"Looked like they didn't care" - Millwall urged to learn from 2013-15 transfer, relegation mistakes | OneFootball

The Lions signed of plenty of players that could be described as journeymen during this era, and were eventually relegated back to League One.

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Millwall may always look back on the period between 2013 and 2015 with regret after several transfer failures cost the team their Championship status.

The Lions entered the 2013/14 campaign after surviving relegation in their second season back in the Championship following the team's promotion.

Supporters urged the club's hierarchy to make the correct decisions in the summer of 2013 to take the team upwards and away from any danger after staying up by just two points.

However, the club failed to spend any money, signing players for free and on loan deals, meaning that 2013/14 was yet another season of worry, yet the worst was yet to come for Millwall.

Millwall struggles in the transfer market

There is a case to be said that the Lions have struggled during transfer windows, particularly when spending big money.

Kevin Nisbet moved to South London last summer from Scottish Premiership side Hibernian in a deal worth around £2 million, yet he scored just five goals in 27 appearances in his first season and was reportedly left out of the squad for the final game of the 2023/24 campaign due to disciplinary issues.

Although Nisbet is just one recent example, FLW's Millwall Fan Pundit, Chris Champan, from the YouTube channel Chat with Chaps, has seen failures like this one unfold for years.

He explained: "We have more often than not got it wrong in the transfer market, at least more than we have got it right.

"We don't notoriously spend lots of money, but when we do, it does not seem to play out too well.

"Not so long ago, we spent money on the likes of Jiří Skalák, Connor Mahoney, and Jón Daði Böðvarsson, and unfortunately, they didn't work out too well."

The summer of 2014 proved to be the beginning of the end for Millwall in the Championship

Millwall were relegated at the end of the 2014/15 season, after five years in the second tier, finishing 22nd, five points off Rotherham United.

By the time January came about, the team needed goals, and instead of signing an in-form forward, Gary Taylor-Fletcher was brought in on loan by Ian Holloway.

The then 33-year-old had not reached double figures in goals since the 2006/07 campaign and had found the back of the net just eight times in the last two years.

However, he was brought in to try and steer Millwall away from the relegation zone, a feat he did not manage to achieve, playing 10 games, failing to register a goal and picking up just one assist.

Chris believes that it was signings like Taylor-Fletcher that led to the Lions' eventual demise and hopes the South Londoners learn from their mistakes this summer.

He said: "Back in 2013-15 when Steve Lomas was at the helm for a very short period of time and Ian Holloway came into the club.

"We had this huge turnover of players, and we seemed to become a home for experienced journeymen looking for a final paycheck.

"Some were actually okay, but some just looked like they didn't care; Scott MacDonald, Richard Chaplow, Justin Hoyte, Guy Moussi, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, DJ Campbell, Simeon Jackson. "Just tonnes of names that I'm sure were paid quite handsomely, but for me, they were like, oh, I can get a two or three-year deal, live in London, pick up a wage, and ultimately it ended up costing us our place in the Championship at the time,

"Back then, the club definitely didn't get it right, but I’m certainly hoping for some better future long-term planning this summer."