The club, who have quickly and somewhat incredibly shaken off their 9 months of administration blues being bought by a rich group of investors from Bahrain. They even call themselves the phoenix group. Tasteful , prophetic or wishful thinking ?
Peeping in at their fans chatter one comes away all of a flutter . They have spent quickly, and brought in several new players. The fans boast their forward line is so strong and good its difficult to know who to pick. They also believe their midfield is the envy of L1 boasting Championship pedigree.
The one fly in the ointment might be the sheer amount of new players and the challenge of binding quickly to mount a top 6 challenge.
I would try a defensive minded set-up with 2 forwards at some point in the game. Just not sure whether to start it at the beginning or wait to see if we are drawing or losing at around 65 minutes.
Could of course just leave smudge up on his own but I'm not too much of a fan of that for this season. I'll gamble and start with 2 up.
Boom.
-- Edited by ian on Friday 13th of August 2021 03:49:07 PM
I cant see the team being very different from the one that started against Plymouth. Possibly Ferguson for Miller at left wing back. And the bench will look stronger.
It doesnt matter when you concede but the last minute of injury time when you have already given them a silly free kick in the first of the added five mins, what was odiffin doing, their player wasn't going anywhere he was constantly tugging at his shirt an insane free kick to give away in the last minute, I sat there waiting for the free kick to hit the net and it did, another defeat and another coming from set pieces, we had that problem last season we seem to switch off and we have to address that. It was a strange time to do the substitution at a corner and he doesn't look anywhere near match ready, why wasn't Rathbone put on for the last 10 mins to bring bite and energy into midfield, I never get Warnes subs they seem so strange in terms of changes and timings. We need a result in midweek we do not want to be going in a revitalised Wednesday team next saturday on the back of three defeats.
We've lost away to one of the supposed promotion favourites in a game in which we were the better side. At one end of the pitch we lacked the finishing touch. I dont know why Ladapo didnt play, but if he isnt going to play we need to get a new striker in sharpish. A front two of Smith and Kayode will run and work hard all day long but wont get us the number of goals that we need. At the other end of the pitch we conceded a terrible goal in the last minute. A poor free kick to concede and dreadful marking from it. This defeat isnt the end of the world but it hurts because we shouldn't have lost the game at all.
Awful game management by both the team on and off the pitch.
That game was crying out for a pressing midfielder as substitute in the second half. We conceded time and territory to them in the 2nd half and they bullied us. It was last season again. Needless pressure invited and novice defending. Did ladapo touch the ball. If he didn't he can't be blamed because our midfield retreated to the 18 yard line and bedded down reducing our chance of an out ball to relieve some pressure.Fine tactics if you are about to give birth or trying to avoid a speeding fine , but woeful on the football pitch.
They looked like they might won it and 9f course they did. It's somewhat of a shame because we looked the more capable side. However, they out thought us in the second half.
I'm afraid it's one of those games we saw last year. It looked like a golden chance for 3 points that seemed to be thrown away by our technical team.
On the bright side we looked good 1st half when we had the zeal and fitness and they hadn't figured us out.
Woeful going forward second half.
I might also ponder if the squad are still full of resentment from last season because it looks like a few have their heads anywhere bar on the pitch.
Defeat is always hard to take but I wouldnt overreact to what was a narrow and somewhat unfortunate away defeat to a decent side. We hit the crossbar/post fifteen minutes before the end. Very fine margins indeed. There are things to work on but it wasnt a bad performance. If we had gone there and been outfought or outplayed I would be concerned, but today was a long way from any of that. If you have a look at their main message board you will see that their supporters generally acknowledge that a draw was the most they deserved and that they have pinched a win. Three points from two games for us isnt the end of the world and I think there is plenty to be optimistic about. Post- match Warne said that Ladapo hadn't trained yesterday because of illness so Kayode's inclusion makes a bit more sense. He actually did alright although he faded a bit. We do need that other option up front.
This game had a draw written all over it. We had the better of the first half with Ogbene showing he will be a major weapon in this league if we can keep him fit. i also thought Miller did ok in the first half. In the second half they began to get a grip on the game and pushed us back. Imo we still either lack somebody who can put their foot on the ball and take control of the midfield (watch Bannan next Saturday) or a belief that we can keep on the front foot over most of the game. Both sides had chances to go in front over the 90 minutes, with lindsay missing a great chance and Barlaser unlucky with his header that hit the woodwork. They also missed a sitter from close range. Most of our supporters were hoping for the final whistle because we were deep and inviting them on for the last quarter of the game.
I don't blame the management for conceding in the 95th minute. If blame is needed you have to point at Odoffin for giving away a needless free kick. The ball in for the goal was up there with the best and any side would have found it difficult to defend. Lots of goals are conceded from dead ball kicks, that is why you have to stop conceding them in dangerous areas.
Ladapo was ill on Friday and it was felt he wasn't able enough to play the full game. Kayode has come in a bit too early in his development imo and i agree with all, that another option is required up front. I still think a case can be made for Sadlier who would bring something different to our midfield. i also think Rathbone might have a bit more than wiles and lindsay and would like to see the best two of those three form our engine room. Barlaser needs time and space to be at his best. i am not sure this division will give him that luxury. The problem is as i said before his star is waining because of his performances. I am not sure our style of play will see an improvement either. Not all doom and gloom because we were as good as a side who are fancied to be up there. My worry we are too predictable with this set up.
David - warne stated last week the only option for a striker is a loan as we do not have the money to buy a player of the quality that would be needed, I do agree with you we need two, however not playing Sadlier in the No10 slot behind Smith makes no sense when your other striker is too ill to play 90 mins. Paul Warnes teams do not play football, it is all about working hard and long ball or direct if we are being kind. Most commentators last season on the televised games said of Rotherham that we are a high energy direct team, that has a place but we do have footballers in this squad, they are not coached to play, I think many teams will pass the ball around us this season, as we are too one dimensional. The substitution was poor, wrong time of the game and the wrong player, the result was he made a mistake we lost the game, this is a repeated pattern from the management, people don't want to see it, that is fine it is all about opinions.
Personally I could see the logic in all of the substitutions at the time they were made. I bet that if Warne had a crystal ball with him he probably wouldn't have made the Odoffin substitution given what transpired, but sadly he hasnt got one. That doesnt mean it was the wrong thing to do in the moment. You could argue that a sub needs time to get used to the pace of the game. You could also argue that tired players tend to make more mistakes than fresh players. If Warne hadn't made the change and we had conceded I suspect that he would have been criticised by some for not using the permitted three substitutions. It's easy to criticise with the benefit of hindsight.
Use of the phrase 'people dont want to see it' after expressing your own opinion is an interesting one by the way, Derby. It suggests that your opinion represents fact that others are wilfully blind to. Is that really what you think?
-- Edited by smiler on Sunday 15th of August 2021 04:24:40 PM
So warne you knew we would only have 3 strikers come end of last season, still.perplexed with the comment we are waiting to july wtf.
Recipe for disaster and we will play long ball as thats all he knows whether smith is in team or not
no it is not what I think it is what you infer from my post
I am worried with the constant inability to address the striker issue at Rotherham, this has been an issue throughout Warnes time at the club and it cannot just be about money. We get linked to a lot of strikers yet we fail to close the deal time and time again, I wonder if it is because after spending £500k on Freddie and him not being prolific are the board unconvinced by Warnes selection of players? people in football try to make it out to be massively complicated, it is not, how the end results are achieved are obviously where the skills of the coaches come in, but the basics are if you do not score goals and you concede goals you lose games and therefore end up in a relegation fight. In those areas I see our issues as
1. Poor game management in later stages of matches
2. Poor use of subs
3. Inability to do the dark arts
4. Poor defending of set pieces
5. Took too long to find a left back so relied on a decent player that is now two seasons past his sell by date
6. No depth in the forwards
7. forwards are very similar
8. Poor player recruitment in the forwards
9. Failure to try a different approach
10. tactic is get it wide and cross.....how many natural headers do we have or smart forwards that attack the cross on the front post?
11. Relying too much on loans
12. Not giving players a run o games and judging them purely on fractions of games and training
All of these are addressable if they want to, just an opinion based on what I observe by watching the game.
Some very good points from 'Derby' and i have to say i agree with most of them. I am no fan of Freddie ladapo but to say after spending 500K on him and not being prolific, are the board unconvinced by warnes selection of players is stretching it a bit. Ladapo has played in 75 games for us and scored 24 times. Quite a few of these games he came on as sub, so i am not saying he is prolific but his scoring record is decent. If we were to question is other contributions in a game then i think we might have a strong argument. He is also somebody who suffers from the long ball tactics we have employed over a long period of time.
Michael smith has been a massive part of our play since his arrival. He is certainly not a prolific goalscorer. 145 games and only 33 goals. However, his contribution to the team in other areas, hold up play, laying off, winning headers, crosses, etc has been massive. I am going over old ground i know here, but with Smith in the team it is too easy to lump it forward to relieve pressure thus missing out on our strength which is talented midfield and defensive players who can play the ball out. That i do believe is the tactics of Barker and Warne and a mentality the players now seem to have. If this style carries on we will finish mid table at best. Division one sides expect it and set up to combat it. We will struggle to beat better teams in this division if we carry on with more of the same. Tomorrow is the ideal time to change style and play the ball on the floor. Smith has a good first touch and has the ability to get a decent ball in (Wiles goal against Plymouth). He is not just a battering ram. Change is needed and this is not a knee jerk reaction to two defeats but an observation over a long period of time.
Whiston good point about Freddie, my point was more would the board have expected more from him for the amount they spent, I think he is a decent finisher if we play football to suit his style of play. So if the board are unhappy is this a reason why we seem reluctant to invest further, it is just a question?
I agree about Smith, he is best at holding the ball up when it is played into the channels or to feet, he isn't the best in the box he always seems slow to anticipate where the ball will be played, I think Warne expects more from his midfielders in getting into the box if smith or the wing backs are crossing and to be fair he is right, we have lost that with Crooks moving on
I don't see any evidence that the Board are unhappy with our transfer dealings. Warne didn't buy Vaulks but he helped to make him a player who made us a lot of money whereas he wasn't even a first team regular when Warne took over. Ajayi and Crooks are both Warne signings who have made us hefty profits. We currently have other Warne signings on the books who I am sure would attract decent fees and make decent profits for us if sold. Ogbene and Smith are obvious examples. I can't think of many if any players who we have paid a fee for who haven't proved to be decent signings.
Ladapo is someone who knows where the goal is. His contribution on general plays is questionable at best. I don't think he would fare any better in a side that played better football. He gives the ball away a lot. His strength is as an instinctive finisher.
We do need another striker and one who offers something different. We also need goals from midfield. Wiles got one against Plymouth. Lindsay should have scored at Wigan and Barlaser was desperately unlucky not to do so, so that is encouraging. For me, Wiles in particular will be under pressure from Rathbone for his place. Sadlier also has his fans. There is competition for places in midfield which is good.
I agree that we haven't used the loan market well in the past. I also agree that we have the players to play more football on the ground. There are spells in games when we show that we can do it. The build up to Lindsay's chance on Saturday and to Barlaser's header were both great examples.
I just don't agree with the points about game management. The fact is that a significant proportion of goals are scored in the last few minutes across the divisions as players tire and teams takes risks trying to changes outcomes. We have been on the wrong end of that but have also benefitted from it ourselves at times. Generally speaking, we have suffered by conceding late goals in the Championship because we have been up against superior opponents and have often chased the ball for long periods. Generally speaking, we have benefitted from late goals in League One - although obviously not on Saturday. It is something we can always work on, but it isn't an issue that is unique to us.
We played 35 games in our last League One season. I have had a look at the stats for the number of times we scored the last goal of the game in the last ten minutes and also the number of times the opposition scored the last goal of the game in the last ten minutes during that season.
The stats are as follows.
In eleven games we scored the final goal of the game in the last ten minutes. Six of them were winning goals (away at Wimbledon, away at Blackpool, away at Shrewsbury, at home to Blackpool, at home to Burton and away at Accrington). One was an equaliser (at home to Fleetwood). Four were academic (either adding to an existing lead (three times) or a consolation goal (once)).
In three games the opposition scored the final goal of the game in the last ten minutes. We conceded late equalisers at home to Tranmere and Wimbledon, and a deciding goal at Doncaster.
No doubt the stats look different in our subsequent Championship season because we were largely up against better sides whereas in League One we were usually the better side. Having said that, we did get the odd late winner. Without checking all the games, last minute winners at Wycombe and Hillsborough spring to mind.
With the greatest respect, the idea that late substitutions cost us points or that we can't manage games or are somehow always on the wrong end of late goals doesn't really stack up. The stats I think tend to show what we all already know, which is that we come under pressure in the Championship because we struggle to compete in there, but that we are a strong League One side.
