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

Topic: Deferring the inevitable

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ChesterGreenMiller
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Deferring the inevitable
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Let's face it, it's going to take an astronomical bit of good fortune and luck to stay in this division now. Redfearn is undoubtedly at fault. The way record under him is frightening, his signings have either been criminals, headbutted the opposition on their debut (and been subsequently injured for months) or just not fit.

 

But his worst crime is his cowardliness. A few weeks ago I'd have probably raised concerns at his negative approach to games, but to do so against the bottom clubs in the league on consecutive weekends is unforgivable. Apparently he was playing for a draw at 1-1 when Bolton were there for the taking. Is he on the same planet as us? He may be a good coach, but on evidence so far he's an absolutely horrendous Manager with only one gameplan, and one that has seemingly been worked out by most tactically more astute clubs now.

 

He might prove me wrong and keep us up, but would it even matter? We haven't managed to sellout the home end for run-of-the-mill games against your likes of Reading, Charlton, Bolton etc. While ever results are not good in this division (and they never will be without investment) then we will always have seats scattered around the ground left unsold. Simply because no-one, and particularly floating fans don't want to sit on the front row or on their own when the product is rubbish and it's not a big game. And that is enough for Stewart to say there's no point extending the ground.

 

So the big question is, where's the growth? What's the masterplan to sustain Championship football? Stewart has banged on for years that the Championship is the aim, so what now?

 

- We're not really prepared to live beyond our means (and rightly so).

- We're not just looking to tread water until we extend the ground and grow the club organically (because he's said that's now not going to happen).

- We don't seem to be filling (or even trying to?) the retail units around the ground to give us any 24/7 revenue.

- Nothing's happened (to my knowledge) in terms of training facilities/academy so it doesn't look like we're growing our own kids for the future and that's how we'll be sustainable.

- There's no mention of the Guest & Chrimes facelift and onsite hotel.

- We're not a feeder club to a Premierhip clubs' young startlets.

 

In fact the plan seems to be sign cast-offs where we can, or players here for only a month or two to get fit, and then be surprised when it doesn't work out.

 

This is hugely disappointing. I've actually been saying for weeks now that it's genuinely a bit depressing being in this division as we're targeted as fodder (who else have Bolton, Charlton, Fulham, QPR etc beaten other than us?) and I'd quite enjoy League 1 where we should be much more competitive with plenty of northern games in store. So if I thought the club could sustain it without the additional revenue of being a Championship club, then I'd be all for it.

 

The trouble is, there doesn't seem to be any direction. TS just went silent for ages as Evans left and Redfearn commenced his position. You then don't hear from him from weeks, and then he starts making bombastic statements about being in the Premiership in two years time, making himself and RUFC look stupid when we are shopping very much at Primark, and in Poundland in Championship terms.

 

So what, in the unlikely event are we going to do differently if we are relegated and get promoted again? Because we're proving quite clearly that what we're doing (whatever that is) at the moment is not working.

 

Severely peed off and I wasn't even there today. Feel for those that went.



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derbymiller
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excellent post, don't have any answers for you though sorry except I do think it is important to try and play entertaining football, people tend to accept a mid-table position in a league (for us I agree that is likely to be league 1) if they see a hard working team with a bit of fight and flair.

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ChesterGreenMiller
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I agree with that. All Rotherham fans would be gutted (well most as I wouldn't) if we were relegated, but if we did it with fighting spirit, getting into teams and having a good go I think we'd take it on the chin.

We're keeping one of our most potent (though not consistent) weapons out of the way. JCH on for Burke might have seen a different ending to the game. JCH has blistering pace, strength and a good shot on him. And this is no disrespect to Green who I think is a good pro even if his legs have gone a bit, but that was a hugely negative change to an already negative side.

But I'm more concerned about the bigger picture. All talk was always on about getting us to the Championship, but it seems like now we're here we've decided "crikey, this is a bridge too far" and will bow out ungracefully. But with a Chairman who isn't a supporter, he can't be happy with that. So where does it leave RUFC?

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smiler
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We played well today. After Preston quite a few wanted JCH out. He was lazy and useless. When players aren't playing in a team that loses they always shine. Derbyshire got booed off against QPR but after we lose today people wonder why he wasn't on sooner. Funny old game.

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ChesterGreenMiller
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That's personnel, though. In terms of how we setup, we went 4-5-1 against a team rock bottom of the table with their best player injured. They scored early and then it was an uphill task. We levelled, pressed a bit but then inexplicably bottled it, played for the draw and loss.

Playing well and losing to rubbish teams won't keep us in this division.

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smiler
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I think you've made some valid points Chester about the position we are in as a club. I am a Redfearn-ite though. I think he took on the devils own job and he needs a few breaks. We were better than QPR and lost and the same today against Bolton. I don't think he is negative. I think he sees the players we have and believes that our best chance is to try and break on teams because we have some pacy players now in midfield and attack. We have scored enough goals to be a mid table side but we can't defend properly. He has had very little time in relative terms. I don't mind if we have to take one step back to take two forward. I don't think changing the manager every few months is ever the answer. By the way, spare a thought for my 13 year old. She has been to three away games with me (not including Wembley). MK Dons in the promotion season, and Preston and Bolton this season. All three were lost to injury time goals.

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ian
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It's not good enough.
Taking a step back is obviously not good.

It means the manager has failed. It can't be simpler than that.

There may be other questions but that point is nailed.

The second question is what do you make of it.

If it's not the manager who is it.
If it is the manager what is he doing wrong.
How does it need changing.
When will it change
Who will change it
What will happen if we go down
Its not an easy process but they are the obvious type of questions

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smiler
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I don't agree with the idea that we are negative. We score plenty of goals. Sometimes you have to accept the reality of the here and now, of course do your best but be accepting of the fact that your best might not be enough at the moment and build for the future.  This division is a tough one for a club like us to crack.  We were up against it from the start.  I am not going to criticise the current players or management too much.  They are doing their best on difficult cir***stances.  We haven't had many breaks lately.  Get behind them and lets see what happens.



-- Edited by smiler on Saturday 6th of February 2016 10:04:22 PM

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oneaday
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We do score goals and you never know, with a little more attacking intent we might actually score even more goals.

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smiler
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I understand that idea Oneaday and I know that I am swimming against the tide here because we are losing games but I can't agree. The idea that if we went out more attack minded we would score even more than we do and perhaps not concede more is not realistic. We are making enough chances and scoring enough goals to win more games than we are doing, and we are doing that without over committing. That is a good thing. Committing more men forward is no good if you then have no supply to them. We can't have it both ways. The idea that we would all be happy to lose 5-2 every week having a go is in my opinion a fantasy. It would take three weeks of it before the knives were out. The only thing wrong at the minute is that we give soft goals away. Their player today who knocked the ball back to the edge of the area for the first goal had no need to. He didn't realise it but he had time to turn near our six yard box, have a touch or two and pick his spot if he had wanted to. It was unbelievably bad defending. That is where we are going wrong.

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Doink
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It's a tough one, by rights we are in the league table where we should be (based on club size, budget etc) but some of Redfearn's team selections and tactics are bizarre to say the least. I have said since he first deployed Danny Ward as a lone striker that it will see us relegated. To play that role you have to be a damn good player, which Ward definitely is not. But unfortunately for us he appears to be one of Redfearn's favourites and doesn't look to be dropping out of the side anytime soon. One of the biggest criticisms I have of Redfearn though is his permanent signings. After heavily criticising Evans recent signings (rightly so for the majority) he then brings in 3 over the hill journeyman on reportedly high wages who have contributed zilch in the time they have been here (Kelly, Best & Becchio, albeit Becchio has only recently arrived). We have lost our fighting spirit which was a big part of our identity. Our away form under Redfearn has been embarrassing along with his decision making in these games. If you expect to pick nothing up away from home, more often than not that's exactly what will happen. We shouldn't sack him now, a regular turnover of managers doesn't help any club. I think it was the right time for Evans to leave when he did, the major error was in the choice of his replacement. I believe we will be playing League One football next season and although I have very little confidence in Redfearn, he should be given a chance at that level. For me since the day we won at Wembley there have been a catalogue of errors that make me believe it was somewhat of a miracle that we stayed up last season. Unfortunately we haven't learnt from these lessons and if we do go through the trap door at the end of the season, I think we will look back on missed opportunities from our 2 year championship stint.

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smiler
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Last thought from me about yesterday (honest). We had far more clear cut chances against Bolton than either QPR or Charlton did against us. Newell one on one and hit the keepers legs, Shinnie through on goal and screwed it wide, Shinnie miscued when unchallenged six yards out, Wood overhead effort from six yards out, plus two or three great chances when we picked the wrong final ball. We lose 2-1 and QPR and Charlton win 3-0 and 4-1 respectively. We aren't negative. We just don't convert enough of the chances we make, and we switch off defensively.

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oneaday
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We are creating enough chances but you need the strikers on the pitch who can put those chances away. Like it or not, the only striker at the club (fit striker) who can score on a regular basis is Derbyshire. He obviously can't play as a lone striker so we need to play two up front. Yes he needs plenty of chances to score but he gets in those positions. His clever runs also create space elsewhere.

For me we need to either play 4-4-2 which means that either Burke or Grant Ward are left out.

Or we play 3-5-2 with Newell and Grant Ward playing the wing back roles.

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Heman
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I wish that were right oneaday. That Derbyshire can score on a regular basis.

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oneaday
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I'd put my mortgage on him out scoring Danny Ward!

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AxholmeMiller
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Smiler, we were better than QPR for forty five minutes only, they were much better than us second half and had that quality which we just don't possess!



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smiler
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I think I am agreeing with you Axholme. Other teams have the quality needed to take chances when they come and when they come at crucial moments, and they defend better than us over 90 minutes.

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ChesterGreenMiller
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Sorry to do the taboo and bump my own thread, but I feel now my opening post is even more poignant.

What is the direction of the club?

I don't think Redfearn was the right man for the job (and I respect the opinion of those that thought otherwise) but sacking someone every few months will send us right back to midtable League 2 from where we have come. What a waste that would be.

So how are we going to ensure we don't make another bad appointment? I make that 3 or 4 bad and one good so far.

Are we going for experience, and if we do miraculously survive this term, what is the strategy for outperforming mainly bigger clubs in this division? Or are we now paying compensation to Redfearn meaning less money available for strnegthening the squad, so we're asking another manager to do a better job than Evans and Redfearn but with less money to spend and already halfway to relegation? I fear we've begun a downward spiral.

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smiler
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Interesting post Chester. We can debate what Redfearn was doing right or wrong but 20 league games is no time at all, and we don't want to turn into a club that changes manager every few months chasing the rainbow. That is a recipe for disaster.

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ChesterGreenMiller
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That we can agree on, smiler.

I wasn't a fan of Redfearn, you were, but we both agree that shipping managers out after so few games will only lead us in one direction and it isn't upwards.

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