Millwall vs Ipswich Preview & Matchday Thread

[Shed on tour]

The Joe Royle days are back!
If you score 3 we will score 4. Thought it was going to end 10-10 at one stage as both defences were crap. Mind you can't say we didn't get entertained.
Just wish that bluemike hadn't stirred the Millwall lot up though as I had to get on a bus with a load of Wall after the game. Lol

[arana peligrosa]

Caught game highlights, at times any defense were in total disarray, but for those in attendance it was something of an event. To score four goals at Millwall is some accomplishment and coming after the recent capitulation at neighbors Charlton Athletic it's been a bizarre last few weeks. Incidentally there will be a South East London treble as we face Crystal Palace in the League Cup, after today, you got to possess some level of optimism we can progress to later rounds.

Damn strange events going on with this club sometimes. This calendar year we've had two instances of F.A. Cup unmitigated shame, a poor end of season, a pre-season of some embarrassment and with it all, McCarthy and team receiving castigation left and right. Lo and behold it's now three league victories and progress in cup competition, what the f*ck is going on is hard to ascertain, this is a transformation of epic proportion.

Far too premature to get carried away with anything, good start, caught many by surprise, don't know what was said by who, but this is a welcome change from what we're usually provided. Hope those who traveled to South London endured a safe trip.

Was unable to upload game highlights, maybe a technical issue that needs addressing. Although readily accessible on Youtube, just type Millwall 3 Ipswich 4. Defense apart, that represents a damn fine score.

[Ohiotractorboy]

3-4 - Spence!!!! Believe it! Hang on Sloopy!

Hang on Sloopy? Nice, official song of the State of Ohio and played at all the Ohio State games. Maybe we should make it Town's also

How effing great is THIS??? Had to work late at court tonight, and got out and immediately checked Fotmob. Just watched the highlights and the radio hightlights, loving every second of this. Was that Didsy working on the third goal to set up Waggy? Lovely footwork!

[Mach_Polish_Blue]

It was epic. Amazing roller-coaster where anything could have happened. Mix of feelings regarding our actual performance. The draw would have been a fair result but it's 3 points for us so who cares?

The injuries enforced McCarthy to play 4 natural strikers and Ward. I dare to say that it's been the most attacking line-up ever under his tenure. I was a bit disappointed though with news regarding Celina and his illness as I was really looking forward to see him play.

Long list of absences, a bit of makeshift defence but given the amount of strikers we had on the field I wanted and expected goals. Got my wish but our defence was woeful during the first half. That first 45 minutes and the way the match is panning out you re-call Big Fat Joe and some of his crazy performances. Ipswich 6-4 Crewe, Ipswich 3-4 Forest, Ipswich 3-4 Gillingham....... with 'converted' central back Naylor in the middle of the defence. Speaking seriously though it was like watching Jewell's defence at times. We actually got embarrassed once at The Den under him in the shape of 1-4 defeat.

Chambers has been iffy last night in the first half. Has he ever played as a left-sided central back for us? Tough opponents to face in Morison and Gregory and every time Millwall forwards were in our box it always looked very dangerous. The defence all over the place at times. First goal two of our defenders were too focused on Morison and it was Wallace who found himself unchallenged between Spence and Ward and took the simple opportunity from few yards.

The response was magnificent though. In between Millwall's goal and our equaliser they never were in our half. Quick equaliser thanks to Iorfa and his pass to Garner.

Very strange half. We always looked dangerous when making or trying to organise counter-attacks but very dodgy at the back. After about 15 minutes a real moment of scare as Chambers received a heavy knock and spent three minutes on the floor. Don't know how badly it affected him but almost cost us a goal a bit later as his pass back to Bialkowski was very weak but the latter was slightly quicker than Millwall forward.

Our second and third goal. I could watch that several times and still won't get tired of that. The passing between Garner and Ward that led to Waghorn's goal..... a poetry
Third goal......McGoldrick has no chance to catch the ball. From almost impossible angle manages to round the keeper and pull it back. Waghorn's simple tap-in was a formality.

Half time and even though we were winning the feeling was that anything could have happened in the second half. Even Millwall to win given how woeful the defence was at times.

Something must have been said by McCarthy in the dressing room. I bet that his instructions were to give the dodgy defence some kind of help because we looked a different after the interval. To be cynical that was classic McCarthy. Trying to sit on narrow lead ..... I know the defence needed a help but it was too extreme for my liking as Archer had completely nothing to do in the Millwall goal until they equalised. We may have been trying to catch them on the break but we never did so. Archer was really bored apart from one moment when Garner headed over.

Millwall had corner after corner after corner. Thankfully the defence dealt better. But Millwall finally got their reward for their determination 10 minutes from time. No-one could have begrudged them a draw. They weren't brimmed with quality they just did what they could. Yes a kind of disappointment for us but we paid the price for sitting back.

All of sudden the proceedings have changed again and we could only admire the anger among Town players as they were desperate to regain the lead. Millwall seemed content with hard-fought draw and it was us who were in their half.

Two minutes from time. Ward's delivery with pinpoint accuraty and Spence's header caused a madness in Town end. Moments like that........going to be memorable for a while.

We had to return to sitting back as the game looked far from over given the way it panned out over 90 minutes. Very tense and nervy last couple of times.

Never give up attitude and sports anger is one the reasons why we have won it. Their heads could have easily dropped after Millwall's third goal.
Other reasons? Perhaps a bit cynical but it's injuries. I don't believe our line-up would have been so attacking minded had it not been for absences.

Very 'un-McCarthy' kind of performance in the first half. Of course not everything was rosy today the defence in particular. But all is overshadowed by what is most important in a football match that is win and 3 points.

It's safe to say that the dark era after Murphy's departure and failure to replace him is over. Fantastic additions in Garner and Waghorn is what we needed. Them two, their desire and teamwork + McGoldrick were all joy to watch last night.

The question is what we can get when all injured players are back. Any chances to be competitive throughout the season? Hard to say and too early to say. For the time being I'm fully enjoying August and not getting carried away.

What a belter of an evening !!!! That header from Spence..... I still have it in front of my eyes !

[Shed on tour]

Had to laugh after the game when a couple of Wall fans on the bus reckoned the ref was biased towards us.
I know due to my age my eyesight ain't what it used to be but they obviously were at a different game to me!

[phily bon bon]

Great write up Bluemike it sounded like a topsy-turvy type of match and I agree entirely with the fact that Mick was forced to go for it, in the fact that with injuries he was forced to play an attack minded side or at least players.

[Bluemike]

What a crazy crazy nite that was. As Mach says a rollercoaster of emotions from the very first minute to the 96th, the game had everything. Much of the pre match talk centred around our line up, Four strikers and Grant Ward tucked in the middle too ? It looked exciting on paper but also I had reservations that we would get picked off at will at the back, lo and behold as the game unfolded we were exciting and yes we got picked off all too easily a couple of times too !!!

Forty Five seconds on the clock and we go behind, a simple move and cross has Knudsen challenging for the ball which falls very kindly for Wallace who's shot is deflected off a defender and past Bart, the worst possible start and already i'm fearing a long night. Thankfully we weren't behind for long as Joe Garner picks up a pass from Iorfa some 25 yards out and hits a belter which again takes a deflection and deceives their keeper into commiting himself, 1-1 and game on, what a shot it was.

It was real end to end stuff with Millwall playing a fair bit of passing stuff in the centre of the pitch while we looked to be breaking at speed and catching them out, one or two half chances came and went with Bart looking the busier of the Two keepers. However it was Town who were grab the lead with Ten minutes of the halve remaining. A lovely flowing move saw Garner win possession before feeding Ward down the left channel, his run and cross to the near post was sublime as the on rushing Waghorn gets acrooss the defender slam the ball home at the near post, much like Garner's against Birmingham on the opening day, the players celebrating as down the other end the 1800+ Tractor boys and Girls go wild. The big question was could we see it out to HT and keep the vital lead, alas it was not to be and minutes later it's all square again, another Millwall attack causes mayhem in the Town defence and with defenders and keeper all over the place and flapping at the ball it is finally scrambled home with defenders on the line unable to clear, having seen it again it wasn't great from Bart on this occasion as he actually takes the ball away from a Town defender who would probably have got it away to safety.

The action was still not over in the iopening half though as Town carved open a couple of chances which both fell to the impressive Waghorn but on these occasions no joy, however incredibly with seconds to go until the break we got our Third goal, once again Garner got the move going by feeding Didsy who had looked lively and up for it throughout, his persistance seeing him beat the defender to the ball before whipping the ball across for the hungry Waghorn to cleverly convert at the near post, cue yet another wild party in the away end and this time there was no chance of Millwall replying as the ref blew for HT.

It had been a crazy and frenetic half of open, end to end football, not top quality on the pitch but fantastic entertainment, going forward we look like we can cause anyone in this divison problems while at the back we do at times look incapable of defending against the Dagenham Girl Pipers !!! Even so the guts shown by the boys had to be applauded. If anything I had felt we hadn't sat deep enough when on the defensive as Millwall played the same ball numerous times, a floated pass over the heads of the defenders and into space for the Two strikers to run onto, had we been a few yards deeper it wouldn't have been possible to play that ball and it was causing us problems.

The second half started with Millwall on the fron foot and Bart was soon scrambling across his goal to see a shot out and to safety. I remember saying to Mach "how many bloody corners have Millwall had this half" as it was after another but the defence as like at Barnsley had improved after the break and was dealing much better with what was thrown at it. Our first chance of the second period saw Garner miss a great chance , his header form Wards pinpoint corner going over when well placed to score. It was agin turning into an end to end game and we had bart to thank for saving a shot which he spilled but got back in the nick of time to grab on the line. Millwall had been the better side during the second half and we were to pay for giving away a succession of needless fouls although it was so annoying that they score their Third from a freekick which most certainly was not a foul. The delivery caused confusion in the Town box and it fell nicely for their guy to slam it home past the advancing Bart.

It was a bitter pill to swallow and I really felt that with Ten minutes left and a fair chunk of of extra time to come there was only going to be one outcome as Millwall now had their tails up, however what I didn't count on was the sheer guts and never say die attitude of this Town team, instead of heads goiong down we kept going and in the final minutes looked to get forward, Ward wins a freekick way out on the right with 88 minutes on the clock, it needed the delivery to be spot on and boy Wardy did not let us down, his ball to the back post was on the money, a host of players rose to head it but it was Jordan Spence that won the aerial battle to send his header crashing into the net. What followed was incredible scenes behind the goal, the players celebrating in front of us, I remember being grabeed and hugged by f*ck knows who and moved along the aisle a fair few yards, suddenly nothing but thick clouds of red smoke as the flare some two yards away filled our lungs, it seemed to go and on with the singing louder and louder, one of those moments that you just had to be there to share, a Richard Chaplow moment from Watford a couple of years ago, it was that special.

it obviously can't go unnoticed that we must defend better as good teams will surely punish us but let's not be negative at this special time, Four straight wins with TEN players missing last night, yes TEN !!! Our bench looked like a kids Sunday morning bench. There were some great individual performances last night, mostly from forwards it has to be said, Garner is a real find, his rocket of an opener came at a crucial time, he then got two moves going that led to Two goals, Waghorn that fox in the box who looks to have goals in him, a Number Nine playing as a winger but still causing mayhem for their defence, Didsy was class at times, he is at the moment back to his exciting best, we have to keep him fit as he can be so special when he is, Ward worked his arse off and won crucial free kick which led to the winner. At the back Chambo had a difficult night but god this guy is a warrior, he took a real heavy knock and if you had seen him in distress as he laid on the grass you would imagine anyone else would have gone off but not Chambo, despite playing out of position as Left sided CB he again improved after the break and marshalled the defence as best he could, Spence was the hero at the death, rising to guide that glorious header home, a team of fighters, real warriors.

Bart (6) Iorfa (6) Spence (7) Chambers (6) Knudsen (6) Sears (6) Skuse (6) Ward (7) Waghorn (8) Didsy (8) Garner (8)

SUB :- Rowe (6)

Take your hat off to MM, not everyone likes him but the attacking line up was great to see, yes it was partly forced on him but still we went about it in the right way, with virtually a whole team out and unavailable we still got the points, and let me tell you Millwall are no mugs and will beat a lot of teams on their own patch, same as at Barnsley, these games still have to be won and I notice Forest got done at Oakwell last night, did they have Ten players out ? I doubt it very much. So lets just enjoy it while we can, joint top of the league and Four massive wins on the spin, the exciting thing is I believe there is so much more to come when all our players are back, relegation candidates my arse, one thing is for certain, this season is going to be way better than last, get it right at the back and we have a chance, Mick promised more entertainment this time around and boy we are getting it. COYB'S

[Bluemike]

Highlights in case anyone hasn't see them.

http://www.skysports.com/football/live- ... nship-live

[Shed on tour]

Mike
My only concern is will Mick return to his old ways of safety first if we get a hammering in the near future like what happened after the Reading game the other year?
Tbh even if we had lost last night I would have come away from the ground feeling far happier than on most occasions last year as at least we had attacked and had a real go at them. As you said Millwall is never an easy place for any team to go and no doubt many teams will find it hard to come away with 3 points from there this season.

[Bluemike]

You know what Shed, I don't think he can, not after the stick he got last season, he has bought players that play a certain way and it is obvious going on the offensive is playing to our strengths, obviously time will tell but I don't think so.

[Shed on tour]

You know what Shed, I don't think he can, not after the stick he got last season, he has bought players that play a certain way and it is obvious going on the offensive is playing to our strengths, obviously time will tell but I don't think so.

For me our 2nd goal last night was an absolute joy to watch. Counter attacking football at it's best, last season we would never had scored from that situation.
Thought Didsy was superb last night and is such a key player for us, if only he could stay fit for the whole season.

[Bluemike]

You know what Shed, I don't think he can, not after the stick he got last season, he has bought players that play a certain way and it is obvious going on the offensive is playing to our strengths, obviously time will tell but I don't think so.

For me our 2nd goal last night was an absolute joy to watch. Counter attacking football at it's best, last season we would never had scored from that situation.
Thought Didsy was superb last night and is such a key player for us, if only he could stay fit for the whole season.

Agree completely, I used to moan like hell about Didsy and his sicknote history but the guy is on fire this season.

[Quasar]

4th goal.....


https://twitter.com/lukeym20/status/897 ... ere%2F%232


Chambers fist pump.....



https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thum ... u-T-Rl.jpg


Love it !!

who;s the blonde at 12 secs

[Ohiotractorboy]

Great write ups fellas, thanks much!

[marko69]

Amazing how football works out……, two weeks ago everyone was thinking, "new striker required" ……, and now, Waghorn (8) DM (8) and Jim Rockford (8)……., great stuff.

And yes, Shed……, hopefully it is the, "you score 3, we score 4" mentality coming to fruition.

[J4ck22]

Not gonna lie it was very stressful to listen to, but my god was it a relief. Can't wait for Brentford on saturday!

[herforder]

Was definitely 'white knuckle' listening on Radio Suckfuck! Must have been X10 for those at the match - captured so vividly by both Mach and Bluemike in their consistently excellent post-match reports. Great night, great result, great for continuing to repair/strengthen the bond between the club, the players and supporters. Be good to see that reflected in Saturday's attendance.

Last season Huddersfield, without spending mega bucks, found ways of getting results when not always playing brilliantly but, by the addition of a couple of astute signings in key positions, were able to find those moments of quality that won matches consistently. Very early days, but we may be starting to show the same attributes; with much more expansive and entertaining football a welcome bonus. As obvious as a dog's gonads, whilst midfield and striking options have both depth and quality, defence does not, and needs to be strengthened by bringing in another experienced CB asap.

Two other things raised a smile. Firstly, on the post-match phone in, someone who was at the match, and reckoned he 'knew his football' (why does the heart immediately sink at those words?) proceeded to say how disgusted he was with our performance, which he reckoned merited a heavy loss. Most of the team was slated as being useless and inept, with particular venom directed at Skuse and Knudsen. He displayed not one jot of joy or excitement at the RESULT, or acknowledged the transformation that's taking place before our eyes game-on-game. At first I thought it was a wind up - but, no, he was serious! Based on that attitude and those comments, he'll be suicidal when we do lose!

Second thing was MM saying that when all the currently sick, lame and lazy are fully fit and return, we'll doubtless be sh*t! Classic Mick.

[number 9]

That's great stuff! I hope the attacking performances continue. When you're scoring goals, it won't take long for the defense to get sorted. Looking forward to Brentford!

[Bluemike]

Was definitely 'white knuckle' listening on Radio Suckfuck! Must have been X10 for those at the match - captured so vividly by both Mach and Bluemike in their consistently excellent post-match reports. Great night, great result, great for continuing to repair/strengthen the bond between the club, the players and supporters. Be good to see that reflected in Saturday's attendance.

Last season Huddersfield, without spending mega bucks, found ways of getting results when not always playing brilliantly but, by the addition of a couple of astute signings in key positions, were able to find those moments of quality that won matches consistently. Very early days, but we may be starting to show the same attributes; with much more expansive and entertaining football a welcome bonus. As obvious as a dog's gonads, whilst midfield and striking options have both depth and quality, defence does not, and needs to be strengthened by bringing in another experienced CB asap.

Two other things raised a smile. Firstly, on the post-match phone in, someone who was at the match, and reckoned he 'knew his football' (why does the heart immediately sink at those words?) proceeded to say how disgusted he was with our performance, which he reckoned merited a heavy loss. Most of the team was slated as being useless and inept, with particular venom directed at Skuse and Knudsen. He displayed not one jot of joy or excitement at the RESULT, or acknowledged the transformation that's taking place before our eyes game-on-game. At first I thought it was a wind up - but, no, he was serious! Based on that attitude and those comments, he'll be suicidal when we do lose!

Second thing was MM saying that when all the currently sick, lame and lazy are fully fit and return, we'll doubtless be sh*t! Classic Mick.

I'm sure Ashfordblue was joking.

[charlton837]

Was definitely 'white knuckle' listening on Radio Suckfuck! Must have been X10 for those at the match - captured so vividly by both Mach and Bluemike in their consistently excellent post-match reports. Great night, great result, great for continuing to repair/strengthen the bond between the club, the players and supporters. Be good to see that reflected in Saturday's attendance.

Last season Huddersfield, without spending mega bucks, found ways of getting results when not always playing brilliantly but, by the addition of a couple of astute signings in key positions, were able to find those moments of quality that won matches consistently. Very early days, but we may be starting to show the same attributes; with much more expansive and entertaining football a welcome bonus. As obvious as a dog's gonads, whilst midfield and striking options have both depth and quality, defence does not, and needs to be strengthened by bringing in another experienced CB asap.

Two other things raised a smile. Firstly, on the post-match phone in, someone who was at the match, and reckoned he 'knew his football' (why does the heart immediately sink at those words?) proceeded to say how disgusted he was with our performance, which he reckoned merited a heavy loss. Most of the team was slated as being useless and inept, with particular venom directed at Skuse and Knudsen. He displayed not one jot of joy or excitement at the RESULT, or acknowledged the transformation that's taking place before our eyes game-on-game. At first I thought it was a wind up - but, no, he was serious! Based on that attitude and those comments, he'll be suicidal when we do lose!

Second thing was MM saying that when all the currently sick, lame and lazy are fully fit and return, we'll doubtless be sh*t! Classic Mick.

I heard that caller too! Unbelievable. He actually said he was going home disappointed and that we were hopeless and pathetic. If you cant enjoy a match like that then football probably isn't the place for you. After going through all the sh*t last season take the bloody enjoyment! Clearly a case of someone who hates the manager and a few of the players and wont change their mind whatever happens, but if that's the case why travel to London to go to the match!?

I was in London yesterday for a work meeting, was so tempted to stay for the game but decided not to in the end, listened on the radio at home, god I wish I went now! I was there for the Chaplow goal at Watford a few years back and my mate in the away end was saying it was just like that again when Spence scored.

Onwards and upwards! Plenty to improve on but id rather be as we are now than being boring as dog sh*t trying our utmost to get a 0-0 draw and messing that up. All I wanted was some entertainment and there has probably been more of that this year than the whole of the last season. We also NEED to beat Norwich this season, its been too long. No point in getting too carried away, do I think we will be top 6? no, but at least we are up there for now, and we can try our hardest to stick around. Will be very interesting if and when we get a fully fit squad, this virus has been unbelievable, almost tempted not to go myself in case I catch it!

[marko69]

Nice post, Charlton.

And LOL @ "being sure Ash was only joking!" Awesome

[Andym]

To be fair to the caller, we had 8 shots, 4 on target, 4 goals. Our shots to goals ratio must be the best in the division my miles. It was exciting to listen to, must have been great to be there. I've only seen one game this season but our "attacking football" is creating few shots. Fortunately we are scoring from most of them.

I'm not knocking it, just saying that excitement isn't necessarily the result of good football.

Delighted with the results. I can't criticise the defence because of its makeshift nature. Hopefully we can bring in some reinforcements soon.

[marko69]

Got to be honest, Andy, (and it's an honest opinion only) if it's consistent good football you are seeking, (with a bit of excitement thrown in) it's the Bundesliga you need to start watching regularly. German football will ALWAYS consistently be the best to watch. Nothing remotely comes close. I know you are older and German football may not always have been better, but it certainly is now. Watch Dortmund for a season..... good football, very exciting. And it's a form of good and exciting that'll never happen at Portman Road or Easter Road. Ever.

[Bluemike]

We are conceding on average one goal a game with a makeshift defence and as for our attempts at goal stat yes I would much rather be having 50 crap efforts on goal every game and losing them all.

[BLUEBLOOD]

We are conceding on average one goal a game with a makeshift defence and as for our attempts at goal stat yes I would much rather be having 50 crap efforts on goal every game and losing them all.

Not sure on that one, 10 cracking shots on target scoring 4 and winning would be mine, not losing with 50 crap shots.

[Bluemike]

I was being cynical

[herforder]

I was being cynical

.....and ironic, even!

[Bluemike]

I was being cynical

.....and ironic, even!

Yes definitely ironic too !!

[Bluemike]

More of this tomorrow please.