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Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Reports and reaction from the 2008-09 season as Walsall finished 13th in League 1
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WFC_Rob
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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Sun Dec 14, 2008 3:47 pm

There it is then.
We've conceded 9 goals in the last 5 minutes of matches this season.

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caldy
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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Sun Dec 14, 2008 6:20 pm

bigste wrote:southend 87 mins
carlisle 83 mins
h-pool 83 mins
leeds 86 mins
mk dongs 87 mins
oldham 89 mins
swindon 90 +1
huddersfield 90 +3
millwall 89 mins

FA cup - Scunthorpe 90+2 mins

These are the goals concieded during the last 7 mins of a match. (we hav'nt lost all these games by the way)


Don't forget the debacle of the Luton defeat in the tin pot. The winner was within the last 5 mins I think, by at the time the lowest position team in the entire league.

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WFC_Rob
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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Sun Dec 14, 2008 6:44 pm

Just to add, with regard to the late goals we've conceded, even if the late goals don't matter in terms of the final result, they still play a significance in the way we play thereafter.

The fact that we have gone 20 home matches now without keeping a clean sheet is far more of a problem for me than other people might suggest. Rather than going into games with a determination not to concede a goal, we have a real nervousness whenever the ball is played in and around our own 18 yard box. I've come to expect the likes of Palmer, Taundry and Deeney to just hoof the ball as far as they can, but when Weston & Gerrard are doing the same, it's concerning.
It's obvious we don't do anything on the training ground to attempt to improve things either, which is just another addition to the list of reasons why Mullen must go.

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Sun Dec 14, 2008 7:42 pm

When was the last time we lost 8 home games in all competitions by mid December?

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Sun Dec 14, 2008 10:06 pm

In isolation I wouldn't have been all that upset yesterday (we played well in patches and Millwall are very good) but in the context of what's happened this season, it was yet again very disappointing. I was bewildered by his selection but Sansara (after the first few minutes) played well, but again it was frustrating to see how good we can be (ie when Ricketts is on the ball!) and that we keep shooting ourselves in the foot (for once the substitutions came when they were not required - I assume Hughes was injured for the 547th time which is why he came off, but Bradley was doing OK - if not reaching last season's quality - and replacing your left back when you're conceding a lot of pressure but soaking it up reasonably well is rank bad management). We could be doing really well with this squad if we had a decent manager. Swearing at your players for the whole game is, again, simply rank bad management. It comes to something when the physio has to surreptitiously offer words of encouragement to a 19-year-old player to try and gee him up after he's been slaughtered by his manager for the tenth time in as many minutes - despite playing pretty well.

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Sun Dec 14, 2008 10:27 pm

Bristol Fan wrote:We could be doing really well with this squad if we had a decent manager.

You've hit the nail on the head.

I've got mates who simply can't understand why I moan so much about Jimmy Mullen and the way things are going at the moment. Comments like "You're in the top half - what are you moaning about?" and "You won't go down" would seem sensible if applied to any other side who find themselves around mid-table going into Xmas.
It's the things no-one else but the 3,000 of us who attend matches every week see that cause the anger. And every single one of those things are Mullen's inadequacies.

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Sun Dec 14, 2008 11:59 pm

After reading the comments and everyones opinions on the Millwall game, I need to ask..
How has it got this bad?
The club is turning into a complete shambles.

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Mon Dec 15, 2008 5:22 pm

very true... we need direction .All we do is look south and thats where we're heading

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tinned
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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:38 pm

Oh isn't it great? Where are Registered Saddler and Shrops to cheer us all up with fairy stories of a club on the up?

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:32 am

tinned wrote:Oh isn't it great? Where are Registered Saddler and Shrops to cheer us all up with fairy stories of a club on the up?


To be fair Tinned, going back to the summer and the appointment of Mullen - the greatest candidate, top applicant, and total all round Ray Graydon lookalike.

There are 3 subdivisions of the "eveything could yet be ok because Bonser really is a top top man" brigade.

1) those that have just dissappeared.

2) those that just blame Jimmy Mullen for everything.

3) those that blame their fellow fans 3.i 'because bonser tells them to, 3.ii because weeeee'me loyal and yaw aint. 3.iii because weeeee'me always guano so this is pretty greyt ay it? sow stop mownin and get beyoind um.

3.iv tennis.

Oh look at me so joining in with the banter, whatever next?

And on the match thread too, shocking.

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:34 am

tinned wrote:Oh isn't it great? Where are Registered Saddler and Shrops to cheer us all up with fairy stories of a club on the up?


Your comments get very tiresome tinned :roll:

I've never yet suggested we are a club "on the up". However, I also don't get over-excited and hysterical about us being in the worst position we've ever been as a club.

The club still has potential. Unfortunately, that potential is not being maximised right now, either by the manager and players or by the off-field activities at the club.

If all of those were put right, we could mount a very serious challenge for promotion. If just the manager problem was put right, we could mount a decent challenge for the play-offs.

That's far from being "the end of the club as we know it".

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:39 pm

ShropsSaddler wrote:
tinned wrote:Oh isn't it great? Where are Registered Saddler and Shrops to cheer us all up with fairy stories of a club on the up?


Your comments get very tiresome tinned :roll:


:wink: Is this where i insert a "Gone fishing" line?

I've never yet suggested we are a club "on the up". However, I also don't get over-excited and hysterical about us being in the worst position we've ever been as a club.

The club still has potential. Unfortunately, that potential is not being maximised right now, either by the manager and players or by the off-field activities at the club.

If all of those were put right, we could mount a very serious challenge for promotion. If just the manager problem was put right, we could mount a decent challenge for the play-offs.

That's far from being "the end of the club as we know it".


The state of this club is (unfortunately) a LOT closer to that some of us were warning of than you and others were trying to convince us of.

This club is rotten to the core from top to bottom. The owner has only ever made decisions that benefit himself, if they happen to co-incide with benefiting the club then fine, if not then the club can go hang. We are now reaping what the owner sowed for us all those years ago. Added to that he's appointed the cheapest managerial candidate possible because he just isn't bothered about footballing success in case it harms his investment. He treats paying customers and their opinions like a piece of dog mess on his show, and he doesn't even bother to try and hide that fact (remember we're all 19 year old militants on some fringe website). He doesn't even treat his fellow shareholders with any greater respect, unless they become yes-men. He dreams up excuse after excuse as to why a third of his customer base has disappeared yet he hasn't got the humility to ask these customers why they have gone.

You may challenge these opinions with calls for hard evidence but many of us can view the history of the man and his actions and come to uncomfortable conclusions without the need for written confessions.

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:28 pm

ShropsSaddler wrote:The club still has potential. Unfortunately, that potential is not being maximised right now, either by the manager and players or by the off-field activities at the club.

If all of those were put right, we could mount a very serious challenge for promotion. If just the manager problem was put right, we could mount a decent challenge for the play-offs.

We had everything in place to mount a decent challenge for the play-offs in January last year though didn't we? Why did that all go wrong?

And should we find ourselves in the same position again this season and we get offers for the players that have put us there what do you think would happen?

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Tue Dec 16, 2008 7:06 pm

PJD wrote:
ShropsSaddler wrote:The club still has potential. Unfortunately, that potential is not being maximised right now, either by the manager and players or by the off-field activities at the club.

. If just the manager problem was put right, we could mount a decent challenge for the play-offs.

We had everything in place to mount a decent challenge for the play-offs in January last year though didn't we? Why did that all go wrong?

And should we find ourselves in the same position again this season and we get offers for the players that have put us there what do you think would happen?


What a complete joke those statements are, Shrops!

Firstly, there is a massive difference between our potential "not being maximised" and our potential "being minimised" or, as I see it, "not even being on the agenda".

If I thought for one moment that we were even TRYING to maximise our potential, then my views might be different, but they are exactly as they were in the Spring and the Summer, and that is why I was (and remain) one of the original so-called "stay-aways".

This club is doing NOTHING whatsoever to attempt to maximise our potential. The excellent work in that area that was done by Colin Lee, largely dismantled by Merson over two years and then put back together so quickly and ably by Richard Money, has now been dismantled once again but to an even greater extent by Mullen than by Merson, and at least we can say that Merson had a team that TRIED, which can hardly be claimed right now!

You say "If ............... was put right, we could mount a very serious challenge for promotion" - don't make me laugh, face it, there is absolutely NO CHANCE of a promotion challenge this season and, as more and more fans are realising what is happening and how we are being sold down the river by this money-grabbing Chairman and his clueless choice of manager, gates will continue to fall and things will only go from bad to worse.

Far from a promotion challenge, I expect we shall survive this season thanks far more to the failings of other clubs in the division rather than through our own devices, and if things are not quickly and drastically changed, we shall face a relegation struggle in 2009/10 that will represent an unbelievably rapid deterioration from the position of success and optimism that permeated through The Banks's up to January 2008, but is now becoming no more than a distant memory.

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:01 pm

geoffwhiting wrote:
PJD wrote:
ShropsSaddler wrote:The club still has potential. Unfortunately, that potential is not being maximised right now, either by the manager and players or by the off-field activities at the club.

. If just the manager problem was put right, we could mount a decent challenge for the play-offs.

We had everything in place to mount a decent challenge for the play-offs in January last year though didn't we? Why did that all go wrong?

And should we find ourselves in the same position again this season and we get offers for the players that have put us there what do you think would happen?


What a complete joke those statements are, Shrops!

Firstly, there is a massive difference between our potential "not being maximised" and our potential "being minimised" or, as I see it, "not even being on the agenda".

If I thought for one moment that we were even TRYING to maximise our potential, then my views might be different, but they are exactly as they were in the Spring and the Summer, and that is why I was (and remain) one of the original so-called "stay-aways".

This club is doing NOTHING whatsoever to attempt to maximise our potential. The excellent work in that area that was done by Colin Lee, largely dismantled by Merson over two years and then put back together so quickly and ably by Richard Money, has now been dismantled once again but to an even greater extent by Mullen than by Merson, and at least we can say that Merson had a team that TRIED, which can hardly be claimed right now!

You say "If ............... was put right, we could mount a very serious challenge for promotion" - don't make me laugh, face it, there is absolutely NO CHANCE of a promotion challenge this season and, as more and more fans are realising what is happening and how we are being sold down the river by this money-grabbing Chairman and his clueless choice of manager, gates will continue to fall and things will only go from bad to worse.

Far from a promotion challenge, I expect we shall survive this season thanks far more to the failings of other clubs in the division rather than through our own devices, and if things are not quickly and drastically changed, we shall face a relegation struggle in 2009/10 that will represent an unbelievably rapid deterioration from the position of success and optimism that permeated through The Banks's up to January 2008, but is now becoming no more than a distant memory.



Hold on there Geoff, you are in danger of agreeing with Shrops!

I don't see a lot of difference in the two posts there.

Shrops is basically saying that the team has potential to do better but that is being undermined by the Chairman and the Manager (whose tenure is the fault of the chairman)

I genuinely believe that if Bonser got rid of Mullen now and brought in a decent replacement, backed him with a few quid in the transfer window to sign 3 or 4 players in key positions then the playoffs are not out of reach. Both these factors are essential as even a good manager would struggle with the current squad due to the lack of depth and one or two clearly weak areas eg centreback.

Look at history, there is always a team which comes out of the pack come the end of the season, so in theory it could be us.

I agree with you (and I think that Shrops is also saying) that it will not happen because of the chaiman, BUT, based on some of our play this season (screwed up by the managers tactics), the potential is there.

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:43 pm

chestersaddler wrote: Hold on there Geoff, you are in danger of agreeing with Shrops!

I don't see a lot of difference in the two posts there.Shrops is basically saying that the team has potential to do better but that is being undermined by the Chairman and the Manager (whose tenure is the fault of the chairman)

I genuinely believe that if Bonser got rid of Mullen now and brought in a decent replacement, backed him with a few quid in the transfer window to sign 3 or 4 players in key positions then the playoffs are not out of reach. Both these factors are essential as even a good manager would struggle with the current squad due to the lack of depth and one or two clearly weak areas eg centreback.

Look at history, there is always a team which comes out of the pack come the end of the season, so in theory it could be us.

I agree with you (and I think that Shrops is also saying) that it will not happen because of the chaiman, BUT, based on some of our play this season (screwed up by the managers tactics), the potential is there.


I think I adequately explained why I think there is a massive difference chester, maybe you don't see it like I do. :?

Like you (and Shrops probably) I think that if we change the manager AND start using the right players in their right positions AND get a few extra players in to bolster the squad we could start to see some consistently good results and climb the table.

But maybe I'd liken that statement to the one uttered forth by Tony Mowbray re the Albion last weekend after the 4-0 thumping by Sunderland, when he said (approximate quote) "if we win next week and the week after AND the week after that, we COULD be out of the relegation zone".

Yeah, whatever !! :lol:

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:35 pm

From the many posts I have read penned by your self, I do not see much difference between us Geoff. In practical terms I have not taken the same radical action as you although my life revolves far less around the club now as it did previously.

I do think that some posters on here get unnecessary grief because they are pigeon-holed as pro- Bonser, Shrops being one of them. I try to take a balanced view when reading posts irrespective of the posters "reputation".

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:15 pm

Thanks for your support chester!

And, of course, you're 100% right. Geoff is,in fact, agreeing with me wholeheartedly. I knew he would in the end.

Problem is, he's that wrapped up in his hysterical anti-everything-to-do-with-the-club views, he can't see the wood for the trees :wink:

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Re: Millwall (H) League 1 Saturday 13/12/08.

Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:29 am

ShropsSaddler wrote:Thanks for your support chester!

And, of course, you're 100% right. Geoff is,in fact, agreeing with me wholeheartedly. I knew he would in the end.

Problem is, he's that wrapped up in his hysterical anti-everything-to-do-with-the-club views, he can't see the wood for the trees :wink:


I think I am seeing (and commenting on) things from a far more realistic viewpoint than you are Shrops.

Right now we are diving and I pray for the day that JM is removed from office and we can make a start on the long climb back. Meanwhile I am far from anti-everything at the club, but if you can perhaps enlighten me as to one or two positives coming out of this chairman and manager, I'd be interested to read and comment on them, thanks.

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