Team Focus: Little Faith in Millwall's Chances from Both Outside and Within

Twelve months ago last week Ian Holloway sat at a table in a lounge at The New Den after being unveiled as the Millwall manager and declared "there is nowhere else I want to be [other] than here" before subsequently promising that he would transform the relegation threatened side into promotion challengers.

A year on, they are in an even more perilous position than they were when he inherited the reins from Steve Lomas. Holloway, it is fair to suggest, would like to be many places away from south London at present. Only Blackpool and Wigan sit below them in the table after a run of two wins in 21 league games.

Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Ipswich was utterly predictable but there are so many things that need to be fixed by the manager that he may not have time to get to all of them done by the time the transfer window closes on February 2nd.

He spent close to half an hour talking to the press on Saturday – an unheralded amount of time – but was adamant that he can turn things around if the team keep it basic and rebuild morale bit by bit. The owner, John Berylson, is expected to make more money available but Millwall have a dozen or so players out of contract at the end of the season and Holloway is understood to want rid of many of them.

Having lost the last five in the league – with only one draw in seven if you include their FA Cup shambles against Bradford – Holloway's plan is to infuse new faces with youngsters already at the club over the next two weeks. He gave debuts to two against Ipswich in Shaun Cummings and Diego Fabbrini, while Stefan Maierhofer made his first start since rejoining the club, too, but was ineffective up front alongside top scorer Lee Gregory.
 
Holloway’s most surprising selection of all though was giving the captaincy to Sid Nelson, a 19-year-old local lad making only his third appearance for the club at centre-half. A drastic move but understandable when the desire and motivation of some members of the squad has been called into question. It was a performance which showed signs of improvement if the result was ultimately the same and they could still only register a single shot on target – and that was Magaye Gueye’s goal.

Their biggest problem is at the back, however. David Forde, the Republic of Ireland No1 and Millwall’s player of the season in 2013/14, has been culpable too often in recent weeks, shipping 20 in the past 7 games in all competitions. However, he could justifiably claim those in front of him have been to blame for much of their poor form; an unsettled defence which is penetrated far too easily.
 
They play more long balls than any other side (96 on average per game), concede more fouls per game (14.2 per game) and despite being ranked in 10th for shots conceded (13.4 per game), they have shipped three or more goals on 10 separate occasions.

Their best player has been Shaun Williams – he adds flow in midfield and does well to break up opposition attacks, but his suspension - for a ludicrous sending off when he stamped on the foot of Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson - has coincided with the team’s performances slipping even further. He was also sent off in the 3-3 draw against Wolves.

Holloway might be highlighting the need for new blood but his summer recruitments have had little or no impact so far. Ricardo Fuller, well past his best at 35, has scored three times while Gregory has showed some signs of promise but just does not find the net enough.

There is plenty of talent in the squad – Lee Martin is capable of brilliance but too often disappoints – but the key for Holloway is to figure out a side best equipped to arrest their disastrous run and get them out of the bottom three. Thirty-four players have appeared so far, and that could quite easily reach 40 if he gets the opportunity to spend Berylson’s money.

"We want to make a lot of changes and add some new players because the secret will be from outside and not within,” Holloway said on Saturday. And as if the need for an overhaul had to be highlighted further: "The secret will be who I manage to bring in now because we're letting too many goals in and we're not scoring enough." Unless additions are made, it certainly doesn't seem like there are many with much belief that Millwall can find their way out of their current mess.

Do you think Holloway can turn Millwall's season around and lead them to safety? Let us know in the comments below