A sudden upturn in away form has lifted Millwall clear of the drop zone in the nick of time, but can former QPR boss Ian Holloway shrug off his recent personal disappointments and finish the job?
In a week when Manchester United dismissed David Moyes from his impossible job, it seems somehow apt that the Championship’s own mini-version of the same situation is set to come to a head.
It was always likely to be best to bide your time and wait to become the man who replaces the man who replaces Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford — now you can step into the job safe in the knowledge that you can scarcely do worse than David Moyes, rather than arriving into a scenario where you cannot possibly do as well as your predecessor.
Moyes talked about the job as one you could never possibly turn down, when in actual fact it was one no right thinking boss should have touched with a shitty stick. Even if Ferguson had left an exceptional team behind his achievements and longevity would have been impossible to emulate and in actual fact he left a old bit of seafood down the back of the radiator for whoever succeeded him. Would Alex Ferguson have allowed the Manchester United squad to drift to the level it had got to — last season’s title win accepted — last summer had he known he was staying long term? Would Paul Pogba have had his opportunities limited so much, forcing him to leave for Juventus? Would the chance to blood a youngster or make a big signing have been spurned in favour of calling Paul Scholes out of retirement? I very much doubt it.
At Millwall, the expectations and history are very different. Kenny Jackett is by no means an Alex Ferguson-type character, and during his time at The Den he’d done little other than promote the Lions back to a level they play at more often than not and keep them there. But he’s a good, solid coach and manager, with an impressive record at Swansea and Millwall that has recently been further enhanced by a promotion at the first attempt with Wolves — his third promotion in three jobs, four if you count the one achieved while assistant at QPR.
Jackett resigned at the end of last season — a rare moment in the modern game where managers are sacked frequently and paid handsomely to leave — and that should have bee ringing alarm bells all over The Den. Usually it’s the monotonous radio phone in drones who use phrases like "taken us as far as he can” for a long serving manager not somehow presenting regular silverware, rather just doing a nice steady job to the best of his and the team’s ability, but when it’s the manager himself admitting it after six excellent years of service that’s something to be gravely concerned about. After all, we’ve seen at Charlton and elsewhere that "taken us as far as he can” usually actually means "taken us as far as anybody is ever likely to” so when Jackett stepped aside of his own free will it suggested that Millwall were only going to get worse regardless of who took over.
To appoint Steve Lomas as his replacement was an enormous risk that didn’t pay off. For sensible, informed, footballing reasons that’s because the former Northern Irish international and QPR midfielder lacked any real experience having served an apprenticeship in non-league with St Neots. His first job in the professional game was at St Johnstone who he led to a top six finish in the SPL and Europa League football in his first season, and a third placed finish and more European football a year later.
But then Scottish football was a ridiculous waste of everybody’s time even before Glasgow Rangers melted and now Celtic’s nearest challengers are Aberdeen and Motherwell it’s become even more irrelevant and of an even worse standard. That means you should think long and hard before bringing a player or manager south from there, given that they’ve spent the previous however many months and years preparing for between four and six matches a season against St Mirren.
For emotional, petty reasons, Lomas was a gamble because he’s perhaps best remembered for his time at Millwall’s bitter rivals West Ham. So here was a manager coming into an already impossible job, replacing Kenny Jackett and having to surpass his achievements, with limited experience at any kind of level, and a former club connection that meant he lacked any reserve of good will to cash in when the going got tough.
Ian Holloway, much like David Moyes’ successor, has established good will with the supporters early simply by not being his predecessor. Millwall laboured under the former QPR boss initially and looked for all the world like they could be relegated despite the change of gaffer, but they’ve developed a knack of winning away matches just in the nick of time — they’ve won four of their last six on the road and all of the last three, including wins at promotion chasing Wigan, Forest and Derby. QPR be warned.
Ian Holloway will always be held in enormous regard at QPR for his time as a workhorse midfield player, fetching and carrying for Ray Wilkins to pull the strings, and more importantly as an inspirational manager who turned the club around at a time of crisis, promoted it despite operating in administration, brought in some of the most loved players of the modern era at Loftus Road, and generally made the W12 faithful happy and proud of their football club again.
But just lately he’s cast a worrisome figure in dugouts and press conferences. Looking back at old QPR season videos recently — come on girls, you want me really — it’s noticeable just how much healthier, happier, livelier and enthusiastic Holloway looks during his time at QPR. He’s hopelessly optimistic, upbeat and looking ahead. More recently he’s looked fairly depressed and grey, and at times sounded fairly bitter.
He promoted Blackpool after a tough spell at Leicester, citing the work of Roberto Martinez at Swansea as the inspiration for his change in playing philosophy. But Blackpool’s chairman Karl Oyston kept the purse strings pulled as tight as a mouse’s ear despite the influx of television money and although Holloway and Pool won many friends, and scored plenty of goals, a team with a centre back pairing of Ian Evatt and Alex Baptiste was never likely to survive in the Premier League and so it proved.
Having walked away from that situation in frustration after failing to promote Pool back, he pitched up at Crystal Palace who’d been led superbly by Dougie Freedman before him and had an enterprising young team already in place. Holloway shoved the Eagles over the line via the play offs but, given a second crack of the top flight whip, he inadvertently destroyed everything that was good about the side that won promotion with a slew of bizarre, mainly foreign, signings last summer — sound familiar?
By the time he resigned, one win and seven defeats later with Palace firmly bottom, he cut a disconsolate figure who looked like he desperately needed a chance to go on a long holiday and rediscover his spark and zest. What he actually did was take on the Millwall job and while, belatedly, he’s got the Lions firing and potentially playing their way to safety, it will be interesting — and concerning — what sort of mood and physical appearance he returns for in August.
Despite the knuckle-dragging troglodyte element of the Lions travelling support, few in the Bush would want to see Holloway, and Marc Bircham who he took from QPR’s youth system to coach his first team after taking over, flounder in what feels like a crucial job for both.
If they make it four away wins on the bounce on Saturday they’re all but safe.
For the second time this season we thank Millwall fan Mike May for his time and input into the Lions.
Why have Millwall struggled this season?
The defence was really good last year but was very poor from the off this year, even though it was made up of the same players. I don't think it was a team thing either because we were letting most goals in from free kicks, crosses and corners that the same players would have coped with last season.
Where did Steve Lomas go wrong?
I think his West Ham connection finished him off. He'd had a good run up to and after playing QPR first time around when you hadn't let a goal in for a number of games but conceded two at The Den. We were good away at Brighton and Reading and were unlucky not to beat both of them and Burnley, We beat Wigan and Charlton and played well. For that period he had a settled side but was unlucky with a lot of injuries. The fans turned when we lost at home to Middlesbrough and were really vicious at Watford. I don't think anyone should get the abuse he got at Watford and some of the players should take a lot of the blame. Even if the board wanted him to stay it would have been hard for him to go on with that abuse.
Holloway's results until very recently have been poor, but the fans like him. From Christmas last year we were crap but no one thought of sacking Kenny Jackett. If Lomas hadn't been "West Ham” he'd have got longer.
What did you make of the appointment of Ian Holloway at the time and how has he done since? What has he changed about the side and its style?
At the time it couldn't have been better. Who else was there? He's got a good record and everyone likes him. At first he played too direct. It was crap to watch and although the defence got better we were still losing. As some of his signings have settled in it's been better to watch, but we're poor at home. Watford at home the other week was the first convincing performance at The Den since we beat Wigan under Lomas.
Who have been the stand out performers and weak links?
Martyn Woolford, Steve Morison, goalkeeper David Forde, Nick Bailey, and Scott Malone have played well all season when they've been fit. Scott McDonald, who scored in the first meeting, has been in and out. Shaun Williams looks the best of Holloway's signings to me.
Do you think you'll survive? What needs to happen next season to prevent this from happening again if you do?
If we stay up he'll have to clear out some of the others, but things are better now he's had a settled side.
What are the consequences if you don't? What needs to change if you're League One next season?
If we go down Holloway will have to clear out the crap and he'll probably lose some of the better players anyway so it's anybody's guess what/who we'll be watching next year. Either way we should stick with Holloway and hope the chairman doesn't leave.
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