"Not been brilliant" - Underwhelming claim made on £12k-a-week Millwall star | OneFootball

FLW's Millwall fan pundit has been identified the Lions player who they believe has under-delivered the most this season.

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 have enjoyed a strong season in the Championship, despite going through two different managers.

Neil Harris was relieved of his duties as Lions boss in December, after inconsistent results overshadowed a nine-game unbeaten run between October and November.

Alex Neil was named as his successor around the halfway stage of the campaign, and he has been able to enjoy greater success in terms of putting wins on the board.

As such, Millwall have kept in touch with the play-off race during the second half of the season, but not every Lions player has been enjoying a fruitful campaign.

"Age is starting to show" - Millwall's most underwhelming player discussed

We asked our Millwall fan pundit, Lucas Ball: 'Which first-team player has under-delivered on your expectations of them this season and why?'

Ball said: "It's quite a tough pick. I think most of our players have been fairly solid for large parts of the season.

"A couple of months ago I'd have probably said Joe Bryan, but since Alex Neil came in he's been very good generally. Particularly in the last month or so - he's been one of our best players at left-back.

"So, I suppose overall, I'd possibly go George Saville. His age (31) is starting to show a little bit in midfield for him, and we're not quite getting the same out of him off the ball, and on the ball he's not been brilliant for spells.

"He's not been popping up with goals in the way that he has done in previous parts of his Millwall career. So, that's probably been a little bit of a frustration in midfield at times. Billy Mitchell seems to have taken his place of late, and Billy, to be fair to him, has been very, very good.

"He's (Mitchell) probably shown that if he keeps playing like this until the end of the season, then he is probably deserving of a new contract.

"So yes, I think overall, Saville, but a tough one to pick. Most players have been pretty solid, and those that have disappointed, a lot of it has been that they've not necessarily disappointed when they've played, it's just been disappointing that they haven't been available enough.

"I mean, Duncan Watmore hasn't been available much recently, but the way he started the season to then have dropped off in the manner that he did, is probably a little disappointing as well to be honest."

George Saville's contract situation paired with his 24/25 season may be final nails in his Millwall coffin

As things stand, Saville is heading for the free agent market this summer, having seen his contract extended by a further 12 months last summer.

The 31-year-old Northern Ireland international has largely been able to retain his starting role in Millwall's team this season, but that has begun to change over the last few weeks.

The industrious central midfielder joined Millwall for his second permanent spell with the club back in the summer of 2021, and has been an important player at The Den, but his lack of production this season could point towards a player who is now past his best.

Despite that, Saville still remains a highly popular figure amongst the Millwall supporters given his many years of quality service, but with the club now seemingly ready to become perennial play-off contenders in the Championship, he may no longer be at the standard required in order for them to crack the top six.

Therefore, it does feel likely that the £11,923-a-week-man (per Capology) will depart the club this summer. For the sake of his international career, regular game-time is vitally important, and if he can no longer achieve that with Millwall, then perhaps a move away is the right thing for him.