Tyrone Henry: A Changing Attitude

A good start to the season for Troy Parrott. His goals will be important this season in Millwall's bid to avoid the drop. A tough September which hopefully isn't the beginning of a worrying trend. The last thing Henry needs is his team losing their confidence.

Saturday, 5th November

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Millwall extended their winning run to three games today as they defeated Brighton 3-1 at The Den as top-flight clubs all around the world began the break for the Qatar World Cup.

Georgiy Tsitashvili got the visitors off to a flying start in South Bermondsey, curling a beautiful finish past Sam Johnstone less than one minute from kick-off.

On his fifth appearance for the first-team, 17-year-old Kwame Phillips scored his first-ever senior goal to equalise in the 6th minutes with a rebounded effort initially from Ben Thompson.

Jed Wallace put Millwall in the driving seat with a powerful near-post goal, flying over Matt Ryan’s head and putting his team on course for four consecutive games unbeaten.

A Greg Taylor mistake in clearing the ball from an incoming free-kick teed up summer signing Joe Aribo for a volley to seal the three points for Millwall.

Tyrone Henry’s men now stand 10th in the Premier League, a remarkable improvement from this point last year, when they sat in 16th, just two points ahead of the drop zone. In comparison, Millwall are now 10 points ahead of the drop zone, only 4 points behind the Europa Conference League spot in the Premier League.

“I think we’ve done tremendously well up to this point. Last season was always going to be tough with a flurry of new players,” Henry said after the match today. “Today just encapsulated how much more comfortable some of these previously Championship-quality players have grown as personalities and as footballers.”

“I’m not so sure that the World Cup in November and December is a good idea at all. It seems wrong for it to be in our midseason and climates like the Middle East simply shouldn’t play host to what has always been a summer tournament.

“That said, it’s great to see Joe [Aribo] being called up for the Nigerian team for the competition and I’ve wished him the best of luck before he jets off.” Henry commented on the first winter World Cup.

Millwall will return to action in 51 days as they face Newcastle United for the Boxing Day fixture.

The first World Cup game will be played in Doha, Qatar as the Middle East hosts take on Uruguay in their first World Cup Finals fixture.

England will be mulling over their qualification failures as they gave up top spot in the UEFA Qualifiers to Turkey before losing 2-1 to Poland in the Play-Offs with Southgate resigning, replaced by new manager Carlo Ancelotti.

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Scott: Parrott was always going to improve year on year with the constant exposure to first-team top-flight football that we can provide that perhaps Spurs aren't yet able to provide with Kane. We certainly jumped back on the horse after September, though!

A great win for Millwall which depicts the character of the squad to fight back from behind to claim the points. Equally pleasing is Phillips notching his first senior goal for the club. He is a bright talent and is already starting to give us a glimpse as to what is to come.

Ancelotti as England boss is an interesting one... Can't believe we finished behind Turkey to begin with - let alone miss out on the tournament completely after losing to Poland. Shocking.

I was quite nervous when I saw the August-September update, but those fears have been eased since. It's great to see that your new arrivals seem to have hit the ground running, and you're at a relatively safe place on the table too. Provided you don't capitulate, you could survive quite comfortably this year, and then possibly make a run at continental football next season.

Very impressed by a number of the deals this summer. In particular big fan of the signings of Chong and Aribo both players who can be massive impacts at the club. The signing of Kwame Phillips was certainly an eyebrow raiser, but his potential is undeniable. To see him getting his account opened early doors too, is great and should see his confidence sky rocket.

In terms of performance, obviously a disappointment to go out of the League Cup so early on penalties, but at the end of the day it's not a real focus. The league is going very well and after some of the new arrivals have settled in it seems the results are coming in. Perhaps a European push this season...

Pretty sure that the oil money over wins every tradition of a World Cup, no suprise whatsoever if you know FIFA, exploitation, fraud, giving WC stadiums built by literally slaves,...) But i'm not against the fact that it is in Qatar, every country of the world should have the chance to have a WC, would be the most fair.

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We came into October off the back of three consecutive defeats in September, so it was hardly surprising to see title contenders Arsenal turn us over 2-1 at The Den with Correa and Aubameyang with the goals for the North London side.

The bad feeling was compounded with a 4-0 hammering by Aston Villa as their second half performance rocked us with an impressive performance from young Greek winger Christos Tzolis who scored a brace alongside Hélder Costa and Ollie Watkins’ late goals.

A draw against a revitalised Manchester City was a fantastic result given the form in our past five games, Ben Pearson’s goal in the first half giving us belief until Dybala struck us down with a goal 20 minutes from time.

Coming off the back of that encouraging display against City, we added our first win in over a month as Tahith Chong and Troy Parrott adding to Middlesbrough’s relegation-threatened misery in a 2-0 win at the Riverside.

Back at The Den, it was late delight for us as we snuck another three points against Southampton. A Joe Lolley brace brought back a two-goal first-half deficit against the Saints. However, in the dying embers, Troy Parrott powered past Jan Bednarek for a 94th minute winner.

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We ended the last Premier League game for 51 days with the full three points as our young summer signing Kwame Phillips scored his first senior goal in his fifth appearance for the club in a 3-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

With the World Cup knocking the Premier League out for the time being, our squad has not been affected by the tournament as only one player is travelling to join their national team with Joe Aribo representing Nigeria in Qatar.

We realised the need for match fitness in the meantime to continue our great run of form with four games unbeaten now, arranging some international friendlies at The Den.

All three were comfortable wins against Austria Wien, Olympiacos and Watford as a good amount of fans took a break from the constant World Cup coverage to join us in our first midseason friendlies.

We have four more booked in throughout next month against Sassuolo, Sint-Truidense, Charlton and Puskás Akadémia - the latter which will be played in Hungary. We will then return to competitive football on Boxing Day, travelling to St. James’ Park to take on 19th placed Newcastle.

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The league table makes for very positive reading after the 10 points from 18 on offer from the beginning of October.

We now sit directly in mid-table, much closer to the European spots than we do the relegation zone, so that we can take it as a positive. I highly doubt the possibility of European football coming off as I am unfortunately fearing the worst at this current moment despite our recent good form.

At the top of the table, Arsenal lead the way with their North London rivals Spurs level on points. However, Manchester United have two games in hand on the leaders and they could theoretically take a six-point lead over them once the league football restarts at the end of December.

Down at the bottom, Bournemouth sit in 18th and four points from safety currently, though they do have two games in hand. Newcastle and Middlesbrough follow them up in the relegation zone with an instant relegation to the Championship looming over Danny Cowley’s team.

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Scott: Phillips bagging his first of his career is a huge moment that will no doubt take a lot of pressure off his shoulders. As for England, yeah...
James: I'm almost bored of the security at this point
Seb: As mentioned in the update, I'm in no way expecting Europe, but it's a great thing to be even entertaining the idea compared with last season!
Wolf: Indeed, cash is king where FIFA is concerned

Henry can be pleased with his team's efforts thus far. Fearing the worst? Millwall shouldn't be fearing anybody - the fans wouldn't have that!

That result against Manchester City must've been so satisfying, especially after the result against Villa just 3-days before. It seems as if every time you're about to make a surge up the table, things take a turn, but I'm sure Henry is trying to fix that up. Regardless, you're in a great place on the table, and that 10-point buffer between you and 18th will have you in a good mood.

21st January 2023

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Millwall’s transfer activity is set to ramp up in January as Joe Worrall and Jay Dasilva both leave the club for a combined £13.25million.

After 52 appearances in all competitions for the Lions, 26-year-old Worrall agreed a three-year deal with Qatari outfit Al-Arabi following the country’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup.

The defender joined from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2021 for a fee of £2.7million and became a mainstay in the club’s first season in the Premier League in which they survived relegation on the final day.

He joins Al-Arabi for almost double the initial fee, with an immediate £5million agreed between the clubs as Worrall’s interest was piqued by the QNB Stars League team.

Just today, left-back Jay Dasilva also confirmed his £8.25million departure from East London as he joins fellow Premier League outfit Fulham for the next three years.

The 24-year-old Welsh international signed from Bristol City for £9million so the club have made a loss on the player.

Club officials at Millwall have briefed that the reason for his departure was in fact that he was not living up to his £63,000 per week deal at The Den - a figure which rose depending on appearances made that was non-negotiable throughout the negotiations that took place originally.

The transfers have brought a healthy amount of money into Tyrone Henry’s budget, but the manager is going to be cutting it close with only ten days remaining in the winter window.

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Scott: Henry shows a fearless external shield for the fans
James: You're spot on, that City win quite visibly changed the tide after the results that came before. A great place to be before a return to league football.

I trust Henry has replacements in mind. It would be a risk to not have ready-made replacements with little time remaining in the window. Albeit a loss on Dasilva, the money raised from the two sales should just about fund a move or two - perhaps we could see activity in the loan market?

Bit disappointed that the move for Dasilva didn't work out, but it's better to cut your losses early, and bring in someone that can meet your expectations instead. The longer you keep someone that you had high hopes for, and they don't meet them: the more frustrated and disappointed you become. Considering the Millwall DNA, my guess is that you've brought Paul Robinson out of retirement #announcehimalready

24th January 2023

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Millwall have completed two new transfers for their defence as Scott McKenna and Bright Arrey-Mbi arrive at The Den.

Tyrone Henry has been very quick to act in the transfer market following the departures of defenders Joe Worrall and Jay Dasilva.

Scott McKenna was Worrall’s former centre-back partner at Nottingham Forest in the Championship and the Scottish international has now come in to replace him at Millwall.

The 26-year-old arrives for a fee of £7million after making 26 league appearances for Gareth Ainsworth’s men in League One as the Reds lead the way by 18 points over 2nd place Fleetwood.

McKenna has helped keep 15 clean sheets for Forest during the first half of the season after two seasons in the Championship before relegation last season.

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Millwall’s second addition of the window was certainly more left-field as they looked to replace Jay Dasilva at left-back.

After going through many options, Henry decided that bringing in Bayern Munich’s half-English left-back Bright Arrey-Mbi on a six-month loan was the best option for the club, with many other options being ruled out.

Arrey-Mbi started out at Norwich City before being relocated to Chelsea’s famed academy in 2014.

After no first-team appearances at Stamford Bridge, the left-back was picked up and selected to play for Bayern’s II team in 3.Liga - the third tier of German football.

He has made exactly 100 appearances in the 4 seasons spent at Bayern and this will be the 19-year-old’s first venture into English football since 2019.

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Scott: A very quick turnaround for sure, with three days in between Worrall's departure and Arrey-Mbi's arrival on loan. As you guessed, the loan market was probably best for a left-back.
James: Dasilva wasn't so much disappointing, he was trying to get forward in a poor team last season and the first half of this season. The issue was moreso the salary compared to ability - there are much better players receiving under £63k per week and Jay just wasn't at the appropriate level to justify that.

Extremely impressed with both new arrivals, especially Bright Arrey-Mbi. With his progress to the Bayern first-team blocked for the foreseeable future, the building of a solid relationship could result in him arriving at the Den permanently imo. McKenna looks a good addition, and it's surprising that another club [EPL or Championship] didn't go after him once Forest were relegated. 10 wins in a row now plz

I'm very surprised that McKenna stuck around at Forest after their relegation. He is far too good for that level and is certainly more adept to playing in the top-flight than League One.

As for Arrey-Mbi, I don't know too much about him. He appears to be a tidy option though and is fairly low-risk given he joins on loan. Excellent use of the loan market from Henry.