So, I jinxed it didn't I?! After stating last week that Millwall would comfortably beat basement boys Crewe Alexandra, the Lions put in a predictably lacklustre display, huffing and puffing their way to a 1-1 draw at the Den.

As someone who likes a flutter on the football, I spend most weekends berating clubs who have cost me a few hundred quid on a six-fold accumulator.

By 5pm last Saturday, many punters were probably adding us to their own list of coupon busters.

Admittedly, Lee Gregory could have made things better had his 89th minute penalty not crashed against the post, but to borrow a phrase from the Andy Townsend book of daft football cliches, he almost struck it ‘too well’.

And to be fair, Gregory did convert his earlier spot-kick to level things up so I can’t be too critical.

In truth, we should have been home and hosed by half-time.

For a team whose front three have 36 goals between them this season, our inability to convert chances is staggering.

Saturday’s stats of 15 shots on goal, eight on target and eight corners should be enough to win any football match. You can understand why many left the ground pulling their hair out.

Some supporters would have been tearing even more out after the club’s lack of activity on Monday night, as the January transfer window ‘slammed shut’.

To be honest, I don’t know what people were expecting?

Having spent so long chasing Shane Ferguson and extending Jed Wallace’s loan, the player ‘analysis’ department were probably fresh out of ideas.

Joking aside, if the club are serious about building a sustainable model of player recruitment, they could do a lot worse than taking a leaf out of Peterborough United’s book. The Posh seem to have a knack of developing players and selling them for a profit.

Dwight Gayle, Britt Assombalonga, Craig Mackail-Smith and most recently Conor Washington have all gone for sizeable fees.

In return, they have been able to bring the likes of highly-rated Exeter City striker Tom Nichols to the club.

At Millwall, we’ve had enough of seeing the Ricardo Fuller’s and Stephan Maierhofer’s of this world arrive at the Den.

Now it’s time for a change of tact.

Acquiring the likes of Shane Ferguson and Jed Wallace is a good start, but we must do better.

With such a wide catchment area, the Lions need to start recruiting off their own doorstep.

Although the gap at the very top is widening, the leap from non-league to football league isn’t as big.

I’m not suggesting Neil Harris should go out and buy the entire Dulwich Hamlet starting XI, but if we can uncover the odd rough diamond from time to time, it could prove to be a profitable way forward.

No one likes to see their best players sold, but Peterborough have done it several times over and survived.

Our record fee paid for a player still stands at £800,000. It's about time the club moved into the 21st century.

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