User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 285: MPF, Review./@comment-4047931-20120602135316/@comment-3290324-20120602142508

Well, Gildarts not being a wizard saint is easily explained. He's just not that kind of guy. He's a lazy, constantly-wandering womanizer who shirks responsibility. Something which was demonstrated with the whole guild master fiasco.

I always imagined Makarov to be quite a bit stronger but that's just my hunch.