This time last week a lot of Millers fans were in seventh heaven getting ready to travel to the Stadium of Light – a first visit for many including me – on the back of a six-one home win over Bolton Wanderers.
The Saturday morning had left many of us knowing the Bolton game was something we should win but there was always that niggle in the back of your mind that this was the Wanderers first game under a new manager with a new team of players who would be ‘up for it’ with a few Millers being apprehensive at the beginning of the game and even more so when the visitors took the lead early on. But, things worked out well and the Millers had a great win and the fans went home happy and singing the praises of the players, finding it difficult to single out one for Man of the Match.
Last Tuesday night a thousand or so Millers fans were singing and chanting before the whistle and even after the set-back of Sunderland scoring in the opening minute those fans kept on dancing and singing. A penalty for the hosts put a temporary stop to that but when Daniel Iversen saved that spot-kick the fans were back singing and dancing againn and helped the Millers get a point at a difficult place.
Go forward to this Saturday just gone and the fans turned up at the New York Stadium with the expectation of another three points. Well, it didn’t work out like that and the singing and dancing was soon swapped for moaning and groaning as Shrewsbury put us to the sword a bit. It definitely wasn’t the game a lot of fans were expecting – it was slow, a bit drab with some of the refereeing decisions bringing more from the crowd than anything the team were doing which meant no encouragement from the terraces although we don’t know if that would have changed things or not.
After the game the moans kept on going – the ‘Warney Out’ campaigners started up again after they’d been quietened after the previous two games. Apparently the ‘starting eleven weren’t right’, ‘the substitutions weren’t right’ or ‘at the right time’. All this is just part and parcel of football which happens up and down the country week-in week-out.
As I was walking out of the stadium I stood and applauded some of the players as they came over to the fans after the goalless draw when a fellow supporter said, ‘you’re clapping a relegated side there’. Strangely He was stood next to me the week before also applauding.
My take on it all is that we had players out injured and we had had three games in eight days. I think some of the players looked tired against Shrewsbury. And, looking at the larger picture, I am of the mind that our squad isn’t large enough.
All in all teams are going to have poor games, are going to struggle and us, the fans, are going to get annoyed because that’s human nature.
I might not always agree with what Paul Warne does but I don’t support the team because of the manager, I support the manager because he manages the team I support.
Let’s hope it’s a better game next Saturday and we will be singing and dancing again. If it’s not and we aren’t then maybe that’s the time to get stuck in and get behind the lads.
Up The Millers
Meanwhile the game on Saturday, 26th October when Wycombe Wanderers are the visitors to the New York Stadium has been designated Kids For A Quid day.
Caz, I predicted your analysis would be that criticism of Warne is an infantile, knee-jerk reaction to a poor performance. Had you asked me immediately after the Bolton or Sunderland games I would have told you that Warne should be replaced – for reasons I have mentioned many times.
You state, “I support the manager because he manages the team I support.” Yet many of the fans who will not hear criticsm of Warne showed no such scruples in calling for the heads of certain previous managers. And if we follow your dictum how then are managers ever to be changed? Or do you subscribe to a philosophy of ‘The King is Dead Long Live the King’, giving support to a manager up until he’s sacked and then admitting that you always knew he was useless?
I don’t accept that the fans’ role is merely to support. If things at the club are not right then we must be at liberty to voice concerns. I have not heard a single analytical argument in support of Warne’s management neither from fans nor from the manager himself. “We must be patient”, “We must be better”, “We must look to score first”, “We must find a way to break teams down”. This is not informed observation but pathetic bull.
I understand, Kevin, that you would have said the same thing after the two above mentioned games – but there are those amongst us who wouldn’t and change their mind like the weather. My reaction to Paul Warne being made manager was ‘well, he wouldn’t have been my first choice but let’s see how it goes’. I was horrified when Steve Evans was made manager and welcomed Kenny Jackett – how wrong was I? I can see a lot wrong with Warne’s tactics – although I do think we need to score first, especially at home. His substitutions often baffle me – we aren’t a team, in my opinion, who can ‘hold out for a draw’ yet that’s sometimes what I think we are trying to do when a sub is put on on the hour mark. And I do think we should have already learnt from the way Lincoln and Tranmere held us back which we don’t seem to have. I could very much sit on the fence here as I can see good things and bad things that our management team do. IF we didn’t have Warne who would take over? Who would we have in his place?