Really disappointing match for us. It is actually all coming home to roost. Our propensity to not win team and individual battles out on the park and defend effectively will add to our anxieties that automatics may be at risk, despite adopting such a commanding lead against the chasing pack. At best this is a blip and we can ride it out. We've been beaten twice in one week home and away by teams up in the top six and despite questionable refereeing, we still have the team and the manager to blame for that. As with most things United do, eventually we get found out and are so wedded to a system it's difficult switch to another system. Millwall simply out fought us today and Bradshaw shows exactly what it's like to get away from a lummox like Egan and score some easy goals to put us down.
I was hoping we'd be much like the Swansea game when they put us under pressure and we emerged and dominated, but save for a vague period when we pressed in the second half, there wasn't one area on the pitch today where we won the game. Next game - Watford at home - the opposition are gonna smell blood and they are simply going to do the same as Boro and Millwall have done and that is out-football us. Millwall were impressive and focussed and picked on our frailties and when our midfield looks so weak and disjointed, the game is there to be lost before kickoff. Sure, we scored two away from home but this is more about the three we needlessly let in, and how Millwall bullied and bossed us and also about some strange refereeing decisions although they didn't much contribute to how we lost.
Foderingham 6/10: Not his best game and looking nervy. Beaten at the near post for Bradshaw's first and slow across his line for the second. He also maybe should have reacted for the cross for the third but I thing Egan has a shout in that
Bogle 5/10: An assist but a whole heap of problems what with Millwall charging up the flanks. He tried today did Jayden but you can see he is suffering from Berge being completely disconnected. He's just got no one to play with and play to.
Basham 5.5/10: I have no idea why Bash is playing today, even though at his age, he did his best. Skinned a few times and at others involved but slow these days
Egan 1/10: A real shocker. Worst game I have seen him play since the PL and he had some bobbar games then. Bullied all over the park, slow to track Bradshaws run for the first, jumping under the ball for the second and totally at blame for the third. Might I say he may benefit from a period on the bench next match?
Robinson 6.5/10: Had a real job coping with combined pace and physicality of Bradshaw and Burke but as ever, gave us a committed if clunky performance
Lowe 5/10: Timid outing. Ran all over at times by Burke and the rest of their flankers
Berge 2/10: A reversion to form for him. Berge isn't firstly worth his transfer fee and secondly suited to the English Championship game. He's dreadfully casual, slow and easy to pick off, his movement on and off the ball is well below what is needed and how the fuck he stays on after half time is anyones guess. If the board are after advertising him for sale and recouping some cost then he's letting that plan down by his dismal, carefree and somewhat nesh footballing
Norwood 5.5/10: Surrounded and robbed a few times but tried and failed to get some or other control. But it's control we lack.
Doyle 5.5/10: Up to his well taken if 'George Longed' free kick I was unimpressed. He grafted but it was more Osborn than Brown.
Jebbison 5/10: Couldn't really get engaged with the game and make the effect he can do. Should do better with one on ones.
McBurnie 5/10: Ran and ran and tried to mix things up but in truth achieved fuck all but winding up the ref. No idea why he was booked.
Osborn 5.5/10: Although he got involved, Osborn is not the answer and certainly not for Doyle who was playing far better than Berge
NDaiye 6/10: See also, hooking Jebbison for NDaiye. If the impetus is to go to 4-3-3 or 5-2-1-2 then get shut of Berge for Osborn and put NDaiye in the false nine or number ten billet to encourage play down the middle of the park. When he did arive NDaiye did at least fight to win the ball
McAtee 6.5/10: Looked a lot better and forward facing than recent games. Took his goal really well
HJ&SMcC 3/10: Poor tactics, poor ability to gain control and typically some daft substitutes in way of 'where's Coullibally?' 'why not stick Clark/Anel on for Bash or even Egan?' and 'what the fuck is a 'Sander Berge'?'
Lastly, two things. Sky TV are cunts. They can't wait for Middlesborough to overhaul us, it's clear. Why don't they just say it? And secondly, the standard of refereeing in this division is dreadful, really dreadful. It needs fixing or VAR is the answer.
Heads up for Fallowfield to wallop Watford
-------------------------------------Foderingham---------------------------------
-----------------Anel------------------Clark----------------JLT--------------------
Bogle--------------Norwood-----------------------McAtee-----------------Lowe
--------------------------------------NDaiye---------------------------------------
-------------------------McBurnie-------------Jebbison--------------------------
pommpey
I thought you’d picked 12. Then I realised I was including Pommpey. I suggest we give this lad a go! Can’t do any worse just a question of whether he gets picked in goal instead of Near Post Wes, in central defence instead of anyone or in midfield instead of the Beige lad.
So many bones to pick out of that game.
First off, your point on the coverage. I thought we had left behind the nauseating anti-United, or at least pro-someone else’s-narrative behind. Unfortunately we’ve stepped into Carrick-Fergie-Protégé-world that the media are so desperate to get behind.
The commentator I listened to had clearly digested one fact he was keen to use to death - Millwall have a good set-piece output. Completely failed to mention that we are right up there as well. The ‘wouldn’t it be great if Boro caught them’ is a narrative I hope the players would like to ram down their throats. Maybe this is how we get the underdog/everyone is against us tag that we are far more comfortable with!
On the playing side, I really can’t get rid of the nagging thought that 2022 was Wes’ peak and we are starting to see the onset of a downturn. That’s two he has let in at the bear post. Sounds harsh but he did let Archer bash one in where if he stood tall there would have been no way past. Today he was crouching down and had his angles all wrong. Then he wasn’t decisive and could have given away a penalty. He went down in slow motion almost Ramsdaleesque vs Villa. Where was his footwork? He did the same for the offside (but wrongly given) goal that we conceded vs Wigan. The third as you say, was more Egan and those stopping the cross but he was neither use nor ornament, reaching out for a ball he could never get an this not forming a barrier on the line either. Even if we do get back on track, we should be under no doubt that a keeper should be a priority. Like Long did against Jebbo, he made a save with his legs vs Bradshaw and I’m not sure either take that much credit; it was more bad striking they picked their legs out to be honest. Also he needs harden up a bit. He’s got all the resilience of a Rich Tea biscuit. I’ve never seen a goalkeeper go down so much after the slightest of collisions.
Defensively we seem to have lost all sense of organisation. Robinson wasn’t the main culprit but the left side was badly exposed twice in a few days. I think we need Clark in there. Robbo may consider himself unlucky but Clark might add more organisation to a defence losing its way. Maybe he can compete with Lowe. Norton from-Davies is a huge upgrade defensively on both Lowe and Robinson. We’re unfortunate to have lost O’Connell, got Rhys and then lost him too.
Bogle needs to be more decisive. He made a lot of backward passes and at one point just stood with the ball either because he’d no idea what to do or that there were no options made for him.
Norwood is going to live and die by those around him. We know what he does well. He’s being left completely in exposed by those around him disappearing.
Berge in games like this is a liability. There should be few instances where someone given a role in the middle of the park is seen strolling around. Midfield should always be involved. Him turning up on about 65 minutes doesn’t do justice to a guy who is supposedly coveted every window. If he thinks he’s better than us then he’s in for a rude awakening. He needs to be dropped or hooked if that is his current capabilities right now. Like Egan he’s not seemingly allowed to have a bad game, he’s merely having a game where something good will come from him, but later, so we need to persevere with 60 minutes of absence in the hope that something pivotal may occur. You can’t run a team like this. I’d rather have 30 mins of running his blood to water than 90 with 2/3 of it an exercise in conserving energy.
Doyle scored and it’s his first game back. If he was ready to play then I don’t see why he had to depart so early. His replacement I don’t wish to demean but if Osborn is the answer, I’m not sure of the question. Plus why have 3 left sided short midfield players whilst leaving a box to box right footed player at home. It makes no sense unless Coulibaly was injured. I saw enough vs Wrexham to suggest he’s more about him then Osborn ever will have.
I thought McBurnie, despite being given little protection from the ref and limited opportunities, continued to lead the line well and provided a sublime outside of the foot pass to Jebbison.
Jebbison still has a bit of Bambi on ice about him and really needs to protect the ball more but to me it did seem like we may have found the Jake Cooper, someone tall and quick and he seemed to have him rattled, to use the word of the moment. This then left me more perplexed as to why he was withdrawn if we were ‘going for it’.
We ended up with:
Wes
Bogle Egan Robinson Lowe
Berge Norwood McAtee Ndiaye
McBurnie Ndiaye
I would have preferred to have seen something like:
Wes
Bogle Egan Clark Robinson
McAtee Norwood Fleck
Ndiaye
Jebbison McBurnie
The subs made no sense. Osborn I’ve mentioned would not have been in my squad. He brings none of what Fleck would have brought. His first impact was to fail to clear the first man on balls into the box and like Lowe, if he was there for defensive robustness, where was he on the third?
Hecky needs to stop favouring players. I don’t know if we go with a Man City midfield and have both Doyle and McAtee next game but I don’t want Osborn in there and I wouldn’t let Berge off the hook with two half-arsed performances. Maybe there is even room for Fleck, Norwood and Doyle together, with McAtee as first change.
Final bug bear. Subs. We can make five. So get used to making 5. It will stop us getting so ragged late on in games and it will also more evenly distribute minutes and protect against injuries. It’s as if Hecky doesn’t know the rules changed and as one of the bigger clubs, it arguably favours us. Also as we can make 5, make use of all of them. Don’t hang back with 4 just in case. When we could only make 3, we didn’t just make 2 just in case, did we?
Please jeep Coulibaly in the match day squad. You risk alienating a potential long term talent for the club. In favour of what? Making sure Ozzy feels involved. He’s contributed 1 goal and 1 assist in all competitions. He’s one of the first I’d let go in the summer. Coming on as sub unconvincingly isn’t what will take us forward and he’s failed to nail down any spot for 4 years now. He had a little spell under Slav but that’s your lot. He can’t live off one good game vs Peterborough at home. Coulibaly can be part of future options. He’s not going to want to stay if he’s the one that’s always the first one dropped.