FT: MILLWALL 3 - 1 CARDIFF CITY. Match thread

[Bobby Dandruff]

Do you watch much football?

Great post.

[LA Bluebird]

Tanner has got to go somewhere and play for a season. Other than the physical attributes he’s not ready for a level below, not even close. I’d have Ashford in the squad ahead of every time based on just the 30 minutes he’s played.

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

I just don’t understand the tactics.

Is our strategy for scoring a goal literally "see if we can pinch one from a set piece"? Hard to make out any other tactic.

[D. Advocaat]

Is our strategy for scoring a goal literally "see if we can pinch one from a set piece"? Hard to make out any other tactic.

Really no idea what our attacking tactics are and the plyaers look equally lost.

Not sure why, after a performance like that, attention turns to Tanner- the whole team was garbage with the sole exception of Ashford who put in a decent showing.

[Bobby Dandruff]

Is our strategy for scoring a goal literally "see if we can pinch one from a set piece"? Hard to make out any other tactic.

Jimmy The Jock seems to know…..

[Former Labour leader]

Played well enough until Millwall scored just before half time against the run of play. 2nd half non event.

[Former Labour leader]

You can see why Phillips has only ever scored a handful of goals in his career. Really should have hit the target,and if he had he would have scored. City's best chance.

[Dave Blue]

I think Bulut ought to go but I wonder does he play this way because he realises the players are too lazy to put much effort in. That would explain a fair bit.

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Like a few in our squad, maybe he thinks he’s arrived, rather than thinking he’s at base camp!

Tanner has a raw talent but either lacks the discipline required of a good Championship player or he’s peaked at the Jacks game, and is punching above his weight
He needs to go out on loan next season to a Div 2 side, which I think is he’s level

You're a good poster. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what you say.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I listened to the game on Radio Wales and it was interesting to hear some of Jason Perry's comments.

He was very critical of the fact our wide midfielders were so defensive and encouraged Millwall's full backs to become, in effect, wing backs, which put us under pressure.

He didn't like our substitutions, particularly Wintle for Siopis. He argued there was no point in continuing with 2 defensive midfielders as that hadn't worked well in an attacking sense, so a change of personnel was hardly going to change much when it was obvious a change of tactic was needed.

[Bobby Dandruff]

Really no idea what our attacking tactics are and the plyaers look equally lost.

Not sure why, after a performance like that, attention turns to Tanner- the whole team was garbage with the sole exception of Ashford who put in a decent showing.

Exactly.

Why are we talking about a second half sub when the whole team was terrible.

Weird.

[Bobby Dandruff]

I didn't see the game today but I get what you are saying.
We seem to be doing this a lot recently.

You are right that the sole reason playing out from the keeper is to stretch the game, drawing out the opposition in order to create space for the midfield and forwards.

For this to work there has to be movement, speed of thought and of course players to pick a pass.
We see no movement and therefore the midfield slow it down and either go sideways or backwards.

Perhaps the fact that there is no decent movement from our attackers is because they know that they will not get the ball due to their teammates not having the quality to provide for them.
We have very little attacking quality.
I think that Bulut has identified this and his negative tactics since the early part of the season have ensued.

What I think people find frustrating is the fact that we keep doing as you say going sideways and backwards.

Bulut should be either bollocking his attacking players for not showing, or ditching the pissing about at the back.
Teams put a high press on us because they know we aren't comfortable playing that way.

Agreed.

And yet there were many times, certainly in the first half, when our defenders could have played the ball into Colwill’s feet and yet chose not to, and played sideways or backwards instead.

Why?

And the second half was even worse.

[Sparticus_Mills]

It was another dreadful performance, which stands out all the more because we lost, we were awful for most of the Birmingham game as we have been for most of our scrappy 1-0 wins this season. Maybe we're a bit more resilient under Bulut and our set piece play has improved, but the football is as awful as it's been for the past few seasons. I think it would be foolhardy to give him a new contract.

[2b2bdoo]

It’s like we play a back four but then with an additional 2 wingbacks and 2 defensive midfielders.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

It’s like we play a back four but then with an additional 2 wingbacks and 2 defensive midfielders.

If it made us ultra difficult to beat, I wouldn't say so much, but it hasn't.

[Crisp White Lines]

It was obvious from our view in the away end that there were huge spaces to exploit on both wings in the first half.
Our ‘wingers’ were simply not interested in running into those spaces, and our defenders/midfield were not interested in passing into those spaces.
At half time Harris clearly told his team to press even higher because City wouldn’t attack those spaces even if his team sat down and had a picnic.
Shockingly defensive tactics from Bulut all season, carried into these games where we don’t even need to worry.
…and we let in another 3 goals despite that defensive attitude.

[JumpersforGoalposts]

It was obvious from our view in the away end that there were huge spaces to exploit on both wings in the first half.
Our ‘wingers’ were simply not interested in running into those spaces, and our defenders/midfield were not interested in passing into those spaces.
At half time Harris clearly told his team to press even higher because City wouldn’t attack those spaces even if his team sat down and had a picnic.
Shockingly defensive tactics from Bulut all season, carried into these games where we don’t even need to worry.
…and we let in another 3 goals despite that defensive attitude.

Collins and Grant were a major threat on the left for about half an hour before Millwall reorganised and shut the space down for Collins to get forward. Unfortunately Grant then "disappeared" for the rest of the game. Bowler never got in the game primarily as Ng was struggling with Millwall targeting him with balls into the space behind him. In fact I found it a revelation how much Ng struggles with his judgement under a high diagonal - something I suspect Harris/Millwall were well aware of.

[Bobby Dandruff]

Collins and Grant were a major threat on the left for about half an hour before Millwall reorganised and shut the space down for Collins to get forward. Unfortunately Grant then "disappeared" for the rest of the game. Bowler never got in the game primarily as Ng was struggling with Millwall targeting him with balls into the space behind him. In fact I found it a revelation how much Ng struggles with his judgement under a high diagonal - something I suspect Harris/Millwall were well aware of.

Agreed. I noticed that too now you mention it.

Good post.