Gillingham fans could be forgiven for abandoning hope after the FA Cup exit at home to Dover, but our Jury are not completely convinced Crewe will inflict more misery on Hessenthaler's side.

ALEX SARSON

(Wellingborough)

"I’ve lost patience and was left feeling completely embarrassed and angry at the performance after the Dover game. I thought this may have subsided during the week but due to the actions and reactions of the club to the feedback from the fans, I’m still appalled.

"We’re in a position now where we’re at the bottom end of League 2, playing so poorly I don’t see a better performance coming anytime this side of Christmas or even after it, with no money to make any improvements to the squad and nobody in the squad that could ease the wage burden by leaving – as nobody wants them – except for maybe Jack Payne. All the talk of promotion seems to have changed to a fear of relegation.

"Our manager is a legendary player for the club and his years of service will always be treasured as some of the greatest times at the club, however right now it’s clear he doesn’t have what it takes.

"The one thing I thought he would bring back to our team was a fight and spirit of old but that idea seems further away now than it was under Stimson. Can I see him leaving? No, not at all after his comments right after the Dover game and I doubt we’ll see Scally sack him either.

"As for the media blackout, that’s a childish and ridiculous thing to do. This cuts off the remaining communication line to the fans, making us feel even more out in the cold.

"Crewe will beat us convincingly and we will continue to drop down the table. I’ll happily be proved wrong but I doubt I will be. No amount of encouragement or fan support can fix this problem now, it’s got to come from within the club that as fans we’re not a part of anymore. We watch as bystanders rather than being a 12th man."

Prediction: Crewe 2-0 win

JIM STAPLES

(Greenwich)

"This weekend represents a massive test not just for the manager and team but also the fans.

"I think most of us have now reached breaking point and the prospect of watching another 90 minutes from those players is not something to relish. It’s crazy to think that we pay money and spend time watching this team for enjoyment – there has certainly been nothing enjoyable recently.

"Something has to change and as the manager, we need to see some ideas and leadership from Hess. That said, I’m more inclined to lay the blame firmly with the players for the current form.

"In August, I think most of us genuinely thought we had a squad in place capable of achieving automatic promotion – we haven’t sold anyone since then either.

"My only hope is that the FA Cup defeat last week was the low point – the culmination of an awful run of form and a possible turning point for the future.

"We need a win against Crewe and in the past I would have faith that the players would be smarting so bad from the Dover debacle that we’d see a determined and successful performance from them.

"I have now lost that faith. Crewe themselves have now lost four on the bounce and also lost to non-league opposition in the cup – but have scored an impressive 32 goals this season.

"Thirteen of these have come away from home and I doubt our ability to cope with them going forward."

Prediction: Gills 1 Crewe 1

PAUL BLAKELEY

(Maidstone)

"These are not fun times to be a Gills fan. Something is seriously wrong as we’ve gone from being genuine promotion candidates to inept failures.

"Everyone has to take their share of the blame but I feel the players are ultimately letting us down. They seem to do a job when everything is rosy but when the chips are down, their flaws become clear.

"Hess had success at Dover so he can’t have forgotten how to manage but he has to take some criticism – but not all of it.

"It’s hard to see where we go from here, without a substantial player turn around and we just don’t have the cash to do that."

Prediction: My heart says 1-1 but my head says 1-0 to Crewe!

MELISSA GUTHRIE

(Rochester)

"After the defeat against Dover, it would be easy to say another defeat is in the cards with confidence and quality performances at an all-time low.

"The display against Dover was dire with no heart and no inventiveness bar a couple of players. I left as despondent as the final day of last season.

"On top of a string of bad results, the injury and loan list has left Gills without enough senior players for an 18-man squad. The optimist in me believes that we will scrape a draw.

"Maybe the loss to Dover and the lack of substitutes to fall back on will be what the players need to help them band together and truly start to feel like a team for the first time."

Prediction: Gillingham 1 Crewe 1

SAM LIVINGSTONE

(Pangbourne)

"As a Gillingham fan for life, I have to say that we are in the second most precarious position ever, beaten only by that last day match against Halifax.

"We have got seemingly no money, and our team is playing abysmally while injuries continue to cripple us. Hessenthaler and Scally seem to have lost the support of the fans and interest and crowds are beginning to dwindle, whilst we got thumped by a club two leagues below us.

"At the moment ahead of the match against Crewe we only have 14 squad players fit and three of those are goalkeepers. The worst thing that Hessenthaler can do though is try and rush people back to fitness too quickly or make rash signings which do not have the required quality.

"It really is a make or break period starting from this home game with Crewe. We need to get a few wins chalked up so we can start moving up the table, and most importantly we need to win AWAY or we can say goodbye to any hopes of promotion and steel ourselves for yet another relegation battle.

"Nutter being out could be a blessing-in-disguise as I am very excited about the potential of Kennedy and Nutter has been woeful of late.

"So, I am going to be optimistic and say that we are going to bounce back with a morale-boosting win as we seem to perform much better when our backs are against the wall.

"However I cannot see our defense being able to withstand any attack at the moment."

Prediction: A 2-1 win for Gills, with Inkango and Cody scoring early, with Clayton Donaldson getting a late goal to make Priestfield very nervous late on.

... and Crewe fan

JACK JONES

"Well after four defeats on the spin including an FA Cup humiliation to Tamworth, Crewe make another trip to play Gillingham who have also had a poor run of results lately, with no win in five, not to mention their even bigger humiliation at the hands of Dover.

"It's a big game for both clubs who are in desperate need of a win to stop the rot.

"The Gills have what seems to be a major injury crisis with half the team injured whereas the Alex have a small injury list with only two players carrying knocks.

"I think a defeat could spell the end of Andy Hessentalher's reign at Gillingham."

Prediction: A 3-1 win to the Alex with Shaun Miller, Luke Murphy and Dave Artell scoring for Crewe and McDonald scoring for the Gills