There wasn’t too much
Saturday’s dismal afternoon against Ipswich had in common with the golden times
under Ronnie Moore in this division just over a decade ago.
Moore’s side that did so well to
defy the odds for three wonderful seasons showcased all the attributes that
were missing from this current Millers crop at the weekend.
Organisation, desire,
strength and camaraderie to name just a few.
But there was something similar
and disappointingly it came from the terraces.
There’s no doubt that Paul
Green had a game to forget.
At fault for the opening two
goals, it was just what the experienced midfielder did not need with much of
the fanbase questioning his selection in the first place.
His decision to pass the ball
back to an under-pressure team-mate in the penalty area which led to
Ipswich’s opening goal screamed of a player who is battling with his own mind,
trying to do the right thing but not having the confidence to carry it out.
Arguably he could be defended
for the second mistake. It wasn’t brilliant goalkeeping from Lee Camp to sky
his clearance when he maybe could have taken it into the area and it was
actually a decent touch from Green to control the ball. He clearly did not know
Jonathan Douglas was about to close in on him and had he had a shout from a
team-mate he may have done something very different.
But he didn’t and Douglas
stole possession and whacked in a 25-yard effort into the bottom corner to leave the Millers staring down the barrel in a game of major importance.
If a hole had opened up on
the New York Stadium pitch, Green would have happily jumped into it.
And if he hadn’t, a section
of the baying home crowd would likely have queued up to push him.
Sensing blood, those
unforgiving supporters were so aghast at what they had seen on the pitch in the
opening 20 minutes that they chose to show the ultimate disapproval and boo Green
whenever he touched the ball.
It was the same section of
support that gave ironic cheers when Green was taken off against Sheffield
Wednesday last month. They clearly needed little excuse to get stuck into Green, but unfortunately they were given a big excuse.
It was sad to see – no player
should be treated to that by their own fans – and it clearly had an affect on
him.
His head was visibly down and
after being shifted to the right of midfield, he was unsurprisingly withdrawn at
half-time.
It was all too reminiscent of
the terrible treatment former Millers captain Kevin Watson suffered in the
2001/02 season.
Green, of course, does not
have the same credit in the bank as Watson did back then.
The former Spurs man had just
captained the Millers to back-to-back promotions and was revered, which
probably made what happened next even worse.
Watson endured a difficult
first few months in the second tier – a division in which he had substantial
prior experience – and led to the Millmoor booboys targeting him.
Watson, who was struggling with life off the field after the birth of his daughter, suffered a rapid fall from grace and got a bitter taste of just how quickly things can change in football.
One minute he was whacking in
a crucial goal against a promotion rival from 25 yards, the next his family is
getting abused in the main stand as he struggled on the pitch.
There’s no suggestion that it
will ever get that bad for Green, but the vilification whenever Watson got the
ball or made a mistake on the pitch is something he will be able to relate to.
And it isn’t helpful.
In fact, Watson found it
debilitating and it eventually led to his Rotherham exit.
The full extent of how Watson was affected by the abuse he received can be felt in this extract of quotes from the chapter, Hounded Out, in Millers book Impossible Dream.
“It didn't seem fair, to jump
on me for misplaced passes I found absolutely mind-boggling I wasn’t that old
at the time, but it did affect me,” he said.
“I remember one game, Hursty
took a throw to me and I went to set it back to him on the half-volley but I
trod on the ball, fell over and I thought, ‘What is going on?’.
"I went to
pieces because of it. I wanted to get on the ball but every time it came near
me I was nervous and uptight and it does affect players. I am not too proud to
admit it but I was an absolute bundle of nerves and I didn’t want to play under
those circumstances.
"It was a tough environment for me. The people that know
the game would not do what they did to me, but every club has fans that will
boo and I suppose they pay their money to go and watch so they can do what they
like. But I don't hold any grudges.”
Whether Saturday’s events
signal the beginning of the end for Green as it did for Watson at Rotherham
remains to be seen.
Whatever happens, though, it’s
a long road back.
