David Cameron Walker

Posts Tagged ‘Kenny Jackett’

There’s life after Hendo

Sunday, February 3rd, 2013

Darius Henderson has been a big player for Millwall over the last 18 months; however, I feel there is life after the forward dubbed ‘The Hulk.’

Since joining the club at the start of the 2011/12 season Henderson has played his part in keeping the Lions in the Championship and helping us compete in the race for a play-off spot.

Last season the former Sheffield United frontman was Millwall’s top scorer with 15 goals in 31 league appearances for Millwall, six of those goals being in hat-trick performances away to Leicester City and Barnsley respectively. Of the 15 goals Henderson scored, only five goals were either the opening or winning goal. Take the two hat-ticks away and its 11 goals and three being the opening or winning goals.

I am in no way knocking his contribution during his tenure at the club, when he was fit and playing, he was almost unplayable. Leicester and Burnley found that out.

The issue I had with Henderson was his injury record, something that was flagged up from the start when he joined the club back in 2011. When he wasn’t injured and he was playing, invariably he would play well and give is all – a real Millwall-type player.

His goal per game ratio is impressive too, considering the number of games played. 26 goals in 56 games in all competitions tells its own story, working out at under a goal every three games. In the 74 league games Millwall have played since Darius Henderson arrived at the club, he has scored 22 goals in the 51 he has played and still missed 23 games, that’s half a season!

As mentioned previously, only five of Henderson’s goals last season were either opening or winning goals, this season that statistic stands are five. So overall, even though Henderson has scored 22 goals, only ten have been ones that are influential in a game. Now I know all goals are, the point is he has scored the majority of his goals when the team are winning or are comfortable.

We will miss Henderson’s physicality up front and his unequivocal knack of winning headers and flicking the ball on, along with holding up play for others to join in. That is something that needs to be addressed going forward when a replacement is found. Henderson can and will be replaced.

When fit and available, he is a top player to have at your club. He will be a loss to Millwall, but he is not the be all and end all of our goal scoring or our season by any means.

Millwall still have a great chance of reaching the play-offs with the position the team are in and the tradition of the club to finish a season strongly and, if I may, going back to the important goals relativity – Andy Keogh has scored more important goals than Henderson.

We have a player in Keogh who on his day is Premier League player, he oozes class and his touch and technique are something that might be taken for granted from our fans. He scored seven in 20 games last season after his January move from Wolverhampton Wanderers and this term has netted six times in 22 games this term, including the audacious chipped penalty at the Reebok Stadium against Bolton Wanderers on January 12th.

Of the ten goals Andy Keogh got last season, seven were either the opening or winning goal and four goals that have proved vital this season. That’s 11 of Keogh’s 16 league goals which have been influential.  Keogh is still a player that can win games, with or without Henderson.

We ultimately stayed in the Championship last season without Darius Henderson. Keogh scored the goals to keep us up in the final seven games – along with Harry Kane, the player that replaced the injured Henderson. In the grand scheme of things, Millwall are stronger with Andy Keogh, but we would be weaker without Henderson.

It will be a loss but something we will get over. We got over Steve Morison and Neil Harris going, we will get over Chris Wood and Henderson leaving. We did it last season in a vital stage of the season when Hendo was injured; we can do it again, as long as the right replacement is bought in. That player must complement our main forward option in Keogh.

The season is still alive and kicking and the timing isn’t the best, I hope I’m proved right and Millwall replace Henderson to be striker heavy rather than striker light for the remainder of the season and finish strongly as I believe we can.

Best of luck to Henderson at Forest, if they wrap him in cotton wool, they have a player who on his day is unplayable. Let’s hope that day isn’t Saturday 27th April 2013.

Written by Jay Taylor, We Are Going Up’s Millwall blogger

Jay tweets at @jay_taylor18

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Posted in Championship, Featured, Millwall | No Comments »

In Kenny we trust, still.

Monday, March 5th, 2012

This season has been pretty disappointing after last year’s heroics of a ninth place finish after our promotion from League One in 2010.

The manager, Kenny Jackett, has said this season is a transition – changing our style of play to be more ‘modern’ as the boss puts it.

However, languishing in the bottom half of the table and in the midst of a tight relegation battle is what it has been like for much of the season. A lack of creativity in the final third and an air of anxiety in or play has cost us this season, along with the lack of defensive stability that was there the previous season.

Rarely this campaign have we been outclassed, I can count on four occasions where we have been humbled. All teams have games that they aren’t at the races, but the little things have cost us this season. Losing by the odd goal and not killing teams off has been issue.

That has been prevalent this season; however, throughout the campaign small bumps occur that we can’t seem to get over.

Home form has been an issue. In recent years The Den has been a fortress, hard to beat and teams hated to travel to SE16. This season, teams can’t wait. Our away form recently is better, the old cliché that there is less pressure on a team playing away from their own turf. If you don’t win your home games you struggle, that’s fact.

Team selection and tactics have been an issue too. Playing 4-5-1 (4-3-3) at home for me, is absurd. Play 4-4-2, get at teams, attack them at home, this is a must. Jack Smith who by trade is a defender, has been playing the holding role in place of Jimmy Abdou and the injured Tam Mkandawire this season, and having on loan Spurs forward Harry Kane in centre midfield. It has had the fans questioning if Kenny Jackett is losing the plot?

The short answer to that, no. KJ has said this season is a transition and with experimenting to play football the modern way and becoming a solid Championship side, you need to experiment. In hindsight, I can see why he has tried different teams/selections. The layman way of describing it, is that he doesn’t know his best eleven. That may be true, but if there is a tactical or positional issue arising, try and solve it in-house rather than spending unnecessary money on outsourcing the answer.

In the frustration, in the moment after loses and bad performances, fans would feel like it’s time for Jackett to go. I’ve felt that a few times this season. When cooler heads prevailed, I’ve realised sacking Jackett would be suicide. Owners and fans want results, and if they are not coming, the want changed. In the four years Jackett has improved the team’s fortunes. From League One relegation fodder to visiting Wembley in consecutive years, getting to and winning a play-off final; something the club had never previously done.

Another frustration is the defensive side to Millwall this season. Either excellent or shaky, no middle ground to describe the defensive plight. The once impenetrable back-line has been breached far too often this season. Last campaign Millwall had the third best defence in the league, behind promoted QPR and Swansea. The problem in the back four’s inability is hard to fathom, but this needs to be sorted once again if we are to avoid the drop back into the abyss that is League One.

One thing that is becoming clearer to me, that hasn’t been that much of an issue before, is the performances of David Forde. Others have been slating him for a while but I’ve thought it may have been down to a bad day at the office.

However seeing the team struggle, for the first time with Forde in goal, it’s becoming more obvious.

While in previous years we have had solid seasons defensively and Forde hasn’t been tested anywhere near as much as this season, he has dealt with things well when called into question.

This season, I’ve seen him make more mistakes and more frequently. Brighton away; 2-1 up last minute, Kezenga Lua Lua takes a free-kick and Forde spills it to drop two valuable points. Reading at home; 1-0 up a poor punch into the path of Hal Robson-Kanu, and indecisiveness in coming to the ball cost us a second goal. Losing to Reading 2-1 after going a goal up at home is disappointing.

When Millwall are doing well Forde’s cracks are masked, when we aren’t doing so well, I’m afraid, his errors are highlighted more and are becoming more costly as the season goes on. He can’t become a bad goalkeeper overnight; he is a Republic of Ireland international – this could just be an off season. However it’s costing us more and more. With less than 15 games left, that too needs to be resolved.

The table doesn’t lie, but we have played well and competed valiantly in many games this season, the luck seems to be against us.

As it stands we are six points above the drop zone. The next six fixtures are season defining.

I still remain optimistic that we will survive, just. If survival is achieved then the summer will see a change in many personnel to make sure this doesn’t happen next season. Yet remain fully behind the manager to steer us away from the drop zone.

Millwall have five of the bottom seven to play, and I feel this is to the advantage of the Lions. Away form is picking up and helping us more than current home form, so with five away games to the bottom sides I can see performances and points being of a standard to pull us over the line.

It’s going to be a scrap to the very end of the season with teams like Peterborough and Watford not out of the woods yet, and the introduction of Portsmouth to the relegation dogfight.

If we can perform during the rest of the season the same way we played against Brighton, Barnsley and Burnley – all of which were games away from The Den, we will be fine. If the home form version of Millwall turns up too often like in games against Birmingham, Watford and the first half against Middlesbrough, there will be trouble ahead.

Kenny will save us; the majority of fans have backed him and never turned against him when we were a fixture of the bottom three.

You could call it a rally cry, but it’s anything but. Millwall supporters will back their club, when times get hard, and we are the underdog, the Lions roar. Keep the faith, show support and the team will respond. This is a time for, as Michael Calvin would put it; “Real ‘wall”.

We can stay up, I think we will. But the players need support on the pitch. The fans haven’t turned so far, and the longer it stays that way the better chance we have of staying up.

In Kenny we trust.

Written by Jay Taylor, We Are Going Up’s Millwall blogger

Jay tweets at @jay_taylor18

 

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Second bottom and still searching….

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

The international break comes at the perfect time for a struggling Millwall side. Without a win in eight games and only one solitary goal in that run, Kenny Jackett’s men are sitting second bottom of the Championship. Poor refereeing decisions, bad luck and injuries have all played their part but the performances have been lacking.

A lack of goals has been the main problem in tandem with not being able to keep them out. Last season Millwall had the third best defensive record in the whole league, behind champions QPR and play-off winners Swansea City. However so far this season the Lions have shipped goals for fun. In their last six games they have conceded nine goals and scored only one; something that must be put right and fast.

A handful of striker combinations have been tried to get the much-needed goals but as of yet, none have worked. Bringing back former loanee Jay Simpson from Hull was a move that excited Lions fans. Despite this we are still to see the Jay Simpson that won Player of the Year in League One during the 2007/08 campaign. His performances have epitomised how the team has been as of late.

In my eyes there seems to be a lack of fight and ‘Millwall spirit’ amongst the players, as if the changing room isn’t at ease like last season. This could be having an effect on the team, as with each defeat and flat performance confidence and morale get shattered.

Inevitably this season was going to be compared to the previous campaign, the benchmark was set and fully expected to be equalled or bettered this time around. Sadly so far it has been more of a stagnant and slow start with just one win against fellow early season strugglers Nottingham Forest. Since then it has been three draws and five defeats for Jackett’s side, including three losses on the bounce, the latest a 1-0 home defeat to Eddie Howe’s Burnley side.

In the first half Millwall were playing with a high tempo for the opening 20 minutes, then the pace dropped, and so did the performance. A lull in the Lions’ concentration was pounced upon at a Burnley corner. The ball played in to Jay Rodriguez whose effort on target was, to be fair, a pea roller but it beat everyone in the box and even David Forde who only got a hand to what would be the only goal of the game.

Millwall’s second half performance was a lot more positive, putting much more pressure on the visitors. However a contentious offside decision  ruled out a goal and a penalty appeal was turned down to sum up Millwall’s afternoon. Simply put, they lack goals and the defence is vunerable.

The second half against Burnley was one of the better performances seen recently, besides the goal the visitors did not cause Millwall many problems and the pressure the home side built up during the second 45 should have culminated in a goal but untimely, it didn’t.

Darius Henderson, the experienced front man was out again and he was sorely missed. A player that can stick up top and stay there, which will bring others into play will be a great addition to the team after the international break, which resumes away to Middlesbrough.

In light of recent form, the gloom and doom merchants have risen up and are making their voices heard. Some are blaming the board for not investing enough, others the players’ attitude and even for Kenny Jackett to be sacked – which in my eyes would be ludicrous and potentially suicidal.

Removing the Championship’s longest serving manager is a non-starter. There are not many managers Millwall could get to replace him, in terms of the success he has had, or even on the club’s financial budgets. Mr Jackett is undoubtedly the best man and only man for the Millwall hot seat.

I feel is a complete lack of confidence running throughout the side and they are not doing things instinctively. Collectively they are thinking about things too much and not wanting to over commit. These are simple things that with confidence will become easier to pull off and lead to more free-flowing football rather than rigid, protective play and hopefully results too.

The acquisition of Brian Howard on loan from Reading is a good move. Coolness personified when on the ball, his experience will be vital when things get rowdy in the middle of the park. Looking to the possible grim future, his experience will be needed should Millwall face a relegation battle. Howard’s no-frills approach, coupled with incisive runs off the ball give the team more control in midfield. He will hopefully turn out to be an integral part of the squad beyond his initial three-month loan.

The international break provides a good opportunity for Millwall to go back to the drawing board and spend time on the training ground to sort out the faults and bring back winning form which is desperately needed.

Sooner or later, they have to break their duck and pick up three vital points.

All good things come to those who wait. Millwall, we are all waiting.

In KJ we trust!

Written by Jay Taylor, We Are Going Up’s Millwall blogger

Jay tweets at @jay_taylor18

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Ready and Roaring

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Five pre-season games, five wins. That’s the impressive record the Lions boast in preparation for the new season. Wins over Shelbourne (3-0) and Longford Town (1-0) in Millwall’s pre-season tour of the Republic of Ireland kicked things off in style with Kenny’s men showing their class against two team’s mid-way through their seasons. Other results included a 5-0 rout against Conference South side Dartford and victory over south London rivals Charlton Athletic.

Having made the trip to watch this game, it’s fair to say it was explosive right from the off with Charlton opening the scoring within five minutes before a 30 yard free-kick by James Henry was rifled into the top corner of the goal. This set the tone for the afternoon. Right from the equaliser Bradley Wright-Phillips added Charlton’s second; wrong footing defender Darren Purse and slotting home before a John Marquis double for the Lions made it 3-2 by half time – a full-time score of 4-3 resulted in true value for money and great insight into some of our new players. Recent signing Therry Racon played a full game and impressed throughout, showing some accomplished touches in the middle of the park as well as getting stuck in defensively. Clearly he was one of the stand-out players; carry on playing like he did that day and he will endear himself to the Millwall faithful very quickly!

Likewise, new target man Darius Henderson put in a shift upfront doing what he does best; holding up the ball and spreading the play very well, which culminated in setting up John Marquis’ first goal of the afternoon. Third summer signing of the season Jordan Stewart was an unused substitute but from the Dartford and Gillingham games he looks like another typically shrewd signing from Kenny Jackett, showing good pace to get forward and a willingness to get involved from left-back. All rhree men can, and hopefully will, all add something to the team throughout the season – having said that, with Steve Morison moving to Premier League new-boys Norwich City and true legend Neil Harris now at Southend, many fans, including me, feel we are still a striker light.

With that in mind, we’ve been linked with Rob Hulse, Nile Ranger, Craig Mackail-Smith and even Neil Mellor during the close-season. With a month still left in the transfer window, anything can naturally happen so there’s no need to start panicking about a possible relegation battle just yet; Kenny knows what he is doing and I for one am sure he will bring in a suitable player that will help the team going forward.

The general consensus around The Den, as it was last season, is to consolidate our status in the Championship again. With teams coming down like Birmingham City, Blackpool and West Ham United, along with big spending Leicester City and the obligatory promotion hopefuls Nottingham Forest  seemingly stronger, this season will be more difficult than the last. Finishing 9th last term was an achievement in itself, so anything other than relegation and we can build on what we have and possibly try and challenge for promotion in two years time. Fans should be realistic in what we can achieve due to the size of the club and budget we have (compared to the rest of the league). Punching above our weight last season will be in order again this year; I predict us to finish between 10th and 15th – obviously not as good as last year but it’s about establishing ourselves more and more into this league and then eventually pushing on.

So, having said all that its Play-off Final losers Reading first up at the Madejski Stadium; a tough test for the lads but a challenge I fully expect the boys to be able to cope with, even with the likes of Shane Long and Jimmy Kébé in the Royals team.

Finally some good news on the injury of Shaun Batt; after a week at of rehabilitation at Lilleshall, he has been given the all clear from his muscle surgeon to start being introduced into training this week, which is fantastic news after over a year out with a cruciate knee ligament injury and should be fit by September.

With just a few days left, I can’t wait! Roll on the highs and lows that will be experienced and emotions only the beautiful game can evoke – In KJ we trust!

Written by Jay Taylor, We Are Going Up’s Millwall Blogger

Jay tweets @jay_taylor18

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Posted in Championship, Millwall | No Comments »