Things were looking pretty dicey for Millwall under new manager Alex Neil, just one win in 13 games, but a pair of 1-0 victories on the road this week have the Lions in better spirits ahead of Saturday – Lucas (@LucasBall2211) and James (@millwalljdb) give us the lowdown.
How's the season been for Millwall?
Lucas: It’s been a strange one in truth. In October/early November, we went on a very strong run after a rough start and found ourselves in the top six, which was above all expectations having needed Neil Harris to come in to save us last season following the disaster that was the Joe Edwards experiment. That start, though, came amid clear tension between Harris and those above, which I’ll come onto more in the next question. Our unbeaten run was extended with a disappointing 1-1 draw at Oxford at the end of November but there were, surprisingly, boos aimed at Harris and the players for their failure to beat a weak U’s side, which was poor, really. Form dipped after that with a few injuries creeping in and more tension between the boss and those above, culminating in his resignation in mid-December.
He leaves again with his legend status furthered having done the remarkable at the back end of last season and I hope he goes onto find success elsewhere now given he does seem to have learnt some lessons in the interim period between his Lions spells. There’s still more to learn, but that’s always the case. The caretaker games were almost write-offs with players out and the set-up at the time, but we should not have lost to Oxford at The Den, Gary Rowett proving triumphant on his Den return. Alex Neil has come in and spoken very well throughout, he seems a good fit and we now need to give him the tools to help him moving forward.
James: A strange season in many ways. We ended last season full of optimism. Harris had pulled the club completely around from when he took over the end of February. From looking likely relegation candidates we ended up in a comfortable 13th . Our expectation was, after a summer of consolidation and squad building, we would hit the ground running and continue this progress. However, the transfer window was disrupted by speculation around our best player Zian Flemming who eventually went to Burnley on the last day of the window. This made recruitment difficult and there was some unease about whether we had sufficiently strengthened the squad. Nevertheless, after a tricky first month when we lost a few games by very narrow margins we then went on a strong run beating Burnley and Leeds and we looked like we'd be challenging for the play offs. Injuries and loss of form of key players meant this then stalled and Harris decided to leave. After some uncertainty (which was reflected in results) Alex Neil was appointed. After initially underwhelming results however we seem to be picking up momentum and come into Saturday’s games off the back of two away wins. Optimism, the curse of every football fan is now the prevailing mood at the Den although I think we see the match against QPR as pretty pivotal in terms as to whether we are looking up into mid table or nervously over our shoulders.
Millwall in the league so far…
Millwall 2-3 Watford Watmore 74, 88 – Kaymebe 22, Chakvetadze 55, Rajovic 90
Bristol City 4-3 Millwall Mehmeti 3, Armstrong 12, Mayulu 78, Twine 88 – Esse 51, Bradshaw pen 54, Watmore 64
Hull 0-0 Millwall
Millwall 3-0 Sheff Wed Coburn 58, Watmore 71, Cooper 88
QPR 1-1 Millwall Frey 40 – Watmore 34
Millwall 3-1 Preston Honeyman 24, Esse 38, Langstaff 47 – Storey 87
Cardiff 1-0 Millwall Ng 39
West Brom 0-0 Millwall
Millwall 1-1 Derby Ivanovic 85 – Yates 78
Millwall 1-0 Plymouth Esse 13
Swansea 0-1 Millwall De Norre 90
Millwall 1-0 Burnley Cooper 52
Millwall 1-0 Leeds Tanganga 40
Stoke 1-1 Millwall Gibson 60 – Coburn 42
Millwall 1-1 Sunderland Azeez 90 – Connolly 10
Oxford 1-1 Millwall Goodrham 85 – Tanganga 45
Millwall 0-1 Coventry Mason-Clark 63
Millwall 0-1 Sheff Utd Brewster 42
Boro 1-0 Millwall Latte-Lath 10
Millwall 1-0 Blackburn Ivanovic 90
Norwich 2-1 Millwall Marcondes 4, Schwartau 39 – Esse 65
Coventry 0-0 Millwall
Millwall 0-1 Oxford Rodrigues 57
Sheff Wed 2-2 Millwall Valery 6, Otegbayo 85 – Honeyman 65, Wintle 83
Millwall 0-1 Hull Cooper og 58
Millwall 2-2 Cardiff Scanlon 2, De Norre 19 – Willock 45, Salech 90
Luton 0-1 Millwall Ivanovic 61
Pompey 0-1 Millwall Ivanovic 40
I guess once you've dropped the word "thickos" in an interview your days are numbered but it seemed from the outside Neil Harris had done a great job this time around and his departure was a bit abrupt and strange - what went on there? What do you make of that decision?
Lucas: I still think that comment was aimed partly at some sections of the supporter base but also some of those away from the managerial staff at the club, due to the ever-rising tensions that had been evident. Harris was left fuming in August when Bristol City had multiple options to change the game from the bench in a topsy-turvy encounter, pleading with the board to get him some players to help after a relatively quiet summer to that point given the size of the rebuild needed.
There had also been clashes over some contract renewals and the new model that the club wanted to implement, which is trying to develop players and sell for a tidy profit to make us more sustainable than the Berylson family covering circa £10m of losses every season, which still makes us one of the better-run clubs in this mad, mad league. Those tensions, moving towards January, clearly came to a head and with abuse from some fans growing, too, Harris obviously felt the time was right to say goodbye to Millwall again - whether that’s the end of his story here, I’m not so sure.
James: Harris did a remarkable job when he took over from the hapless Joe Edwards last February. The turnaround in our fortunes was dramatic and it consolidated his status as Millwall legend. While he always said he was only here for the short term I think most hoped that the progress of last season would continue into this and he would extend his stay. However, over the summer there was a major change off field in the structure of club which gave much greater prominence to our new director of football, Steve Gallen (who you of course know well). It was clear that Harris was now very much a head coach and not manager, giving him limited say over transfer policy etc. This seems to not have been a model Harris liked working under and in many respects after much off field rumblings his departure wasn't a surprise. He walked away (as he did last time he was manager) before things turned too sour and most fans continue to have huge respect for what he achieved
Alex Neil I felt was a good fit, but results not there until this week, what did you make of the appointment at the time and how's he done?
Lucas: He’s inherited an ageing squad, one without too much depth as it is and, at this stage, with a bucket-load of injuries while also selling our most creative attacking player to that point. The summer will be a huge one with a massive rebuild required if we are to stay up again and then push on. Neil has consistently spoken well, shows a desire to include young players when they’re ready, and has always looked to show intent in games even when we’ve been under the cosh but - truthfully, he hasn’t always had the players at his disposal to do that. I think it’s a strong appointment and he seems like a really good fit for the club and culture, always keen to instil confidence in the players and retain that aggressive edge that makes Millwall Football Club. I think, long-term, he’s the perfect next step as we look to evolve.
James: Alex Neil is, as you say, a very good fit. We have a history of appointing managers (often Scottish funnily enough) whose career have stalled and have something to prove. It’s not easy taking on a faltering team mid-season and his first few games in charge saw us continue to struggle. However, Neil is now finding his feet and we are starting to play some good football. He plays a more attacking style than Harris and is making greater use of our attacking players. He has given a debut to Raees Bangura Williams and is beginning to get the best out of our young Serb international Ivanovic. Neil comes across as calm (a key quality for a MIllwall manager!), knowledgeable and thoughtful and is increasingly winning over the fans in SE16
A big fee received this January so some money to spend presumably - how do you rate your window so far, any rumours of more ins before deadline?
Lucas: We’re in the process of negotiating a deal for Luke Cundle from Wolves - he’s had a couple of decent loan spells at this level and he’d add something different in midfield for us. Other than that, rumours have been thin on the ground but I think that’s partly a conscious effort by the club to keep deals quieter - the Aaron Connolly and Tristan Crama rumours only came out once the deal was very, very close to completion. Both of those have looked good additions so far - Connolly has been consistently lively off the left and was one of our best players against Luton, while Crama - playing out of position - has been superb. Neil has also brought Ra’ess Bangura-Williams into the senior fold pretty quickly and he’s looked superb.
James: We currently are facing an injury crisis and having sold Flemming in the summer just seen Esse leave. Recruitment is urgent but I suspect the major squad rebuild will happen in the summer. Having said that we have already signed the impressive Crama from Brentford and Connolly from Sunderland, both of whom have already improved us.
Summer Ins >>> Mihailo Ivanovic, 19, CF, Vojvodina (Serbia), £2.5m >>> Femi Azeez, 23, RW, Reading, £1m >>> Macauley Langstaff, 28, CF, Notts County, £800k >>> Daniel Kelly, 18, CM, Celtic, £400k >>> Japhet Tanganga, 25, CB, Spurs, Free >>> Liam Roberts, 29, GK, Boro, Free >>> Lucas Jensen, 25, GK, Lincoln, Undisclosed >>> Ryan Wintle, 27, DM, Cardiff, Loan >>> Josh Coburn, 21, CF, Boro, Loan >>> Calum Scanlon, 19, LB, Liverpool, Loan
Summer Outs >>> Alex Mitchell, 22, CB, Charlton, Undisclosed >>> Zian Flemming, 26, AM, Burnley, Loan >>> Kevin Nisbet, 27, CF, Aberdeen, Loan >>> Bartosz Bialkowski, 35, GK, Released
Winter Ins >>> Aaron Connolly, 24, CF, Sunderland, Undisclosed >>> Tristan Crama, 23, CB, Brentford, Undisclosed
Winter Outs >>> Romain Esse, 19, AM, Palace, £12m >>> Tom Bradshaw, 32, CF, Oxford, Undisclosed
Where's the team weak? Where does it need strengthening?
Lucas: In truth, we could do with three or four before Monday. We need a right back, arguably a left back, a central midfielder and at least one to play behind the frontman - whether that’s a winger or a number 10. Danny McNamara, Ryan Leonard and Calum Scanlon have all suffered season-ending or near-season-ending injuries in the last three matches so defensive depth is a must, while Scanlon had also proved useful as a winger. With Romain Esse having left and Femi Azeez injured, additions there are a must - Duncan Watmore has had good availability this season but is fairly injury prone and has lacked quality.
James: In terms of weaknesses our left flank is often described as "vulnerable". Joe Bryan our full back is technically a good player but prone to mistakes. Our midfield sometimes can be vulnerable to pace, although Caspar de Norre is in great form.
Where's it strong? Player of the year candidates?
Lucas: The backline is generally pretty good. Lukas Jensen has been a great signing in goal, Esse obviously had a great season until he left, and Bangura-Williams has been impressive in his handful of appearances but the clear Player of the Season is Japhet Tanganga. He is a monster at this level, the best centre back in the Championship. Colossus of our backline and our record when he missed a couple of games early on in the season was not pretty. He leads consistently by example, pops up with the odd goal and improves those around him. Wins absolutely everything in the air, too, and has some real quality on the ball having come through Tottenham’s academy. We won’t hold onto him past this summer I imagine, but let’s enjoy him while he’s here.
James: Our greatest strength is our defence. We have one of the best records in the division. Cooper is a dominant centre back but his partner Tanganga is our best player and I would argue the best defender in the championship. A few weeks ago I would have said our attack was our biggest weakness. However the combination of the recruitment of Connelly, the emergence from nowhere of young Bangura Williams and Ivanovic finding form (all thanks to how Neil now sets us up imo) means we look very dangerous.
Revised expectations for the rest of the season?
Lucas: If we get some players in and some back fit, I think there’s enough quality to just finish comfortably in mid-table and avoid the relegation scrap. Looking beyond that is too much and Neil is also trying to embed his principles still. I hope it’s comfortable, anyway.
James: Mid table obscurity will be a relief and I think well end up between 10th and 12th.
Links >>> Millwall official website >>> South London Press — Local Paper >>> News at Den — Blog >>> North Stand Banter — Forum >>> News Shopper — Local Paper