Millwall head coach reveals extra analysis on duo’s goals last season in bid to boost scoring in current campaign

Joe Edwards has spent time analysing the goals scored by Tom Bradshaw and Zian Flemming last season in a bid to aide them hitting the back of the net on a more regular basis in Millwall’s Championship run-in.

Bradshaw struck 17 goals in the league, including two hat-tricks, in the 2022-23 campaign as he won a recall to Wales’ international squad.

Flemming scored 15 times in his maiden season in English football after a then club-record transfer from Fortuna Sittard.

In the current campaign the pair have a combined goal return of 10 with Flemming leading Millwall’s scoring charts on six.

The number 10 was unsuccessful in his attempt to chip Hull City keeper Ryan Allsop in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at MKM Stadium.

Bradshaw, just back from a hamstring injury, had a late shooting chance but could only drive his attempt straight at Allsop.

“I’ve looked back and closely analysed Zian and Bradders’ goals last season to see what type they were, what situations they came from and what areas the strikes came from – because I want to help get them back to that and recreate that as much as possible,” said Millwall head coach Edwards.

“But when you look back at those 32 goals between the two of them then there are so many that come out of nothing, really. They are second or third-phase from long free-kicks, long throws, corners or just random quick counter attacks – from a cross they get the knockdown.

“There are a lot of goals last season that are from moments that aren’t easy to recreate  – they aren’t from pre-planned fluid football.

“But we need a few of those moments to start coming our way again and taking them. That has been a big issue for us, that we’re not scoring many goals.

“On another day Zi and Bradders could both score their chances but equally I don’t look at either of them and think ‘oh, he’s got to score’.

“Zian’s one is from outside the box and Bradders, the way the ball is bouncing and dropping, he has to change his stride and it’s on his weaker side.

“They are the kind of moments though that we need to start turning for us – they are the fine margins that are costing us points.”

Millwall have taken one point from a possible 12 in the Championship.

They have a five-point cushion on QPR, in the final relegation spot.

Last weekend’s fixture at Hull saw both sides post low xG (expected goals) – Millwall with 0.37 and their opponents a fractionally better 0.45.

But Jayden Philogene slammed in a fifth-minute clincher after Anass Zaroury’s thunderbolt came back off the crossbar and fell kindly into his path.
Millwall are averaging 1.06 points per game in the 15 games since Edwards succeeded Gary Rowett.

“The results in our games are fine margins, whether we are playing brilliantly or not,” said the former Chelsea and Everton coach.

“There aren’t many of our games where it is emphatic, in terms of the result.

“The first half at QPR is an absolute 0-0 game but we go in 1-0 down, just because of one moment.

“Football can be that – cagey or sloppy games that look a stalemate and then get decided by either moments of brilliance or just moments of fortune involving certain individuals. There are games where we’re either fairly in control of them, or they are just pretty even, and we’re not finding a way to turn them our way.

“Hull dominated lots of the game but in terms of xG there was very little in it. Philogene used his hand to move the ball to the foot he wants to strike it with – that goal 100 per cent gets disallowed if we had VAR.

“While I’d like a bit of luck and brilliance to come our way, we do need to keep demanding more in how we create as a team.”