Had to work really hard for that and can't argue that we didn't deserve to win. Can't really single anyone out but if forced, Smith, Williams, Semi, Manning but they all put in a massive shift even Mattock who is not everyone's cuppa on here.
3 or 4 really excellent moves, the product of good coaching with several one touch passes to create attacking situations which 1 we scored from. If smudge had finished that 2nd half (should have scored really), then would have made last 10 mins a bit easier.
I like the balance that Manning gives us, really good signing that.
But that's another home win against one of those who'll be around us so very pleased.
Williams MOM with Manning and the resurrection of Semi in a different role
( one of the missing MF ? ) - RM said - just keep him away from our goal. Still got off lightly in front of our goal - six yard box needs lockdown - too slow / too many laspe's in concentration in that area - Bradshaw late on missed a sitter in front of goal. We got away with a few today....but we should have scored too. Massive 3 points against fellow strugglers - as other teams in this league much more clinical and the points would have gone elsewhere. A fox in the box would have buried us today.
Just watching Newcastle lock out Chelsea - park the bus used at that level yet jeered at our level. Ok the players have to buy into it but a pro' side should be capable of playing it....it could mean 5 / 10 points v impossible odds away from home. By just playing a game of concentration. Wish we had that in our locker.....far better teams than us play it to frustrate the Chelsea's & Man City's of football. 0-0 a great score away from home particularly. Some say we're not good enough but we're definitely not good enough to play expansive / toe to toe football against some teams we have to play. That way the result is virtually certain with goal difference a threat - it's a good discipline to have.
Just wondering if some posters on here go to the games. Mattock does his job, rate him. Rodak Semi made up for the Hull game. Williams on the right gives us something. Vaulks as I've said is a star. Extend his & Semi's contract. Couldn't fault no one. Best thing our best signing Robertson is on the bench! Two loans this week right back & defensive midfielder, not Towell.
Well done Warnie on getting the team selection and the tactics spot on today. Semi has to be in that holding midfield role particularly as Raggett looks solid and formed a good understanding with Wood. With Robertson to come in at left CB, we are sorted centrally in defence. Williams was my MoM - fantastic energy throughout the whole game both in attack and defence. Vassell gives us an out, unlike Taylor, and has the ability to hold up the ball, beat defenders and put some good balls into the box. I think we bossed the first half and deserved our lead. Our composure went adrift in the second 45 and the majority of Millwall's pressure came from our own mistakes rather than poor team defending/tactics.
The midfield is looking much more organised with Manning looking good on the ball. Vaulks sometimes panics under pressure but at times he doesn't realise how much time he has to choose the right ball. Vyner had a really dodgy first half but improved 2nd.
All in all, very pleased with the result and the performance. We will get better as the players adjust to the system and become more confident in their ability to compete with Championship sides. With that confidence will come composure and less self inflicted errors.
Finally, strange time to hold a game of football. You can't generate an atmosphere at midday on a Sunday when people are used to getting stuck into their Yorkshire puds. However, the time and the weather did dull the participation of the Millwall thugs which is obviously a good thing.
Onwards and upwards and off to Goodison on Wednesday!!
I thought Ajayi was a revelation in midfield. He showed great composure at times. If he can keep learning he could be a star. Manning grew into the game and is a great addition. We got the balance right between being well organised defensively and carrying an attacking threat. A job well done and great credit to everyone involved.
We dont need a defensive midfielder after semi performance. My only negative point is if warne is going to have 1 up front then we need the midfield to be closer to smudge as he won a load of headers but no one was there.for the knock downs
Vaulks is a good squad player but can be a yard of the pace imo.
So hopefully we can get a rb and attacking midfielder in on loan with option to buy
Defence sorted
Rb and lb still gives me nightmares
Fair play to Williams and Vassell yesterday. It didn't always come off for Williams but he ran his socks off and put a real defensive effort in, and his breaking at the end was reminiscent of Wembley where he terrorised Shrewsbury the longer the game went on. Vassell, that doesn't look a natural position for him yet but he worked tremendously hard and I liked how he wasn't afraid to run at people. His break near the end and vision to slide Smith in was a highlight. He might be a bit raw still but he is certainly a handful. Smith did his usual good work and Proctor now looks 100%. The most encouraging thing for me is that we are carrying a threat and causing opposition teams problems.
Ajayi is a central defender who can play defensive midfield if called on. He's not a natural midfield player, his touch is heavy. Still this week need a defensive midfielder & a right back. Vyner was better yesterday than tues but Millwall didn't exactly put him under pressure . I'd still send him back to his parent club to get him loaned out at league 1 level. What have I been saying since the start of the season play Williams on the right then you've got a player, on the left he may as well be sat with me. Vassell is happier on the left, he's good enough to put crosses/passes in with his left foot. We've got Newell whose more a natural left sided player. Wood is playing with the enthusiasm of a younger player but has I said Robertson is waiting in the wings. When he gets his chance he's got to take it, looks our best signing this season to me. Manning! who needs Towell. We don't. Wish one of those chances outside the box would fall to Vaulks, he's our best chance of scoring from there.
Great post from Glenn Miller. Warney got the selection,formation and tactics spot on resulting in a very hard earned win. I felt he would match Millwall up with a 4:4:2 formation but set up with a 4:1:4:1 formation with Ajayi sitting in front of the back four and giving a man of the match performance in my opinion. Difficult to knock any of the players performance and everyone of them stuck to the task and put their bodies on the line. We were the better side in the first half but had to defend most of the second half to keep the score at 1-0. Wood is at his best in these physical games but struggles as you would expect against quick moving forwards and quick thinking playmakers(the better teams have these sorts). Its tough on Smith playing up front on his own but with Vassell and Williams wide he has a better chance of linking with them than people like Ball,Forde and Taylor. Manning had a good first half but appeared to tire in the second half. He will improve when his fitness reaches 100%. With Ajayi in midfield at last we have a tackler and not a set of leg wavers in there. Away from home i would possibly put another defensive midfielder in there and play a 4;2:3:1 formation. Not sure who the second defensive midfielder should be but definitely not Vaulks or Palmer who are better going forward. I would play Vaulks in the centre of the three with Williams and Manning either side of him. That would mean leaving Vassell out which would be harsh but playing away from home is about stifling the opposition and grinding out points. Finally Raggett is on loan till Jan 19 and the way Norwich are letting goals in i wouldnt be surprised if they want him back. Lots of time to go before we worry about that but If Ajayi holds down the midfield spot it would mean bringing Robertson in at the side of Wood giving us two left side centre backs and an unbalanced look. I dont see Onarise,Jones or Vyner as options at centre back. They look to lack a physical presence but i could be wrong.
If we are ever going to control games we've got to learn to control games, when and who presses, when to chill keep some ball and only 1 or 2 players having instructions to break the lines. We needed to do that yesterday when for the first 15 mins of 2nd half Millwall threatened to turn the game, and earned a lot of corners because of their attacking intent. Our solution is to sit deeper, while in L1 & L2 this works it doesn't at this level, better players will find that out. The alternative to sitting deep is playing higher up the pitch, possession based but only taking strategic risks. For anyone there yesterday we do have the ability to do this, those 3 or 4 times we did possession football then countered really quickly was sublime, but we need to do it more often. I'm not taking anything away from the lads as they'll all be aching today. I just think we need to learn to be smarter especially when in games we score first which should give us control.
As for the officials, I will obviously protect them as far as I can, but the standard of some decision making yesterday was extremely poor, and not what you should expect from what really should be the top 100-150 officials this country produces.
We got a great result and we gave everything we had, we were hanging on for most if not all of the second half. It shows how hard it will be to win games or even draw them in this league, A good team performance even Mattock looked better (he still gave them a goal scoring opportunity within 1 min of the game starting with a stupid foul). Vaulks was a shattered and should have been swapped on 80 mins for Palmer to freshen up the midfield for the last 10 mins, as it happened we got away with it