BFTG - Blackpool (A)

[windermereROYAL]

The second goal was headed in 3 yards from the goal line , the keeper can use his hands and can outreach any defender or attacker , Southwood is standing on his line , he must be commanding this area , he actually finishes behind the line , in the net . He must boss this area .
Admittedly our defenders should command their own box ( Sonko , style ) but I’ve not seen that for a few seasons . That close to goal is the keepers .

Yes agree, he needs to be much stronger and clear everything out.

[Jagermesiter1871]

Absolutely abysmal. Pathetic performance from the gutless twats. Really surprised and disappointed with that and it’s so below the level we are capable of. What is it with these players?

Ince needs to take huge blame for this, how has he not made the change earlier? How did Ince stay on the pitch? The selection confused me, was Holmes injured? Why move Rino to RB where he won’t be as effective, after being so influential in the Birmingham win. Why move Yids to LB where he’s looked so poor prior (though admittedly was probably the best of the bunch today). Midfield was atrocious, TDB was useless, ditto DD. Defence not even League One standard performances, Tmac and Morro crap. Swift deserved to be hooked at half time, a couple of decent bits of quality but by and large awful. Slowed things down way too much, doesn’t know when to shoot, indecisive. Southwood showing why he was dropped, one good save (straight at him) but was poor at commanding his box.

I lost count how many times we fcuked up decent opportunities, ignored runs, poor passes, being too indecisive. Our decision making as a team is laughably bad. Attitude today sucked, lack of urgency and lack of fight.

Only positive is Ejaria looked promising. Lots of work to do.

Orite. So it wasn't the manager after all?

[Snowflake Royal]

I can only comment on the highlights shown on Sky .
First 2 goals , headers within 4 yards of goal line . Weak goalkeeping , this is his area . Third goal , where were the defenders , nowhere near the attacker who has a direct path to goal , why isn’t he marked , when two of them get to him , they challenge like bloody schoolgirls ! Fourth goal , more schoolgirl defending , no strength of purpose in our box .
Whenever Southwood is in goal he is going to be pressured and bullied by attackers , this is a major problem .

Southwood seemed to be caught in two minds for the first and ended up in no man’s land. He has to take some responsibility for that but the marking was non existent.
For the second surely Morrison is mainly culpable. What on earth was he doing not jumping? Our centre backs have all been dismal this season bar Dann who has been at best average.

Only thing you can say on the second for Southwood is he slips as he's recovering from his initial move towards the near post, which hampers him.

First, I don't think he has a chance of getting there first, but he does seem to flap in the wrong place to try to save.

No worse on any of the goals than Hein has been.

[RoyalBlue]

I can only comment on the highlights shown on Sky .
First 2 goals , headers within 4 yards of goal line . Weak goalkeeping , this is his area . Third goal , where were the defenders , nowhere near the attacker who has a direct path to goal , why isn’t he marked , when two of them get to him , they challenge like bloody schoolgirls ! Fourth goal , more schoolgirl defending , no strength of purpose in our box .
Whenever Southwood is in goal he is going to be pressured and bullied by attackers , this is a major problem .

Southwood seemed to be caught in two minds for the first and ended up in no man’s land. He has to take some responsibility for that but the marking was non existent.
For the second surely Morrison is mainly culpable. What on earth was he doing not jumping? Our centre backs have all been dismal this season bar Dann who has been at best average.

Only thing you can say on the second for Southwood is he slips as he's recovering from his initial move towards the near post, which hampers him.

First, I don't think he has a chance of getting there first, but he does seem to flap in the wrong place to try to save.

No worse on any of the goals than Hein has been.

Really?? IMO, far too many people wearing 'he's one of our own' rose-tinted glasses. Hein head and shoulders (not just literally) above him at this stage in their respective careers. Unfortunately we now have to make do with Southwood for the rest of the season, due to Hein inexplicably managing to injure himself in an accident at home!

[NathStPaul]

I think yesterday answered the question once and for all about Southwood being our number 1 next season, he's just not quite at Championship level. He lacks command of the 18 yard box and a lack of size means he's vulnerable on set pieces. Being a smaller keeper is fine provided you're playing with a decent defence in front of you but we don't have that luxury.

Would like to see us bringing in an experienced and proven number 1 in the summer, Southwood as back up.

[Franchise FC]

Given the number of players out of contract, don’t we have bigger fish to fry than a goalkeeper.
Particularly if the worst happens and we’re in League One

[Snowflake Royal]

Southwood seemed to be caught in two minds for the first and ended up in no man’s land. He has to take some responsibility for that but the marking was non existent.
For the second surely Morrison is mainly culpable. What on earth was he doing not jumping? Our centre backs have all been dismal this season bar Dann who has been at best average.

Only thing you can say on the second for Southwood is he slips as he's recovering from his initial move towards the near post, which hampers him.

First, I don't think he has a chance of getting there first, but he does seem to flap in the wrong place to try to save.

No worse on any of the goals than Hein has been.

Really?? IMO, far too many people wearing 'he's one of our own' rose-tinted glasses. Hein head and shoulders (not just literally) above him at this stage in their respective careers. Unfortunately we now have to make do with Southwood for the rest of the season, due to Hein inexplicably managing to injure himself in an accident at home!

Far roo many people who seem to think Hein is great because he comes from PL Arsenal.

He probably is way better than a 19 year old Southwood. But he's not competing with 19 year old Southwood.

[Millsy]

Given the number of players out of contract, don’t we have bigger fish to fry than a goalkeeper.

Yes we do have bigger fish to fry on so many levels but focussing on the immediate task at hand we need to prevent relegation.

All this Southwood v Hein nonsense has distracted us from the elephant in the room that none of them is near good enough. We don't really have an adequate keeper for this level and definitely not for a relegation fight. A keeper commands the area and organises the defence. Many of our goals are directly or indirectly down to having a mediocre keeper. Any team knows they can pump crosses into the area and we'll make some sort of cockup.

If we could only sign one free transfer I'd say it's got to be either keeper or full back.

[RoyalBlue]

Only thing you can say on the second for Southwood is he slips as he's recovering from his initial move towards the near post, which hampers him.

First, I don't think he has a chance of getting there first, but he does seem to flap in the wrong place to try to save.

No worse on any of the goals than Hein has been.

Really?? IMO, far too many people wearing 'he's one of our own' rose-tinted glasses. Hein head and shoulders (not just literally) above him at this stage in their respective careers. Unfortunately we now have to make do with Southwood for the rest of the season, due to Hein inexplicably managing to injure himself in an accident at home!

Far roo many people who seem to think Hein is great because he comes from PL Arsenal.

He probably is way better than a 19 year old Southwood. But he's not competing with 19 year old Southwood.

I think he's good because he's shown it. Something acknowledged by pundits who should be able to spot a decent keeper and also by goalkeeping coaches I've spoken to. Until he somehow managed to injure himself at home he was also outperforming a 24 year old Luke Southwood. Any suggestion that he's not better at commanding his area and gathering high balls is ludicrous IMO. He may not have been the ideal solution but he was better than we previously had available. Now, if the rules permit, we need to find someone even better.

[Snowflake Royal]

Really?? IMO, far too many people wearing 'he's one of our own' rose-tinted glasses. Hein head and shoulders (not just literally) above him at this stage in their respective careers. Unfortunately we now have to make do with Southwood for the rest of the season, due to Hein inexplicably managing to injure himself in an accident at home!

Far roo many people who seem to think Hein is great because he comes from PL Arsenal.

He probably is way better than a 19 year old Southwood. But he's not competing with 19 year old Southwood.

I think he's good because he's shown it. Something acknowledged by pundits who should be able to spot a decent keeper and also by goalkeeping coaches I've spoken to. Until he somehow managed to injure himself at home he was also outperforming a 24 year old Luke Southwood. Any suggestion that he's not better at commanding his area and gathering high balls is ludicrous IMO. He may not have been the ideal solution but he was better than we previously had available. Now, if the rules permit, we need to find someone even better.

Lol. Omg you think some pundits agree with you, so you must be right.

[Franchise FC]

Far roo many people who seem to think Hein is great because he comes from PL Arsenal.

He probably is way better than a 19 year old Southwood. But he's not competing with 19 year old Southwood.

I think he's good because he's shown it. Something acknowledged by pundits who should be able to spot a decent keeper and also by goalkeeping coaches I've spoken to. Until he somehow managed to injure himself at home he was also outperforming a 24 year old Luke Southwood. Any suggestion that he's not better at commanding his area and gathering high balls is ludicrous IMO. He may not have been the ideal solution but he was better than we previously had available. Now, if the rules permit, we need to find someone even better.

Lol. Omg you think some pundits agree with you, so you must be right.

There’s a significant number of pundits that don’t even know the laws of the game, which is the absolute fundamental, so I wouldn’t take agreeing with them as necessarily a good thing

[Snowflake Royal]

Well exactly. It's the shittest appeal to authority going.

[Kitsondinho]

Southwood seemed to be caught in two minds for the first and ended up in no man’s land. He has to take some responsibility for that but the marking was non existent.
For the second surely Morrison is mainly culpable. What on earth was he doing not jumping? Our centre backs have all been dismal this season bar Dann who has been at best average.

Only thing you can say on the second for Southwood is he slips as he's recovering from his initial move towards the near post, which hampers him.

First, I don't think he has a chance of getting there first, but he does seem to flap in the wrong place to try to save.

No worse on any of the goals than Hein has been.

Really?? IMO, far too many people wearing 'he's one of our own' rose-tinted glasses. Hein head and shoulders (not just literally) above him at this stage in their respective careers. Unfortunately we now have to make do with Southwood for the rest of the season, due to Hein inexplicably managing to injure himself in an accident at home!

Hein has flapped about like Southwood yesterday in all of his games. If Hein had been in goal yesterday, he makes the same mistakes on the first two as Southwood (Hein often stands just behind his own line for corners…why, I dunno!) He might have stopped 3 or 4, but we’d still have lost.
The real problem is they are both average keepers behind a piss poor defence. We need a Martinez or Al-Habsi right now. Hein and Southwood are neither.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

4-1 flattered them really in the grand scheme of things but it only further highlights how poor we are defensively, although it is to be expected when everything is a bit makeshift at the back which affects every area of the team. Still, no excuses to be made for some of the defending though, particularly the first 2 goals. A new goalkeeper has to be our absolute priority in the summer if we stay in the Championship, I'm not convinced by either Southwood or Hein personally speaking, obviously the latter is out for the remainder of the season now anyway. I want Southwood to succeed as a homegrown player, but at this time he's costing us too many goals and dropped points. I still think he's had a pretty good season on record, but he is also costing us a lot of goals as well.

We definitely need to bring another defender in, preferably a full back who can play on either side but predominantly left back, just to give us that cover, we've only really got 2 natural full backs in our squad, although Holmes and McIntyre can play there when fit.

Overall, plenty to work on, really disappointing result but a good week's work for Millwall, who have won their last 4 games, next week and hopefully we can get both Holmes and Dann back in the matchday squad if possible and possibly bring in a full back as well. If we can manage to stay relatively injury free between now and May, we should stay up.

[CountryRoyal]

As someone unable to attend matches, genuine thanks to CountyRoyal for a really heartfelt and interesting report from a clearly deeply frustrated fan. But, blimey, while I believe him/her I didn't realise we are that atrocious.

I always say it how I see it, however I often say it at a time where passions are high, emotions are strong and complete objectivity can at times may be slightly missed. Normally when thinking we look like turning a page and only to spend best part of 8 hours round trip going to and from that crap.

I probably more often than not tend be on the more critical side of performances (from senior players) but I’ve seen how well we can play when we want to so it’s frustrating.

[paultheroyal]

Southwood at fault clearly for the first 2 goals - he has to be taking command of the situation, just shocking.

No blame for the other 2. Goalkeeping position is clearly an issue coupled with the fragile centre backs. Needs sorting this week. Jake Cooper on set pieces will be wetting his lips!!

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Millwall on set pieces will be wetting their lips!!

Amended that for you.

[URZZZZ]

Millwall on set pieces will be wetting their lips!!

Amended that for you.

It isn’t just set pieces to be fair. Feels like this team is forever conceding goals from crosses in general. We just never seem to engage the opposition higher up the pitch and they find pockets of space all around the pitch so easily

Regardless we’ve blamed Rafael this season, blamed Moore, blamed Southwood, blamed Holmes, Morrison is now “past it” and needs dropping, convinced McIntyre will get the same same treatment after a run of games. Think people need to look at the wider problem. If you allow crosses in time and time again, you’re going to concede goals and that’s a whole team problem, not solved by simply swapping out CB’s for each other

[Hound]

Millwall on set pieces will be wetting their lips!!

Amended that for you.

It isn’t just set pieces to be fair. Feels like this team is forever conceding goals from crosses in general. We just never seem to engage the opposition higher up the pitch and they find pockets of space all around the pitch so easily

Regardless we’ve blamed Rafael this season, blamed Moore, blamed Southwood, blamed Holmes, Morrison is now “past it” and needs dropping, convinced McIntyre will get the same same treatment after a run of games. Think people need to look at the wider problem. If you allow crosses in time and time again, you’re going to concede goals and that’s a whole team problem, not solved by simply swapping out CB’s for each other

there was a sky graphic the other week showing we have conceded more from crosses than any other side in the div - by a distance after the last 2 games I suspect

Pauno hinted that we concede a lot more corners than other teams as well. Not sure on the truth of this or how to find out, but it wouldnt surprise me

Obvs linked to the above - crosses often deflect out for corners.

I thought we did a bit better against Brum with Hoilett and Ince dropping further back. Certainly in Pauno's 4-2-3-1 there was a huge gap in front of our FBs which allowed wingers to constantly pick up the ball in space and run at them or cross. Thought that was a major and obvious failing that Pauno never came close to resolving

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Millwall on set pieces will be wetting their lips!!

Amended that for you.

It isn’t just set pieces to be fair. Feels like this team is forever conceding goals from crosses in general. We just never seem to engage the opposition higher up the pitch and they find pockets of space all around the pitch so easily

Regardless we’ve blamed Rafael this season, blamed Moore, blamed Southwood, blamed Holmes, Morrison is now “past it” and needs dropping, convinced McIntyre will get the same same treatment after a run of games. Think people need to look at the wider problem. If you allow crosses in time and time again, you’re going to concede goals and that’s a whole team problem, not solved by simply swapping out CB’s for each other

Yes, I was going to add that we are pretty poor at crosses in general, I do think that not having both Rino and Laurent in the midfield for most of the season hasn't really helped us. I genuinely think our best team could be a 3-4-3, set up similar to this:

Southwood
Holmes Dann McIntyre
Yiadom Rino Laurent Rahman
Meite Joao Swift

I think that would help us with our wide issue, having 3 CB's capable of defending the box whilst both Holmes and McIntyre have played full back before so they can cover for both Yiadom and Rahman should they get caught high in transitions, but just having 3 defenders in the box without the ball would help us. Swift can come in from the left and operate in those central zones whilst Rahman overlaps and Meite can come inside from the right, allowing Yiadom to overlap but Meite would join Joao at a pair with the ball whilst Swift operates between the lines just behind them.

Again, I think it just comes back to having a completely imbalanced squad though. I'm not sure Swift's best position is there, but he could be effective and we've got a lot of wide attacking players who would miss out as well. I believe it would sort a few of our issues out defensively and even going forward I'd still think we'd be strong as well. But our squad is too imbalanced. I'm not sure what Drinkwater gives us really without the ball, technically he is good and obviously a good player on his day, but he would need to play alongside both Rino and Laurent which wouldn't work for me, as where does Swift then fit in etc. TDB similar, good energy and technically quite good but I'm not sure where his best position is either.