The Latest News at Gillingham Football Club

Over the past few days a lot has been happening off the field at Gillingham FC. Here are the top stories at the club:

 

Gills Sign Duo on Loan

Back to first-team matters now, and manager Mark Stimson has bolstered his squad with the signing of two players on-loan, as he looks to continue building a side that can have a realistic chance of gaining promotion this season.

One of the players is right winger Jamie Peters, a 21-year old Canadian international who was on the books of Kaiserslautern as a youngster, shunning offers from EPL giants Chelsea and Manchester United before joining Ipswich Town in 2005. He joins the Gills on-loan from Ipswich on a one-month deal.

The other player is 19-year old full-back Rene Steer, who is currently on the books of Arsenal. He joined the Gunners’ youth academy as a 13-year old, and progressed through the ranks before signing professional terms in 2007.

Steer played in the Gillingham Reserves’ midweek defeat away at Brighton, and has made quite an impression on the manager, who said: “Rene is a young player with tremendous pace; he is very comfortable on the ball as you would expect from someone that has spent six years at Arsenal.”

The gaffer went on to say: “Jamie has quick feet and is another player with terrific pace. Both lads have joined for a month initially and I hope they will come into the squad and help us to maintain the momentum we have built up in recent weeks.”

 

Pugh Loaned to Grays

Andy Pugh, a product of the Gills youth team, has been loaned out to Blue Square Premier side Grays Athletic on a one month deal.

The 19-year old striker has had his first-team opportunities at the KRBS Priestfield severely limited, as he has made only two first-team appearances this season. He has however been a regular in the reserve team.

Pugh joins the Essex based club in search of more first-team experiences, and there is hope at Grays he can help lift them above their current 18^th place in the league, and help them stay clear of the drop zone.

 

Youth Alliance Cup Postponed

Gillingham’s under-18 side were scheduled to play against Brentford in the third round of the Youth Alliance Cup on Saturday morning, but recent bouts of heavy rain has meant their pitch will be unplayable.

The decision to postpone the game was taken on Friday afternoon.

 

Stuart Thurgood Released

Midfielder Stuart Thurgood parted company with Gillingham on Friday, after agreeing to cancel the remainder of his contract.

Thurgood was one of manager Mark Stimson’s first signings, joining on-loan in November 2007 before making the move permanent in the 2008 January transfer window.

In the 2007/08 season he made 12 appearances for the Gills, but after the 4-0 hammering away at Northampton Town in February, Thurgood was chucked out of the side, and finished the season on-loan at Grays Athletic (the club who have currently signed Andy Pugh on-loan).

In August 2008, he rejoined Grays on-loan, and now having been released by Gillingham, he is expected to return to the Essex club for the remainder of the season.

 

 

source: www.gillinghamfootballclub.com