Just Back v Swansea on Sky

silverlion

Well-known member
Staff member
An end to our vague play off hopes after this comprehensive defeat.

We started brightly and on the front foot. We pressed forward well from the first whistle and it wasn't long before we had our first chance. Danny was looking lively down the right and his decent cross found Billy who shot and it as deflected wide for a corner. From the set piece Cooper's header was wide. A few minutes later a long throw was nodded on by Cooper but Bennett's shot was saved. After a bright 15 minutes they started to come into it more. Their passing in the middle was controlled and they looked sharp up front. A good move put Lowe in the clear but Bart spread himself well to save his shot. They were not deterred and played some decent joined up football and pressed forward with intent. We defended well but they continued to threaten. We did get a breakaway and a great ball from Molly found Jed in space but the flag went up wrongly for offside. We just needed to see out the half with one added minute but we just couldn't manage it. There was a tussle for the ball in the middle with Dutch, Billy and their midfielder. They won it, moved it out swiftly to Ayew on the right who cut inside and hit a firm shot for 1-0. The ref blew for half time soon after.

It was a case of regrouping for the second half and we came out looking lively. A free kick was half cleared and played back in to Cooper who headed it across goal and it struck the far post. They regained control in the middle and pressed us back. We were trying to get another foothold in the game but they were having none of it. The best we could offer was a cross from Danny and a near post shot from Bennett which went wide. They looked threatening going forward and we were looking toothless in attack. It was time for fresh legs. Off went Bennett, Dutch and Pearce and we moved to four at the back. On came Romeo Ken and Mahoney. We tried hard to get back into it but little changed. A few minutes later on came Williams for Billy and Bod for Bennett. We pressed forward in search of an equaliser but they put it out of our reach with a decent goal from Lowe on the break. We had not given up hope and Romeo battled down the right and crossed for Molly to shoot but his effort was blocked. Another shot from Ken was heading for the top corner but their keeper saved well. They put the game to bed with a second goal from Lowe from inside the box and we huffed and puffed but couldn't really get close and the game ended with them on top.

Bart could do little about the three he conceded. Danny was lively and energetic but didn't get too much joy down the right. Murray was solid and so was Cooper and Pearce played better than he did against Stoke. Molly was lively down the left but didn't have to many forays down the left, especially when we went to four at the back. Billy was lively and aggressive in the middle but had little opportunity to shine and push the ball forward with any threat. Dutch looked solid and Evans battled hard but was contained. Jed ran hard to little effect and Bennett was likewise. Ken looked a little better upfront and had one good shot well saved. Mahoney did very little and Romeo looked OK when he replaced Danny. Bod ran around and looked busy and Williams played a few decent long passes.

In the end we were beaten by a better side. They were resilient in defence, solid in the middle but had a lot more venom in attack than we did. By comparison we were toothless. So, now we are playing for pride as a top six finish looks very very remote unless others go completely belly up..
 
The second half was a complete embarrassment.
It was from the 60th minute when we went 4-4-2 and set ourselves up to be slaughtered.

Swansea had some lucky moments, but we did absolutely nothing to continue to put the pressure on them when they were in trouble.

Felt sorry fr Bennett. Worked his nuts iff but had so little support. Jed was anonymous. Wingbacks forced back too deep.

But to abandon three in midfield against a quality midfield's like Swansea....oh, dear, oh dear...

Subs: Williams - contribution zero except pointlessly passing back when we were chasing the game it and needed to be moved forward. Bod - probably will never score again. And did nothing to worry Swansea in any way. A passenger. Playing with nine men with these two in together.

Bewildered.
 
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Cheers as always Silver ,a painfull defeat but not as bad as the scoreline suggests , the first half mainly 20 min saw us pass the ball really well ,the ball ran for them and the goal on the stroke of HT was a hammer blow that we never recovered from ,if only Coopers header had gone in I really felt we would go on and win it .Bod Bradshaw Pearce Williams and fist should now not get anywhere near the bench ,give the kids a few min ,nothing to lose . Danny Mac and Billy stood out and my MOM goes to Billy Mitchell tryed hard was everywhere .
 
Cheers as always Silver ,a painfull defeat but not as bad as the scoreline suggests , the first half mainly 20 min saw us pass the ball really well ,the ball ran for them and the goal on the stroke of HT was a hammer blow that we never recovered from ,if only Coopers header had gone in I really felt we would go on and win it .Bod Bradshaw Pearce Williams and fist should now not get anywhere near the bench ,give the kids a few min ,nothing to lose . Danny Mac and Billy stood out and my MOM goes to Billy Mitchell tryed hard was everywhere .
Agree with all that. apart from going on to win.
 
Poor performance today in a game where it really looked like one side had something to play for and one didn’t.
 
One observation away from the match...

During the two minutes silence to mark our respects for the passing of Prince Philip...

Our manager filmed live with head up, rather than bowed, aggressively chewing on gum and with both hands nonchalantly in pockets.

Next to him an assistant with bobble hat on which, of course, should have been taken off for the two minutes.

Together, it was a highly unimpressive, one might say unattractive, spectacle.

Not Millwall FC's finest moment.
 
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Poor performance today in a game where it really looked like one side had something to play for and one didn’t.
Cheers, Silver!

I think opposing managers know how hard it is for us to score goals. They do their homework. They know Wallace and Bennett are not out an out forwards, and also know that if they nullify our midfield (which has improved dramatically with the additions of Keef and Mitchell), then service to the front two is almost non existent!

Swansea had tall centre halfs who were quite comfortable dealing with any balls that actually made it into their area, and without a real attacking midfielder who could weave his way through players to either score for himself, or lay on a pass for our ‘forwards’ to have a shot on goal, we were absolutely toothless.

We’ve been sussed out, and Rowett has to do better with formations and subs if he’s to get the better of his fellow managers in the future.
 
Cheers for the report, as always, Silver. I thought we started the game looking quick, and strong, but as I feared, we failed to keep up the momentum in the 2nd half. If only the whistle had blown before their first goal, we could have had the confidence to make a good game of it. Some of the substitutions were debatable, but on we go to a top half finish in a shitty season for all concerned.
 
One observation away from the match...

During the two minutes silence to mark our respects for the passing of Prince Philip...

Our manager filmed live with head up, rather than bowed, aggressively chewing on gum and with both hands nonchalantly in pockets.

Next to him an assistant with bobble hat on which, of course, should have been taken off for the two minutes.

Together, it was a highly unimpressive, one might say unattractive, spectacle.

Not Millwall FC's finest moment.
Yes. Not very classy, was it?
Certainly no Kenny Jackett.
 
It was from the 60th minute when we went 4-4-2 and set ourselves up to be slaughtered.

Swansea had some lucky moments, but we did absolutely nothing to continue to put the pressure on them when they were in trouble.

Felt sorry fr Bennett. Worked his nuts iff but had so little support. Jed was anonymous. Wingbacks forced back too deep.

But to abandon three in midfield against a quality midfield's like Swansea....oh, dear, oh dear...

Subs: Williams - contribution zero except pointlessly passing back when we were chasing the game it and needed to be moved forward. Bod - probably will never score again. And did nothing to worry Swansea in any way. A passenger. Playing with nine men with these two in together.

Bewildered.
Jim, "Swansea had some lucky moments" - well you can say that again! I was watching carefully throughout the game after every 50:50 ran for them in the first 10-15 mins and they got lucky with our early shots on goal which could easily have gone in. Their goal certainly led a charmed life. Thereafter they had the rub of the green for every ricochet and that's how their first came about.The scoreline flattered them. Plus Ayew got away with murder conning the ref every time Coops breathed on the whinging c**nt.
 
Cheers as always Silver ,a painfull defeat but not as bad as the scoreline suggests , the first half mainly 20 min saw us pass the ball really well ,the ball ran for them and the goal on the stroke of HT was a hammer blow that we never recovered from ,if only Coopers header had gone in I really felt we would go on and win it .Bod Bradshaw Pearce Williams and fist should now not get anywhere near the bench ,give the kids a few min ,nothing to lose . Danny Mac and Billy stood out and my MOM goes to Billy Mitchell tryed hard was everywhere .
Sorry Mark, I think it was worse than the score line suggests. Men against boys.
Yes, we could have scored a goal or two before their first, but they could have had two or three more as well. The quality of their supply line far outclassed ours. And they had a couple of strikers who knew the way to goal.
We must address this before the new season or else it will be the same again.
As others have said on here, do we have a scouting network?
If so who are they? Have they ever been introduced to the supporters?
We will be having the same problems next season if we do not offload the dead wood, and there are a few of them. Before we recruit, I reckon we will have to offload. I won't hold my breath.