MillersMad Match Thread...Millers v Plymouth
It's almost exactly 2 years since our last visit to Home Park. A game many will remember for the infamous Daniel Ayala incident, some odd refereeing decisions and with the home team snatching a winner in the 96th minute, yet another groundhog day for the Millers.
Yes everyone, we're destined for South Devon, Plymouth.
The Boss
Appointed in the summer, it's fair to say that Tom Cleverley hasn't had the best of starts as Plymouth boss.
Argyle are currently languishing in 23rd spot and in view of the fact that they were in the Championship last season and tipped to do well this term, the threat of a second successive relegation won't be good enough for many in Green. In fact a poll on the Plymouth forum towards the end of October revealed that 86 percent of fans want the manager gone. However the board have publicly backed him for now, asserting that he is the man for the job. Whether that backing extends into the January transfer window remains to be seen.
Who to watch
One player who we won't be seeing on Saturday is striker Lorent Tolaj. He is currently serving a ban after recently picking up a red card. Plymouth paid 1.4m for the Swiss striker at the beginning of the season from Port Vale. He's their top scorer with 10 goals.
Owen Oseni
The young Irish striker is a summer signing from St Mirren. He has 6 goals in all competitions this season. Scored the solitary goal in Argyle's 1-0 win against Wycombe on Tuesday night. Should start as the main striker in the absence of Tolaj.
Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu
Plymouth's 300k summer signing from Fleetwood, a player we almost signed ourselves. It'll be interesting to see him play and what he offers.
Last 6
Wycombe 0 v 1 Plymouth (L1)
Plymouth 0 v 1 Bradford (L1)
Leyton Orient 0 v 1 Plymouth (Vertu)
Plymouth 0 v 3 Northampton (L1)
Port Vale 0 v 1 Plymouth (L1)
Bristol Rovers 1 v 0 Plymouth (Vertu)
Latest Odds
Argyle 24/25 Draw 5/2 Millers 12/5
Recent Meetings
(5/4/2024)
Rotherham 0 v 1 Plymouth
(16/12/2023)
Plymouth 3 v 2 Rotherham
Lindsay, Eaves.
We picked up 8 yellow cards in this game, including Daniel Ayala's double booking and sending off. Plymouth received 0 yellow cards.
Summary
Now is probably a good time to be playing Plymouth. As I said above, they're missing their leading scorer and currently struggling to find some consistency. Personally, I don't expect this to continue and at some point this season, I'm expecting gravity to start taking effect and the Pilgrims to creep away from danger. A very credible 1-0 away win at Wycombe last Tuesday night suggests a team capable of picking up points and avoiding the drop.
I'm not expecting anything other than a tough game on Saturday but it's worth noting that Plymouth don't win many games at home. They've only won twice in nine league games which makes them statistically one of the worst home teams in the league. That being said, Blackpool had an abysmal away record and we all know how that turned out.
We've gone from being unbeaten in 9 league games and suddenly into a run of 4 without a win. Let's hope we can rectify that on Saturday.
Enjoy the game. UTM.
