It would be an understatement to say that this year has not just been a bad season, but a dissapointing one at that. After a very successful first season back in the Championship last year, people were starting to think that we could push on towards the play-offs again this season. However, striker and last years top scorer Steve Morison moved on, signing for Premier League new boys Norwich City in the summer. That was a huge blow to our chances for the upcoming season and it's pretty evident that we've missed him.
We find ourselves six points clear of the bottom three, with 31 points from 31 games. On average, thats 1 point per game, which is poor. If we're to continue in that manner, we'll end up with 46 points. That may keep us up this season as the teams below us are very poor. The magic points total for survival is 50, which manager Kenny Jackett has said is achieveable. So with 15 games remaining, we need to pick up 19 points, which is 6 wins and 1 draw. We still have to play Nottingham Forest, Doncaster, Coventry, Portsmouth and Peterborough all away from home. Four of those teams are below us, the other above us by one place. Those fixtures will make or break our season as we're competing against them to stay in this division. Considering that we've only won twice away all season in the league, these games are crucial.
At this point, some of you may be wondering how the title of this post links to the first two paragraphs. Two words, our squad. If we avoid relegation this season, which I believe we will, then lots of changes need to be made to our squad over the course of the summer. We have some very good players, but we also have some pretty average players in amongst the squad, who I feel we need to ship out. So in this post I'll be discussing who I expect to leave, who I think should leave and players who may leave that we need to keep hold of. I'll also be discussing potential replacements and positions which need strengthening. So, here it goes...
Firstly, I'll begin with three players who are out of contract in the summer. Those players are left-back Jordan Stewart, winger Chris Hackett and goalkeeper Ryan Allsop. I'll start off with Stewart, who has been a dissapointing signing to say the least. He signed at the start of the season on a free transfer following his release from Greek outfit Skoda Xanthi. He put pen to paper on a one-year contract as we were desperate for a left-back. He made his Millwall debut against Plymouth Argyle in the Carling Cup 1st round. Since that game he's only gone on to play 6 more times as his stay so far has been disrupted by injury after injury.
One game that sticks in my mind is the home game against West Ham in which Stewart played very well in. We'd been looking for a left-back with pace to bomb forward, but to also defend well. He looked good in that game and I thought he'd go on to do well. Unfortunately things haven't worked out and lots of small niggles have stopped him from playing regularly. He's now probably fourth choice for that position, with Scott Barron, Jack Smith and Tony Craig infront of him. Not to forget Leonard Sowah, the left-back we recently signed on loan from Hamburg. He is also injured, but still. I fully expect Stewart to be released in the summer, we don't need him.
Next up is Chris Hackett, a right-winger who has been at the club since 2006. He has been out of favour here this season, making only two substitute appearances all season which came against Southampton in the FA Cup 4th round and against Watford, both of which were at home. He should've been given more of a chance in my opinion, as he is probably the best crosser of the ball at the club. We need someone with a good delivery, especially as we have a big target man in Darius Henderson upfront, who has a good record at scoring headed goals. Liam Feeney and James Henry are both ahead of Hackett in the pecking order, so it's highly unlikely that we'll ever see him in a Millwall shirt again. He had a months loan spell at Exeter earlier in the season, where he did well. He'll have a good career in League One, which is probably his level.
The last of the out of contract players is young goalkeeper Ryan Allsop. He was signed at the beginning of the season from West Bromwich Albion, on a one-year deal. At 19 years of age, Allsop has played for England U17's, but has yet to make a senior appearance for both West Brom or Millwall. He is our third choice goalkeeper and has only been named on the bench on a few occasions whilst either David Forde or Steve Mildenhall were out injured. So basically, I can't really judge Allsop. It'll be down to Jackett as to whether Allsop is offered a new contract. He's had a run out in the reserves and the manager has obviously seen him in training, so that will be his only judgement on the situation.
Next up, I'm going to discuss the players who I think should be sold during the summer. We have a lot of dead wood in the squad, a lot of players who are probably just League One quality. It may be a little harsh, but players like Alan Dunne and Tony Craig, proper Millwall type players, are two who fit under the category of 'not good enough for this level'. Their influence may be missed amongst the dressing room, but I don't feel that they will be missed on the football pitch. They've served us incredibly well, however maybe it's time to move on. Another player who I feel should go is Darren Ward. In his first spell at the club, which began in 2001 and ended in 2005, he was probably one of the best centre backs in the Championship. However at the age of 33, he isn't getting any younger. It may be time to bring in a younger centre back, an area which we'll need to strengthen if Ward departs.
James Henry is next on my list. Some will say the quality is there for all to see, but I can't see it. If he had quality, we'd be seeing it week in, week out. You can't live in the past, as he had a good season last time out. He score's the odd screamer but if performances aren't good enough then why should we keep him? Ipswich had an offer rejected in the summer, believed to be in the region of £250,000. Maybe they'll come back in for him again this summer. If they did, he wouldn't be a great loss to the team.
The list continues, Josh McQuoid. He signed originally on loan from Bournemouth last season, then a few months later, Jackett threw £550,000 at them without even having a proper look at him. Where is he now? On loan at fellow Championship side Burnley. He's scored 1 goal for us in 19 games (yes, he's a striker). The thing is though, he wasn't given a real chance in the team. When a club like us pays that sort of money for a player, they'll need time. I don't think we'll see him in a Millwall shirt again. He'll leave in a similar fashion to Theo Robinson. Signed on loan, deal made permanent, things didn't quite work out, loaned to a fellow Championship club, SOLD. Ah well.
Finally, Shaun Batt. The striker has been out for just over 18 months with an horrific knee injury. He made his comeback in January in the FA Cup tie against Dagenham & Redbridge, coming off the bench for 10 minutes. He also played a part in the replay, coming off the bench this time aswell. Jackett told the fans that he's still not fully-fit, but also added that he'd be like a new signing when he eventually returns. Well, he's been out for over 18 months, so there comes a time when you start to think 'Should we get rid?'. Yes we should. We could be using the wages for a player of much better quality, plus for all we know we could be waiting for months until he returns fully-fit. Even when he is fit, we'll probably have to loan him so he becomes 'match-fit'.
Those are the players I feel we should ship out to free up some wages, enabling us to bring in some better quality players in the summer. However, we must hold onto our better players. One has been attracting attention from Premier League clubs, that man being Liam Trotter. Some excellent performances this season have alerted the likes of Wigan and Fulham, who may test our resolve with an offer in the summer. I'm resigned to seeing him go, as I do think we'll recieve an offer that Trotter himself will want to take up. Darius Henderson may also be subject of interest, especially if we go down as I'm sure he'll want to continue testing himself at the highest level possible. With a court case looming, I think it's doubtful that anyone will want to take a risk on Henderson. So we're safe there, unless he gets sent down of course.
In terms of strengthening, there are lots of areas that need it, especially the whole of left hand side. We need a new left-back, Scott Barron is OK, but we could do better. We've been linked with Scott Laird of Stevenage, who is out of contract in the summer. Jackett has reportedly watched him a few times, so a summer move may be imminent. We also need a left-winger. Hamer Bouazza is usually our first choice, but he is quite injury prone and also fails to perform when he starts. Dany N'Guessan is second choice but has never actually played on the left-wing for us, which sums up our managers bizarre team selections and tactics this season. We was linked with Leyton Orient winger George Porter in January, but nothing came of it. He is another player that Jackett has watched a number of times and as a boyhood Millwall fan, Porter may be persuaded by a summer move to the Den. He is also out of contract, so that works in our favour.
Another centre back may also be needed, however we still have Mkandawire who is currently out injured. A right-back is a position that needs sorting aswell, as Jack Smith and Alan Dunne have been too inconsistent there this season. As always, we could do with another striker despite the January signing of Andy Keogh from Wolves. Ched Evans is a name that's sprung up before. He's scored 12 league goals for Sheffield United this season and he also knows Jackett from his days as Manchester City reserve coach, where Evans started out. He is another player out of contract, so if we were to sign Laird, Porter and Evans I'd be satisfied. Josh Wright is currently with us until the end of the season but he'll be free to walk in the summer. I've been impressed with what I've seen from him and he is currently in-talks with the club about a new deal. He has said publicly that Millwall is the club he wants to be at, so hopefully things get sorted there.
So, that's everything covered. This is all just my opinion, so if any Millwall fans out there think otherwise, then comment on this post suggesting what you'd change in the summer.
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