Ronnie Jepson resigns

It was Claire Tomlinson on Sky Sports with Steve Lomas as her guest that broke the news on Sunday morning that Ronnie Jepson had left Gillingham Football Club. Asked to comment, Lomas said that results had not been good and that the chairman was trigger happy, remarks I would guess that will not go down well with Paul Scally. Subsequent information from the club stated that Jepson had resigned, not before being told he was going to be pushed, I would further guess.

Ronnie's time has not been great. He took over at a particularly difficult time with performances having reached rock-bottom with the FA Cup defeat at Burscough in November 2005. Neale Cooper was sacked and Ronnie who had previously been assistant to both Cooper and Stan Ternant took the reins. Results were mixed but the ship was steered to safety. Summer of 2006 saw very little money available to shape a side that would suggest a massive improvement and this viewpoint proved correct as Gillingham flirted with relegation for the best part of the season.

But summer 2007 saw money available and as the catchline to this blog reads, optimism was high that having stripped out some of the deadwood, the new intake of players, some with known pedigree, would take the club forward. Five defeats in the first six games have snuffed out the expectation and whilst it caught us by surprise nobody can be shocked at today's decision.

Scally's (and the bank's) ambition will be tested with the new appointment. If they take their time then Iffy Onoura will probably be placed temporarily and it will be up to him to make an impression quickly and then let results be the governing factor. But many will see Iffy as the cheap option and with the likes of Martin Allen available it would be a statement of intent for somebody of his reputation to be appointed quickly.