After 8 games without a win, the talk this week has been all about sacking the Chief Coach. I was one of the few who supported Lee Johnson, even after his run of no wins in 10 games. I saw that he was trying to change the way that the team played, that he was investing in the future. That team went on to win promotion under a different coach, and it was the new coach who won all the plaudits, but in my view at least, the hard yards were those won by Johnson. The situation is not the same under Markus Schopp. He is not even at the stage where Johnson was. I believe that he would like to change the playing system to something he is more familiar with, but he does not have the players that would allow him to do so because of injury in certain key positions, so he continues to limp along with what he inherited. He arrived at the club to find a huge mess, as was confirmed this week by our new CEO. I am not going to restate all the problems that he has faced since his arrival because I have done so over and over again, to little effect. Frankly, there are many who would have looked at the mess and flown straight back home. Schopp has stayed. For those willing to listen, and willing to try to understand, he has explained his actions. He has faced up to the problems that he has inherited and has tried to tackle them one at a time, but unfortunately time is failing to resolve them in the way that he hoped. In my view, he deserves our sympathy and support, because no replacement coach with any reputation would see the job under the current set of circumstances as anything but a poison challis. Everyone is angry. The performances have been poor, and could have enjoyed watching the capitulation in the second half versus Forest. Nevertheless, please try to think about your actions, because you can only do further harm by reacting recklessly and without thought. I wrote the first two paragraphs before today’s game. Today’s action has done nothing but confirm what I wrote. Today, Schopp picked the team in the same basic formation (3-4-3), but Cauley Woodrow got a rest from the torture of playing centre-forward. Instead, in the absence of any tall/strong frontman, Devante Cole was picked to see if his pace could unlock the Millwall defence, and it seemed to be working for 25 minutes. Woodrow dropped deeper a lot of the time in order to help out in midfield, whilst Leya Iseka tried to play in the space between the lines. Millwall did not expect us to play that way, and we created our best chances whilst they adapted. However, after the first 25 minutes, the problem with both Cole and Leya Iseka was clear, and it was also clear why the Coach has not been using them regularly. Cole’s was quick but his lack of movement up front did not give the other players the space and passing opportunities that they need to get the team going forward. Why was Cole not moving? I believe he is not fit enough. He did well to hang on for an hour but his best bits were in the first 20 minutes before he tired. Leya Iseka is also not fit enough as his substitution shortly after Cole’s showed, but he has other problems in his game too. Do not get me wrong, he offers a lot of promise for the future with the ball at his feet, but his movement and willingness to sacrifice himself to allow team-mates to gain is not there. He is young, and he will learn, but it is obvious why Schopp is reluctant to pick him more often. Palmer made his usual rash challenge and that more than his lack of fitness was enough to earn him his early substitution, albeit his replacement was a surprise as Moon took over his midfield defensive role and Sibbick came on in the back 3. By then, Millwall had taken over, and once again, we were hanging on, and offering few punches in response. The substitution that won it for Millwall came when Matt Smith was introduced. He gave Millwall a bigger threat from dead ball kicks, he attracted too much of our attention, and his presence allowed someone else (Jed Wallace) to score the winner from a corner, even though our team at the time included 4 centre backs. I said at half-time that our only chance of winning a game is to keep a clean sheet and hope for some luck. Well, we did not keep a clean sheet, and we did not get any luck either. Schopp picked us in the 3-4-3 shape once again, but as long as there is no threat up front, it does not matter what our shape is, we just do not offer a threat. Entertainment Index: Barnsley 60 Millwall 138 Match 198 Performance Index: -68 PotM Liam Kitching
The mess that was finishing 5th with an international centre half and one of the brightest prospects outside the Premier League. Oh aye
Lee Johnson was saved from the sack by Patrick Crynes patience and then Patrick’s inspirational signing of Adam Hammill......otherwise Johnson would have achieved nothing but the sack because prior to this the football was shocking mate!!!!!.......Hamill signing was down to Cryne and not Johnson, who was very fortunate!
Why don't you get your coaching licenses and have a crack at it? Would be easy for a man with your obvious tactical superiority.
He wouldn’t get in the team with this clown in charge But even if we were able to sign an equivalent now he wouldn’t get in the team or if he did it wold be at Left back
I am one of those who nearly always backs the manager and especially so early in the season. However this guy has to go. Under Johnson and Struber initially I could see some good even if we were failing to get wins but this is just dire. I do feel desperately sorry for him as he’s had a lot to deal with, however I see nothing in him to see he can turn it around.
Exactly.......you went off air if I remember right last season when Ismael outwitted your tactical expertise and got us in play offs!!!!!
On Johnson. Most of the rebuild was done the previous season & he had a lot of very talented players who’d played together a while. He was atrocious. He should’ve got us playing better months before the little streak he had. He just refused to play with any width or pace. It was obvious what the problem was. With Schopp he can’t at least claim he’s took us over at a really tough time with lots of injuries, new players & chaos behind the scenes even if he’s adding to that with his own errors.
Far too brief. I reckon even you can't be bothered to analyse a situation where we are totally rudderless & whilst we are admittedly missing a key forward like Morris, and a great defender in Anderson, we play Moon over Sibbick, stick to the 3-4-3. when we could have played 3-5-2. Gomes not considered, we play Moon in midfield. Steve Parkin, Nigel Spackman, Jose Morais, Markus Schopp top 4 worst managers since McSeveney. Yep, he's had little time. He's had a pre-season & 11 dismal games. Get rid.
He's not been dealt a great hand but you either sink or you swim. This guy is sinking very fast. A change is needed.
Probably over pedantic but Jed Wallace took the corner, the scorer was Murray Wallace. Schopp may or may not have been dealt a bad hand but the total lack of any distinct tactics or changes to the approach mid way through the game is probably more worrying. We were labelled as ‘Moneyball’ for the last few seasons, we are now more ‘Mysteryball’ as not even the players seen to know the tactics.
Some really salient points as always but some I also disagree with. You’re 100% right. The players look unfit. It comes as no shock that our second half performances drop off a cliff into the abyss. This needs addressing and quickly. Bring in some proper S&C coaches and enable the players to run for 100 mins. Being fit, getting stuck in and being up for a battle are pre requisites to play top level football. At the moment we’re falling way short. Now, for me Schopp is about as inspiring as a wet paper bag. He seems to have nothing at all about him. Stendel kicked every ball you could see he cared, Struber made the players feel like a family and Val you’d go to war for. There is a saying that I use regularly in my working life ‘attitude reflects leadership’. Our leader looks uninterested and passive and so do our performances. Finally and maybe slightly controversially. What’s the one thing the previous three head coaches had in common? Adam Murray. Knew the club, Knew the players and could convey a message.
Yes, I could not actually see at the game who the scorer was and I simply pulled the name from a BBC headline, which I also misread. Its my age you know. I do not believe that any change of tactics would work at the minute. He did actually change to 4-3-3 in the Forest game (for the last 10 minutes), and it made no difference. The 3-4-3 looked more like 3-4-2-1 yesterday. The overwhelming problem is the lack of goals. Schopp is trying to play a system that will keep a clean sheet in the hope of getting lucky at the other end. It is the same basic plan as Ismael employed last season. One difference is that one of our best defenders for the last 2 seasons has not played a game this season, and that has made us leaky at the back. It has put a great big hole in the basic strategy for any Coach, because if you can keep a clean sheet, your opponent eventually gets more desperate, commits more players forward, and holes appear at the back. We got lucky last season because of our defensive stability, but nevertheless, we got lucky. Of course, we had a better front 3 last season. Dike has gone, and Morris has played only 2 games. They have not been replaced and I do not care how you tell it, the loss of those 3 players has left a huge hole in any strategy, because if you do not have forwards who offer a threat, then you do not get lucky very often. Any assumption that we finished 5th last year, therefore the team is a good one, and therefore the new coach must be at fault is just adding 2 plus 2 and getting 5. Without a thorough understanding of what has happened and a thorough analysis of why, it is all just conjecture. Personally, I do not want to take part in any conspiracy theories. I would rather listen to those who know the facts and assume that they are telling me the truth. I do not want the club to spend money on sacking a Coach who may not be the reason for our poor performances until those people who know the facts make up their minds that there is no other choice. I want those who are paid to take responsibility to take the decisions, and not some fans who are angry because we are losing every week.
Yes.. obvious to see, Cole and LI are not fit enough.Both lasted an hour, did ok and looked a threat for first half n hour .. then nothing.
You’ve backed the wrong horse. The prudent thing to do would be to stop throwing your money at it every race, but instead like a degenerate gambler you appear to refuse to accept any empirical evidence and instead simply continue to keep doubling down as the losses pile up.
I agree with quite a bit of that Red Rain. Losing so many key personnel behind the scenes so quickly seems unprecedented. Have to say for successful international businessmen Conway and Lee come over as pretty amateurish at times. Schopp has indeed walked into a mess and I'm a bit surprised he decided to come. But it's hard to disregard Callum B's interview yesterday about poor coaching. If the players don't believe in Marcus as a coach, I honestly can't see any future for the current set up. Currently this is a nailed on relegation side.
