Manager and Captain eagerly await cup draw
Peter Taylor says he is looking forward to today’s FA Cup first round draw and is pleased to see other Kent sides in the pot.
Gillingham are ball number 19 for the draw with Dartford and Ebbsfleet number 65 with the winner to be decided via a replay, with Dover 68 and Welling 78.
Although the draw will see some of the lower league clubs take centre stage, Taylor said under-rating these teams would be a mistake.
He said: “The FA Cup is fantastic; I have some happy memories of the cup playing and managing.
“It’s nice that they [Dartford and Ebbsfleet] will get a replay so they will make a bit of bob for each club, but we’ll wait and see who we get and then think about it.
“I’ve got a lot of memories of Dartford against Gravesend at that time, now of course they are called Ebbsfleet but we used to have some cracking matches.
“You would like the worst team at home, but in the FA Cup there is no such thing as a worst team because all of a sudden they get an extra bit of strength and quality and that’s the beauty of it.”
Adam Birchall, currently on loan at Dartford, is cup tied for the Darts as is the agreement in his deal, and Taylor said there is every chance that when his deal expires he could well represent the Gills at a later stage in the competition, should they get there.
He said: “Unless you let players go for the whole year that’s the only time you let them play in the Cup.
"We are waiting for the draw, hopefully it’s a good one and we’re still in it in January and if Adam comes back he might be involved.
“As soon as Dartford play, Adam can play and we haven’t got a game, then I’ll be there.”
Adam Barrett, who has enjoyed his fair share of glamorous cup ties in the past, says he will definitely be watching the draw and is hoping for a home tie.
He said: “I will definitely be listening to it, it’s a special competition – especially the era that I grew up in, it was the be all and end all to win the FA Cup.
“It’s got that magic about it and every year you have the lesser clubs giant killing and that’s what is so special about it.
“A home tie would be lovely because you don’t want to be going to the non-league clubs away from home because they are tough places to go and get results.
“We are in no other competitions this year so if we can get to the third round and get one of the big boys that would be great.
“If we get through then I’ve never played at Anfield so that would be a nice one, I’ve played at most of the London clubs and the Midland clubs so Liverpool would be a good tie but in the first round you want to avoid a potential banana skin.”
Find out who the Gills draw later on via the official website.