v Millwall (A) Match Thread

[Ramarena]

Balance of the midfield is completely wrong, which is exaggerating the problems in other areas primarily the center of the defence.

We have struggled to get the blend right in midfield for a good number of years now. The only time we cracked it was the Thorne, Hughes, Bryson trio, but that didn’t last long.

if lamps can get that midfield right then he’s won half the battle!

 

sadly I don’t think we have the personnel at the club to get it right at present

[BramcoteRam84]

Positives yesterday are we seemed really strong in the second half and controlled the game. This is what we’ve lacked so far this season. But we’ve got to start quicker and can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot.

Really thought after Oldham he would stick with Evans and Johnson in the two, with Mount advanced. I think we need to go to this to get more midfield balance. Mount is not box to box, he’s a 10 and when he plays deep you lose his impact. Bryson gets bullied when deep so I’d have dropped him.

We need Davies back along with Huddlestone then I think we’ll be stronger. It’s going to take time, we’ll be inconsistent and give away daft goals. We need to be patient but I can see what Lampard is trying to do and I think eventually he’ll succeed if we back him, even if at the moment his tactics seem a bit naive (they will be he’s only 4 games in).

As an aside, Really hope Fozzy has turned the corner, yesterday listening it sounded like the old Fozzy when he was the best left back in the league. 

[twinthe_12]

Frank Lampard are Aabout to do the same mistanke as Rowert. Because we got no player with the overview in midfield  to captain, create and dictate the play to our wings and forwards.

We need some calm, solid and creative play and the ability to stop the uppersition way of playing.

The only one that got thise qualities are Thorne, so we need to get him in the team as soon as possible, otherwise I fear we only got a midtable place to look forward to.

Huddlestone could do some of that, but not as good as Thorne who in the last 23 game looked good.

Against Millwall I thought Bogle look a very weak and didn't deliver a single playable ball the hole game.

Put Tomori in there and get Pearce in the central defence instead.

Our bad game Vs Millwall was foremost a result of the lack of a midfield presence so our defence was all yo busy to defence and create something and the only one to do that was Keogh.

[G STAR RAM]

2 hours ago, Animal is a Ram said:

Having only watched the highlights thus far - my thoughts:

Our biggest issue seems to be decision making. I get the want to play the ball all the time, but you have to know that sometimes hoofing it is the best option.

Silly individual mistakes seem to be being punished every time, and there was quite a slice of luck going Millwall's way for both goals. Poor defending for both, for sure, but you can't account for the deflection for the second one.

When we finally get on the front foot, we actually look dangerous. That move for the Nugent goal was perfect. Maybe its a belief thing? 

Does this ring true for anybody who saw the game first hand? Or am I being a little deluded? Also, does anyone have a clip of the 'offside' goal? Wasn't included in the highlights.

I would not say your view is deluded but in my opinion we got exactly what we deserved yesterday. 

Millwall got their lead and then sat back, I think if they had stayed on the front foot they would have scored again.

Despite us being on top for the last 25 minutes (it certainly wasn't the whole of the second half) they still missed the best chance when Tomori once again lost his man 3 yards out.

[Warren Hobhead]

1 hour ago, Ramarena said:

Balance of the midfield is completely wrong, which is exaggerating the problems in other areas primarily the center of the defence.

We have struggled to get the blend right in midfield for a good number of years now. The only time we cracked it was the Thorne, Hughes, Bryson trio, but that didn’t last long.

if lamps can get that midfield right then he’s won half the battle!

 

sadly I don’t think we have the personnel at the club to get it right at present

The last time the midfield were decent was Clement’s first four months with Thorne, Butterfield and Johnson. George held things deeper, but wasn’t afraid to move forward and try his luck with the other two dropping off. He was spraying diagonals and generally keeping us ticking over, it was called dull football but it had us dominating the division. Johnson was all power and aggression, chipped in with the odd goal and his left foot helped with balance. Butters scored 8 times and quite often they were bangers from nowhere that won us games - Blackburn and Hull spring to mind. He was neat and tidy, a genuine goal threat playing in and around or off Martin who led the line superbly. We also had Ince and Russell on form out wide which helped of course. 

Weirdly, we still have Thorne, Butterfield and Martin but sadly deemed not good enough by FL. I’d wager all three would have offered us more yesterday than Bryson, Waghorn or Mount. 

It’s very early days though and the hope is that it’s a transitional period where players will gel and the system becomes more familiar to this new group, but whether we like to admit it or not, there’s not been a decent performance in the first three games. Very fortunate at Reading, embarrassed by Leeds and beaten really by half time yesterday against an average Millwall. Back to back home games gives us a chance to kick start the season I suppose. But if FL insists on not playing a genuine holding player, that system looks shot to me. I’m not a big admirer of Huddlestone but he’s a huge miss in this shape. If only Thorne was fit.......

[SaintRam]

Tomori had a better game than it appeared imo. 

Yes, he shouldn't have fouled the player for the FK they scored their first goal from.

But other than that, he had a couple poor clearances and a freak OG deflection against a fairly steady game of good tackling, and pretty steady passing.

Keogh's pass % was above 90% in this game too. A vast improvement on the previous two games. He was actually very steady against Millwall. I don't agree with whoscored that Tomori was better than him.

But ofc stats only tell part of a story, by contrast, Mllwalls CB Hutchinson had a pass completion of 48% - which is simply what you get from just hoofing it away.

The defense giving the ball to Millwall was not as big of a problem as it had been in the previous games. In that regard, Carson was our biggest villain. But in truth, the real issue was the lack of urgency, energy and effort. Millwall players were sauntering into space around our defenders and had a lot of time to do what they want.

FL said it himself post-match. They didn't change any tactics at all in the second half, but we were on top for the full 45 because suddenly the players had a level of urgency, and were getting to loose balls first. They need to find that from the first minute, until they do, all analysis of tactics is irrelevant because we'll get battered regardless of how we set up.

['Rambe33]

3 minutes ago, SaintRam said:

Tomori had a better game than it appeared imo. 

Yes, he shouldn't have fouled the player for the FK they scored their first goal from.

But other than that, he had a couple poor clearances and a freak OG deflection against a fairly steady game of good tackling, and pretty steady passing.

Keogh's pass % was above 90% in this game too. A vast improvement on the previous two games. He was actually very steady against Millwall. I don't agree with whoscored that Tomori was better than him.

But ofc stats only tell part of a story, by contrast, Mllwalls CB Hutchinson had a pass completion of 48% - which is simply what you get from just hoofing it away.

The defense giving the ball to Millwall was not as big of a problem as it had been in the previous games. In that regard, Carson was our biggest villain. But in truth, the real issue was the lack of urgency, energy and effort. Millwall players were sauntering into space around our defenders and had a lot of time to do what they want.

FL said it himself post-match. They didn't change any tactics at all in the second half, but we were on top for the full 45 because suddenly the players had a level of urgency, and were getting to loose balls first. They need to find that from the first minute, until they do, all analysis of tactics is irrelevant because we'll get battered regardless of how we set up.

I thought Tomori was really poor. Not just giving away the free-kick but for such a big lad, he was effortlessly knocked off the ball countless times by Lee Gregory. I thought he was encouraging against Leeds even though we conceded 4 but looked so inexperienced in his battle with the Millwall lad. 

Against a Millwall I would have played Wisdom at right back. Bogle looked lightweight but he all game he wanted the ball which was commendable, just lacked quality with his crossing in the end. 

Keogh first half after a rocky start, began to find Waghorn with some decent quick balls into his feet which is where he can be useful. They need to trust each other more on the ball and play it earlier. 

We could have easily got an equaliser in the game. Fozzy was really good when he came on as was Nugent. 

You are spot on with the lack of urgency and tempo in there. That killed us. If you strip the game down if you don't apply basics and play with a determination to win/don;t concede you are fighting a losing battle. The first goal was so soft and all it needed was someone to take responsibility and defend it properly. 

It was very reminiscent of the away game early on last year against Sheff Utd where we'd lost he game in the first 30minutes with silly individual errors. 

At the game I was disappointed but I'm still not overly concerned. We still have Big Tom and Curtis Davies to come back in. These two are a huge part of our spine and add experience and leadership as well as quality. Two home games to put some points on the board, a real opportunity for the them. However if we don't pick up points then I'll be a little more concerned. 

Intrigued to see what FL goes with tomorrow line up wise. 

[SaintRam]

Just now, 'Rambe33 said:

I thought Tomori was really poor. Not just giving away the free-kick but for such a big lad, he was effortlessly knocked off the ball countless times by Lee Gregory. I thought he was encouraging against Leeds even though we conceded 4 but looked so inexperienced in his battle with the Millwall lad. 

Against a Millwall I would have played Wisdom at right back. Bogle looked lightweight but he all game he wanted the ball which was commendable, just lacked quality with his crossing in the end. 

Keogh first half after a rocky start, began to find Waghorn with some decent quick balls into his feet which is where he can be useful. They need to trust each other more on the ball and play it earlier. 

We could have easily got an equaliser in the game. Fozzy was really good when he came on as was Nugent. 

You are spot on with the lack of urgency and tempo in there. That killed us. If you strip the game down if you don't apply basics and play with a determination to win/don;t concede you are fighting a losing battle. The first goal was so soft and all it needed was someone to take responsibility and defend it properly. 

It was very reminiscent of the away game early on last year against Sheff Utd where we'd lost he game in the first 30minutes with silly individual errors. 

At the game I was disappointed but I'm still not overly concerned. We still have Big Tom and Curtis Davies to come back in. These two are a huge part of our spine and add experience and leadership as well as quality. Two home games to put some points on the board, a real opportunity for the them. However if we don't pick up points then I'll be a little more concerned. 

Intrigued to see what FL goes with tomorrow line up wise. 

You could very well be right about the lack of strength. I'll be honest, my internet connection was quite poor on Sat,  so I didn't get a very good grasp of what was happening when players battled for the ball, they just kind of merged into one pixel blob. 

It was easy to tell when no-one was making any effort to get to the ball though, so that really stood out.

[Nuwtfly]

Just rewatching the game in full now. First half n’all. That midfield three have absolutly no idea what they’re doing at the minute, do they? ?‍♂️

[Nuwtfly]

43 minutes ago, Nuwtfly said:

Just rewatching the game in full now. First half n’all. That midfield three have absolutly no idea what they’re doing at the minute, do they? ?‍♂️

Watching this back; I’m not worried. Loads of positives to take from this game. Bogle has so much potential. Tomori actually had a pretty decent game over all. Keogh alright too. If we can just get that midfield balance right and a decent playmaker in there, we’ll be flying. Definitely enough quality in this team to do something.

[Tamworthram]

1 hour ago, SaintRam said:

Tomori had a better game than it appeared imo. 

Yes, he shouldn't have fouled the player for the FK they scored their first goal from.

But other than that, he had a couple poor clearances and a freak OG deflection against a fairly steady game of good tackling, and pretty steady passing.

Keogh's pass % was above 90% in this game too. A vast improvement on the previous two games. He was actually very steady against Millwall. I don't agree with whoscored that Tomori was better than him.

But ofc stats only tell part of a story, by contrast, Mllwalls CB Hutchinson had a pass completion of 48% - which is simply what you get from just hoofing it away.

The defense giving the ball to Millwall was not as big of a problem as it had been in the previous games. In that regard, Carson was our biggest villain. But in truth, the real issue was the lack of urgency, energy and effort. Millwall players were sauntering into space around our defenders and had a lot of time to do what they want.

FL said it himself post-match. They didn't change any tactics at all in the second half, but we were on top for the full 45 because suddenly the players had a level of urgency, and were getting to loose balls first. They need to find that from the first minute, until they do, all analysis of tactics is irrelevant because we'll get battered regardless of how we set up.

Gave away the foul for the free kick. Conceded an own goal. A couple of poor clearances. If that had been Keogh there'd be another dozen pages on the "Keogh, always got a mistake in him" thread and the lynch mob would be back out in force.

 

[Stripperg-ram]

Have just got back from a festival so completely missed everything to do with the game....

despite the loss do I take it that there were positive signs in the second half?

Also anyone know what’s happening with Thorne, Huddz and Martin? Has Frank been asked/mentioned about them and them coming back in any interviews recently?

Thanks