Bookies get it right
By Jr
August 14 2005
The bookies rarely get it wrong we’re told and, when Millwall were priced 100/30 to get relegated at the end of the season, alarm bells were ringing for many fans. A more traumatic pre-season I can’t recall.
By Jr
August 14 2005
The bookies rarely get it wrong we’re told and, when Millwall were priced 100/30 to get relegated at the end of the season, alarm bells were ringing for many fans. A more traumatic pre-season I can’t recall.
The bookies rarely get it wrong we’re told and, when Millwall were priced 100/30 to get relegated at the end of the season, alarm bells were ringing for many fans.
A more traumatic pre-season I can’t recall and consequently, although we’re at the bottom of the table with just one point, that’s one point more than I thought we’d have at this stage of the season.
Put simply, instability at boardroom and management level often has a negative impact on players. Perhaps you could argue it shouldn’t be so, but nonetheless it’s a fact of football life. A fact that perhaps hasn’t been grasped at Millwall, given the turnover of managers.
Success is nearly always built on solid foundations, but the “Millwall way” is to chop and change with no apparent strategy. (Well, if there is a strategy, the fans are not party to it anyway!)
In fact, I’d love to hear someone explain how Colin Lee on his own as manager is a better set up than Lee as assistant to (the sacked-after-36-days) Steve Claridge. Lee would have improved training, we’re led to believe, while Claridge would have picked the team.
That way Millwall fans wouldn’t have had the dubious treat of watching an over-cautious home side playing just one upfront, and not surprisingly failing to score in the two games so far at the Den.
But every cloud has a silver lining, and Lee’s set up has seen the defence regain its confidence albeit at the expense of the attack. Mark Phillips, in particular, deserves special praise, while left back Jamie Vincent (on loan from Derby) looks an astute signing.
Should Lee restore Ben May (who starred in our pre-season games) to the starting line-up, perhaps there might be reason for optimism and (whisper it) even a goal or two. But playing the current formation, the best we can hope for is a 0-0 draw at Reading on Saturday.
Prediction: Reading 0-0 Millwall
A more traumatic pre-season I can’t recall and consequently, although we’re at the bottom of the table with just one point, that’s one point more than I thought we’d have at this stage of the season.
Put simply, instability at boardroom and management level often has a negative impact on players. Perhaps you could argue it shouldn’t be so, but nonetheless it’s a fact of football life. A fact that perhaps hasn’t been grasped at Millwall, given the turnover of managers.
Success is nearly always built on solid foundations, but the “Millwall way” is to chop and change with no apparent strategy. (Well, if there is a strategy, the fans are not party to it anyway!)
In fact, I’d love to hear someone explain how Colin Lee on his own as manager is a better set up than Lee as assistant to (the sacked-after-36-days) Steve Claridge. Lee would have improved training, we’re led to believe, while Claridge would have picked the team.
That way Millwall fans wouldn’t have had the dubious treat of watching an over-cautious home side playing just one upfront, and not surprisingly failing to score in the two games so far at the Den.
But every cloud has a silver lining, and Lee’s set up has seen the defence regain its confidence albeit at the expense of the attack. Mark Phillips, in particular, deserves special praise, while left back Jamie Vincent (on loan from Derby) looks an astute signing.
Should Lee restore Ben May (who starred in our pre-season games) to the starting line-up, perhaps there might be reason for optimism and (whisper it) even a goal or two. But playing the current formation, the best we can hope for is a 0-0 draw at Reading on Saturday.
Prediction: Reading 0-0 Millwall
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