The universal human right of all football fans — to be able to watch their team playing vibrant, attacking football, like Ajax in 1974 or Brazil in 1970 — has claimed another victim in the Championship. This time it is my club, Millwall, who have decided that this human right should perhaps be put on the back-burner for a bit while we try to avoid falling down, like a sack of noisome yak turds, into Charlton’s division.
Joe Edwards was unveiled as Millwall’s manager in October last year, promising zest and flair after a number of seasons in which the club had punched well above their weight, but not gladdened the romantic heart, under Gary Rowett. The congenital morons who complained about Rowett’s brand of football got what they wanted and as a consequence the Lions are in danger of relegation and being well and truly thumped pretty much every week by even the useless teams in the division.
Edwards was supposedly the future — a young and talented manager, but sadly not one with any experience of the Championship. His chief problem was a very simple one: teams that are capable of playing attractive and exciting, joined-up football tend be stocked with expensive players suited to the task. Millwall do not have any — well, maybe one. Nor did Birmingham City when Wayne Rooney attempted the same transformation. It may well be that both Brum’s and Millwall’s players thought they could play like Cruyff in his pomp and were encouraged in this delusion by their managers (and their fans). But they couldn’t.
It all went horribly wrong and last week Edwards was booted out to make way for the triumphant homecoming of Neil Harris, prised away from his moderately good job at Cambridge United in League One. The Millwall faithful were greatly relieved, perhaps forgetting that although Harris is rightly regarded as a club legend, a contingent of Millwall fans were determined to force him out of the manager’s seat in October 2019 because, once again, they felt that Harris’s uncomplicated tactics were unbefitting of their great club. Hoofball, they complained, jeeringly. I trust they will keep their fat gobs shut for the remainder of this season — and indeed next, as Harris is on an 18-month contract. He does, at least, have experience of getting Millwall out of the third tier.
It is hard not to feel a little sympathy for Edwards and there were moments when indeed the Lions showed a certain panache in games, usually just before conceding three or four goals. More crucially, though, Millwall’s comparative success of late has been built on a strong and stable defence, anchored by the centre halves Shaun Hutchinson and Jake Cooper. But the former has started only nine games this season as a consequence of injury and has been properly crocked since mid-January. His various replacements have not been remotely up to scratch — and that is scarcely Edwards’ fault: both Hutchinson and Cooper are getting on a bit and a decision to strengthen the defence should have been taken long before this season started, perhaps by spending hard cash on Charlie Cresswell from Leeds United. It is also possibly true that, as the forward Zian Flemming put it, Millwall have been a shade unlucky this season, much as they were rather lucky in games last season. But survival really shouldn’t be down to luck with a squad that is, on paper, rather strong (except, of course, in defence).
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What this all means is that the bottom of the Championship has become a rather exciting venue at the moment, with Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday benefiting from mid-season managerial changes and looking a half-decent bet to get themselves out of the mire. Rotherham United, bless them, have a certain doomed appearance (which is no surprise, given the club’s budget), but relegation surely poses a certain threat to the next seven or possibly nine teams above them. Both Stoke City and Swansea City, for example are showing the kind of form which presages a visit to Shrewsbury Town next season, although only Rotherham have worse form than Millwall at present. The relegation places looked pretty much nailed on in December: how quickly things can change.
There is one other variable to chuck into the mix: the spectre of Financial Fair Play penalties may yet loom over the much-improved QPR. Certainly it is something which their fans are rather worried about, the club having seemingly overspent (once again) in the past three seasons, especially in 2022-23. The club have, rather late in the day, attempted to cut back on their spending and the picture may not be quite as bleak as some Rangers fans fear (or some Millwall fans undoubtedly hope). We will know more after March 1, which is the deadline for clubs to file their Future Financial Information (ie spending accounts for the present year) to the English Football League. Meanwhile the club have just lost their most talented player, the Moroccan international Ilias Chair, who has been sentenced to a year in prison in Belgium for bricking some poor bloke. Never rains, huh.
