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Millers Banter: Unofficial Rotherham United Fans Forum / Message Board → Football / Sport / RUFC Related → DESOLATE
 

Topic: DESOLATE

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GlennMiller
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DESOLATE
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When we started Fulham looked like a team lacking confidence and composure and I had a feeling they were there for the taking. Step forward master tactician and team selector SE. Our back four is as bad as I can remember. Why do we keep two young, talented and pacey CBs on the bench whilst their positions are filled by two have-beens with no pace, no fight, no distribution qualities, no ability to head the ball more than 10 yards etc, etc. Collins pace against their centre forward was pitiful - losing a sprint over 15 yards having had a 7 yard start. Halford has no positional sense, panics under pressure and brings nothing to the team as a footballer or Captain. Richardson is a mediocre right back struggling at left back - why? Buxton is the best of the lot but he didn't have a good day. Adam Collin will have been disappointed with his parry for their first but it should never have required him to make a save in the first place.

After going 2 down due to comic defending the heart went out of the team and the crowd. It's not surprising though - what incentive have any of the players or crowd got to give their all only for the defence to undo any effort they put in at a whim? All of a sudden, Fulham looked like an accomplished and talented side - but any side would have looked decent against the shower that we descended into.

Second managerial masterstroke - start the second half without our two most creative players and bring on a player who is a League 1 holding midfielder at best. Why - what was the rationale? Limit the damage?

Derbyshire's penalty miss was as predicable as it was disappointing. But to be frank, it shouldn't have mattered. We had a couple of golden opportunities in the first half which any team with confidence would have converted easily. Unfortunately for this team, the haemorrhage twins at the centre of our defence inspire no confidence and as long as they continue to play, we will get no better.

So Mr E, the time has come for you to enact what everyone else in NYS seems to understand very clearly. Halford and Collins are not Rotherham United players and stop embarrassing us with their presence. Bring in a dedicated Left Back as a matter of Urgency. Do not let Green anywhere near a goalscoring opportunity (scoring against Norwich was the worst thing that could happen to our team). Give the Captaincy to Smallwood - instil some pride and the kind of work ethic that we are used to seeing in the RUFC shirt. If we go down fighting, no one will criticise you. If we go down due to selection and tactical incompetence, you will reap what you deserve.

 

 



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Fliker
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Ditto

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ian
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Good word desolate.

I feel bemused and lost in a desert of bad dreams.



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Exetermiller
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Well it was my 1st time this season, as you all know after my lay off, and a season may I add which not only involves countless mileage every school holiday and half term but also many a weekend up straight after school on Friday, back down Sunday. And I tell you what I'm about as motivated for it than the 2000 missing season ticket holders today.

Like everyone, I don't mind losing, and in a league we're fighting to find 15 to stay up that means an awful lot of defeats by proxy, but there's a right way & a wrong way to lose. Today was about as wrong as it gets.

It starts with our 3rd home game against a club most likely to struggle with us, therefore taking 3 points is part of the forecast. If that doesn't happen we either have to beat them away to make it up or take 3 points from another game we had down for not taking max points. But that's now 3, and arguably 1 at Forest - 10 points we already have to find from somewhere else. That is already deeply concerning. You then look at the fixtures and gauge playing like we have over the next 15 matches and we'll be lucky to get a fistful of points and that spells the inevitable. This said home game, we have Smallwood & Green in the middle, this is number 1 absolute proof of no lessons being learned from last season, such a combo should never happen at home. And on the bench we have both Wards', Ledesma and White - attacking intent in abundance.

I know today was probably worse than MK but I like many a miller have seen relegation teams, and the writing is on the wall for this one already. We have brought in perceived quality yet some of them wouldn't have got onto our L2 promotion team. Collins and Halford, for their own reasons are the worst CB's this club has seen in a long time and certainly under SE. I questioned getting Ledesma, and today other than a delicious cross field through ball Derbyshire gave up on much to the dismay of Ledesma and a lot of the team, he did nothing. I mention Derbyshire, and I've put him down this season, well today that was justified. Not only can he not score, he takes a horrible penalty and a couple of times when JCH found space he couldn't even supply a quality enough 10 yard pass to make the finish easier, instead making JCH stretch. That powder puff swivel and shot to the anger of SE and his team mates said it all.

I started here writing about all the players then lost the will to live. Collin didn't do much wrong, Smallwood is trying to do his own work and cover for those inept centre halves and JCH, again justified his shirt where his strike partner can't. Buxton just looked like a bad day, the rest I wouldn't sign them on Football Manager. As for Evans you reap what you sow, despite some frustrating decisions if ***ulatively, you had bought quality, had coached them in a championship way of playing and had any sense of selection policy or tactical noose (I'm presuming Raynor is just writing down the Indian take away order for tonight), then these decisions would pass into insignificance. The constant chasing down of the 4th official and flailing is not the conduct of a manager in control, it is a manager who is desperate, and doesn't portray the leadership credentials your staff will look to you to provide.



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BradtheMiller
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Tactical noose is right, AND it's tightening!!!

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derbymiller
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agree with the original post, how can we not play thorpe and rawson, we need a keeper as well Collin made a mistake for the 1st goal,

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smiler
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I agree with much of what has already been said above. We chop and change our system and our personnel so often that it can be no surprise that we struggle to find a rhythm. We flirted with trying to play a passing game mid-way through last season but that seems to have gone in favour of reverting to hitting channels and trying to latch on to flick-on, which worked in Leagues 1 & 2 but which in the Championship often amounts to giving the ball away cheaply. I would like to see us picking more players with pace and athleticism and that might mean going with younger players. Yes they might make a few mistakes but at least we might have something to shout about. Collins and Halford look laboured and hard though they try I fear that Green and Derbyshire are a bit short of what we need. The future for us on our much discussed resources surely has to be in spotting and developing younger players either of our own or picking them up either when released by bigger clubs (eg Thorpe) or from lower leagues (eg JCH) and having some faith in them. There is no long term mileage in my view in having a team packed with loanees and older players on short term deals.

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Daft miller
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derbymiller wrote:

agree with the original post, how can we not play thorpe and rawson, we need a keeper as well Collin made a mistake for the 1st goal,

 Harsh Derby, he made a reaction save from 4 yards! The problem was their forward winning a header unopossed from our centre backs who were both 2 yards away but made no attempt to challenge 



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S8Miller
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I honestly don't know where the next points are coming from, for all the chances we had to take something from this game against a poor Fulham who we should be beating we looked laboured for much of the ninety minutes with little in the way of guile or craft about our approach. By the end of September we could well be cut adrift at the bottom of the league with a mountain to climb just to stay up.

Where do we start.

Colin - everybody shouted for him to come back in but in honesty he is only slightly better than Roos, both are League 1 at best. Parried the shot for the first goal. Backed off when he should have come to claim on at least two occasions. The one time in the second half Evan's turned away in fury and it didn't take a mind reader to guess what he was saying. New goalkeeper needed urgently.

Buxton - best of our defenders at the minute but did have a mixed day yesterday. He got skinned which let their player waltz into the box for that great galah of a centre back to foul him.

Collins and Halford - agree with GM, if these are quality signings, give me strength - they don't give a toss and are here to pick up a wage, get shut.

Richardson - unfair to critisise as he is not a left back but woeful whenever he has played there, so why persist Evans? Let the cross come in for to easily on the first goal far too easily.

Smallwood - should be captain, full stop.

Green - legs have gone, can't do 90 minutes that is patently obvious to everyone so why the **** start him? Great work to win the ball for JCH goal though.

Maguire - waste of time, not fit, no signs of him getting fit - rightly subbed.

Newell - Had a decent game should have played left back with Aidy White in front of him.

Clarke-Harris - good job this lad was playing because without him we would have been totally rubbish at least he gave us hope we could possibly come back to take a point.

Derbyshire - low on confidence again, you could tell from his body language he was going to miss the penalty.

Ledesma - thought he was pants when we had him on loan, said when we signed him it was a bad signing - total liability. Doesn't put in a challenge - beaten all too easily to allow there lad a free run into the box for the goal - holds the ball too long and gets caught in possession and has no football brain.

Ward - lightweight.

Black - why the **** is this clown at our club? We now seem more concerned with shape and getting back to two lines of four in our defensive third when we lose the ball rather than getting in the oppositions faces and forcing errors to win the ball back, like the Rotherham of old. Compare and contrast to every other team we face, no wonder possession stats often read 40% to Rotherham 60% to the opposition. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE BALL YOU CAN'T SCORE A GOAL - it's basic stuff Evans. Black's philosophy is taking us down like every other ******* club he's been involved with.

Evans - please, please, please get rid of Black and go back to the Rotherham that will fight for every ball and go to the death to get something - if we are going to go down at least let us make a fight of it. Make Smallwood captain, get Rawson and Thorpe back in the team, sign a left back and a keeper and get Bowery back on the bench as an impact player.

Frustrated and resigned to a very long season.



-- Edited by S8Miller on Sunday 30th of August 2015 08:33:01 PM

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ian
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Agree with every word but my blind spot with Green can't be shifted just yet.

I had a dream last night that sven had taken over as manager and had us moving laboriously up and down in military lines of 4 with mediocre players down the flanks unable ever to get behind the opposition. Maybe, Black is playing on all our minds.



-- Edited by ian on Sunday 30th of August 2015 09:03:51 PM

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smiler
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Almost every Miller you speak to or hear from has the same opinion, which is a rarity! The consensus is that a good number of the players brought in for this season seem not to be good enough, and the jury is out on the others. It is like last year. Remember Hall, Sadler, Brandy, Loach, Wood, Newton et al? All were billed as exciting additions who were improving what we had. They must have played about a dozen games between them. No doubt SE is right about our limited budget. All the more important, then, to use what resources we do have wisely.

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BradtheMiller
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WTF has Wood done wrong? He's better than Halford & Collins combined & can't even make the bench. That's one of the reasons Evans has GOT TO GO, vendettas with players!!!

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smiler
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Just to be clear I am not saying the players I mentioned were all bad. I agree that Wood' lack of opportunity is baffling. If he was at the NYS Saturday he wouldn't have known whether to laugh or cry. I am just pointing out that we have spent wages and presumably signing on fees on many players who arrived with a fanfare (tracking him for years, top of the wanted list, adding quality etc) and who haven't then featured. In some cases they were sim

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smiler
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Pressed post by accident. Not sure how to edit. Meant to continue - in some cases simply not good enough and in others it's a mystery. To me Wiod is in the mystery section. Either way it seems a waste of scarce resources.

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WorcesterMiller
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Wood is for me the most experienced CB at the club, Collins and Halford can go for me.
Also whilst their packing their bags, i eat my hat and say SE, Raynor and Black go, Warney for manager.



-- Edited by WorcesterMiller on Monday 31st of August 2015 07:50:45 AM



-- Edited by WorcesterMiller on Monday 31st of August 2015 07:51:09 AM

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BradtheMiller
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WorcesterMiller wrote:

Wood is for me the most experienced CB at the club, Collins and Halford can go for me.
Also whilst their packing their bags, i eat my hat and say SE, Raynor and Black go, Warney for manager.



-- Edited by WorcesterMiller on Monday 31st of August 2015 07:50:45 AM



-- Edited by WorcesterMiller on Monday 31st of August 2015 07:51:09 AM

Agreed mate, but not Warney for manager, we need someone who knows what he's doing!! 



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Heman
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Warne is good at what he does. Gets the players he is given to their peak level of fitness. He is not a manager.

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gazmadmiller
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Hmmm T'would appear the Fat Lady is gargling the anticeptic mouth wash in anticipation. Agree with the comments above. Only one way to fix it, count the Fat Lady in. Taxi For Evans !!

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Davidedin
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If Evans does not do the following in the next 72 hours using either perm buys or 6 month loan deals (any one or two month loan deal should qualify him for immediate dismissal) I would like him out of the door immediately:

  1. Sign a left back – none of those we have could get in a Sunday League team

  2. Sign a goalkeeper – Collin has the shirt, we need someone to challenge him for it who is as good or better

  3. Sign a striker. Great that JCH seems to be coming good, but we need goals and unfortunately Derbyshire seems to be slipping back to the player we saw in the first half of last season

  4. Play players IN ****ING POSITION… this really really annoys me – Newel is NOT a left back (see first point), give Maguire a chance in the middle, maybe drop Derbyshire for him for two games to try it, he can’t do worse, etc.

If he does not do this, and/or we don’t win one of our next three, he simply has to go.

Even with the players we’ve got, we’ve seen loads of clubs pick up results with a change of manager. It doesn’t always work we know that, but we all want to see our club making a fist of staying up.

As others have said on this thread there were lots of worrying signs on Saturday and I left the ground wondering when (if) we would win a game anytime soon, the answer must be NO unless Evans turns it around very very quickly, or else the Chairman needs to part company and bring in a new manager.

Also, the Chairman himself needs to decide if as a businessman, he can afford to let us quickly plummet to league 1 with all the implications that has for loss of income, versus the risk of buying in 3 or 4 quality players. I guess one quandary for him is whether he trusts Evans to spend any money he has, or whether to give that budget to a new manager – I am beginning to think the latter would be wiser. Either way he must invest or the Millers will not be going in the direction he wants to take them as a business.



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ian
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Did you mean right back?

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