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When this news was announced there was audible groans from the small band of travelling Gills fans who were hoping against hope to see Gills win in the Galpharm Stadium.

Their away record up to that game was about as poor as you can get with just one point from one miserable draw and nine losses. Make those ten losses after another mauling but more of this later.

Alan (pictured above) was going to be playing his first game since being ignominiously substituted at Priestfield against Hartlepool last August. Presumably this was after a half time rollicking by manager Mark Stimson for not following orders.

On that Saturday night, the various Gills message boards went into overdrive with the majority of posters being highly critical of Julian, and with some deploring Stimson’s man motivation techniques.

Permanent bench warmer, Alan Julian, who I must say always looked impressive to me during pre-match warm-ups, at last had his chance to shine and perhaps silence his critics.

Alan Julian was reasonably confident and performed well in the face of the top scorers in League One who have a well balanced and formidable strike force.

But did Julian’s match performance silence his detractors? No it didn’t.

It just wasn’t the small minority watching in Huddersfield that Julian had to convince but also the silent minority of Gills followers who are seated behind keyboards in the comfort of their bedrooms and who are posting their sometimes scathing, and bordering on libelous, criticisms to the various on-line fan forums.

I’m not saying that this is right or wrong, libelous notwithstanding, because football is all about opinions and if the keyboard warrior believes that Allan Julian, or any of the Gills players for that matter, requires his/hers particular form of constructive or even destructive criticism then so be it.

The trouble is that the Gills Chairman, Paul Scally (pictured left) Gills manager and players often browse these forums after the games and it is an obvious source of predictable banter.

The comments can often be cruel, abusive and patently not true in certain circumstances.

However the player concerned, upon reading, must and very possibly be affected in some way. Not in a positive sense of that I’m sure -cyber bullying at it’s best and worst.

Manager Mark Stimson plus Gills players Alan Julian, Mark McCammon (below right), Adam Miller (below middle) and lately Kevin Maher (below left) have been regularly targeted in the forums and why not? - You might say.

In reality Alan Julian hasn’t done much wrong, apart from winning the manager’s vote at the start of the season in front of firm favourite and Player of the Year, Simon Royce.  You would have difficulty using fingers on one hand counting the number of games Julian has started over the last two seasons but still he has his detractors and cyber bullies.

I can remember one Christmas fixture at Dagenham when Alan Julian was in the Gills goal. He had a poor game letting Paul Benson hit a cross shot under his body for a Dagenham goal. Anyone can have a poor game but not our Julian it seems, as the cyber abuse was intense on that Boxing Day night in what should be a season of goodwill to all men.

Gills striker Mark McCammon has taken flak for his abysmal record in front of goal and it’s not difficult to see why as even I cannot remember when he last scored. The silent majority of Gills fans possibly feel that he puts himself about and tries his hardest despite his lack of hitting the back of the net.

However, the more vociferous of the Gllls fans, via the keyboard, have mercilessly made him into a fun figure. So much so that he begins games, normally from the bench, with an awkward and nervous look at the Medway Stand before starting his individual looping running action into the fray.

His cause wasn’t helped when manager Mark Stimson said of Big Mac “He is in the form of his life”. Presumably in his dreams but more of Stimson later.

Another soon to be leaving Gills player, Adam Miller (left in his long hair period) has been hounded by the secret keyboard warriors. Adam is a regular reader of forums and has probably been told by friends and well meaning colleagues that the posters are in a small, very small, minority. However, it must still hurt and dent personal confidence.

This is especially so if you were a Gills player and you continually read that you should be playing non-league or for the local pub side. Adam Miller did crack at one stage and mouthed the words “Fcuk Off” to the very fans he was seeking support. It goes without saying that the cyber keyboard warriors were hard at it following the game.

If this appears a case of the stereotypical “noisy, nasty minority” it is one with a very modern twist. In my father’s generation, during the 50's and 60’s it would need dozens and dozens of fans to communicate a message from the Priestfield terraces.

Nowadays all it takes is an anonymous handful and the touch of a keyboard button to possibly drive a Gills player into asking for a transfer as both Adam Miller and Alan Julian have.

Kevin Maher (right) is the latest Gills player to have both a section of the Medway Stand and Gordon Road stands shouting the odds at him and a good measure of cyber bullying. It has been taking its toll from his collection of poor performances this season.

The Leyton Orient game increased its volume as Kevin reached new depths of mediocre play that he continued in the following game at home against Oldham. When substituted at both games there were cheers from the Gills crowd.

The look poor Kevin gave when trudging off was not one of love for the fans and the cyber bullies took up the case later. Perhaps the lesson leant here is for the Gills player not to react as this gives ammunition to fire back.

Manager Mark Stimson has had his detractors since his appointment and not without cause. He is seen by many as a saviour and a manager of change when taking over from Ronnie Jepson and inheriting his bunch of oldies.

However there are others that claim the opposite and that he has no tactical sense and his man management skills are non-existent.

I have my own opinion of Mark but would rather let the facts speak for themselves in the first instance before commenting below in true cyber bullying fashion.

Mark Stimson has now been in charge at Priestfield for two years. Here is the factual information relating to his Gill's teams performance on the field under his management up to and including 12 December 2009.

2007-08        Home: Won 6 / Drawn 7 / Lost 5 / For 20 / Against 15

                     Away: Won 2 / Drawn 4 / Lost 12 / For 18 / Against 35

2008-09        Home: Won 14 / Drawn 8 / Lost 7 / For 42 / Against 26

                     Away: Won 11 / Drawn 6 / Lost 9 / For 23 / Against 35

2009-10        Home: Won 10 / Drawn 2 / Lost 3 / For 25 / Against 11

                     Away: Won 0 / Drawn 1 / Lost 10 / For 8 / Against 26

TOTAL:        Home: Won 30 / Drawn 17 / Lost 15 / For 87 / Against 52

                     Away: Won 13 / Drawn 11 / Lost 31 / For 49 / Against 96

Gills record in Division One under Mark Stimson is as follows:

                     Home: Won 14 / Drawn 9 / Lost 8 / For 41 / Against 26

                     Away: Won 2 / Drawn 5 / Lost 22 / For 26 / Against 61

TOTAL Division One record: Won 16 / Drawn 14 / Lost 30 / F67 / A87

Only two wins away from home in Division One, winning 3-2 at Crewe on 4 December 2007 and our last Division One away win on 12 January 2008 when we won 3-1 at Huddersfield.

Now my view is that this is a truly appalling record and whether Gills have finances or not, only two away wins in 29 attempts is poor by any standards. Put another way that is 87 points on offer and Gills, under Stimson, have only gained 11 of them. Relegation form by any standards.

He is a tough nut and is probably not bothered about anything written on a fans forum. So we won’t be getting a resignation letter just yet!

However he should be very ashamed and hang his head as it points to a complete lack of tactical awareness as proven by substitutions, playing style and team formation and selection away from the safety of Priestfield.

My contribution to the cyber debate is that away we are playing relegation football and will need a superb continuation of home displays in an effort to gain enough points to stay up.

We require at least two away wins to make this comfortable, as there are 13 home games and 14 away games left to save ourselves from the drop. Currently Gills have 22 points but are 28 points off the 50-point safety mark. This is the least number of points we require to be safe.

With seven home wins out of the 13 left plus three draws and three defeats would give Gills another 24 points = 46. Two away wins out of 14 would leave Gills comfortably over the line and League One status for next season.

Mark Stimson only has to equal his last two-year record - not much to ask for is it? He will have to learn quickly from other teams in Division One in our “mini” league as he calls it. Even Brighton have won three away and our next Priestfield opponents are bottom club Stockport who have already tasted success twice away.

Gills mentality away from Priestfield is obviously not right Stimson needs to rethink his team selection and on-field strategy and instill an attitude of not losing at any cost as seen by Carlisle when they visited us.

Managers with Mark Stimson’s record have often been sacked for less and having given him a large benefit of doubt time is fast running out for this particular cyber bully.

Won’t have the slightest influence on Chairman Paul Scally but failure to keep Gills up this season would certainly increase the amount of cyber bullying and I’ll be the first in line to have a good “pop” at Mark Stimson!

Some of the nicer comments from the cyber men:

Quite frankly I do not see McCammon as the answer to our prayers. Since he arrived at Priestfield he has failed to impress, his heading ability can only at best be described as 'average' and his fitness is certainly questionable.

I think Miller’s bad mouthing off comments will backfire against him one day. His moaning, groaning and sometimes half hearted challenges have not gone unnoticed. The fans have a love hate relationship with him, eventually got the better of him obviously, his application on the field and desire have proved his undoing.

Miller had the fcuking cheek to have a pop at the Gills fans on Radio Kent earlier in the season and told them to stay at home with their hen pecked wives.

Stimson is no better that Jepson. No doubt the Stimson brigade will be slagging me off but when you're satisfied with a half empty glass then he can do no wrong, I suppose.

Kevin Maher is a complete waste of time - comes from the Ray Wilkins school of football always bloody passing the ball sideways or backwards but never forwards.

Stimson has the tactical sense of my hamster - keep running, huffing and puffing but never getting anywhere. Last time I’m going to waste money watching them up country.

Scally lives in a tower block in Dubai having moved from a tower block in Sarf London - no class.