Pope John XXIII
Vital Football Legend
Preamble (my own personal introduction, probably not worth your time)
Anyone remember Millmoor?
I could say that it was a proper old ground.
It's not though. Not for us anyway. A 'proper old ground' for a club of our level is somewhere like Hillsborough or Villa Park. Millmoor was a bit of a sight for us no matter what level we played at.
I loved the place though. Must have been 3-4 times. I can't remember ever seeing us lose there but I do remember some cracking (and some less than cracking) games. Nearby? Check. Decent supporters club that lets in away fans? Check. Each stand split into about three different stands built in different decades? Check check check.
I've not been to this new ground (is it called the New York stadium or something?) But I have lots of nice memories of playing Rotherham at home. It helps that we often win because whenever we play then they seem to be getting relegated. How many times have Rotherham been promoted back into this division this century? It must be about 4 or 5 times now
They have had a decent start. Good luck to them. This division always needs a Rotherham kind of team for the variety.
Style of play
Agricultural, it is fair to say. The sponsor of this thread reflects the fact that being a member of the country's top bird protection society, and the sky watching that might be linked to, is probably less of a health hazard to your neck than watching Rotherham.
They hit it hard and they hit it long.
Average possession is a mere 40%, which is amazing considering it reflects the good days as well as bad (so what do the bad days look like?). A passing accuracy of just 59% stands out like a sore thumb in this league and in case you needed any more pointers, their average aerials won (32) is the highest I have ever seen from a team in this division: 10 more than us and about 5 higher than Cardiff last season.
Yet this basic, percentage football takes place in an attacking 4-3-3 formation for some games, reverting to a more defensive, spoiling 4-5-1 in others. They have the same average number of shots per game as we do, although they are far weaker at finishing, having scored only 6 goals.
They are certainly a side that can attack, but not necessarily one that finds it easy to score. However, once they get their noses in front it is extremely hard to shift them; their long all football and their usual Rotherham determination is conducive to exactly the kind of desperate Dan defending that has shut us out of so many games down the years.
Where do their goals come from then?
Unfortunately it is our own favourite source of frustration, set pieces. They are outstanding at attacking set pieces, with 4 of their 6 goals coming from free kicks and corners and another from a penalty. They have scored just once from open play this season.
Clearly this is the week to be practicing set piece defending.
Of course, there are significant weaknesses. They are very poor at holding on to the ball and can easily lose possession without much attempt to win it back. As already mentioned, their finishing is even worse than ours and when they get a chance their own weakness here has been letting sides off. That's clear when they average 12 shots a game but score only 6 goals from 8 games. They don't like playing against skilful players, can't defend through balls and are frequently guilty of fouling in crucial areas, then conceding from the resulting free kick.
By the looks of things, Rotherham are a League 1 team slogging it out in this division. They may do well enough to survive, but they have all the weaknesses you would expect of a team deficient in skill but making up for it in organisation, teamwork and determination. I suspect they will deploy the 4-5-1 against us and aim to win a smash and grab with a set piece. These could be very tough if we don't take charge from the start. If we do it could be relatively straightforward.
Players- attacking
Goalscorers isn't really their thing to be honest. Last season their top scorer managed only 9 goals all season. That player, David Ball is now at Bradford. Second top scorer last season, Will Vaulks (8) is still there and has one goal this season. Vaulks actually plays in the midfield three on the left and is technically a DCM, which tells you everything you need to know about where their goals come from.
Who is up front then? Probably Michael Smith, who scored 6 last season and 1 so far this. He is only 5"10 but is astonishing in the air, winning an average of 8 aerial duels per game. He is therefore a significant threat, and with an assist as well his aerial skills are crucial in bringing other players into it. He is a weak finisher though.
In a 4-3-3 Kyle Vassell is usually on the left. Another product of the impressive Vassell footballing family, he is playing his first season at this level having signed from Blackpool, where he scored 11 last season. I suspect they will go 4-5-1 so he may not play.
Ryan Williams will either play left wing in a 4-5-1 or on the right of a 4-3-3 where he seems to cut inside. He isn't much of a scorer and seems to be stronger in defensive contribution to the team.
A real star for them and one to watch though is Ryan Manning. At 22, with a goal and an assist already from CM he is making a name for himself in delivering key passes for Rotherham in a side that is generally a bit more airborne.
Richard Towell is likely to play in the centre. He was nearly every present last season and scored 6 from midfield, but has yet to net this season.
When they go 4-5-1 they sometimes play a central defender in central midfield. Sami Ajayi has filled that role three times this season. He is a good defender but suffers from massive lapses in concentration.
With no players scoring more than once so far, outside of set pieces these don't look a massive threat. We just need to respect them and do our jobs: all games are tough in this league.
Players- defensive
They have a number of old soldiers in their defence, the kind of old Championship names that make you say 'hiw has he not retired yet'?
Remember Joe Mattock? He is their left back. He is only 28, which I can't help thinking means he must have started playing SBC football when he was about 11.
Richard Wood is another old battler if this level, now 33. In a 4-3-3 he will partner Ajayi, but if Ajayi goes into midfield 25 year old Sean Raggett will slot in
Form
Rotherham have won three games this season and lost the other 5. If you want a sign of a side that could be in trouble, you can see it here; their wins have all been by 1, but their defeats have all been by some margins. Their wins have not been against any great opposition either; rock bottom Ipswich, 4th bottom Milwall and against a Derby side down to 10 men.
They have shown an ability to be brushed aside easily and have taken a real tonking in their first game at Brentford.
As for us, our record against Rotherham is outstanding. They have not beaten us since 1956, a run spanning 22 matches of which we have won half. They have won at the CG just 3 times in their history, the last coming in 1955. Not as bad as QPR, but not far off.
Rotherham are also yet to score a point away from home, and have lost an astonishing 26 of their last 28 championship away matches. A season in League one does not seem to have helped them travel better at this level; yet.
Official Vatican Prediction
Infogol really don't like us and continue to insist we are too high in the table. Despite this, they are backing us with a 62% chance of winning.
The Cardinals agree that forest will win this 2-1, with Rotherham equalising from a set piece before Ben Osborn finally finished a chance to win it
Weather report
It's going to be a cloudy 12°c with 12mph winds. It will start to rain as the match ends and we all trudge off to our miserable lives wondering why we still do this.
Inspirational Picture
20th September. No comment necessary
Anyone remember Millmoor?
I could say that it was a proper old ground.
It's not though. Not for us anyway. A 'proper old ground' for a club of our level is somewhere like Hillsborough or Villa Park. Millmoor was a bit of a sight for us no matter what level we played at.
I loved the place though. Must have been 3-4 times. I can't remember ever seeing us lose there but I do remember some cracking (and some less than cracking) games. Nearby? Check. Decent supporters club that lets in away fans? Check. Each stand split into about three different stands built in different decades? Check check check.
I've not been to this new ground (is it called the New York stadium or something?) But I have lots of nice memories of playing Rotherham at home. It helps that we often win because whenever we play then they seem to be getting relegated. How many times have Rotherham been promoted back into this division this century? It must be about 4 or 5 times now
They have had a decent start. Good luck to them. This division always needs a Rotherham kind of team for the variety.
Style of play
Agricultural, it is fair to say. The sponsor of this thread reflects the fact that being a member of the country's top bird protection society, and the sky watching that might be linked to, is probably less of a health hazard to your neck than watching Rotherham.
They hit it hard and they hit it long.
Average possession is a mere 40%, which is amazing considering it reflects the good days as well as bad (so what do the bad days look like?). A passing accuracy of just 59% stands out like a sore thumb in this league and in case you needed any more pointers, their average aerials won (32) is the highest I have ever seen from a team in this division: 10 more than us and about 5 higher than Cardiff last season.
Yet this basic, percentage football takes place in an attacking 4-3-3 formation for some games, reverting to a more defensive, spoiling 4-5-1 in others. They have the same average number of shots per game as we do, although they are far weaker at finishing, having scored only 6 goals.
They are certainly a side that can attack, but not necessarily one that finds it easy to score. However, once they get their noses in front it is extremely hard to shift them; their long all football and their usual Rotherham determination is conducive to exactly the kind of desperate Dan defending that has shut us out of so many games down the years.
Where do their goals come from then?
Unfortunately it is our own favourite source of frustration, set pieces. They are outstanding at attacking set pieces, with 4 of their 6 goals coming from free kicks and corners and another from a penalty. They have scored just once from open play this season.
Clearly this is the week to be practicing set piece defending.
Of course, there are significant weaknesses. They are very poor at holding on to the ball and can easily lose possession without much attempt to win it back. As already mentioned, their finishing is even worse than ours and when they get a chance their own weakness here has been letting sides off. That's clear when they average 12 shots a game but score only 6 goals from 8 games. They don't like playing against skilful players, can't defend through balls and are frequently guilty of fouling in crucial areas, then conceding from the resulting free kick.
By the looks of things, Rotherham are a League 1 team slogging it out in this division. They may do well enough to survive, but they have all the weaknesses you would expect of a team deficient in skill but making up for it in organisation, teamwork and determination. I suspect they will deploy the 4-5-1 against us and aim to win a smash and grab with a set piece. These could be very tough if we don't take charge from the start. If we do it could be relatively straightforward.
Players- attacking
Goalscorers isn't really their thing to be honest. Last season their top scorer managed only 9 goals all season. That player, David Ball is now at Bradford. Second top scorer last season, Will Vaulks (8) is still there and has one goal this season. Vaulks actually plays in the midfield three on the left and is technically a DCM, which tells you everything you need to know about where their goals come from.
Who is up front then? Probably Michael Smith, who scored 6 last season and 1 so far this. He is only 5"10 but is astonishing in the air, winning an average of 8 aerial duels per game. He is therefore a significant threat, and with an assist as well his aerial skills are crucial in bringing other players into it. He is a weak finisher though.
In a 4-3-3 Kyle Vassell is usually on the left. Another product of the impressive Vassell footballing family, he is playing his first season at this level having signed from Blackpool, where he scored 11 last season. I suspect they will go 4-5-1 so he may not play.
Ryan Williams will either play left wing in a 4-5-1 or on the right of a 4-3-3 where he seems to cut inside. He isn't much of a scorer and seems to be stronger in defensive contribution to the team.
A real star for them and one to watch though is Ryan Manning. At 22, with a goal and an assist already from CM he is making a name for himself in delivering key passes for Rotherham in a side that is generally a bit more airborne.
Richard Towell is likely to play in the centre. He was nearly every present last season and scored 6 from midfield, but has yet to net this season.
When they go 4-5-1 they sometimes play a central defender in central midfield. Sami Ajayi has filled that role three times this season. He is a good defender but suffers from massive lapses in concentration.
With no players scoring more than once so far, outside of set pieces these don't look a massive threat. We just need to respect them and do our jobs: all games are tough in this league.
Players- defensive
They have a number of old soldiers in their defence, the kind of old Championship names that make you say 'hiw has he not retired yet'?
Remember Joe Mattock? He is their left back. He is only 28, which I can't help thinking means he must have started playing SBC football when he was about 11.
Richard Wood is another old battler if this level, now 33. In a 4-3-3 he will partner Ajayi, but if Ajayi goes into midfield 25 year old Sean Raggett will slot in
Form
Rotherham have won three games this season and lost the other 5. If you want a sign of a side that could be in trouble, you can see it here; their wins have all been by 1, but their defeats have all been by some margins. Their wins have not been against any great opposition either; rock bottom Ipswich, 4th bottom Milwall and against a Derby side down to 10 men.
They have shown an ability to be brushed aside easily and have taken a real tonking in their first game at Brentford.
As for us, our record against Rotherham is outstanding. They have not beaten us since 1956, a run spanning 22 matches of which we have won half. They have won at the CG just 3 times in their history, the last coming in 1955. Not as bad as QPR, but not far off.
Rotherham are also yet to score a point away from home, and have lost an astonishing 26 of their last 28 championship away matches. A season in League one does not seem to have helped them travel better at this level; yet.
Official Vatican Prediction
Infogol really don't like us and continue to insist we are too high in the table. Despite this, they are backing us with a 62% chance of winning.
The Cardinals agree that forest will win this 2-1, with Rotherham equalising from a set piece before Ben Osborn finally finished a chance to win it
Weather report
It's going to be a cloudy 12°c with 12mph winds. It will start to rain as the match ends and we all trudge off to our miserable lives wondering why we still do this.
Inspirational Picture
20th September. No comment necessary
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