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Championship expectations
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But you need the alternative option to change things when your normal style of play isn’t working. Not saying we should start with a target man, but should have the option on the bench. Not sure that’s Leaburn’s or Mbik’s game despite their size. With nine subs allowed a target man could be a handy addition.letthegoodtimesroll said:
If you play with a ‘target man’ you are basically playing with ten and a half men and giving up territory, more so with Nathan’s preferred game-plan which is based upon players finding space or running into space.PeakieRocket said:One thing that stood out from being at both Ipswich and Southend games was how difficult we found it to get decent possession in the final third. Balls out of defence were mostly being lost and coming straight back. When Gas came on yesterday, we finally had a target man who was winning headers, linking up play and made the likes of Carey and Apter more of a threat. If he is going to Bolton, then the lack of this type of player in our squad concerns me despite all the other signings.1 -
With the 9 additions and the likes of Mbick, Kanu and Fullah added to those of our remaining squad from last season we have plenty of much better players to fill the bench places and change the gameplan if necessary.PeakieRocket said:
But you need the alternative option to change things when your normal style of play isn’t working. Not saying we should start with a target man, but should have the option on the bench. Not sure that’s Leaburn’s or Mbik’s game despite their size. With nine subs allowed a target man could be a handy addition.letthegoodtimesroll said:
If you play with a ‘target man’ you are basically playing with ten and a half men and giving up territory, more so with Nathan’s preferred game-plan which is based upon players finding space or running into space.PeakieRocket said:One thing that stood out from being at both Ipswich and Southend games was how difficult we found it to get decent possession in the final third. Balls out of defence were mostly being lost and coming straight back. When Gas came on yesterday, we finally had a target man who was winning headers, linking up play and made the likes of Carey and Apter more of a threat. If he is going to Bolton, then the lack of this type of player in our squad concerns me despite all the other signings.2 -
What we have done is sign the best of League One. I think that is a sensible approach.10
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Not changed for me. Clinging onto 20th or 21st.2
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MuttleyCAFC said:What we have done is sign the best of League One. I think that is a sensible approach.
Agreed. I remember George Graham when he was at Arsenal being asked about his transfer strategy, and his answer always stuck with me “Never sign a player that thinks they are doing you a favour”. As we found out towards the end of our PL days, it only takes a couple of bad signings/dickheads and the whole ship will start to sink. Far better to sign younger, hungry players with something to prove, then Ben Watsons of this world will no longer be stealing a living from us!
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Just listened to Second Tier pod bottom 8, can't believe they don't have us in there tbh.
They have Wednesday, Preston, Hull, Blackburn, Watford, Oxford, Stoke and Wrexham all finishing below us at least.
I would love to see that, and curious to hear why they think that is on the next episode.
Really decent listen tbh, they are growing on me. I feel a lot of the time they are joking and not trying to actually one up eachother, they sound a bit like siblings.
I've never listened to a podcast in my life really but really enjoying these while I'm out and about or doing mundane drives.2 -
It is a very sound approach imo, you want players who are trying to climb the leagues and improving, not players regressing and had their time in the sun.MuttleyCAFC said:What we have done is sign the best of League One. I think that is a sensible approach.
I was reading Millwalls forums earlier, as I was curious to see what they think of our transfer business with us playing them soon. First of all, they definitely care about us way more than they let on 😂 secondly, they don't seem to think we are doing good business. They think we are overpaying for League 1 players. Which I think is a bit of a short sighted take.
Really looking forward to playing them. Not expecting a win, but I expect us to give them a game now. The last few times we played them, we have had pathetic sides, and were a club in dissaray. The feeling is good around the club now, and we have more quality than when we last played them, a lot more quality.
Here was our line up last time:
For me, only Lockyer and Cullen make our XI now from that team, and I would say Lockyer is subjective. The current version of Albie Morgan at Blackpool also might make our XI.
They're of course a better side now as well, with a better manager, but it's gonna be a cracking game at the Valley.4 -
Similar campaign to our 2012-13 season back in the Champ but with a bit more aggression….maybe top 6 could even be a reality…?1
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A much better side I would say. I just had a look at the team we had out when we beat you at The Den that season. Like you with Charlton I would say there are only a couple of players who would get in our team today, Jed Wallace (as he was then) and Jason Molumby (although he wasn’t as good for us then as he is now). Oh and of course Cooper, who IS still in our team lol. Maybe Bart in goal. Other than that, even in their prime, most of that team wouldn’t get near our team, or even our squad, these days.Braziliance said:
They're of course a better side now as well, with a better manager, but it's gonna be a cracking game at the Valley.MuttleyCAFC said:What we have done is sign the best of League One. I think that is a sensible approach.Good post by the way and agree it’s going to be a cracking game. I’ve said it on here before, if you don’t get excited for these sort of games you might as well jack it in. This is what football is all about, local derbies and bragging rights.7 -
Yeah you've definitely come on leaps and bounds as a club since then.MillwallFan said:
A much better side I would say. I just had a look at the team we had out when we beat you at The Den that season. Like you with Charlton I would say there are only a couple of players who would get in our team today, Jed Wallace (as he was then) and Jason Molumby (although he wasn’t as good for us then as he is now). Oh and of course Cooper, who IS still in our team lol. Maybe Bart in goal. Other than that, even in their prime, most of that team wouldn’t get near our team, or even our squad, these days.Braziliance said:
They're of course a better side now as well, with a better manager, but it's gonna be a cracking game at the Valley.MuttleyCAFC said:What we have done is sign the best of League One. I think that is a sensible approach.Good post by the way and agree it’s going to be a cracking game. I’ve said it on here before, if you don’t get excited for these sort of games you might as well jack it in. This is what football is all about, local derbies and bragging rights.
Just looking at some of the quality; Joe Bryan, Tanganga, Casper De Norre, Ivanović, Doughty, Crama (wanted Charlton to sign him)
It just isn't the Millwall of old, and I don't think any of these podcaster types are putting you outside top10. I personally think the top6 is very hard to predict, and whichever teams make it up will be very good sides.
I can't wait. The closer it gets and the more I'm watching the footie on telly the last few days, the more I am getting buzzing for it. Can't wait for it to be back.
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Haha I’m the same. I get excited before every season but this year I’m on another level. I did all the friendlies and I’m doing every game in the first couple of months of the season, including Newport away on a Tuesday night in the league cup. Must be mad. Do you ever grow out of this? I hope not 😁Braziliance said:
Yeah you've definitely come on leaps and bounds as a club since then.MillwallFan said:
A much better side I would say. I just had a look at the team we had out when we beat you at The Den that season. Like you with Charlton I would say there are only a couple of players who would get in our team today, Jed Wallace (as he was then) and Jason Molumby (although he wasn’t as good for us then as he is now). Oh and of course Cooper, who IS still in our team lol. Maybe Bart in goal. Other than that, even in their prime, most of that team wouldn’t get near our team, or even our squad, these days.Braziliance said:
They're of course a better side now as well, with a better manager, but it's gonna be a cracking game at the Valley.MuttleyCAFC said:What we have done is sign the best of League One. I think that is a sensible approach.Good post by the way and agree it’s going to be a cracking game. I’ve said it on here before, if you don’t get excited for these sort of games you might as well jack it in. This is what football is all about, local derbies and bragging rights.
Just looking at some of the quality; Joe Bryan, Tanganga, Casper De Norre, Ivanović, Doughty, Crama (wanted Charlton to sign him)
It just isn't the Millwall of old, and I don't think any of these podcaster types are putting you outside top10. I personally think the top6 is very hard to predict, and whichever teams make it up will be very good sides.
I can't wait. The closer it gets and the more I'm watching the footie on telly the last few days, the more I am getting buzzing for it. Can't wait for it to be back.2 -
And yes the team we’ve got this year, I’m really excited about. Such a good balance and depth. With the manager, and the board, everything at the club really, just feels like the stars are aligning for us. But as they say, it’s the hope that kills you. We’ve had so many false dawns I really shouldn’t let myself get too excited. I still haven’t fully recovered from the Blackburn defeat a couple of season ago 😆1
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Not The Top 20 podcast was fascinating. Whilst they've predicted the finishing places, they're not particularly sold on anyone 16th to 24th when you hear what they have to say.I do think it could be pretty open within those 9 sides for who gets relegated. There is a chance a Blackburn or Stoke start very poorly and completely fell apart.Oddly if you only listened to what they had to say about us, youd presume they had us in relegation. Don't seem impressed by us at all, apart from they like Nathan Jones.1
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Seems a similar theme for us, Derby and Oxford. In nearly all the previews I've listened too, there are questions about the transfer business, but the main reason they have us and those 2 higher than they would normally is because of Nathan Jones, John Eustace and Gary Rowett.stoneroses19 said:Not The Top 20 podcast was fascinating. Whilst they've predicted the finishing places, they're not particularly sold on anyone 16th to 24th when you hear what they have to say.I do think it could be pretty open within those 9 sides for who gets relegated. There is a chance a Blackburn or Stoke start very poorly and completely fell apart.Oddly if you only listened to what they had to say about us, youd presume they had us in relegation. Don't seem impressed by us at all, apart from they like Nathan Jones.1 -
Whilst I absolutely believe that the transfer business we have done is as good as we could have realistically done, the sentiment of the NTTT podcast mentioned here and elsewhere is something that I believe represents our biggest challenge with those players. The strategy of buying good/strong L1 players is the same one that Oxford did last season, and that saw them to safety last season. However, this always represents some level of gamble, as those players may not be able to flourish with us, under the pressure of a a fee and in the league above. There's a real challenge for players like Kelman, Knibbs and Apter to be shining lights and hit the ground running. I think there's a really good chance of that happening under NJ, but we may need to be patient.
I feel like Wednesday, Hull and probably the aforementioned Oxford are the ones we want to be above - anything outside of survival is a bonus. I appreciate that our owners parting with some coin for players has heightened expectation across supporters, but a non-relegation form has to be the target. Win as many home games as possible, and steal things against the bottom half teams. The teams around us will likely be volatile squads that can smash us and equally be smashed. If we can get to the end of the year without being in the bottom 3, we give ourselves every chance. Everything up to mid-table is up for grabs if things click early. However, I suspect it will still be a lot harder than many expect.
Games like our opener against Watford represent opportunities we will need to take. The teams knocking on the door of promotion will simply be a different class, but we can use the NJ nastyball tactics to grind out results. I think games like the Birmingham game at home last season may be more frequent, where we build a bespoke tactic/team for a result.
As ever, I'm cautiously optimistic. We should be OK this season and have reinforced the squad well. I think top half predictions are very much dream land territory - avoiding returning to the dreariness below remains my biggest wish. I believe in NJ can do it, and I think this squad can do well.7 -
Help please - what is current situation with Leicester and points deduction?
Also as unlikely as I suspect it is that Massives did not fulfil their fixture - what would be the outcome? Is there a precedent?0 -
Even with something like a 15 point deduction they’d still probably end up miles clear of us so I don’t think it is something to be too concerned abouttheeenorth said:Help please - what is current situation with Leicester and points deduction?
Also as unlikely as I suspect it is that Massives did not fulfil their fixture - what would be the outcome? Is there a precedent?1 -
Cheers Nabs it's a pub conversation more than anything and nobody knew the answers.NabySarr said:
Even with something like a 15 point deduction they’d still probably end up miles clear of us so I don’t think it is something to be too concerned abouttheeenorth said:Help please - what is current situation with Leicester and points deduction?
Also as unlikely as I suspect it is that Massives did not fulfil their fixture - what would be the outcome? Is there a precedent?0 -
Love this
https://x.com/CAFCofficial/status/1952369179971182900?t=li_hw3avldskRLcPYicFHQ&s=19
Good team spirits and you can tell there's a level of respect among the team for ability.
Some of the players we have had the past haven't been as engaging as this5 -
for me this season, i genuinely see us fighting for somewhere between 17th and 10th.0
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I'm still hoping that someone comes in for Ivanovic this month, or i can see you getting top 6.MillwallFan said:And yes the team we’ve got this year, I’m really excited about. Such a good balance and depth. With the manager, and the board, everything at the club really, just feels like the stars are aligning for us. But as they say, it’s the hope that kills you. We’ve had so many false dawns I really shouldn’t let myself get too excited. I still haven’t fully recovered from the Blackburn defeat a couple of season ago 😆0 -
It's true that it's difficult to assess how many of our players will step up. There's only about 9 of our players who have played Championship football in any meaningful amount and a couple of them are definitely at the tail end of their careers. Realistically with the number of players we need to really show something we're going to be looking at a few who don't quite make it. Experience of the league isn't everything though; Godden and Berry are injured and much further along in their careers now hence us being able to get them in L1, Burke is injury prone, a lot of people have Bell losing out to Gillesphey despite Gillesphey not being judged good enough last time up and Docherty and Carey are two who have experienced more than one season in the Championship and don't make a lot of people's first team lineups when we have everyone available. Beyond that you're looking at a couple of loans for Coventry over 3 years ago and Kaminski's less than happy time last year.
Far more exciting is the potential of Apter, Kelman (who has played in the Championship but barely enough minutes for it to mean anything), Olaofe and Knibbs, players who will hopefully use the momentum and potential the club have seen in them to kick on. And it's not all that uncommon; who was more useful to us last season? L1 first-timer Josh Edwards or experienced L1 striker Gassan Ahadme? Did we enjoy having Kayne Ramsay (27 L1 appearances going into 24/25, most of them 3 years prior) or Tennai Watson (119 L1 appearances going in to 24/25) more? Getting in the right players at the right time is the important thing; I think we can all be sure Gillesphey is a better player than he was in 23/24 because Jones has made him that way, same with Lloyd Jones. Hopefully we've signed Apter just at the moment he's ready to go up a gear again like he has the past two seasons. More importantly, look at the squads of the teams we expect to be around us. Are there that many players you would want in our team over the players we've brought in? There's not that many names at the likes of Pompey or Oxford that I would be that bothered about us signing but they work for the teams they were signed for.
Every signing is a gamble, and traditionally it's our cheaper unheralded ones who end up being our best, but I think it's easy to look at our players' level of experience at the level we're at and see that as a problem without taking into account that there's lots of teams in this division with pretty middling players who survive because they get the best out of them and make sure they're the kind who fit the way they want to play. As long as we've picked the right attributes for the manager I think we've got a better chance of using our promotion momentum than some teams who have got a bit stale and haven't invested enough in freshening up an average squad6 -
Waving the white flag with those two up front.Braziliance said:
It is a very sound approach imo, you want players who are trying to climb the leagues and improving, not players regressing and had their time in the sun.MuttleyCAFC said:What we have done is sign the best of League One. I think that is a sensible approach.
I was reading Millwalls forums earlier, as I was curious to see what they think of our transfer business with us playing them soon. First of all, they definitely care about us way more than they let on 😂 secondly, they don't seem to think we are doing good business. They think we are overpaying for League 1 players. Which I think is a bit of a short sighted take.
Really looking forward to playing them. Not expecting a win, but I expect us to give them a game now. The last few times we played them, we have had pathetic sides, and were a club in dissaray. The feeling is good around the club now, and we have more quality than when we last played them, a lot more quality.
Here was our line up last time:
For me, only Lockyer and Cullen make our XI now from that team, and I would say Lockyer is subjective. The current version of Albie Morgan at Blackpool also might make our XI.
They're of course a better side now as well, with a better manager, but it's gonna be a cracking game at the Valley.0 -
The production company that make the second tier is owned by the guys that do the football ramble - which has been my go to football podcast for over ten years now. Very much an ‘if you know, you know’ sort of pod but so entertaining.Braziliance said:Just listened to Second Tier pod bottom 8, can't believe they don't have us in there tbh.
They have Wednesday, Preston, Hull, Blackburn, Watford, Oxford, Stoke and Wrexham all finishing below us at least.
I would love to see that, and curious to hear why they think that is on the next episode.
Really decent listen tbh, they are growing on me. I feel a lot of the time they are joking and not trying to actually one up eachother, they sound a bit like siblings.
I've never listened to a podcast in my life really but really enjoying these while I'm out and about or doing mundane drives.
finally I am able to start listening to the second tier! Always hear them advertise it but never had enough interest. Not sure if it was even going when we were last in the champ. Going to get stuck into their predictions and actually listen to it regularly, finally with some skin in the game!I can see us having the sort of season where we start quite well and by October a few people are looking up to the play off positions, then having a slightly less than mild blip and seriously looking over our shoulder by about Feb, and then NJ steadying the ship to finish about 14th. Would absolutely bite your hand off for that sort of season, too.2 -
I was feeling pretty confident until you look at the fixture list lol Watford is a really important game to get 3 points from imo as it’s difficult to see where points will come from in the next few games. Optimistic maybe but 19 points by Xmas would be a great achievement imo0
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We once stayed up with Marvin Sordell and Simon Church as our front two. I believe anything can happen!4
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If you only had 19 points by Christmas you would more than likely be in the bottom 3 and in trouble.AndyG said:I was feeling pretty confident until you look at the fixture list lol Watford is a really important game to get 3 points from imo as it’s difficult to see where points will come from in the next few games. Optimistic maybe but 19 points by Xmas would be a great achievement imo0 -
Naaa we are a second half of the season team mate lolMillwallFan said:
If you only had 19 points by Christmas you would more than likely be in the bottom 3 and in trouble.AndyG said:I was feeling pretty confident until you look at the fixture list lol Watford is a really important game to get 3 points from imo as it’s difficult to see where points will come from in the next few games. Optimistic maybe but 19 points by Xmas would be a great achievement imo2 -
This person thinks we are finishing well clear of relegation in 9th..
https://x.com/TheFLZone/status/1952448212297519342?t=4IG3dUSjO0cyljUZiu00uQ&s=192 -
I think our early games are definitely ones we can pick up points in. Bristol City won’t be near as good as they were last season, Leicester have a brilliant squad for the level but early is the time to play them as they’ve had a bit of a messy summer. QPR are a bit like Watford in that it’s tough to call how good they will be but that could be one of the more winnable away games too. I think we will have a decent August but then September is Millwall and then Sheff Utd away so will probably give us a reality checkAndyG said:I was feeling pretty confident until you look at the fixture list lol Watford is a really important game to get 3 points from imo as it’s difficult to see where points will come from in the next few games. Optimistic maybe but 19 points by Xmas would be a great achievement imo
5 of the first 6 games against teams with new managers is good also. Definitely want to play teams like that early on in the season1
