Chris Whelpdale may yet to have convinced everyone since moving back to the Gills on a permanent deal but is it any coincidence his return to the side has coincided with the recent revival?

He may well admit himself that in the early stages of the season he failed to live up to the billing after becoming one of the more high-profile signings that boss Andy Hessenthaler made.

His whirlwind loan stint in the previous campaign saw him net three goals in four games before injury cut short his stay. Try as they might, the Gills were unable to bring him back until agreeing a fee with Peterborough in the summer.

Those blistering performances were in short supply at the start of the season but are we now starting to see the real Whelpdale?

A lot has been made of the influence that the youngsters have made to the Gills and that has been fully justified. Whelpdale himself may feel he should still be classed as a youngster. He has only just turned 25 which means he should still have his best years ahead of him.

In recent weeks he has been deployed in an advanced attacking position and he seems to be thriving on the chance to get involved at the top end. He has scored four goals in his last eight games, the kind of form that is better than leading scorer Danny Kedwell.

Whelpdale was dropped to the bench for the match against Wimbledon in January. The Gills lost 4-3. He failed to make the team for the game at Accrington, where the Gills again suffered a 4-3 defeat, and again missed out when the Gills suffered a third straight loss. This time going down 2-1 to Southend.

Hessenthaler recalled him for the trip to Port Vale, where the Gills boss also brought in youngsters Connor Essam and Jack Evans. Whelpdale was on target in what ended in another defeat but at least the performance was far better than in previous weeks.

Since then the Gills and Whelpdale haven’t looked back.

The former Posh man has started every game and is beginning to look like the player which led the Gills to digging deep and shelling out cash to bring him in from Peterborough. If Crawley boss Steve Evans' programme notes were to be believed, he was one of several players who turned him down for a more favourable deal with the Gills.

Gillingham need their best players performing at this stage of the season and Whelpdale appears to have answered Hessenthaler’s plea. At a time when the Gills couldn’t buy a win the Gills boss needed some of those summer signings to give him a bit of pay back. Whelpdale has certainly started to do that.

He is looking like a vital cog for the Gills and the last goal at Cheltenham showed what a class act he is. A neat interchange of passes with Jo Kuffour and Kedwell opened up their defence in the latter stages.

Up next are Crawley and Whelpdale will certainly be hoping for a better end to his last meeting against Evans’ side. He left the pitch with a nasty testical injury – one which gained worldwide exposure (thanks to Danny Spiller's twitter account) – following a challenge from David Hunt.

He will be looking to avenge that painful setback and in the form he is showing he could end up hurting Crawley where it really hurts.

GILLINGHAM fans face a 460-mile round trip in the pursuit of happiness this weekend.

It takes a serious amount of dedication to spend nine hours on the road to do anything - let alone watch 90 minutes of League 2 football.

I’m told Torquay’s Plainmoor ground is also under development so what awaits us when we arrive is anyone’s guess. They have already ruled out seating for visiting fans.

Not that many people will be complaining having spent the best part of the day staring at either the backside of another car or the headrest on a train/coach.

The press facilities last time out were minimal, to put it mildly, so don’t be surprised to see a few journalists wrestling with a laptop in the terraces.

But if Gillingham fans thought they were dedicated spare a thought for the Italian Gianfranco Giordano he regular travels 1,100 miles from his home in Italy to watch Ebbsfleet United.

Now I know the standard of football in Italy has taken a plunge since the heady days of Channel 4’s Football Italia but surely it can’t have got that bad.

The 50-year-old from Turin was once a season ticket holder at AC Milan but couldn’t resists the tempation of Ebbsfleet and the prospect of parting with a few Euros to take a share in the club, through their MyFootballClub ownership.

“My wife thinks I’m crazy” he said. She’s not the only one.

He’ll make the trek 18 times in a season to make sure he gets full value from his £300 season ticket.

Apparently he’s a policeman and they must pay well for him to afford a £200 the fortnightly air-fare.

It’s the kind of jet-set lifestyle that only Gillingham’s very own chairman Paul Scally would be able to compete with.

I have in the past laughed at the sight of a miserly bunch of away fans spread out in the top of the Brian Moore stand in recent seasons, but I should be a little more kind. Perhaps the lack of away fans at Priestfield shows how many sane people are around these days. You certainly have to worry aboue the 50-odd Barnet fans who made the trip for a first round JPT game.

I made the same mistake myself some years back, for an Auto Windscreens Trophy tie between Wigan and Lincoln. This was when Wigan were rubbish and played at a rubbish ground infront of a handful of people. We missed the first half (bad traffic) and wished we had missed the second.

At least nowadays I am doing those ridiculous journeys for work-purposes rather than ‘pleasure’.

Let’s hope the Gills fans get rewarded for their efforts this weekend with another Hereford-style goal blitz and Mr Giordano gets a bit more joy for his Euros. He’s only seen one win so far this season.

GILLINGHAM have made it clear they will be keeping a close eye on local talent after missing out on some high profile players in recent years.

Boss Andy Hessenthaler will be hoping another Chris Smalling doesn’t slip through the net and at present they don’t have to go far from home to see some quality talent just waiting for a chance to impress.

The Gills recently plumped for West Ham’s Frank Nouble to give their attacking options an immediate boost but the club will no doubt also have noticed some familiar figures doing the business upfront in the lower leagues.

Raw talent needs nurturing, so it was no surprise Hessenthaler went for someone of Nouble’s stature for a quick fix, but in the long run he could be turning to some of Kent’s top non-league sides as he did when he went back to Dover to land Adam Birchall.

As Danny Kedwell is proving, since getting his dream move to the Gills, it can be a long route into the professional game but there are so many players out there just waiting to show what they can do.

At Ebbsfleet they have an attacking threat in Michael West who would no doubt do the business at a higher level. He came through Fleet’s youth set-up and has grown into a key player for Liam Daish’s side.

He’s a skilful player, hampered by injury this season, who loves to run at defenders. Although not a striker, he knows where the net is. His goals in last season’s successful Blue Square South play-off campaign were crucial.

It wasn’t long ago that Charlie MacDonald was banging in the goals for the Fleet. He was linked to the Gills but ended up at Southend and then Brentford. He reportedly cost MK Dons £1m this summer and has hit three goals in eight games so far.

Andy Pugh, meanwhile, who was released by the Gills in 2007 has become a big hit at Welling since taking a step backwards. The 22-year-old top scored for the Wings with 17 last season and has 10 in 10 so far this season. He is quick and skillful and will surely be back in the league some day.

Another former Gillingham youngster, Frannie Collin, has netted double figures for Tonbridge Angels and will be just as determined to prove that he has developed and is ready for another shot at the big time.

Charlie Sheringham meanwhile has the name, thanks to his father Teddy, and is fast developing a good reputation at Dartford. He has 11 goals to his name already and after spending his younger days with Tottenham he has been brought up to play decent football.

Dartford have certainly produced some talent in recent years. Cody McDonald wasn’t there very long but they cashed in when he went to Norwich City just a few years after wing-wizard Dave Martin moved to Crystal Palace.

Kent may not be awash with top teams but is developing some good footballers and the Gills need to remain alert so it’s them that benefit and not others.

Chris Smalling went from Maidstone United to Manchester United and the Champions League in the space of a whirlwind three years, which included a £10m move from Fulham to Old Trafford. Despite going to Chatham Grammar he bypassed his local club completely.

Young defender Jack Baldwin moved from Faversham to Hartlepool in the summer, despite brief interest from the Gills. Will he prove to be another that got away?

Clearly the Gills can’t sign every half-decent player in Kent but the good thing is that Hessenthaler has made a point of keeping in with the locals, by spending the summer playing numerous pre-season friendlies and loaning a number of players to local clubs. It is unlikely local talent will by-pass Priestfield so easily in the future and the next big star could be turning out in blue and not elsewhere. Just who can make it remains to be seen.

HISTORY was made on Saturday and I wasn’t even there to see it!

Quite ironically I was due at Gillingham FC’s board room at 7pm, for a non-football related party, so I left the match in the capable hands of Matthew Panting.

Needless to say I was a little miffed, after watching some pretty crass football of late, to hear that the Gills were turning it on at Hereford.

I had seen the second half capitulation at Rotherham, the late goal at Barnet, the woeful display against Accrington and the failure to finish Southend off.

What a shock to hear that the same players were in the throws of a record breaking outing.

Stefan Payne’s goal made it six and that for the Gills made it their best ever Football League away result - beating the 5-0 win at Burnley achieved in February 1999 with all the goals scored by Bob Taylor.

It had the statos busily checking the history books and my own collection got an airing.

Most useful was Tony Brown’s complete record that informed me that, as New Brompton Football Club in 1894, their first league game ended with a 6-0 win at Sheppey.

That was in the Southern League so that doesn’t count. If we are talking best ever away wins EVER then the Southern League era certainly threw up some big scores, including 7-2 at Chesham and 6-0 at Old St Stephens.

In 1923 the club recorded a 6-0 win at Nunhead in the FA Cup and during the Second World War the Gills beat Maidstone 7-0 in the Kent Regional League (Eastern Group). Football that season was abandoned shortly after a 6-1 win at Dover in the Kent Senior Shield.

Gillingham saved their best away performances for the 1945/46 Kent League season when they recorded an 8-1 win at Folkestone and a 9-2 victory over Canterbury-based army side 12th ITC (just a couple of weeks before beating them 10-1 at home). That remains their biggest ever away success.

The goals have sadly dried up in the last 60 odd years so congratulations to the 255 travelling fans that can say they were there and the one KM reporter in the press box who probably goes away wondering what on earth the pre-match doom and gloom was all about!

IN recent years the big question among Gillingham fans has been ‘why can’t the team win away’.

The worrying trend of late is the team’s inability to impress on home soil.

Home form is crucial to anyone’s hopes of success and at present things at Priestfield are not going to plan.

An opening day win over Cheltenham gave everyone high hopes of success this season, and those certainly haven’t been written off yet, but since then the form on home soil hasn’t been great.

The 3-0 win over Plymouth may look good on paper but the two penalties converted by Danny Kedwell gloss over what wasn’t the best of performances against a team crumbling into oblivion due to financial problems.

A failure to do the business on home soil isn’t confined to this season but seems to have rolled over from the previous one.

Last season the Gills narrowly missed out on a play-off spot after successive 4-2 defeats to Barnet and Macclesfield. That had followed draws against Morecambe and Hereford. All four games were certainly winnable.

So what’s gone wrong at home?

It wasn’t long ago that Priestfield really was a fortress. The 2009/10 season saw the Gills sweep aside the likes of Southampton, Leeds, Huddersfield and Millwall. It really was a place to be feared.

Unfortunately that was a time when the Gills were the small fish in a big pond. Teams weren’t coming to Priestfield shutting up shop but going out for the win. At the time it suited Gills’ attacking style at home.

They enjoyed teams coming at them because with a fired up crowd behind them they had the confidence to exploit the space left and make the most of it.

Nowadays, back in the basement division, the Gills are no longer small fry.

Most of the opposition journalists, when I speak to them, admit their side will be just happy to take what they can from Priestfield. A draw at Gillingham in League 2 is thought of as a big result.

Managers will always say they are going to a win but League 2 teams appear to be heading to Priestfield with some basic instructions to their players. Number one would be to stifle the Gills and frustrate.

Once frustration sets in the players start over-playing and forgetting to do the basics. Some players try to be too clever and then the spiral of frustration just gets worse.

Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler has been banging the ‘patience’ drum into his players and that is key. At the moment it seems clubs are coming to Priestfield and disrupting play. There has certainly been a lack of quality this season, not just from Gillingham.

An early goal is always key to settling a side down and drawing opponents out of their shell. Opposition will protect a 0-0 draw all day long, but 1-0 down, they will have no choice but to leave gaps at the back.

So when Burton arrive in a fortnight let’s hope the Gills players come out positively and keep doing the basics. Smart-arse play won’t get them anywhere.

One or two wins and then the team will be flying. It’s still early days in the season and the Gills shouldn’t be written off yet.

Defeat to Burton though won’t go down well with the home fans who are fast deserting their team.

Gillingham must make do without Jack Payne for the next month through injury and that could be cause for concern.

Medial ligament damage to his knee will leave him sidelined for several weeks.

Payne may only be 19 but he is fast becoming a key figure for the Gills and his brief absences this season have already proved costly.

The youngster’s substitution at Rotherham, because of illness, was followed by a monumental collapse and his departure at the weekend preceded another break down in the team’s ability to defend.

His knack of breaking up play as the extra man in midfield has frustrated many teams this season. His bite and appetite to win the ball back has been key to keeping teams quiet.

With Payne doing the dog work in a five man midfield it should also allow the likes of Curtis Weston and Charlie Lee to break forward and help Danny Kedwell upfront. Unfortunately that didn’t quite work out against Shrewsbury, but that wasn’t Payne’s fault.

When he went off at Rorherham there was a tidal wave of attack that the Gills just didn’t look capable of stopping. It ended 3-0, it could have been four or five.

So what will Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler do now that he has lost his barrier between the defence and midfield?

Reverting to 442 and adding an extra attacker hasn’t worked for the Gills so far this season, but now they have Chris Whelpdale back and, most important fit, it gives them a proper option on the flank. Luke Rooney, fired up by an impressive showing last week, adds another natural option out wide. It means Hessenthaler is not putting round pegs into square holes anymore.

If Hessenthaler wants a replacement for Payne then his best bet looks to be Danny Jackman. He was unlucky not to start the season after doing as well, if not better, than Joe Martin at left-back in pre-season.

He can play midfield, albeit ideally at the left side of a diamond, but no doubt he would just be pleased to be off the subs’ bench again.

It all seems to be resting on whether Hessenthaler can do business in the transfer market.

If a new striker arrives, and the signs are looking more promising now, he is likely to go 4-4-2 against Accrington at the weekend, with Kedwell being joined by the new man.

At least Hessenthaler has options but he will be cursing the loss of another key man. First Adam Birchall and now Payne.

Danny Kedwell apparently has a bang on the knee. Fans will be praying they don’t lose him as well.

And with no spare keeper Ross Flitney better be careful or the Gills may be bringing coach Ron Hillyard out of retirement, although Hessenthaler does rate Matt Fish as an excellent shot-stopper.

It is with great sadness that I heard the news of the disbanding of Medway band The Deccas.

The foursome were one of the first Kent bands who let me in to their little world as a features reporter for What's On.

Chatting to them at their practice sessions at Def Studios in Chatham's Historic Dockyard, I was struck by the way the produced tight, typically Medway-Mod recordings.

Their only album Ways To The Sun was typical of the spiky power pop that has gripped the Medway scene for God knows how long. Short, sharp tunes with a good hook.

Never afraid of admitting they were hoping to "make it" they had that pure quality - not found in nearly enough bands - of just being four good mates.

In an email Twydall-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Wes Wren, Gillingham guitarist Phil Crane, Rochester bassist Dave Sawicki and Rainham drummer Tony Hetherington announced: "It is with heavy hearts that The Deccas are saddened to say that they are no more.

"After four and a half years, over 120 gigs, four CDs and six different members and numerous Subways the time seems right to stop."

For nostalgic Medway-scene followers, the good news is that the band will finish their latest EP and put it out on a limited run for free.

Until then, we mourn you The Deccas. Is it too late to reconsider?

****

For anyone who wondered why I suddenly stopped tweeting when I was at Hyde Park for the Kings of Leon concert last Wendesday, it is because the whole thing was too awesome to take my eyes off.

Great support shows from Mona, White Lies and Paul Weller capped off by a stonker of a set by perhaps the biggest band on the planet right now.

I was so impressed that I am heading back to Hyde Park tomorrow to see Arcade Fire, with support from The Vaccines, Beirut and Mumford and Sons.

Then Kent's festival season kicks off with the Hop Farm Music Festival at Paddock Wood the next day and Lounge On The Farm at Canterbury's Merton Farm the following weekend.

If the updates slow down, it is because I've developed a very serious case of tweeters finger.

****

If you fancy getting your music, latest gig or theatre production reviewed on this blog or inside the KM Group's What's On magazine, drop me an email at cprice@thekmgroup.co.uk.

You can also follow me on Twitter @TheChrisPrice and follow What's On @kmwhatson. Join us on Facebook by liking www.facebook.com/kmwhatson

GILLINGHAM are being snubbed from all angles at the moment but luckily we are still in May and so there is no need to panic.

Andy Hessenthaler currently has an 18-man squad at his disposal, albeit seven of whom have no first team experience, so it looks like being a busy summer for the Gills boss.

Cody McDonald won’t be here next season, which I suppose is no surprise as he will have plenty of offers at his door, while Andy Barcham has also got better offers on the table.

Adebayo Akinfenwa looks set to also depart. He heads away on holiday on Wednesday and with bigger clubs apparently sniffing around it is no shock to hear Hess say he doubts the big man will be sticking around. He waited until well into pre-season before signing on at Priestfield last season and it looks likely he will bide his time again. The Gills would be better to say thanks but no thanks and move on.

Chris Palmer appears to be moving back up to the Midlands and there is no news on Kevin Maher at the moment, as he has been on holiday.

A budget cut at the club means their deals won’t be as good as they had hoped so no doubt they are looking around for what better offers they can get. Both Palmer and Maher impressed last season so perhaps they think they deserve more. Can they be replaced? Certainly.

Joe Martin is supposed to be tying up a deal and expect that to be concluded soon. At least that’s one staying!

It could mean that out of the five players Hess offered deals four will have said no. But fear not.

The market for free-agents is still huge and Hess and his team have been non-stop trying to bring people in. Last week the Gills boss was as busy as he had been all season, fielding calls from agents, representatives managers and when he got a spare five minutes the press.

Jon-Paul Pittman, who played for Wycombe last season, was brought to Priestfield for talks but shortly after leaving signed for his local club Oxford.

For fans of the U’s they may be happy to see boss Chris Wilder filling his squad early, with Ryan James and Tony Capaldi also checking in for next season. But this is no time to rush your business.

It is doubtful that the Gills can compete for the signature of the likes of Clayton Donaldson (Lg 2 top scorer last season) and when I asked Hess about Marvin Morgan, a player who was put to them last season, he didn’t seem overly keen.

It shouldn’t be doom and gloom now though. Hess has the chance to mould the team the way he wants it.

Could the Gills be set to raid Dover? Matt Fish and keeper Ross Flitney have yet to sign terms there and Hess will always be linked to some of the players down Crabble.

It is certainly time to move on and for Hess to say to those players who may be wavering on new deals, see you later.

Of course we all want to hear about new signings now, but many players are still actually being paid by their former employers at the moment, ahead of their contracts expiring in July. It means there is a certain reluctance to announce signings. Some are sitting on a beach taking it easy.

Stevenage and Torquay don’t even know what division they will be playing in next season so the Gills at least have a headstart on them.

Patience at this stage is definitely the key.

Gillingham’s decision to release eight players last week leaves plenty of room for new blood and there is no shortage of players available.

The Gills won’t have a mighty purchasing power but with hundreds of players available for free they shouldn’t need it.

It looks like boss Andy Hessenthaler wants a squad of 18 players with experience to handle League 2 next season.

By taking out the youngsters, that leaves him about seven or eight players short, so we can expect plenty of activity in the coming weeks.

Top of his priority will be a keeper and several strikers.

Last season Alan Julian and Lance Cronin battled for the number 1 shirt but personally I feel it would be better to spend big on one decent keeper than have two lesser talents. With first year pro Daren Hawkes as back-up they will have cover in case of emergencies and there are always plenty of decent keepers available for short-term loan if needed.

That leaves seven more spaces and four of those need to be utilised in attack.

Dennis Oli was hampered by injury last season and Stefan Payne is still raw so experience is a must up-front.

There are some recognisable faces in the free-transfer market with the likes of John Akinde, Rory Fallon, Ryan Jarvis, Scott McGleish, Leon McKenzie, Marvin Morgan, Jason Price and Calvin Zola all on the look out for new clubs.

Add a couple of them with Adebayo Akinfenwa and Cody McDonald, if (a big if) they both sign, and you really have got a quality front-line.

I’m sure Hess is looking at all options and if he has any cash to burn then possibly Gillingham-born Danny Kedwell could be prised away from AFC Wimbledon if they don’t get promoted from the Blue Square Premier.

Defensively the Gills obviously need a left-back and Joe Martin has already been offered a deal but he’ll need competition. Former Millwall man Andy Frampton maybe?

In central defence King, Richards, Lawrence, Essam and Davies offer plenty but maybe one more wouldn’t harm just incase.

There is an abundance of talent in central midfield but out wide the Gills still look lightweight, especially with Andy Barcham still not committing himself for another season. It’s one area in need of attention for the new season as the Gills missed options on the flanks with Barcham and Oli continually injured.

No doubt once Peterborough have finished with their play-off campaign Hess will be knocking on Chris Whelpdale’s door.

We saw at Priestfield what an injection of pace and enthusiasm can do with Barnet ripping the Gills defence apart.

So a busy summer awaits for the Gills and the battle now will take place with the cheque book.

Hess won’t be wanting to deal with money-grabbers though so if the big names don’t arrive it might not be a bad thing. We’ve seen in the past that a name matters for nothing. Finding someone with experience, talent and hunger and someone the club can afford are all things Hess will be dealing with as he begins the rebuilding task.

Who would you want to see at the Gills?

With Gillingham’s recent track record in end-of-day scenarios we should have known it would all end in tears on Saturday.

The Gills had only achieved their pre-match goal once in their previous six final day showdowns and after the recent catastrophes on home turf they had it all to do.

For so long though it looked as if the Gills would do the business. I had one eye on the match and one on the score-flashes filtering through during the afternoon. It made for a tense game.

In the closing stages Bury were beating Stevenage and Torquay were also losing their match. With McDonald’s equaliser at Chesterfield it left the Gills sitting pretty in sixth.

Cue defensive meltdown. The Chesterfield left-back Scott Griffiths twice got in behind the back four and twice put the ball on a plate for his team mates to score. For the Gills they had got within 14 minutes of a play-off spot but eventually showed their weakness.

This wasn’t all about that one game though for Gillingham. It should never have come down to that. After beating Rotherham so well it was criminal of them to then face Macclesfield and get well beaten on home soil. While the away form sent the Gills down last season, it was ironically their poor home form that keeps them in League 2 for another year.

Financially it may not be a disaster but fans will hardly be excited about another year travelling to the likes of Hereford, Burton, Morecambe, Torquay and now Plymouth.

On paper the Gills should have got promoted but those players who should have guided the team to League 1 spent more time with physio Steve Allen (who, after his exploits at the end-of-year award night, seems destined for a spot on x-factor!).

Last season’s player-of-the-year Andy Barcham wasn’t fit from start to finish and nobody was able to see the best of him.

Simon King, well we all know about him and next year looks like being make-or-break for his career. Fingers crossed he is over the worst of his problems.

Dennis Oli was injured for most of the season, Curtis Weston barely got a run-out because of injury, Garry Richards was in the treatment room for much of the campaign. Chris Palmer started the season well but a training injury ruined his second half.

Danny Spiller was out for a while, so was Cody McDonald at the start of the season. Maybe had he been fit from the off he might have helped them get over the relegation hangover quicker.

There were so many players who were unable to get up to full match speed and it showed in their performances. They must have been as frustrated as the fans.

The Gills were short of options in attack at the end of the season as budget constraints meant Hess had to rely on Adebayo Akinfenwa to play every minute of every game. He really did need someone with experience to come off the bench late on in games.

Unfortunately the budget was already spent but who could have envisaged having so many players on the sidelines?

The injury list may look like an easy excuse but how can a team achieve anything without their best players? A consistent team breeds consistent results but rarely did we see that last season.

Fans cursed the team’s reliance on pumping balls up to Akinfenwa, but then without Oli and Barcham on the flanks, the options were pretty limited.

Let’s hope Mr Allen is nowhere near as busy next season and Hess can assemble a side that starts the season fit and continues that way. Injuries will always occur but it’s rare to get so many long-term ones. It really ruined the season.

When you see players like Oli and Fuller limping into the end-of-season awards-do on crutches it does highlight what has been, for me, the biggest problem this season.

The retained list will be out this week and Hess will be already on the phone trying to build for next season. It clearly wasn’t a good season but then it could be worse.

Not only do I now have to report on League 2 football again, but my team Lincoln were relegated to non-league at the weekend and I don’t see them coming back for a long time.

There is always someone worse off!

**If you have time today log into kentonline.co.uk/gillingham at 1pm for the live Q&A session. Come along and contribute to the discussion.

Picture: Barry Goodwin.