Gillingham 2023/24: Why their lackluster offense could endanger their chances for promotion – scout report
Even though it is still early in the EFL season, we are beginning to notice patterns and trends in a variety of areas that could have a significant impact on how the season develops. Teams from all levels of competition will be making adjustments to improve their performance, and current League Two leaders Gillingham must work hard to maintain a serious promotion bid.
Although Neil Harris’ team has had a successful start to the season (winning six of their first eight games) and has the division’s joint-best defensive record, their attacking output has been rather poor. Only Bradford City, Harrogate Town, and Forest Green Rovers have had a worse season in front of goal in League Two than the Gills’ seven goals scored in eight games.
If Gillingham doesn’t identify the cause of their attacking problems and fix them, they will significantly struggle to be in the running for promotion even with a strong defensive foundation. It may be a case of new players settling in, but some of the players the club has signed have quality and experience of League One and even the Championship. The club had a successful transfer window back in January and followed it up with a strong recruitment drive in the summer just past.
In order to uncover any potential problems with Gillingham’s approach play that could be the cause of their poor goal total, this scout report will present a tactical analysis of their offensive methods. The examination will start with a summary of the summer’s major acquisitions before moving on to a review of one of the Gills’ key offensive weaknesses. In order to emphasize some of Harris’ side’s underlying advantages, we will look at a few areas that they might concentrate on more frequently.
Gillingham has chosen to use a 4-2-3-1 configuration thus far this season when playing league football. This formation is frequently associated with excellent defensive performances because it features two deeper midfielders.
The Gills have been active in recent transfer windows, as we previously noted, and this summer, they made some waves with some of the players they drew. Many season forecasts on social media saw Gillingham having a successful campaign based on their excellent player recruiting this summer, which included 10 additions in all, including free transfers, a loan agreement, and the entrance of players from higher levels.
They have made a few surprise signings in defense, including Scott Malone from Millwall and Connor Masterson from QPR, but this article will concentrate on and include more information about the Gills’ new midfielders and forwards because it does so in the context of the scouting report.
Jonny Williams, a midfielder with extensive EFL experience, joined the team in January after leaving Swindon, and the summer’s loan addition of Connor Mahoney from Huddersfield improves the quality in wide areas.
