Minority Report v Millwall

I enjoy writing Minority Report because I enjoy thinking about the game, and writing my thoughts down helps with that process. I enjoy discussions about the game and publishing Minority Report helps to generate those discussions. However, publishing Minority Report also has a down side. It brings with it some personal abuse and assumptions about my motives, both of which I do not enjoy. Recently, I have even been attacked for what I omitted to say, rather than for what I have said. As a result, I have decided to take a break from publishing Minority Report, and this will be the last report that I publish to the BBS for a while. I apologise to those who enjoy reading it, but something needed to be done, and this is the only thing that I have not tried. It will return in the future, but at this stage, I do not know when.


Before I get into the tactical analysis of today’s game, and because I may not have another opportunity to set the record straight for quite a while, I just want to say a few things in conclusion. Firstly about Valerie Ismael. There is no doubt that his results with this team have been beyond all our expectations. He is an inspirational leader, and the players would follow him anywhere. For him results are everything, and he cannot be criticised at all on the basis of his results. However, I criticise him on an aesthetic basis. I criticise him because I do not enjoy watching games played under the style and system of play that he uses. Others think that is sacrilege. For others, results are all, and if results are good, the style in which they are being achieved is not important. Fair enough!


The aesthetics of the sport, the style in which the game is played is more important to me. I have written MR for many seasons, and I have never been short of things to say. There has always been something in a game that I have noticed, and I have made a mental note to include it in MR. For the first time, at the end of the Stoke game, I was struggling for anything to say. I try to make MR interesting, informative and entertaining, but when games follow the same pattern all the time, it becomes repetitive and dull if I simply repeat the same mantra of long ball (often aimless and often straight out of play), high press, work rate, intensity and high defensive line. Admittedly, for the Stoke game, the press was slightly different because Stoke hit the long ball straight back at us. More and more teams will play like that against us, because they see it as the best way to get a result, but that will make games even less interesting for me.


My message is not a popular one at the moment because most posters are so happy with results that they are unwilling to consider any down side. I am happy with our results, but I am not happy with our style. That is a message few people are interested in reading about, and that is why I shall keep my message and my opinions to myself for a while. I hope VI and the team continue to win, but I truly hope that the style of our play improves. Until then, this is the last report that I will publish via the BBS.

 

I always find it hard to pick up a formation when viewing through the lens of a camera, but I think that Millwall caught us by surprise with theirs. It was forecast to be 3-4-3, but I think the commentary team were more accurate with their 4-2-3-1, but even that could be wrong, given they were calling them a back 3 later on in the game. But that was not what surprised us. The surprise was that they went with a front line consisting of the pace of Mason Bennett supported from deeper by Jed Wallace. I do not believe that we would have started with Sollbauer on the right side of the back 3 if we had thought pace might be the issue. Sibbick replaced him at half-time, but by that time the pace of Bennett had cost us an equaliser. OK, the dithering was by Brittain, but the pace of Bennett was key. I was also surprised that we started with 3 out and out centre forwards. Where were the runners, where were the workers. As it was, the shape of our front 3 looked much more like 1 supported from deeper by 2 more than it does usually. Daryl Dike played the battering ram with Woodrow and Morris supporting him from deeper. Personally, I felt that Dike was very ineffective. If you pick 3 centre forwards, you never get the mix of skills and strengths that a forward line needs. I was disappointed with the starting pick and it never got any better.


Still, if you believe that your opponent will counter our long ball game with his own, then you will not need the same pressing forwards and the front line work rate. And that is what we got. Our long ball game was matched by a similar one from Millwall. It was exactly as I predicted in my preamble. Neither side wanted to play football in their own half of the field. I am sure that regular readers could predict my reaction. I am delighted that we won, but as far as entertainment is concerned, I have been cheated by both sets of players. What happen to getting the ball down and knocking it wide, to where the space is? Instead we saw both teams keep the game narrow by hitting looping balls with no pace on them to use for a long headed clearance, and a fight for the looping second ball that results. It happened at both ends, and it happened for the whole of the game. The game could be summarised as a fight at both ends for the 2nd ball. If you like your football played like that, or indeed, if you just like to see us win, then those tactics will please you. Personally, I hate it. The whole thing was summarised for me late in the game when Alex Mowatt picked up a loose ball, 15 yards into his own half. He had a player in red with no marker 10 yards to his left. We needed to retain the ball to eat up time as Millwall had sent on Smith to win the ball in the air deep in our defensive space, and retaining possession ensures he does not get the opportunity to do that. Instead, Mowatt decided to loop a clearance into no-man’s land, and Millwall began afresh from their keeper. Mowatt knew his man was there, and he is quite capable of delivering the pass accurately over such a short distance, and yet he chose to do it differently, because he knew what his coach would want him to do. There is no beauty in our style, and if that style proliferates as it looks like it will, because it is so successful, soon every team will be playing like those two today. If you like watching the percentages played. If you like watching a game being played out exactly as the coach sees it in his head, then ours is the game for you. But sadly, it isn’t the game for me, even though we win with it.


There is not much more to say about the game from my tactical perspective. I thought that Millwall posed a threat on the break, and that we posed a threat from 2nd balls after set pieces. Other than that, I have nothing else to say. Enjoy the games whilst I am away.

 

Yet again we had to play a game of football against another team. It happens every week. They aren't obliged to allow us to pass the ball about unhindered.

Today's opponents followed Stoke's tactics to try and turn us round quickly and bypass midfield. This time it worked once.

We however, showed resilience, composure and in the case of Helik's finish - sublime skill to beat them.

The aesthetics are often dictated by the opposition - especially when a team is made up of lower league players and under the radar foreign lads in the main. If we had Man City's resources we might be able to buy elite level players who can pass around teams such as we've played recently. But there you go.

Them's yer apples love.

 

Cheers for this Mr Rain, always look to Minority report after a home game. It’s my loss that you will be taking a break.

 

You say you are not entertained but I've just used your entertainment scoring system and unless I'm doing my it completely wrong we were officially one of the most entertaining teams in the championship today?

 

I thought Jay raised a valid point in another thread when he questioned why your posts, which had once been about tactics, were now so concerned with entertainment instead. And now you're flouncing because you don't like the system and style of play?

 

Enjoy your break buddy, see you when we lose a few

 

This reads like:

"I don't like our system, but currently as it's successful I'm going to get the monk on and not post until we've lost, so then I may be proven right"

 

Last season we played football that was lauded by opposition managers each week and they couldn’t understand how we were in the position we were in, but I bet they loved played against because for all the attractive football we were constantly toothless in attack and we dithered around at the back constantly which lead to a lot of goals from our own errors at the back Anderson one example was told to play out from the back like he was a young Rio Ferdinand he isn’t he’s limited in to being cb that wins headers and clears the ball same with helik we look more assured at the back and concede a hell of a lot less through individual errors.

you may have enjoyed last season because of the football we played you probably enjoyed both Leeds games I didn’t I used to wake with dread on Saturday morning knowing that I’d only be hoping that we cling on to a result.. I like the press we play with at the minute we win the ball further up the field which gives our players the chance to create something, look at Chelsea they obviously did 0 research on how we play and they couldn’t get out and if we’d finished our chances in that game we’d have beaten them.

give me a team that competes and challenges in this league any day over a team of whipping boys that we became last season..

I enjoy reading your reports I don’t agree with them
but I have no ill feeling towards you and you have a right to your opinion and your reports do create discussion so I for one would hope you would continue, but maybe give the players credit when it’s due we’ve won 5 on the bounce and if we were to reach the promise land playing as we are I don’t think you are anyone would give two hoots how we got there!!

COYR

 

If you enjoy writing them carry on is my opinion for what it's worth.

 

Sounds like a typical Facebook Flounce that. “I’m leaving this group because.......” (insert a variety of reasons, take your pick). Shame that you get abuse for your posts, but I’d rather not add any of that. I said some weeks ago that I wouldn’t be reading any more, but it’s always tempting to look in to see if any thing changes. It never does.

I’m as verbose as you are when I get going - I used to write very lengthy reports. The difference though was that I could express my joy at seeing my team doing well, and I did, often!

You’re just obsessed with technicalities. Some may appreciate that, but I don’t. I was entertained AGAIN today watching Barnsley win yet again. That’s enough for me.

 

This is what I don't understand. Unless I've completely imagined it Red Rain has spent years telling us that the average simple football fan likes exciting games and entertaining flair matches with eye catching balls down the wings etc and has gone to great lengths to tell us that this isn't why he likes football, isn't what entertains him and isn't what minority report is about. For him and for minority report it's purely an assessment of tactics and systems and utilising the most effective system which gets the win, something ordinary less knowledgeable fans don't understand. He even created an entertainment scoring system which was based purely on tactical statistics and completely ignored any traditional entertainment factors.

Yet because he had decided right off the bat that he didn't think our formation and tactic could possibly be successful and despite the fact that it clearly is he's completely changed his minority reports to say that effective tactics and systems are not important and he's the only one who likes to be entertained by matches.

It's a complete 180 and makes zero sense at all and it's something he's ducked and dodged each time he's been asked about it.

 

Ive never known anyone get bored of winning so quickly.

 

is that Alex Mowatt

 

I'm truly gobsmacked, I am. We've just won 5 games on the spin in the 2nd Tier of English football for the first time in nearly 25 years and some people still can't be happy and celebrate with others on here. I'm astounded. Enjoy the ride, we're winning games. We're going toe to toe with teams who were giving us a right shoeing 12 months ago. We were 1 minute from getting relegated last July, TWICE!

 

I've always thought that! He did a reyt lump over the box to help with the second goal today though!

 

Again appreciate the report. Parts of it I certainly agree with and parts I don’t. Shame you are ditching it though as the board losing something without a contrarian view.

 

Totally agree POR. Have to confess I hate negativity, so it's rare that I read Minority Report.
To me, results and league position are everything. Hope we can hang on to VI and the majority
of our squad and see where they can take us.