It’s A Bit Like Marmite At The New York Stadium

It’s a bit like Marmite at the moment down Don Street way with the subject raising most discussion on social media being Rotherham United Manager Paul Warne.

Most people take to the Millers Boss, I even saw an article this weekend where someone professed to having a man crush on him (probably going a bit far) but there are others who, while I won’t use the word ‘hate’ don’t like him that much.

He is a likeable tea-drinking chap who, at the moment, is trying to get his football team out of the bottom three of the Championship with probably the most injuries that the club have ever had to major players – though, in our club, they are all major players aren’t they. I have queried on many an occasion how we get so many players injured in training, I’ve also wondered what good it does them before the season begins running up and down hills for days on end, but that’s probably because I, personally, couldn’t think of anything worse.

I’ve said it myself I’m fed up with him coming out after every game saying how good the lads have been and talking about geeing them up for the next game, but I’d rather a man in charge of my football club do that than rant and rave and pull players down – although, if I’m honest, I’d rather he kicked a few backsides while he’s at it but in private.

In February we scored six goals and let in seven and although we were playing some of the top clubs in the league we never lost by more than one goal but, on the other hand, got just six points from seven games. And, no, I don’t think that’s acceptable, we should have at least drawn the home games we lost. Some of those shots that have hit the woodwork should really have been placed better, some of those headers that went ‘just over’ should have been put in the net – is that down to confidence? Possibly.  One of the things I have been disappointed in this last month have been our set-pieces. We were, according to many journalists, the ‘set-piece specialists’ well that seems to have gone by the way as well as trapping a ball and passing to someone else on your team which I feel was sadly lacking this weekend.

Maybe it’s time for our management team to slam doors, throw cups, shout at players but I’d prefer them to do that in the privacy of the dressing room and not be hanging out our dirty washing in public. Perhaps it is time to stop the ‘putting your arms’ round the players and give them a kick up the bum instead.

But is it time for a new man at the helm? Is it time for the Chairman to invest more into the management side of the club? It could be but then again that’s down to money and I have to ask the question ‘is it time for someone else to come in and help the Chairman financially’?

Everybody has their own opinion and every opinion should be respected. But I do look at who is out there and, although CinL has given me a list of names on our comments I can’t see any of those high profile names coming to Rotherham – look how long Kenny Jackett lasted.

Can Paul Warne get more points out of his players?  I think it’s a case of he has too.  And I’m hoping my neighbours have forgiven me for the language they might have heard coming from my sofa on Saturday because I think they might be hearing some of the same again on Wednesday night.

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