Sick to The Gills

Last updated : 01 April 2008 By Van Blerk's Crossing
Kenny Jackett
Jackett: No striker required...
Three weeks ago Millwall's position in League One was relatively healthy. Impressive back-to-back wins away to Swansea City and Yeovil Town had put a little daylight - not to mention a few more teams - between themselves and the last relegation zone with a run of - on paper at least - winnable games on the horizon that gave them the opportunity to propel the club up the table. However, life with The Lions is never that simple and having taken just two points from a possible twelve, Kenny Jackett's men could find themselves back in the bottom four come 5pm Saturday evening.

And if they do, they'll have no one to blame but themselves. All four games were there to be won but having dominated for much of the game Millwall found themselves either pegged back or left frustrated by their opponents. Excuses have been offered by players and the management alike - and in Andy D'Urso they had a ready-made foil for failing against Leyton Orient - but the fact is that going forward The Lions lack the necessary firepower to get themselves out of trouble, scoring just once in those four games.

The signs were there during the Orient game. Millwall's dominance was there for all to see - even when down to ten men - but you could count the number of clear cut chances on one hand and The O's keeper was rarely in serious trouble and in the end The Lions were mugged by a side that had one shot on target and scored. Even then the home side were the architects of their own downfall, failing to clear their lines despite the multiple opportunities offered by Martin Ling's men. The performance against Oldham flattered to deceive and many fans would have taken a point before the game but failing to beat Luton Town and Bournemouth - two sides all but relegated - was unforgivable.

The buck for these failings must stop with the manager. For all his moaning to the press about referees and opposition goalkeepers in inspired form, Jackett has made a number of mistakes that have put The Lions in the position that they now find themselves in. Losing Gary Alexander to injury was hardly his fault but having all but ostracised Neil Harris he left himself without a match-fit back-up with new signing Bas Savage still rusty. He then compounded his mistake by leaving Harris out of the squad to face Luton, despite doubts over Lewis Grabban's fitness and was caught short when the youngster sustained a hamstring injury. And after physio Bobby Bacic's comments on the official site last week there are question marks over the wisdom of playing Grabban in the first place.

Even then, with two of his first choice strikers out for at least a fortnight, Jackett had three days to try and bring in some short term cover but instead of signing a striker on an emergency loan he decided to bring in defender Tony Craig, despite having four other fully fit players in his squad who could play left-back. And that decision bit him on the backside on Saturday when for all their dominance for the first hour or so Millwall could not find the back of the net, with the only attacking option left on the bench being young Ross Gaynor, a player with a handful of appearances to his name.

It's odd that Jackett didn't seek to address this problem before the close of the emergency loan window as he moved heaven and earth to bring in the likes of Grabban and Dave Martin during the transfer window. Both his first choice strikers were in the treatment room while his back-up choices were either desperately short of fitness and confidence or converted wingers not used to playing such a direct game. The Lions were crying out for an experienced striker, if only for a month, especially with so many important games coming up but for reasons best known to himself, Jackett decided not to, preferring to concentrate on his backroom staff. He can't argue the necessary funds were not available as Craig is on a fair whack and if rumours are to be believed Millwall are paying their fair share for the Palace reject. So something somewhere doesn't add up…

Instead of sitting pretty in relative safety in mid-table, Millwall now have a fight on their hands against one of their bogey sides where the winner will probably take it all and the loser could find themselves down - and in The Lions case possibly out. And it's all because the manager couldn't see what everyone else could - we simply don't have anyone who can seemingly put the ball in the back of the net. Go figure.