Gillingham FC should take potentially unpopular transfer stance as deadline looms | OneFootball

Mid-season signings are unlikely to transform Gillingham's fortunes, and the club may be better advised to save their business for the summer.

Gillingham find themselves a long way from their pre-season goals as what looked like a promising start to the season has evaporated into a season of mediocrity at Priestfield.

The rot set in a while back, and it’s become clear that changing the manager will not fix the problem, with issues of character and commitment in the Gillingham squad becoming ever more apparent as the season has progressed.

With issues in so many areas of the squad, the temptation will be to dive into the transfer market, with fans already getting restless on social media in the hope that some reinforcements can be brought in to steady the ship.

But, while that may seem like a good idea in theory, simply throwing mid-season signings at the problem might not be the best course of action.

Gillingham’s squad doesn’t need tweaks - it needs major surgery

There are issues wherever you look in the Gills squad.

The evidence of Gillingham's 27 league games so far is pretty damning. They can’t score up front. They can’t create chances from attacking areas. They don’t win the ball back in midfield. And the defence has developed an alarming penchant for making major errors.

These problems won’t be solved with a couple of mid-season signings.

Loans might provide some different options, but the last thing the club should be doing at this stage, throwing money at permanent signings, especially with a manager whose contract only runs to the end of the season, seems like an unwise course of action.

Gillingham should wait until summer to complete transfer business instead of rushing on deadline day

Only the most deluded of fans would suggest that Gillingham stands any chance of reaching the playoffs at this point, but the team currently looks relatively safe from relegation danger, with the club sitting nine points clear of the bottom two.

It would take a disastrous continuation of the club’s winless run, coupled with an unlikely turnaround in fortunes for the teams below them, for the Gills to slip into the relegation trapdoor.

It’s clear the squad needs a major overhaul, and the best time to do that is definitely in the summer, when player contracts are expiring and the market is much more conducive to making the sort of signings the club desperately needs.

One area where Gillingham can make some positive changes at the end of the mid-season window is to offload some of the dead wood that is taking up space in this squad, and in some cases, the team.

There may be opportunities to let a few players go, and if they’re players whose contracts extend beyond the summer, letting them leave to begin the process of clearing the decks could be shrewd move.

What’s clear is Gillingham’s malaise won’t end overnight, and it’s going to take a sea change during the off-season if the Gills are going to start to make progress towards achieving owner Brad Galinson’s lofty ambitions.