Millwall away Saturday 12th Jan kick off 17.30

[47er]

1 hour ago, McClarky said:

Bloody awful game today but at least we showed some resilience and then exploited their edginess at the end.  

Didn't we look better when we had 2 central strikers on? Plus,great little cameo from Armstrong. And of course terrific contribution from Travis.

More of this Mr Mowbray!

[Ossydave]

I'm leaning towards a back 3 of mulgrew, Darragh and Rodders, with del boy the outlet from defence. Reminds me of Rio when he was decent and it'd be decent to have that option 

[Tugay's Right Foot]

6 minutes ago, Ossydave said:

I'm leaning towards a back 3 of mulgrew, Darragh and Rodders, with del boy the outlet from defence. Reminds me of Rio when he was decent and it'd be decent to have that option 

You are comparing Derek Williams Del Boy with Rio Ferdinand?

[bluebruce]

5 hours ago, blueboy3333 said:

LT: A late bang in the face for David Raya who is led off the pitch holding his eye stemming the flow of blood.

It must be bad if his eye has come out. Hope it's not the same injury as before. 

Not good that Raya keeps getting clattered hard in the face. I worry it will make him risk-averse.

[Bbrovers2288]

Think he was meaning rodwell, still smile off however 

[Boroblue]

4 hours ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

9 minute match report/rant from a Millwall fan driving home in his car

Linesman was bent

One word whining on an agricultural scale. 

[@roverseas]

BIg result today not only for the team but for some of the players. Nuttall getting his just deserts with a start and a goal, and Armstrong proving he can be a game changer whether its from the off or from the bench. I had my doubts prior to kick off as The Den has its reputation, and my worries grew furthermore when Dack came off. But Mowbray gets slagged off when his subs dont work, so he should get showered with plaudits for his tactical calls today... the gaffa done good. Thoughts from the gaffa, my main man Michael Avery (Millwall) fan and more. 

 

[jim mk2]

Strange evening in Cold Blow Lane

The last 5 minutes were exciting and totally unexpected after the dross that had gone on before. It was without doubt one of the dullest matches I've ever seen. Millwall and Rovers were as bad as each other and we did not even have a shot on target until we scored.

For what it's worth this is how I saw it.

Mowbray - I suppose he must take the plaudits for changing the team that led to the win but that starting XI was all wrong. Reed is not a flank player, Nyambe should have started (why didn't he BTW?) and Nuttall on that performance shouldn't be anywhere near the 1st team (why didn't Graham start?) 

Mowbray;s caution and lack of ambition was glaringly obvious today. It looked like he'd set his stall out for a draw until the final 10 minutes when we started to press and at last looked a decent side. We're so much better when we're on the front foot. I'm convinced this team is lower in the table than it should be because of Mowbray's innate conservative management style.

Raya - very good game, did nothing wrong, dealt with the few Millwall threats

Bennett - solid throughout, even more so when switched to left midfield. Mr Dependable

Lenighan - very good game, is he finally getting to grips with this division?

Rodwell - very good, with one or two moments of Premier League class

Bell - mixed bag of good and the embarrassingly bad. Millwall clearly targeted him in the first half - all their attacks were down his flank. Needs to be tougher and more physical, and trust his pace, which he has in abundance. 

Reed -  busy as always but wasted out wide, Mowbray's square pegs in round holes again. Rovers played so much better when he was switched to the middle

Travis - quiet in the first half and got better as the game wore on. Deserves to start every game at the moment

Evans - worked hard but achieved little of note

Dack - always trying to make something happen but not his best game. I wouldn't have taken him off. 

Conway - neat and tidy, didn't make any mistakes but no real threat. Mowbray really needs to find a young, fast winger

Nuttall - dear, oh dear. Why did he start ? Watched him closely and he really is not good enough. No physicality, can't play with his back to goal (he trains with Graham every day - can't he learn?), control is poor and doesn't look interested half the time. Playing him wide on the right is pointless too, because he often takes up the space Nyambe could run in to.

Subs: Nyambe - excellent, the lad has a big future. Graham - did his usual, led the line, stood strong and tall and won free kicks in the right areas of the pitch. Armstrong - very good goal and set up the first but that's his role for me, a substitute who can change a game but not a starter. 

Rovers fans -  in good voice throughout even when there's nothing to shout about in one of the most boring first 85 minutes you'll ever see.  We've still got idiots who insist on standing though, even in front of parents with young children 

Millwall fans - listening to some of the younger ones on South Bermondsey station after the game and on the train to London Bridge was interesting. They're southern , they can't help it

 

[jim mk2]

6 hours ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

We scored three points Stuart, and never looked in danger of losing away at the Den. When they start awarding points for style and ifs/maybes, your points might be valid.

 You weren't there. It was awful

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

7 hours ago, LDRover said:

I'm with the 'unpopular opinion' on Nuttall. Plenty of endeavour but very low on quality - his goal came because he actually missed the ball but I will credit him with being in the right place. If we're hanging our hat on him to be some kind of attacking answer we're going to be seriously disappointed. He's League 2 level as far as I'm concerned.

Possibly - but better suited to playing the lone role than anyone bar Graham so at this moment of time, he should be at least on the bench. 

[philipl]

7 hours ago, Mercer said:

Agree, a great result in the end with two excellent moves for the goals. 

However, no masking the fact that, IMV, as a footballing unit we were utter shyte for 85 minutes.  It is not a style of football that is going to bring the missing thousands back to Ewood. 

Travis continues to impress.  Let's hope Mowbray does not let him go out on loan but keeps him at the club and, more importantly, in the starting eleven.  The lad's got great energy, passion and footballing intelligence and can't he pick a pass!

As for Brereton, the mystery deepens.  Why the hell did we sign him and commit the club to a £10million+ deal?

However, no masking the fact that, IMV, as a footballing unit , were pretty good v Norwich, Leeds and Sheffield United for 85 minutes each. 

With regards to other posts above, I wasn't there and watched it on ifollow (on my Mac for a change) and only when Millwall were awarded their two corners did I have any anxiety about them scoring- only because they have 7 ft 10 in (or whatever they are) defenders. 

Edited January 13, 2019 by philipl

[arbitro]

It's always better coming back from a long trip with three points on the board despite the actual game being poor. Give me substance over style any day if it means winning football matches. Neither team really posed a threat and the game had 0-0 written all over it until the last five minutes. For our part we were solid and our new signing (sic) Lewis Travis once again caught the eye. I really don't think either Evans or Smallwood would have been that far up the field to play a part in both of our goals. Lenihan and Rodwell formed a strong defensive barrier and dealt well physically with the big Millwall strikers. Raya wasn't really troubled but generally his kicking really does leave a lot to be desired. Bell never really looks comfortable in possession and we were far better when the reliable Nyambe came on and the energy of Bennett was utilised further up the field.

Overall a satisfying day and worth the long journey. Watching the Millwall fans bursting blood vessels when a decision went against them was, at times as entertaining as the game.

[Oldgregg86]

Lenihan deserved his mom and Rodwell played very well. He should be getting more game time imo. Travis has made that midfield place his to lose. With another good performance he has made it impossible for Tony to drop him, something we all are expecting brereton to do at some point, and this lead me to my next question.

Whilst I don't rate nuttall and stand by my comment that he isn't good enough to hold down a place in our starting 11 he put himself about, scored and off that performance should be ahead of brereton. With Ben gladwin to feature in LT soon for his shearer Esq finishing in training and Samuel back in the summer where does this leave ben for the foreseeable ?

Edited January 13, 2019 by Oldgregg86

[OJRovers]

It was never going to be a classic game, millwall are a tough team who play a lot of anti football just trying to win corners and lump it up to their tall players. They do have some handy wingers though.

We have played much better and lost, so take the 3 points and move on.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

I've questioned Mowbray's tactics a lot but yesterday I thought he got his tactics spot on.

Away from home, against an inform team, first thing to do is quieten the home team and fans. If you reach the mid way point in the 2nd half and you are still at 0-0 then go for it. Yesterday Rovers did both of these. Every substitution was positive.

As Ive said before Armstrong benefitted when he came on playing narrower which resulted in his goal. He is not a wide man. Nuttall showed he is a poacher but also that he has learnt from Graham. I see many on here still criticising him for technique but a lot of these people loved Jordan Rhodes whose technique was also poor. Time will tell but a squad can benefit from a poacher who is confident. Especially a team like Rovers who do not create a lot of chances. Yes his goal was lucky but how many times have we put the ball accross the middle with no one in the 6 yard box. The fact he was there was enough to create the confusion.

A lot of positives to be had. Defence looked stronger with no Mulgrew in as well. Coincidence?

[Tom]

Seems we didn’t fare too badly as a result of Richie being suspended, 2 wins and a draw against a premier league side on the back of a run of losses!

[philipl]

Two other take aways.

1) Millwall are reasonably OK for surviving this season but were rubbish. They dragged us down to their level for 85 minutes.

2) To get relegated now, we probably need to average under 0.5 points per game for the rest of the season. Reading are currently on target to get 39 points, Bolton 37 points (our current total) and Ipswich 30 points.

[Roverthechimp]

8 hours ago, 47er said:

The point is, he competed! Never stopped, chased every ball, closed down defenders, won balls in the air. Offered so much more than Brereton.

His main problem is that the ball doesn't stick, he couldn't trap a bag of cement as they say. But surely he can learn?

Jason Roberts... ?

Totally agree though - kept them busy and got a goal as well (they all count ?)

[Gone to seed]

Watched the game on Sky and whilst the football was nothing other than atrocious, the result is all we will remember going forward. Encouraging for me was the return to the 90 minutes of harrying and chasing down that epitomised our success last season, plus the reward of the Nut 'scoring' (I'm not sure he got the last touch or knew too much about it) as a result of putting himself into the danger area at the right time. I could see dividends coming from an Arma / Nut partnership, possibly a secret super-sub weapon to be deployed for 20 minutes when we had previously been tailing off??

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Looking forward to Tuesday now.

COYB!

[Oldgregg86]

Everyone is throwing nuttall hat in the ring. Here's a thought. Why not use adam Armstrong in the correct position. He also scored but actually meant to. He is a striker and a good finisher. Goals breed confidence. We have the players if Tony would bloody use them. We need width, a proper winger. We have nuttall, brereton, Armstrong, graham, Samuel and gladwin for one spot and we are still searching for a striker . Meanwhile 69 year old Craig Conway is our only real winger

[tomphil]

Conway worked hard yesterday and shored up the wing defensively but he did get a bit of freedom down that side at times yet he's a complete busted flush as an attacker. More balance having him there than a striker though.

[Stuart]

7 minutes ago, WIR Second Coming said:

Watched the game on Sky and whilst the football was nothing other than atrocious, the result is all we will remember going forward. Encouraging for me was the return to the 90 minutes of harrying and chasing down that epitomised our success last season, plus the reward of the Nut 'scoring' (I'm not sure he got the last touch or knew too much about it) as a result of putting himself into the danger area at the right time. I could see dividends coming from an Arma / Nut partnership, possibly a secret super-sub weapon to be deployed for 20 minutes when we had previously been tailing off??

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Looking forward to Tuesday now.

COYB!

He definitely got the last touch but he knew very little about it. However, if he hadn’t made the run we had we wouldn’t have got that breakthrough goal, and it may have run out 0-0. He did very well to be that physical presence that frightened and distracted both defenders. He showed a desire throughout that match that his game has lacked after the disappointment of being dropped last time out. Mowbray said as much in his interview (without giving a reason for the dip in form/work rate of course - that’s just my opinion).

For me, having just signed a new contract on the back of breaking into the first team only to be dropped will have confused and upset him, maybe feeling like he was a bit of a commodity. I’m hoping that his return to form with the U23s and breaking back into the team is down to Mowbray explaining that he does have a part to play.

However, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him loaned out. We have Graham and Brereton plus Armstrong and Dack in the manager’s thoughts. Unless Mowbray converts Brereton into a wide player he is up against Nuttall for that second striker spot. The Brereton signing is looking more and more odd by the week. A £7m back up for a back up?

[den9112]

Well worth the 10 hour journey to the Den and back as said  by most who watched not the best of games but TM got his tacticts bang on.We doubled up on them with their head tennis game kept it tight then hit them ...3 points and a nice journey home through the city centre enjoying  the sights.

Edited January 13, 2019 by den9112

[ben_the_beast]

Nuttal worked his socks off yesterday. I was very discouraged to see him start as he's been terrible whenever I've seen him previously. But he was a physical presence who worked hard and got himself into the 6 yard box when it mattered. Plenty of players have made a career out of this. If he can learn to control a ball he may make a championship player in the future. He's not there yet.

What's encouraging is Mowbray managed to get him chasing down. If he can get Nuttal who was one of the laziest players I've seen defending from the front, then maybe he's able to give Brereton the rocket he needs to start actually running. 

There may have been a small bit of psychology today too. Giving Nuttal the chance must surely play on Breretons mind that he needs to do more 

[RoverCanada]

Haha, yeah, pretty miserable game of football, but it was a decent time in the away end. Personally, I'd attribute that more to Millwall "successfully" suffocating the game than Rovers playing particularly badly. The pitch seemed in bad shape too. First half was very ugly on both sides, but we actually managed a few decent build ups in the second half - you could feel the goal coming. Hard to believe Millwall almost made the playoffs last year. My friend and I thought Shane Ferguson was their only bright light. Cooper's an effective CB too.

I don't think I've ever seen a team's fans freak out so much about a questionable, midfield throw in. Best bit was seeing one fan had to put his arm around his mate's shoulders as if to console him after haha...

Rodwell was my MOTM. Did quite well in the air (which was a surprise as that seemed to be his weakness at CB so far) and seemed to be the only one on the pitch who could successfully pass the ball around. Showed his silky skill with the ball at his feet a couple times too. He'll be a tough decision in the summer. He could develop into an excellent CB if he manages to put it all together...

I think we've really missed Nyambe. Bennett was more assured there than previous outings, but Bennett's definitely better further up field and Nyambe's an absolute beast back there. Lenihan was pretty good too.

Thought Travis was pretty good, but not quite as good as previous outings. I'll have to see the replay for his contributions on the goals. Definitely still holding his spot.

Just wasn't the night for a player with Dack's talents. He was understandably frustrated with the lack of service he was getting, but made sense to sub him and try and change up the attack.

Great to see Armstrong finally show some decent finish. He's had a frustrating year, but the potential is still definitely there. The players did seem a bit confused about our shape when he went on though.

Awful game from Bell. I suppose he ultimately held his own defensively, but he's just so frustrating to watch out there.

Nuttall... really liked his effort, especially in the first 20mins. Funny how different his approach to headers compared to Graham. Graham of course uses his back on the defender and often is able to trap the ball down. Nuttall kind of jumps from the side, and managed to flick it on a few times doing so, but the problem was there was nobody up there to get that ball. However, his abilities with the ball at his feet... it's often pathetic really. Almost strikes me as a very poor Jordan Rhodes type in the way he's randomly able to get goals despite his obvious limitations. I think that's the 2nd or 3rd time he's gotten such an ugly, scrappy goal for us. Good on him for forcing the issue, although I also thought he was often poorly placed in the box for a lot of our crosses before that one... Anyway, did enough to show he deserves to be around the first team, but probably best to loan him out and add a striker for the rest of this year.

Edited January 13, 2019 by RoverCanada