v Millwall (a) 14/8/21

[JPTSwindon]

So…

Presumably back to the starting XI v Swansea and fingers crossed Morecambe was a one-off, not a reality check.

To be positive, the nice new away shirt will be deployed.

I am going 1-1.

[1864roverite]

Having seen the Millwall goals last night I genuinely feel that Rovers are on form to concede 3 or 4 goals away from home unless they buck their ideas up.

I am hoping for a draw but cannot see past a defeat after last nights shite game. 3-0 Millwall and excuse after excuse.......

[USABlue]

A Mowbary masterpiece, clutching defeat from the jaws of victory.  Decent first half with a lead undone by another Mowbary half time team talk followed by the usual baffling subs 6ft 4 centre forwards on the wing, 5ft 4 wingers in the middle and a 8 stone boy as a false 9. I am truly beginning to despise this man at the helm if our once proud team.

 2-1 the Lions.

[MarkBRFC]

We managed to beat these fairly comfortably in the middle of that horrible 2 wins in 17 spell last season, so I think it will be pretty close this time,

2-1 Rovers.

[tomphil]

I was confident after Saturday but much less so now after last night i fear an early death spiral this season. Images of Mowbrays last season at Coventry keep flashing and he's finally got the team in similar shape, kids and loans ( if we are lucky ).

I'm thinking the team might be angry at themselves after last night though and will motivate themselves through youthful exuberance. 

Millwall  1     Rovers   1

[davulsukur]

89th minute, we'll switch to 18th formation of the season (I'm going for the "Christmas tree" formation), Dolan will latch onto a through ball and rifle one into the bottom corner!

Mowbray will stop imitating a sloth for a brief moment and jump up and celebrate this late, late goal.

Venus and Lowe will give a long, almost uncomfortably long, embrace.

Millwall get ready to kick off again but make a sub before hand, bringing on a defensive mid for a striker in order to preserve their 2 goal lead, because its actually now 3-1.

[JHRover]

I expect a valiant defeat. Probably 1-0 or 2-1 to Millwall. No shortage of effort from the lads which will resonate well with many but a shortage of quality and depth is our downfall.

I really think we are in trouble this season if we fall behind in games, particularly against the likes of Millwall who will be solid, organised and physical.

I think our best and possibly only chance of winning will be a fast early start, which seems to be what we are good at, get at them early and get ourselves ahead. If we can do that we might be in business.

I'd take a 0-0 right now to be honest but I don't think this manager has any intention or idea how to go away and secure such a result.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

9 minutes ago, JHRover said:

I expect a valiant defeat. Probably 1-0 or 2-1 to Millwall. No shortage of effort from the lads which will resonate well with many but a shortage of quality and depth is our downfall.

I really think we are in trouble this season if we fall behind in games, particularly against the likes of Millwall who will be solid, organised and physical.

I think our best and possibly only chance of winning will be a fast early start, which seems to be what we are good at, get at them early and get ourselves ahead. If we can do that we might be in business.

I'd take a 0-0 right now to be honest but I don't think this manager has any intention or idea how to go away and secure such a result.

We’ve been really poor at getting back into the game after going behind for years, certainly all the time Mowbray has been here.

That tells me all I need to know about morale and team spirit at the club in spite of all this “ great set of lads “ bullshit.

[Guest]

Kaminski

Nyambe
Lenihan
Ayala
Pickering

Johnson
Travis
Rothwell

Brereton Díaz
McBride
Gallagher

[TheRoversReturn]

We just lost at home to Morecambe. Hard to see that same set of players (+ Ayala) then going to The Den and getting anything.

Only hope; We did somehow win during the greatest of all Mowbray Death Spirals last year. Talk about clutching at straws, but it's all I have right now.

[Wheelton Blue]

Mowbray doesn't have the players to get out of a death spiral.

Last season he eventually found a win by simply randomly rotating the team until he struck lucky.

He doesn't have the numbers this time to do that.

2-0 Millwall.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Wheelton Blue

[roversfan99]

3 hours ago, JoeH said:

Kaminski

Nyambe
Lenihan
Ayala
Pickering

Johnson
Travis
Rothwell

Brereton Díaz
McBride
Gallagher

Johnson is injured, but I am surprised to see that you have left out Buckley after the praise you gave him for an impressive half at the weekend in which he impressed.

Would that be down to his lack of physicality against a stereotypical game away at Millwall? If so, he is going to struggle to make it as a Championship player if we are picking and choosing his games based on what he can physically withstand, games like Saturday just gone will be few and far between. Millwall have average experienced Championship midfielders like Kieftenfeld and Saville, but Buckley needs to learn how to make the game more about the skillset that he has and trying to influence the game in his own way. 

I am also surprised to see Dolan dropped too.

[SuperBrfc]

We are going to have problems against teams that are physical and play a more direct game. I'd say most Championship teams play that way, or they at least have the option to switch to that approach. We don't have that, nor do we have the physicality to stand up to that approach, particularly in midfield.

Millwall is a big test already to see how we fare. Not looking forward to it, but I'm hoping there's some sort of response to last night's embarrassment.

[CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber]

Game #1 of Mowbray death spiral no.437

[Guest]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

Johnson is injured, but I am surprised to see that you have left out Buckley after the praise you gave him for an impressive half at the weekend in which he impressed.

Would that be down to his lack of physicality against a stereotypical game away at Millwall? If so, he is going to struggle to make it as a Championship player if we are picking and choosing his games based on what he can physically withstand, games like Saturday just gone will be few and far between. Millwall have average experienced Championship midfielders like Kieftenfeld and Saville, but Buckley needs to learn how to make the game more about the skillset that he has and trying to influence the game in his own way. 

I am also surprised to see Dolan dropped too.

Got the feeling Johnson would be back for the weekend. Him over Buckley because it's a completely different obstacle than Swansea. I praised John Buckley and like what he can bring, that doesn't make me blind to his shortcomings and this matchup requires some physicality and leadership in midfield. 

Dolan dropped because our issue right now is getting the ball in the back of the net. I've been very harsh on Conor McBride, but he does have a strikers instinct, more-so than anything we have right now, and we need somebody to play through the middle who will stick a chance in the back of the net when presented. Dolan is a very impactful sub and I'd use him in that fashion against Millwall. 

On Buckley needing to be able to do it against any type of team, I'd say he's a young player who isn't ready to start every game yet. I think most of our team fall into that bracket. He struggled against Morecambe and hitting his confidence more against another very physical side that doesn't suit what he brings to the table is a bad idea. He'll be effective for us in games that suit him, and in years to come, he will mature to be a player ready to feature every week no matter who we're facing.

[MarkBRFC]

3 minutes ago, JoeH said:

Got the feeling Johnson would be back for the weekend. Him over Buckley because it's a completely different obstacle than Swansea. I praised John Buckley and like what he can bring, that doesn't make me blind to his shortcomings and this matchup requires some physicality and leadership in midfield. 

Dolan dropped because our issue right now is getting the ball in the back of the net. I've been very harsh on Conor McBride, but he does have a strikers instinct, more-so than anything we have right now, and we need somebody to play through the middle who will stick a chance in the back of the net when presented. Dolan is a very impactful sub and I'd use him in that fashion against Millwall. 

On Buckley needing to be able to do it against any type of team, I'd say he's a young player who isn't ready to start every game yet. I think most of our team fall into that bracket. He struggled against Morecambe and hitting his confidence more against another very physical side that doesn't suit what he brings to the table is a bad idea. He'll be effective for us in games that suit him, and in years to come, he will mature to be a player ready to feature every week no matter who we're facing.

Buckley for me had one of his best games in a Rovers shirt in the away game against Milwall last season, not sure if there midfield has changed much since then.

I also disagree that he's not ready to start every game yet, for me he has to play week in week out now so he can get his career going and to see whether he is going to be a big asset for us going forward, he's spent the last two seasons in and out of the side so he should be ready to go now and cement his place as one of our key players..

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, JoeH said:

Got the feeling Johnson would be back for the weekend. Him over Buckley because it's a completely different obstacle than Swansea. I praised John Buckley and like what he can bring, that doesn't make me blind to his shortcomings and this matchup requires some physicality and leadership in midfield. 

Dolan dropped because our issue right now is getting the ball in the back of the net. I've been very harsh on Conor McBride, but he does have a strikers instinct, more-so than anything we have right now, and we need somebody to play through the middle who will stick a chance in the back of the net when presented. Dolan is a very impactful sub and I'd use him in that fashion against Millwall. 

On Buckley needing to be able to do it against any type of team, I'd say he's a young player who isn't ready to start every game yet. I think most of our team fall into that bracket. He struggled against Morecambe and hitting his confidence more against another very physical side that doesn't suit what he brings to the table is a bad idea. He'll be effective for us in games that suit him, and in years to come, he will mature to be a player ready to feature every week no matter who we're facing.

I wouldn't be averse to Johnson coming back in but not at the expense of Buckley. Travis would be out for me. He was shocking last night as he was for the last half hour against Swansea. He is another player who seems to have plateaud under this coaching regime.

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, JoeH said:

Got the feeling Johnson would be back for the weekend. Him over Buckley because it's a completely different obstacle than Swansea. I praised John Buckley and like what he can bring, that doesn't make me blind to his shortcomings and this matchup requires some physicality and leadership in midfield. 

Dolan dropped because our issue right now is getting the ball in the back of the net. I've been very harsh on Conor McBride, but he does have a strikers instinct, more-so than anything we have right now, and we need somebody to play through the middle who will stick a chance in the back of the net when presented. Dolan is a very impactful sub and I'd use him in that fashion against Millwall. 

On Buckley needing to be able to do it against any type of team, I'd say he's a young player who isn't ready to start every game yet. I think most of our team fall into that bracket. He struggled against Morecambe and hitting his confidence more against another very physical side that doesn't suit what he brings to the table is a bad idea. He'll be effective for us in games that suit him, and in years to come, he will mature to be a player ready to feature every week no matter who we're facing.

I am certainly not convinced that Buckley has the capability to guarantee himself a place in the team due to his consistency and performance levels, but I am against the idea of repeatedly changing players and indeed the formation through over thinking over the opposition. We are facing 2 decent Championship midfielders, nothing special, nothing that warrants tinkering too much. Sadly, Mowbray is always keen to overthink things like this rather than striving for consistency and focusing on the form and performance levels of our own team.

Buckley warrants his place on Saturday through his performance last week, we should be keen to go to Millwall and for Buckley to go and stamp his own authority on the game and utilise what he is good at.

If we based it too much on last night, I suppose that no one would play who played last night but Buckley perhaps was less responsible having been hooked at half time.

Mowbray said that Johnson wont be back until I think after the international break so I suppose it is hypothetical anyway the only alternative really is Davenport.

I would out of a lack of alternatives go for the same side from Saturday, aside from putting Gallagher down the middle. I am not sure how many times Dolan has been effective from the bench (3 of his 4 Rovers goals have been as a starter) and whilst he is so raw at the moment, it seems illogical to drop him for a player who has never kicked a senior ball.

[simongarnerisgod]

millwall are big physical  side who don`t stand on ceremony,especially at the den,not a good match up for us unfortunately,they`ll bully us off the park

[Admiral Nelsen]

Millwall should prove to be a much sterner test than Swansea, they certainly won't be as self-destructive at the back. Will be interesting to see if we look to dominate the ball in this sort of fixture like we did last year, or if the Swansea game was a sign of Tony being less dogmatic when it comes to playing that way this season. 

 

Same side and shape as last week for me.

[Admiral Nelsen]

5 hours ago, MarkBRFC said:

Buckley for me had one of his best games in a Rovers shirt in the away game against Milwall last season, not sure if there midfield has changed much since then.

I also disagree that he's not ready to start every game yet, for me he has to play week in week out now so he can get his career going and to see whether he is going to be a big asset for us going forward, he's spent the last two seasons in and out of the side so he should be ready to go now and cement his place as one of our key players..

 

Couldn't agree more with this.

One of the few silver linings of the great big cloud that is the current state of the football club is that it provides the opportunity for our younger players to get more minutes on the pitch to improve and hopefully grow into valuable players for the first team. Buckley I suppose has already had his fair share of minutes, but he hasn't really had the run of starts needed to get the consistency in his game that has escaped him so far. His ability is clearly there, so I'd look to start him as much as possible until Dack comes back into the reckoning, then reassess from there. Hopefully by that time he will have properly established himself. 

[BlackburnEnd75]

Probably go with the same team from Saturday or one change being bring Davenport in to give more solidity in midfield. Not sure who I would sacrifice for that though

[Fraserkirky]

Same team as last week, the last thing I want to see is a half fit Johnson struggling about chasing shadows.

[Ossydave]

We have a half decent record vs Millwall for some reason. Pretty sure it won't be a game of many goals, apart from that not really sure what to expect.

We could do with Cooper not starting, I think he came on the other night for a while in his injury comeback. 

I'll go 1-1, Rothwell to slot one in from the edge of the box.

It's possible we could be top of the league Sunday morning if we scraped a win, imagine how giddy Facebook mowbrayites would get 😳

[Butty]

This game will show what we’re about, we have a good record at the Den in recent years so I think we’ll leave with a point. 1-1.