1 point and a clean sheet. Positives for me. One step closer to survival It would appear that my application to become manager has been lost in the post as I haven't been selected for interview yet!!!
I would have been embarrassed if my Sunday league team played as badly as that. Total non football and we will be lucky to get another point.
Just how far have we fallen? A team that genuinely can't complete the simplest of passes (an accuracy stat of just 45% from a measly 266 passes - I can't remember seeing lower). A team reduced to long ball tactics suited more suited to Sunday in the park than the second tier of professional football. A defence for whom booting clearances the to the nearest opposition player is a step forward from recent weeks. A midfield that have gone from being a cohesive unit to a complete shambles in the space of a few months. And a team whose least worst player against an equally appalling Millwall side was a lanky carthorse who can't run or jump. Yes, we might now actually stay up but what's the point when this is product? I am genuinely considering not going on Saturday which would be the first home game missed in about 40 years - it really is that bad.
We needed a point last night at least, for survival, for confidence and to stop the rot. Eustace is not here for the long haul, and is probably on a bonus just to secure survival. Last night it didn't really matter how we got it. We got it. There were some positives from the performance... Manning, Scowen as an attacking midfielder and the clean sheet. I am afraid now we need to get through this season...and leave a core of a team for the next manager/ next season. If you think this season is bad...wait until next season.... Sent from my STF-L09 using Tapatalk
Agree with Beth in that it really doesn't matter how we play till the end of the season. Just scramble enough points somehow.
Agreed also. We are certainly not going to pick points up playing fast, attractive, passing football with intelligent movement.
We are certainly not going to play that sort of football with this group of demoralised players, who are in limbo not having a manager. Half of whom are out of contract in the summer with no indication of where they will be playing next year. Yes you can certainly blame the management, but the results did not really give the management much scope for action. We would have been baying for McLarens blood if he had still been managing last Saturday. I feel the management weren't happy with what was going on but wanted to get to the end of the season (apparently there was a mutual break point after one year in Steeeve's contract) and then try again, but the speeding wagon was just going down hill so fast that they had to step in. From what I understand Eustace has done all the coaching this season, McLaren has overseen things (!!) and through injury neccessity Eustace tried something a bit different last night with Manning and Scowen and actually started Matt Smith in one of the very few games in which he really should start (physical big millwall). If McLaren was still here I bet money that Cousins and Rangel would have started because they are trustworthy! No, I am not saying Eustace is our man, but I am saying that Eustace recognised a problem last night and tried to deal with it, and did so OK. I am sure we won't have Tim-not-nice-but-Dim in by Saturday; I will be interested to see what Eustace does to get us the 3 points that could seal our position (and get him a nice Brucie bonus)
I normally agree with your viewpoint Beth but couldn't agree less about this. I was actually going to pick out Manning and Scowen as among the most disappointing last night but then decided that as the entire team was awful it would be churlish to single them out. But as you've brought it up... Manning looked incredibly slow in the full back role (can't call him a wing back if he doesn't get forward) and coughed up corner after corner which provided Millwall's main hope of scoring. I have admired his contributions in the past and I'm sure he'd like to play elsewhere on the pitch but this lack of flexibility is a concern given how thin our squad is likely to be next term. As for Scowen, I don't remember a single decent pass from him and certainly nothing that created a chance. Playing him slightly higher up the pitch also meant he was less effective in his usual harrying role.
For me Scowen was our clear Motm, did his best to keep it tidy in midfield and was one of the only players even attempting to keep the ball on the deck and get some passing going. It's funny how we can see things so differently. Manning was on a hiding to nothing, dragged back from his loan and barely given a minutes playing time and then thrust in at left back, thought he did well all things considered. I think expecting anything near decent football from this beleaguered team with confidence rock bottom and the unexpected pressure off a relegation battle is asking a bit much. Like others have said, with 5 games to go it doesn't matter how we get the points we'll be hitting the reset button very soon anyway.
Agree with a lot of the comments on here about the result being the only thing that mattered but this post sums up last night excellently. That was definitely the worst game of football I have ever watched. The crumbs of comfort were that we got a valuable point and found that there are still teams in this division that are as poor as we are.
Good post but I totally disagree about Smith and the necessity to play him against a physical team. There lays the problem in my eyes. Look what problems BOS caused with speed against their physical centre backs. Speed and movement are key against big lump centre backs, not in my opinion, like for like. The line up and formation last night stil has me scratching my head in confusion.
I thought Scowen was MOM too, excellent last night. There were a couple of occasions when the way he shook off 2 or 3 opponents and came away with the ball, mistakedly made me think at first it was Freeman getting some form back, but no it was Scowen.
I watch through tinted blue white hooped glasses, mate. Just watched the highlights, which reminded me we were unlucky not to win that, especially from Smith close finishes 1st half.
Smith couldn't hit the proverbial cow's arse with a banjo, he causes disruption but you need a poacher to feed off him. Last night was so annoying because Millwall really were there for the taking...
He causes disruption if the ball is within a yard circumference of him, otherwise he is just a waste of a player.
theres a good reason right there why they should be putting in maximum effort not exactly putting themselves in the shop window at the moment are they
https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/queensparkrangers/news/50102 A more positive match report at last.
