O/T Blackpool post match reflections

[mygiddypant]

In the spirit of honesty and speaking your mind...
I'll say it again, we have got some absolute Poundland fans. Utter sh**e again.

1. If my young daughter can brave the (not especially) cold weather, the watch-on-Sky season ticket holders should be embarrassed. At least one bloke on here just doesn't bother with midweek games, but always has a moan on the board from his armchair.

2. After a decent unbeaten run, and increasing signs of well planned set pieces and fast paced passing, listening to some of them moan last night was unbearable. One such highlight reel level numpty in our section was on at the team and fans around him (or 'it') from the second minute to the last. Shouting abuse at our players, accusing fans around him of being 'happy clappers' because they told him to shut up, and generally being so hell bent on being a negative tw@ that he failed to realise Benson got injured as he berated the ref for going past 5 minutes of injury time.

3. The lack of perspective is (as ever) astounding. We had a poor game, we made mistakes, and they made us pay far more than we made them pay when given our chances. Someone mentioned xG on here recently, and on that metric (as flimsy as it can be), we won 2-1. The two issues are that (1) the game isn't played on a laptop, and (2) once sections of our fans make their mind up in any direction (the highlight reel numpty being a great example), they chuck perspective into the bin and keep going on a completely one-sided rant.

Blackpool were fortunate enough to capitalise on our mistakes, but were otherwise poor value for a 3-0 win. Last night wasn't the descent to doom and gloom being made out by some. A bad game. Write it off, get behind the lads again, and see it for what it was. Contrary to what some think, I though Dawson was decent (speaking as someone who isn't a huge fan), Douglas was decent, Rafferty was decent, Gore was good, Hall put a shift in, Benson looked good until going off, (after the howler) Powell put a shift in, and Kaleta and Baptiste had a decent go when they came on. It wasn't a good performance, but after the last couple of seasons it's not even a bottom 10 performance.

Thank you UM for restoring some sanity to an insane place.

[Old_time_miller]

He isn?t a left wing back he went in the middle and we were a different team, your constant attacking of one of our better players is very sad, there were a lot of other players on that pitch today that were a complete disgrace Joe Powell is not our problem.

Talking of players who were a complete disgrace?and on numerous times in games?.I give you, one Dawson. (One trick pony) who can push a ball away over the bar. That first goal should have had him in the bath (though apparently there isn?t enough room, they use showers)

If we have had a worse keeper in 40 years I cannot recall any.

[Andy1968]

Brilliantly written that UlleyMiller. Excellent read. The negativity from some around us is cringeworthy and never heard so many see you next tuesdays used against our own players! Horrible.UTM

[Nardendee]

All I can add to this is the fact that we had gone 10 games or so without losing. Blackpool had a change of Manager recently. They are a good team that has been underperforming but like us, very much in transition.
Blackpool last beat Rotherham in 1996/97 when they did the double over us.
The two clubs didn?t play each other again until the 2005/2006 season, since when (before last night) they had met on 14 occasions with the Millers record as follows:

Home played 7 Won 6 Drawn 1 lost 0 F 15 A 3
Away. played 7 Won 3 Drawn 4 lost 0 F 6 A 3
Total. Played 14 Won 9 Drawn 5 lost 0 F 21 A 6

So we also have to take into account the law of averages. They were 1 up in 2 minutes and the scene was set.

So however good our results were previously results like this do have a habit of occurring.

Besides we are inconsistent, have a shed load of injuries, are in transition yet, some of our fans still think about the play offs. Yes it is a poor league, but no, we are not ready and it would be an absolute disaster for us to get anywhere near promotion.
Consolidation is the key. We need to be realistic. After all, the way we started, league 2 looked a distinct possibility, a fate we could still get sucked into.
So, this season we must celebrate the wins commiserate with the losses, but don?t remonstrate too much when we lose.

The manager is doing his best under difficult circumstances so losses are expected. Yesterday really was one of those games. Plymouth might also be, but, keep behind the lads. This is the way. We win some, we lose, we draw. After all we aren?t Arsenal.

[Old_time_miller]

Positions, I meant positions.

I did mention that quite openly on my second paragragh...

''Team selection - fully at Hamshaws feet. Why did he change it like he did? Was it the knowing a club sitting second bottom and who of late couldn't buy a league win made him think he would tinker with certain positions? Big mistake Matt big mistake.''

Yes, fully agree. Players didn?t know what they were doing half the time, bit of complacency going off. On and off the field.
Not the first time either. And a lazy asleep keeper letting a harmless ball squirm under, on 2 minutes was football insanity. Backfoot is never where this team needs to be. As for play if I feel like it super star world cup hero?.

[caytonmiller]

Brilliantly written that UlleyMiller. Excellent read. The negativity from some around us is cringeworthy and never heard so many see you next tuesdays used against our own players! Horrible.UTM

This post sounds like others are not worthy of an opinion unless they agree with yours. This coming from someone who agrees with ulley one bad game out of last 10 doesn't make us a bad team though that performance was bad

[Old_time_miller]

In a nutshell, we have good players all over, who are good in limited ways only….with which it is hard to create an effective team consistently, let alone 30% injured half the time. It is not rocket science. So yes at times stuff like this game will go off.
And that 9 game run was not without its issues or narrow results waiting to go a bit haywire….Wycombe game before this, classic example. Am I the only one to recognise we were somewhat lucky to draw in the end? A tale of two halves is far too common.
Like building a nice house on sand. Tide will and did come in.

[Andy1968]

This post sounds like others are not worthy of an opinion unless they agree with yours. This coming from someone who agrees with ulley one bad game out of last 10 doesn't make us a bad team though that performance was bad

I
Blimey I'm saying the foul language was being used against our players and it was horrible to hear. Nothing to do with opinions. Everyone's opinion is absolutely valid. I'm no prude but I hate the proper crude language.

[UlleyMiller]

Talking of players who were a complete disgrace?and on numerous times in games?.I give you, one Dawson. (One trick pony) who can push a ball away over the bar. That first goal should have had him in the bath (though apparently there isn?t enough room, they use showers)

If we have had a worse keeper in 40 years I cannot recall any.

We've been spoilt with keepers, and have been for as long as I've been going, pretty much. Having a human goalkeeper is normal for most clubs.

I also don't think he was especially at fault for that goal, and that he's improved on what we had when he arrived. Never been his biggest fan, but he was a better option than Phillips, and he's pulled a few decent saves of late.

[Derbymiller]

If MH gets us in the top ten for the end of the season he will have done very well, for many reasons. I am not convinced he will get the tools he needs in January and I think the board will sell under him as well. We are no where near a play-off team, we went 9 league games unbeaten and we are still in the bottom section of the middle 8. However his stubborn approach to not using a flat back four at times and filling the bench with CBs etc is on him, he is learning his trade.

[SdnMiller]

I think contrary to MillersMad belief after spending the first 20 minutes asleep we outclassed Blackpool for the other 70 minutes.

But I do want to hop in on the Dawson/defense comments. He is an above average shot stopper I won't disagree but every other part of his game is substandard and he was at least partially at fault for all three goals last night. Once again in a team where we have an inexperienced centre back and two full backs playing in the centre, without that experienced centre half it is the job of the keeper to command the area and martial the troops, something which Dawson is useless at.

But the biggest gripe for me is his distribution. There was a point in the second half where we kept the ball for 90 seconds drawing Blackpool out, the ball went back to Dawson who under limited pressure with a reasonably easy pass to the other centre back booted it forwards without even looking up, even if Hugill does win the ball, what is he going to do with it. Football teams have to be built from the bottom up and Dawson is completely detrimental to the team at the moment costing us far more than he's giving with his shot stopping. The priority position for me in Jan is not a striker or some help at the back, it's a new keeper

[Heliosphan78]

Team selection keeping like I said his favourites happy. Baptist should have started James at left wing back. Martha benched.

Here we go again.

Starting Baptiste on the bench was a perfectly logical and sound decision. He's fresh from a hamstring injury and clearly Hamshaw didn't want to rush him back. If he'd started and torn something there would have been uproar. Not only that but the back 3 have done well for us previously and we were playing at home against a team in the bottom 3.

So not favoritism at all, just clear thinking and sound rationale. It won't always work and when it doesn't idiots like you will come on here and slag the manager, all with the benefit of hindsight of course.

Pathetic.

[Andy1968]

Surely we've got Cam for the rest of the season as there'll not be money to replace him? Give Matt two strikers and play a proper centre back (Holmes or Baptiste) instead of James and play James at LB and providing these elusive strikers stay fit we can be top six as offensively we are pretty good but don't convert enough as we only have a target man at best. We would be top six now with a fit Nombe Etete and Sherif to rotate but things have gone pair shaped with injuries. We are still in with a shout with our threadbare forward line all season. This division is there for the taking this year.

[GlennMiller]

I realised all was not well before the game when the Angel ran out of New York Pale. The whole evening was one of those familiar scenarios where it seemed clear that nothing was going to go our way; and so it turned out.

Standout performances from Baptiste and Kaleta, plus Gore for his first half efforts.

One comment on Dawson (I'm not a fan). The Blackpool centre half won virtually every high ball cleanly and was rarely challenged in the air. We were far superior in midfield so the logical way of pushing forward would have been short throws from the keeper, through midfield. Why oh why did he insist on continuing to pump the ball long?! I just don't get it.

Nombe's return can't come quick enough - his mobility and eye for goal gives us so much more threat.

[NorthWestCorner]

I think contrary to MillersMad belief after spending the first 20 minutes asleep we outclassed Blackpool for the other 70 minutes.

But I do want to hop in on the Dawson/defense comments. He is an above average shot stopper I won't disagree but every other part of his game is substandard and he was at least partially at fault for all three goals last night. Once again in a team where we have an inexperienced centre back and two full backs playing in the centre, without that experienced centre half it is the job of the keeper to command the area and martial the troops, something which Dawson is useless at.

But the biggest gripe for me is his distribution. There was a point in the second half where we kept the ball for 90 seconds drawing Blackpool out, the ball went back to Dawson who under limited pressure with a reasonably easy pass to the other centre back booted it forwards without even looking up, even if Hugill does win the ball, what is he going to do with it. Football teams have to be built from the bottom up and Dawson is completely detrimental to the team at the moment costing us far more than he's giving with his shot stopping. The priority position for me in Jan is not a striker or some help at the back, it's a new keeper

Outclassed Blackpool for 70 minutes? The game was practically over after 20 and they knew it.

And as for the point re priorities, we don’t have any strikers. JH is about as effective as a wooden door and Nombe will be down the road as soon as TS can recover a few bob. That leaves us with a few other cripples he’s thrown a fiver at.