Still hurting...

I've left writing my thoughts on the Millwall derby for a few days to have a chance to calm down and write an objective piece.  I was fortunate enough, in some respects, to have a lot of work to keep my mind occupied over the weekend rather than stewing away in a pub all afternoon on an abject performance.  I know many people were obviously upset at was undoubtedly a poor performance by any standard but I have never left the ground to find a red faced fan opening shouting and cussing the state of our team like I did on Saturday afternoon.

Loss shown live on Sky television adds to embarrassment

The game was not a sell out in either end.  Millwall were some 200 short but a crowd of less than 16,000 was also extremely disappointing.  A combination of tickets not being released on general sale, the game being on Sky, fan apathy over our recent performance or just not wanting the potential aggravation could all be contributing factors.




I had a chat with a few Millwall fans in an East End local on Sunday evening while watching the Manchester derby.  They all concurred that it was a dire game with not a lot to cheer about.  I was even told by one fan that we were unlucky but that is little consolation.  Despite 60% possession, Charlton conjured up only two shots out of six on target.  Millwall fared little better with only three out of twelve shots on target.  Their main talking point was the vast number of police that had turned out on patrol as they left the stadium.

New flag in the West Stand

The bright spot in the Millwall team was Nicky Bailey who effectively controlled the midfield.  I'm always nervous about the threat of old players returning to the Valley.  His story is very similar to that of our own Yann Kermorgant leaving Leicester with a missed penalty in a play off and so it seemed inevitable that he was going to score against us (if anyone is interested, there was a recent article in the Economist that explored the very topic of the performance of former players visiting their old team).  Thankfully it was not to be, but that was small comfort for the home supporters as a McDonald deflected shot wrong footed Ben Hamer and found the back of the net.

Millwall Crowd

I had credited the Millwall fans with a sense of humour when I saw all the inflatable fish in the crowd, thinking it was a reference to our flooded out game against Doncaster, but no,  it was just a good excuse to hurl abuse at Marvin Sordell for the incident against Bolton last season when he complained about being abused by one of their ball boys.  Some habits never tire.







 Our derby day contrasted markedly with the Manchester derby when City played with pace, appearing to have a head start against their red counterparts on every ball.  However, despite all the plaudits no-one questioned why they could not find this turn of pace and agility in their lacklustre performances in their draw against Stoke and loss to Cardiff City.



We now have an extremely tough run of three games in a row against top sides and Charlton fans need to prepare for a rough ride in the next fortnight as we visit Burnley, while Forest and Blackpool stop off at the Valley.  It appears that Cort and Solley will still be out for the Burnley game and Yann is touch and go.

Stadium not full for Derby Clash

On formation tactics, without Yann we are in a pickle.  I would like to see a 4-5-1 to bring in more midfield players and allowing Cameron Stewart into the starting line up for the first time.  His pace and agility very much reminded me of Danny Haynes and I'd like to see him on the pitch for a full ninety minutes along with Harriott on the other wing.  My only concern is that this formation demands a strong striker who can take down the ball and without Yann we just don't have anyone else capable of the role.

We will encounter the same problem with a 4-4-2 formation.  While Joe Pigott was valiant in his efforts on Saturday, his inexperience and lack of build showed.  I have no doubt this will improve over time and have no regrets that he was given the opportunity.  With Church a certain starter that only leaves Sordell, but for me he has to show a pick up in both form and pace to justify his place in the starting line up if Yann is not included. Whichever line up is chosen I am not looking forward to the next couple of weeks but as we saw with Millwall it only takes a game to suddenly turn things around.  I'm waiting for our "game" to turn up.