoring 11 goals in 14 games.

And after a lengthy pursuit that sparked a war of words between the who clubs, Mark Stimson has finally got his man, securing Dickson on a three-month loan deal that will keep him with the club until the end of the season.

Dickson will take the number 15 shirt and go straight into the Gills squad for this weekend’s home match against Bristol Rovers, coincidentally the club where Dickson spent an earlier loan spell after Charlton rebuffed Gillingham’s original approach. During his spell with The Pirates, Dickson hit four goals in ten starts (plus four substitute appearances).

We welcome Chris back to Priestfield and hope he can recapture his goalscoring form and help fire us to League One safety.

The striker, now on loan at Bristol Rovers, was the subject of a lengthy and well-publicised transfer saga as Gillingham looked to bring the 24-year-old hitman to Priestfield.

The Gills’ initial attempts to sign him on a permanent basis were rebuffed by the South London club, but after the transfer window closed, the Gills came back in the hope of landing the former Dulwich Hamlet striker on loan.

Eventually, Dickson was loaned out to Bristol Rovers, sparking questions over who was to blame for the failure of the deal, with both clubs blaming each other for the collapse of the proposed transfer.

But now the player himself has given his side of the story.

Talking to The League Paper this weekend, Dickson revealed: “The real reason I did not go to Gillingham was the Charlton board did not want me to.

“The fees had been agreed and then it got cancelled and then I was going there on loan but they insisted on a call-back clause which I was not happy with.

“But I could not afford to sit around and wait forever so I joined Bristol Rovers.”

Dickson’s clear frustration with Charlton almost certainly indicates he will be leaving The Valley in the summer, if not before.

A January move to Priestfield may be difficult to negotiate if Charlton aren’t prepared to do business with the Gills. Indeed, Gills chairman Paul Scally has gone on record saying he will not do any business with the Addicks unless he absolutely has to.

But if Dickson can satisfy his need for first team football for the rest of this season, a move to Priestfield in the summer of 2010 might not be out of the question.