“Testing” time for York City

11:30am Saturday 15th December 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Dave Flett, Sports reporter

York City manager Gary Mills York City manager Gary Mills

YORK City manager Gary Mills is looking forward to a “testing” time as the team usher in 2013.

Following this afternoon’s home game with a struggling Bristol Rovers team desperate for points, the Minstermen will play host to clear League Two leaders Gillingham next weekend.

Trips to a Chesterfield side that have won their last four League matches and pre-season promotion favourites Fleetwood then follow in the space of four days before New Year’s Day sees Mills’ players entertain Burton, who have already beaten City 3-1 this term.

Looking slightly further ahead during January, the Bootham Crescent outfit will also travel to third-placed Cheltenham and Gillingham for their return match with the title hopefuls but Mills is still relishing the challenge of improving his team’s current standing of 15th.

He said: “It’s always said that Christmas is an important period and it will be a testing one for us.

“We’ve got Bristol Rovers coming here today in the bottom two and everybody will be expecting us to turn them over but I’m not naive enough to think that will just happen.

“Then we’ve got Gillingham at home, whose record this season speaks for itself. On Boxing Day, we go to Chesterfield, who have been the form team since Paul Cook took over, and then we’re at Fleetwood, who are on the play-off fringes, as are Burton, who we play on New Year’s Day.

“It’s a challenge but one that we have to come through with flying colours to get through the New Year to see where we will be heading. I want to see us heading up the table and getting as high as we can but I’m still enjoying every second of this season.

“We knew it would be tougher than last season and we are finding that out every week but I will enjoy pitting my wits against these good sides to prove what we are capable of.”

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Mills is also keen to improve a home record that has reaped just two wins from the last 13 Bootham Crescent contests, starting with this afternoon’s clash against the Pirates.

He said: “I’m looking forward to the game. We can’t get to that stage where we have people hiding at home and saying they prefer to play away and have got to start winning more games in front of our supporters.”

Comments(37)

YorkCityLuke says...
6:28pm Sat 15 Dec 12

Well, if he keeps winning games 4-1, we'll have a great 2013 to look forward to! Congratulations to the team.

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henleazeyorkie says...
6:41pm Sat 15 Dec 12

YorkCityLuke wrote:
Well, if he keeps winning games 4-1, we'll have a great 2013 to look forward to! Congratulations to the team.
Especially when I can look my Gashead counterparts here in Briz in the eye with head held high :-)

Well done lads

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Aladdinsane says...
7:05pm Sat 15 Dec 12

Are we suffering cut backs here in N Yorks? Not a single word from "The Press" but Bristol papers have a full match report on todays game. Very POOR service.

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haxbyreds says...
7:52pm Sat 15 Dec 12

Fantastic performance just hope Paddy is not to bad,top player and bloke,

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brahma says...
8:09pm Sat 15 Dec 12

Aladdinsane wrote:
Are we suffering cut backs here in N Yorks? Not a single word from "The Press" but Bristol papers have a full match report on todays game. Very POOR service.
Bigger story in Bristol - they sacked the manager after the game.

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arsene.about.york says...
8:30pm Sat 15 Dec 12

haxbyreds wrote:
Fantastic performance just hope Paddy is not to bad,top player and bloke,
Where were you in the second half when we could quite easily have thrown it away? Until we start playing for 90 we are going to struggle.

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YorkCityLuke says...
8:39pm Sat 15 Dec 12

arsene.about.york wrote:
haxbyreds wrote:
Fantastic performance just hope Paddy is not to bad,top player and bloke,
Where were you in the second half when we could quite easily have thrown it away? Until we start playing for 90 we are going to struggle.
I'm a massive happy-clapper, but I half agree with you there - we could have mauled them even more brutally, but we elected to sit back, which gave them some good chances. HOWEVER, we won 4-1 so it's a very small complaint. And I think today hopefully shows that we're not heading for a relegation battle. We comfortably beat a team in actual trouble by a significant margin, without playing to 100% of our potential.

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cityforthepremier says...
8:40pm Sat 15 Dec 12

arsene.about.york wrote:
haxbyreds wrote:
Fantastic performance just hope Paddy is not to bad,top player and bloke,
Where were you in the second half when we could quite easily have thrown it away? Until we start playing for 90 we are going to struggle.
We won 4-1 does it matter how we won it? No, so enjoy & stop moaning!

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Whitleyred says...
9:06pm Sat 15 Dec 12

Hooray...looking up the table tonight rather than down!! COYR

A good showing against Gillingham next week could stand us in good stead going into tricky Xmas fixtures.

Interesting that by this time last week there were 34 comments on this blog after the Plymouth game. Says it all for me...

Talking of Xmas, who would be on your shopping list to ensure lift off in the new year??

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Whitleyred says...
9:06pm Sat 15 Dec 12

Hooray...looking up the table tonight rather than down!! COYR

A good showing against Gillingham next week could stand us in good stead going into tricky Xmas fixtures.

Interesting that by this time last week there were 34 comments on this blog after the Plymouth game. Says it all for me...

Talking of Xmas, who would be on your shopping list to ensure lift off in the new year??

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RYANW0 says...
9:10pm Sat 15 Dec 12

haxbyreds wrote:
Fantastic performance just hope Paddy is not to bad,top player and bloke,
Paddy's okay - he was just badly winded after that cracking tackle.

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openallhours says...
10:37pm Sat 15 Dec 12

YorkCityLuke wrote:
arsene.about.york wrote:
haxbyreds wrote:
Fantastic performance just hope Paddy is not to bad,top player and bloke,
Where were you in the second half when we could quite easily have thrown it away? Until we start playing for 90 we are going to struggle.
I'm a massive happy-clapper, but I half agree with you there - we could have mauled them even more brutally, but we elected to sit back, which gave them some good chances. HOWEVER, we won 4-1 so it's a very small complaint. And I think today hopefully shows that we're not heading for a relegation battle. We comfortably beat a team in actual trouble by a significant margin, without playing to 100% of our potential.
Firstly, delighted with the win and the 3 points, but could have done without Paddy's injury.

However, the scoreline flattered us and the 2nd half was shocking.

Chambers did what he's paid to do but I'm not looking forward to the 5 or 6 bad games he normally has after one good one.

What really put things into perspective is the crowd - 3100 - we got more than that in the 5th division (that's non-league to the posters coming on here pretending to know about football)!

Had we lost today, I would have stayed away for a while like the rest of the fans who have chosen not to come (due to a manager with a terrible attitude). I'll stick with it for now, but time will tell.

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Tug job says...
11:06pm Sat 15 Dec 12

openallhours wrote:
YorkCityLuke wrote:
arsene.about.york wrote:
haxbyreds wrote: Fantastic performance just hope Paddy is not to bad,top player and bloke,
Where were you in the second half when we could quite easily have thrown it away? Until we start playing for 90 we are going to struggle.
I'm a massive happy-clapper, but I half agree with you there - we could have mauled them even more brutally, but we elected to sit back, which gave them some good chances. HOWEVER, we won 4-1 so it's a very small complaint. And I think today hopefully shows that we're not heading for a relegation battle. We comfortably beat a team in actual trouble by a significant margin, without playing to 100% of our potential.
Firstly, delighted with the win and the 3 points, but could have done without Paddy's injury. However, the scoreline flattered us and the 2nd half was shocking. Chambers did what he's paid to do but I'm not looking forward to the 5 or 6 bad games he normally has after one good one. What really put things into perspective is the crowd - 3100 - we got more than that in the 5th division (that's non-league to the posters coming on here pretending to know about football)! Had we lost today, I would have stayed away for a while like the rest of the fans who have chosen not to come (due to a manager with a terrible attitude). I'll stick with it for now, but time will tell.
It could have been 7-4 to us at half time and we missed three golden chances in the second half, so I do not think the score flattered us - football is a results-driven business. It is true that Rovers had chances they failed to take but that has been true for us for much of the season, so far. You could also argue that results flattered Burton and Wycombe, so that's a meaningless argument, as is the size of today's attendance. I do not pretend to know about football but I do know a lot about York City. Perhaps you can tell me how many times we got a gate in excess of 3,000 for a league game when we were in mid-table in the BSP? Had we lost today, I would still have been there next Saturday (like I was during those dreadful re-election seasons and during the 8 years out of the league) because I am a York City supporter. I attend to support the team, irrespective of my views about a particular manager (Wright, Brass, Dolan,Walker, Foyle, etc, - Mills is streets ahead of any of these. Some people have very short memories. Can't wait for next week's match. COYR

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YorkCityLuke says...
11:20pm Sat 15 Dec 12

Now I'm worried that my comment came across as being negative... I'm very, very happy with the result today, I would have been happy with a 1-0 win so 4-1 is fantastic. And if they win, I really don't care how they play. And in the first half, we were pretty much unstoppable! We will have to cut out the mistakes at the back, and play our best football for 90 minutes to take 3 points from Gillingham though, but it's not an impossible task.

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Tug job says...
11:27pm Sat 15 Dec 12

YorkCityLuke wrote:
Now I'm worried that my comment came across as being negative... I'm very, very happy with the result today, I would have been happy with a 1-0 win so 4-1 is fantastic. And if they win, I really don't care how they play. And in the first half, we were pretty much unstoppable! We will have to cut out the mistakes at the back, and play our best football for 90 minutes to take 3 points from Gillingham though, but it's not an impossible task.
Agreed.

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duffy says...
11:55pm Sat 15 Dec 12

An excellant first half from city against a very poor team. Both midfield and the attack put in a good shift with both Kerr and Paddy playing well, Walker looked very good playing his hold up role and Chambers was very lively. No suprise the second half was a bit of an anti climax after the first half showing. The less said about the defence at times the better though, central defence still frightens the life out of me.

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GreenshawGrinder says...
1:23am Sun 16 Dec 12

We can win at home! All over by half time, yes the second half was a bit average but who cares? Job done. Difficult games coming up starting with Gillingham next week. Lack of posts could be due to lack of report on here!

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tangwaynehall says...
1:56am Sun 16 Dec 12

The week before Xmas is always a reduced crowd i think over 3k was good.
The Bradford Press will be more interested in cover the Bantoms giant killing to have time worring about York.

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roobarb85 says...
11:18am Sun 16 Dec 12

If the Bristol manager got the sack after the game, it's not a surprise having read his comments about York on the BBC Sport website pre-game.

He apparently said, in essence,
"York have a bit of height about them, but not much pace".
And sometimes we wonder that GM doesn't see things right !

Great first half..bit worried about the second when the promised "midfield powerhouse" seemed to have blown a fuse.

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tangwaynehall says...
11:35am Sun 16 Dec 12

Bit of a worry Brizzle after a new manager we don't want another John Ward situation that was the start of our decline in my option

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ian923 says...
11:36am Sun 16 Dec 12

Well done City and particularly Ash Chambers who I hope has finally silenced his critics and deserved the applause when he came off.First half fantastic-second was mediocre but a 4-1 lead at half time was easy to defend.Nice to see Tom Allan have his debut and he is one for the future of City if we can keep him, as is Tom Platt.
Lets hope for a big crowd nex saturday against the league leaders and a good performance with effort and skill.

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centre midfield says...
12:07pm Sun 16 Dec 12

I predicted this response from the players on Friday, GM knows what they are all capable of on their day and playing an unchanged line up showed a bit of confidence in the starting 11, same again next week, I said to my lad after 35 mins that Smithy and Bullock must be wondering why the F*** have we been recalled when they are playing like this?
The way we play we are going to concede goals but if we try to strengthen our defence by playing 7 defenders we lose our capabilities of scoring more than we concede. They all played well yesterday (not brilliant but well). Keep a regular 11 with the odd change when needed play the players where they are comfortable, make sure the replacements are hungry enough to fight for their places and last of all keep it realistic (if we reach top 7 its a bonus) and we should all be quite happy. I thought their lone striker Eaves looked very good yesterday a real handful, strong, half decent in the air, good ball control and a good strong shot on him. Also thought J Smith was full of energy when he came on, came from nowhere on a couple of occasions to get in the box and support the front men.

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lifelong says...
12:30pm Sun 16 Dec 12

Well done York on an emphatic victory. The second half however was a damp squib after a firecracker of a start. City should have had seven but chose to sit back on the lead. The finishing in the first half was brilliant. The chances snapped up by Chambers and Walker had an echo of last years form. Bristol were simply put to the sword. Credit to the visitors after the interval however. Their heads did not go down and could quite easily have registered an early second goal which could have brought on a 'Rochdale' situation. Our defence continues to play havoc with the nerves of supporters with their interminable passing cross field and backwards to no useful purpose!
Mills chose to give members of the squad a run out with young Allan on his debut in particular settling in with some confidence. He has a future hopefully at Bootham Crescent.
I made Ingham York's man of the match by some distance. Too many times he was asked to make last ditch saves when a Bristol player was clean through!
A very welcome 3 points making 6 out of the last 9. Well done Manager Mills in setting out with the right team.

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roobarb85 says...
1:02pm Sun 16 Dec 12

For those harping on about attendances, according to Football 365's stats, York rate 9th out of 23 (they don't count Fleetwood, for some reason) in the division for % filling of ground at 42%. (Best 92 worst 22)

York then rate 12/24 for actual average attendance at 3818.(Best 9700, worst 1700)

On a Saturday before Xmas, with distant visitors not having a successful season so not likely to bring many, I thought yesterday's gate was OK.

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RooBeck says...
1:29pm Sun 16 Dec 12

Three points in the bag and this was the start we needed, as we go into the four Christmas/New Year fixtures. Two distinct halves and I would have preferred us to keep the tempo going in the second-half, so as to bag some more goals (bit like the Kettering game last December), rather than lower the pace. Plus, it's more entertaining! Rovers were very average but they could and should have taken the lead after some poor defending by us and overall, they had several good oportunities to score, so the only downside was some of our covering play and positioning in the Back Four, and this needs more working on. Looking at The Gills on the Football League Show, they are a fast moving side, with some strong, pacy forwards and so we definately need a strong, no nonense Back Four next Saturday and perhaps, the energy and presence in midfield of Jonathan Smith in the starting XI, would give us more drive as we approach these tough holiday games(although he did miss two pretty easy chances to score in the second-half). Front-foot approach, with the right mixture of ball-playing and energy/determination and we could give the league leaders a fright next Saturday afternoon!! COYR.

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yorkiemike says...
2:46pm Sun 16 Dec 12

The Jekyll and Hyde show goes on!Glad my prediction of a draw was hopelessly wrong!
Good performance and welcome 3pts.The real test now against Gillingham,Fleetwood
, Chesterfield and Burton.6 pts out of that lot will do us nicel
y.I`m not being negative just realistic.Anyting more will be a bonus in my view.
One small point on yesterday`s substition using Tom Allan.I fully understand GM wanting to blood the lad when we were 4-1 up but I would have thought it was the ideal situation to have brought Dave McGurk on to give him half an hour of much needed practise.

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OLD - HEAD says...
3:07pm Sun 16 Dec 12

Like "yorkiemike" has already said I was also surprisd that Dave McGurk didnt replace Doig. No disrespect to young Tom Allan he looks a fine prospect, but the alarm bells must now be ringing for McGurk. Two poor defences made this a cracking game of football to watch. Three very welcome points for City.

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redwhiteblue says...
4:09pm Sun 16 Dec 12

Great performance - pleased Chambers didn't catch the taxi a few recommended he took - class player - Bristol supporters thought our midfield was class - in fact they said their passing was cutting, upto Premiership standard on ocassions - rated Chambers, Paddy Ingham and Fyfield. Nice to see Allen make his debut - in fact I thought the defence looked better/more solid after Doig went off. Perhaps it's time for Dave McGurk to make his lond awaited return. Always sorry to see a sacking, but I think they should have waited until they got back to Bristol - what sort of journey would he have back down the M1/M6

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play up city says...
4:43pm Sun 16 Dec 12

Yeah i thought we sat back after goin 3-1 up it could of been more if we'd gone at em.....Any body know the extent of paddys injury

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Burkett swish pack says...
5:02pm Sun 16 Dec 12

I thought it was interesting when I noticed quite a few City players going over to chat with Ty when they came back on after half time. Is this the end of his City career ?

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YorkCityLuke says...
5:17pm Sun 16 Dec 12

play up city wrote:
Yeah i thought we sat back after goin 3-1 up it could of been more if we'd gone at em.....Any body know the extent of paddys injury
He's fine apparently, just knocked the wind out of him. Great to see him going in for a tackle like that!

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joejamestom says...
5:55pm Sun 16 Dec 12

Wow finally a good home performance which resulted in an emphatic win, thought the midfield with nice triangles great movement was more than Bristol could cope with no answer even when it was completely obvious Kerr was the key to holding possession they failed to man mark him. Again how versatile does Danny have to be to impress some & nice to be able to make the Chambers boo boys eat some humble pie.
As with a few above concerns about defending in particular the two CBs I don't think TY could be more punished having to watch two mediocre colleagues then watch the young pretender do well.
All we need is this elusive consistency & a mobile quick CB in position, though I think an option of a forward like Bristol had would be beneficial Big Quick Mobile just no midfield behind him.Come on City we should make up a bit of ground on the play off's with a bit more belief & great entertainment.

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Bring back Paddy Atkinson (not!) says...
6:42pm Sun 16 Dec 12

redwhiteblue wrote:
Great performance - pleased Chambers didn't catch the taxi a few recommended he took - class player - Bristol supporters thought our midfield was class - in fact they said their passing was cutting, upto Premiership standard on ocassions - rated Chambers, Paddy Ingham and Fyfield. Nice to see Allen make his debut - in fact I thought the defence looked better/more solid after Doig went off. Perhaps it's time for Dave McGurk to make his lond awaited return. Always sorry to see a sacking, but I think they should have waited until they got back to Bristol - what sort of journey would he have back down the M1/M6
A very long one probably given you don't go on the M6 to Bristol!

Seriously, couldn't agree more. Poorest Bristol R team in years but no manager deserves the ignominy and humiliation of that. Surely could have waited until today.

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play up city says...
7:31pm Sun 16 Dec 12

Hope paddy makes the gillingham game..............

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YO1 says...
11:17pm Sun 16 Dec 12

redwhiteblue wrote:
Great performance - pleased Chambers didn't catch the taxi a few recommended he took - class player - Bristol supporters thought our midfield was class - in fact they said their passing was cutting, upto Premiership standard on ocassions - rated Chambers, Paddy Ingham and Fyfield. Nice to see Allen make his debut - in fact I thought the defence looked better/more solid after Doig went off. Perhaps it's time for Dave McGurk to make his lond awaited return. Always sorry to see a sacking, but I think they should have waited until they got back to Bristol - what sort of journey would he have back down the M1/M6
I thought our game deteriorated after Doig went off. We stopped passing it out from the back and couldn't keep possession.

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play up city says...
7:31pm Mon 17 Dec 12

YO1 wrote:
redwhiteblue wrote: Great performance - pleased Chambers didn't catch the taxi a few recommended he took - class player - Bristol supporters thought our midfield was class - in fact they said their passing was cutting, upto Premiership standard on ocassions - rated Chambers, Paddy Ingham and Fyfield. Nice to see Allen make his debut - in fact I thought the defence looked better/more solid after Doig went off. Perhaps it's time for Dave McGurk to make his lond awaited return. Always sorry to see a sacking, but I think they should have waited until they got back to Bristol - what sort of journey would he have back down the M1/M6
I thought our game deteriorated after Doig went off. We stopped passing it out from the back and couldn't keep possession.
Yeah but young Allen had a decent game at the back and is still learning...In the ress today Millsys is quoted as ayin he has no problem plaing the young lad from the start.......

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play up city says...
7:35pm Mon 17 Dec 12

play up city wrote:
YO1 wrote:
redwhiteblue wrote: Great performance - pleased Chambers didn't catch the taxi a few recommended he took - class player - Bristol supporters thought our midfield was class - in fact they said their passing was cutting, upto Premiership standard on ocassions - rated Chambers, Paddy Ingham and Fyfield. Nice to see Allen make his debut - in fact I thought the defence looked better/more solid after Doig went off. Perhaps it's time for Dave McGurk to make his lond awaited return. Always sorry to see a sacking, but I think they should have waited until they got back to Bristol - what sort of journey would he have back down the M1/M6
I thought our game deteriorated after Doig went off. We stopped passing it out from the back and couldn't keep possession.
Yeah but young Allen had a decent game at the back and is still learning...In the ress today Millsys is quoted as ayin he has no problem plaing the young lad from the start.......
That should read in the press today mills is quoted as having no problem playing te young lad from the start....LOL

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