Millwall vs West Ham; 12:30 Saturday 19th September

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Comments

  • LukerzLukerz
    I thought Mukasa struggled today - was still one of our few brighter sparks - but was lightweight & dominated in midfield, turned his back a few times when marking & I think Engels suffered because of this too

    He’s only a young lad so not that surprising
  • LukerzLukerz
    The referee though, where to begin
  • LukerzLukerz
    And we have to deal with these long throws - becoming so predictable

    Millwall won 30/39 aerial duals, that was the big issue
  • alderzalderz
    Lukerz said:

    And we have to deal with these long throws - becoming so predictable

    Millwall won 30/39 aerial duals, that was the big issue

    That wasn’t the only big issue. Mavropanos lost possession 18 times. Morato 17 times. Kilman 9 times. KWP 8 times (in one half). We consistently tried to play out, and our defence were consistently unable to do it.
  • LukerzLukerz
    Mavro is certainly not up to passing out, he’s given the ball away regularly all season
  • jay_in_cptjay_in_cpt
    Let's hope he didn't do it, otherwise it says a 6 game ban....
    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/ckddvqrn8eyzo
  • LukerzLukerz
    edited September 19
    I didn’t see any conclusive evidence of a spit &, unless there are different & clear camera angles that we were not shown, I doubt it will be proven

    I also was surprised at how little the Millwall players made of the allegation given the nature of the game, which made me think it didn’t happen
  • claretandblueskyclaretandbluesky
    The thing that makes me think it's unlikely is that Tatty would have to be brain dead to do that knowing that cameras would be sure to pick it up.
  • jay_in_cptjay_in_cpt
    Let's hope he wasn't a silly boy.....Guess we'll find out in next couple of days.....
  • chicagohammerchicagohammer
    I get that Kante is young and felt he had no choice once he made his mistake but despite ensuring that Millwall would not go on to score, I wish he had not done it.

    There was still a chance that the striker would miss and with eleven on the park, and the fact we were then dominating, I think we had a reasonable chance to even it up again if he did score.

    By pulling him back and taking us to ten men, he more or less guaranteed that we could not win and at best he only saved us a point.

    I also thought he had good game and really influenced our play and I would rather have retained his services for the next game than lose him.

    The mistake was his but it was an honest one, the foul was a deliberate action and I would not have been happy if such a blatant foul was committed against us…I know every case is different but I never really forgave Willie Young
  • chicagohammerchicagohammer
    Oh and just for giggles i went on the Fighting Cock forum and chuckled at the following

    Coming soon the new Netflix documentary “Tottenham till they kill me”

    Well it made me laugh
  • stevesteve
    You had to bring up Willie Young Chicago ,Now I'm going to go back to my nightmares again
  • claretandblueskyclaretandbluesky
    I don't think Kante had any choice and was glad he was quicker of thought than he was of action. He took an age to try and use the ball leading to it getting nicked but was quick enough to know he had to bring him down. It depends on the stage of the match and with so little time left a goal avoided was more valuable than a player on the pitch.

    He makes really simple mistakes such as his first touch often going too far ahead of him and giving the ball away cheaply but on the positive side he is really strong, can drive the team up pitch and is not afraid to go for goal. He has a future in my view.

    This season is perfect for him personally as he is not ready for the Prem but will get the game time that will bring him on massively.
  • YeoldhammerYeoldhammer
    Hopefully with Soucek returning (i imagine he will be available for QPR after the intl break) we get some physicality back into the team. The defending is a lost cause, just have to just accept that there is no fixing that.
    But losing the midfield battle means we are absolute toast. I would like to think Soucek will get busy in that area to at least stop us from being bullied because Mukasa and Engels are definitely not those battling type players.
    Our next fixtures are only going to get harder as we start playing a lot of the current top 8. This is where the separation in the league will begin to appear.
  • claretandblueskyclaretandbluesky
    Soucek was exactly what we needed today, experience, calm and someone who could have helped the defence, we needed a solid DM. I think when he comes back he will sit more in front of our weak centre back pairing when needed, so he may not play when we are dominating and taking teams apart but when defending a lead he will be the go to man in my view.

    Sadly I predict the same thing as last season in that Nuno will replace Kilman in January. I'll be surprised if he doesn't.
  • alderzalderz
    I really don’t understand that view on Kilman
  • LukerzLukerz
    I think Soucek will make a huge difference because, other than Morato, Mavropanos & Kilman, we have an 11 of slight players. KWP, Bowen & Solomon aren’t winning much in the air, Mukasa & Engels aren’t the strongest, physically, & I would not back Taty & Piroe much in defensive duals. Hermansen is not overly imposing either.
  • FortuneseekerFortuneseeker
    @alderz I really don’t understand your view on Kilman

    Alvarez would have sorted out the Millwall midfield yesterday.
  • alderzalderz
    Fortuneseeker said:

    @alderz I really don’t understand your view on Kilman

    Alvarez would have sorted out the Millwall midfield yesterday.

    Ok…? That’s a player who plays in a different position, so I don’t understand what that has to do with Kilman…?
  • LukerzLukerz
    edited September 20
    We didn’t stand up to them first half, our performance was really bad. It was cowardly, in the sense we didn’t seem like we wanted to battle them & fight. They walked all over us.

    But, they knew exactly what to do & how to get away with it. If you watch every contested long ball, there are various Millwall players grabbing WHU shirts, blindside of the referee. Without VAR, most of those are going to be missed by the referee. It was very difficult for us to get any sort of defensive foothold in the game. The referees performance gifted them several free kicks & we had Mavropanos off the pitch for the first goal.

    In hindsight, having more physicality would have helped, maybe starting with Kanté & Pablo (but we can see why Nuno kept an unchanged side). I don’t think this was a game for playing 4-4-2, out from the back & possession football. That first half just required tackles, physicality, direct play, challenging for every ball. They did it well & we did it badly, but they also knew how to get away with certain things.

    It was a nasty, emotionally-charged game. You take the fight back from 2-0 down, the point & move on.
  • FortuneseekerFortuneseeker
    edited September 20
    Two separate comments alderz 👍.
    Why is Kilman not to be criticised?
  • alderzalderz
    Fortuneseeker said:

    Two separate comments alderz 👍.
    Why is Kilman not to be criticised?

    It's not that he's not to be crticised. I spent much of last season criticising him. I think some people have a hangover from last year, and aren't judging his performances fairly this season. He's been our best defender this season, but people are keen to replace him for defensive frailties. Mavropanos has been very poor but I don't see the same level of criticism of him.
  • Expat_HammerExpat_Hammer
    alderz said:

    Fortuneseeker said:

    Two separate comments alderz 👍.
    Why is Kilman not to be criticised?

    Mavropanos has been very poor but I don't see the same level of criticism of him.
    Possibly because he's banging in a few goals
  • alderzalderz
    Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he’s defended well, and in conversations about defensive solidity as a team, I would think that his constant carelessness with the ball would be a bigger factor in the discussion than his goalscoring.
  • FortuneseekerFortuneseeker
    So alderz you are saying we need two new centre backs in the January window?
  • alderzalderz
    Fortuneseeker said:

    So alderz you are saying we need two new centre backs in the January window?

    No
  • FortuneseekerFortuneseeker
    So a better centre back, such as one similar to Disasi, to partner Mavropanos & hopefully bring the best out of him like in the second half of last season?
  • alderzalderz
    Fortuneseeker said:

    So a better centre back, such as one similar to Disasi, to partner Mavropanos & hopefully bring the best out of him like in the second half of last season?

    Have you read anything I’ve said? I’ve repeatedly said Kilman has been our best centre back. How does that equate to me wanting to replace him?
  • MunichHammerMunichHammer
    alderz said:

    Fortuneseeker said:

    So a better centre back, such as one similar to Disasi, to partner Mavropanos & hopefully bring the best out of him like in the second half of last season?

    Have you read anything I’ve said? I’ve repeatedly said Kilman has been our best centre back. How does that equate to me wanting to replace him?
    I think the point Fortuneseeker is trying to make is that Disasi really got Dino to defend better last season,something Kilman can't seem to do. So if we want to keep Dino's goals, then we need to replace Kilman, not Dino.
  • LukerzLukerz
    Kilman is defending better than Mavropanos, & distributing the ball better. Mavropanos is chipping in with some vital goals. Together, they are bringing value but it’s not much defensive value because of how Mavropanos is defending. Add that to a lack of DM, it’s not making us very secure because we are so open & not dealing physically with long balls.
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