Millwall

[tomphil]

10 hours ago, MillwallSE16 said:

From a Millwall perspective I thought it was a pretty poor game with not much quality.

Palmer was the best player on the pitch by far, glad to see Mowbray take him off.

Thought we bossed the first 20, then you came back into it, think overall we edged the first 45 - Morison should have scored, harder to miss!

2nd half , apart from a 5-10 min spell was all Blackburn - overall 0-0 summed it up

Dack & Armstrong looked overweight (maybe it's because they are small?) 

A Mid table finish for us with such a small budget will do just fine. You'll stay up and I think you'll be competing with us for that mid table finish

And that drummer away to our left needs shooting !

Those horrendous new kits don't do the players who aren't naturally lean any favours at all and i'll stake a house on it neither are over their fighting weight so to speak, Mowbray wouldn't stand for it.

Dack is built that way and DG has bulked up a bit as a target man type adapting his game because his body won't let him do the graft and the run the channels like he used to. I'm more worried about having to rely on just these two for the main goal threats all season without any striking backup of any real championship pedigree.

[Blue blood]

13 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

Plenty of positives today. Deffo don't feel we will be involved fighting relegation at all, I don't understand why anyone think that either

 

Whilst I think we've more than enough to be fine too, to say you can't understand why anyone would think that we would be in a scrap is a little naïve or obtuse Imo.

Perhaps it's because we've failed to win vs 2 of the weaker teams in the division.

Perhaps it's because we've played well for periods of both games, indeed very arguably edged them, yet still haven't got a win.

Perhaps it's the paper thin squad where injuries to any of our key players leaves huge holes in the team (as it is we're still missing a left midfielder).

Perhaps it's because Millwall should have killed off the game before we even got started and we were lucky that they didn't.

There's been plenty of positives but let's not pretend there aren't any negatives or concerns either.

And no way was the game 50-50 bar the first 10 minutes - we offered 1 decent attack prior to the 44th minute.

[perthblue02]

35 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Those horrendous new kits don't do the players who aren't naturally lean any favours at all and i'll stake a house on it neither are over their fighting weight so to

Maybe in future before deciding which kit to go for (or which kit umbro decide the club are having  before writing the historical guff to accompany it), they should do a  fast show test with Dack modelling, does my bum look big in this

[blueboy3333]

4 minutes ago, perthblue02 said:

Maybe in future before deciding which kit to go for (or which kit umbro decide the club are having  before writing the historical guff to accompany it), they should do a  fast show test with Dack modelling, does my bum look big in this

Dack doing his initiation when he signed for Rovers.

Edited August 12, 2018 by blueboy3333

[tomphil]

2 minutes ago, perthblue02 said:

Maybe in future before deciding which kit to go for (or which kit umbro decide the club are having  before writing the historical guff to accompany it), they should do a  fast show test with Dack modelling, does my bum look big in this

They'd be better going into a local primary school with a blank piece of paper and a few coloured ( NAVY BLUE) pencils the under 10's would come up with better than that ?

[blueboy3333]

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/16413407.blackburn-rovers-0-millwall-0-player-ratings/?ref=mac

Bennet got MotM in the LT. A fair shout in that type of match, he did the hard yards so others don't have to. He's very underrated by the cognoscenti on here?

Personally I'd have gone for Lenihan.

[1864roverite]

Millwall are a solid tall hardworking unit and over ran Rovers midfield in the first half Smallwood was dragged all over the place leaving Evans and the defence exposed. Nonetheless Rovers had the chances to win it but were found wanting in front of goal DG should have scored at least 2 and squared for the easiest goal BD would ever score.

it was a hard won point in the end.

positives to take Rays didn’t have a save to make so hats off to the defence.

rothwell  and Palmer both impressed as did Evans once Smallwood was subbed.

Rovers desperately need width and a tall striker with pace.

negatives - Smallwood dragged all over and not compact enough.

some of the passing first half was dire.

finally all of the pitch invaders from the last match of last season where were you yesterday? 13000 not a good show of faith.

 

[dingles staying down 4ever]

15 minutes ago, 1864roverite said:

Millwall are a solid tall hardworking unit and over ran Rovers midfield in the first half Smallwood was dragged all over the place leaving Evans and the defence exposed. Nonetheless Rovers had the chances to win it but were found wanting in front of goal DG should have scored at least 2 and squared for the easiest goal BD would ever score.

it was a hard won point in the end.

positives to take Rays didn’t have a save to make so hats off to the defence.

rothwell  and Palmer both impressed as did Evans once Smallwood was subbed.

Rovers desperately need width and a tall striker with pace.

negatives - Smallwood dragged all over and not compact enough.

some of the passing first half was dire.

finally all of the pitch invaders from the last match of last season where were you yesterday? 13000 not a good show of faith.

 

I actually think that although Smallwood did get pulled out of position easily I think Mowbray got his tactics wrong in the first half playing too wide. Once both Palmer and Bennett played a little narrower in the 2nd half we started to get a stranglehold of the game. The sacrifice in width though caused us problems as the full backs need to get forward quicker.

Rothwell looked OK for 10 minutes then disappeared and am not sure of Palmer as he looked like a player who will beat a player once then try and beat them again. He needs to concentrate on the basics first.

[Mattyblue]

1,500 up on the equivalent game last season.

With the price rises and expectations of a fairly average season, as much as we’d all wish to see a load more of the 27,000 trap, did anyone really expect much more of a crowd than what we saw?

At least we now seem to be approaching the levels that we had prior to the Coyle induced nosedive in crowds that saw us struggling to reach five figures...

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, blueboy3333 said:

Did you go on yesterday?

No, I couldn't get a bus from Granada to Blackburn.

[DE.]

45 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/16413407.blackburn-rovers-0-millwall-0-player-ratings/?ref=mac

Bennet got MotM in the LT. A fair shout in that type of match, he did the hard yards so others don't have to. He's very underrated by the cognoscenti on here?

Personally I'd have gone for Lenihan.

Bennett is a great player to have in the team, but his position is clearly in the middle. He hasn't really got the pace or crossing ability to be effective out wide, but in the middle his constant running never gives the opposition a second to think. He's got a decent footballing brain on him as well so tends to make good passes rather than poor ones. 

The main advantage to playing him out wide is that obviously he provides good cover for the full back, due to his stamina and good reading of the game, but it essentially leaves us void of any real wide threat on whatever side he's on - save for when the full backs overlap.

[Mattyblue]

Think it’s probably time to move Bennett into the middle at the expense of Smallwood.

Richie did a job at League 1 level, but the extra bit of nous and pace that many of those he’s going up against at this level have I feel will leave him exposed.

[K-Hod]

First half an hour, Millwall absolutely battered us. The last 5 minutes of the first half and the second half, we were much better. Graham missed two good chances and Mulgrew didn’t slot two free kicks, both unlike them. There were some things to be positive about, but there’s certainly room for improvement. 

Ultimately, we just needed to be more ruthless today.

[blueboy3333]

7 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

No, I couldn't get a bus from Granada to Blackburn.

You'd have no idea whether we are going to finish bottom 6 or not then based on a performance you didn't see,

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, blueboy3333 said:

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/16413407.blackburn-rovers-0-millwall-0-player-ratings/?ref=mac

Bennet got MotM in the LT. A fair shout in that type of match, he did the hard yards so others don't have to. He's very underrated by the cognoscenti on here?

Personally I'd have gone for Lenihan.

From the last year, it was a perfect example of an Elliott Bennett performance.

Everything you expect from him, chasing back, flying into tackles, tenacious, hard working, lots of running, getting the crowd onside.

But on the flip side, he is playing as a winger. He offered nothing from an attacking perspective. He had one wayward long range shot and his crossing was really poor and just what their 2 centre backs wanted.

As much as he warrants praise for the former, he needs questioning on the latter. Last season his positive attacking contributions were pitifully low, hence not scoring until Wimbledon away. And that was in League 1. He definitely can score goals as he proved in the second half of the season when we last were a Championship club. He also needs to be a bit more imaginative, aimless crosses to 6 foot odd centre backs are easy to defend.

We've never had the pacy Elliott Bennett of his Norwich days before his serious injury. There will be tough away games where Mowbray will be keen to play him wide just to nullify offensive threats of the opponent. But in most games, especially home, I would like to think that if he doesnt improve offensively, with some of the attacking players we have already and also the couple we will presumably bring in, Bennett will not be an automatic pick wide, even if that means playing him in centre midfield where there is less onus on him scoring/assisting, and with big question marks over Smallwood and his ability to step up.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, blueboy3333 said:

You'd have no idea whether we are going to finish bottom 6 or not then based on a performance you didn't see,

That's true but I'm allowed to speculate regarding the relative abilities of the various teams in the league. Just my opinion of course. My youngest son watches our games on a medium I'd rather not discuss here. I get a full match report from him whilst I'm away.

Where do you think we'll finish ? 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[chaddyrovers]

3 hours ago, Blue blood said:

Whilst I think we've more than enough to be fine too, to say you can't understand why anyone would think that we would be in a scrap is a little naïve or obtuse Imo.

Perhaps it's because we've failed to win vs 2 of the weaker teams in the division.

Perhaps it's because we've played well for periods of both games, indeed very arguably edged them, yet still haven't got a win.

Perhaps it's the paper thin squad where injuries to any of our key players leaves huge holes in the team (as it is we're still missing a left midfielder).

Perhaps it's because Millwall should have killed off the game before we even got started and we were lucky that they didn't.

There's been plenty of positives but let's not pretend there aren't any negatives or concerns either.

And no way was the game 50-50 bar the first 10 minutes - we offered 1 decent attack prior to the 44th minute.

Firstly, I don't think Millwall are one of the weaker teams in the league. I expect them to be mid table. big strong physical team with plan A and they know how to play down to a tee. And All credit to Harris and his players. Its a very simple Plan A away from home and after 65 mins they shut up shop and took the point. We struggled to break them down after this. Now Ipswich on the otherhand I think are one of the weaker team in this league and it took a freak/lucky goal for them to get a point. 

 

1 hour ago, dingles staying down 4ever said:

I actually think that although Smallwood did get pulled out of position easily I think Mowbray got his tactics wrong in the first half playing too wide. Once both Palmer and Bennett played a little narrower in the 2nd half we started to get a stranglehold of the game. The sacrifice in width though caused us problems as the full backs need to get forward quicker.

Rothwell looked OK for 10 minutes then disappeared and am not sure of Palmer as he looked like a player who will beat a player once then try and beat them again. He needs to concentrate on the basics first.

agree on Palmer and Bennett playing more inside second half and gave us 25 mins of pressure. 

On Rothwell looks good. tricky and pace. Did faded but I put that down to Millwall tactics

1 hour ago, K-Hod said:

First half an hour, Millwall absolutely battered us. The last 5 minutes of the first half and the second half, we were much better. Graham missed two good chances and Mulgrew didn’t slot two free kicks, both unlike them. There were some things to be positive about, but there’s certainly room for improvement. 

Ultimately, we just needed to be more ruthless today.

They had 2 shots that hit the post but that's it. Raya had a quiet afternoon really otherwise. Battered us abit OTT Comment

34 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

From the last year, it was a perfect example of an Elliott Bennett performance.

Everything you expect from him, chasing back, flying into tackles, tenacious, hard working, lots of running, getting the crowd onside.

But on the flip side, he is playing as a winger. He offered nothing from an attacking perspective. He had one wayward long range shot and his crossing was really poor and just what their 2 centre backs wanted.

As much as he warrants praise for the former, he needs questioning on the latter. Last season his positive attacking contributions were pitifully low, hence not scoring until Wimbledon away. And that was in League 1. He definitely can score goals as he proved in the second half of the season when we last were a Championship club. He also needs to be a bit more imaginative, aimless crosses to 6 foot odd centre backs are easy to defend.

We've never had the pacy Elliott Bennett of his Norwich days before his serious injury. There will be tough away games where Mowbray will be keen to play him wide just to nullify offensive threats of the opponent. But in most games, especially home, I would like to think that if he doesnt improve offensively, with some of the attacking players we have already and also the couple we will presumably bring in, Bennett will not be an automatic pick wide, even if that means playing him in centre midfield where there is less onus on him scoring/assisting, and with big question marks over Smallwood and his ability to step up.

I agree with Rich Sharpe that Bennett was man of the match. I said he was my man of the match yesterday night. For all the things Bennett does in games and was everywhere yesterday and didn't even want to come off

Would it surprise you if I told you he was joint 3rd in assist last season. The same as Mulgrew and Williams. Dack had 9 last season

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/blackburn-rovers/leistungsdaten/verein/164/plus/1?reldata=GB3%262017

Bennett knows his role when he played wide whether he need to cover the full back or come inside cos we being over run in there whilst Palmer or Armstrong wouldn't. Neither did Chapman. 

 

 

 

[chaddyrovers]

12 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

That's true but I'm allowed to speculate regarding the relative abilities of the various teams in the league. Just my opinion of course. My youngest son watches our games on a medium I'd rather not discuss here. I get a full match report from him whilst I'm away.

Where do you think we'll finish ? 

do you not think Rotherham, Ipswich, Birmingham, QPR, Hull City, plus a couple more have worst squad than our and quality?

[Ewood Ace]

16 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

do you not think Rotherham, Ipswich, Birmingham, QPR, Hull City, plus a couple more have worst squad than our and quality?

It's not always the worst squads that go down though or the best squads that win things. Did we have one of the 3 worst squads when we went down? In my opinion no. Did Leicester have the best squad when they won the league? Again I would say no. But games of football aren't played on paper and our squad is only slightly better than the one that went down last time.

[roversfan99]

23 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Firstly, I don't think Millwall are one of the weaker teams in the league. I expect them to be mid table. big strong physical team with plan A and they know how to play down to a tee. And All credit to Harris and his players. Its a very simple Plan A away from home and after 65 mins they shut up shop and took the point. We struggled to break them down after this. Now Ipswich on the otherhand I think are one of the weaker team in this league and it took a freak/lucky goal for them to get a point. 

 

agree on Palmer and Bennett playing more inside second half and gave us 25 mins of pressure. 

On Rothwell looks good. tricky and pace. Did faded but I put that down to Millwall tactics

They had 2 shots that hit the post but that's it. Raya had a quiet afternoon really otherwise. Battered us abit OTT Comment

I agree with Rich Sharpe that Bennett was man of the match. I said he was my man of the match yesterday night. For all the things Bennett does in games and was everywhere yesterday and didn't even want to come off

Would it surprise you if I told you he was joint 3rd in assist last season. The same as Mulgrew and Williams. Dack had 9 last season

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/blackburn-rovers/leistungsdaten/verein/164/plus/1?reldata=GB3%262017

Bennett knows his role when he played wide whether he need to cover the full back or come inside cos we being over run in there whilst Palmer or Armstrong wouldn't. Neither did Chapman. 

 

 

 

No I know that but having equal assists as Derrick Williams is nothing to shout home about!

I am acknowledging what he brings to the team, whilst suggesting that his qualities are in the main, defensive ones. Repeating his defensive strengths and reiterating his modest total of assists have done nothing to convince me otherwise, and in your team v Hull you've moved Bennett back into the middle to allow for Armstrong, which is inconsistent of your comment saying that Bennett should play wide over Armstrong to cover the full back.

If that was the case chaddy, why did Mowbray play Armstrong wide for half of last season, and Palmer there yesterday? Obviously has some trust in them going back.

[DE.]

31 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Now Ipswich on the otherhand I think are one of the weaker team in this league and it took a freak/lucky goal for them to get a point. 

Don't kid yourself into thinking it was all down to luck. The goal itself was a bit of a fluke, but the reason Ipswich scored is because we reverted to type and allowed them to come closer and closer to our goal. Had we been less cowardly and kept Dack on we likely would have won and maybe scored another. 

We saw another Mowbray special on Saturday during the first half - a Rovers team that looks like they stumbled out of a pub for the first 45 then suddenly hugely improve for the second half. That has been happening since Mowbray arrived and it's concerning that he evidently still hadn't worked out how to fix it. We got away with it last season because we were playing shit teams, and yesterday we had luck and the post on our side. As the season goes on though we will get found out if we aren't able to play for the full 90 minutes. It'll be no good starting to play in the second half if we're already two or three down. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

do you not think Rotherham, Ipswich, Birmingham, QPR, Hull City, plus a couple more have worst squad than our and quality?

It's not always about who has the best squad, it's about who can get the best out of them. Rotherham were dead and buried when Warnock came him. He kept the same players up. Same with us after the Paul Ince disaster. We had one foot in the next division down. Big Sam kept us up comfortably.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[chaddyrovers]

54 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

No I know that but having equal assists as Derrick Williams is nothing to shout home about!

I am acknowledging what he brings to the team, whilst suggesting that his qualities are in the main, defensive ones. Repeating his defensive strengths and reiterating his modest total of assists have done nothing to convince me otherwise, and in your team v Hull you've moved Bennett back into the middle to allow for Armstrong, which is inconsistent of your comment saying that Bennett should play wide over Armstrong to cover the full back.

If that was the case chaddy, why did Mowbray play Armstrong wide for half of last season, and Palmer there yesterday? Obviously has some trust in them going back.

And the same assists as Mulgrew with you seem dismiss don't you? 

Ive moved Bennett in the centre midfield role due to Smallwood poor form and its a game I would expect to win and get 3 points. I wouldn't want Whittingham in there and Travis is unlucky to not be in my team but Rothwell performance yesterday push me to pick him. 

Bennett will play wide in some away and home games which his defensive abilities will be needed. 

Why did Palmer come off yesterday? 

58 minutes ago, Ewood Ace said:

It's not always the worst squads that go down though or the best squads that win things. Did we have one of the 3 worst squads when we went down? In my opinion no. Did Leicester have the best squad when they won the league? Again I would say no. But games of football aren't played on paper and our squad is only slightly better than the one that went down last time.

very true and I cant agree with your points

50 minutes ago, DE. said:

Don't kid yourself into thinking it was all down to luck. The goal itself was a bit of a fluke, but the reason Ipswich scored is because we reverted to type and allowed them to come closer and closer to our goal. Had we been less cowardly and kept Dack on we likely would have won and maybe scored another. 

We saw another Mowbray special on Saturday during the first half - a Rovers team that looks like they stumbled out of a pub for the first 45 then suddenly hugely improve for the second half. That has been happening since Mowbray arrived and it's concerning that he evidently still hadn't worked out how to fix it. We got away with it last season because we were playing shit teams, and yesterday we had luck and the post on our side. As the season goes on though we will get found out if we aren't able to play for the full 90 minutes. It'll be no good starting to play in the second half if we're already two or three down. 

Do you know why Dack went off? 

How many Championship teams can give 90 minutes performances? 

[Vinjay]

14 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

It's not always about who has the best squad, it's about who can get the best out of them. Rotherham were dead and buried when Warnock came him. He kept the same players up. Same with us after the Paul Ince disaster. We had one foot in the next division down. Big Sam kept us up comfortably.

Rovers were not "dead and buried" that's for sure hence why the club had 5 months to rectify things. Turns out it didn't require that much time. That squad was good enough for PL level whoever the manager was (though Allardyce was obviously better than Ince) don't feel it was the same at all. Rotherham went down the following season that said just as much about the squad as the manager. If Allardyce had quit in summer of 2009 who's to say 2009-10 would have worked out much differently? Barring of course another bad manager like Ince and let's not pretend that wasn't a possibility. It was a bit different at WBA as Pulis was in the role too long, needed replacing but someone worse took over. 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Vinjay17

[roversfan99]

10 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

And the same assists as Mulgrew with you seem dismiss don't you? 

Ive moved Bennett in the centre midfield role due to Smallwood poor form and its a game I would expect to win and get 3 points. I wouldn't want Whittingham in there and Travis is unlucky to not be in my team but Rothwell performance yesterday push me to pick him. 

Bennett will play wide in some away and home games which his defensive abilities will be needed. 

Why did Palmer come off yesterday? 

very true and I cant agree with your points

Do you know why Dack went off? 

How many Championship teams can give 90 minutes performances? 

Mulgrew is a centre back, yes he takes set pieces but is better at trying to score himself from them.

Rest of your Bennett comments, in terms of filling in different roles dependant on the opponent, I agree with. But hes a defensive player at the moment that needs to do more attacking, obviously you have much lower standards of what you expect from him going forward which is fair enough.

Presumably Palmer came off because firstly hes not fully match fit yet, and nothing he tried really came off for all of his obvious talent and he started leaving his position.

Dack went off to be replaced by Conway in a defensive move that didnt work.

Also, regarding our difference in opinion in terms of our first half performance, with you thinking we were good after 10 minutes and I thought we were awful all half, Mowbray said the following:

"Fair play to Millwall. They have a way of playing and they make life really difficult for you," Mowbray reflected after the game.

"The game didn't have much fluency to it and the first 45 minutes was a real none-event for us to be completely honest.

"They hit the post twice and we could have found ourselves behind. We couldn't get out of our half in the first half."

I fully agree with Mowbray who also seems unimpressed with us in the first half, and Graham mentioned he had words at half time. Glad you didnt do the team talk as youd have been telling them well played!

Edited August 12, 2018 by roversfan99