As the horse boxes disappear over the horizon and make on their way back over the Irish Sea, normal service will be resumed at Whaddon Road tomorrow and focus will once again turn towards the town's football club and its attempt to clinch promotion.
It seems a long time since I visited the club, but I still maintain that they have played the most entertaining football I've seen this season in the bottom two divisions.
However, the Robins go into this fixture on the back of a couple of defeats and having slipped out of the automatic promotion places. No doubt they will be looking to recapture some of the form that has seen them gate crash the so-called fancied sides in the table.
Boss Mark Yates is considering adding to his squad before next Thursday's transfer deadline, but may have to do with the lads who are already there and have done so well for him. If they can stay fit and avoid suspensions, I think Mark will be happy enough.
And even Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler has been impressed with Yate's efforts this season. He told the Gloucestershire Echo:
"Mark would be manager of the season for me. You have to give him so much credit for what he has done. Cheltenham are very organised and difficult to play against and he has shown everyone he can build a team on a shoestring budget there."
Gillingham legend Hessenthaler is a decent manager himself, but will have his work cut out for him tomorrow with four players suspended and the squad ravaged by injuries and illness in recent weeks. Some bodies will return to the squad, but it will also contain a sprinkling of youngsters as Hessenthaler attempts to make up the numbers.
It seems a long time since I visited the club, but I still maintain that they have played the most entertaining football I've seen this season in the bottom two divisions.
However, the Robins go into this fixture on the back of a couple of defeats and having slipped out of the automatic promotion places. No doubt they will be looking to recapture some of the form that has seen them gate crash the so-called fancied sides in the table.
Boss Mark Yates is considering adding to his squad before next Thursday's transfer deadline, but may have to do with the lads who are already there and have done so well for him. If they can stay fit and avoid suspensions, I think Mark will be happy enough.
And even Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler has been impressed with Yate's efforts this season. He told the Gloucestershire Echo:
"Mark would be manager of the season for me. You have to give him so much credit for what he has done. Cheltenham are very organised and difficult to play against and he has shown everyone he can build a team on a shoestring budget there."
Gillingham legend Hessenthaler is a decent manager himself, but will have his work cut out for him tomorrow with four players suspended and the squad ravaged by injuries and illness in recent weeks. Some bodies will return to the squad, but it will also contain a sprinkling of youngsters as Hessenthaler attempts to make up the numbers.
In a way, this fixture may just go to show that the fine line between success and failure for cash strapped clubs often rests on luck. Cheltenham have enjoyed a relatively good season as far as injuries and suspensions are concerned, while Gillingham are losing key players at just the wrong time.
However, if anyone in the Cheltenham camp feel that the visitors are there for the taking, they don't know Hessenthaler. Whoever he sends onto the pitch will give their all ... or face a long walk back to Kent.
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