MILLWALL fans could get a good idea from Gary Rowett’s team at Ipswich this Saturday of the side he has in mind for the first day of the season at QPR the following weekend.
Rowett has mainly played 5-2-3 or 5-3-2 in pre-season. George Saville looks like a definite starter in one of those two attacking midfield positions in the latter formation.
George Evans played mostly in defence after moving from Derby last January but Rowett sees him as a midfielder.
Rowett has a wealth of options in that area, with Ryan Leonard having returned from injury as he aims for a first competitive appearance since February. He’s also an option on the right side of a back three, but on-loan Daniel Ballard is favourite to start there.
There is good competition all over the pitch. It’s Danny McNamara versus Mahlon Romeo at right wing-back and Scott Malone against Murray Wallace on the other side.
One man Rowett will find hard to leave out is Matt Smith, who scored four goals in Millwall’s first three pre-season friendlies.
“Matt is doing what he always does,” Rowett said. “If you can get him good service in the box then he’s a real threat, which is exactly why we wanted him to stay this season. It’s exactly why we want to have that in our armoury.
“Matt’s looked in good condition coming back. He’s been really effective in the games as we expected him to be.”
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Bart Bialkowski has been unavailable for some pre-season games, giving George Long the chance to stake his claim for the No.1 shirt.
Long is from Sheffield and so relatively far from his family. But he is relishing being in the capital and is no stranger to the area as he spent the 2017-18 season in another part of south London.
“I did a season on loan at Wimbledon and absolutely loved it, it was a fantastic year for me,” Long said. “I loved living down south, my family enjoyed coming down at weekends watching games.
