Fleetwood v Rotherham: system over individuals

David Ball – thestar.co.uk

This match might be compared to Brentford’s encounter with Aston Villa at the end of January. It came just after Bees top scorer Scott Hogan left for the Villans and many thought their goals would dry out. Instead, striker Lasse Vibe netted a brace, the first two of his 12 goals in the second half of the season while Hogan toiled in a direct Villa side. That match symbolized how having a fluid system that enables attacking players to thrive can be as important as the individual ability of the players themselves.

Why is this significant, we hear you ask? Fleetwood have just sold David Ball, who was by far their top scorer last season with 14 goals in 39 starts. While this is not ideal, they have replaced him with a man who scored four fewer goals in 14 starts for Oxford United – Conor McAleny.

He excels at finding space in the box and, as he showed at Millwall for the U’s in the penultimate game, he can score from outside it as well if given time on the ball. With the creativity of Ashley Hunter, one of the best technical players in League One last season and the movement of Bobby Grant, he will get those opportunities.

By contrast, Ball joins Rotherham, who became statistically the worst second-tier side in post-war history last term. While they have perhaps bought better than the Trawlermen this summer, they needed to due to the systematic failures of last season. 17 players remain from the team that shipped 98, even if a 4-0 friendly thumping of Barnsley might have aided confidence levels.

Jamie Proctor, who scored a hat-trick in that match, is likely to partner Ball on Saturday. Proctor’s deceptive height led Carlisle to utilize him as a target man last season, when he is in fact better with the ball at his feet, meaning the type of service will be key.

The ex-Fleetwood duo will have to compete with three centre-backs: most likely Ashley Eastham, Cian Bolger and stalwart Nathan Pond. The trio did not have the most enjoyable second half outing against Preston, but managed a clean sheet in the 2-0 win over Bolton the weekend before.

In terms of squads, there is not a huge difference between these teams. While Rotherham are starting from scratch though, Fleetwood possess a winning formula that should click into place once the real business starts.

The Football Lab’s Verdict: 2-0

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