Rotherham United Manager Paul Warne won’t be disappointed at the performance his team put out today but, if he’s anything like me, will be disappointed that nothing came from the many chances we had.
Speaking to iFOLLOW after the one-all draw against MK Dons at the New York Stadium, the Millers Boss said, ‘The lads have done everything they can to win a football game so there is no complaints on the performance but it is disappointing that of the nearly forty crosses we put in the box we didn’t get the second goal.’
Warney went on to say that if we’d got that second goal then he thinks we’d have gone on to get more goals and win and I think he’s right. We were doing a lot of the right things. Our crosses in were mostly good, most of our link-up play was good but we still seem to play a little bit on our heels and, at times, didn’t look ready when a ball came our way to set off and run with it.
‘In fairness I don’t think MK Dons’ league place does them any justice. They were hard to beat and we did everything we did to beat them. Today wasn’t our day.
‘Chieo (Ogbene) was unplayable down the wing today,’ the Gaffer carried on, ‘and the ‘keeper made a great save from Smudge (Michael Smith) in the first half.
‘The lads are disappointed in the dressing room but it’s going to be snakes and ladders. The results have been pretty kind so we live to fight another day.’
It’s good that the lads are disappointed when we don’t get what we think we deserve. This was our third game in a week, two of which have been away, although not far to travel but still away from home, and I thought a couple of our players looked a little jaded. Yet, we still played football.
Warney went on to say, ‘We get a lot of stick in the media for playing hoof-ball but all we do is don’t play out from goal kicks, Smudge wins headers and we try to play at getting it wide and getting in crosses. We play the way we want to play and the way the fans want us to play.’
I’ve never understood this theory that we play long balls or if we do why it should matter. We play some long ball I grant you but we also play some nice football. I think more than fifty per cent of our crosses into the box find one of our players and we run down the wing whenever possible. Is that what we want? Is that what gets goals? Who, this evening, are top of League One?
Caz, I’m disappointed. I also don’t accept the manager’s separation of “performance” and “result”. We are not talking about actors; you cannot in my opinion be pleased with dropping points against mid-table sides, nor with conceding from winning positions on a monotonous basis. We really are throwing automatic promotion away due to an odd frailty in the team. That said, I suspect it may all be irrelevant as I expect the league to be cancelled within the next few weeks. Not sure what will happen then but it may be that Season 2019-20 is simply written off?
Bloomin’ ‘eck Kevin, do you know something we all don’t?! (Though it wouldn’t surprise me either).
I can well understand that you are disappointed because I came out of the ground feeling exactly the same, again, all those chances going begging. I suppose it’s awkward for a manager who knows this was a game his team needed to win not to feel annoyed/angry but he’s got to get those players feeling good about themselves again. I actually thought the players looked a bit disjointed on Saturday, a couple looking tired and not playing to the strengths I’ve seen them in the past. But, I’ll be honest, I think we’ve held on for the last couple of games and dragged out results. Rochdale on Saturday, not an easy place to go – if there is a game, of course.
Caz, it’s simply logic – although possibly misplaced logic I admit. If large gatherings are banned and certain towns and cities are quarantined then the FL will have no recourse but to suspend the season. I am disappointed and I am also self-aware that I can be too critical on occasions but serious promotion teams at this stage of the season grind out wins at home. Had Sunderland played us not Coventry they would certainly have equalised and I suspect we’d have been hanging on at the end. I think both Coventry and Portsmouth have that ability to win ugly and will be the automatic teams.
If large gatherings are going to be banned then, like you say, I can’t see the FL doing anything but cancel the season. And I don’t think constructive criticism is a problem. And I agree we have to grind out the wins.