Millwall Ratings (31 Viewers)

[shmmeee]

Fotmob for starters. I'm a fan of the eye test personally but i know many on here love the stats unless they don't suit. Over the course of the season Dasilva has the lowest rating.

I'm struggling to understand how giving the ball away in honking positions, being a bomb scare with an opposition player in close proximity and running like you have a weighted belt on aren't parts of defending tbh.

Personally not a fan of Opta ratings as it’s just an amalgamation of individual stats and I don’t think that’s a good way of rating a player but that’s for another time.

Yeah Lats runs like he shit himself but he doesn’t give the ball away in bad positions any more than the other two CBs. As I say if we’re under the cosh defending our box I’d rather Lats than any of the others.

This is faint praise Thomas and particularly Kitching are to me what Sheaf was to ESB.

 

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[Winny the Bish]

Can I come clean and admit I don't rate any of our defenders apart from MVE?

Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva, Woolf, Bidwell and Lati are all terrifying to watch as a Cov fan. They all have a howler in them.

Twice last night Kitching ran forward with the ball, lost it and dived, and Millwall nearly scored. TWICE. Once is forgivable but twice is just stupidity.

Then we had the JDS back header that gifted Millwall a 1-on-1. They might all be genuinely braindead.

 

[StrettoBoy]

Kitching and Thomas are very good at things that aren’t defending and under Lampard that matters as we attack more than defend. I would drop Lats next game because of this. But that doesn’t change that they are two poor defenders (lowercase d)

It's a shame we can't play a couple of upper case d Defenders.

 

[TomRad85]

Personally not a fan of Opta ratings as it’s just an amalgamation of individual stats and I don’t think that’s a good way of rating a player but that’s for another time.

Yeah Lats runs like he shots himself but he doesn’t give the ball away in bad positions and more than the other two CBs. As I say if we’re under the cosh defending our box I’d rather Lats than any of the others.

This is faint praise Thomas and particularly Kitching are to me what Sheaf was to ESB.

I accept we all have our likes and do not likes so i won't flame you too much for that but i think you'd need to accept you would be in a staggeringly low minority when it comes to preferring Lati over the other 2.

You can give them a send off like ESB gave to Sheaf when they leave if you like, would be amusing at least.

My send off to Lati would simply be a huge sigh of relief.

 

[TomRad85]

Can I come clean and admit I don't rate any of our defenders apart from MVE?

Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva, Woolf, Bidwell and Lati are all terrifying to watch as a Cov fan. They all have a howler in them.

Twice last night Kitching ran forward with the ball, lost it and dived, and Millwall nearly scored. TWICE. Once is forgivable but twice is just stupidity.

Then we had the JDS back header that gifted Millwall a 1-on-1. They might all be genuinely braindead.

I don't agree with all of that but although he throws in the odd stinker, MvE is a Rolls-Royce at this level and will be perfectly fine in the Prem imo. As long as he's rested occasionally.

 

[shmmeee]

I accept we all have our likes and do not likes so i won't flame you too much for that but i think you'd need to accept you would be in a staggeringly low minority when it comes to preferring Lati over the other 2.

You can give them a send off like ESB gave to Sheaf when they leave if you like, would be amusing at least.

My send off to Lati would simply be a huge sigh of relief.

No send off. Just terrified of watching them lumber about giving away chances and losing their man in the PL.

 

[Nick]

Are we saying Lati doesn't go flying in and completely miss the ball?

I think he's best when it's back to the wall head and kick the ball clear.

 

[coop]

Defence is awful but not helped by the constant gaps in midfield.The away games they shouldn't be bombing up the pitch just defend first and foremost.FL does seem to struggle to get the balance right between being attacking and defending on certain games.I think we were lucky against Millwall as we gave them far to many chances,other teams may well take them better Rudoni needs to stop drifting onto the wing he doesn't need to be there sometimes we have one person in the box when crossing. Last season, he drifted in the box to convert crosses this year he's trying to put the crosses in.Saying all this we are top of the league but please let's make us harder to create chances against.

 

[Otis]

Are we saying Lati doesn't go flying in and completely miss the ball?

I think he's best when it's back to the wall head and kick the ball clear.

He is. He is a down in the trenches sort of guy, throwing himself into challenges and trying to block everything

Maybe we should bring him on for the last 10 mins of every game

 

[TomRad85]

Defence is awful but not helped by the constant gaps in midfield.The away games they shouldn't be bombing up the pitch just defend first and foremost.FL does seem to struggle to get the balance right between being attacking and defending on certain games.I think we were lucky against Millwall as we gave them far to many chances,other teams may well take them better Rudoni needs to stop drifting onto the wing he doesn't need to be there sometimes we have one person in the box when crossing. Last season, he drifted in the box to convert crosses this year he's trying to put the crosses in.Saying all this we are top of the league but please let's make us harder to create chances against.

You are correct, Grimes and Rudi were both quite poor last night as well as the back 4. Eccles was the only one in there playing well and the front 3 were pretty lively. We did well to win with so many off it.

 

[mmttww]

Our defence isn't our strength, but that's mainly due to tactics, instructions and perhaps lacking a little athleticism in midfield..

Yeah, this is about right. Not sure how to solve it. Onyeka or a similar player might sort things but without a shift in how we play, it might not. Don't think we have a CM that's told to just sit however we set up. Need to see us look 'solid' in a game!

 

[Boicey]

Can I come clean and admit I don't rate any of our defenders apart from MVE?

Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva, Woolf, Bidwell and Lati are all terrifying to watch as a Cov fan. They all have a howler in them.

Twice last night Kitching ran forward with the ball, lost it and dived, and Millwall nearly scored. TWICE. Once is forgivable but twice is just stupidity.

Then we had the JDS back header that gifted Millwall a 1-on-1. They might all be genuinely braindead.

You reckon MVE can defend well?

 

[mmttww]

Lats runs like he shit himself but he doesn’t give the ball away in bad positions any more than the other two CBs.

he was terrible for that first half last night. Kitching did it twice when he was trying to drive up the pitch second half but Lati just passed it to Millwall in simple situations.

 

[SkyB]

Tactically defensively the way set up exposes our full back a lot. We're set up to force teams out wide and to then cross it in to the six yard box where Tomas, Kitching or Rushworth deal with it. The problem with doing this is it relies a lot on the wingers, Esse and EMC, to track the late run back and take over closing down the opposition. EMC and Esse don't do this very well. It leaves Milan and Jay in 1v1 and 2v1 situations all game.

 

[Winny the Bish]

You reckon MVE can defend well?

His pace gets him out of trouble - which is a big part of defending

 

[Boicey]

His pace gets him out of trouble - which is a big part of defending

True gets him out of trouble sometimes. But he really can't defend well.

 

[Boicey]

Tactically defensively the way set up exposes our full back a lot. We're set up to force teams out wide and to then cross it in to the six yard box where Tomas, Kitching or Rushworth deal with it. The problem with doing this is it relies a lot on the wingers, Esse and EMC, to track the late run back and take over closing down the opposition. EMC and Esse don't do this very well. It leaves Milan and Jay in 1v1 and 2v1 situations all game.

We are weak defensively wide and through the middle. We lack defensive pace and have a lack of discipline on JDS, MVE going forward.

 

[ProfessorbyGrace]

Can I come clean and admit I don't rate any of our defenders apart from MVE?

Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva, Woolf, Bidwell and Lati are all terrifying to watch as a Cov fan. They all have a howler in them.

Twice last night Kitching ran forward with the ball, lost it and dived, and Millwall nearly scored. TWICE. Once is forgivable but twice is just stupidity.

Then we had the JDS back header that gifted Millwall a 1-on-1. They might all be genuinely braindead.

I’d agree with this, to a degree, although I haven’t seen us play that often.

I prefer Thomas with Kitching, as the latter seems less likely to do something absurd (like last night) and I haven’t been impressed with Woolfenden at all.

JDS is always going to get caught out like he has so often, being somewhat out of position, not tracking the runner and attempting a header that a 6’4’’ monster wouldn’t reach.

If we do go up, then the scale of defensive upgrades required is quite frightening.

 

[Grendel]

Kitching is terrible sometimes in terms of ball watching and not tracking his man.

Happened a few times lately. Shame, because i do rate him otherwise

The issue is grimes is struggling to track back and cover when the full backs advance.

The central defenders then get exposed - it’s hard to track someone when two midfielders are piling forward and we have no cover

 

[Gibbo]

I am pleased by the tenor of this debate. Because we are top, people have been in a bit of a fools paradise. Rushworth and poor Millwall shooting saved us last night. Our defence is poor - end of

And nor is it Frank's fault or that of the attackers not tracking back. The defence has to take responsibility - its their job.

We will lose games by 4 or 5 goals in the Prem with that bunch.

 

[Grendel]

Rated by who?

You realise when I say defender I mean purely the act of defending not the rest of the game?

Kitching and Thomas are very good at things that aren’t defending and under Lampard that matters as we attack more than defend. I would drop Lats next game because of this. But that doesn’t change that they are two poor defenders (lowercase d) and if we were under the cosh I’d rather have Lats defending than either of them.

I do wonder if you indulge in this nonsense to get responses if you actually believe this clueless drivel.

 

[shmmeee]

he was terrible for that first half last night. Kitching did it twice when he was trying to drive up the pitch second half but Lati just passed it to Millwall in simple situations.

Neither of Lats poor passes left us as exposed as Kitchings rushes of blood to the head.

 

[shmmeee]

True gets him out of trouble sometimes. But he really can't defend well.

He’s still better than the others. But that’s only because the others are so fucking bad.

 

[Winny the Bish]

I am pleased by the tenor of this debate. Because we are top, people have been in a bit of a fools paradise. Rushworth and poor Millwall shooting saved us last night. Our defence is poor - end of

And nor is it Frank's fault or that of the attackers not tracking back. The defence has to take responsibility - its their job.

We will lose games by 4 or 5 goals in the Prem with that bunch.

I weirdly think Kitching and Thomas could be decent in the Prem if we completely changed our tactic and dropped to a very deep low block and only asked them to be Head It/Kick It merchants like you see at Everton with Tarkowski and Keane or Forest last year when Murillo and Milenkovic were sat on the edge of their own penalty area for 90 mins.

But if we go up and Lampard wants to keep the high line you're absolutely right that we'd concede 4 goals a game on average

 

[Londonccfcfan]

I’m afraid

His first 4 passes in first 15 mins went to opposition and they were not difficukt passes.

Most criminal was when he tried to play offside and left Ivanovic clean through..once he stopped it was game over. Awful decision.

But his defwnsive headers and poaitional sense was very good. I dont think Kitching won a single header..lats won plenty..his positional sense is very good. It covers his lack of pace.

I thibk its been wolfy knocking on Lampards door recentky probabbly sulking thats caused him not being in team.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Fotmob for starters. I'm a fan of the eye test personally but i know many on here love the stats unless they don't suit. Over the course of the season Dasilva has the lowest rating.

I'm struggling to understand how giving the ball away in honking positions, being a bomb scare with an opposition player in close proximity and running like you have a weighted belt on aren't parts of defending tbh.

Lati runs like Will McKenzie walks. If you know you know.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Our defence is odd:
MVE: Ok technical defender, pace gets him out of trouble, great going forward
JDS: Poor technical defender, decent going forward, but makes bad decisions when in possession defensively
Kitching: Good defender positionally but ball watches and doesn’t mark, gets booked for no good reason, distribution is good - but not as good as he thinks.
Thomas: As per Kitching, but maybe slight better
Lati: Very good defender, poor control, poor passing, can’t run very well

Hence why we need to control possession. For the 20 minutes Millwall & Leicester dominated I felt we could concede at any time

The goals we concede are invariably from where we've lost possession, we are fine in defending when the opposition has a lot of the ball.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Personally not a fan of Opta ratings as it’s just an amalgamation of individual stats and I don’t think that’s a good way of rating a player but that’s for another time.

Yeah Lats runs like he shit himself but he doesn’t give the ball away in bad positions any more than the other two CBs. As I say if we’re under the cosh defending our box I’d rather Lats than any of the others.

This is faint praise Thomas and particularly Kitching are to me what Sheaf was to ESB.

Better to rate players on your own bias eh?

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Rudoni drifting out wide and leaving so much space in the middle, while taking way too long on the ball are bigger problems than I think FL is willing to admit. He's the one player in the 11 whose role isn't clearly defined and it shows.

 

[Cally Fedora]

Tactics and formations are one thing but basically allowing the opposing winger endless time to approach the box and pick a cross is asking for trouble. I’ve heard it described as a deliberate tactic which would be insane. Your centre backs are never going to look good with no support either in front or to the side of them.

 

[SleepyGinger]

You reckon MVE can defend well?

It’s no coincidence a high percentage of the goals we concede come down our left hand side.

 

[Adge]

Lati runs like Will McKenzie walks. If you know you know.

 

[stupot07]

Are we saying Lati doesn't go flying in and completely miss the ball?

I think he's best when it's back to the wall head and kick the ball clear.

Yeah agree with that. I thought Lati was poor last night overall, as was Kitching and Dasilva. His best game was the second half Vs Southampton when we were camped in our own box, and just had to worry about heading and clearing.

If you look at the highlights, at some of millwalls chances

1) from the set piece, Lati is zonal making but then neither comes nor stays when the ball drops and the player shoots straight at Rushworth.

2) the goal he lets the striker get in between him and Kitching and isn't close enough to put him under pressure

3) the shot from distance that was just wide, he doesn't put any pressure on the ball and leaves a massive gap for the midfielder to shoot

4) the great save from Rushworth, he tries to step and play the offside as the last man with no pressure on the ball.

And that's just defending, not his poor passing, etc. people on CWR were giving him MOTM, and someone on here has given him an 8/10.

 

[Ooh Ah]

Yeah, this is about right. Not sure how to solve it. Onyeka or a similar player might sort things but without a shift in how we play, it might not. Don't think we have a CM that's told to just sit however we set up. Need to see us look 'solid' in a game!

Should give some credit to Millwall and Leicester, they both were good in transition.
I love the way we play but I think teams are now targeting our weak spot of 5 players pour forward in attack plus 2 high FB’s. Leaves our FB or CM easily isolated or played around when we lose the ball. JDS due to size and not the pace of MVE is being targeted.
You would normally spread your CB’s to offer cover and Grimes drops in or Grimes and CM cover FB’s. Neither is happening well. It is compounded by Grimes being asked to do so much when not having top end pace, made worse with Rudoni in current form at 10. Our attack has slowed with him there, so teams are better set-up to defend and transition at speed.
It is a combination of tactics and team balance. The question becomes what we lose in attack if we do tweak.

 

[mmttww]

Neither of Lats poor passes left us as exposed as Kitchings rushes of blood to the head.

I can forgive a player deciding to try and show some guts and leadership and take a risk to help us win a game. I struggle to forgive ten yard passes under no pressure going to the wrong team. You've got your hill, I've got mine.