Man of the Match - Millwall (A)

[Guest Kagoshimaowl]

I must have watched a different game. I thought we played crap and wouldn’t have scored if we’d still been playing now.  Poor substitutions and not having FF on bench was scandalous in my opinion. Why does Fox need to be on the bench when Odubajo can play both full back roles? Very poor from Bullen last night.

 

Westwood 6 partly at fault for goal

Iorfa 5 gave Smith a free header

Lees 6

Borner 6

Palmer 6

Hutchinson 6

Lee 5 anonymous

Reach 6 should have been dropped

Murphy 5 took the wrong option all the time

Harris 7

Fletcher 5

 

Bannan 7 our most influential player MUST start every game he’s fit

Luongo 4 awful 

Rhodes 4 he’s soooo poor. That game was crying out for Nando’s creativity and Nuhiu’s presence in the second half. Bullen’s poor decisions cost us at least a point in my opinion.

[TrueOwl]

7 hours ago, Kagoshimaowl said:

Rhodes 4 he’s soooo poor. 

I agree what the hell happened to Rhodes looks a shadow of himself he is painful to watch these days. He needs a run of games but at this rate he is not going to get it.

Edited August 18, 2019 by TrueOwl

[TrueOwl]

Millwall are a horrible club to play against especially away with the hostile atmosphere their fans created, they nullified our attacking threat and played dirty constantly giving away tactical and dangerous fouls, we will play better (more fluid, creative, etc.) against the genuine promotion candidates I suspect - although today left nothing to suggest we will be among them this year.

Edited August 18, 2019 by TrueOwl

[Tamworthowl]

What's with this Fernando secretly serving his ban malarkey?

 

Wasnt he named on the bench last week? You can't serve a suspension and be on the bench. You can't pick and chose when to serve a ban. He appealed. If he loses, the ban will start after the appeal decision. I dare say, he could drop his appeal at a convenient time, but that would be followed by an FA announcement confirming the ban.

 

If FF isn't injured, he was dropped. Probably dropped because he'd get kicked to pieces by Millwall.

 

Omitting FF from the starting 11 was beyond argument and the subs covered as many bases as feasible. Nuhiu as like for like replacement for Fletcher and Rhodes for any knock downs, and low crosses. Bannan and Luongo offered the midfield options. We didn't need a wide man as we had two (plus Reach) on the pitch, but even so Odubayo was available.

 

If you're after a conspiracy: the transfer window hasn't closed in Italy. 

[pachyderm]

My vote is for Millwall's keeper... 

[frastheowl]

13 hours ago, owlandished said:

Aren't both goals we have conceded this season been from Harris being beaten to a header in our own box?

 

13 hours ago, gurujuan said:

He was in the vicinity, but it’s unlikely he was supposed to be marking the giant Smith. It’s our Achilles heel, headers conceded in the six yard box. In that respect, Hector is a huge miss. Actually, should we be bringing the diminutive Harris back to defend corners? Wouldn’t he be better employed occupying defenders on the half way line?

 

Harris wasn't even in the box defending the corner. 

 

We had Iorfa, Lees, Borner, Fletcher, Lee, Palmer, Reach and Hutchinson defending in the box. Murphy was occupying the edge of the area. I'm assuming Harris was occupying defenders on the halfway line. 

 

Iorfa fails to challenge Smith after receiving a small push from him, Lee finds himself underneath the ball and Westwood...fizz knows what he was doing...awful goalkeeping. 

[frastheowl]

1 hour ago, Tamworthowl said:

What's with this Fernando secretly serving his ban malarkey?

 

Wasnt he named on the bench last week? You can't serve a suspension and be on the bench. You can't pick and chose when to serve a ban. He appealed. If he loses, the ban will start after the appeal decision. I dare say, he could drop his appeal at a convenient time, but that would be followed by an FA announcement confirming the ban.

 

If FF isn't injured, he was dropped. Probably dropped because he'd get kicked to pieces by Millwall.

 

Omitting FF from the starting 11 was beyond argument and the subs covered as many bases as feasible. Nuhiu as like for like replacement for Fletcher and Rhodes for any knock downs, and low crosses. Bannan and Luongo offered the midfield options. We didn't need a wide man as we had two (plus Reach) on the pitch, but even so Odubayo was available.

 

If you're after a conspiracy: the transfer window hasn't closed in Italy. 

 

Bullen cannot possibly cover every eventuality that may occur during a game of football. 

 

He probably thought there was far more merit in having Nuhiu on the bench, should we be defending a lead or a barrage of long balls for the last 15 minutes of the game. I tend to agree with him to be honest.

 

In hindsight, yes, Forestieri may have been a better option...but I'm not sure anybody would've predicted we'd be playing against 10 men whilst trailing in the game for such a long period of time. And as it goes...I'm not convinced the Forestieri we've seen for the past 12-18 months, would've made such a telling difference...but we'll never know. 

 

As usual...when a player doesn't play, they become a much better player. Heffernan-syndrome. 

[TrueOwl]

Huge Forestieri fan, would play him every week but Forestieri is a bit of a loose cannon, he is only ever one dodgy tackle away from another 3 - 5 game ban for conduct after twatting someone in a game against the likes of Preston and Millwall. There are better options in a game like that.

Edited August 18, 2019 by TrueOwl

[sheffwed1]

4 minutes ago, TrueOwl said:

Huge Forestieri fan, would play him every week but Forestieri is a bit of a loose cannon, he is only ever one dodgy tackle away from another 3 - 5 game ban for conduct after twatting someone in a game against the likes of Preston and Millwall.

 

Impact player is how he should be used. Cant be trusted. 

But i dont understand why Bullen wouldnt have him on the bench. 

[TrueOwl]

1 minute ago, sheffwed1 said:

 

Impact player is how he should be used. Cant be trusted. 

But i dont understand why Bullen wouldnt have him on the bench. 

Only because we don't have the players in the squad necessary to build a team around him. I agree disciplinary issues and behaviour will limit his opportunities anywhere including Hillsborough.

[bladeshater]

Poor team display Hutchinson was the pick of some poor performances 

[PriceAPP]

9 hours ago, sheffwed1 said:

 

Impact player is how he should be used. Cant be trusted. 

But i dont understand why Bullen wouldnt have him on the bench. 

Took a knock in training 

[DuttyTeabags]

On 18/08/2019 at 03:26, frastheowl said:

 

Westwood - 5 - Another potentially game changing error in two games. Elementary mistake which has ultimately cost us. Decent save in the 2nd half from O'Brien's volley, but looked hesitant with crosses in the 1st half. 

 

Iorfa - 5 - Steady enough 1st half, but allowed Smith a free header for the goal. 

 

Lees - 7 - Defended strongly throughout, and competed well up against Millwall's direct approach.

 

Borner - 7 - Another examination passed without any worry's. Looked strong and assured, like he has done in the last two games also.

 

Palmer - 7 - Another accomplished performance at left back. Forming a good partnership with Harris, offering good support and could've scored with a decent effort in the 1st half. 

 

Hutchinson - 6 - Struggled to make an impact on the game in the 1st half, got drawn into making a lot of niggling fouls. Did alright at full back, but lacked a bit of quality in offensive areas. 

 

Reach - 7 - Best player in the 1st half. Looked to be positive and play on the front foot. Couple of speculative efforts, and although drifted out of the game a bit in the 2nd half, still provided an option from left back. 

 

Lee - 6 - Drifted in and out of the game, but showed some nice, neat touches throughout. Thought it was the right time to replace him, and go 4-4-2. 

 

Murphy - 6 - Didn't see as much of the ball as Harris, but was still a threat to Millwall, despite things not really going for him. 

 

Harris - 7 - Man of the Match - Saw a lot of the ball, and gave Romeo a tough time (although I thought he defended reasonably well against him). Constant threat, but probably should've yielded some attacking contribution from the amount of danger he posed. 

 

Fletcher - 6 - Struggled to compete aerially up against Pearce and Cooper, and as a result dropped deeper. Things improved when Rhodes went to play alongside him, and on another day, would've put away one of the few half chances he was presented.

 

Bannan - 7 - Really positive change. Bannan was afforded the space of The Den against Millwall's 10 men, and his probing from deep areas ensured we dominated possession and kept Millwall penned in. 

 

Luongo - 6 - Struggled to have a real impact on the game, and his frustration began to show late on, as he committed numerous silly fouls which played right into Millwall's hands. 

 

Rhodes - 6 - The game was crying out for him, and with some better, more measured crossing, could've got on the teamsheet. Probably a bit disappointed with the glancing header from the corner which went wide. 

 

Overall... disappointing result, but performance wise, although it could've been better, generally, we didn't do a lot wrong. Millwall really didn't cause us any problems from a defensive standpoint, and following the dismissal we dominated proceedings. That said, despite the number of shots on goal, we didn't really create a chance of real note, and that was a major disappointment. 

 

It's these sort of games that highlight our subtle deficiencies within the squad. We've a number of quality players...but how many true match winners have we got? Someone who can win a game with a moment of genius? Not many. Forestieri...and that's only based on the form of three seasons ago. The likes of Leeds, WBA etc. take something from these games, because they have that. 

 

Nothing too majorly worry about. I was pleased with the way Bullen went and attacked this game. He selected a side capable of standing up to Millwall's physicality, but still went with an attacking mindset. All three of his substitutions were proactive, and positive in respect to trying to change the game. Too often we've seen managers replace like for like, but Bullen changed personnel, roles and systems in an attempt to turn the game around. 

Hmmm, Rhodes - 6 - The game was crying out for him, and with some better, more measured crossing, could've got on the teamsheet. Probably a bit disappointed with the glancing header from the corner which went wide. 

 

I'd suggest the game was crying for Joao, someone who has the best record of scoring from the bench in the Champ, and has the ability to score a goal out of nothing...